Category Archives: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Flash Movie Review: How I Became a Superhero
DESPITE THE DJ’S MUSIC TRYING TO drown him out, the wedding guest sitting at my table kept going on and on about himself. The gentleman was an imposing figure, easily over 6 feet tall and stocky, with massive hands that gave his arms a sledgehammer appearance. I was not sure what industry this man had worked in, but he had been some high up executive. At least that is what my friend sitting next to me had told me. This man was telling us about the changes he had made at his company. I was appalled by the number of negative comments he had about his co-workers. He even went so far as to essentially say he went to a better college than anyone else in his department. At one point, I glanced over at his wife to see how she was reacting to her husband dominating the table conversation. She just sat there with a smile plastered on her face; I could not tell if it was an automatic response, or she enjoyed hearing her husband bragging about himself. It was boring to me, sitting there like a captive as he went on and on about his so-called achievements. What I found telling was the fact several of his achievements involved the reduction of employees, as if laying off workers was an accomplishment. PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO BRAG ABOUT themselves do not impress me. I understand there are times when one should toot their own horn, but I feel a person’s actions tell me more about them than anything they can say. I remember this student in one of my college classes. She was “down to earth,” displaying a gentleness and kindness towards her fellow classmates. We struck up a friendship, that allowed me the opportunity to see more into her intelligence. Despite carrying a full course load of classes, she was tutoring younger students in English. If that was not enough, she was working on an outline for a story she hoped to write and publish. I was struck by the way she talked about the things she was doing; there was no bravado involved, simply hoping she could make a difference in someone’s life. No one in class knew about any of this and in fact, she asked if I would not mention any of her extracurricular activities to the other students. It is people like her that confirm my belief that actions speak louder than words. I think that is one of the reasons I liked the way the writers spun the story in today’s film review. A NEW DRUG HITS THE STREETS of Paris that gives the user superpowers. It appears those who use it aren’t thinking of doing something good. With Pio Marmai (I Kissed a Girl, The Trouble with You) as Moreau, Vimala Pons (The Wild Boys, Elle) as Schaltzmann, Benoit Poelvoorde (Coco Before Chanel, The Brand New Testament) as Monte Carlo, Leila Bekhti (A Prophet, The Third War) as Callista and Clovis Cornillac (A Very Long Engagement, Eden Log) as Gigaman; this action, adventure comedy took some time to let the story unfold; but I was intrigued with the premise. I enjoyed seeing a different perspective on the superhero genre. What helped was the filming of this picture; there was a dark grittiness to the scenes that added an extra layer of intrigue. Maybe it is my own personal feeling, but I do not associate grittiness with the city of Paris. The acting was convincing and authentic to me. I will say the special effects were not on the level of a Marvel film; however, what there were was not a distraction. This was an interesting viewing experience. There was an extra scene at the end of the credits and though I saw an English version, this film was originally done in French with English subtitles.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Cinderella
CLASSIC STORIES ARE SOMETHING I CAN revisit again and again. During my school years, I wound up reading Moby Dick three times. I am not sure I can even define what constitutes being a classic, but at least I know a classic story has the ability to emotionally move a person. Love plays a prominent role in many classics. For example, My Fair Lady was based on the George Bernard Shaw play, Pygmalion and The King and I was based on Margaret Landon’s novel, Anna and the King of Siam, which was based on the memoirs of the governess to the children of the King of Siam. One of my favorite stories is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I do not remember if I read the story or not in school; however, my most vivid memory was seeing the movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli. It was a special showing that was being done in only one theater in the city. A friend joined me as we had to take the train down to go see the movie. To this day, I remember the theater because it was a big classic theater that had these art deco lamps hanging down from the lobby ceiling. To get to the balcony, there was a red carpeted staircase with gold-colored bannisters that curved up to the 2nd level. Because I loved the story of Romeo and Juliet, I knew I was going to equally love the movie West Side Story which was based on Shakespeare’s story. AS YOU CAN SEE, I DO not have an issue with new movies coming out that were based on previous movies/stories. It can be fun to see a story told through a different