Jumanji: The Next Level

Yesterday I took my son to see the new Jumanji sequel. I appreciated how they expanded on the prior story line and made the characters better friends and a little more likable. The plot was a little more complicated with additional characters as well as swapping around their avatars for who we are used to seeing in those roles. I thought the writing was done well but I actually liked Welcome to the Jungle slightly more since it was so fresh and original at the time (Yes I know it was a sequel/remake, but you know what I mean.)

I was impressed with the Rock channeling Danny DeVito so well. I love Dwayne Johnson but it's always nice to see him expand his acting and break his usual mold. Kevin Hart did a great job sounding like and elderly Danny Glover most of the movie, but it also kept him from being able to shine and be his high-energy funny self.

There was also more variety with the setting. They start in the jungle but also have scenes in the dessert and in a snowy climate. This movie was fun and a little more family friendly (cleaner) than the prior one. It is entertaining and has a good cast but it just didn't make me laugh as much as the prior movie did. I still like it and give Jumanji: The Next Level 6.8 stars.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Last week my kids and I watched the first Maleficent movie since it was available on Netflix. The next day we decided to go to the theater to see the sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. I'm not a big fairy tale fan but I was really impressed with the vibrant colors, special effects, costumes, and cinematography,

This movie picks up several years after the first one as Prince Phillip proposes to Aurora who has been living in and reigning over the Moors. The potential joining of the two kingdoms is hard for Maleficent to support since she distrusts humans. She reluctantly accompanies her god daughter to visit the king and queen in their castle for dinner and it does not go well. The movie did a good job of pitting Angelina Jolie against Michelle Pfeiffer who was the real villain of the movie. Oops.

The plot features some additional side stories which made it a little more interesting. This sequel had some shortcomings but I liked it more than the original and really loved the rich colors, creativity, and costumes in the movie. Angelina Jolie was is perfect for the role of Maleficent. I enjoyed this sequel enough to give it 7.1 stars.

Movies from the plane ride

Last week I was travelling from the US to Ghana and had over 26 hours of flight time so I got caught up on some movies I had not seen. Here's a brief summary of how much I enjoyed each one.

Dark Phoenix- This was my least favorite of the four movies I saw and that is sad since I am a big super hero movie fan. I was mostly confused by this movie and could not figure out how it fit into the X-Men timeline. SPOILERS: I assumed it was supposed to be a prequel since it had many of the younger actors who were in the prequels as well as a younger version of Xavier and Magneto yet Mystique gets killed so that had me confused. If this was a sequel, why was everyone young? Anyway Dark Phoenix didn't have the magic of some of the earlier X-Men films. I give it only 6.0 stars.

The Hustle- I love Dirty Rotten Scoundrels so when I heard they were doing a remake featuring a mostly female cast I was looking forward to it. I didn't have huge expectations going in since the original is a masterpiece but I thought Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway were funny and brought a modern take to the story. Being familiar with the original I was looking forward to the details. It was not as good as the original but still had some funny moments. It seemed to end abruptly but it was better than I expected it would be. I give it 6.7 stars.

Alita: Battle Angel- I was not sure if this is based on a video game or comic book so I was clueless about the story. Even though I did not know anything about this movie, I really liked the special effects. It was one of those half real and half CGI movies but it didn't have that creepy and unnatural feel you get watching Polar Express. I was tired while watching this and honestly can't remember how it ended but it had enough entertaining aspects for me to give it 7.1 stars.

Stuber- I do not usually watch rated R movies, but the airplane version of Stuber was heavily edited. It was obvious since they dubbed over most of the swear words. This is a movie about a hardened cop who takes a ride with an innocent Uber driver since he just had an eye procedure and can't see well for 24 hours. He ends up kidnapping him and making him drive for him all day as he fights bad guys. I didn't care too much for Dave Bautista's tough cop portrayal but I thought Kumail Nanjiani was very funny. This movie is not the Godfather but it made me laugh and that's all I look for in a comedy. I know it got bad reviews but I laughed enough to give it 7.2 stars

Movies I've Seen Over the Last 2 Months

I've seen 6 movies since my last post and since I'm too lazy to do a real review for any particular movie, I will give a brief summary and ranking of each of the movies I've seen. I was surprised that they all were all pretty close to each other in the rankings I gave them. I guess I got a better batch than usual. Here they are starting with the lowest to highest ratings.

Hobbs and Shaw- I am not going to call this movie by it's official long name of Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. What is that some kind of legal requirement they had to list because they lost a lawsuit? Anyway, this movie was entertaining and I was grateful for the comedy aspect of the film since it is helped me relax and not get upset about so many unrealistic aspects of the movie (especially physics.) I love the Rock "Thank you China" but I only give it 6.6 stars.

