Trap

My View:  Trap  (2024)  PG-13 A father (Josh Hartnett) and his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) attend the concert of a lifetime. However, not everything is as it seems, and something dark and sinister is about to make its appearance at this concert. So it’s not much of a spoiler since it’s in the trailer and kind of on the poster: the father is a serial killer, and a trap has been set to catch him with every cop/FBI agent in the tri-state area in attendance. It's the idea that when you are at a large-attended event, you have no idea what the people around you are capable of. So why not have a serial killer at a pop concert filled with teenage girls? Critics had hoped that filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan had turned the corner and started producing watchable films again. Instead, we get a film that feels like it was written solely to showcase his daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, who sings what has to be at least ten songs in the movie as she plays Lady Raven, the pop star giving the concert. The film crashes to a halt as the plot holes get larger and larger. The film is so out of touch with what happens at a must-see concert, including the fact that it seems most people at this concert leave their seats to wander in the hallways as their favorite artist is performing on stage. The suspense of whether the guy is going to be caught never builds in the film because the security force is idiotic. I loved the notion that if the killer turns on the fire alarm, the FBI agent in charge (played by Hayley Mills) tells her team they will let all the women and teens out of the building but not the men. Yeah, that’s not a recipe for mass hysteria. The last thirty minutes keep getting sillier as M. Night gives his daughter even more screen time. And the final scenes feel as if they were written by a first-year college film major, not by a man who was nominated for two Academy Awards. This is one concert you will want to miss.  My Rating: Cable Trap Website Now playing in theaters.

Familyfaire:  Harold and the Purple Crayon  (2024)  PG  Harold and the Purple Crayon is about Harold (Zachary Levi), who has a magic purple crayon that allows him to create anything he can imagine. Harold has grown up and has now drawn himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world. Is the world ready for Harold and his magical crayon? Harold and the Purple Crayon is a film that only the five-year-old and younger crowd will enjoy. Making Harold an adult, along with Moose and Porcupine, is a little creepy. It doesn’t help that most of Harold’s creations aren’t very imaginative. The film thinks it's funnier and cuter than it actually is. Although the film is safe for children of all ages and has a good heart, most will be bored by the beginning of the second act. I wish they had adapted the book instead of making a sequel of sorts. It just doesn't have the charm or creativity of the beloved book, and that's a shame. In fact, it's almost a crime that they use the title of the book to fool people into thinking it's an adaptation, instead of a whole new story. There is a short bonus scene after the first portion of credits to find out what happens to one of the characters in the film.  My Rating: Cable   Harold and the Purple Crayon Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Kneecap  (2024)  R Kneecap starts on that fateful day in West Belfast when a disillusioned music teacher JJ met two self-confessed ‘low life scum’ and decide to create a band. That band, Kneecap, will change the sound of Irish music forever. The first glimpses of this film give you a sense that this is not an ordinary bio-pic. Instead, you discover very quickly that you are in for an in-your-face, funny, and bold piece of filmmaking, all the while feeling that sometimes you are taking the same drugs the guys in the band are. If big-time Hollywood tried to sell you on this film’s plot, you would go, ‘It never could happen.’ What’s fantastic is that it did, and this hip-hop group, using Irish lyrics instead of English to show their independence and creativity, became a success. Even more impressive is that the three leads are portraying themselves. They bring such energy and honesty to the film that it makes the film flow (though with a whole lot of profanity). Naoise (Móglaí Bap) is dealing with a mother who hasn’t left the house since her husband, presumed-dead IRA operative, disappeared years ago. His best mate since childhood is Liam (MO Chara), who is up for anything. Then, you have JJ, the music teacher (portrayed by DJ Próvai), who became part of the band but must hide his identity on stage to keep his job and his relationship with his girlfriend. Added to the mix is that almost everyone, including the local police and a local political underground gang, wants the guys to stop making music. Adding a mysterious and infamous father (portrayed by the always amazing Michael Fassbender), you have a movie with just about everything, including a rousing end. Turn up the volume and prepare to crowd surf with Kneecap. Maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to speak some Irish by the end of the film.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Kneecap Website Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Accidents Happen  (2009)  R  Billy (Harrison Gilbertson) and his family have the worst luck. Accidents seem to follow them around like a puppy. The family is a mess. After an accident killed one of his siblings and made another a permanent resident of a hospital. Billy’s father has left and filed for divorce, and Billy’s mom (Gena Davis) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Billy is just trying to survive, but those accidents keep happening, even when he tries to stop them. Accidents Happen is a black comedy that doesn’t always work but is worth watching for the performance of Gena Davis as the mom who throws out sayings and jabs at a moment’s notice, sometimes to make fun of things and other times to hurt. Some of the accidents are funny, but some are also tragic, sometimes bringing the film to a halt. Still, Davis is remarkable in her role.  My Rating; Bargain Matinee  Accidents Happen Info    The film is available on most online services. 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Trap: Set Dec Trackers