set of eyes. In some cases, the movie gets remade because there is technology available to enhance the story that was not available when the story first came out in film. For me, some of the successful remakes have been A Star is Born, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Departed. However, as most of us know, there are also remade films that were disastrous. Off the top of my head, I can think of The Stepford Wives, House of Wax and Guess Who. I know when the original movie is idolized, it is hard to try and remake or update the story. It would be best if the movie studio doesn’t refer to the original movie at all; let their new creation come out with any false expectations. With today’s film it did not take me long to decide which category this remake falls in. IN THIS RETELLING OF THE CLASSIC fairy tale, Cinderella has a dream to become a dressmaker. Marriage is not something she was focusing on. With musical artist Camila Cabello as Cinderella, Billy Porter (Like a Boss, Pose-TV) as Fabulous Godmother, Nicholas Galitzine (High Strung, The Changeover) as Prince Robert, Idina Menzel (Uncut Gems, Glee-TV) as Vivian and Pierce Brosnan (False Positive, Mamma Mia! franchise) as King Rowan; this comedic family fantasy took the original story of Cinderella and added a layer of female empowerment to it. I would not have an issue with this update; however, the script was a big misfire that dulled the delivery of the story. Though the musical numbers by themselves were fun to watch, they seemed so out of place to me because of the modern songs. Here was the perfect case not to associate this picture with the classic Cinderella. There were cringeworthy scenes that were painful to watch. The other thing that I felt diminished the telling of this story was the lack of chemistry between the characters. The whole appearance of the cast seemed flat to me. With the music and special effects, this movie might appeal to a narrow range of viewers.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Paw Patrol: The Movie
FUR, PURR, PAWS, BARK, CUDDLES; THAT is enough for me to fall in love. I am an animal lover. Whether it is a cat or dog, doesn’t make a difference to me. A friend of mine had a dog that knew to lie down anytime I said, “Do you want a doggie massage?’ Of course, I would then rub him down, including his limbs. This dog became my shadow anytime I was over at my friend’s house. I guess if someone was going to offer me a massage, I would do the same thing! The dog was a real sweetheart; he rarely barked and loved to play fetch. Another friend of mine had a dog that was also sweet but feared many things. She refused to go outside if it was raining. And if there was thunder, she spent most of the time under a bed. Where most dogs walk into a room, she would slink in by staying close to a wall. In fact, it took months before she let me even pet her. I would squat down with my hand extended out for her to sniff. My friend would even let me give the dog a treat, but the poor thing would only come near after I would place it on the floor and step several steps back. I couldn’t get upset nor would I because she was so cute. MY LOVE OF DOGS IS MATCHED by my love of cats. A relative of mine had a gorgeous cat that loved to snuggle around my neck. If I was sitting on the sofa, the cat would jump up to the back of the couch then walk behind me before curling herself around my neck. She had one of the loudest purrs; it sounded like a low motor. On the opposite side, a friend of mine had a cat who hated people coming over to their house. I know that sounds strong, but she did not like people except for her owner. My friend told me the first time his girlfriend stayed over for the night; the cat was a terror. When the two of them were in bed, the cat would jump up and start walking on top of his girlfriend who was not amused. My friend would grab hold of the cat and put her down on the floor, but she would immediately jump up again. There was no choice after going through this a few times; my friend put the cat in the hallway and closed the bedroom door. Their night was mostly filled with the cat meowing non-stop outside the door. The girlfriend wasn’t really a cat person I was told and evidently the cat knew. My friend and I felt it was her loss. Some people prefer one animal over another and act accordingly. You can see how that plays out in this animated adventure comedy. THE PAW PATROL WOULD HAVE THEIR work cut out for them when Adventure City elected a new mayor who loved cats. With Tyler Perry (Gone Girl, Good Deeds) as Gus, Ron Pardo (Hairspray, Undercover Brother) as Cap’n Turbot, Will Brisbin (Forbidden Playground, Abducted) as Ryder, relative newcomer Kingsley Marshall as Marshall and Keegan Hedley (Never Saw it Coming, Odd Squad-TV) as Rubble; this film reminded me of my youth, sitting and watching the Saturday morning cartoons. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The visuals, the soundtrack, the mix of excitement with fear; everything blended well to the point I became vested in the characters. I especially enjoyed the inventiveness of the gadgets. With elements of charm similar to those good old-fashioned cartoons, I appreciated the message the writers were conveying. Young children will absolutely enjoy this movie and I feel their parents will as well. With so much going on in the world, I think my enthusiasm for this picture was heightened because of its simplicity and G rating.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Reminiscence
