Thor: Love and Thunder

My View: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) PG-13  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is trying to deal with the aftermath of the Avengers' battle with Thanos. Should he retire and give up being a superhero? However, there is a new foe to fight, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), and Thor asks his friends to help take down Gorr, who intends to make the gods extinct. Sometimes it’s nice to sit down to a film and just enjoy it for what it is, instead of what we critics do, analyze the crap out of a movie. I’m not going to lie; this is a step down from the brilliance of Thor: Ragnarok, which exploited the fact that Chris Hemsworth has the ability to be an action hero with a comic flair that makes watching his Thor so much fun. Ragnarok was a breath of fresh air, a revelation that action movies could be fun again. And because of that, this film can’t quite meet film, but Love and Thunder is still a funny, fun ride as Thor has to deal with the love of his life, Jane (Natalie Portman), coming back into his life and boy, does she make an entrance. I’m not giving away too much (it's not only in the trailer but on the poster) that Jane is now in possession of Thor’s old hammer, Mjolnir, and has become The Mighty Thor. I loved Jane trying to come up with a catchphrase (as all superheroes must) and how she settles so quickly into becoming a superhero before Thor’s amazed eyes. I have missed Jane (Portman has taken off the last almost ten years away from the MCU, but I am glad she came back and had fun in the role that lets her be more than someone to rescue from the bad guy. I enjoyed this film, filled with humor and plenty of action, including Jane Foster kicking some serious butt. Add in Christian Bale as a bad guy, screaming goats, and a bunch of angry Gods, and you have a tale that is a blast to watch. So buy a giant soda and some overpriced popcorn, sit down, and have a good time. I promise that in the next MCU film, I’ll go back to overanalyzing how many 'Easter eggs' are too many in a movie before it becomes annoying. And yes, there are mid and final credits scenes to stay for.   My Rating: Full Price   Thor: Love and Thunder Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire: The Sea Beast (2022) PG  In a time when giant, terrifying beasts inhabited the seas, a great monster hunter, Jacob Holland (Karl Urban), sailed the waters seeking adventure and fortune. When young Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) stows away on Jacob’s ship, he is given an unexpected ally to embark on an epic journey to uncharted waters and hunt a legendary sea beast. With an animation style that continues to astound with its complexity and beauty, an original story filled with creative monsters and colorful characters, and enough action scenes to make any adventure film fan notice, you have a family film that all ages will love. The film tells the story of courage, filled with heroes swashbuckling their way across oceans, living their lives like every day could be their last. But this is also about learning what’s written in history books isn’t always the whole story. That the victors write the story, and it’s often one-sided. Kids will fall in love with Maisie, an orphan who wants to follow in her parent's footsteps and hunt sea monsters. She is the story's hero, a kid willing to see both sides of the story and realizes that maybe what she has been told all her life is tilted toward making people think the sea beasts are monsters. With Jacob’s help, which comes slowly, Maisie is able to find a way to see the monsters for more than just the killers they have been labeled. The Sea Beast is a fun, rollicking tale that is a feast for the eyes and will lift your spirits and maybe bring a tear or two.   My Rating: Full Price   The Sea Beast Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Netflix platform.

My View: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)   Claire (Talia Ryder) and Aidan (Jordan Fisher) have been high school sweethearts, in love and having a great time together. However, they made a pact; they would break up before going off to college. Before they break up, they will spend one last night revisiting important places that made their relationship meaningful. The question is, will they break up or stay together before the end of the night? I have a feeling that fans of the book will enjoy the film; the rest of us might be a bit bored with a predictable storyline and, at times, pushes the sappiness factor to the limit. This is a story that has been told before, young love, where one of the lovers has issues that must be overcome if their love is going to last. The story is told in a series of flashbacks, showing how their love developed and grew; all the while, Aidan is trying to show Claire, through recreating their year, that their love can survive being apart when they go off to separate schools. The couple of Ryder and Fisher does have some chemistry, and both are fun to watch, but they are let down by a storyline that fails to keep the spark going for long. By the film's end, will you care if the two stay together? I know I didn’t.   My Rating: Cable   Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

