I have never seen even one episode of the animated TV series Bob’s Burgers before seeing this movie in the theater today so I was not a fan. I had nothing against it either. It was a blank slate. I have a feeling that fans of Bob’s Burgers animated series would love this movie. For me, it was okay at times and dull at others.

According to IMDB: “The story begins when a ruptured water main creates an enormous sinkhole right in front of Bob’s Burgers, blocking the entrance indefinitely and ruining the Belchers’ plans for a successful summer. While Bob and Linda struggle to keep the business afloat, the kids try to solve a mystery that could save their family’s restaurant. As the dangers mount, these underdogs help each other find hope and fight to get back behind the counter, where they belong.“

I admit that I was not expecting this animated film would also have musical components to it, and the first song surprised me. I will say that the songs were pretty decent and catchy.

The movie was fine, but there was little that stood out to me. I can see this as being just a longer version of the TV show.

The original voice cast from the TV show returned for the movie including  H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Zach Galifianakis, and Kevin Kline.

The story of the film was simplistic and typical for a situation comedy show like Bob’s Burgers. Bob’s Burgers restaurant was in trouble with paying bills, Louise is feeling down and unhappy about the fact that she wore a hat with rabbit ears and she had a ton of doubt about her person and Tina wanted to ask Jimmy to be her summertime boyfriend.

There was also a larger piece of the story involving an attempt to replace Wonder Wharf with a mega-park. Who was behind this (including a murder of Cotton Candy Dan, a worker at the Wharf six years ago) was one of the central mysteries of the film. However, it was pretty obvious who was behind the crime because the red herrings were clearly set.

I did not hate this, but I did not find it engaging either. There were some clever use of the language/dialogue and the animation looked much like the typical TV show animation. It was silly but I was bored at times. I am sure that if I had been a fan of Bob’s Burgers this would have hit differently for me.

2.5 stars

Just a few years ago, I watched, for the first time, Tom Cruise’s iconic film Top Gun, and I did not like it at all. I know it is a beloved film by many, but it was just not my thing. So I approached the sequel Top Gun: Maverick with less excitement than many people may have.

Still, there was a ton of positive word of mouth floating around about this movie, so my interest level had improved.

After seeing the IMAX version of Top Gun: Maverick, I can say without any doubt that this movie is worlds better than the original, in my opinion.

After years, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) gets called back to train a group of young fighter pilots, the best fighter pilots in the world, in an attempt to carry out an improbable mission to bomb an uranium enrichment facility of an unnamed enemy country. Maverick was not wanted by Admiral “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm), but Maverick’s old friend Iceman (Val Kilmer), another admiral, overrules him. Maverick’s brand of rebellious behavior conflicts with everyone.

There is a great cast. The new pilots included Miles Teller (who played the son of Goose), Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Glen Powell, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jay Ellis and Danny Ramirez. Yes, most of these were fairly typical type characters, but you do grow to like them. Miles Teller is the character that really gets some time as his relationship with Maverick came to the front.

Top Gun: Maverick has much more depth and more emotional moments that connect with me than the first film. Tom Cruise is excellent throughout the film, carrying a lot of powerful angst on his shoulders, dealing with loss and his own doubts about his past. The scene between Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer was just outstanding.

The action scenes with the jets were totally compelling and put you on the edge of your seat the entire movie. There were so many stakes involved because you were never 100% sure who might be killed. The stunt work was amazing and the choreography is gorgeous. Some times it was hard to follow with who was who, but it never looked anything but spectacular.

It was not a perfect movie. The third act had not one, but two Deus ex Machinas involved, and both were pretty predictable. The events in the third act were really hard to believe as well. The thing is, by the third act, you are so into the movie that you cannot help but be swept up by what happened and the weakness of the story/plot does not jump out at you.

This was a lot of fun and was a complete exciting joy of a film that, if you look too close at the story, it may not hold up. However, if you just engage with the spectacular, you will have all kinds of fun. If you can see it in IMAX, do it. You will appreciate it all the more.

4.5 stars

The latest Liam Neeson film arrived on Vudu recently and I gave it a watch. Memory did not last long in the theaters, but there have been decent films starring Liam Neeson over the years. Sure, several of them were interchangeable and forgettable, but not all of them.

