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Flash Movie Review: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
THERE WERE SO MANY ADVERTISMENTS AND hype about the exhibit that was coming to our city, that I fell into its marketing push. I was interested in seeing the recently discovered artifacts, since they were part of our folklore for over a century. The television commercials showed glistening gold random objects, such as a plate charger, faucet handle and tie pin. I was fascinated with the print ads because they showed the event in numerous ways. Some had schematic drawings along with the print; others had old photographs and others had meticulously made sketches. The other thing that got me was the tagline, “Not seen for over 100 years.” I could easily get swept up into the idea that I would be part of a group that were the first people to see such items that were lost for so many years. I rounded up a couple of friends to join me in this pursuit, who I thought would appreciate the significance of being a part of this traveling exhibition. The ticketing process was not too painful, and I was able to purchase four tickets for a reasonable time slot. My friends and I agreed to meet in the lobby of the museum, where I would hand out the tickets, then we could go through the security line to see the exhibit. ON THE DAY WE WERE TO meet, I arrived early at the museum. I was surprised to see such a lengthy line for same day ticket purchases and wondered how big the exhibition was to accommodate so many people. At our designated time all the friends were accounted for, and we went through security, gratefully without any hassle. The exhibit was on the second floor, spread out through three galleries. Hanging on the barrier walls to help with the flow of traffic, there were reproductions of the old posters that would have been used to advertise the company back a century ago. As we walked through, there were freestanding glass cases placed throughout that had the artifacts. I walked up to the first display and enclosed I saw a rusty pen, a broken dinner plate, and a tarnished fork. None of these items were shown in any of the advertisements. On to the second case and there I saw a tarnished flask, a piece of glass with an emblem etched on it, and what I assumed was an envelope opener. Again, nothing special or spectacular. The four of us made our way to a dark room where there would be a visual presentation; it was a film clip from a famous movie showing the disaster where these items were lost. Throughout the exhibit, there were a couple of highlights that made the trip worthwhile; but overall, the entire experience was a bust; which is how I felt about this action, adventure fantasy. WHEN A VENGEFUL BEING BEGINS A campaign of destroying everything Arther, played by Jason Momoa (Dune, Slumberland) holds dear, there is no choice for Arthur but to reach out to the last person he wanted to contact for help. With Patrick Wilson (The Nun franchise, The Phantom of the Opera) as Ora, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Ambulance, The Trial of the Chicago 7) as Black Manta, Amber Heard (The Rum Diary, 3 Days to Kill) as Mera and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos, The Goldfinch) as Atlanna; this sequel left much to be desired. On the plus side, Jason and Patrick did their best with what was handed to them. The script was basic, following a set pattern for a superhero movie. There was little drama or character development as the story unfolded. The special effects were decent, and the battle scenes were imaginative and hectic. However, I was bored through most of the film; even, the humor was basic and only worthy of one or two chuckles. Based on this picture, I felt this film franchise should consider hanging it up because it had the trappings of being all washed up.
1 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Society of the Snow
I LOVE FLYING AS LONG AS I keep thinking I am on an elevator. My first flight took place when I was 13 years old. A friend and I were able to buy tickets for $38.00, yes $38.00, for a flight from our smaller airport that would fly around the city for 30-40 minutes. It was promoted as a tour plane, taking passengers along the lakefront up to the near northern suburbs, then back towards the western side before we would begin our descent on the south side. I still remember the push I experienced back into my seat when the thrust from the engines kicked in while we began our trek down the airstrip. Both of us were so excited from the flight that we vowed to become avid travelers. Even back then, the airplane reminded me of an elevator, except with more space and a bathroom. One steps into it, the doors close, it moves and when it eventually stops the doors open and you are in a different location. The flight attendants were like elevator men and women who helped facilitate your journey. The weird thing is when I was flying in my younger days, I did not have any worries. That was because most of the land I saw out the window was flat looking. After my growth spurt where I suddenly was taller, I no longer was interested in the window seat, instead I wanted the aisle seat. IT WAS DURING A FLIGHT THAT went over the Rockies, which started me second guessing about air travel. I had flown over green covered mountains, which did not appear dramatic compared to the Rockies. It was on that flight that I thought about what would happen if the plane had to go down from this location. Also, as