With the release of its latest animated film, Disney has gone ahead and given the Internet Trolls another reason to bitch about “wokeness.” I can hear them in my head already with their special brand of hatred, which is a real shame, because Strange World is a wonderfully beautiful movie, both visually and story-wise. And now the Trolls will never be able to appreciate Strange World in the proper way.

All because of a certain relationship, one that is only hinted at, one that was in the flirting stage, between two male characters. A relationship that is not what the film is about. All it does is inform you about the character of Ethan, but I know there are plenty of people who can not get past their own hatred.

As I said, Strange World is a magical ride with amazing animation, remarkably creative creature designs and some excellent voice over work.

In fact, I spent much of the movie trying to determine the actor voicing the main protagonist, Searcher Clade. I knew the voice sounded very familiar, but I was having difficulty in placing whose voice it was. Finally I settled on it being Jake Gyllenhaal, and it turned out that I was right. Gyllenhaal did a really good job providing the voice for Searcher.

Strange World reminded me of an old pulp series where the adventurer went exploring and found action, but ended up in some kind of science fiction plot. An Indiana Jones, Doc Savage, John Carter style of character. This was a welcome tone with some brand new pulp heroes to enjoy.

However, there was more than just the pulpy goodness. There was also a double generation of daddy issues as we wound up with three generation of Clade men, all with distinctly differing life choices, but all with the same general struggle. It handled the father’s expectations for his son and his desire to see him follow in his footsteps, and the rejection of that desire by the son. We see this go full circle through the backdrop of the adventure story.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Strange World introduced “a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures.”

The legendary explorer, Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) and his son Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) were in search of a path around the mountain that surrounded their village, Avalonia. Searcher rebelled against his father when he found a powerful new plant and wanted to take it back to Avalonia. Jaeger refused to return without finding the path through the mountains and wound up disappearing for 25 years.

Meanwhile, Searcher grew up a farmer raising that plant, called Pando. He had his own family, including his son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) and his pilot wife Meridian (Gabrielle Union). When something started happening to the Pando, Searcher was recruited to go on a mission to try and save the energy-creating plant. On the trip, they find themselves in a strange, bizarre world filled with apparently dangerous creatures.

The film is beautiful to look at. The visuals were so full of color that gave this new world a feel of uniqueness. The computer animated film was amazing and will certainly engage the younger viewers. Parents should enjoy the smorgasbord of vibrancy on display in Strange World.

I also enjoyed the score to the film. Henry Jackman scored the film and provided so many perfect beats and musical touches that stood out to me and, many times, I do not notice the score. This one worked very well witht he style of film they were going for.

I know there will be snarkiness tossed at this film, much like the beautiful Pixar film, Turning Red, had to deal with earlier this year. It’s too bad that the Trolls can affect the perception of a movie. Don’t listen to them. Go and enjoy the film for its own merits. It is worthwhile.

4.4 stars

Cate Blanchett is truly one of the greatest living actors that we have.

Tár is a nearly three hour character study with Cate Blanchett at the heart of virtually every moment of the movie. Simply put, this film is not viable without her.

If I am being honest, Tár is not a personal favorite movie of mine, but the performance by Cate Blanchett elevated it into a positive watch.

This movie is a biopic about the fictional composer-conductor Lydia Tár, her rise as the first female chief conductor at the Berlin Philharmonic to her rapid free fall from grace through a series of unsettling events.

Directed by Todd Field, his first directorial job since 2006’s Little Children, Tár followed Lydia as she tried to maintain her position despite the troubles of life getting in the way.

Cate Blanchett is transcendent as Lydia Tár. You believe everything that Lydia is facing and, even when she seemingly is having struggles with her own mental stability, or times when she is showing what an unlikable person she was, you find it difficult to dismiss her.

While this film is long, it did flow fairly well. It did not feel like it was a three hour movie. If you are a person interested in the art of acting, this was a masterclass from one of the best actors we have working today. It is a perfect example of how a performance can make a film better than it was. Field said that the film would not have been made if Cate Blanchett was not interested in it. That is quite the compliment.

