Captain America: Brave New World

My View:  Captain America: Brave New World  (2025)  PG-13  In Captain America: Brave New World, following the election of Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) as President of the United States, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) now holds the mantle of Captain America. Sam finds himself at the center of an international incident that could threaten the world and must work to stop the true masterminds behind it. My father (a professor and playwright) always said that the film had trouble if you see more than three writers in the credits, and this one has five. That’s very evident in this film, where scenes seem to be stuck together by bubble gum and baling wire. Sam is trying to figure out how to be Captain America without damaging the very large shadow that Steve Rodgers left. Along the way, Sam has to decide whether to trust new President Ross or go on his own. Since the trailer and the poster give it away, it takes a heck of a long time for us to see Red Hulk and I think you will be disappointed in the showdown between Captain and Red Hulk. The film's roots are in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, which starred Edward Norton as Banner/Hulk, Liv Tyler as his love intrest/scientist Betty Ross, and William Hurt as General Thaddeus Ross. With Harrison Ford now playing Ross (for the late William Hurt), we get a lot of playbacks from that film, including Liv Tyler showing up in a phone call to daddy Ross. Now I love Tim Blake Nelson as an actor, but his villain is another in a recent line of villains that don’t work on screen. I was pretty bored by the film, notwithstanding that I enjoyed some of the action sequences, but they seemed like filler between lots of talking about duty and country. And yes, there is a post-credit sequence at the end of all the credits, giving us a really weak taste of what is coming for the next MCU films. Maybe instead of doing a bunch of reshoots, Marvel should take a few years off and rethink everything.   My Rating: Cable  Captain America: Brave New World Website   Now playing theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire:  Paddington in Peru  (2024)  PG   Paddington in Peru tells the story of Paddington when he receives a letter from his Aunt Lucy from her retirement home in Peru, saying that she deeply misses him. Paddington and the Browns travel to Peru to cheer up Aunt Lucy, only to find she is missing and has left a map that might be a clue of where she is. Now, Paddington must go on a journey into the Peruvian jungle to find his aunt and bring her back. I am a huge Paddington fan (I made Paddington 2 one of my top 10 films of 2018), and I am happy to say that while not quite up to the first two films, Paddington in Peru is still a delight for all. As usual, Paddington is still getting into all sorts of trouble, always with a great attitude and often with a thank you after causing some ruckus. This time, Paddington and his beloved Brown family are on an adventure in Peru. What I love about this series is that it doesn’t talk down to kids, that they, as the audience, are asked to follow along and root for the marmalade-loving little bear. The good-feeling humor works for both kids and adults. Paddington in Peru is a fun and funny film that has a lot of action sequences to keep the smaller ones happy and a few twists and turns in the plot to keep the older kids interested. Adults will be pleased with the rather substantial and humorous roles played by Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas. So, put on your hat and coat and join our little Paddington on an adventure that you won’t soon forget.  My View: Full Price   Paddington in Peru Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy  (2025) R   In Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, it’s been four years since Bridget’s (Renée Zellweger) beloved husband, Mark, died, and she is still trying to figure out how to navigate life as a widow and a mother of two. With the assistance of family, friends, and perhaps an app or two, Bridget is ready to get back into dating in this new world. Are we certain that the world is ready? I loved the first two movies, Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) and Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason (2004). I wasn't as impressed with the third film, Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), but perhaps I was missing Hugh Grant too much. We now get a fourth installment, and this time, there isn’t a Mr. Darcy, as Mark has died, and Bridget is raising their two kids alone (with a lot of input from her friends). I have always loved Renée Zellweger, from her early roles in Empire Records and The Whole Wide World to her breakout hit Jerry Maguire to her Oscar-winning roles in Cold Mountain and Judy. What this film does really well is give Zellweger the space and the spotlight to have fun in the role again. There is a fantastic scene near the middle of the film when she is back producing a TV show and, in a rehearsal, takes the place of a singer so that the lighting people can practice for the show. Zellweger goes all out in that scene, dancing up a storm and having fun, so much so that it is infectious. Do we miss Mr. Darcy? Sure we do. But the film knows that and lets us grieve a bit before Bridget goes all out in the dating world and once again she will have to choose between two suitors. I hope this is the last Bridget Jones film in the series because it’s an excellent send-off of a character we have loved for all her kookiness and smart-aleck thoughts.  My Rating: Full Price  Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Website  Now playing on the Peacock platform.