I got older, I started thinking about more things that could go wrong on a flight. In my lifetime, there were some newsworthy airline incidents, from crashes to engines on fire. Those started weighing on me; each one carrying equal weight of fear and concern no matter the ratio between victims and survivors. Each one was a horrific experience. My last flight involved flying over the ocean and it did give me a moment of pause. However, since it was taking place at nighttime, I figured I could sleep through that portion of the trip. The sad thing is I used to focus more on outside factors causing a problem with a flight. Recently in the news there has been so much talk about the poor craftsmanship taking place on airplanes, that my anxiety levels are elevated. Now having watched this Oscar nominated international film, I cannot even take in all the emotions that I was experiencing while watching it. A RUGBY TEAM CRASH LANDS IN the Andes Mountains. The survivors must produce ways to survive long enough to be saved; that is if they can even be found. With Enzo Vogrincic (A Twelve-Year Melt; Yosi, The Regretful Spy) as Numa Turcatti, Agustin Pardella (What the Waters Left Behind, Secrets of Summer-TV) as Fernando ‘Nando’ Parrado, Matias Recalt (Planners-TV, Apache: The Life of Carlos Tevez) as Roberto Canessa, Esteban Bigliardi (Bad Christmas; Murder Me, Monster) as Javier Methol and Diego Vegezzi (The Invisible Eye, Music for Getting Married) as Marcelo Perez del Castillo; this adventure drama, history movie was an intense viewing experience. I vaguely remember the true story and knew going in this was going to be a difficult story to watch. The cinematography was outstanding, and the cast were completely believable. I had to assume the writers took some liberties with the dialog, but regardless my attention was glued to the scenes. The subject matter was treated with respect, I felt; and the story was so incredible that it still was hard for me to believe this film was based on that true event. The original movie was done in Spanish; I saw the English dubbed version.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Godzilla Minus One
THE FIRST MONSTER MODEL I EVER built was the Bride of Frankenstein. We were on a road trip, passing through a small town, where we stopped for lunch. There was a toy store next to the restaurant. I remember this because attached to the inside of the door of the toy store was a little bell. Evey time the door opened and closed; the bell would jingle. I was allowed to buy one model without using any of the allowance money I brought with me on the trip. There was a section, or more like a large bookcase that was filled with toy model sets. I was already good at building and painting them, mostly doing racing cars, planes, and battleships. On one shelf there were several kits of different monsters. Prior, I never had a desire to build a creature but there was something about the assortment on display that intrigued me. There was the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a werewolf, and a mummy amongst the kits. I considered them but decided they were too easy to paint, and I was at a stage where I wanted more details. I continued looking through them and came upon the box showing the Bride of Frankenstein on the front. There was something about the hair that I thought would be fun to paint. I had never seen someone with two stripes in their hair. As soon as we were back from our trip, I built and painted the model of her and placed it in our China cabinet in the dining room. FROM THAT FIRST MONSTER MODEL KIT, I started to collect other monster kits. One of them was Godzilla, who I had seen on television. Every Saturday afternoon, there was a TV program that aired movies. Looking back, I would say most of them were “B” or campy movies geared to a younger audience. When Godzilla blew that fiery stream from its mouth, I thought it was so cool. It did not matter to me that Godzilla looked like a man dressed in a rubber suit, or that the buildings looked like model kits; I enjoyed all the action and explosions. From that Saturday program I think I have seen every Godzilla movie; ones where it would fight other monsters like Mothra, King Ghidorah and the robotic version of itself, Mechagodzilla. Looking back at them now with fondness, I can appreciate the entertainment value, even if the special effects were poor. Through the years, things may come and go but Godzilla always lives on. And with that, how could I not see this latest version? I was not expecting much, but I wound up leaving the theater with a whole lot more. IT WAS THE END OF THE WAR and Japan was starting the process of rebuilding itself. Its plans would quickly get derailed when a monster appeared at its shore. With Minami Hamabe (The Promised Neverland, Shin Kamen Rider) as Noriko Oishi, Ryunosuke Kamiki (Noise, Dr. Coto’s Clinic) as Koichi Shikishima, Sakura Ando (Shoplifters, Love Exposure) as Sumiko Ota, Kuranosuke Sasaki (Aircraft Carrier Ibuki, The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai) as Seiji Akitsu and Munetaka Aoki (Silence, Independence of Japan); this action, adventure drama stunned me. Sure, it had the trappings of a Godzilla film; however, it had a story with a lot of heart in it. I loved the way the writers wove personal stories into the script; it took this movie genre and raised it up to a different level. The way the characters developed in the middle of this disaster film was refreshing. For me, this picture tickled my memories of those Saturday afternoon films; this is one I will not forget. Japanese was spoken with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Gran Turismo