Aladdin- You've probably noticed the trend of Disney remaking their animated movies into live action versions. I liked Aladdin more than I thought I would. Will Smith did a good job as the Genie and I appreciate that he brought his own style to the character as opposed to trying to imitate Robin Williams. I thought it was a good remake. I give it 7.0 stars.

Spider Man: Far From Home- I have really enjoyed Tom Holland as Spider Man and the latest installment was pretty good but I had a hard time with Jake Gyllenhaall's character. I think he's an amazing actor but it seemed like he didn't really belong in a comic book movie. Despite my nitpicking, it was still pretty good. 7.1 stars.

Lion King- I really liked the Lion King. I felt it was pretty much remade frame for frame for the most part. The main omission was Scar's "Be prepared" song featuring goose stepping hyenas. I wondered how they were going to do bridge that from the animation so it made sense to leave it out. I was blown away with all the attention to detail and how realistic they made the animals look. I give it 7.2 stars.

Yesterday- This was a fun romantic comedy that also bordered on Science fiction. It didn't feature any big name actors but it was well done and quite pleasant. I enjoyed all the Nostalgia around the Beatles songs and it was a clever and enjoyable movie. I give it 7.3 stars.

Downton Abbey- This is not my cup of tea but I took my wife since I know she likes the BBC vibe and since I am such an awesome husband. The movie held my attention better than I thought it would. There were several subplots woven together throughout the movie and they were all resolved nicely by the end of the film. I'm sure fans of the TV series will love it. I give it 7.4 ironic stars since it was the movie I was least looking forward to but was probably done the best.

Another Month of Movie Reviews

Since I've been back to the states I've seen several movies on planes and then a few since I've been home. I've ranked them worst to best. Here is a brief summary of each:

MIB: International- I thought this movie would be unremarkable and the reviews I saw were brutal so I was not expecting much at all, especially with an all new cast with this sequel. I have to admit I was surprised that it was not nearly as bad as so many said. It was still fun and entertaining although not as good as the prior movies. I give it 6.6 stars. 

Old Man and The Gun- This movie stars Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, and Casey Affleck. It is the true story of a prolific elderly bank robber who had a reputation for being polite and keeping a low profile. The movie was entertaining and although it was made recently, it has an old 70's feel to it. The acting is good but it was a little slow. I give it 6.8 stars.

Fighting With My Family- This is a based on a true story of a brother and sister from England who have the dream of being professional wrestlers. When they get the chance of a lifetime of trying out for the WWE, surprisingly, only the sister ends up making the cut. It features the family challenges they go through as a result as well as her struggles to make the cut to become a headline wrestler. It has some nice moments and some scenes with The Rock. I give it 7.0 stars.

Murder Mystery- Is a movie that was released directly to Netflix. It stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as an American couple who go on a trip to Europe and are invited on the yacht of an ultra- rich family. Multiple murders take place and they end up trying to solve the case while proving their innocence. I enjoyed this comedy because it had many funny scenes which made me laugh and was much better than most of the recent Sandler movies. I give it 7.1 stars.

Lincoln- This has been out for years but I finally got around to watching it on Netflix. Daniel Day Lewis does a great portrayal of Lincoln. There is less emphasis on the actual war but rather an emphasis on all the behind the scenes politics and work that was done in order to end the war and free the slaves. It was nice to see that messy politics, scheming, and negotiating have been around for a long time. I give it 7.2 stars. It is by far the best movie on this list, but I can't say I enjoyed it the most.

Arctic- This is pretty much a one man movie starring Mads Mikkelsen. He is a plane crash survivor somewhere in the arctic and this film features his struggles as he tries to survive in a freezing environment while his scarce resources are running out. A rescue helicopter goes down while looking for him and he ends up caring for a badly injured search and rescue survivor as well as himself as he leaves his camp and travels into the unknown looking for help. I was hungry, cold, and exhausted after watching this. It is a tough and gritty survival film.  I give it 7.3 stars. 

Avengers: Endgame and my ranking of the MCU movies

Endgame has only been in theaters for less than two weeks but at the time I am writing this, it is the #8 top money maker in the US and will surely be the biggest money making movie of all time in a very short time. I know there was a ton of hype and anticipation for this movie and that is the perfect storm for being let down, but I felt they delivered and it was well done.