Expect to see Cate Blanchett’s name during Oscar season.

3.5 stars

I am not sure who was demanding a sequel to R.I.P.D, the 2013 supernatural adventure/comedy based on a 1999 comic book by Peter Lenkov, but it is here now, on Netflix.

R.I.P.D was a huge flop even with the great cast of Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges in the film. Sadly, the sequel does not even have that benefit as neither Reynolds or Bridges have returned for the new film. In fact, there is only one character that returned from the original- Roicephus “Roy” Pulsipher.

This was a prequel, telling the story about how Roy(Jeffrey Donovan), the character played by Jeff Bridges in the first film, became a part of the RIPD and the first case he had back on earth with Jeanne (Penelope Mitchell) to prevent the Deados, led by the villainous Otis (Richard Blake) from opening a barrier between earth and Hell.

This was a stupid movie. The story was full of silly dialogue, ridiculous situations and half-baked characters. Jeffrey Donovan was decent as Roy. Had there been better everything around him, I could see myself liking him. The special effects were clearly on a budget, meaning that they were not great.

The story was a Western but only used that for the most basic, stereotypical tropes of the genre.

I can’t imagine that there will be any further sequels in the RIPD franchise after this waste of a movie. It truly is well past time for this franchise to rest in peace.

1.3 stars

Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?

M-I-C-K-E-Y… M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse is 94 years old. Can you believe that? The lifespan of the iconic character is examined in the new documentary on Disney + called Mickey: The Story of a Mouse.

From his humble beginning, springing out of the mind of Walt Disney in response to losing the character of Oswald the Rabbit, Mickey Mouse has taken on a ton of roles over the decades from troublemaking scamp to international corporate icon and many of those faces of the Mouse are seen in the new documentary.

The documentary was focused around the 2022 Mickey Mouse short, “Mickey in a Minute” and the creation of that by three legendary animators, Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn, and Randy Haycock.

While this debuted on Disney +, the entire history of Mickey Mouse is investigated, which included some of the darker moments in the history of the Mouse. Admittedly, these moments are not gone into in great detail or depth, but just the fact that they are included is impressive to me. They have sections of the documentary talking about Mickey’s use in the World War II war efforts, the, at times, racist depictions in some shorts (The shocking image of Mickey in blackface stuck with me for a while), how Mickey’s image was used by the 1960s counter-culture movement and the Milton Glaser’s unsanctioned short film “Mickey Mouse in Vietnam.”

They even went as far as to address the image of Disney as a copyright overlord and how they carefully protected the image of Mickey Mouse from being used in non-Disney related place. Yes, again, something like this could fill up its own doc, but the fact that any of this is included in what could have been considered a commercial on Disney + is impressive.

Interviews with talking heads, including former Disney CEO Bob Iger, talked about how Mickey had become perceived as nothing more than a corporate figurehead over the years and how there were some efforts at Disney to rejuvenate the image of Mickey.

One of the most fascinating parts of the documentary for me was watching the three main animators hand drawing the images that would go into the new Mickey short. Watching them flip through different pages while making sure that the pictures aligned was amazing to watch. The true artistic skill involved in this type of animation has not been appreciated as much these days with so much of animation coming from computer generation, but these shots truly stood out of the film.

What shines through in the documentary is how the character of Mickey Mouse is beloved the world around and how he can be used as a symbol of hope. Some of the most affecting scenes were the one from Disneyland where little children would run up to the mascot-version of Mickey and give him a big hug.

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse gives a fairly balanced view on the EYG Hall of Fame character when it did not have to and that should be respected.

4 stars

Some times I just don’t understand Rotten Tomatoes.

I was planning to watch Netflix’s new film, Slumberland, tonight and before I set it up, I jumped over to Rotten Tomatoes to see its score. I will admit that, every once in a while, I look at Netflix movies to see the score because a lot of times the Netflix originals are not very good and it might save me some time and help me avoid some clunkers.

Slumberland had a 35%.

I was truly disappointed because I was looking forward to this movie. I decided that I was going to watch it anyway and, you know what… it was pretty good.