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A FAST vehicle took place at a local amusement park. In front of the park entrance there was a go kart track. I always assumed it was separate from the park because we had to pay for each ride, unlike paying admission to the park and getting the rides for free. I stood and watched the karts roll by for a minute before I decided to join my relatives in line. Unlike some of the car rides I had been on at other amusement parks, where the vehicle was attached to a groove that went down the middle of the track, this ride let the driver have free rein to safely drive wherever they pleased on the track. When it was our turn to get into the karts, there were attendants who helped buckling in the drivers. I noticed the cars had extra big bumpers, like the bumper cars that were an attraction in the amusement park. The older relatives in front of me took off as soon as they were cleared by their attendants. I wanted to catch up to them, so as soon as I was given the okay, I pressed hard on the gas pedal and went out in pursuit. I loved the way the wind hit my face as I drove down the track, staying close to the left side. By the time we were flagged to stop, I had passed just a few of the younger relatives; but it did not matter, I was hooked on the speed. I CONTINUED TO GO ON THE ride until I was no longer able to fit into the kart. By that time, I had collected an array of race car toys, including a racetrack that I put together in our living room, so I was getting my thrills from racing toy cars. In fact, there was a toy shop I went to weekly that had a huge racetrack; customers could rent a race car or bring one of their own to play on the track against other customers. One of my relatives and I saved up and bought our own toy race cars to use at the store. It took me a while to get used to adjusting the speed when my car was taking a turn; I had a few wipeouts, but I was determined to make it through the whole track without an incident and win the race. I believe, all the times I played at the shop led the adult me to always go for the sportiest car whenever I was car shopping at dealerships. Who knows what would have happened if the racing video game in this film had come out when I was a little boy; I might have had a whole different career. EVER SINCE HE WAS A LITTLE boy, all Jann Mardenborough, played by Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Midsommar), could think about was racing cars. When an advertisement came out announcing a racing contest, Jann felt with all his video playing he might have a chance at becoming a race car driver for Nissan. With David Harbour (Black Widow, Revolutionary Road) as Jack Salter, Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) as Danny Moore, Takehiro Hira (Snake Eyes, Killing for the Prosecution) as Kazunori Yamauchi and Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever-TV, Turnt-TV) as Matty Davis; this action adventure film based on a true story had some great racing scenes in it. I was not familiar with the story nor the video game, so for me everything seemed fresh and new. I do feel the script was conventional because it never felt like we were getting the full story on the characters. The drama was kept to a certain level, so that it never dripped over into the action scenes. Nonetheless, this movie was still fun to watch, though if one is not interested at all in races and racing cars then you might want to pass this one on the right.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Killer
THROUGH THE YEARS, THE TALENT I saw in employees went from one extreme to the other, from crazy to amazing and everything in between. I recently told you about the switchboard operator who dropped acid. Believe me, she was just one of many characters I used to work with at my various jobs. At one place, I sat across a fellow employee who was obsessed with keeping their workspace perfectly clean. I mean to the point they would spray half a can of sanitizer all over their desk after removing everything off it. This meant they were disconnecting their phone and computer every day for this deep cleaning. The amount of sanitizer that they sprayed was so thick that you could see a cloud of it forming above them as they began to wipe everything down. Another employee at the same company threw off our supply budget because of the amount of paper towels she went through each day, washing her hands, face, and meal utensils that she kept individually wrapped in a plastic storage bag. It was obvious to me that both these individuals had OCD issues. I could at least understand where they came from with their daily rituals. But what can you say about the new employee who on their first day of work, kept leaving their training to ask a fellow employee if they could go out for lunch sometime. It was a form of harassment that the person had the power to correct but chose not to do so. The Human Resources department terminated their position. ONE OF MY MAIN GOALS AT my various jobs was to avoid conflict. I cannot manage drama, both at home and at the office. From the different companies I have worked at, I usually will study those employees who display vast knowledge and skills in their line of work. Though it is a cliché, I want to learn from the best. There was an employee at one company who not only