I MISS DIALING A PHONE NUMBER and speaking to an actual person. The amount of time it takes these days to get a hold of someone seems as if it is getting longer and longer. Going through the different prompts feels like I am being tested to see how long it will take before my patience wears out. Not that I am totally old-fashioned; but I get frustrated when I must contact companies and offices for something, I think will have an easy answer then jump through automated verbal hoops. On the other hand, it is a breeze to check on my bank balance with the bank’s automated system without having to speak to a bank employee. I have similar feelings about the self-service checkout lanes at the grocery store. If I do not have coupons, I will use the self-service lanes. However, if I am using a coupon then I use the regular checkout lanes. The reason being at the self-service I have to wait for an employee to come over and approve my coupons then override the computer screen to allow me to scan the coupons. By the time I get through this process my ice cream usually has softened. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE I KNOW who are emotionally locked to their past, when it comes to their love relationships. I had a friend who was living with the love of their life for several years, before their love took ill and died. My friend never got over it, mourning them for years. After what seemed a long, long time they agreed to go on a blind date; however, it went no further after the initial meeting. There were several dates to follow with various suitable individuals; but like that first blind date, all of them went no further than the one and only date. My friend kept saying none of the people they were meeting could compare to their deceased partner. I tried offering that it probably was difficult to make a comparison from only having one date. My musings fell on deaf ears. They preferred to live in the past and I say that because after a time I would have thought my friend would have started to dispose of their love’s clothes and personal items. They did no such thing; instead, they left everything the way it was when they were alive. A hairbrush remained in the medicine cabinet; their toothbrush stayed in the toothbrush holder. I felt sad for them, similar to how I felt initially about the private investigator in this romantic mystery. WHEN HE FIRST MET HER WHEN she walked into his place, private investigator Nick Bannister, played by Hugh Jackman (Bad Education, The Front Runner), had no idea that finding her lost keys would lead him to a crime. With Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep, The Kid Who Would Be King) as Mae, Thandiwe Newton (The Pursuit of Happyness, Vanishing on 7thStreet) as Emily “Watts” Sanders, Cliff Curtis (Risen, The Dark Horse) as Cyrus Boothe and Marina de Tavira (Roma, Secondary Effects) as Tamara Sylvan; this futuristic film noir production was enticing to watch. I thought the sets stood out as well as the outside Miami area. The first half of the story drew me in as the mystery was building. The pacing fit the story as the actors, who were stiff with their acting, tried to bring their characters to life. Sadly, the script did not help them. Unfortunately, the last half of the story got bogged down with twists and turns, past and present; to the point I lost interest. It bothered me because I enjoyed the visuals and the mystery portion of this picture. The other thing that absolutely annoyed me had to do with seeing a person’s memories that were being shown from an outside perspective. I can look back at a memory but if it is being pulled from my mind to relive, how could there be a different perspective that I did not see back then? This was not the way I remembered the past.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Suicide Squad
SOME PEOPLE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR soft drinks. I know several individuals who will not order a soft drink with their meal if the restaurant does not carry “their brand.” That seems a bit intense for me; I am not as picky. Regarding the top two cola brands, I prefer one over the other; however, if a food establishment does not carry the one I like, I will order the other one. Though they have a similar taste, the one I prefer is sweeter tasting and not as strong in my opinion. I feel the same way about fast food restaurants. Not that I eat at them often, but when I do, I usually seek out one in particular for their French fries. However, if they are not conveniently located to where I am traveling, I am fine going to a different fast-food chain. There are some folks who would not be as flexible going to a different place to eat from the one they like the most. To me, it is just food; I can always find something to eat, not that it will always be a healthy choice. I will say though, there are some companies I will not support due to their actions that have an effect on certain groups of people. Those types of