Unfortunately, Memory is one that will not stick in my own memory for long either.

Alex Lewis (Liam Neeson) was an assassin-for-hire whose reputation for precision was well known. He was hired to carry out a contract on two people, a lowlife and a little girl. Alex refused to kill the girl, thus breaking the contract. He tried to get the contract revoked in his special brand of violence, but the girl still wound up dead. This sent Alex in a path of vengeance for those involved in the case.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pierce) had been involved with an investigation toward the little girl and her sex trafficking father and her death brought him into the case and crossing paths with Alex Lewis.

Oh, there is one more issue going on here. Alex Lewis was hoping to retire because his own memory was beginning to fail with Alzheimer’s Disease starting to develop, much like his brother, whom we saw for a moment.

Liam Neeson was fine here and he was different than in many of his other roles because he looked really old and shaky. That is, until he wasn’t and was a killing machine.

There were so many times during the film that I stopped and wondered who these people were. The villains were so underdeveloped and were nothing more than a person for Alex to kill. Alex was placed as our protagonist but then so was Vincent. There was a Mexican FBI agent Marquez (Harold Torres) who was constantly being, at best, treated as an outsider and, at worse, treated in a totally racist manner. There was meant to be a twist at the end but it was so poorly foreshadowed that it was painfully obvious what was going to happen.

The film was a mess with a poorly written story with weak characters. Liam Neeson deserves better than this.

2 stars

I’m feeling a little queasy and shaken after watching The Sadness, the Taiwanese film from director Rob Jabbaz in his feature film debut arriving on Shudder last weekend. There were some scenes, especially in the first 15-20 minutes when things were starting to ramp up that really stuck with me in that “kicked-me-in-the-gut” way.

The Sadness started out with our two main protagonists, Jim (Berant Zhu) and Katie (Regina Lei) waking up, happily in bed. They seemed happy, despite Jim lacking drive in his life. While Katie prepared for work, Jim saw a TV broadcast talking about a pandemic sweeping the land called the Alvin virus. A doctor (a very Dr. Fauci type individual) argued with the news program about the dangers of the Alvin virus and how people should take it seriously.

As Jim took Katie to the train station, they passed by the police dealing with a man who had brutally murdered another person.

After dropping off Katie, Jim went for a coffee, where he and others in the shop were exposed to an older lady who viciously attacked other customers, that triggered a full out bloodbath. Jim ran from the suddenly bloodthirsty crowd, getting back to his place.

Meanwhile, Katie was being hit on by a weird businessman (Tzu-Chiang Wang) on the train just before someone else started to stab victims in the train.

The film was kind of like a zombie movie, but different because the zombies were not brainless, but, in actuality, vicious and horny. They were not only looking to eat their victims, but also sexually gratify themselves before consuming them. This twist in the zombie tale really made for some disturbing imagery in The Sadness and kept everybody tense and on their guard.

This is one of the goriest and, frankly, unnerving films I have seen in awhile, probably since the DailyView when I watched The Bay. I found myself, especially early in the film, crying out in shock and, perhaps, disgust as the shocks came quick and hard.

It may be a little too close to home with the Alvin virus being the cause of all of the death, and being debated and refuted by governments and the media until it is too late.

This is not a film for the faint-at-heart or someone who does not do well with the sight of blood. There is a lot of it here. However, it is an absolutely tense thriller with plenty of real frights as you follow the two main characters in their efforts to get back to one another. The Sadness is a creative adjustment to the zombie sub-genre of horror films and creates a mood of fear and lack of safety.

4 stars

Rebel Wilson goes into a coma for twenty years and then awakes in the latest original movie from Netflix this weekend. I was in a coma for what felt like twenty years watching this.

In an attempt to become prom queen and grab her perfect life, Stephanie (Angourie Rice) went out of her way to become popular. She became the cheer captain, got her perfect boyfriend, and campaigned for prom queen. Unfortunately, Stephanie was injured during a cheerleader performance and spent 20 years in a coma.

When Stephanie (Rebel Wilson) awoke from the come, she found herself still mentally a 17 year old girl in the body of a nearly forty year old woman. She was somehow able to get up and walk around after being in a coma and not moving for 20 years, but why sweat the little details.

