Category: Reviews

REVIEW: ‘Maleficent 2’ is more mediocre than marvelous

That mouse just can’t quit with this live action train, huh. Can’t really blame Disney when the first “Sleeping Beauty” story adaptation made nearly $70 million in its opening weekend and grossed $758 million worldwide.

In this follow-up to the 2014 hit, Angelina Jolie returns to the role of Maleficent, a powerful fairy who now looks after her goddaughter and acts as the main defender of the Moors Kingdom. Queen of that kingdom is Maleficent’s goddaughter Aurora (Elle Fanning), who now rules a united kingdom including both humans and mystical creatures.

Along with leading a nation, Aurora has fallen in love with Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson), who’s from another kingdom. The two are looking to get married, and with some convincing, Maleficent becomes at least open to the idea. However, Phillip’s parents, especially his mother Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), are less than welcoming, viewing the mystical residents of Aurora’s kingdom, including Maleficent as a threat. Her prejudice eventually causes a strain between Aurora and Maleficent.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Maleficent 2’ is more mediocre than marvelous”

REVIEW: A return to ‘Zombieland’ is fun, but also forgettable

It took a decade but audiences have finally been invited back to Zombieland. Unfortunately, it’s lost some luster.

The movie picks up with the protagonists of the 2009 horror comedy, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). The four have been surviving across the United States since joining together as a makeshift family in California.

At the beginning of the movie, the four have made it to Washington D.C. and decide to take up residency in the still intact White House. The presidential mansion is a great place to live, but like all families, there can be growing pains and stress. Eventually, it causes Little Rock to go out on her own. The remaining trio decide to go after Little Rock to ensure her safety and encounter some new faces along the way.

Continue reading “REVIEW: A return to ‘Zombieland’ is fun, but also forgettable”

REVIEW: Technically ambitious ‘Gemini Man’ fails in other areas

Young Will Smith returns in “Gemini Man” but unfortunately, he hasn’t made a rap song to compliment his latest movie like he used to.

The movie stars Smith as Henry Brogan, an aging government operative and assassin who’s looking to retire from his career in combat. His dreams of retirement are dashed, though, as he becomes a target by higher-ups just as he’s leaving the business. An attempt on his life forces him to go on the run, with the help of another government agent named Danny (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

The problem though, is the person they sent after Brogan is exceptionally skilled and is also relentless. On top of being a force to be reckoned with, though, Brogan soon learns that the one hunting him is actually a younger clone of himself.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Technically ambitious ‘Gemini Man’ fails in other areas”

REVIEW: ‘Abominable’ looks great but suffers from poor characters

Dreamworks’ animated features have had their ups and downs, and “Abominable” comes in at about the middle.

The movie follows Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet), a teenage girl who’s motivated to work several jobs to save money in order to go on a trip across China. Her motivation comes from her late father, who wanted to take Yi on the trip himself before he passed away.

One night when she’s on the roof of her apartment putting away her saved money and to play her violin, though, Yi is greeted by an abominable snowman. While frightened at first, Yi eventually befriends the yeti. The problem, though, is that the yeti is being chased by goons from a billionaire who collects exotic creatures. Determined to keep the yeti safe, Yi and a few friends decide to help it get back to its home on Mount Everest.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Abominable’ looks great but suffers from poor characters”

REVIEW: While ‘Joker’ is an entertaining, it’s not insightful

In just over a decade there have been three different versions of the Joker on screen. Considering that rate, we’re due for several more in the 2020s. Yay?

The most recent film featuring the Clown Prince of Crime stars Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. However, he doesn’t start out as the Joker. Instead, the movie opens with Phoenix playing Arthur Fleck, a troubled man working as an entertainment clown who aspires to be a stand-up comedian.

On top of being a mentally ill person who lives in a community comfortable with slashing health services, Arthur is also responsible for caring for his sick mother. One of the only bits of happiness in his life comes from watching a show featuring comedian Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). Unfortunately, pressure Arthur experiences daily begins to crack him, setting him on a violent path.

Continue reading “REVIEW: While ‘Joker’ is an entertaining, it’s not insightful”

REVIEW: ‘Abbey’ is a good watch for fans and those unfamiliar

I walked into the theater blind with this one. I never watched an episode of the television series “Downton Abbey,” and despite my attempts at research, I was still a bit lost. With that said, though, it was a pretty enjoyable time.