businesses do not get any of my money. DESPITE THERE BEING A COUPLE OF film studios that specialize in superhero movies, I have found myself to be somewhat biased when it comes to the films, they each produce. After having seen several of each studio’s films, I find myself looking forward more to one studio over another. Now, I still act the same towards both; I do not read any reviews or comments until after I have seen the movie for myself. However, the past several films from one studio have not been as captivating as the other studio’s movies. The studio I find myself being more excited about has entertained me consistently with their pictures. There is something about their scripts that feel more well rounded to me, with action, drama, humor and wittiness among other emotions. The other studio just never seems to reach such a high benchmark when compared to this studio. It is like that famous chocolate cookie with the creamy filling, where some people twist the cookie parts to eat the filling first. There is another food company that makes the same type of cookie, but I know no one who has ever bought them. Despite everything I have just said; I was pleasantly surprised by this action, adventure comedy that came from the film studio I tend to have lower expectations for their superhero movies. AFTER A SUPER SECRET AGENCY’S MISSION fails, a group of extremely dangerous, imprisoned villains were picked for their particular skill sets, with the hope they might be able to complete the original mission. First, they would have to get along with each other. With Margot Robbie (Mary Queen of Scots, The Legend of Tarzan) as Harley Quinn, Idris Elba (Concrete Cowboy, The Dark Tower) aa Bloodsport, John Cena (Playing with Fire, Daddy’s Home franchise) as Peacemaker, Joel Kinnaman (The Informer, Run All Night) as colonel Rick Flag and Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences) as Amanda Waller; this movie was nothing what I expected for the most part. I did expect Margot to be good and she was beyond good. The other acting surprise was John Cena; I thought he stood out as well. This is not a picture for young viewers; there was extreme violence and strong language. It was a shock to me; a superhero film that was gory and intense, despite being colorful, fun and a parody at times. I did not care much for the shifting between short time frames because it diminished the excitement factor for me. DC Comics took a drastic turn with this picture by creating a darker and crazier version of its usual movies. There was an extra scene at the end of the credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Infinite
THE SILENCE WAS BROKEN BY A cough. I kept talking as I was taking the yoga class into a guided meditation. Another cough pierced the room and then another one. Though I had turned the lights off in the room, I turned towards where I had heard the coughing. There was enough moonlight shining through the windows, so I could see one of the class participant’s stomach bounce from the exertion to cough. Usually a member coughing during this portion of the class would sit up from their reclined position and get a drink of water; but this member remained on her back while coughing. I could tell the class had lost its way towards relaxation and I needed to find out what was going on with the member. As I walked over, the person lying next to her rolled closer towards the coughing person and asked what was wrong. The person replied she did not feel well and as if on cue, began making noises as if she was about to vomit. Before I could tell someone to go get help, the person who had rolled over, took their towel and placed it under the coughing person’s mouth as she rolled to her side and emitted a chocking sound. I could not see what came out of their mouth but as they sat up, I heard them say they felt better. When I said I would call for help, the helpful person said not to bother; everything should be ok now. I asked why and she said her mother ate a cheeseburger right before coming to yoga class. IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL YEARS, BUT I cannot get that memory out of my head. When the daughter told me about the cheeseburger, I wanted to ask the mother what she was thinking!?!? However, I had to maintain my composure and only say it appears that was not a good choice to make. I do my best not to dwell on the “bad” memories because honestly, there are so many “good” memories I have acquired through the years of teaching yoga. There was the elderly woman with amazing flexibility, who came up to thank me after class and tell me she was celebrating her 85thbirthday. Another good memory was the man who came to class with these negative preconceived notions of what takes place in a yoga class, only to discover he was not only far off base, but he loved it and became a regular participant. The way my brain is wired, I not only can remember what took place in class, I can tell you where the individual was standing in the room and what they were wearing. The mind is such an amazing organ. If you are interested, you can see what the mind can do in this action thriller. FOR YEARS EVAN McMAULEY, PLAYED BY Mark Wahlberg (Joe Bell, Instant Family), thought something was wrong