had the knowledge for what their job required, but they also had the temperament. It was fascinating watching this person in a meeting because when asked to explain something, they would be able to communicate it in easy terms for the rest of us to understand. Their knowledge of the inner workings of the company was vast; they were like the resource center for the employees. I have to say it was impressive to see someone so skilled at their job. If my occupation were in the same field (gratefully not) as the main character in this action, crime film he would be someone I would watch and study. WHEN AN ASSASSIN MISSES HIS INTENDED target, not only was his reputation put in jeopardy but his life as well. With Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, The Light Between Oceans) as The Killer, Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Three Thousand Years of Longing) as The Expert, Charles Parnell (A Million Little Pieces, The Last Ship-TV) as The Lawyer-Hodges, Arliss Howard (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Full Metal Jacket) as The Client-Claybourne and Kerry O’Malley (Cowboy Drifter, 1923-TV) as Dolores; this adventure movie was an interesting study. I thought Michael was perfect in the role. At first, I felt lost watching this picture; I was not sure where it was going. However, as the scenes unfolded, I started to appreciate the work being done in creating a sense of tension, dread, drama, along with an unbelievable, intense fight scene. If only the writers could have started adding these things in earlier, it would have made this a better viewing experience. Though this film will not win any awards, it was an interesting inside look at the mind of an assassin.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Trailer: Wonka
I TEND TO BE SKEPTICAL WHENEVER a restaurant or food product gets rebranded or announces they are “new and improved.” More times than not, when a food establishment announces a change, their portions or their menus get smaller. Now I am not saying this happens all the time; it just seems to have happened enough for me to notice it. A restaurant I frequent came up with a new menu. It had the same colorful type of pages, but there were several items missing from it. When our meals came, the French fries that had always accompanied the entrée on the plate were instead stacked into a freestanding metal cone. As a display presentation it looked cool, but I could see there were not as many fries in it as there had been on the plate. It is not something I would complain about, especially since they did not increase the price for them. I have been to some restaurants that came out with a campaign about being better or tastier, and yet it all tasted the same, except the price for it was higher. That type of situation annoys me. I would rather they just raise the prices without trying to disguise it as some new and improved thing. THOUGH, I AM OPEN FOR TRYING new food items, my experience has been more of a negative reaction. There was a particular brand of ice cream I always bought. One day, while shopping, I stopped at the freezer case to pick up a container of it. At first, I missed it entirely because the packaging had been changed; it looked completely different. I looked over the label that was touting a new and improved flavor and did not see anything that stood out as unusual. Later that day, when I was back at home, I helped myself to a serving from it and immediately saw fewer chocolate chips. Not only did that bother me, but the other flavors in the mix were not as pronounced. It was another example of masking the true reasons behind their “new and improved” marketing ploy. I am aware in this line of work; the company must keep their eyes on their competitors’ pricing and not price themselves out of the market. Still, what purpose does it serve to produce something not as good? I would have rather paid more money for it and still enjoy the original flavors in the product. In my opinion, it is not always a clever idea to redo something that already works well. Case in point, today’s film. I know it is supposed to be a prequel, but something was missing from it. EVERYONE IN TOWN SEEMED TO LOVE the stranger’s chocolates, except for the members of the chocolate cartel. They were not about to let a stranger ruin their business plan. With Timothee Chalamet (Dune, Bones and All) as Willy Wonka, Hugh Grent (The Gentleman, Cloud Atlas) as Oompa-Loompa, Olivia Coleman (The Lost Daughter, Empire of Light) as Mrs. Scrubitt, Paterson Joseph (Aeon Flux, The Beach) as Slugworth and Calah Lane (The Day Shall Come, Kiddings-TV) as Noodle; this family, adventure comedy was like an assortment of Halloween candy: some scenes were good, others were not. My first reaction was about Timothee’s character; he was too mild in my opinion. There was not anything magical or special about him that made the character stand out on the big screen; unlike Hugh Grant, who I thought for the few scenes he was in was fun to watch. There was more of a cartoonish flavor to the movie as opposed to an exciting fantasy. Granted it is a prequel, but I was bored through the first half of the movie. The odd assortment of supporting characters added more “oomph” to the story. Also, except for a couple of well-known songs, the others were not memorable. I felt as disappointed as getting an apple instead of a chocolate bar for Halloween. There was an extra scene early in the credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Meg 2: The Trench
