Category Archives: Doc’s Movie Reviews

The Luckiest Man in America

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June 3

I remember watching this as a kid. Press Your Luck was always a fun game show and anyone could do it. However, the world had no idea exactly how truthful that statement was until Michael Larson proved it to the world.

Larson was an unemployed ice cream truck driver who loved Press Your Luck. It started as what appeared to be an insanely lucky streak of avoiding the Whammies, but soon was revealed as something more.

In this biopic of one of the most infamous moments in game show history, The Luckiest Man in America provided us with the story of that day of tapings in 1984 that cemented Michael Larson as a notorious game show contestant who found the key to winning against the “Big Board.”

Larson had memorized the patterns of the board after months of research and he was putting those skills to test on the TV program. As he was winning at a consistent basis, the executives looked to prevent him from destroying their show.

Paul Walter Hauser played Michael Larson, showing surprising depth to the man. The film looked at Larson’s failed marriage and his relationship with his daughter as ways to show his motives for pulling this scam.

Walton Goggins played Peter Tomarkin, the host of the show. David Strathairn played Bill, a TV executive on the game show. Both of these actors were great in support of Hauser.

This is a fascinating true tale that I wonder how much is hyperbole and how much is true. Either way, this was an enjoyable character study of one of the most outrageous moments in Daytime TV history.

3.85 stars

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

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June 3

There were several animated movies that I missed out on in 2024, so there are several on the list for the June Swoon 4. The first one is the Oscar nominated Netflix film that returned to the stop action animation of the franchise Wallace & Gromit.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl sees the erstwhile inventor Wallace trying to help his trusty dog Gromit with his garden. Going over the top, Wallace created a robot to help… the “smart gnome” or Norbot. Meanwhile, master criminal Feathers McGraw, who had been captured by the police thanks to Wallace & Gromit, plotted a way to take control of the army of Norbots.

I had watched another Wallace & Gromit film (Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and I did not like it much. That was part of the reason that I did not watch this on Netflix last year. However, this was so much better than I expected. It was funny, clever and just a really enjoyable film.

The voice talents of Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel and Reece Shearsmith are on full display in the film.

The animation feels old school. The effort it takes to create a film using the stop action animation is considerable, and this crew does an amazing job with it. It never feels shorted or lacking, and delivers some excellent moments throughout, including a big action chase scene at the end.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl has one of the rarer accomplishments… 100% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I can see why. This was a lot of fun. It did not try to exceed what it does well and it did not overstay its welcome at a slim 79 minutes. This is available on Netflix.

Into the Deep

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June 2

I have been a fan of shark movies. Sadly, most of them are terrible. There are some exceptions. So when I spotted Into the Deep on Disney +, I thought this would be a good option for the June Swoon 4: Two A Day.

It gave me hope when I saw that Richard Dreyfuss was among the cast of this movie. Dreyfuss starred in the greatest shark movie of all time (heck, one of the greatest movies of all time) Jaws. How could we go wrong?

We could go wrong in so many ways.

Into the Deep was horrible. Just a waste of an hour and a half. After the first five minutes, I had an idea of what kind of movie this was going to be.

According to IMDB, “Pirates on the hunt for sunken drugs kidnap a boat of tourists and force them to dive into shark infested waters to retrieve the contraband.”

That sounds exciting. That was not the basis behind this story. I mean, it was there, but the execution of that storyline was so inept that it was laughable.

The acting was just bad. The dialogue was unnatural. It made no sense. The story was so coincidental and haphazard that it could not be believed. None of the characters felt like real people.

The shark attacks looked ridiculous. It looked like a shark just shaking a hunk of bloody meat. The images of the sharks in the water were impressive as they just swam around. Other than that, there just was not much of anything.

The overall production of the movie felt cheap. The sound was terrible. With the exception of the beauty of the water shots, there was not much to make this stand out among shark films, let alone other movies.

There are so many better movies on Disney +. Take your time and watch those. This was terrible in every way.

1 star

Hundreds of Beavers

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June 2

Dan Murrell had this on his list of the best films of 2024 and I had never heard of it. Hundreds of Beavers sounded weird and bizarre. I figured this would make a good watch for the June Swoon.

What a wild ride this was.

It felt like a live action Loony Tunes cartoon, full of slapstick, cartoon violence and laughter.

According to IMDB, “In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.“

This film translates it story without dialogue (or at least, without much dialogue). Outside of a few words grunted or mumbled, the film does a tremendous job of creating a visual storytelling aspect that makes this all the more appealing.

The black and white style adds to the homemade feel of the film, and plays right into the joke. The score of the film is perfect, making this feel like the old time animation, despite the hundreds of over-exaggerated beaver costumes all over the place.

