It Chapter Two

My View: It Chapter Two  (2019)  R   Twenty-seven years after first encountering the horrific Pennywise, the Loser Club has come back to town to try and stop him again. There are three big problems with this sequel: it is way too long (2 hours 49 minutes), it isn’t scary, and it has way too many flashbacks to the first film. It’s as if the writer/director knew that we might not like the adult Loser Club, so they decided let's bring back the kids, ‘everyone loves the kids.’ I hated the special effects in this film as most of the creatures looked like they came from a 90’s cheap horror flick. I just don’t understand how you can have a cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Bill Skarsgard and make a boring picture but It Chapter Two is one. Skip this film and go watch the first film instead.   My Rating: Cable   It Chapter Two Website

My View: Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) R   Brittany (Jillian Bell) is a very unhappy 27-year old woman living in New York. She is overweight, parties too much and has a nowhere job in a theatre. When a doctor tells her to get healthy, she decides to take up running. With the help of a neighbor (Michaela Watkins), she doesn’t really like and a fellow out of shape beginning runner (Micah Stock), Brittany begins to succeed in losing weight and decides to set a goal of running a marathon. Unfortunately, Brittany is her own worst enemy and really doesn’t have any trust for anyone, a trust she will need if she is going to meet her goals. This is one of those films that while not a great film, is a great deal of fun, mostly because Jillian Bell is so good in the role of the woman who is tired of being overweight and overlooked. Brittany is her own worst enemy and we struggle sometimes to like her but she keeps plugging away and we hope that eventually, she will decide that she matters and that people do care about her.   My Rating: Full Price    Brittany Runs a Marathon Website

Indiefest: Vita & Virginia (2018)  R   The scandalous love affair of socialite and popular author Vita Sackville-West (Gemma Arterton) and soon to be famous author Virginia Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki). The film is incredibly slow-moving and it seems that throughout the film we keep waiting for Virginia to have a mental breakdown but it just never really comes. This is a beautiful looking film and Arterton and Debicki have great chemistry on the screen but the film seems lifeless and I just didn’t care about any of the characters in the film. The film starts slow and just never really finds its footing.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Vita & Virginia Website

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD / Blu-ray):  Booksmart   (2019)  R   Two high school overachievers (Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein) have always placed academics over anything else. They decide they have missed the fun of being a high-school student and decide to cram four years of fun into one night. Dever and Feldstein have incredible chemistry on the screen and their timing, finishing each other’s sentences. The dialogue reminded me a little of the Gilmore Girls, where the two leads just keep it up with non-stop dialogue. The film is sidesplitting funny and what I really like, it’s an original storyline, unique in this day and age of the remake. If you want a fun time at the cinema with some winning characters, go see this film.   My Rating: Full Price     Booksmart Website

Forgotten Film: The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)    A nineteenth-century New Hampshire farmer, Jabez Stone (James Craig) has hit hard times. A mysterious man named Mr. Scratch (Walter Houston) shows up at Jabez’s doorstep and offers Jabez a deal, his farm will prosper but he has to give up his soul to the devil. Jabez makes the deal and sure enough, his farm becomes successful beyond his wildest dreams but Jabez realizes the price to pay for success is too much. Jabez talks the world’s most famous orator, Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) into taking his case and go up against the devil himself. The film contains one of the best film scores of all time by the infamous Bernard Herrmann and Walter Houston is perfect as the devil who knows he will win, no matter how great Webster is. Great film with some incredible scenes makes this a film to be savored.    My Rating: Full Price     The Devil and Daniel Webster Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of It Chapter Two: Costume Breakdown Artist

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:   Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)   The gang (Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Zoey Deutch, Woody Harrelson) move to the heartland and have to keep fighting off zombies, all while dealing with a makeshift family that always doesn’t get along. I loved the first film, so I am hoping this one will be fun too.    Zombieland: Double Tap Website

Until Next Time!