Was it a perfect movie? No. But was it 35%? No way. That meant approximately 2 out of 3 critics gave it a rotten review. And I thought this was extremely charming, fun, and full of creative ideas.

Based on a comic strip called Little Nemo in Slumberland, Slumberland featured the young girl Nemo (Marlow Barkley), who lived with her father (Kyle Chandler) in a lighthouse on an island. When her father died at sea, Nemo had to go live with her uncle Philip (Chris O’Dowd).

Slumberland was a land where Nemo’s father and Philip would explore as children. It was the land of dreams. There were rules to the land that had to be followed. After his death, Nemo went into Slumberland to try and find her dad. She met his old partner Flip (Jason Momoa) and they went through a bunch of adventures.

So, yes there were some parts of the story that could have been edited out to make the story more streamlined. There was a whole story arc involving Agent Green (Weruche Opia) that could have been eliminated.

The CGI was fine, but did not stand out as it could have. It showed the restrictions of budget for sure.

However, I thought Marlow Barkley did an excellent job as Nemo and that she had a great connection with Jason Momoa and also with Chris O’Dowd. Jason Momoa was the clear standout of the cast. He looked like he was having all kinds of fun, although I did get kind of tired of his apparent Beetlejuice impression that he seemed to always be doing.

There were a lot of creative thought in the movie and had some good moments of emotion. This would be a fun family movie to watch during the holidays and sometime that is enough.

3.4 stars

2022 has been a strong year with horror and the new film The Menu may have topped them all.

The Menu is the new Horror/Dark Comedy/thriller from director Mark Mylod where a group of people went to an island to go to an upscale restaurant for a huge evening of dining. Tyler (Nicolas Hoult) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) were a couple who found their way into the party. The Chef (Ralph Fiennes) led his staff with an iron fist. The dinner courses began to be served and it was not long before everyone realized that something sinister was going on.

This was so awesome. I really loved this movie. It was so creative and unlike anything that I had ever seen before. I never was sure where it was heading next and that was a great feeling.

Ralph Fiennes was tremendous as the Chef. He was so menacing and his dialogue and facial expressions were top notch. This is one of Fiennes’ finest performances in a career of great performances.

He is matched with every beat by Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Margot, a woman who was not supposed to be at this dinner originally, and it threw a wrench in the plans. Taylor-Joy was savage throughout the film and showed such strength and power and it made her stand out among the storng cast.

Also in the film were Nicolas Hoult, who character is one of the worst of worst in the room, John Leguizamo, Hong Chou, Reed Birney, Judith Light, Janet McTeer, and Aimee Carrero.

The film was also like a food film, where each course of the dinner is described and explained. These were some of the funniest bits in the film, a great break from the tension and bizarre anxiety that was going on at the restaurant. It is a parody of the food shows and a satire of the precociousness of the type of people who would eat these artsy foods.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but when it was apparent that things were not what they were (the course labeled “The Mess”) I literally shouted out in the theater it was such a shocking moment. It was when things got real for the group of characters and for the audience.

Plus, the ending was absolutely epic.

The Menu was funny, tense and scary. It worked on all levels for me and Ralph Fiennes and Any Taylor-Joy give amazing performances. This may not only be one of the best horror films of the year, but also one of the best movies of the year. Horror fans should love this. Foodie fans should love this. Dark comedy fans should love this. It appeals to all.

5 Stars

There have been some top notch investigative journalism movies over the years including All the President’s Men, Spotlight and The Post, and yet, the subgenre is very difficult to do well. There is a risk that the story just is not exciting enough to handle the sometime monotonous work that is required of the investigative reporter.

Well, you can add another top level film to that list with director Maria Schrader’s new film, She Said, the story of the New York Times’ investigation into the sexual harassment and misconduct by Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein.

New York Times reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) were investigating sexual harassment when they decided to look into the rumors in Hollywood, in particular those reportedly perpetuated by Harvey Weinstein. In an effort to get justice for the group of female actors and crew members harassed by Weinstein, Twohey and Kantor went to new heights in journalism. They were not just going after Weinstein, but also the system that allowed him to cover up his numerous victims.