Stephanie decided to go back to high school to get her diploma and win that prom queen she was robbed of.

All of the high schoolers from Stephanie’s original class seemed to be stuck in their high school personas too, including Stephanie’s rival Tiffany (Zoe Chao), her old flame Blaine (Justin Hartley), her friend Seth (Sam Richardson), her old friend who was now principal Martha (Mary Holland) and her father Jim (Chris Parnell).

This was such a bad movie. I was ready for it to be over fifteen minutes into it. It was almost two hours, which was way too long. This should never have been more than 90 minutes. The plot itself was not developed enough to support that run time.

I guess I was supposed to be rooting for Stephanie during this entire film, but she was a horrible person. There was no one that wasn’t rotten. And it too long for Stephanie to start learning her lessons. By the time she did, I couldn’t care less.

There a ton of dance numbers in the film too. Most of those are fine. Some of the music is catchy.

This was meant to be some kind of fairy tale, but it just did not work on any level. Rebel Wilson looked great and brings a lot of energy to the role, but the character is so unlikable that I couldn’t care less what happened to her. None of the supporting characters are worth anything, with the possible exception of Sam Richardson, who has been great over the last few years. Nothing here makes sense and is so unrealistic. Had the film totally embraced the fantasy elements, it may have been better, but I found this so dumb and a waste of time.

1.3 stars

I was never a fan of Disney’s Rescue Rangers when it was on TV, and when I heard talk about this 2022 reboot (if you want to call it that), I was anything but enthusiastic.

However, a couple trailers were entertaining and I started hearing some good word of mouth and so, with a specifically weaker movie weekend, Chip and Dale shot to the top.

And you know what? It was very entertaining.

Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers was very funny, more clever than it had any right to be, and had a wonderful story of friendship and forgiveness.

Chip (John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samburg) were riding high as the stars of their own Disney animated show, falling right into their typical patterns of humor. However, Dale was always feeling as if he were the second banana, far behind that of his more popular pal. So when he had a chance to get a solo show, he took it, not expecting it to be the end of Rescue Rangers.

So with the Rescue Rangers cancelled and the new project a no go, Chip and Dale went their separate ways.

Years later, animated characters are disappearing, being changed and forced to play knock off versions of themselves in bootleg films. When Monterey Jack (Eric Bana) disappeared, Chip and Dale had to come back together to try and help their old friend. Unfortunately, Chip and Dale found that they still had some issues to iron out between them before they could discover the truth.

I loved how the movie had such a potpourri of animation styles. One of the best jokes in the film is how Dale had a 3D surgery to change his animation style to 3D. It was a clever and cool idea. Then there were all kinds of animation styles from hand drawn to sock puppets to claymation in the film. There is also live action involved in the film.

There are some great voice actors involved here including J.K. Simmons, Seth Rogan, Will Arnett, Keegan-Michael Key, Dennis Haysbert, Tim Robinson, and Rachel Bloom.

There was a ton of special cameos of other animated characters including characters NOT owned by Disney, big characters not own by Disney. It brings back memories of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (including Roger Rabbit himself).

This is a great movie that was a lot of fun. There is something here for the whole family. It is on Disney + streaming service.

4.5 stars

As I was going through Peacock today looking to see if there was anything of interest that I could watch on a Sunday afternoon, I came across The Outfit, a film that I had heard good things about and that I had planned on, eventually, renting on Vudu. However, now I did not have to because the film was streaming for free on my Peacock subscription.

Mark Rylance starred as Leonard, a high brow English tailor (though he would argue that distinction. He said he was a cutter, and that a tailor only sewed on buttons) in a small shop in Chicago that was patronized by members of the Boyle crime family. Leonard would look the other way as gangster would use a drop off box in his back room as a message port and as a stash box for dirty money.

Things become more complicated one night when Richie (Dylan O’Brien), son of the crime boss Roy (Simon Russell Beale) and chief enforcer Francis (Johnny Flynn) came into the shop. Richie had been shot in the side and was bleeding. Francis forced Leonard at gunpoint to stitch Richie up with thread from the shop.

Francis told Leonard that they had been ambushed over a tape that everybody wanted, that had been recorded by a “rat” working for the FBI. Francis needed to find a device in which to play the tape, so he left Leonard to watch over the wounded Richie.