Aladdin

My View:  Aladdin  (2019)  PG  A street urchin named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and an evil, power-hungry Gran Vizier (Marwan Kenzari) vie for an all-powerful genie (Will Smith) who resides inside a magic lamp. Both men are also vying for the hand of Jasmine (Naomi Scott). I had hope that this film would be good but it’s just ok. I had a big problem with the dance sequences as director Guy Ritchie decided to do some unnecessary camera tricks as he speeds up the action and then freezes it, which made the dancing almost unwatchable. I did not like Will Smith’s performance as the Genie which seems so generic. I wanted more from Smith’s Genie but his performance felt restrained and use autotune as much as you can, Smith just can’t sing. The movie felt longer than the 2 hours plus and it begs to ask the question, why does Disney think we want remakes of classic films in their library?   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Aladdin Website

Indiefest:  The Biggest Little Farm (2018)  PG   A Documentary cameraman and his food blogger wife, decide to leave the city and become farmers of a failed 200-acre farm. This is one of the best documentaries that I have seen in the past ten years. A funny and moving film about the struggles of a husband and wife who try to rebuild a farm. While the overall tone of the film is upbeat, the Chester’s do go through some struggles, some of which threaten their farm. The film takes place over seven years and the transformation of the farm is remarkable. If you want to be inspired by a film, then this one is for you.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again    The Biggest Little Farm Website

Indiefest:  Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache  (2018)  The story of modern filmmaker Pamela B. Green’s attempt to find out about the life and films of a pioneer French filmmaker, Alice Guy-Blache, who made over 1,000 films in twenty years but it forgotten today. A marvelous film about an incredible woman whose pioneer work in cinema we have forgotten until this film. Part detective film as Green travels the world to uncover the life and work of Alice. This is the perfect film for a cinema lover in you.   My Rating:  Full Price   Be Natural Website

My View: Brightburn (2019)  R  Like a certain superhero, what if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth but instead of becoming a hero, he evolves something more sinister? A family snuggles with the fact that slowly, but surely it is very evident that their boy is very different than the rest of the population. This more of a horror story than an organ story. The violence is bloody and gruesome, at times the gore overpowers the storyline. The storyline takes forever to get going, and when it does, it is incredibly predictable. We just don’t care about any of these characters, especially the boy who becomes the anti-hero. The film ends with a place for a sequel, but I can’t imagine this doing any sort of box office to warrant that.    My Rating: Cable   Brightburn Website

My View: Booksmart  (2019)  R  Two high school overachievers (Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein) have always placed academics over anything else. They decide they have missed the fun of being a high-school student and decide to cram four years of fun into one night. Dever and Feldstein have incredible chemistry on the screen and their timing, finishing each other’s sentences. The dialogue reminded me a little of the Gilmore Girls, where the two leads just keep it up with non-stop dialogue. The film is sidesplitting funny and what I really like, it’s an original storyline, unique in this day and age of the remake. If you want a fun time at the cinema with some winning characters, go see this film.   My Rating:  Full Price    Booksmart Website

Forgotten Film:  The Out of Towners  (1970)  G  George and Gwen Kellerman (Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis)  travel to New York so that George can interview for his dream job. Unfortunately just about anything that can go wrong, does. This is such a fun film to watch as we see George and Gwen get their butt kicked by NYC. Nothing goes right for the couple from Ohio but they keep going, with George determined to make it to his interview on time.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee    The Out of Towners Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Aladdin:  Splinter Unit Director

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Rocketman  (2019)  R  Described as a musical fantasy, this is the story of Elton John’s (Taron Egerton) breakthrough years as one of the greats of pop music. I can’t wait to see this film.     Rocketman Website

Until Next Time!

The Sun is Also a Star

My View:  The Sun is Also a Star  (2019)  PG-13   Natasha (Yara Shahidi) is going through a tough time in her life. After a chance meeting on the street, Daniel (Charles Melton) tells her he can make her fall in love with him in one day. That is going to be hard because Natasha doesn’t believe in love. First, let's talk about the good things about this film. The chemistry between Shahidi and Melton is a wonderful thing to watch and Shahidi lights up the screen. Melton has a boyish charm that he uses to great effect. The problem with this film is the dialogue is filled with just jarringly bad lines that make you cringe when the actors say their lines. Furthermore, there are so many aerial wide shots of New York City that after seeing the film, I felt I had watched a travel program. There were a couple of times that the audience I watched the film with laughed at some of the scenes where the film forced the couple to be back together. One scene stands out, a montage of the couple through the years as we see them get married and have a kid. You will roll your eyes at that sequence. This film tries too hard to hit the heartstrings but never finds it.   My Rating: Cable   The Sun is Also a Star Website

