Ralph Breaks the Internet

Family Faire: Ralph Breaks the Internet  (2018)  PG    Ralph (John C. Reily), and his pal Venellope (Sarah Silverman) go on a search on the internet for a new joystick for Ralph’s game. If they don’t find the joystick, Ralph’s game will be turned off. I liked this film more than the first film, Wreck it Ralph. I think it’s funnier and has a better message than the first film. This film is all about friendship and putting other peoples needs and feelings in front of yours. I loved that they got a lot of the Disney princesses voices, like Kristen Bell and Ming Na to do their characters voices. The film is enjoyable for both kids and adults, though some adults may not get all the jokes, as some of them are aimed at the ‘YouTube’ generation. The film moves at a quick pace and is fun to watch. This is the perfect film for families to go out to see this holiday season.  My Rating: Full Price  

 My View:  Creed II (2018)  PG-13   With Rocky’s (Sylvester Stallone) help, newly crowned light heavyweight champion Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) faces off against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of the man that killed Adonis’ father. This is a disappointing film because the first Creed film was one of the best of that year. Sylvester Stallone co-wrote this film, and it has his heavy hand all over it. This feels more like a Rocky picture than a sequel to Creed. What is surprising is how good Dolph Lundgren is as Ivan Drago, the boxer who lost everything when Rocky beat him thirty years ago. Lundren makes Drago a real character who wants revenge through his son and it’s the best performance in the film. I just wish the movie wasn’t so over the top and is much too long.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee

In Case You Missed It (A movie just released on DVD/Blu-Ray):  Dog Days  (2018)  PG    A group of interconnected people in Los Angeles are brought together by the dogs that fill their lives with love and hope. This very bland movie has a few cute dogs in it, but that’s about it. The film is made up of a bunch of stories about people and their dogs. A morning TV hosts (Nina Dobrev) gets a new on-air partner, and their dogs get along better than they do. A husband (Rob Corddry) and wife (Eva Longoria) adopt a young girl who seems unhappy until a dog enters their life. All the stories are dull and lifeless, and worse yet, highly predictable. Go walk your own dog around the block rather than going to the theatre to see this film.   My Rating:  Cable   Dog Days Website

Indiefest:  Maria by Callas  (2017)  PG  Documentary on the life and loves of the Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas. This is a celebration of a singer of extraordinary talent that wanted desperately to be a wife and mother but was driven by her mother and later her husband to concentrate on her career. If you are a fan of opera or great singing, this film is for you as there are some extraordinary clips of Maria singing. The whole movie is told through Maria herself as she was interviewed by the media on almost a constant basis. The film also looks at her private life, including her relationship with Aristotle Onassis, her great love who left her to marry Jacqueline Kennedy. It’s a sad tale about a woman who left us too soon but left a legacy of music to remember her by.  My Rating: Full Price   Maria by Callas Website

Indiefest:  Chef Flynn  (2018)  Documentary about Flynn McGarry who started cooking gourmet meals at age 9, by 11 had a supper club in his home and age 19 has his own restaurant in NYC. Let me say up front that I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so the small portion fancy meals that Chef Flynn creates with tweezers is not my idea of a meal. Having said that, he is incredibly creative, and his food is beautiful to look at. His success (at 15 Chef Flynn is charging 160 dollars a head at pop-up restaurants around the world) comes at a price, as the intent trolls are continually attacking him but the good news is famous chefs think Chef Flynn is talented and his cooking is lauded by them. One thing that bothers me about this film is that it never explains how he and his mother can afford this lifestyle, especially in the early days when he wasn’t charging his friends and family for extremely exorbitant meals. If you are a foodie and love artful cooking, then Chef Flynn is worth checking out.     My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Chef Flynn Website

Forgotten Film:  Drugstore Cowboy  (1989)  R    Led by Bob (Matt Dillon) two couples travel from on seedy motel to another in search of drugs. Dillon gives one of the greatest performances of his life as he and his friends travel to find any drug that they can find or steal. While not a happy film it is worth seeing for Dillon’s performance and the interaction of the 4 characters who treat each other like they are family.   My Rating: Full Price   Drugstore Cowboy Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Creed II:  Contact Lens Painter

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Mary Poppins Returns  (2018)  PG-13    Decades after her last visit, Mary (Emily Blunt) returns to help the Banks family through a difficult time in their lives. The trailer is amazing, and I will go see anything that Emily Blunt is in.   Mary Poppins Returns Website

Until Next Time!