TO ME, ENTREES ARE SIMPLY THE vehicles that get me to desserts. I always like to say I want to have something sweet as the last thing I taste at a meal. I have always been like this, even when I was a small boy. In fact, there were many times I would avoid eating everything on my plate so I would have room to eat dessert. Gratefully for me, I made changes to my eating habits so I would not stuff myself with sweets after lunch or dinner and gain hundreds of pounds. It is funny, if it is homemade desserts, I can chow down on them. If they are store bought, I have better self-control. However, as I have gotten older that idiom, “too much of a good thing” has come into play. These days if I overeat too much sugar, I feel lethargic and heavy, not to mention feeling guilty. I do not know what it is about homemade sweets, but if I love them on first bite you can rest assured, I will go for more of it. There is a way that works for me on how to control my urge to overeat on desserts. If possible, I will freeze dessert items, then slowly dole them out to myself throughout the weeks. This way I won’t find myself getting ill from eating so much of a good thing. MY PHILOSOPHY OF TOO MUCH OF a good thing, is not good for you covers more than eating desserts. I recently discovered a supplement I was taking twice a day was the reason for my stomach issues. In my brain, I thought if I took more of the product, I would feel better faster; it turns out that was not the case. Since I stopped doubling the dose, I have been feeling much better. Another area I noticed where moderation could come in handy is the application of people’s makeup. I have seen individuals with so much makeup on their face that you can see where it cracks from their expressions. I know this is my personal taste, but I am also not a fan of houses that are decorated with an overabundance of holiday items. Do not get me wrong, I am on board when the decorations are within a theme; however, when there appears to be no rhyme or reason to how the decorations are placed on the lawn, the house, the surrounding trees/bushes and garages, it looks like a mess to me, and things just get loss in the mass of a glowing aura around the property. To sum up, all that I am saying is it is not necessarily a good thing to have so much more of something that it loses its distinctiveness. It certainly was the case in this action, adventure horror film. WHILE ON AN EXPEDITION AT THE bottom of the ocean, a research team discovers an unknown mining operation wreaking havoc with nature’s boundaries. What ensues could tip the balance of power in nature’s pecking order. With Jason Statham (Wrath of Man, Wild Card) as Jonas Taylor, Jing Wu (Wolf Warrior franchise, The Wandering Earth) as Jiuming Zhang, Shuya Sophia Cai (Somewhere Only We Know, The Meg) as Meiying, Cliff Curtis (Doctor Sleep, Risen) as Mac and Page Kennedy (Bad Roomies, The Upshaws-TV) as OJ; this film took what was in the original movie and supersized everything. I will say there were some exciting action sequences and a few thrills; but overall, I found the script a clumsy mess. The dialog was stunted, and it had a formulaic plot. For Jason, this picture was geared to him; it was loaded with a bunch of action scenes. For me, I would have preferred more depth and variation in the story and scenes. This is one fish fry that you might want to miss.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Wish
I WAS CONVINCED AT A VERY early age that my wishes would come true if I could blow out all the birthday candles on my cake with one big breath. One of my earliest memories was wishing for a tool set. After making my wish and successfully blowing out all the candles, when the time came to open my presents one of them was a brightly colored tool set. The tools were each a different color and were stored in a red toolbox, each one clipped into its own storage compartment. I was so excited about getting them and the realization that every year, whatever I wished for, would come true. I still remember the first time I used my set of tools; I decided to take the doorknob off from the front door. The funny thing though, is I had no idea what I was going to do with it; however, I thought it would be a good project to work on. When I tried to unscrew the screws with my screwdriver, I had a hard time because the screws did not want to move, forcing the head of my screwdriver to bend. So, I went to where my parents kept their toolbox and took a screwdriver from it to help me. Now I was getting somewhere with the doorplate around the handle; except when I removed the last screw and the plate did not move, I got scared for some reason and put back all the screws. FROM THAT EARLY START FROM CHILDHOOD, I eventually learned not all wishes come true immediately. I was disappointed but got used to it, though I never gave up hope. My wish choices changed depending on my age and what was taking place around the time I was making a wish. I went from toys and books to clothes and music; then, went to gift cards and home accessories and good health. Throughout the years, even when it was not my birthday, I made wishes. I think they are a wonderful option to throw into the world and see if they take root, receive nourishment, and possibly return as one’s reality. I love the fantasy of wishing for $50 million dollars and then fantasizing about what I would do with that much money. Unless I win the lottery, I know my chances are slim; however, by stating that wish I noticed