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Flash Movie Review: Deadpool & Wolverine
DESPITE NOT SEEING ANY WHALES, THE trip was still amazing. My absence from publishing movie reviews was due to an extended trip, accomplished by land and sea, through Alaska. I have not seen so much massive untouched land in my life; the scenery was breathtaking. The tour group started in Fairbanks, and we made our way down via rail and bus. I did not realize I was going to be with the same group of people each day, but it was all fine. There was a wide mix of personalities, from a licensed Santa Claus actor to an auto mechanic to a lawyer. Normally, I prefer being anonymous on my trips, where I can come and go as I please. However, since this was part of the cruise package, I fell into the rhythm of greeting and bantering with my fellow passengers every day. Also, something I noticed in my fitness classes was taking place with the land portion of the cruise. Most everyone has a preferred spot where they want to sit; it did not matter if it was a bus or train, everyone tried sitting in the same place each day. This was not unusual for me and truthfully, I tend to act the same way regarding where I like to sit. There was a loud, boisterous family that sat in the back and a more reserved family of four that preferred the middle. AS THE DAYS PASSED, I NOTICED the reserved family started altering their seating arrangement. One day they would be in the back, the next day in front. It may not have been noticeable to many, but I found it curious. As it turned out, I sat with the boisterous family for lunch one day in the train’s dining car. During our conversation, they mentioned the reserved family did not like them. I asked them how they would know such a thing and they told me the reserved family complained to the cruise director that they were too noisy. I did not think they were noisy; they were just laughing and enjoying themselves on our travels. One of the family members told me to watch the facial expressions of the reserved family whenever the two families were near each other; the reserved family members always had a scowl on their faces, and they tried not to interact with them. I could not believe it. We were going to be together every day for over one week; why would someone want to make their true feelings known and create tension? The only time we were in a limited space was for transport that lasted at the most two to three hours on any given day. Gratefully, none of this affected me and I was especially glad the two family groups did not take their issues/dislikes to the level that the main characters did in this action, adventure comedy. WITH HIS UNIVERSE FACING EXTINCTION, ACTION hero Deadpool/Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds (Free Guy, If), believes the one person who can help him is Logan/Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman (Bad Education, X-Men franchise). The problem would be convincing Logan. With Emma Corrin (Lady Chatterly’s Lover, The Crown-TV) as Cassandra Nova, Natthew Macfadyen (Operation Mincemeat, Succession-TV) as Mr. Paradox and Dafne Keen (Logan, His Dark Materials-TV) as Laura; this film is filled with non-stop “R” rated language. It was getting to the point where I was on overload with all the sexual references and such. Granted, the two main characters have these roles down perfectly and Ryan has a certain flair in delivering snarky remarks. What surprised me was the underwhelming special effects and script. I thought the script hardly made any sense and was simply used as a vehicle to feed more fertilizer into the cussing sessions. This is still a Marvel film, with its two extra scenes during the ending credits; but overall, I was disappointed with the whole production.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Pandas
GROWING UP IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING, our pet bird was more like the family dog. We had gotten her as a baby when I was in elementary school. She was a very smart bird and if we had spent more time teaching her, I am sure she would have been able to speak. When I would walk into the living room, I would stand just inside the entryway and call out her name. She would jump out of her cage and fly right to my outstretched arm. Once landed she would walk up my arm to my face and plant a kiss on my cheek; seriously, she would do this every time and not just to me. She would do the same thing to anyone in the family. During the summer months I would ask her if she wanted to take a refreshing bath and she knew to immediately fly over to the windowsill, where I would set up her bathtub. One trick I especially enjoyed was pretending she was a hawk. With her perched on my arm I would tell her to “go get them” and she would takeoff and fly around the room once or twice then come back to land on me. BECAUSE WE HAD GOTTEN HER SO young, I wondered at the time if she had bonded with us like I had seen done in a classic comedy cartoon. Ducklings had hatched just as a different species of animal walked by them and the little ducks imprinted themselves onto this animal as their parent. I have seen similar circumstances when friends and family members have adopted a kitten or puppy. When there is more than one person in the household the little puppy or kitten can focus solely on one particular member. I know this married couple who got a puppy that bonded to the “father.” The female puppy wanted to be in his lap anytime he was sitting down; it got harder for him as she grew into a 65-pound dog. If she heard him sneeze she would race into the room and jump up on him to lick his face. I have to say it was funny to see her standing on her hind legs with her front paws up by his neck, licking his face because he was standing when he sneezed; it almost looked as if they were dancing. So, you are wondering now how the dog interacted with the “mother” aren’t you? The dog would let the “mother” pet and feed her, but she would have to go over to the dog to pet her. The baby/parent bonding thing certainly is fascinating; you will not believe how it was done in this beautifully filmed documentary. RESEARCHERS BASED IN SICHUAN, CHINA solicit the help of a man from New Hampshire who has a special way with bears, earning him the nickname of Papa Bear. This film was being shown at the IMAX theater at the movie complex near my house. Did it need to be in this format? No not really, but I will say the scenery in this picture was gorgeous. With that being said the stars of this film were the panda cubs. I could not get over how much they looked like a bunch of kids playing. With the movie only being 40 minutes in length, I enjoyed the way the story went because it evoked different emotions out of me. Narrated by Kristen Bell (Bad Moms franchise, The Good Place-TV), one would be hard pressed not to fall in love with the pandas. If the reason for filming this movie with the IMAX format was to increase profits, then I am comfortable with it if some of the proceeds are going to help the panda institute. My only criticism is the film was too short; I could have sat there for a longer time just to see what the pandas would do next.
3 stars
moviejoltz 