My View: The Road to Galena (2022) R   Cole (Ben Winchell) has everything you could want: a beautiful wife, a successful career as a lawyer on the fast track, and a wonderful house in a big city. However, Cole has always done what was expected of him, what his powerful father wanted him to do. Now Cole has a chance to return to the small community he grew up in and do something he has dreamed of since he was a child: become a farmer. This is the story of Cole, a man who, for years, followed the dreams of others instead of following his own. When I saw the trailer, I expected this to be another one of those films where the hero of the story finds God and turns his life around after years of following the wrong path. I was pleasantly surprised that this isn’t one of those stories but rather a film about following one's dreams, even if it takes a bunch of missteps to find it. The film takes a little too long to tell the story, as we go backwards to see Cole at his happiest, in high school, with his girlfriend. Elle (Aimee Teegarden) and his best friend, Jack (Will Brittain) at his side. Cole sees college in his future but is sure he is coming back to become a farmer and marry Elle. Instead, Cole lets life get in the way, making choices that pull him further and further away from the life he thought he was destined to live. Cole follows the path that his father wants for his only son, feeling pressure from his parents and unable to resist the lure of making money. Along the way, Cole loses his girlfriend and his dream of farming. The film loses a bit of steam in its second half, as there are a couple of ground-shattering events that shake up Cole’s life, but he doesn’t seem to let them affect his continued path of being a lawyer, and that keeps the story from ending when it should. Still, I enjoyed this story of a man who loses his way, only to find it when most would have given up and stayed the course.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Road to Galena Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: Apples (2020)   Apples take place in a time of a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia, where the sick don’t remember anything, including their name. Aris (Aris Servetalis), a middle-aged man, is enrolled in a recovery program designed to help patients build their lives from the ground up. This is a hard film to describe, but I will try. Think of it as a film starring a man with the deadpan face of Buster Keaton combined with the sad-sack posture of someone who is just sleepwalking through life. Aris is a man who has lost his memory, he doesn’t know who he is, and no one comes to claim him while he is recovering in the hospital. So Aris is sent out into the world to live on his own, with a tape player giving him daily tasks to undertake and an instant camera to record his completed tasks. Aris completes these tasks, each one sillier than the next, with a determination that feels more like resignation than someone who wants to recover his past. Apples is a film that slowly builds, letting us into Aris’s world, a world that doesn't make much sense, but he is willing to go along for the ride. This is one of those films that moves along at its own pace, letting us see how silly this world is. And by the way, this film has an ending that makes it all worth watching.   My Rating: Full Price   Apples Website  Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (2021) PG   I was a little early in reviewing this film, so I am rerunning this review, so you won’t miss how good this film is. Marcel the Shell (voiced by Jenny Slate) lives in an Airbnb with his grandmother Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini). Marcel and Connie were separated from the rest of their family when the homeowners broke up, and Marcel’s family and friends were accidentally packed away in the move. Marcel’s luck is about to change when a filmmaker (Dean Fleischer-Camp) moves into the Airbnb and begins filming Marcel, putting his adventures on the Internet. Can Marcel’s newfound fame help him find his lost family? I am a fan of the Marcel the Shell shorts that got a massive reception on YouTube. They were funny, adorable, and highly creative. I am happy to say that making the shorts into a full-length feature film hasn’t lost any of the magic of those shorts. You will fall in love with Marcel and his adorable outlook on life. Jenny Slate is perfect as the voice of Marcel, giving him a personality full of hope, wonder, and kindness, along with a wicked sense of humor. Like in the shorts, the film lets Slate riff on many subjects, especially when she is talking with the filmmaker documenting Marcel’s life, making this film a joy to watch. There were times I was laughing so hard that I didn’t get all the dialogue that Marcel was spouting. The storyline is sweet and heartwarming as Marcel goes on a quest to find his long-lost family. You will fall in love with Marcel and want to experience more of his adventures after seeing this film. And if you are still not convinced about seeing this film, Isabella Rossellini, as Marcel’s grandmother, will fill your heart with warmth and love. Bring the whole family and see the world through the eyes of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.   My Rating: Full Price    Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: The Opportunists (1999) R  Vic Kelly (Christopher Walken) is a man struggling to do the right thing, but life often puts up roadblocks, and Vic may have to return to doing what he has done in the past, stealing. Vic is dealing with an aunt in a nursing home, a wayward daughter (Vera Farmiga) who is dating the wrong type of guy, and a woman (Cyndi Lauper) who is interested in Vic, but only if he stays on the straight and narrow. In walks Michael (Peter McDonald), a maybe cousin from Ireland, who has heard stories about Vic and wants to do a job with him. As debts mount up, Vic decides its fate and will do one last job. The Opportunists is a slow-burn film with excellent performances by Walken and a very low-key Lauper, whose characters have a relationship that is real and moving. The film has an ending that is a bit of a surprise, but it's the performances that make this film worth watching.  My Rating: Full Price    The Opportunists Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of Thor: Love and Thunder: Creature Suit Standby

