2020 – Page 9 – Matthew Liedke on Film

REVIEW: Despite some good moments, ‘King of Staten Island’ can test patience

The King of Staten Island isn’t as cool of a title as The King of New York, but few people can be as cool as Christopher Walken.

While this 2020 movie has that title, main character Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) is certainly no king. In this Judd Apatow-directed feature, Scott is a 24-year-old who lives with his mother Margie (Marisa Tomei) and isn’t a student attending college or working any job.

What Scott does instead is either get high with his friends, or work as an amateur tattoo artist. Much of this behavior is pinned to the death of Scott’s father, who was a firefighter who died in the line of duty. His way of life is challenged, though, when his sister Claire (Maude Apatow) moves to college and his mother begins a relationship with another person working in New York City’s Fire Department, Ray (Bill Burr).

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Monday Movie Report: Recapping Hollywood Delays

After having a rather busy month of May that limited my time dedicated to MLOF, I’m back to provide Monday Movie Reports again.

With the return, it’s time to take a look at what has been rescheduled in terms of cinema because of the coronavirus pandemic. As of now, here are the movies that have been moved and their tentative dates, according to Vulture.

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REVIEW: ‘Artemis Fowl’ is atrocious

I’ve been doing this for nearly 12 years, and every so often there’s a movie so bad it tempts me to walk out of the theater or hit the stop button. “Artemis Fowl” has joined that club.

Ferdia Shaw plays the titular character Artemis Fowl (Jr.). He’s a certified child genius who still has to go to school for some reason, and lives at a mansion with his father, Artemis Fowl Sr., and his butler, Domovoi (Nonso Anozie).

One day, his father goes missing, and is blamed for stealing several priceless artifacts. Artemis soon learns that his father has also been kidnapped by a mysterious figure. The antagonist tells Fowl he has to get an artifact to get his dad back. As it turns out, a civilization of fantasy creatures including fairies also want the same artifact. As a result, Artemis needs to deal with both entities to save his father.

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REVIEW: ‘The Wrong Missy’ is a miserable comedy

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Happy Madison production, since I haven’t really kept up with the studio’s move to Netflix. I have to say, the quality hasn’t really changed, and that’s not a good thing.

David Spade stars as Tim in “The Wrong Missy.” The film starts out with him going on a blind date that turns out to be a disaster. The person he goes on a date with is Missy (Lauren Lapkus), who is completely coco for Cocoa Puffs. The date is so bad it actually turns him off from dating for a while.

However, during a business trip, Tim meets another woman named Missy, which is short for Melissa, (Molly Sims) and the two immediately hit it off. They share interests and have an easy time chatting with each other. The two eventually exchange numbers and Tim likes her so much that he wants to invite her on a company retreat to a tropical island. The only problem is he mixes up the phone numbers and invites (gasp) the wrong Missy! Comedy is allegedly supposed to ensue.

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REVIEW: ‘The Vast of Night’ is a stirring film about radio worth tuning in for

Late night talk radio about UFOs is always a good time, so much so that the late host Art Bell made a career out of it with his show “Coast to Coast AM.”

That concept can now be enjoyed in movie form, too, thanks to this enjoyable indie thriller.

“The Vast of Night” takes place in a small New Mexico town in the 1950s and centers on two characters. One is Fay (Sierra McCormick), a switchboard phone operator, and the other is Everett (Jake Horowitz), a radio station DJ. Both teens are working the night of a big basketball game, so the town is rather quiet. As she’s connecting phone lines, though, Fay hears a frantic caller, and later a strange sound coming through the system.

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REVIEW: ‘The High Note’ doesn’t earn a high score

This movie may be called “The High Note,” but it never does anything to elevate itself above other flicks in the genre.

The movie stars Dakota Johnson as Maggie, a young woman who works as an assistant to Grace (Tracee Ellis Ross). Grace is a music legend who’s had plenty of hits over her great career. However, lately, her manager Jack (O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson) and others want her to start scaling back, doing just best hits albums and singing at events in Las Vegas. Grace believes she can still make new, great songs, though, and since she produces music at an amateur level as a hobby, Maggie wants to help.

Meanwhile, Maggie also meets David (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in the first act. David is a guy who seems to have a ton of musical potential, but appears completely content with doing small shows and simple gigs. Because of his potential, though, Maggie decides to try and help David create an album, too.

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REVIEW: ‘Scoob’ doesn’t have full charm of classic series, but still satisfies

The latest big screen adaptation of “Scooby Doo” isn’t flawless, but it was a refreshing cinematic experience after those terrible live action pictures from the 2000s.

The first minutes of “Scoob” serve as an origin story, showing how Shaggy (Will Forte) met his dog and best friend Scooby Doo (Frank Welker). A short time later, they meet three other kids, Fred (Zac Efron), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried) and Velma (Gina Rodriguez). After the group uncovers a plot involving a fake haunted house, they continue hanging out and become Mystery Inc.

The movie then shifts to the present day where the crew is finding more success, but Shaggy and Scooby are feeling left out. When the two get separated from the other three, they get roped into a mission to save the world by the hero Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) and his robot dog Dynomutt (Ken Jeong). Eventually, the combined Blue Falcon squad and Mystery crew have to team up to take down the villain Dick Dastardly.

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Monday Movie Report: WB pushes back ‘Batman,’ shifts schedule

A new “Batman” film and other pictures in development under the Warner Bros. umbrella are being pushed back because of the coronavirus.

According to Variety, WB has altered its plans for “The Batman,” a prequel film to “The Sopranos” and a picture titled “Many Saints of Newark.” Most notable is “The Batman,” which stars Robert Pattinson and was set to hit theaters June 25, 2021.

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REVIEW: Latest ‘Emma’ adaptation is a stilted experience

“Emma” is a novel rich enough to spawn several on-screen adaptations, but unfortunately, the latest is rather dry.

Anya Taylor Joy plays the titular character here. A wealthy young woman in England, Emma has a reputation as a matchmaker. The movie picks up with her starting a friendship with Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), and eventually, she decides to try and set her up with one of the local suitors.

At the same time, Emma herself is looking at starting her own relationship with someone. However, some of her previous actions make the process somewhat tricky.

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