Of course, this was based on the novel, She Said by the real life Twohey and Kantor and this made huge entertainment news in the mid-2010s.

These journalism dramas depend heavily on their casts, and She Said had a brilliant group of actors. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan were both outstanding, making me believe how important and powerful this story was to them. When they went after these victims, hoping beyond hope that if they could get somebody to go on the record, other victims would follow, these two journalist went around the globe in the slight hope of finding what they needed and when they did get what they wanted, the emotions felt real.

It was not just about the story for them. This was about trying to make sure that others would not continue to be victimized by this predator.

I loved the support that was given to Twohey and Kantor at the New York Times. This included characters brought to life, particularly, by Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher. There was a definite team feeling and they worked together on a common goal, avoiding those clichés as pressure from above to drop the story which you see many times ion these types of film.

I thought the film did an outstanding job presenting Harvey Weinstein, the character, as well. We heard his voice on the phone and, when he was on screen (played by actor Mike Houston) we never saw his face, because this movie was not about Weinstein. It was about his victims.

And we got a bunch of strong performances from the women who stepped forward to provide information or to tell their stories about how they were victimized by the producer. Angela Yeoh, Jennifer Ehle, Ashley Judd, and Samantha Morton played some of the victims in She Said.

Because of the strength of the character performances, a film that could have been slow popped most of the time. The film was outstanding at portraying the complex emotions of everybody involved and created a stirring drama.

4.5 stars

Another long awaited sequel arrived this weekend, this time on Disney + as the follow up to 2007’s Enchanted hit the streaming service. Disenchanted was set ten years ahead of Enchanted and we see that there are real challenges to “Happily Ever After.”

We meet back up with Giselle (Amy Adams) and her real life prince Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his now teenage daughter Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) as they were moving out of New York City and into the suburbs. Giselle was tying to come to grips with her life, missing the fairy tale magic that once engulfed her.

Morgan was unhappy leaving NYC, her friends and school, to start over in the small town of Monroeville in a “castle” that could be called a fixer-upper. A series of unfortunate events happen leaving Giselle forlorn. So when Edward (James Marsden) and Nancy (Idina Menzel) visited from the Kingdom of Andalasia and presented Giselle’s newest baby, Sofia, with a magic wand with the power of granting wishes, things were set up for trouble.

Disenchanted was somewhat of a mixed bag. The story was fun and the music was fine (especially a song between Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph called “Badder”). The problem was everything felt so familiar, as if we had seen it all before. It was a combination of the original Enchanted, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Frozen.

Amy Adams stepped right back into the role of Giselle without flaw and she embraced the shift that her character took. She brings so much life to the one time animated princess.

Maya Rudolph’s Malvina was a cool villain and brought some new energy to the trope of the evil queen and the way that the wish affected the whole town and the characters was a creative twist. However, some of the other sub plots felt tagged on and like a waste of time (such as Robert’s quest to be a hero).

Simply put, there was just not enough of James Marsden, who completely dominated every moment he was on screen with the portray of Edward. I could have used much more of him.

Disenchanted does not measure up to the original film, but that should not be held against it. Disenchanted is an enjoyable and fun watch with some clever moments and another excellent performance from Amy Adams. It certainly has its flaws as many sequels do, but nothing bad enough to take away from the pleasure of the film.

3.3 stars

Apple TV + has had some solid films on its service over the last few years, but they still seem to lag behind the big boys. Once again, there is a great film debuting on Apple TV + this weekend that takes a well known and mined story and gives it a fresh take.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is an all-time class story of redemption. Ebenezer Scrooge being visited by three spirits on a Christmas Eve has been adapted with various successes from Bill Murray’s Scrooged and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

This time it takes the story and flips it around in a clever and creative way. There are a few twists that were unexpected and a whole bunch of songs. That’s right, it is a musical.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Farrell) has had a long career of excellence as the film reveals that they choose a hate-filled person every Christmas to put through the program. Every year, Present thinks about retiring, and every year he chooses to stay. Becoming even more uncertain about how much good he actual has done, Present discovered a special perp considered irredeemable. This was the case that sparked something in Present and he was determined to make the perp change.