My View:  John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum  (2019)  R   Assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is on the run again after killing a member of the International Assassin’s League. He now has a price tag of 14 million dollars and every assassin in the business is gunning for him. I loved the first two John Wick films, and this one does not disappoint. It takes place immediately after the 2nd film with Wick and his dog running in the streets of New York, Wick all sorts of beat up. The cast from the last film are in it including Ian McShane as the Hotel Continental manager, Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King, but they have added some new characters: Anjelica Huston as The Director, someone from John’s past, Asia Kate Dillon as The Adjudicator, come to shake things up in NYC, Mark Dacascos as a killer assign and finally in a spectacular role, Halle Berry as Sofia, a woman from John’s past that owes him a debt. The fight sequences are what make this movie, and once again they are outstanding and brilliantly choreographed. What I really liked was there is a fight sequence where John and Sofia are fighting together and the film focuses on Berry’s Sofia’s battle instead of John. I loved this film, though I will warn you the violence is almost over the top nasty and brutal. If you loved the first two films, go see this one, you won’t be disappointed. And yes, there will be a fourth one.    My Rating: Full Price   John Wick 3 Website

Indiefest:  Aniara  (2018)  R   The story of a spaceship bound for a colony on Mars that collides with an asteroid and knocks the space ship off course. The passengers soon realize that they will never get home to Earth or to Mars, bound for a sure death. The film centers on Mimaroben (Emelie Jonsson, MR for short, who is in command of a computer that allows humans to experience their favorite places on earth and let go anything that is bothering them. When things go wrong MR and the computer becomes overwhelmed, her only chance of keeping sane is a relationship she starts with a stoic pilot of the ship named Isagel (Bianca Cruzeiro). The film time jumps through the years, and that’s the problem with the film. We don’t get enough of the background of the characters to really care about them. The film feels much longer than the 1 hour and 46 minutes in length. The CGI is impressive and the sets are amazing but that doesn’t make up for a storyline that just moves so slowly that you just want something to happen and most of the time doesn’t.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Anira Website

My View:  A Dog’s Journey (2019)  PG  A dog is reincarnated many times having been given the task of looking after CJ (Kathryn Prescott) as she goes through life. First, there are a lot of deaths (mostly the dogs, though all die with their masters by their side and it's their time), including a couple of humans, plus a couple of other scary moments, so I don’t know if you want to take really young children to this. This from the same writer that gave us a film that came out earlier this year, A Dog’s Way Home (2019), so if you liked that film, you will like this one. I loved Josh Gad as the voice of all the reincarnated dogs (even when one of the dogs is female). He brought the right about of tone to the role, making the dog the main character in the film.  Does it get a little sappy at times? Yes, but I expected that. Does it tug at the heartstrings? Maybe too much, because the dog keeps getting reincarnated and having to find CJ. The script often times goes for the obvious and there are too many times we see what’s coming from very early one. Still, if you love dogs you will love the message that dogs can fill a void in your life or give you support when you need it with their unconditional love, and that’s a good thing.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    A Dog's Journey Website

In Case You Missed It (A movie just released on DVD/Blu-Ray):  Fighting With My Family  (2019)  PG  Sayara (Florence Pugh) has been dreaming of wrestling in the WWE since she was thirteen, working small shows that her family puts on in England. She gets her chance when she is picked from a tryout with the WWE. Now can she beat the odds and make it to the big time? I am going to say something shocking, this is a really good movie! I can’t believe I am saying this about a WWE production, but the movie is fun, touching and moving. Now be warned that Dwayne Johnson is only in two scenes in the film but both are fun to watch. I loved all the cameos that the WWE wrestlers did in the film. The wrestling scenes are well done, and Pugh is a force on the screen. Go see this film!   My Rating:  Full Price    Fighting With My Family Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):   Dora and the Lost City of Gold  (2019)  Dora (Isabela Moner) was raised by her parents to be an explorer. Now she is on a mission to save her parents and find a lost city of gold. Watch the trailer and tell me you want to see this film. The makers of the film are counting on the nostalgia factor for people who grew up on the animated series that taught kids about foreign countries and their language.   Dora and the City of Gold Website

Forgotten Film:  The Shout  (1978)   Robert Graves (Tim Curry) meets an asylum inmate (Alan Bates) who tells him a tale of how he used magic to take over the lives of a married couple (Susannah York, John Hurt). Once the tale is told, Graves must decide if the story is real and take on the inmate or just blow off the story as a tall tale. This film at times is really scary, and it’s also a little confusing (on purpose). If you are a fan of the original The Wicker Man this film is made for you.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    The Shout Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of John Wick: Chapter 3: Dog Colorist 

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Booksmart  (2019)  R   Two high school overachievers (Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein) have always place academics over anything else. They decide they have missed the fun of being a high-school student and decide to cram four years of fun into one night. The film is directed by an actress I really admire, Olivia Wilde. The word of mouth on this film is through the roof.     Booksmart Website

Until Next Time!