In an attempt to get out of this situation, Leonard started to play Richie and Francis against one another. This led to an evening of violence and lies.

I loved this movie. I was engrossed by the entire story and I was fascinated by the performance of Mark Rylance. He was just great as he manipulated each situation that happened next. You could feel how each second, Leonard felt on edge, but was continuing to do what he could to maintain events.

You could tell that there was more to Leonard’s story than what we were getting, but since he was showing himself to be a complex liar, you were never really sure what the truth of the moment was or how much of it was just fiction.

Leonard’s receptionist, Mable (Zoey Deutch), was involved in the story as well, bringing a new wrinkle to what Leonard was hoping to accomplish. Zoey Deutch does a great job creating a character that you care about and that you believe Leonard would go out of his way to help.

Graham Moore, who won an Oscar for Best Adaptation of The Imitation Game and was the author of one of my favorite books, The Sherlockians, had his directorial debut in this film as well as co-writing the screenplay. I found all of the shots to be very effective and all of the pieces of the story came together extremely well. This would be a solid debut in the director’s chair for anyone.

The Outfit was a tense and enthralling gangster tale, told in a different manner than most of the others. The single area of the tailor shop helped build the feeling of everything collapsing in at once and you can’t help but wonder how Leonard would get out of the situation.

4.5 stars

Firestarter is a remake of a Steven King film from 1984. I have not seen the 1984 version either which starred Drew Barrymore. The 2022 version starred Zac Efron and Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is a young girl, the daughter of two people with psychic powers. Charlie has pyrokinetic powers, which means she can set things on fire with her mind. Her family has been on the run as the group that experimented on her parents was looking for them.

Charlie’s father (Zac Efron) wants her to keep her powers hidden while Charlie’s mother (Sydney Lemmon) wanted her trained. When Charlie had a fire incident at school, the secret government entity known as The Shop, sent the dangerous Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) after them with the mission to bring Charlie in alive.

This movie was bad. I had some initial thoughts that this could be a surprise, but, sadly, it was not. It was boring, among other issues.

One of the things that jumped out at me immediately was that the dialogue of the film was laughable. People do not really talk like this. It felt very unsophisticated. Maybe you saw it in the trailer, but the “liar, liar, pants on fire” line is an example of how bad it got.

I think young Ryan Kiera Armstrong does an adequate job with what she had to do. The story was just not very good and there was very little in character development.

The story felt rushed and things happen that made no sense. Rainbird as a character was all over the place. Why he does what he does in the third act is completely up in the air. The insanity of the third act was not a good thing. It was downright ridiculous. There were plenty of times where I had to hold back laughter or comments about why someone was doing something stupid.

Kurtwood Smith, the iconic actor, was in this movie kind of. He was in one scene. I have no idea why he appeared here for the few minutes of screen time that he got. His appearance had no effect on the story either.

Sadly enough, even the special effects of the new version was lacking. It did not look great which was a shock for a film coming out in 2022. Maybe they spent too much of the budget on Kurtwood Smith.

Was there a purpose for this movie to be remade? I don’t know, but, for whatever reason, this was just a bad film.

1.5 stars

The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues on thru its massive storytelling with the latest huge film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the sequel to Doctor Strange and the continuation of stories that have been told in WandaVision Disney + series and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

There is almost no way to give a plot synopsis of this movie without spoiling something in this movie. This entire movie is a spoiler. So I am going to do my best to try and give a plot synopsis without spoiling anything. Dr. Strange gets pulled into a multiversal struggle by the appearance of new young hero America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olson) is involved too.

There. Plot summarized.

Let’s talk about the stars of this movie. Elizabeth Olson is absolutely fantastic. She was amazing in WandaVision and she just kept killing it in MOM. She is such an asset to these films and has such a grasp on her character that she brings so much gravitas to her role. Wanda Maximoff is dominant.

Benedict Cumberbatch continues to grow into the character of Stephen Strange. Every time he played the Master of the Mystic Arts, he has gotten better. Strange has a definite character arc going on through this film and he carries it extremely well.

Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Xochitl Gomez all give solid performances. I liked America Chavez here actually much more than I ever liked her in the comics. Xochitl Gomez is extremely charming and you connect to her right away. Rachel McAdams’s Christine is much more important to this story than she was in the first Dr. Strange flick. And Wong is just always awesome.

