Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

My View: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) PG-13 On Halloween night in 1968, a group of teenagers visit a haunted house, one where the family there kept their daughter in a room in the basement. The teenagers find a book of scary legends and the stories are coming to life to threaten their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this horror film that while does have a few jump out of the dark scares, build’s the tension to where the third act of the film is truly terrifying. The film is based on a YA book series, so the film is aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. Do not take your young children to this film as all the creatures in this film are just ghastly and horrific. What I really liked about this film (besides all the scares) was it also deals with some subjects that were very relevant for the time period: the Vietnam War, Tricky Dick Nixon getting elected President and racism. So go see this film and get your horror groove on.  My Rating: Full Price   Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Website

My View: The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) PG A dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) shows us the life lessons he learned from his race car driving master, Denny (Milo Ventimiglia). So the unusual thing about this film is that it’s seen through the eyes of Enzo, who believes in reincarnation and is convinced that what he learns in his life as a dog will help when he comes back as a human. This film is a great one but you laugh and yes, cry. I thought Costner did a masterful job as the voice of Enzo. Ventimiglia is fine as the race car driver who falls for Amanda Seyfried’s character. People that don’t like dogs will hate this movie but if love dogs as much as I do it will be an enjoyable film to watch.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Art of Driving in the Rain Website

Familyfaire: Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) PG   Dora (Isabela Moner) was raised by her parents to be an explorer. Now, aided by a fellow explorer (Eugenio Derbez) Dora is on a mission to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Pena) and find a lost city of gold. I really liked this film and I think parents will too, but I think your kids will fall in love with Dora. This movie works because Isabela Moner is so charismatic on the screen you can’t help yourself to root for her Dora. Kids will also love Boots, the sidekick of Dora, a monkey that seems almost human in his interactions with Dora. There are a couple of things I didn’t like about this movie: Eugenio Derbez is too over the top in his performance, it just doesn’t fit the rest of the film. Also, there is an animated fox called Swiper (voiced by Benicio Del Toro) that just doesn’t look like he belongs, the animation is too cartoony. By the way, there are a couple of times in the film that the film does give homage to the cartoon series this film is based on. Take your family and go on an exploration with Dora, it will be a blast.   My Rating: Full Price    Dora and the Lost City of Gold Website

My View:  The Kitchen (2019) R The wives of New York gangsters (Elisabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish) in Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s decide to continue their husband’s illegal business after their husbands are locked in prison. If I had been one of the other three people that were watching with me at the 7 pm Friday night screening, I would have left after ten minutes. This is one of the worst written films I’ve seen in a long time. The dialogue seems to have been written by a high school student writing a script for his AV class. The film wastes the talents of the three woman that head this cast. I did like the performance of Elisabeth Moss, whose character goes from a meek housewife to a tough, confident person. The audience (if you can call three people an audience) that I saw it with laughed at several plot points that were meant to be serious. This film might have worked as a dark comedy but as a straight drama, it is a bomb.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Indiefest:  Tel Aviv on Fire  (2018)   Salam (Kais Nashif), a young Palestinian man, through good luck and connections gets a writing job on a popular Palestinian soap opera. What I liked about this film is that it shows you the Israeli occupation from the viewpoint of the Palestinians. The soap opera centers on a woman who is in love with a Palestinian operative who is in charge of her trying to seduce an Israeli general but the trouble is she starts falling in love with the general. While I didn’t laugh out loud, I did chuckle quite a bit. The secondary plot is that Salam is trying to get back with his old girlfriend, who he hurt deeply when they broke up in the past. I really liked the performance of Lubna Azabal, who plays the lead actress in the soap that is somewhat a diva. It’s a fine performance and she plays well off of Kais Nahif. This is a fun film to watch but we also learn how hard it is to live under the occupation of Isreal.    My Rating: Full Price

My View: Brian Banks (2018) PG-13   A football player’s (Aldis Hodge) dreams to play in the NFL are shattered when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison. He teams with a lawyer (Greg Kinnear) to try and clear his name and start his football career. Aldis Hodge gives a powerful and moving performance of a man who just wants his name cleared, nothing more. I also enjoyed Sherri Shepherd’s performance as Brian’s mother who never wavers in her belief that Brian is innocent. I found the direction a little lacking in pace and the dialogue a little too preachy. The storyline is predictable but it’s still a remarkable story that needed to be told.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Brian Banks Website

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD / Blu-ray): Tolkien (2019) PG-13   J.R.R. Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) was an orphan who had to work hard to get anywhere. He falls in love with a fellow orphan, Edith (Lily Collins) and just when he finds his calling, language, he is swept away in the horrors of WW I. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so I was excited to see this film. While not bad, the film is a bit dull and spends too much time during Tolkien’s time in the war. I wanted more about how he came up with the idea of the books and less of his time looking for his best friend in the war.   My Rating; Bargain Matinee    Tolkien Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):   Ready or Not  (2019) R   A bride (Samara Weaving) is told that she must participate in a game of hide and seek before coming a part of the grooms family. What she doesn’t know is if they find her in the family home, she will be killed. The trailer looks really stupid.    Ready of Not Website