The perp, Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), was not looking for a change in lifestyle and the ghosts found him more than they anticipated. When Present has to take over for the Ghost of Christmas Past (Sunita Muni), he starts reflecting on his own life as a ghost.

I have never been a fan of Will Farrell. Honestly, there are way more Will Farrell movies that I dislike or hate than that I liked. However, Farrell is just excellent here as Present is given a surprising origin and a surprising depth of character. Everything that he does makes perfect sense, especially when you discover the truth behind him. His performance is understated, which is just opposite of his normal role. This time he felt like he was playing a character and not just a version of himself.

Farrell and Ryan Reynolds have great chemistry and feel like a perfect duo. Octavia Spencer plays Briggs’ assistant and she is always good. I would have liked a little more from her.

The music was fun and the dance routines were well done although many of them seemed to blend together, not standing out from the others. I do think that there were a couple too many songs in this musical, but I enjoyed most of them. The standout song was a duet between Farrell and Reynolds called “Good Afternoon.”

I really liked the ending of the film. Of course, I will not spoil it, but it was a nice finish and brought characters full circle.

Spirited had appeared in limited run in theaters last week and now can be found on Apple TV +. It is a little long at over two hours, but it is a lot of holiday fun and takes a well-worn story and breathes new life into it.

4.2 stars

I was sure this was going to be a bad idea.

So many times when a film has a sequel set decades in the future, the sequel does not live up to the original and, in plenty of occasions, it is simply garbage. And this sequel comes almost 40 years after the original.

A Christmas Story is a beloved Christmas movie for many people, but I had never seen it until a couple of years ago when I did a Christmas movie binge. I did enjoy it that time, but I never would have thought it was ripe for a follow up.

Nor did I think that we needed to have Peter Billingsley to reprise his role as Ralphie. We also go returning actors Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, Zack Ward, and Ian Petrella playing Flick, Schwartz, Scut Farkus, and Randy, respectfully.

With so many factors working against it, A Christmas Story Christmas had no right to be good.

And yet, it was.

With the death of his Old Man, failing writer Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) returned to his hometown for Christmas with his wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes) and two children Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne). Waiting for them was the widowed Mrs. Parker (Julie Hagerty), who wanted one thing… a Happy Christmas, despite their terrible loss.

That put the pressure of delivering a perfect Christmas on the shoulders of Ralphie, a weight that was dragging him down.

Even for someone who had not watched the original A Christmas Story until just recently, it was clear that this sequel was banking on nostalgia heavily, and it really worked. They flashed back to Ralphie’s childhood and used the trip down memory lane as both a sweet way to reminisce and a way to continue to stress Ralphie out.

It revisited several scenes that were extremely popular in the first film, including the trip to the mall to see Santa Claus and having to deal with a new generation of bullies.

Peter Billingsley narrated the film just like the grown up Ralphie (Jean Shepherd) narrated the original. The film broke the fourth wall a couple of times that added a little magic to the feels.

Are some of the sections a little silly? Sure. So was the first one. But everything worked well together and it gives you a warm Christmas feeling as the family shows the importance of the holiday. A Christmas Story Christmas should never have been this good, and yet, like opening that perfect Christmas present on Christmas morning, it is the unexpected that is the best.

4 stars

Another new film arriving today on Netflix is the film The Wonder, a period piece thriller directed by Sebastián Lelio. The film featured a lead performance from Florence Pugh, who continues to rack up strong performance after another.

According to IMDB, “Set in The Irish Midlands in 1862, the story follows a young girl who stops eating but remains miraculously alive and well. English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) is brought to a tiny village to observe eleven-year old Anna O’Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy). Tourists and pilgrims mass to witness the girl who is said to have survived without food for months. Is the village harbouring a saint ‘surviving on manna from heaven’ or are there more ominous motives at work?“

The first scene and final shot of this movie was very bizarre and unexpected. It also had no connection to the story that is told by the film. I am unsure why the filmmakers made this choice. Although it certainly was an original option, it was forgotten quickly until the final scene appeared on the screen. Without spoiling it, I can’t go into further specifics.