It is gems like this that I appreciate the YouTube community for mentioning. I can legitimately say that I would never have heard of Hundreds of Beavers without the recommendation from Dan Murrell. I spent a chunk of time laughing at so much of the stupid humor going on in this movie that it was an absolute treat. This is the type of film that takes a chance and has it pay off big time. One of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.

Black Bag

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June 1, 2025

I added a new component to the June Swoon this year. In order to spice things up, and because there were a number of films that I have missed this year so far, I decided to add a film from 2025 each day to the June Swoon 4 DailyView so that I would be watching a movie I missed from 2024 AND a movie I missed from 2025. The first of these is on Peacock called Black Bag,

Starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, Black Bag is a spy thriller featuring a married couple George and Kathryn, who worked separately in black ops and espionage while being tightly connected.

Both Blanchett and Fassbender are great in this movie and their chemistry is undeniable. The story itself has plenty of twists and turns as they try to uncover a plot to steal a top-secret software program code-named Severus. Kathryn is a suspect in the case and George has to investigate the case.

I really enjoyed the way this progressed. It was not your typical spy thriller with the gunfights and high action moments. This was a smart, thinking person’s spy story uncovered with intelligence and manipulation. I found that to be very creative while still being extremely suspenseful and entertaining.

Pierce Brosnan was here too, but his role is small and he was underused in the story. When Brosnan was on screen, he was excellent.

There is a series of scenes with a lie detector which is about as great of a scene as you are going to get. I was riveted through that entire moment of the movie and the climax of the mystery paid off big time too.

This is an excellent film and I am pleased that I finally was able to seeing it.

4.3 stars

September 5

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June 1, 2025

The fourth annual June Swoon kicked off this morning with a movie that I have been anticipating for a long time. It is a film that I would have gone to in the theater but it never came around to any of the theaters in my area. At least, I never saw it available in my area.

September 5 told the tragic story of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany where a group of Israeli athletes were taken hostage during the games. The movie was told from the perspective of the sporting crew from ABC, who were in Munich covering the Games and wound up near the scene of terror.

I only knew a little bit about the situation before viewing this and the massive tragedy that would befall the athletes. This was put together with an outstanding ensemble of actors as well as real life archival footage shot by ABC. Footage of the late Jim McKay as the anchor of the sports crew and the voice that sent the news out to the world was used. The quote of McKay when everything was finalized and his words went out across the world

When I was a kid my father used to say “Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.” Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were 11 hostages; two were killed in their rooms this morn– yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.
— McKay, 1972

The ensemble cast included  Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch as well as a ton of other actors. The tension of the situation was amplified by these talented actors and they brought suspense to a moment in time that many, if not all, knew would end up with tragic results. Yet as you watched the film unfold, you still held hope that there would be part of the story that you did not know and that there would be some sliver of happiness would be found.

September 5 was an emotional roller coaster detailing the horrors of a terrorist attack, and the dedication of these men and women to provide the details of the news to the world.

Friendship

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I hated this movie.

I had heard so many positive comments about Friendship, the film starring actor, comedian and screenwriter Tim Robinson. Word of mouth of the A24 comedy was out of this world. It has 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I hated this movie.

Craig (Tim Robinson) meets his new neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd) and immediately falls hard for him. Craig wanted to be Austin’s friend and he went to some crazy steps to make it happen. However, he was not good at the interpersonal skills.

Probably the biggest reason I hated this movie was because of the protagonist. Craig was so unlikable as a character that I just did not find funny. It was cringy. I believe that is the way the comedy is meant to be, but I just did not like it at all.

I mean, I love Paul Rudd. I like Kate Mara. I like Jack Dylan Grazer. The cast was solid.

I found myself hoping this would be over. I was looking at my clock throughout the film. I just did not have any fun in this movie.

1.3 stars

Karate Kid: Legends

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I have been a fan of the Karate Kid movies, particularly the first two, and the Cobra Kai TV show, so I am the type of person this is directed towards, and because of that, I probably liked this more than someone else might have.

According to IMDB, “When kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) relocates to New York City with his mother to attend a prestigious new school, he finds solace in a new friendship with a classmate and her father. But his newfound peace is short-lived after he attracts unwanted attention from a formidable local karate champion. Driven by a desire to defend himself, Li embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition. Guided by the wisdom of his kung fu teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), and the legendary Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Li merges their unique styles to prepare for an epic martial arts showdown.“

Starting off, this is absolutely the same story, including several specific details, as the first Karate Kid movie. I was sitting in the theater and every time something specific would happen, my mind would connect it to the same bit from the first flick. The story could have been something more than what we got.