From what I could pick up, the film takes place following the events of the show, featuring stories of both the Crawley family and those who work at their estate. In this film, the family is welcoming King George and Queen Mary to stay at Downton Abbey as part of a royal tour along the country-side.

Over the course of the visit, the Crawleys have moments of inter-family drama mixed with trying to make a good impression for the Royal Family. The staff, meanwhile, have their own sub-plot where they compete to maintain their service in spite of being pushed aside by the Royal Family’s staff.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Abbey’ is a good watch for fans and those unfamiliar”

REVIEW: ‘Last Blood’ boosted by third act battle

Over a decade ago, when the credits were rolling on 2008’s “Rambo,” I thought it was the perfect way to end the character’s long story. Apparently Hollywood didn’t agree because now we have a fifth film in the franchise. In all fairness, though, it is pretty entertaining.

After serving in Vietnam, getting unjustly pushed into a conflict in Washington state, rescuing prisoners of war, fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and battling against ruthless soldiers in Burma, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has finally settled into a peaceful life.

The 2008 film saw him return to the family ranch and that’s where we pick up with John, who now keeps busy by training horses. He lives a peaceful life at the farm with his friend Maria (Adriana Barraza) and Maria’s granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). While everything seems to be OK at the outset, though, trouble starts when Gabrielle visits Mexico to try and reconnect with her biological father. Unfortunately, during her time there, Gabrielle is abducted by a cartel and it once again forces Rambo out of peacetime.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Last Blood’ boosted by third act battle”

REVIEW: ‘Ad Astra’ is in the upper echelon of the space adventure genre

A star studded cast like this deserves to be on a grand scale film across the stars. That’s what we get with the new sci-fi “Ad Astra.”

The movie takes place in the fairly distant future, with mankind now able travel to the Solar System’s inner planets regularly and launch long range expeditions beyond the asteroid belt. The film follows Roy McBride, an experienced and fearless astronaut working for the United States’ Space Com.

However, Roy still lives in the shadow of his father Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones), a great, accomplished American space explorer who went on a venture to the outer reaches of the solar system near Neptune. The expedition was lost, though, decades ago, with the crew written off as dead. When power surges begin hitting the earth generated from a powerful space ship engine, Roy is tasked with finding out if his father is still alive and if so, if it’s the lost ship starting these power surges.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Ad Astra’ is in the upper echelon of the space adventure genre”

REVIEW: ‘Hustlers’ is a flashy, fun crime story

Hustlin’ aint easy, but the main characters in this flick sure seemed good at it.

“Hustlers” follows the character Destiny (Constance Wu), a woman trying to make a living in New York City by working at a gentlemen’s club. On top of making a living for herself, she’s also working to support her grandmother. While she’s making some money with the job, she doesn’t hit her stride until she meets Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), who acts as a sort of mentor.

Things appear to be going well with more money coming in. However, the film is set around 2008 and as many may remember, Wall Street tanked and pulled the rest of the world economy down with it. In the ensuing years, with more financial strains, Destiny decides to join Ramona in a scheme of getting wealthy wall street clients drunk and then over-charging their credit cards.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Hustlers’ is a flashy, fun crime story”

REVIEW: ‘It’ 2 lags behind first installment, but still worth a watch

The 1990 “It” mini-series adaptation took place over two nights and followed a group of characters in their youth, and as adults. The latest adaptation, spread over 2017 and 2019, takes a similar approach.

In both cases, the stories following the characters as kids was more compelling.

At the end of the 2017 movie, a group of friends in a small Maine town known as the Losers Club defeated the paranormal entity simply called “It” and made a promise to return to the northeast if the monster re-appeared. Well sure enough, 27 years later, It, taking the form of a clown, comes back to wreak havoc.

In response, Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only one who stayed in Maine, calls the Losers back from across the country to once again defeat It (Bill Skarsgard). Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Richie (Bill Hader) and Ben (Jay Ryan) all return to meet with Mike, but have trouble remembering the events of the first movie. However, that begins to change when they start seeing the evil clown around town.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘It’ 2 lags behind first installment, but still worth a watch”