When Sam Raimi stepped in to replace Scott Derrickson as director of MOM, there was a lot of excitement, but also some doubt. Excitement because Raimi could bring an aesthetic to Doctor Strange unlike any other director. Raimi’s résumé seemed to fit perfectly with the weirdness that Dr. Strange could bring to the movies. Doubt because many people wondered how much freedom Raimi would have to create something that had his flavor to it in the MCU. Never fear, the film is ripe with Raimi flavor and it is a Sam Raimi film made inside the MCU. There are so many wonderful Raimi touches from the images to the camera angles that he makes a feast for the senses.

The special effects are tremendous. It is a beautiful film and there are very few missteps in the visual creation.

However, this is also a Sam Raimi film in the sense that it is a horror movie. There are some distinctly scary scenes dealing with body horror or frightening imagery that it might be too much for some of the MCU’s younger fans. It has a really nice balance between a horror movie and the super hero film that we are accustomed to.

I will say that there were a few scenes, particularly in the middle, that I found it difficult to connect to or that I thought I should feel more than I did. I have some theories about why that was, but I can’t go into them without diving into spoiler area so I will just say that some of the emotional beats very not as emotional as I would have liked them to be.

Part of that could be the pacing of the film. It was at a rapid pace and I think I would have liked to have seen this movie get maybe 20 minutes more. That might have allowed me some more time to let certain scenes breathe. Much like the finale of Moon Knight from earlier this week, the shorter run time might have been a challenge.

Another reason may have been the expectations I had for the special cameos that were going to be in this movie…or so I thought. Again, no spoilers, but there were way fewer cameos than I thought there would be. I think it is a good thing, but my own expectations may have been playing havoc with what I watched. I plan on seeing the film again tomorrow and I will see how a second viewing does or does not change that feeling. Expectations about what COULD have been in this movie is always my fault, not the films. I should learn to just sit back and enjoy what it gives me instead of me worrying about what it doesn’t.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an insane film, with great imagery and some unbelievable story beats. Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olson are MVPs of the film and we are introduced to a great new character (another possible ‘Young Avenger’). Sam Raimi brings his directorial skill to the film that makes it feel like nothing we have seen in the MCU yet while still maintaining its connection to the ongoing story of the MCU. Some pacing issues aside, MOM is another success for Marvel Studios.

4.75 stars

I have to admit that I get tired of the excuse, “It’s a Michael Bay movie, what do you expect?”

I found that Ambulance was available to rent on Vudu this weekend. I had actually considered heading to the theater tomorrow to see it, but now I did not have to. I could watch it at home.

I’m not a fan of Michael Bay, but there have been a select few movies of his that I have liked and with a talent such as Jake Gyllenhaal in the film, I had some hope.

Did I mention that it is a Michael Bay movie?

Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was desperate. His wife needed a surgery, but the insurance would not cover it. So he went to his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for help. Unfortunately, Danny is getting ready to rob a bank and needed his brother’s help.

The robbery goes terribly wrong and Will, Danny a paramedic named Cam (Eiza González) and a cop that Will had shot (Jackson White) wind up inside an ambulance being chased by the police.

This is very much a Michael Bay movie. It is loud, stupid, has characters of little to no substance, dialogue that is laughable at times and a plot that makes little sense.

Sure, there are a few scenes of action that can be exciting, if you do not let yourself think about what is happening, because it rarely makes sense.

Jake Gyllenhaal is doing his best, but even he is too over the top. One of the issues is that none of these characters are worth rooting for. They are horrible and, despite the film trying its best, I just could not find anything redeeming about them. Even the heroic Cam is anything but likeable. Even if you could like her, she does some things that are just not possible or that make any sense at all. Cam’s last few scenes almost make her bearable. Almost.

By the way, I found the driving and pounding score to the film to be obnoxious and loud.

Some people will be happy with this. It is nothing more than ridiculous action with explosions and gunfire and car crashes. It had a minimal story with a group of actors giving what they had despite there not being much. Some will say that it is okay since it is just a “Michael Bay movie and why would you expect more?”.