The story of Anna, the girl who had not eaten for four months, is an interesting mystery with some decent ambiance. However, I did find the movie slow and a little dull. The movie was truly lucky to have such an amazing actor in Florence Pugh as its lead because I am not sure this worked at all if it were not for Pugh.

Pugh’s nurse character Lib Wright was conflicted by everything that was going on, from her first investigation of what was going on to the apparent downturn of Anna’s health during her watch.

There are several excellent actors involved here that did not have a ton to do. These actors included Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds, Elaine Cassidy, Caolán Byrne, Dermot Crowley, Niamh Algar, Tom Burke and Brian F. O’Byrne.

The Wonder dealt with religion and miracles and the desperation for the human beings to connect to something more than what they have. There is a tragic element involved here too, but the story is slow. Pugh does a ton of heavy lifting and pulls the film out, but just barely.

3 stars

Sick day.

This gave me a chance to catch up on some of the Netflix films and other streaming films that came out this week. The first one that I watched was an animated film directed by Nora Twomey from Netflix Animation, Mockingbird Pictures and Cartoon Saloon. Cartoon Saloon was an Irish animation studio that recently release the Oscar nominated animated film Wolfwalkers.

My Father’s Dragon is based on a 1948 children’s novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett.

Elmer Elevator (Jacob Trembley) is a young boy whose mother (Golshifteh Farahani) ran a store. Elmer was a great help during this time, but the store would not last and they had to leave their home. Struggling to make ends meat, they found a rundown attic apartment and started to try to save money for a new store. Unfortunately, things were not going well.

After being frustrated with his mother, Elmer ran off and found a talking cat (Whoopi Goldberg) who told Elmer that the answers to his problems would be on Wild Island in the form of a dragon named Boris (Gaten Matarazzo). However, when Elmer arrived on the island, he discovered that there were a lot of other problems going on.

My Father’s Dragon featured a wonderful cast of voice actors. Along with Jacob Trembly, Gaten Matarazzo, and Whoopi Goldberg, there were also Ian McShane, Chris O’Dowd, Jackie Earle Haley, Rita Moreno, Dianne Wiest, Judy Greer, Alan Cumming, Adam Brody, Charlyne Yi, Yara Shahidi and Mary Kay Place.

The traditional 2D animation style really worked well for this film. The hand drawn images turned out beautifully as the imagery popped from the screen. The 2D animation is a nice change from all the CGI design that dominates the animation today. The design of the characters on Wild Island were remarkably creative and imaginative.

The story has some strong themes that work through the entire film. It is a movie that the story may be simplistic, but it is well executed and should be a tale that both kids and their parents will enjoy.

3.8 stars

I have been looking at this on the My Stuff section on Prime for a couple of weeks. I finally decided that it was time to watch Run Sweetheart Run. I did not expect to get what I wound up getting.

According to IMDB, “Initially apprehensive when her boss (Clark Gregg) insists she meets with one of his most important clients, single mom Cherie (Ella Balinska) is relieved and excited when she meets charismatic Ethan (Pilou Asbæk). The influential businessman defies expectations and sweeps Cherie off her feet. But at the end of the night, when the two are alone together, he reveals his true, violent nature. Battered and terrified, she flees for her life, beginning a relentless game of cat-and-mouse with a bloodthirsty assailant hell-bent on her utter destruction.“

It turned out that the assailant was a supernatural force that was nearly unstoppable and I did not think the movie was going there. With the unexpected twist, the film wound up to be quite fun.

Ella Balinska, who I have not seen in very many projects, does a great job as Cherie, the woman who was being pursued by Ethan. She was easy to root for and showed how much of a kick ass she turned out to be. She is an actor that you should keep an eye on, because I think she could be a big star (she could be an exceptional Ororo).

It was fun watching the desperate struggle for survival and how creative the film was in helping keep Cherie alive despite what seemed impossible odds.

Yes, there are some fairly obvious themes of female empowerment and how they are being held down, but there is a lot of enjoyment to be had.