with him because of all the crazy thoughts he would get. That thinking started to change for him when he met someone who had their own “crazy” thoughts. With Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind) as Bathurst 2020, Sophie Cookson (Kingsman franchise, Red Joan) as Nora Brightman, Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner franchise, Love and Monsters) as Treadway and Jason Mantzoukas (The Dictator, They Came Together) as Artisan; this science fiction film had an interesting premise for the story line. Unfortunately, that idea never expanded out to create a worthwhile picture. The script was confusing, the acting was stiff, and the action scenes were uneven. Mark played one of his typical characters; I never felt like I connected to it. The oddest part of this movie was the evil character’s motivation. I found it made little sense which added to the lackluster performances. It also seemed as if the writers left room to create a sequel. My suggestion would be to take a pass on this movie because I do not think my memories of it will go away easily.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Boss Baby: Family Business
THE TWO BABIES WERE SITTING IN the stroller side by side. They did not look like twins to me, just siblings. One baby was calm, looking as if they were enjoying the ride. The other baby looked miserable, crying with tears rolling down over large pudgy cheeks. The first baby seemed oblivious to the crying one; or, maybe they were just used to it and ignoring their sibling. Looking at them reminded of two sisters I knew who shared similar physical traits but were so different every other way. One was active and athletic; the other I do not recall ever breaking a sweat from any physical activity, unless you count smoking outside on a hot summer day. To this day I still find it curious how two siblings raised in the same household could grow up being so different. I eventually saw it as proof that genes and DNA play a bigger part in a person’s makeup than what I gave them credit for. These sisters, as they got older, displayed such differences that they did not ever share the same reaction to any type of important/traumatic news. Upon hearing about the death of someone in their family, one daughter was consoling her family members; the other sister was hardly fazed by the news. I found it extremely odd to say the least. WHEN I SEE A WHINING CHILD, I try to stay away from them. Maybe I have a hard exterior; but unless the child is experiencing discomfort or distress, I do not want to be exposed to such behavior. There was a time I used to think it was the child’s issue, they were complainers. However, I started looking at the parents and realized they have influence over their child and how they react has an affect on what the child learns. If a child throwing a tantrum is given a reward for the behavior, they are going to continue the behavior. If told they could get a toy at the toy store if they stop crying, what do you think most kids would pick? Or how about a parent who tells their disagreeable child the punishment they will receive if they continue acting out, then doesn’t follow through with the threat? There have been numerous times where I have witnessed a parent threatening to take a toy away from a child who is being a brat. The child stops acting out for a moment but then starts up again, while the parent moves on to try a different tactic. The child learns their parents’ threats of punishment will not take place; and I believe, they will grow up to be miserable adults who want everything to go their way. If you care to, you can see what happens to some of the babies in this animated adventure film. HAVING GROWN APART AS ADULTS TIM, voiced by James Marsden (Hairspray, X-Men franchise) and his brother will have to find a way to reconnect if they are going to save all the parents who are in a direct path towards an evil genius. With Alec Baldwin (It’s Complicated, Motherless Brooklyn) voicing Boss Baby, Amy Sedaris (Bewitched, The Mandalorian-TV) voicing Tina, Ariana Greenblatt (In the Heights, A Bad Moms Christmas) voicing Tabitha and Jeff Goldblum (Hotel Artemis, Independence Day franchise) voicing Dr. Armstrong; this comedy had fun visuals that were geared to the younger crowd. I felt the same way about the script; it was written more for kids. The first half of the film had moments of boredom for me. Despite it, the actors were all excellent with their characters. The last half of the film picked up and I appreciated the message the writers were trying to convey to the audience. There was nothing new and special about this sequel; at least it was not as annoying as sitting next to a crying baby.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Black Widow