2.4 stars

I have had Marry Me on my list of 2022 movies to watch for quite awhile now. I was not interested in watching this movie while it was in the theaters, but once it started streaming on Peacock, I figured it would be just a matter of time.

I have become a huge fan of Owen Wilson since his turn as Moebius in the Loki series. He remains charming in this film. Jennifer Lopez is absolutely gorgeous and remarkably talented.

Marry Me is completely ridiculous and about as improbably as you are going to find, yet there is something about this rom-com that makes it enjoyable. If you think about this as a fairy tale/fantasy instead of a regular rom-com, it helps.

J-Lo played an international pop superstar Kat who is planning on a social media sensational wedding with her boyfriend Bastian (Maluma). Normal teacher Charlie (Owen Wilson) wound up at the wedding concert with his daughter (Chloe Coleman) and his friend (Sarah Silverman). Just prior to the wedding, Kat discovered Bastian had an affair with her assistant. She came out on stage and spoke to the world about the problems, and she spotted Charlie holding a “Marry Me” sign, (her new big single) and she called him up and they got married.

It turned into a whole publicity stunt, but the pair of them began to grow closer as they learned about who the other person was.

I have to say, the ending was surprisingly effective. Was it overly sentimental? Maybe. It is just a couple of likeable characters who you want to see get together. It is far from a perfect movie, but I liked watching it.

The music was good. Sure, it is not the type of music that I would listen to on a regular basis, but in this context, the music was enjoyable. Jimmy Fallon had a funny cameo. It worked as a rom-com.

I am glad I finally got around to Marry Me. For what it is worth, it is a fun time in a movie that shouldn’t work at all.

3.3 stars

Robert Eggers, director of two acclaimed independent films (The Witch and The Lighthouse), is back with his third feature film, The Northman.

The Northman was set in the year AD 914, although it started earlier than that. We see the brutal slaying of King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) by his brother Fjölnir The Brotherless (Claes Bang) as Aurvandil’s only son, Amleth (Oscar Novak) watched. After it is believed that Amleth has been killed, Fjölnir claimed his brother’s wife, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) for his own. Meanwhile, young Amleth promised himself that he would revenge his father, rescue his mother and kill Fjölnir.

Years later, Amleth(now played by Alexander Skarsgård) returned to his uncle’s land as a slave to plot his bloody vengeance. He meets another slave Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy) and they fall for each other. Amleth attempt to gaslight Fjölnir before he ultimately claimed his true revenge.

There were several scenes in this Viking epic that were just unexpected. The film was truly beautifully shot and looked amazing. Though there was a lot of violence, the fights were kept to a minimum and, because of that, they never became boring. There was a great sequence during some kind of game that was thoroughly stunning.

Alexander Skarsgård fit this role wonderfully, even though there was not a lot of depth to Amleth. He was a massive brut and that is how Skarsgård played him. There was some really excellent scenes between him and Nicole Kidman, who brought some really great work in The Northman. I found Kidman’s character to be the most complex of the film.

I did find the film to be a touch too long. I could have used some of the early part of the film to be tightened up some and about ten minutes shaved off could have done wonders for me.

The inclusion of Norse mythology in the film at times worked and at other times, felt out of place. There is a specific scene with a Valkyrie that felt weird.

The Northman was a grim and gritty film that feels ugly and dirty, but features some beautiful visuals and a fairly straightforward revenge plot. It is probably my favorite of the three Robert Eggers films, though there are still some issues with length.

3.6 stars

Villains leading their own movie/franchise is all the rave these days. Morbius, Black Adam, Kraven the Hunter are all villains (or villain-ish) who are the lead of their movies. So you can’t blame DreamWorks for trying to jump in on the trend with their latest animated venture, The Bad Guys.

The Bad Guys included Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos)as a crew of criminals who were robbing banks across the city. When they were finally captured, the lovable guinea pig philanthropist Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) convinced the Governor (Zazie Beets) to let him attempt to rehabilitate them.

This movie was fine. Younger kids will enjoy it and parents won’t hate watching it. It is just that this is not in the same category as Pixar or Disney. Heck, it is not even in the same category as DreamWorks own How to Train Your Dragon. It’s more like The Boss Baby or The Croods. It is not bad, somewhat watchable but just not very remarkable. It won’t stand out in your memory.