I appreciate how Endgame brought closure to the series of movies yet allows many of the remaining characters to continue with their own sequels in the future. I feel Marvel has done a great job of bringing so many superheroes to the big screen over the last 11 years and making many of the characters household names whereas only comic book nerds might know who some of the lesser known characters were in the past.

I'm sure Endgame is still receiving over-excited positive reviews so I expect it's rating to slowly go down in the future on IMDB but I really liked it. I still can't decide if I liked it more than Infinity War but they are pretty much neck in neck. I give End Game 8.5 stars for wrapping things up so nicely and coming full circle while still remaining open ended for many of the characters.

As part of my service to humanity, I have decided to rank all 22 of the Marvel cinematic universe movies in order of how much I liked them. I'm sure some people may disagree with me but that is perfectly fine since everyone has the right to make mistakes (meaning those who don't agree with me.) Over the last decade some of the reviews I did on these movies may contradict the ranking I am giving them now, but after seeing all 22 movies, I'm going with my gut and ranking them from best to worst, or at least by how much I was entertained by them.

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Captain America: Winter Soldier
4. Iron Man
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Thor Ragnarok
7. Captain America: Civil War
8. Black Panther
9. The Avengers
10. Doctor Strange
11. Ant Man
12. Spider Man: Homecoming
13. Iron Man 3
14. Avengers: Age of Ultron
15. Captain America: First Avenger
16. Ant Man and the Wasp
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
18. Iron Man 2
19. Thor
20. Captain Marvel
21. The Incredible Hulk
22. Thor: The Dark World

Shazam! (A super short review)

I recently saw Shazam and it seems that the movies featuring DC characters are gradually getting better. I  thought Zachary Levi did a good job of portraying a young teenager in a newfound man's body with super powers. It reminded me a little of the dynamic with the recent Spider Man movies with Tom Holland or of Tom Hanks in Big.

I really liked the first half of this movie but my enthusiasm slowly tapered towards the end as it kept going. My only other real concern was how freaking big and stupid his cape collar was. It was giant and padded and made it look weird for him to move. If I am ever a superhero I will have a little more streamline costume and I'll ditch the cape. Aside from that I think most people will enjoy this movie, especially if they are a comic book fan. There you have it 7.2 stars.

Captain Marvel

I've been looking forward to seeing Avengers: End Game since Thanos snapped his fingers and created so much havoc for comic book movie fans. As part of my preparation for the next installment, I felt it would be a good idea to get up to speed by watching Captain Marvel. As a kid I always thought Billy Batson or Shazam was Captain Marvel so I was a little confused when I found out there was a woman super hero named Captain Marvel but I still went into this movie open minded and interested to see how she relates to the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Let me get straight to my takeaway.  I rank Captain Marvel down there with Thor: The Dark World around the bottom 5 or 6 of the 21 Marvel movies that have been made. I was shocked to learn that Brie Larson previously won an academy award because she seemed very dull and emotionless. It may not have been her fault as an actor if she was directed to portray herself that way but I felt even Kristen Stewart could have brought more emotion and range to the role. I just never connected to the character because she seemed so distant and un-fun to watch.

Some of the special effects like the de-aging of Nick Fury and Agent Colson was pretty impressive but some of the other special effects were just mediocre. None of the action scenes took my breath away. Maybe Infinity War set the bar too high and I'm expecting too much now but I just wasn't impressed. I also did not care for any of the scenes with the cat, especially the final reveal as it relates to Nick Fury.

Some people have criticized this movie claiming it promotes a feminist agenda.That is not why I didn't care for Captain Marvel. I did notice several scenes and dialogue that some might take offense with. There were also some subtle SJW messages that jumped out at me but that was not the reason I disliked this movie. It just was not that good. I heard some criticize Mad Max Fury Road for having too many females characters but I loved that movie because it was so entertaining and captivating unlike this film. 

I left the theater feeling let down and now I'm even a little concerned about how Infinity War is going to be. I have no problem with a strong female lead in a super hero movie but this is one instance where Wonder Woman and DC did a better job than Marvel did with this movie. Most people will probably like this movie more than I did but I can only give it a generous 6.1 star rating and part of that is for the nice Stan Lee nod in the opening credits.

Searching

I'm a little sheepish to be admit this but last year I saw a movie that I really liked and forgot to post about it in my comprehensive and super professional movie review blog until now. Searching is a movie about a young girl who suddenly goes missing and her father's frantic efforts to find her using her social media and contacts on her laptop. I liked this movie for the following reasons:

1) It was very suspenseful and felt like a modern day Hitchcock (but drowned in social media.) I was captivated and entertained the entire movie.