Forgotten Film: Coherence (2013)   During a night where a comet is going to come very close to Earth, a group of friends get together for a dinner party. The eight friends begin to experience problems when their phones all give out and electricity is shut down to the whole street except for a house down the road. The group decides to travel down the road to the house with power and then things get really weird. The tension builds as the film moves on. I would call this a suspense film and not a horror film. What I loved about this film is how natural the dialogue is (actors were not given a script, just a paragraph before each scene from the director, James Ward Byrkit). See this movie and go on a wild ride you won’t soon forget.   My Rating: Full Price   Coherence Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Swamper

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)  PG-13   Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Downs syndrome runs away from his care home to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. On the road, he encounters Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) a small-time outlaw that’s on the run that becomes an unlikely coach. They also convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), a nursing home worker to join their quest. The film has a great supporting cast including john Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, and Bruce Dern. Everything I have heard about this film is that it is a celebration of life and is incredibly fun to watch.    The Peanut Butter Falcon Website

Until Next Time!

The Lion King

My View:  The Lion King  (2019)  PG  After the murder of his father, Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), the young prince, Simba (voiced by JD McCrary) leas the area to hide. He encounters Pumbaa (Seth Rogan) and Timon (Billy Eichner) who help Simba heal. This is an amazing looking film that utilizes the Disney CGI magic to it’s fullest. There are times that you are going to swear that portions of this film are live-cation but the film is all CGI. Besides how gorgeous the film looks, the other reason to see the film is Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen) and Timon (voiced by Billy Eichner). They steal the film with their antics and their dialogue, which was all improvised. Some of their back and forth banter will have you on the floor laughing. And yes, Beyonce is wonderful as Nala.  While I did like this film, I do have a problem with it. With the ultra-realistic animation, there is very little emotion shown on the faces of the animals. It is hard to tell looking at their faces if they are happy or sad and that takes away from having you related to the animals. But you should go see this beautiful looking film because as they say “Hakuna Matata.’    My Rating: Full Price   The Lion King Website

Indiefest:  Maiden  (2018)  PG  Documentary about Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became a skipper and led the first-ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989. An incredible story of a group of women led by a very determined Tracy Edwards who dare to enter what at the time was an almost exclusively man sport (women might be on board as a cook/servant). Most of the skippers of the yachts felt that the women would not even finish the first let, much less the whole trip of 3000 nautical miles that would take over 160 days to complete. The film does an outstanding job of how the team was formed and then an inside look at what it was like to compete in this race. The film documents the highs and lows of the women as they did what was considered impossible, to not only survive the sea but to be competitive. You will come away from this film admiring the gritty courage that Edwards and her crew displayed.  My Rating:  Full Price    Maiden website

My View:  The Art of Self-Defense  (2019)  R  Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) is beaten by a group of thugs on the street. He decides to enlist in a dojo and learn how to protect himself. The dojo is ur by a charismatic but strange sensei (Alexandro Nivola) who see potential in Casey. These lessons will change Casey’s life forever. This is a dark comedy, sometimes incredibly funny and other times horrific and shocking. Eisenberg is perfectly cast as the weak guy who takes karate classes and transforms into someone else. Alexander Nivola is superb as the very weird sensei that takes a special interest in Eisenberg’s character. It’s a cat and mouse game the two play throughout the film and we wait until the end to see who will be on top. This film isn’t for everyone but if you like strange, dark comedies then you will want to see this film.    My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    The Art of Self-Defense Website

Indiefest:  Three Peaks  (2017)  Aaron (Alexander Fehling) wants to become a family with his girlfriend, Lea (Berenice Bejo) and her 8-year-old son Tristan (Arian Montgomery). The problem is Tristan doesn’t like Aaron and will do just about anything for break Aaron and Lea up. I enjoyed that the film slowly builds, letting us see the dynamic of the three of them. The problem is that Aaron isn’t Tristan’s father but wants to be. Tristan is conflicted by his loyalty to his father but Aaron treats Tristan well and they have fun together. The tension builds as Tristan slowly starts rebelling against Aaron. Lea, as you would expect the mother to do, often sides with Tristan when he acts out, much to Aaron’s disappointment. By the time we get to the final scenes, the air seems to be crackling with tension. This is not your usual drama and it doesn’t end with us getting all the answers but we don’t need them, we were along for the ride of three people trying to figure out if they belonged together.  My Rating: Full Price    Three Peaks Website

Forgotten Film:  Deep Cover  (1992)  R  A by the books police offer (Laurence Fishburne) is recruited in infiltrating a drug-smuggling organization seeking to expand their reach. The cool thing about this movie is that it not only explores the drug trade but also issues of race and how we see our place in the world. This is reminiscent of the 40’s film noir movies where the hero is drug deeper into a world he wants no part of. Fishburne gives an outstanding performance and is matched by Jeff Goldblum as a crazy drug dealer.    My Rating: Full Price    Deep Cover Info

Weird Credits:  From The Art of Self-Defense:  Action Designer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  The Art of Racing in the Rain   (2019)  A dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) shows us the life lessons he learned from his race car driving master (Milo Ventimiglia).  I am a sucker for movies about dogs, so I am looking forward to seeing this one.    The Art of Racing in the Rain Website

Until Next Time!