Ben Wang was a charming lead as Li Fong. I liked him, even if he was just replaying the Daniel LaRusso role from the first film. I liked the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, though I do wonder why they were constantly arguing about the different moves. It also felt a little awkward with how Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso came together.

I did like the first part of the movie as we spent some time with Li Fong. However, the second part, the 5 Burrough tournament, felt extremely rushed.

The fighting scenes were great. I loved the mix between karate and kung fu. I also enjoyed the boxing scenes with Joshua Jackson. Jackson played Victor, the father of Mia (Sadie Stanley). I really liked both of these characters, especially Victor who felt like something different than other films.

I enjoyed the idea of this film, but, make no mistake, there are a ton of problems with it. It is not a good movie, but I did come out of it with a smile.

2.75 stars

By the way: The mid credit scene was the best scene of the movie. It happens right away so you shouldn’t miss it, but it was worth the time.

Bring Her Back

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I guess I really didn’t need to sleep tonight.

The internet was out when I got home from my last day of school, so, instead of just being mad at Mediacom, I decided to go to a movie. I had the tickets for tomorrow purchased and I know there was one film that I was going to see later next week. I went tonight instead.

Bring Her Back, the latest movie from directors Danny and Michael Philippou, the directors of 2022 Talk to Me, was one of the most disturbing and unsettling films I have seen in a long time.

This film avoided many of the horror tropes. There were no jump scares. It covered multiple types of horror, from body horror to psychological horror.

Step siblings are sent to a new foster home after their father died. It does not take long to realize that something was off about this situation.

There is no doubt that this is a movie that will be triggering for some. It is one of those horror movies that stuns you so much that you just want to go sit in silence and deconstruct.

Bring Her Back is a slow burn, but it does move well and never is without a healthy dose of tension and anxiety. There were times when I was grimacing, disturbed and looking away. There are some scenes that were very difficult to get through.

Sally Hawkins played Laura, the foster mother, who was extremely creepy, even in the moments when she seemed as if she was a loving individual. Hawkins was truly exceptional in this performance, which could have been too over the top, but turned out strong.

The kids in the movie do a great job too. Billy Barratt played the oldest kid, Andy, who had plenty of background troubles. Sora Wong played Piper in her debut. Wong, just like the character she played, Piper, is partially blind. She was remarkable and made everything work so well. Jonah Wren Phillips played Oliver, the boy Laura had already been fostering. All three of these kids did an amazing job, and they all had a different type of character to play.

I have to say, I was not completely clear about the demon aspect of this movie. It was a bit confusing, but you just accept that there is something supernatural going on and don’t question it too much.

This is going to be one of those movies that I will recommend, but never want to watch again. I squirmed in my seat several times during this uncomfortable movie. A24 has become known as a super horror film studio and they have yet another one. This is also a very different of sort of horror film than the Philippou brothers made previously.

There will be plenty of people who hate this movie. I was tense the whole time. My teeth were gritted several times. The film is remarkably well constructed and made. I understand if someone hated this movie. I don’t ever want to watch it again. But it absolutely did what it was trying to do.

3.8 stars

Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning

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I have been a big fan of the recent Mission: Impossible franchise, so I was looking forward to the final film, and, like everyone I wanted to see Tom Cruise running and doing a massive stunt. Well, he ran throughout the movie but his massive stunt did not come until late in the movie… and it was a long movie.

I do think the last hour or so of Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning was sensational. The problem was that the film was almost three hours long.

The first hour and a half of the movie was so packed with exposition and flashes to previous movies that I was getting a little bored, and that is something that a Mission: Impossible movie should never be.

Tom Cruise was great as Ethan Hunt. You can tell how comfortable he is with the character. His stunt work in the final confrontation of the movie is typically stunning. It was good to see the return of Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg as the team that has backed Ethan for so many missions. Hayley Atwell is back from the last film and she has decent chemistry with Cruise. Rolf Saxon and Lucy Tulugarjuk appear in the film as a couple of characters who become two of my favorites from the film.

Esai Morales is not my favorite character in the film. I do not think he worked as the villain of this movie. I think he was better in the previous film and his transfer over to this one was not great.

I did not love the final scene of the movie either. I wanted some more resolution for the characters than what was done. Perhaps that is in case this is not the final MI movie.

I do not think this was a fantastic finale of this franchise, but it was still a solid action movie. The last hour or so of the movie was really great and engaging. The first hour and a half spent way too much time explaining things and trying to set things up. Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning was a touch underwhelming, but that is probably because the franchise had been so sensational for the last five or six movies that you do not expect it to only be okay.