The animation was fine. I actually kind of liked the way these characters’ eyes were shown. The character designs were fine, with Mr. Wolf a definite standout (and also The Crimson Paw…cool)

Story wise, the film was average, at best. It was so obvious about what was going to happen that it is telegraphed to most. I certainly figured out the (other) villain immediately. The film did have a nice message of friendship and acceptance of others, despite who they may be.

There were some funny parts too. Some of the heists moments were the best parts of the film, seeing how the Bad Guys came together to accomplish their goals. However, there were some really coincidental parts of the plans that had to work perfectly for the plan to be completed and, of course, they all fit right in the spot.

It could have been much worse (Like Minions), but it just is not good enough to become a great animated film. It could be a good introduction to young people and heist films because that aspect of The Bad Guys was the strongest part.

3.1 stars

Nicolas Cage has been doing some really solid work lately. So much so that I have heard that we may be in a brand new Nic Cage-naissance. Pig, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mandy, Mom and Dad are just a few of the movies that Nic Cage has excelled in in the last few years.

Now, he has gotten the role he was born to play…literally.

Nicolas Cage played a cash strapped Nicolas Cage in this movie, who was desperate for a movie role that he did not get. Because of this, Nick accepted a weird job from his agent Fink (Neil Patrick Harris): a birthday party for a super-fan, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal).

The problem… the CIA seemed to believe that Javi was a criminal lord and he had kidnapped the daughter of a political figure to force him out of an election. The CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz) grabbed Nick and convinced him to spy on Javi.

However, the problems were not finished because Nick and Javi bonded quickly over their love for movies and the one subject that they both loved above just about anything else…Nic Cage.

I had been really looking forward to this movie from the first trailer and it did not disappoint. I was totally thrilled with the film, its story was fun and creative, the acting was top notch and it was legitimately funny.

Nic Cage was outstanding as the fictionalized version of Nick “M-Fing” Cage, but, matching him every step of the way was Pedro Pascal, whose Javi was the driving force behind all of the comedy that was happening. Pascal just knocked it out of the park. These two actors absolutely crushed it and their chemistry together made this film. I had no trouble believing that they were the ultimate bromance.

The scenery was gorgeous and the action scenes were decent. They all fit into the story and the characters. The side actors did a solid job. This was one of the more subdued performances from Tiffany Haddish, which I truly appreciated.

There were so many allusions to past Nic Cage movies that I realized how little I actually knew about Cage’s oeuvre. I bet it would have been funnier still if I understood some of the references made.

I was thoroughly entertained by The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. I was never once bored and the movie grabbed my attention and kept me engaged from the beginning to the credits. It is one of the best movies I have seen so far in 2022.

5 stars

So this came on Disney + a few weeks ago and it did not pique my interest at all. Then I had heard some positives about the film and I placed it on my list of streaming movies to watch. Now, having watched the film, I have to say, it was okay.

13-year old Nate (Rueby Wood) has a dream to make it to Broadway. Problem is, he can not even get cast in his school’s musical production about Abraham Lincoln. When an opportunity to audition for a Broadway show based on Lilo and Stitch came up, Nate’s best friend Libby (Aria Brooks) talked him into doing it.

Together, the pair run away from their homes in Pittsburgh to make their way to the lights of Broadway in New York City for a crack at the big time.

Is Better Nate than Ever realistic? Oh God no. There is no way that this happens in real life. The story is fairly predictable and things go really well for these two 13-year old kids in NYC.

I have to say, despite the overly sentimentality of the script, there is a charm to the movie, especially from the lead actor, Rueby Wood, and there is a cool appearance from Lisa Kudrow as Nate’s Aunt Heidi. Wood and Kudrow bring a special relationship to the screen that carries through the improbability of the script.

This is based on a book of the same name by author Tim Federle, who also wrote and directed the movie. There are several hints dropped throughout the movie that Nate is gay, but it never comes right out and says it.

This is a love letter to Broadway and musicals. The music in the film is great and the scene where Nate becomes TikTok famous on the streets of New York by singing On Broadway was a ton of fun. Rueby Wood was the standout of the movie, which worked specifically because of his talent. Yes there is a lot of sweetness and over-sentimentality, but I have seen worse.

3.2 stars