The Meg

My View:  The Meg  (2018) PG-13  Jonas (Jason Statham) must protect his ex-wife and fellow workers from a 70-foot shark while in a sunken submersible. I wish I could say that this was at least a fun movie to watch but it really isn’t. The biggest problem with this film is Jason Statham, who continually mugs for the camera, letting us know that he, the actor knows this is a stupid movie. The film is made for the Chinese audience. The lead actress is Chinese, the film takes place off the coast of China, about a fourth of the dialogue is in Mandarin, and even the controls of the subs are written in both English and Mandarin. The special effects are dull, and at times the giant shark seems like almost a cartoon character. The movie feels as long as it’s nearly 2 hours length and takes forever to get started. A fellow critic almost walked out of the film because it was so poorly done. That says a lot because this critic has watched his fair share of Adam Sandler films and never felt like walking out on them.    My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   The Meg Website

My View:  Dog Days  (2018)  PG  A group of interconnected people in Los Angeles are brought together by the dogs that fill their lives with love and hope. This very bland movie has a few cute dogs in it, but that’s about it. The film is made up of a bunch of stories about people and their dogs. A morning TV hosts (Nina Dobrev) gets a new on-air partner, and their dogs get along better than they do. A husband (Rob Corddry) and wife (Eva Longoria) adopt a young girl who seems unhappy until a dog enters their life. All the stories are dull and lifeless, and worse yet, highly predictable. Go walk your own dog around the block rather than going to the theatre to see this film.   My Rating:  Cable   Dog Days Website

My View:  BlacKkKlansman  (2018)  R  Based on the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African-American police officer in Colorado Springs. With the help of a white police (Adam Driver), Ron infiltrates the local Ku Klux Klan, becoming a confidant of the Imperial Wizard himself, David Duke (Topher Grace) and eventually becoming the leader of the local pack. A young woman (Vanessa Hudgens) starts volunteering at a rescue center when she finds a dog wandering on its own on the street. This is one of the best films of the year and probably director Spike Lee’s most mainstream movie he has made. The amazing thing about this film is that almost everything that happens in the film actually happened to Ron Stallworth. I loved the performance of John David Washington, and he and Adam Driver have fantastic chemistry that makes this film a joy to watch. Do yourself a favor and go see this brilliant gem of a movie.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    BlacKkKlansman Website

My View:  Slender Man  (2018)  PG-13  Teens are disappearing across the United States at an alarming rate. Could it be to the legend of Slender Man, a tall, thin, horrifying figure with long arms and a featureless face? If you are looking for a scary film, this isn’t it. The film fails to be scary and takes forever to get going in the plot. Director Sylvain White gets too cute with the camera movements and angles which don’t contribute anything to the feel and the look of the film. I am always up for a good horror film, but this isn’t one of those, it’s just dull.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Slender Man Facebook Page

Indiefest: Three Identical Strangers  (2018)  PG-13  This documentary showcases the story in 1980 New York, three 19-year-old men meet accidentally and discover that they are brothers. This incredible story is so fascinating to watch. Just when you think that nothing else could be revealed in the story, another twist in the story suddenly shows up, and some of the mysteries in the story may never get solved. Go see this fantastic film about a story that just seems so strange that if it were to be made into a fictional work, no one would believe it.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Three Identical Strangers Website

Forgotten Film:  Body Heat  1981)  R  In the midst of a Florida heat wave, a woman (Kathleen Turner) persuades her lover, Ned (William Hurt), a small town lawyer (William Hurt) to kill her wealthy husband (Richard Crenna). Turner is dazzling in the role of the seductress, a woman who is so sexy you believe that Hurt’s character would do anything to please his lover. The film is filled with exciting, fully fleshed out characters such as the one that Ted Danson plays brilliantly, the best friend to Ned, who also happens to be the D.A. in the small town and fMickey Rourke, as an arsonist and client of Ned’s. Body Heat is reminiscent of the old film noir pictures of the 40s and 50s with a slightly modern touch. The film has one of the greatest first kiss scenes of any movie.    My Rating: Full Price   Body Heat Info

Weird Credits: For the credits of The Meg:  Pre-visualization Supervisor

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  The Wife (2017) R  A woman (Glenn Close) questions her life choices and what she gave up when she became the wife of a famous author (Max Irons), who is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. I hear from other critics that Close is a shoe in for an Academy Award nomination for this role.    The Wife Website

Until  Next Time!