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Thirteen Lives  (2022) PG-13  The rescue mission that captured the world’s attention is now a feature film! A youth soccer team and its coach are trapped in a system of underground caves that are quickly flooding. A rescue mission is formed, and an unlikely group of divers is assembled to try to figure out a way to save the boys from an impossible situation. The story has already been told in an outstanding documentary, The Rescue, but the film stars Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, and Colin Farrell and is directed by two-time Oscar-winner Ron Howard, so I am willing to see this story told again.   Thirteen Lives Website

Until Next Time!

Elvis

My View: Elvis (2022)  PG-13  Elvis is the story of how a young man (Austin Butler) from Tupelo, Mississippi, became the ‘King of Rock and Roll.’ However, it’s also how a man named Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) discovered Elvis on a local radio broadcast and guided him to the top, only to keep Elvis from becoming more. I think this is a film that only Elvis fans will love. Now, right from the start, Austin Butler gives us an outstanding performance, showing us just how Elvis was able to become the icon that he continues to be to this day. It’s a performance full of energy and charisma, something that a young Elvis had in spades. You can see why Butler spent a week in a hospital recovering from the shoot, as every song he performs is done right from his soul, just as Elvis did. It is worth the price of a ticket to see Butler give it his all as the ‘King.’ Unfortunately, director/co-writer Baz Luhrmann went with Colonel Tom Parker as the narrator of the film, placing some of the subject matter not on Elvis but on the man who discovered Elvis and controlled his career from the early days until Elvis died at a young 42. I love Tom Hanks, but this is one of the weakest performances he has ever given. It’s almost cringe-worthy, as Hanks is outfitted in a fat suit that looks uncomfortable to wear and has an accent that grates on your nerves every time he talks. Making Colonel Tom the narrator puts the spotlight more on the Colonel's character than on Elvis, and often we get what the Colonel is thinking instead of what is going on in Elvis’s mind. The film is almost two hours and forty minutes, and when Elvis isn’t performing, you feel the film drag. I also have a feeling that Luhrmann’s penchant for mixing in modern songs with classics will be grating to audiences wanting to see Elvis perform his hits instead of getting a hip-hop melody to start the film. The film tries to cover too much of Elvis’s life (though I am always shocked that he died so young) and probably would have been a more enjoyable film just covering his early years, maybe leaving the story when Elvis made his magical 1968 TV special comeback. I did love the scenes of a young Elvis hanging out with the likes of B.B. King and Little Richard and how he used to revel in going to all the blues bars in Memphis when he was starting out. There is a beautiful and moving scene near the end of the film when an overweight and near the end of his life Elvis, sits down at the piano and lets us see the power of a man who could move whole crowds to tears. Overall, this is a film that allows the center stage to not be on the man we called the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ but on the man pulling the strings from backstage, which hurts the film and its story.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Elvis Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide. 