My View:  The Gorge  (2025)   PG-13  The Gorge is about two elite snipers (Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller) assigned to a mysterious mission: guarding a deep and seemingly impenetrable gorge. They are in guard towers on opposite ends of the gorge, forbidden from contacting each other and not knowing what actually lies beneath them. I liked the first hour of this film, which is a romance with a bit of action. The film does a great job of giving us insight into both characters, who kill for a living and are haunted by it. By utilizing high-powered binoculars and printing out large notes for each other to see across the vast expanse of the gorge, they begin flirting with one another. The second half of the film is all action, with the two fighting off evil forces. The second half of the film feels as if it was filmed on an old Star Trek set from the 60s, and the action sequences make you keep wanting to know how much ammunition these two can actually carry. I would have enjoyed this film more if they had gone a more conventional route rather than the Sci-Fi/horror way that the film turns. It’s too bad because Taylor-Joy and Teller have great chemistry, and sparks fly every time they look at each other across the gorge. It's a shame that the scary parts had to show up.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Gorge Website Now playing on the Apple TV+ platform.

My View:  La Dolce Villa  (2025)  In La Dolce Villa, successful business executive Eric (Scott Foley) travels to Italy when his daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) buys a villa for next to nothing. The only problem is that the villa is in horrible shape, and Eric has little time to convince his daughter to return to the States. That and the town’s mayor, Francesca (Violante Placido), is single and interested in Eric. La Dolce Villa is your typical romantic film where the widower falls for a local while dealing with his wayward daughter. The film is a little light on a storyline, but the Italian scenery and the chemistry between Placido and Foley works. I was surprised that the daughter’s romance never became a plot point. This is a lovely romance that you can watch once and move on to the next one. My Rating: Bargain Maintee  La Dolce Villa Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View:  Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) (2025)  The documentary Sly Lives! focuses on the life and legacy of Sly Stone, who, along with his group Sly and the Family Stone, was one of the most popular groups of the 60s/70s. Sly rose to the top, only to fade out due to Stone’s drug use and continued erratic behavior, which he never completely recovered from. The director of the film, Questlove, won an Oscar in 2022 for his documentary Summer of Soul. I remember seeing Sly and the Family Stone performances on TV, and the band’s high energy stage show was one of the highlights of the documentary Woodstock, where they had the giant crowd in the palm of Sly’s very large keyboard-playing hands. I also remember when Sly got married in 1974 in Madison Square Garden and thinking, ‘huh, he’s still around?’ The film celebrates the genius of Sly, who, from his early days as a radio disc jockey, also produced bands from English rock to Motown. And then he started his own band. It was unusual because it had a mix of Black and White musicians, as well as female musicians in critical roles, such as keyboards and trumpets. Sly and the Family Stone were huge hitmakers in the late 60s and early 70s, filling auditoriums and stadiums with their music. Then, the pressure of being an enormous star got the better of Sly, and it all started falling apart. The documentary does an incredible job of letting us get to know the man through interviews with both Sly (all done in the past) with interviews with not only his band members but also his many romantic partners, his kids, and artists like George Clinton, André 3000, and Chaka Khan. Even if you don’t know who Sly was, you know his songs, as they show up in commercials and movies all the time, along with all the songs that hip-hop and rap artists have sampled. Now it’s time to get to know a man who, for a while, was one of the most creative and popular musical artists in the world.   My Rating: Full Price  Sly Lives! Website      Now playing on the Hulu platform. 

Forgotten Film:  Maurice  (1987) R  Two English university students, Maurice (James Wilby) and Clive (Hugh Grant) find themselves falling for each other. They go their separate ways to keep their place in society, with Clive marrying Anne (Phoebe Nicholls). While visiting the married couple, Maurice discovers a new love, Alec (Rupert Graves), a gamekeeper. Maurice is a film from the team of Merchant and Ivory (Remains of the Day, A Room with a View, Howard End), and as usual, the cinematography and set designs are stunning. Grant gives the best performance of the two very early in his career, and we can see why he was destined to be a star. The film is helped by a stellar supporting cast, including Ben Kingsley, Simon Callow, Billie Whitelaw, and Denholm Elliott. While not one of Merchant/Ivory’s best, watching a very young Hugh Grant find his acting chops is still fun.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Maurice Info    The film is available to buy/rent on many online servers. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Captain America: Brave New World: Stunt Office Assistant 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:   Novocaine (2025) R Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) has finally found the courage to ask Sherry (Amber Midthunder) out, and their date was incredible. Now, right in front of Nathan’s eyes, the bank that she works at is held up, and she is taken hostage. What’s a guy to do but go to her rescue? What her kidnappers don’t know is that Nathan has a condition where he is incapable of feeling pain. He’s going to need it to get her back.  The trailer is a blast, so I hope this film matches that fun.  Novocaine Website   The film will be in theaters on Friday, March 14, 2025.  

Until Next Time!