2) There are not a ton of characters but the performances were good. There were even several touching and emotional scenes. The introductory videos that told the story of the family reminded me of the beginning of Up.

3) Any millennial should be able to relate to this movie since it is about a young person and the whole story and every camera angle is shown through the filter of social media websites, laptop, security cameras, texts, etc. The movie stays true to this format to the end and that added a sense of realism to the film.

4) The format for this movie was unique and original. It could have backfired or gotten old, but it worked on me and even threw in some interesting social commentary at the same time.

I really liked Searching and would suggest it to anyone who enjoys the mystery/suspense genre. I give it 7.8 stars.

Glass

Glass is the follow up movie to Unbreakable and Split.

One thing I liked about this movie (as well as prequels) was how subtle it was for a superhero movie. The director does a good job of not pushing a bunch of super powers on you. Shyamalan does not go crazy with CG and special effects. Nobody flies, runs through buildings, shoots lasers from their eyes, etc. so you find yourself questioning if these guys really do have super powers.

Some might look at Glass and see it as a poor man's Marvel movie but I actually appreciate occasionally scaling back on the special effects. I really like Shyamalan's attention to detail especially his work with color schemes like we've seen in many of his other films. I thought the performances from the big 3 stars were good, especially the range McAvoy showed with all of his split personalities. I had a hard time taking Sarah Paulson's character seriously and saw through her pretty quick. Aside from that I liked this movie, especially the plot twists at the end.

I thought Glass was a nice end to the trilogy. I give it 7.3 stars.

Aquaman

When I was a little kid I enjoyed watching Superfriends on Saturday morning. For some reason out of all the cool heroes that made up the Hall of Justice, I seemed to like Aquaman the most. I'm not sure
why since I dislike oceans and fish and have never liked being in water. Anyway my idea of Aquaman has always been a yellow haired dude with green and orange water suit. As you can imagine I was a little surprised when Aquaman made his debut in Justice League and he looked like a member of a biker gang. I tried to roll with it but I think Arthur Curry doth protest too much with the overblown tough guy attitude and heavy drinking. We get it, you are a cool rebel who doesn't want to be a super hero.

This week I went with my son to see Aquaman. I saw it had received pretty good reviews and I was wanting it to be good and was hoping DC was on an upswing with one of their movies. I felt the movie started pretty weak. The scene where Black Mantis and his dad show up had some of the worst cliches and bad writing I've ever seen in a movie. When Aquaman makes his first appearance it was almost laughable. He'd say some smart ass comment and flip his hair back in dramatic fashion and then an electric guitar would play a riff as he looked into the camera. Seriously?

The movie got a little better as the story developed but I had a hard time getting into it. Some of the special effects were off the chart amazing while others were pretty lackluster. I think Jason Momoa is a cool guy but his character just tries to hard. Amber Heard was a pretty face with her dramatic red hair but I didn't think either lead was very convincing and they didn't have any chemistry. Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, and Temuera Morrison had the best performances but their screen time was limited. I found myself looking at my watch half way through the movie and that's not a good sign for an action movie. I think I actually liked the recent Superman movies more than Aquaman.

The music was also very odd. Some times it was a dramatic score but then there were scenes that switched to a synthesizer and it sounded like it was trying to be Daft Punk in Tron. I did like some of the underwater effects and really liked the scene when he got the green and gold Aquaman suit towards the end of the movie but overall I just felt like it was lacking in substance, script, development, and acting. I wanted to like Aquaman more but I can only give it 6.3 stars.

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

A couple years ago I saw The Jungle Book and really enjoyed it. I thought Jon Favreau did a great job directing it and felt it was an enjoyable family film. I was surprised to see another rival version of the story come out entitled Mowgli so soon afterwards. I was even more surprised when I realized it was being released directly on Netflix.

Mowgli was directed by Andy Serkis. He is also the voice of Baloo. Like the prior movie from 2016, this is also a live action version as opposed to animation but it has a darker and more intense feel to it. There is no breaking into song in this version and very few cute or funny moments so it's less of a kid's film since it holds closer to Rudyard Kipling's book.

Just like the prior movie, this one also has a stellar cast including Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchet, Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris, and others.

One thing that I really liked about this version was the attention to some small details that brought more realism. Things like Mowgli being filthy, the scars from injuries, etc. I had a hard time deciding which version I thought had better CGI. I liked some aspects of each film more but overall I'd have to give Mowgli a slightly higher score. I was shocked to see that it had lower scores on IMDB than The Jungle Book. 

I give Mowgli 7.6 stars.