Matthew Liedke

REVIEW: ‘Secret Life of Pets’ sequel is better suited for the small screen

In my review of the 2016 film “Secret Life of Pets,” I said if a person isn’t a pet owner, they can go ahead and skip it. It’s mostly the same old story this time around.

The sequel again follows Max (Patton Oswalt) and Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who live in a New York City Apartment. The two are owned by Katie, who since the first film, has gotten married and has a child. Like the last movie, Max is a worrier and has his share of fears. As a result, he also has several concerns for Katie’s child.

He begins to face his fears, though, when the family takes a trip to a farm. There, Max meets Rooster (Harrison Ford), an older herding dog who helps Max face his fears and not be so-overprotective with Katie’s son. Meanwhile, the other pets back at the apartment where Max lives have adventures of their own.

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REVIEW: ‘Dark Phoenix’ shows a franchise burnout for the ‘X-Men’

Back in 2006, I, like many others, were largely disappointed with “X-Men: The Last Stand,” the supposed finale of the series to that point. Amazingly, “Dark Phoenix” has upstaged “Last Stand,” proving to be a finale even worse.

“Phoenix” takes place a few years after the events of “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Following the defeat of Apocalypse, the X-Men have become a sort of emergency response team and because of their helpful actions, mutants are better respected.

However, trouble begins forming after the team’s latest mission, where Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is hit by some sort of energy during an attempt to save a space shuttle crew. It turns out the energy is a legendary power that makes Jean’s powers more unstable and brings out an aggressive side of her personality. Additionally, an alien force led by the character Vuk (Jessica Chastain) is after the power.

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Monday Movie Report: Winston Duke among actors cast in supernatural drama

Winston Duke, along with Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl and Bill Skarsgard are attached to the new film project “Nine Days.”

According to Variety, “Nine Days” is a supernatural genre film and will be the feature debut by Director Edson Oda. Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, Juniper Productions and MACRO are all serving as production companies on the movie, Variety reports.

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REVIEW: ‘Godzilla’ may be a king, but not of cinema

The latest “Godzilla” is chock-full of monsters, yet even the gargantuan creatures don’t necessarily hold this feature up.

The movie begins five years after the 2014 “Godzilla,” where the secretive agency Monarch is keeping track of the giant creature and others across the globe. One of the Monarch researchers is Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), a woman who lost her son in the 2014 Godzilla battle of San Francisco.

Monarch’s research is taken advantage of by radical environmental terrorists, though, led by a man named Jonah (Charles Dance). As a result of their actions, the powerful monster Ghidorah is released, and several others respond by awakening and causing havoc. To stop them, Godzilla has to get back into action.

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REVIEW: ‘Rocketman’ convincingly captures Elton John’s passion

Saturday might be the time of week alright for fighting, but any day is a good day to see “Rocketman.”

As the title and my song referencing lede implies, “Rocketman” is a film about the musician Elton John (Taron Egerton). The film focuses on John’s early success, which also, sadly, coincided with his struggles with addiction.

The picture tells both John’s early career story and the development of his psyche over time through a series of song and dance numbers numbers set to the musician’s music.

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Monday Movie Report: Barry Jenkins to work on Alvin Ailey biopic

Oscar-caliber director Barry Jenkins is working with Fox Searchlight on a new biopic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenkins, who directed the Academy Award winning “Moonlight,” and followed up that with last year’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” (which made my top 10 list) is now working on a biopic about Alvin Ailey. A choreographer and dancer, Ailey was an influential artist who received Kennedy Center Honors and, posthumously, the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

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REVIEW: New ‘Aladdin’ never surpasses animated version

It’s true nobody can replace Robin Williams, but in all fairness, Will Smith probably provides this new “Aladdin” a lot of energy.

The movie is of course based on the 1992 animated feature with the same name. Like that film, “Aladdin” 2019 follows the titular character (Mena Massoud) living on the streets of the city state Agrabah. In his adventures to survive by pick-pocketing and running hustles, he meets a young woman who’s secretly Agrabah’s princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott).

The two form a connection, yet Aladdin of course has trouble getting to know her since her home is at the palace. As part of his desperation, Aladdin comes in contact with a power hungry Vizier, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). Jafar offers Aladdin riches if he goes inside a cave of wonders and retrieves a lamp. Things don’t go exactly to plan, though, and Aladdin ends up with the lamp and meets a Genie (Will Smith) who can grant three wishes.

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Movie Report: Third ‘Kingsman’ in the works

Deadline is reporting Director Matthew Vaughn is working on the third “Kingsman” picture.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the third film will end the era of the two spies Eggsy, played by Taron Egerton and Harry, portrayed by Colin Firth. The series started with “Kingsman The Secret Service” in 2014 and continued with “The Golden Circle” in 2017.

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Monday Movie Report: WWII drama, hijacking thriller among flicks picked up at Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival is continuing to make headlines in the industry, with several movies getting picked up for future release.

Most recently, Fox Searchlight picked up “A Hidden life,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Sunday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Directed by Terrence Malick, the picture is a World War II drama about an Austrian farmer who becomes a conscientious objector and refused to serve the Nazi regime and was later jailed.

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REVIEW: Want a film so bad it’s good? ‘The Intruder’ is your movie

I’d never argue that “The Intruder” is a good movie by any means. But I can’t deny that it is really entertaining.

The thriller now playing in theaters follows a young, wealthy couple, Annie (Meagan Good) and Scott (Michael Ealy). The two live in San Francisco but are looking to move to a more rural area. They decide on Napa Valley and check out a house for sale in a secluded area, owned by Charlie (Dennis Quaid).

Charlie, who now lives by himself after losing his wife, is selling the house for a high price, but decides to knock some dollars off because he likes Annie and Scott. The purchase is finalized and the married couple moves in to the new home. However, Charlie seems to have a hard time letting go as he often drops by the couple to check on them and see if they need help with the property. Eventually, Charlie’s behavior starts to worry Scott, as he comes across like he’s hiding something.

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