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Blink Twice  (2024) R  When Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her best friend Jess ( Alia Shawkat) sneak into a big fundraiser party for tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), never in their wilder dreams did they think they would be invited to Slater’s private island to party with his friends. What follows is a dream of wild nights and sun-soaked days that slowly reveals itself to be a nightmare. Zoë Kravitz directs the film and has a cast that includes Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, and Geena Davis. Blink Twice Website In theatres on Friday, August 23, 2024.

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Shazam! Fury of the Gods

My View: Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) PG-13  Billy Batson (Zachary Levi / Asher Angel) and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying “Shazam,” are still learning to control their powers. The gang will have to grow up quickly as they take on the Daughters of Atlas, who want to use a weapon that could destroy the world. I liked the first Shazam! movie, primarily because of the humor (something that DC films at the time sorely lacked). And there is plenty of humor in this one also, but it sometimes feels forced (there is a Skittles tie-in that feels wrong and out of place). This film focuses more on the rest of the kids and how they are handling being superheroes. Billy, as the leader, is not doing a great job, and the rest of the Shazam crew is starting to resist him. In walks some bad guys in the form of the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu), who want revenge or to take over the world or to destroy Shazam. Frankly, I was confused about exactly what the evil duo wanted and why they did what they did with their evil bad guy ways. And that’s the problem with this film. The filmmakers keep throwing things into the plot to fill some screen time. Even the ending with a weird but predictable cameo seems almost thrown in. Rachel Zegler is a welcome addition to the cast as a love interest for Billy’s best friend Freddy, but it’s not enough to save what may be the last of the Shazam! films (due to a new regime at DC). And yes, there are two bonus scenes, one at the very end of the credits, but I doubt we will ever see what happens after those teases.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Shazam! Fury of the Gods Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Moving On (2022) R  Claire (Jane Fonda) and Evelyn (Lily Tomlin) reconnect at a funeral and decide to get revenge on the widower (Malcolm McDowell) who messed with them decades before. Now, how should they kill him? This is one of those films where the actors are fun to watch even though the movie itself isn’t much. The film deals with some serious problems, some of which have been buried in the past, but the film never can find its footing or tone. The film lets Fonda and Tomlin enjoy their chemistry on the screen, but the script is so weak that it seems the director thought just pointing the camera at the two pros would be enough to carry the film along. It’s not, even when you throw in Richard Roundtree and Malcolm McDowell into the cast. I was thankful that the film was a short 85 minutes because any longer would have worn out its welcome.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Moving On Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Inside (2023) R  Inside takes place when a high-end art thief (Willem Dafoe) breaks into an ultra-high security New York Penthouse to steal some paintings, but the heist doesn’t go off as planned, and now the thief is locked inside with no way out. Inside is a movie that, much like its main character, will test the limits of how much we can endure. The film is an hour and forty-five minutes of Willem Dafoe locked in an apartment…for months. It’s a film about survival and possibly madness (some of what we experience is either real or in the thief's mind), but it felt to me more like a challenge to the audience on how much you can stand of seeing one man suffer for what seems like an eternity. I got bored by the film at about the 30-minute point, and several of my fellow film critics had to take a few minutes outside the theatre to gear up for the rest of the film. By the way, they missed nothing. Look, I love Willem Dafoe, but I didn’t love this film. In fact, I hated it.   My Rating: Cable  Inside Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: Return to Seoul (2022) R Freddie (Park Ji-min) is a twenty-five-year-old French woman who returns to Korea, the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple. It’s Freddie’s first time in Korea, and she decides to track down her biological parents. It’s a decision that will change Freddie’s life forever. For better or worse. This film is about trying to find answers, some of which may never be found. We follow Freddie as she starts out as a happy-go-lucky woman who, on a whim, decides to find her birth parents. We follow her on her journey and see how this quest affects her, changing her life and what her goals once were. This beautiful performance by Park Ji-min gives us a character that is hard to get to know, only letting us in a few peeks at a time. Return to Seoul is a compelling movie that asks a lot of questions and doesn’t always give you an answer.   My Rating: Full Price  Return to Seoul Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Familyfaire: The Magician’s Elephant (2023) PG Peter (Noah Jupe) has been searching for his long-lost sister when he encounters a fortune teller who tells him to find a mysterious elephant and the magician who will conjure it. The prophecy sets Peter off on a journey where he will have to complete three seemingly impossible tasks. However, Peter is determined to complete the tasks and find his sister. I liked this animated tale about never giving up hope and following your dreams, even when success seems unlikely. It’s a magical tale that families will enjoy that is told with charm, laughter, and a bit of whimsy. I especially loved the elephant aspect of the film, as Peter isn’t the only character in the story that dreams of being reunited with a loved one. The Magician’s Elephant is a story about the importance of family and how to never give up on a dream, no matter the odds.   My Rating: Full Price  The Magician's Elephant Website  Now available on the Netflix platform. 