The Marksman

Note to readers: I currently am not willing to risk my health (I’m 62 and an asthmatic) by visiting a theatre. All films that I have seen for review have been screened in my home. I am not going to tell you whether or not to attend a theatre. Just be aware of the risks, do your research, and follow the instructions to the letter.

My View: The Marksman (2021)  PG-13  An Arizona rancher, Jim (Liam Neeson), finds a young Mexican boy on his land near the border fleeing the Cartel, and the assassins sent to find him. Jim decides to take the boy to his family in Chicago with the Cartel’s men in hot pursuit. Liam Neeson plays a rancher who is recently widowed with a bank about to auction his ranch off because of the doctor bills due to his wife dying of cancer. Jim is a patriot, flying the Stars and Stripes over his ranch and calling the border patrol anytime he sees people on his land. Then a Mexican boy’s mother's dying wish is that the boy be taken away from the Cartel and to his relatives in Chicago. Along the way, Jim and his trusty rifle and dog learn that he and the boy can bond after a few tense days. If this sounds like a Clint Eastwood movie, you would be right, since the director and co-writer of the film is Robert Lorenz, long-time partner, and producer for Clint Eastwood. You get exactly what you expect from this film, from the standard plot to the outcry of the working man being screwed by the big banks, to a sexy Border Patrol agent (Katheryn Winnick) who seems to have the same powers as an FBI agent, to a bad guy so evil he kills everyone he meets. Nothing new here with this film, just more of Neeson shooting bad guys and acting tough but vulnerable.   My Rating: Cable   The Marksman Website     Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Outside the Wire (2021) R   In the not so distant future, a disgraced drone pilot, Lt. Harp (Damson Idris), goes on a classified mission with Capt. Leo (Anthony Mackie) an android soldier. Their mission to locate a doomsday device before the insurgents do. While he has a ton of hours flying a drone, Harp is a young kid who doesn’t know what it is like to be in combat in person. We know this because he: one, eats gummy bears while killing people from the air, and two, he does the right thing, saving 38 soldiers but disobeys the Marine code of never leaving a man behind. He gets assigned to help Capt. Leo, a maverick soldier who is part man, part robot (no spoiler alert, it's in the first 30 seconds of the trailer). It turns out that Harp has been picked for this mission because his commanding officers hope he dies to make up for his mistake and because he is a human MapQuest. The film tries to have a message that we are on a dangerous path to making war less human (not only are drones used, but robot warriors are used on both sides of the conflict) and that robots/cyborgs/androids/whatever are evil. There are plenty of action sequences, lots of things blowing up, but those robots don’t seem to be any better at war than we do, and the plot, right from the start, gets really complicated with so many twists and turns that you will need a whiteboard to keep track of all the changes. I kept wondering while watching Outside the Wire if the writers/director would come up with an ending that was complete and satisfying, and all I can say is, they didn’t.   My Rating: Cable   Outside the Wire Website    Now available on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: The Dig (2021) PG-13  In the days before the outbreak of WWII, a professional excavator Ralph Fiennes) of historical sites begins a dig on the land of Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan). The excavation becomes one of the most important archaeological finds in English history. Having been on a few digs and having a degree in Archaeology myself, I had high hopes for this film, especially with the likes of the two leads. Unfortunately, unless you are looking for the Holy Grail, it’s hard to make Archeology interesting, as it is a slow and time-consuming process, and even with the impending doom of WWII literally flying over the character's heads, the storyline tends to lag a bit at times. The film tries to add a bit of drama with Cary Mulligan’s character sickly and a mother, a heavy-handed government official trying to take over the dig, and an affair from an unhappily married archaeologist (Lily James) with a dashing amateur photographer (Johnny Flynn). The film has some beautiful cinematography, and both Mulligan and Fiennes give outstanding performances, but the film lacks a spark that it needs to make it fully work. It’s like being on a dig and only finding a few small arrowheads as your reward. Sure, you found something but was it worth the effort?   My Rating: Bargain Matinee     The Dig Website    Currently playing in select theatres including Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and available soon on the Netflix platform.

My View: The Ultimate Playlist of Noise  (2021)   After learning that surgery to remove a tumor in his brain will render him deaf, Marcus (Keean Johnson), an audio-obsessed high-school student, decides to take a road trip across America to record a bucket list of all his favorite sounds. He encounters along the way, Wendy (Madeline Brewer), a struggling musician who is on her way to New York for her big break. They decide to go on this massive adventure together. I enjoyed this film, which is very reminiscent of the road trip romantic comedies of the 80s and 90s. Johnson and Brewer have a light, playful chemistry that makes their relationship work between two people that both have rough patches in their lives to mend. This is a sweet, funny movie whose message is to treasure the little things in life because life is fragile and fleeting; those little things can be milestones. Yeah, there are times when the film lays on the plot a little thick, with Marcus, a shy teen who is kidded for never having a girlfriend, who is losing his hearing and getting involved with a singer who is slightly older and more experienced in life. But that’s ok. It's a fun time with the two as they travel on Marcus's quest to find sounds to record before he goes deaf. You will need a tissue or two, but that’s just another reason to appreciate the little things in life, like a cry during a movie.    My Rating: Full Price     The Ultimate Playlist of Noise Website   Available on the Hulu Platform.