I SHOULD HAVE READ THE FINE print before agreeing to participate. We were on vacation, staying at a hotel. When we checked in, we were handed an invitation to a presentation that was going to be held in one of the hotel’s conference rooms. The topic was about a new property the hotel was going to open. Refreshments would be served, and each guest would receive a gift bag worth $300.00. We agreed to participate, hoping the gift bag would at least contain food and drink coupons. On the day of the presentation, we walked into the conference room where a hotel employee greeted us with the gift bag. Finding seats, I went through the bag. There was an assortment of travel sized items like toothpaste, bagged peanuts and body lotion. Along with the stuff there was a gold cardboard envelope. I opened it and found a coupon towards a one night’s stay at their new property being built in the Bahamas; that was where the $300.00 value came in. Though I understood the whole marketing aspect of it, I was still annoyed that I agreed to sit through a 2 hour presentation; where at the end of it, the employee tried to sell us a time share unit at their new property. The way I saw this was I received a few travel sized things and a coupon, which I found out did not include air fare and was not enough for a one night stay, for using up 2 hours of my time. I REALIZE I HAVE A CHOICE; I do not have to agree to these types of sale pitches. For me it is about my time and effort, and what I am getting in return. Here is an example; remember those old TV dinners in the metal trays with the compartments for each food group? I used to get the turkey and gravy one, despite not really liking it. The reason was I loved the dessert that came with it, a baked apple crisp type of thing. The turkey was not horrible; but I was not a gravy person and did not care for the wetness with pieces of mushy stuffing floating in it. I powered through despite it, just so I could enjoy the dessert. As a little boy, I used to go through a box of cereal I disliked just to pull out the sweetened raisins and add them to a different box of cereal that I really enjoyed. Even today, my friends and family know I rarely order something straight off the restaurant menu without making small adjustments for the things I like and dislike. I wish I could have done that for this action, adventure film I saw at the movie theaters. NATASHA ROMANOFF, PLAYED BY SCARLETT JOHNSON (Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story), must confront her past if she wants to overcome the sinister forces that are circling around her. With Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, Fighting with my Family) as Yelena Belova, David Harbour (No Sudden Move, Suicide Squad) as Alexei, Rachel Weisz (The Favourite, My Cousin Rachel) as Melina and Ray Winstone (The Departed, Cold Mountain) as Dreykov; this science fiction origin story was a mixed bag for me. There were times where the scenes were brilliant, both in content and visually; but other times I was not as impressed. I think the basic issue had to do with the script. In a Marvel film, we get overloaded with excitement, peril, humor and incredible CGI effects. This film came close at times but did not quite make it. The women were incredible together, especially Scarlett and Florence, who I think has a future in the Marvel universe based on her performance here. For the story, the evil aspect just wasn’t as diabolical as it could have been. I enjoyed watching the movie, but I did not love it. Sort of like that TV dinner I used to eat. There was an extra scene after the credits.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Super Jam: A New Legacy
AS FAR BACK AS I CAN remember, I have always looked to see what I could find in clouds. The man in the moon did not interest me for long, where clouds always provided me with a variety of things to look at. For example, some of the things I have found in clouds have been the head of a horse with its flowing mane, a bow and arrow, a runner, numerous profiles of people, an assortment of insects and animals, and different car and truck models. Now that I am thinking about it, clouds were my version of Instagram and TikTok. I say this because I only had a short time to discover the item in the cloud before it was slowly swallowed back into the cloud’s depths. My fascination with finding hidden things in things soon expanded beyond the clouds. I used to love going through those optical illusion Magic Eye photos/pictures, where a secret image was within it. I think another word for it was Autostereograms. Discovering the secret image was a thrill for me as a kid; all it took was a little refocusing of the eye before the image would appear out of the picture I was viewing. LIKE MOST CHILDREN, I WAS NEVER thrilled to go to the doctor’s office. However, I did enjoy the waiting room because they had a children’s magazine that always had a page with a drawing that contained 6 or 7 hidden objects within it. If I had not finished finding all items before the nurse called my name, I would bring the magazine with me into the exam room. One birthday I received a subscription to the magazine; you would have thought someone had just given me a year’s worth of free chocolate candy; I was so excited by the gift. After training myself to seek out images within pictures, I discovered I was not alone in this practice. The director Alfred Hitchcock, I found out, enjoyed placing himself in a cameo role within his movies. Nothing major, he usually was in the background of a scene, either walking in the middle of the crowd or getting off a bus where the two major stars were waiting to get on board. I enjoyed trying to find him in the middle of his films; the same goes