My View: Boston Strangler (2023) R  The film tells the story of Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter in a time when women only wrote about fashion and high society, who first connected the murders of women in the city of Boston with a serial killer known as The Boston Strangler. I enjoyed this old-fashioned caper film where two reporters smell a story brewing and won’t let go. Carrie Coon plays the hard-nosed reporter, Jean Cole, who takes Loretta under her wing and guides her when she needs it. Loretta has the drive, persistence, and talent to flesh out a story when no one else notices that women are being murdered in Boston at an alarming rate. This was before CSI and DNA, when luck solved crimes more than hard work or science. Keira Knightley gives us a character willing to go the extra mile, even if it means sacrificing her personal life to get the story. Boston Strangler is a story from the 1960s that is still full of mystery and continues to captivate an audience.  My Rating: Full Price  Boston Strangler Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform. 

Forgotten Film: 3 A.M. (2001)   The story of three cab drivers working on the overnight shift trying to deal with their lives while a serial killer is on the loose. Danny Glover plays a cabbie who can’t commit to his girlfriend (Pam Grier). Sergej Trifunovic is a Bosnian immigrant driver who can’t relinquish his infatuation with a call girl. And Michelle Rodriguez is a cab driver haunted by her past. The film is a little shaky in some of its plot points, but it’s worth seeing for Michelle Rodriguez in her 2nd film role after her brilliant debut in Girlfight (2000). Rodriquez shines on the screen as a woman who thinks a demon is following her because of her killing a man who sexually abused her. It’s a mesmerizing performance that shows that she wasn’t a flash in the pan.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee 3 A.M. Info   Available to rent/buy on Amazon.com.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Shazam! Fury of the Gods: Suit Tech

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) PG-13 A charming thief (Chris Pine), and a band of unlikely adventurers are hired to retrieve a lost relic. However, things go dangerously wrong when they run afoul of some bad people, all of who want the relic and its power. The trailer looks like this film will be fun to watch, and it’s always a blast to watch Michelle Rodriguez fight a few bad guys.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Website  Film will be in theatres nationwide on Friday, March 31st.