3.5 stars

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

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As I was sitting in the theater with the credits rolling, I heard a family coming down the steps. The mom asked the little boy what he thought of his first movie, to which he responded with an enthusiastic ‘great.’ I sat there thinking how cool that was. I do not remember what my own first movie in theater was, but I know how the experience can be such an enjoyable moment.

I just recently rewatched the 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch to prepare for the remake and I thought that was an enjoyable watch though I would not say that I found it a Disney all-time classic.

The Disney live action remakes have been largely not some of my favorite films with a few exceptions on the list. This film is one that I think would be a decent film, especially for a family viewing experience, much like the little boy whose first theater movie was this.

I do wonder if this film has a real purpose for existing outside of $$$. Now, to be fair, all movies are looking to make money, but there have been some of these Disney remakes that just do not feel as if they have any soul, any real magic that the animated films had in excess.

Still, I do think that, for the most part, the 2025 Lilo & Stitch was fine. There were some plot and character adjustments from the animated movie, but nothing that jumped out at me.

The CGI Stitch was well done and worked as a character, which was vital if you wanted this movie to work. Voiced by the original voice actor, Chris Sanders, Stitch was every bit the rapscallion that he was in the animated movie. Young Maia Kealoha made her acting debut as Lilo, and she did a decent job. Some of the trailers for the film did not highlight the strongest aspects of Maia’s work so to see it in context made it work so much more. Again, if Lilo did not work, this movie would have flopped.

The comedic pairing of Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis as Pleakley and Jumba was good casting as they played off each other quite well. I did miss the voice of the late David Ogden Stiers from the animated film. Sydney Agudong played the role of Lilo’s sister Nani and I thought she was wonderful. She had a film presence that stood out on the screen. Courtney B. Vance, Amy Hill, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, and Kaipo Dudoit added to the ensemble of the film.

In the end, this was a fine film that did its job, basically. I am sure that there will be plenty of children who see this movie as their first ever movie in a theater and that is a wonderful thing. This would be a good film for that honor.

3.4 stars

Ender’s Game (2013)

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With the school year coming to an end, we decided to show a movie at the end of the most recent unit we have been working on. It was a sci-fi/space adventure unit and it actually had a possible “long” read offered of Orson Scott Card’s novel, Ender’s Game. We decided to show the movie to the seventh graders.

I hadn’t seen Ender’s Game since it was in the theaters back in 2013, so I was excited to get a chance to see it again. I remember liking it, but not loving it.

The cast of this film was extraordinary, starting with Asa Butterfield as Ender and Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff. These two had tremendous chemistry and carried much of the film. The actresses that played Valentine and Petra drove me nuts at first because I knew I recognized them but I just could not place their youthful faces. After a check on IMDB, I realized that Valentine was Abigail Breslin and Petra was Hailee Steinfeld. They were both great. The movie also included Ben Kingsley, Nonso Anozie and Viola Davis. Great actors in this film.

The special effects and the shots were spectacular as well. It looked beautiful and stunning at every moment. The animation of the mind game was a little uncanny valley, but it was supposed to be, showing the difference between this game world and the real world.

I did have some problems, basically with the script. It felt like there were too many moments that were rushed, as if they needed to cut things out to fit it in the film, and because of that, some scenes which were meant to be more impactful, ended up less so than it could have been.

One example was a scene between Ender and Sgt. Dap (Nonso Anozie) where Ender was being a particularly annoying child. Dap screamed at him to shut up and that he would never salute Ender. Then it felt like ten minutes later that Dap was doing that very thing. It was meant to be a powerful moment, but Ender did not seem to have earned that salute in any way, so the powerful moment felt a bit flat.

The conclusion of the film is sensational and Asa Butterfield is excellent at this moment. The eyes of Butterfield were remarkable, constantly right on the verge of being filled with tears while reflecting the light perfectly. The close-up visuals of Ender always worked.

The message is not ignored in Ender’s Game and, in fact, could be argued that it is as important to the film as anything else.

The students of my class seemed to enjoy the film, as every class that I showed this to asked if there was a sequel. I pointed out the book series while telling them that this was the only movie. One girl told me that she wanted Ender and Petra to get married… that she shipped them.

In the end, the film was pretty good. Yes, I think some of the writing needed some work and some of the moments did not feel as earned as it should have, but Ender’s Game was still a fun time among sci-fi films made for both kids and adults.

Final Destination: Bloodlines

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I never knew that Rube Goldberg was such a sicko.

The series of horror movies in the Final Destination franchise are films that I have not see before. It just did not feel like the type of film that was going to appeal to me. So I was not anxious to see the Final Destination: Bloodlines film out this weekend.