My View: The Black Phone (2021) R   The Black Phone is about a small town in 1978 Colorado where five children have suddenly gone missing. Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) is a shy thirteen-year-old boy who is abducted by the sadistic killer (Ethan Hawke) of the five and is thrown into a soundproof room with no way out. Finney is stuck in the room with his fate in the hands of his abductor. That is until a disconnected black phone in the room starts ringing. Ethan Hawke keeps giving us interesting characters to love or hate on the screen, and in the character of ‘The Grabber,’ we have another iconic character to hate and root against. Not only is this one of the best horror films of the year, I think that it is a sure bet to be in my top ten films of the year. Part horror film, part ghost story with a whole lot of suspense thrown in, we get a tale that will thrill and shock you without a lot of jump-out-of-the-dark scares. I loved the storyline, which is rich with characters you care about, including Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), the feisty and sometimes foul-mouthed younger sister, whose ability to dream about The Grabber, maybe a way to find her brother. McGraw gives us a much-needed comic relief as she spouts profanities at the detectives she thinks are messing up the case. Mason Thames does a wonderful job as Finney, a boy who has always relied on others to save him but now must muster the strength and courage to save himself. I won’t give much away about the mysterious phone, but to say it’s a nice twist on the horror story, and the film continues to give us surprises up until the very end. So go see if you can figure a way out for Finney to escape before The Grabber decides to move on to his next victim.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Black Phone Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (2021) PG   Marcel the Shell (voiced by Jenny Slate) lives in an Airbnb with his grandmother Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini). Marcel and Connie were separated from the rest of their family when the homeowners broke up, and Marcel’s family and friends were accidentally packed away in the move. Marcel’s luck is about to change when a filmmaker (Dean Fleischer-Camp) moves into the Airbnb and begins filming Marcel, putting his adventures on the Internet. Can Marcel’s newfound fame help him find his lost family? I am a fan of the Marcel the Shell shorts that got a massive reception on YouTube. They were funny, adorable, and highly creative. I am happy to say that making the shorts into a full-length feature film hasn’t lost any of the magic of those shorts. You will fall in love with Marcel and his adorable outlook on life. Jenny Slate is perfect as the voice of Marcel, giving him a personality full of hope, wonder, and kindness, along with a wicked sense of humor. The film, like in the shorts, lets Slate riff on many subjects, especially when she is talking with the filmmaker documenting Marcel’s life, making this film a joy to watch. There were times I was laughing so hard that I didn’t get all the dialogue that Marcel was spouting. The storyline is sweet and heartwarming, as Marcel goes on a quest to find his long-lost family. You will fall in love with Marcel and want to experience more of his adventures after seeing this film. And if you are still not convinced about seeing this film, Isabella Rossellini, as Marcel’s grandmother, will fill your heart with warmth and love. Bring the whole family and see the world through the eyes of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.   My Rating: Full Price   Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Website  Now playing in select theatres.

My View: Rise  (2022) PG   Rise is about three Nigerian-Greek brothers who, with their parents, moved to Greece from Nigeria, seeking a better life. The family struggled to make a life in Greece, selling souvenirs to tourists with the threat of deportation always hanging over their heads. The brothers start playing basketball as a way to blow off steam and are discovered by an agent, who tells them that one day they might play in the NBA. I didn’t know much about the life of Giannis Antetokounmpo, known to NBA fans as the ‘Greek Freak,’ a man who has taken the world of basketball by storm, winning multiple MVP awards and a leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a World Championship. This is the story of perseverance, faith, and family, as Giannis (Uche Agada) and his older brother, Thanasis (Ral Agada), take up basketball on a lark and become, through both natural talent and hard work, good enough to play in the NBA. However this is not only a tale of two brothers going on to be pro players, but about a family that for years spent their lives hiding and running from the law, with their parents running from the troubles in their home country of Nigeria. Rise is a story about family and how difficult it is to be a refuge in another country, always with the specter of deportation hanging over your head, all the while trying to navigate through the bureaucracy of a government that puts up roadblocks after roadblocks that almost make it impossible of getting your status legal. The film gives us a story about perseverance and believing in yourself, making it an enjoyable picture about beating the odds that seem stacked against you.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Rise Website  Now playing on the Disney+ platform.

My View: Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022) Your favorite slacker idiots are back, and the guys are headed to space camp, where they manage to get themselves sent into space, find a black hole and are transported to 24 years into the future…to 2022. God help us all. Mike Judge has brought back our idiot best friends, Beavis and Butt-Head, as they travel through time, all in an attempt to score with a lady astronaut. If you are a fan of the MTV show (remember when MTV had something on besides Ridiculousness?), you will love the latest adventures of stupid best friends who have only one thing on their mind; oh wait, two things on their mind; sex and nachos. This is a fun romp with the guys as they time-travel from the 90s to the present, encountering iPhones, Siri, aliens, and the Me Too generation. I noticed how quickly I fell back into watching these idiots travel around Texas searching for their astronaut, enjoying the pattern of the guys doing the absolutely stupidest things because of their one-track minds. My favorite part of the film is when Beavis, thinking he is talking to the astronaut, has a heart-to-heart conversation with Siri. So grab a plate of nachos with extra cheese and sit down to travel back to the 90s and watch the stupidity make you laugh.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee      Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe Website  Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