Indiefest: Rock Camp: The Movie  (2021)   This is a documentary on the legendary summer camp that, for 25 years, has brought together ordinary people who want to learn how to rock like ‘rock stars’ from their music heroes like Meat Loaf, Sebastian Bach, and Gene Simmons. The campers spend four days jamming, and the camp concludes with a live performance at a legendary venue. The film follows four campers as they pursue their dreams (at least for four days) to become rock stars. I loved this film because it shows just how much the camp counselors (i.e., rock stars) get out of the camp as the campers themselves. It reminds the most grizzled rock veterans of the 70s, 80s and 90s how much fun playing music can be when you are with people who love the music. You will be surprised by some of the rock stars that have participated and how seriously they take their teaching. The film spends a little too much time on the man who started the camp, super-agent David Fishof, but it is able to give us behind-the-scenes footage of the campers working with their mentors (counselors), and the impact that this camp has on everyone involved. And yes, there are some pretty bad musicians in the camp, but also, there are some great ones, including a guitar wiz teenager Blake, who has autism and lets his talking come from his guitar. It's a fun look at a camp many of us can’t afford but would love to attend.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Rock Camp: The Movie Website   The film is available to rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest: The White Tiger (2021)   Bairam (Adarsh Gourav) has been trained by society to be a servant since he was a little kid. Now Bairam has worked his way into becoming the driver for Ashok ( Rajkummar Rao) and Pinky (Priyanka Chopra-Jonas), a wealthy couple who have recently returned from America. Bairam makes himself indispensable until one fateful night changes everything. I imagine that many reviews of this film are going to compare it to Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, and while both take place in India and both are rags to riches plot lines, that is where the similarities stop. The White Tiger is a biting look at India's caste system, where literally you are born in servitude. Bairam, a young man, who is constantly questioning his own behavior and always plotting how to escape his poverty, looks at life with the idea that the freedom that he seeks will not come at a cheap price. What I found fascinating is that the film doesn’t go where you think it will go. This is a pull that goes on with Bairam, between what society has always told him his lot is in life and what his guts tell him to do to get out of this trap. The film slows down a bit in the middle, taking too long for Bairam to make his next move, one that will change his life and how both he and the audience look at Bairam himself.   My Rating: Full Price     The White Tiger Website   Currently playing in select theatres including Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and available Jan. 22nd on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: MLK/FBI (2020)   Documentary based on newly declassified files that detail the US government’s surveillance and harassment of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The film looks at what is described in the movie as a dark period for the FBI. The man running the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, was convinced that the Communist Party was targeting Blacks and that MLK threatens the government. What started as a look into King’s possible ties to communism soon turned into how the Bureau could blackmail King and his supporters with information on MLK’s personal life. The FBI went as far as sending threatening anonymous letters and recordings to King and his wife. The film shows us just how heroic and strong Martin Luther King, Jr. was, who kept fighting for civil rights through nonviolence even though horrible tactics were being used to fight against him.    My Rating: Full Price    MLK/FBI Website   Currently playing in select theatres including Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and available to rent on participating on-demand services.

Forgotten Film: The Queen of Versailles (2012)   In this day and age of mic-mansions, I think a lot about this documentary profiling the Siegel’s, a billionaire couple who build the largest private house in the United States - a 90,000 square foot mansion inspired by Versailles. The economic downturn, however, and the banking crisis in 2008 may crush their dreams. This is a fascinating film that shows how out of touch the super-rich are with ordinary America, and the movie is full of great contrasts, such as when they go pick up McDonald's takeout in a stretch limo. What really makes this an interesting film is that Jackie isn't your normal trophy wife.  She once worked as a computer engineer at IBM, so you begin to wonder what sort of life she would have had if she had stayed at IBM instead of pursuing a modeling career and later meeting her now-husband at a beauty pageant. The Queen of Versailles is one of those documentaries where you are continually changing your opinion about the film's subjects.   My Rating: Full Price    The Queen of Versailles Info 

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Ultimate Playlist of Noise: Paperwork PA’s

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) R   The story of the Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaiuuya), and his betrayal by FBI informant William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield). I am hearing great things about this film that has a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Martin Sheen, and Ashton Sanders.      Judas and the Black Messiah Website

Until Next Time!