I have to say, I liked this way more than i ever believed I would.

According to IMDB, “A teenage girl has recurring nightmares of a tower collapse in the 1960s. She discovers that these nightmares are a premonition she inherited from her grandmother. The grandmother predicted the collapse of the building and saved a group of people from death. Decades later, the granddaughter begins to have visions of her family members dying. She realizes that there is a sequence and must fight to prevent Death from reclaiming her family’s bloodline.”

I really enjoyed the set up for the movie. The opening did a great job of baiting the hook for the audience and it left a huge question in my mind immediately. The set piece with the collapsing restaurant was thrilling and extremely suspenseful. I loved the mystery aspect of the film as our characters tried their best to prevent Death from claiming their family.

The tone of this film worked really well even though it felt like it was all over the place. The kills were, at the same time, grisly and funny. I’m not sure how it could work that I was laughing while I was repelling in disgust. The intricate ways that the victims died made me think of the old Rube Goldberg drawing of complicated inventions to do simple things. In this case, the simple thing was driving something threw someone’s head (or other various body parts).

The film looked great and, as I said, the kills were excellent. I was invested in the group finding a way to prevent their own deaths and thus cheat Death.

Kaitlyn Santa Juana was our lead protagonist, Stefani, and I thought she did a wonderful job. The whole film, I felt as if I had seen her before, but I just could not place it. However, looking on IMDB after the film, I could not find a credit on her list that I would have known her from. She was on the CW series The Flash, but only two episodes and I did not watch that series much any way. I did thin she was a compelling lead so I was impressed with her performance, even if I thought I knew her.

I thought the film does an exceptional job developing characters connected to Stefani. They were more than just the typical horror movie canon fodder characters. They had depth to them and they had emotional beats that work very well in making them be characters that we want to see escape, not just get killed off.

There is also a small cameo from the late Tony Todd. I am not sure if this is his final film, but if it is, he has a strong one to end on.

Perhaps I have to add some of the Final Destination movies to my list of films for the October 13 this year as I enjoyed this one a lot and if this represents what the franchise is about, I am up for some more.

4.1 stars

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

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I knew that I wanted to revisit the original animated Lilo & Stitch (2002) before the new live action adaptation that is coming on May 23. I believe that I have only seen this animated Disney classic once, back in the early 2000s. I know that I did not go to the theater to see this, so it must have been on VHS.

With the new film coming, I pulled this film up on Disney + today to rewatch it. And I have to say that I really enjoyed this more than I remember liking it that first time.

The voice cast was great. The voice that I immediately recognized was that of David Ogden Stiers, who played Charles on MASH and had been one of the regular voice actors in several other Disney movies(such as Beauty and the Beast). Chris Sanders voiced Stitch while Daveigh Chase voiced Lilo. Other voices in this movie included Tia Carrere, Ving Rhames, Kevin McDonald, Zoe Caldwell, Jason Scott Lee, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

Lilo & Stitch is a fun movie with a great story and a powerful message of family and acceptance. It was short but well paced. I loved the use of the Elvis Presley catalogue of songs, which kept my toes tapping throughout the movie.

The animation style was traditional, but still worthy. The design of the alien characters are not my favorites as they feel fairly common. Honestly, the characters of Jumba and Pleakley remind me of the Muppets, not Kermit or Miss Piggy, but those Muppets that you would see in the background.

After seeing this film once again, I am looking forward to the live action remake more than I was before, which was the idea.

Clown in a Cornfield

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I saw this listed at Cinemark and my mind immediately went to movies like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Clown in a cornfield? It seemed so ridiculous. However, the reviews were mostly positive, surprising me. I decided to give it a chance.

According to IMBD (by way of Bloody Disgusting), “Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start, But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out as quick as they can. Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.” Synopsis from Bloody Disgusting“

I was torn by this movie. There were parts that I thought were really dumb and, if you excuse the pun, corny. However, it was heads and shoulders above the type of movies that I expected it to be lke.

The film did start off by introducing a group of young teen characters that I hated and led me to look forward to seeing them killed by a clown. As the film progressed, I learned that the unlikable characters were part of the story, not just a slasher movie trope. I started to believe that the writing was more clever than I initially thought.

The story had some interesting moments, but was very messy in a lot of spots. I am not sure everything came together well. There were some holes in the story, especially the ending. Without spoiling anything, something at the end confused me so much that I was questioning myself that I must have missed something.

Clown in a Cornfield is not a bad film. It was an enjoyable enough watch as it moved along quickly. I think I went in with low expectations and I had a good enough time with it. I did like how the film changed up several of the expected horror tropes. This was fun at times.

3 stars