My View: Love & Gelato (2022)   Lina (Susanna Skaggs) promised her mother on her death bed that she would spend the summer in Rome before college. It was a magical place for Lina’s mother, and now Lina will discover that the city has magic left over for her too. As a film critic whose guilty pleasure is watching bad Hallmark movies, I have a soft part in my heart for the Young Adult films that Netflix has been putting out, some good (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Dumplin’), some rotten (The Kissing Booth 3). This one is in the middle of the pack. What I didn’t like about the film is a pretty shaky plot at best. I won’t give away the secret of why the mom wants Lina to go to Rome, but it has a lot of baggage that seems a little harsh to put a teen through. Also, I was not too fond of Lina being torn between bad-boy Alessandro and good-guy Lorenzo. There are red flags all over the place in her relationship with Alessandro, most of which she doesn’t see, and it doesn’t help that her best friend keeps pushing for her to choose him. I liked the sweet and fun storyline between Lorenzo, a sad sack boy with a heart of gold and a chef’s touch, who seems perfect for Lina, but fate seems to want to keep them apart. Love & Gelato isn’t a bad film; instead, it's an enjoyable watch, and Susanna Skaggs has the right amount of sweetness, goofiness, and vulnerability to root for, plus the film uses the settings of both Rome and Florence to make this film worth at least a lazy Saturday afternoon watch.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Love & Gelato Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

My View: The Man from Toronto (2022) PG-13   Teddy (Kevin Hart) is an ordinary guy who tends to screw up things up. Teddy mistakenly goes to the wrong Airbnb rental and gets mistaken for a hired assassin who goes under the name ‘The Man from Toronto.’ Consequently, Teddy is saved at the last minute by the FBI, who now want him to go undercover as ‘The Man from Toronto.’ One problem, the real ‘Man’ (Woody Harrelson) is hot on Teddy’s trail. With a plot as weak as Kevin Hart’s acting, the only reason to see this film is Woody Harrelson’s performance as the steely-eyed assassin, ‘The Man from Toronto.’ Harrelson is the only funny thing is this too-long attempt to make a comedy out of the mistaken identity plot which centers on the idea that anyone would believe that Teddy could ever impersonate a hit man whose mere presence makes men weep. The film keeps trying to give Hart center stage to go nuts, but everything that Hart does seems so over the top and forced that it bogs down a film that seems to last days instead of its overly long hour and fifty minutes. By the end of the movie, we are asked to forget that Harrelson’s character is the type of man who carves people up and think that he’s just fine to date the best friend of Teddy’s wife. If you must watch this film, then I suggest you fast forward anytime Hart is on screen without Harrelson and just enjoy the scenes that Woody gets to dominate with a stare and a few words.   My Rating: Cable  The Man from Toronto Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Press Play (2022) PG-13   Laura (Clara Rugaard) has just lost the love of her life, Harrison (Lewis Pullman), to a tragic accident. While playing a mix-tape that the two made together, she discovers she can go back in time. Can Laura stop the accident from happening? This is a romance film with a little bit of science fiction thrown. It explores the idea of what would you do or choose if you could go back in time and fix something that had horrible ramifications on your life and those you love. I loved the chemistry on screen between Clara Rugarrad and Lewis Pullman, as their romance seems real and gives off the feeling that their characters were meant to be together. It doesn’t hurt to have someone like a grizzled Danny Glover in the cast as a lovable shop owner of the place where Laura and Harrison first met. There are a few nice twists and turns to the plot to keep you guessing how this film will turn out. So put some batteries in your old tape player and get ready to go back in time with a song or two in order to save a romance.   My Rating: Full Price    Press Play Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) PG-13  Years after WWII, Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke), a newspaper owner/reporter, covers a murder trial of a Kazuo, a fisherman of Japanese descent. The man Kazuo is accused of murder was white, and the shadow of what Japan did in WWII is still fresh in the townspeople's minds. To complicate things further, Kazuo’s wife, Hatsue (Yuki Kudo), was once the love of Ishmael’s life. Will the sins of a country convict a man before he even goes to trial? I am a huge fan of Ethan Hawke, and he gives us a moving and nuanced performance of a man who came back from WWII with both physical and emotional scars. The film covers a lot of ground and brings an emotional impact to the storyline, covering what was done to the Japanese-American population on the West Coast during WWII and its long-ranging implications. And into all that is a murder mystery that isn’t easily solved. My Rating: Full Price   Snow Falling on Cedars Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Black Phone: Masks Created and Designed By

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Fall (2022) PG-13   Best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) find themselves at the top of a 2,000-foot radio tower. The trailer I saw doesn’t tell us why they are on the tower, but if you can watch the trailer without flinching, then you will be able to watch this film in the theatres. I don’t know if I can.   Fall Info

Until Next Time!