I started changing my shopping habits by cutting back to increase my savings. It may be baby steps, but one never knows how a wish could come to fruition. A perfect example of what can happen is on display in this animated, musical, adventure comedy movie. YOUNG ASHA’S, VOICED BY ARIANA DeBOSE (West Side Story, The Prom) wish must have been truly powerful because it brought down to her kingdom the star she wished upon, who decided to help make her wish come true. With Chris Pine (Star Trek franchise, Don’t Worry Darling) voicing King Magnifico, Alan Tudyk (A Knight’s Tale, Rouge One: A Star Wars Story) voicing Valentino, Angelique Cabral (Friends with Benefits, Life in Pieces-TV) voicing Amaya and Victor Garber (Titanic, Family Law-TV) voicing Sabino; it appeared to be that Disney wanted this film to be the centerpiece for the past 100 years of Disney’s classic films. There was so much thought and effort put into reminding us of their past treasured films that this movie suffered. The musical numbers were not memorable or provided one song that would become a classic; however, the animation was wonderful. The story was weak to start with and as the writers kept throwing as much as they could into the script, I was quickly bored by it all. The villain did not hold a candle to the classic villains from the early pictures. I will say the actors did a great job voicing the characters, but the one thing that stood out to me was listening to the music during the touching film credits that included recreated images of the classic characters that came out of Disney studios. It was a sad reminder that this movie did not live up to those wonderful old, animated films. There was one extra scene during the credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Marvels
THROUGH THE YEARS, I HAVE BUMPED into individuals that I had no contact with for decades. Sometimes, it has happened in such random places. For example, on a trip to Greece I was standing in line to catch a tram from a destination spot and bumped into a childhood friend back from elementary school days, which was many years ago. He and his wife were standing in front of me, and I recognized his face. We agreed to meet up for drinks and had a good time reminiscing about our school years together. The time we spent together was fun, but upon returning to the states we went on with our separate lives. Our time together became a fun add-on to my vacation stories. I believe the long duration of time melted the bond we had with each other back then. If I were to venture a guess, I think a lot of it would have to do with our vastly different experiences in high school. He was more of a gentle jock type, who excelled in physical activities. In my book, that gives the student a pass from any type of abuse or ridicule, unlike me. I was not proficient in most sports activities and being overweight made me an easy target. So, I learned how to withdraw from most high school events and social gatherings. JUST BY COINCIDENCE, I RECENTLY RAN into two friends at a social function, who I had not seen for many years. I noticed the warm feelings that flooded through me as we sat and chatted, having been close friends back then. It was as if time had not passed by us all these years, because we found ourselves in a joyful, sweet rhythm of talking and sharing our life’s journeys with each other. For me, one of the added joys seeing each other was how our memories, which had been dormant for so long, easily rose into our conversations as we relived some of the great times we had together. I have a question for you: have you ever encountered a fond person from your past and discovered you had been missing something in your current life? Well, that is how I felt about my time spent with these two friends. As a result, we exchanged our contact information and planned to get together again. Making those plans was so much fun as the three of us were sending texts back and forth about how great it was to see each other and hoped we could get together real soon. As it turned out we did, and our friendship picked up from where we left it. It is that type of long-lost connection that I found charming in this action, adventure fantasy film. HAVING CARRIED THE HEAVY BURDEN FROM the outcome of her past experiences with the Kree, Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson (Short Term 12, Just Mercy), finds herself entangled with two other individuals, one of them is from her past, who will all need to work together to save the universe. With Teyonah Parris (Dear White People, If Beale Street Could Talk) as Monica Rambean, Iman Vellani (Avengers franchise, Ms. Marvel-TV) as Kamala Khan, Samuel L. Jackson (The Kill Room, The Protégé) as Nick Fury and Zawe Ashton (Nocturnal Animals, Velvet Buzzsaw) as Dar-Benn; for a product of the Marvel universe, this movie was a disappointment. I enjoyed the connection between the three main stars, especially Iman’s character. The fight scenes had a fun element, and the CGI effects were good; however, the script was a scattered mess. At times, I found several scenes filled with slapstick humor that then morphed into dramatic, sorrowful scenes. The excitement and thrills of past Marvel films did not appear in this picture. And as I have said before, if the villain is truly not menacing then the story will never succeed. For all the money spent on this, what a shame. There was only one (what a shock) extra scene during the ending credits.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 