for Stan Lee, the creative force behind Marvel Comics, who could be found doing a cameo in the various Marvel superhero movies. Little did I know my fondness for spotting cameos would go into overdrive during this adventure comedy picture. AFTER BEING PULLED INTO A NEFARIOUS artificial intelligence’s game, there was no choice but for sports celebrity LeBron James to play the game to get his family back together. With Don Cheadle (No Sudden Move, The Guard) as Al G. Rhythm, Cedric Joe (Loving Him, Good Trouble-TV) as Dom James, Khris Davis (Judas and the Black Messiah, Detroit) as Malik and Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead-TV, Star Trek: Discovery) as Kamiyah James; this animated film was best suited for younger audiences. I say this because as an adult, I felt the script was not the best along with being predictable. In addition, it showed LeBron was not a good actor. If one is a fan of the Looney Tune comics, they more than likely would enjoy the cartoon characters’ antics through the story. As I mentioned before, the highlight for me was the vast amount of cameo appearances by Warner Brother’s stable of licensed characters. At one point I was wondering if Warner Brothers was using this film to promote upcoming film projects; there were so many places to find them that I kept getting distracted from concentrating, as it were, on the main focus of the story. Because the first film was new and fresh to viewers, this one lacked the fun punch it needed to keep my interest. Sort of like looking at the fleeting image in a beautiful cloud before disappearing.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Tomorrow War
IT TOOK ME A MOMENT TO comprehend what had just happened in front of me. I looked at the receptacle to see if there were any markings on it that would justify what my friend had done. Since there weren’t, I had to ask my friend if his building recycles. He told me they did not; I was shocked. Maybe I was naïve, but I thought all apartment and condominium buildings collected the inhabitants’ recyclables. I told him my thoughts and he said there was a proposal presented to the condo association a couple of years ago, to set up a recycling program; but it was turned down in the voting process. Turned down in the voting?!? I could not believe it. The act of recycling seems like such a no brainer to me; why wouldn’t someone want to do it to help the planet. It is not like I am an extreme recycler who goes around cleaning up highways and beaches; however, if I can recycle plastic items that will go through a process to be repurposed as a park bench or deck, what is the problem? We can save some trees. I could not resist, so I asked my friend if there were any nearby recycling stations, he could bring his stuff. Sadly, there was nothing close by. All I could think about was what type of people lived in his condo building, who voted not to recycle. I HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO notice the changes that have taken place in our world. When I was a small boy, I used to constantly go swimming in a nearby lake. Now, I would not even wade into it. In elementary school back then I think there was only one student who had asthma; today I know many students and young adults who have it. Could it be something is in the air now that was not years ago? I look at the younger generation and wonder what challenges they will face due to what we as a society have or have not been doing to the planet. Especially because of the heatwave that has been scorching the western states, I wonder if the next generation will still see icebergs or the polar cap. Years from now, I cannot help wondering what the food chain will be. Will there still be corn or wheat? For those who eat red meat, will it all be artificial, pumped with gene altering hormones? I think people, especially those with children, would want to do their part to keep the planet alive and well. Here in this action, adventure drama is an example of what one father was willing to do to save the planet. WHEN THE MILITARY CAME, SCIENCE TEACHER Dan Forester, played by Chris Pratt (The Kid, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), had no choice but to join the fight to save Earth, despite what his wife and daughter wanted him to do. With Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale-TV, All I See is You) as Colonel Muri Forester, J.K. Simmons (Palm Springs, 21 Bridges) as James Forester, Betty Gilpin (Isn’t it Romantic, The Hunt) as Emmy Forester and Sam Richardson (We’re the Millers, Veep-TV) as Charlie, this science fiction film had potential to become a big attention grabber. However, I think it needed help from a big theater screen. The story was interesting but as I was watching this picture, I felt I had seen some of the story before. At least the action scenes were good; however, I found the pacing uneven and there were times where the script was not believable. In fact, I found a couple of scenes were just ridiculous. Too bad, because I was intrigued with the family connection story line. As I mentioned earlier, maybe this movie would have benefitted by being shown in the theater because as it stands now, I was left with wanting to experience something more.
2 ¼ stars
moviejoltz 