It was awesome to see Clark Gregg again, though he does not appear in the film that much. I miss Agent Coulson so much that I liked his short appearance here.

Run Sweetheart Run was better than I thought it would be and I am glad it finally got off my queue.

3.6 stars

Armageddon Time is a new coming-of-age story that, to be honest, was difficult to watch at times. The movie does not pull any punches and provides a lot of late 70s/early 80s drama for this family.

Written, directed and produced by James Gray, Armageddon Time included performers such as Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong.

Paul (Banks Repeta) was a young boy going through a difficult time. He was having issues at his school as well as troubles with his family. The only person who seemed to have a connection with Paul was his grandpa Aaron (Anthony Hopkins). When Paul befriends troublesome student Johnny (Jaylin Webb), who appeared to have past mistakes brought back and thrown in his face continually by teachers and others, the two boys began to get into even more trouble.

Paul’s family have their own expectations of him which did not seem to include Paul’s artistic skills, which he is always doing, and they look for a change to try and help Paul with his decisions.

There were several very difficult scenes in the film that included certain racial scenes, showing the privilege of Paul while displaying the perceptions of Johnny, a black boy seen as a problem. There is also a scene of discipline from Paul’s father that caused me to squirm in my seat.

The ways of this family was much more in target with the early 1980s than it is in 2022.

Banks Repeta does a great job as the lead protagonist in this film, especially in scenes opposite Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins. You could feel every emotion from Paul and he could be easily related to in each circumstance that he found himself trapped in. The film only worked because of the strong work of the young actor.

He also has a strong connection with another young actor in Jaylin Webb. Webb brings a lot to Johnny, in a role that could have been fairly stereotypical, but turned out very much his own character. That made everything that was happening to Johnny all the more tragic.

I had issue with the teacher, Mr. Turkeltaub (Andrew Polk). This character felt very cliché in this style of movie and I was hoping for something different. Unfortunately, this is probably part of the experience James Gray faced in his own past.

This story felt very personal for Gray, as much of this could be connected to his own childhood in Queens. There were a couple of strange cameos in the film that felt out of place despite being in place for a distinct reason.

The film stretched out a bit too long, and I would have liked more within the family structure because these scenes were the most compelling of the movie, but Armageddon Time was a solid watch with some good performances that had its share of themes to share with the world.

3.6 stars

One more documentary this morning. It was a tough one.

Girl in the Picture was on Netflix and was directed by Skye Borgman. It was based on the books A Beautiful Child and Finding Sharon by author Matt Birkbeck. It tells the story of a young woman, a victim of a hit and run driver, and her harrowing life of abduction and abuse at the hands of the man she believed was her father, Franklin Delano Floyd.

This is a remarkable tale with a bunch of horrific instances. We were introduced to the young woman as Sharon Marshall, a kind, friendly teenager who was a friend to all, but who had a nightmare of a father.

Nightmare is too kind of an adjective to describe Franklin Floyd.

Floyd had multiple aliases during his life and had kidnapped Sharon’s son, Michael, after she had been killed. Though it had never been proven, it was believed that Floyd had run Sharon over with his car.

When he showed up again, Michael was not with him either.

A portrait of sexual abuse and use of Sharon to make money for sex was painted, showing was a terrible life the young girl was trapped in. Yet, everyone who talked about Sharon spoke to her kindness and how wonderful of a friend she was. This is the strength of the documentary. It did not focus on the life of the sociopathic Floyd as much as it did on the woman who survived years with him and did not allow those years to color her personality.

This doc included interviews with many of the investigators who had spent so much of their time trying to find the answers to this mystery. The doc weaved the moments together that took the story in a different path in a well constructed manner. Matt Birkbeck became one of the talking heads in the doc. When he got involved, there was another push to learn about the true identity of Sharon, who they had learned was kidnaped by Floyd and was not his actual daughter.

The documentary was engrossing as the story unfolded. You knew that there was tragedy in the tale, but, in the end, there was a hopefulness about it as a group of people came together to finally honor Sharon and to discover who she really was.

4 stars