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Shazam!

My View:  Shazam!  (2019)  PG-13  Billy Baston (Asher Angel), a newly foster kid, s picked to become a superhero named Shazam (Zachary Levi). All Billy has to do is say the word ‘Shazam’ and he becomes the world’s greatest superhero. This film is a blast to watch as the makers of the movie decided that they were just going to have fun with these characters. The film is hilarious and you may have to see it twice because you will be laughing so hard you won’t hear some of the dialogue. Zachary Levi is perfect in the role of Shazam, who throughout the film, keeps learning new powers he has. Mark Strong, as the evil Dr. Sivana, makes a good bad guy who wants to take Shazam’s powers for his own. The film is a little slow at first but really gets going once Shazam shows up and then it just takes off for plenty of thrills. The action is fast paced and the fight sequences are well done. But it’s the humor that makes this film work and boy, does it ever. Be sure to stay through all the credits as there are two bonus scenes.    My Rating:  Full Price   Shazam! Website

My View:  Pet Sematary  (2019)  R  A family relocates from Boston to rural Maine. They soon discover that their house is located near a pet cemetery that has a mysterious past. This was a highly disappointing film. Almost all the scary stuff is the jump out of the dark category. It is a very violent movie and there are a couple of gruesome scenes. This film fails as a horror film, in fact, several times, the audience laughed at scenes that were not meant to be funny. It’s sad when the best performance in the film is by the cat, though I will say that I also liked Jete Laurence, who plays the daughter. This is one of those films that after you see it, you wonder why they even bothered to make the movie because it feels like they were just going through the motions.   My Rating: Cable   Pet Sematary Website

Indiefest:  The Mustang  (2019)  R  Roman (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a violent convict who has just come out of isolation. His prison trains wild mustangs to sell to the public. Roman is assigned to work with the Mustangs and he becomes attached to a very wild, maybe un-trainable Mustang. This experience will change Roman’s life. I loved this movie about a troubled, flawed man who falls in love with a wild mustang and creates a bond with the horse that few people have. Schoenaerts gives a dazzling performance as Roman, who because of his anger issues, made a horrible mistake that he will be paying for the rest of his life. His only hope is to find some healing hope from the wild, unruly mustang. What I love about this film is that it is based on an actual program that takes place in four states. Do yourself a favor and go see this wonderful film about hope and redemption.  My Rating: Full Price     The Mustang Website   

Forgotten Film:  Terms of Endearment  (1983)  PG  The life of Emma (Debra Winger) and her controlling mother Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) as Emma grows up, gets married to Flap (Jeff Daniels) and has kids. The mother/daughter dynamic between Emma and Aurora is a difficult one and their relationship will be tested many times over the years. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine and Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson, who plays an astronaut that lives next door to Aurora. This is a smart, sometimes funny, sometimes deeply moving film that has some brilliant performances. Winger is amazing as the headstrong daughter who wants to live her life on her own terms. MacLaine gives one of her best performances and there is one scene she is in that will break your heart. Nicholson is hilarious as the hard-drinking, womanizing astronaut who becomes interested in Aurora. The movie is worth all its Oscar wins.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Terms of Endearment Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Pet Sematary:  Wikipedia Article Creator

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Missing Link  (2019)  PG  Mr. Link (voiced by Zack Galifianakis) is a bigfoot who dreams of finding more like him. He convinces explorer Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman) to take Mr. Link to the fabled lost valley of Shangri-La, where it is rumored that it is inhabited by Yetis. With the help of a former flame of Sr. Lionel, Adelina Fortnight (voiced by Zoe Saldana), the three go on a trip halfway across the world. The animation studio, Laika Entertainment, who did Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Coraline (2009), do some amazing stop motion animation.     Missing Link Website

Until Next Time!