Category: 2024

REVIEW: ‘Treasure’ is largely tedious

Sometimes film adaptations work better when they’re a bit different than the source material. But after learning about the book “Treasure” was based on, I wish it would have been more faithful.

Set in 1991, “Treasure” stars Lena Dunham as Ruth, a journalist from New York City who’s visiting Poland to learn about where her parents grew up before being taken to concentration camps by Germans during World War II.  

She’s accompanied by her father Edek (Stephen Fry) on the trip and the two set out on visiting a few of the towns he was familiar with. However, the situation is strained because Ruth is still getting over a difficult divorce and both she and her father are mourning the loss of the family matriarch.

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REVIEW: ‘Tuesday’ is a turbulent, pretentious disappointment

Didn’t have death appearing as a bird that talks like Caesar from “Planet of the Apes” on the bingo card.

Voiced by Arinze Kene, Death comes in the form of a size-shifting parrot in “Tuesday,” and visits people across Earth in their final moments before they pass away. As the movie gets underway, the bird’s latest task is visiting the terminally ill teenage girl Tuesday (Lola Petticrew).

Tuesday speaks with Death though and the two form a sort of understanding, leading to an arrangement where the girl will be allowed to stay alive until her mother Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gets home to say goodbye. From there, the film presents a journey all about mortality for the characters.

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REVIEW: Family follow-up ‘Inside Out 2’ mostly succeeds

“Inside Out 2,” AKA the third film in Pixar’s coming-of-age trilogy after “Luca” and “Turning Red.”

This animated sequel picks up about a year after the events of the first film, released in 2015. Riley is now 13, she’s enjoying hockey, about to enter high school and her emotions seem to be in a good place. The film picks up with her being recruited to a hockey camp after her JV squad wins a title.

That’s where things go haywire in Riley’s mind, as new emotions, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) suddenly show up. Worried about Riley’s future, Anxiety takes the lead from Joy (Amy Poehler) and ends up making the hockey camp into an emotional roller coaster.

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REVIEW: While not perfect, ‘Bad Boys 4’ is bad ass

It really sucks that P Diddy turned out to be awful and this film couldn’t have “Shake Ya Tailfeather” or “Bad Boys for Life” playing, but the movie still manages to be a good time.

The fourth film in the franchise starts out with Mike (Will Smith) getting married to a new character, Christine (Melanie Liburd). The celebration is great until his longtime friend and police partner Marcus (Martin Lawrence) has a heart attack. After a near death experience, though, Marcus walks away with a new found confidence and a positive outlook on life.

It’s certainly needed as the detectives’ late captain is framed for major crimes by the cartel. As they begin to investigate, the cops themselves are framed and are not only sought by the cartel, but other law enforcement as well.

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REVIEW: Raunchy script of ‘Babes’ is out of sync with dramedy vibe

Sometimes a film can have its heart completely in the right place, but still not be as enjoyable as one would hope. Such is the case with the new comedy “Babes.”

At the beginning of the film the audience is introduced to Eden (Ilana Glazer), a single woman who’s spending Thanksgiving with her pregnant friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau) at a movie theater, which is their tradition. It’s interrupted, though, when Dawn goes into labor.

While Dawn has experience being a mother, with this being her second child, Eden is on the opposite side as a single woman who doesn’t intend on being a parent. That is until she has a one-night stand and ends up getting pregnant herself. After some consideration, she decides to have the baby and become a single mother.

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REVIEW: ‘Young Woman and the Sea’ is a winner despite a few flaws

A century before Katie Ledecky was representing the U.S. in significant swims over long distances, there was Gertrude Ederle. However, the latter’s greatest swim didn’t take place in the pool.

“Young Woman and the Sea” tells the story of how Ederle, a swimmer from Manhattan, became the first woman to cross the English Channel. The movie shows how Ederle, portrayed by Daisy Ridley, grew up to become a competitive swimmer who competed in the 1924 Olympics.

The film follows Ederle being coached up by Women’s Swimming Association founder Charlotte Epstein (Sian Clifford) and how she was driven by her sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) who also swam. It then shows her motivation to conquer the Channel and what it took to pull it off.

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REVIEW: ‘Furiosa’ is positively fantastic

No Mad Max? No problem.

While “Furiosa” does in fact take place in the “Mad Max” universe, the character portrayed by Mel Gibson originally and then by Tom Hardy in 2015’s “Fury Road,” isn’t present. Instead, as the title implies, the film centers on the other main character from the 2015 picture, Furiosa.

The film chronicles how she was initially abducted by a biker warlord named Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), and later became a mainstay at the Citadel where Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) resides. Over the course of the film, she’s portrayed by Alyla Browne in her youth and Anya Taylor-Joy later in life.

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REVIEW: Inconsistent tone and fantasy rules cause ‘IF’ to flop

Incredible how there are now two movies this year that squander the creative imaginary friends concept.

Unlike “Imaginary” from earlier in 2024, though, “IF” is not a horror movie. Far from it. Instead it’s a family film centered on 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming), a girl who’s staying at her grandma’s New York home while her father (John Krasinski) is in the hospital for a surgery. Having lost her mother due to cancer already, Bea is on edge.

That is until she comes across a man who’s accompanied by a fantastical creature, which inspires her to find out more. It turns out the guy is named Cal (Ryan Reynolds) and he’s helping various imaginary friends find new children to connect with after having been forgotten by the kids who made them. Wanting to help, Bea decides to assist Cal in the endeavor.

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REVIEW: Back out of watching ‘Back to Black’

Amy Winehouse should be remembered for her musical talents and ability to create songs people love. Unfortunately, this biopic decided to focus nearly entirely on her controversies and struggles.

The film picks up with Winehouse, portrayed by Marisa Abela, just before she records her first studio album, “Frank.” The audience learns about her family life, her love of music and how her demo tape has opened a doorway to success.

Following the release of “Frank,” Winehouse begins building her music career and at the same time, starts a relationship with her future husband Blake (Jack O’Connell). From there, the film dramatizes her struggles with alcoholism and addiction, as well as how she pushed forward to make her second and final album, “Back to Black.”

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REVIEW: Long live the ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

It’s hard to imagine the current run of “Planet of the Apes” continuing on without Caesar, but director Wes Ball’s latest film in the series is a fitting follow-up to the 2010s trilogy.

“Kingdom” takes place several generations after Caesar’s death. Humans are now primitive and scarce, while the apes have built up small villages, one of them being home to the protagonist, Noa (Owen Teague). Led by Noa’s father, the clan built a peaceful society around training falcons.

The peace of Noa’s village is shattered, though, when it’s raided by another ape kingdom set on conquest. Injured in the battle, Noa awakens to find his village destroyed and residents taken hostage. From there, Noa sets out on a quest to rescue those imprisoned and gets an unlikely ally along the way.

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