Category Archives: Doc’s Movie Reviews

Sasquatch Sunset

Posted on by

This was a weird movie.

We follow a family of sasquatches. Going in, I thought these sasquatches would be an anthropomorphic creature that would talk English like humans. Nope. Nothing but grunts, calls and tree knocks. The four actors had to relate thoughts without words, via actions, facial expressions and body language.

The four actors playing the family of sasquatches were Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner.

This is a gross movie in many instances, including scenes of vomiting, throwing poop, peeing and dangling Sasquatch penises (which kind of ruin the myth of comparison to big feet).

There are also some very powerful moments of loss and tragedy as the family tried to make its way through a years time.

I am very mixed about this, because much of the humor of the film are the type of humor that I do not like. The scene where the father squatch threw up after eating some special mushroom was extremely gross, with green vomit dangling in his beard. Still, there were some moving moments as the sasquatches tried to navigate the struggles of the wilderness. There is a cougar in the film that is just massive.

I do appreciate the swing that directors David and Nathan Zellner took with this movie, but it just did not fully hit with me. It took quite a risk to not have any dialogue in the entire flick. That definitely took some adjusting to, but after awhile, it did not bother me.

There is an artistry here, so I do not want to fully dismiss what the Zellners tried to do. The fact is this movie just did not work for me. There are positives here for sure and it took some sasquatch sized balls to make it, but ninety minutes felt too long. Sasquatch fans might really enjoy this and there is definitely comments about relationships and our world here, but there was just too much other things that I couldn’t get past.

2.8 stars

Abigail

Posted on by

This movie was awesome, but I just can’t shake the feeling that it could have been so much better, perhaps even the best movie of the year, but it has to settle for awesomeness thanks to the trailers.

I went into the film wondering why the movie would reveal in the trailers that the little girl who had been kidnapped was, in truth, a vampire. I did not understand the idea behind it, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking that perhaps there was another, more dramatic reveal in the film that made it okay to give away this major plot point.

After seeing the movie, I am even more flummoxed about why the studio would give away what could have been a major twist in the story in the trailer.

The first part of the movie treated this like a kidnapping story and that the crew of hired thugs were to babysit the hostage in this old, spooky house. There were times in the early part of the film that tried to make the little girl, Abigail, into a victim and the film tried to pull on the heartstrings of the audience. The thing is, I knew the whole time that Abigail was a vampire.

It also tried to play a bit of a game of “who can you trust” by making it seem as if Frank, played by the amazing Dan Stevens, was behind the entire thing, and that would have been a cool twist, had I not known that the little girl was a vampire. All this early part of the movie would have worked so much more had they not spoiled that reveal in the trailer.

And the argument would be trying to get people into the theater, but I honestly think there could have been a way to weave together a trailer that painted this into a different picture, while protecting that one major concept. The reveal of Abigail as a vampire would have hit so much harder, been so much more impactful if I did not know it was coming.

After all of that, this movie still rocked really hard.

I was shocked to see at the film’s beginning that Alisha Weir played Abigail. Alisha Weir was the lead of one of my favorite movies of a couple years ago, Matilda the Musical. I absolutely loved her in that role and she is fabulous here too. She is an amazing young actor and she has a bright, bright future. In what could have been a one note role in Abigail, Weir brought so much emotion, vulnerability and power to her character while still being sinister and downright terrifying.

The rest of the ensemble cast was great too. Melissa Barrera was fantastic as the main protagonist, who was the character that the audience was intended to connect with and I certainly did. However, they still imbued her with plenty of mistakes and a back story that was filled with mistakes. She was a bad ass, but also a character with more regrets than happy memories.

Dan Stevens is always amazing, and this is no exception. This is a character that is anything but likable, but you still find yourself rooting for him even though. Dan Stevens does a tremendous job with this character that had surprising depth for this type of movie.

Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand and the late Angus Cloud formed a ragtag bunch of lowlifes that mixed beautifully with the horror/comedy vibe of the film. Giancarlo Esposito had a small, but meaningful role as well.

As I mentioned, this was a horror/comedy film and I laughed out loud multiple times at some of the situations that these characters wound up in.

I might have legitimately given this movie 5 stars had the vampire twist been kept as a secret. I came out raving about this movie even without the surprise, but I can’t help but think it would have been so much more without the spoilers.

4.75 stars

Civil War

Posted on by

This was a really well done movie with some dramatic moments.

I do not want to every see it again.

There have been several movies that I have seen that I loved, but that had such an impact on me that I would not want to watch it again.

Despite what you might think, this is not a political movie. The film does not go into specifics on how the film’s civil war started nor does it take sides. I think that was a very smart thing to do, but I do expect that some people from either side may see what they want to see in the movie even though it is not there.

The film focuses on four characters who are photo journalists in their attempt to go from New York to D.C. It is essentially a dystopian road trip movie, with a series of scenes that show the horrible events that a war brings. Innocent bystanders are caught in crossfire, lives are ruined, death surrounds them all.

The four main characters have great chemistry together and bring an energy to the darkness around them. Kirsten Dunst played a battle weary photo journalist named Lee and Wagner Moura played her partner Joel. They are joined by up and coming photo journalist Jesse, played by Cailee Spaeny. Then fourth of the group was the wonderful Stephen McKinley Henderson whose character was a grizzled veteran reporter, Sammy.

These characters interact with each other and the film is truly a character piece involving their road trip toward D.C.

The sound mixing team on this film did an amazing job as it sounded unbelievable. The gun shots would literally resonate in the audience’s gut, creating an uneasiness and an awkwardness that empowered the tone of the film.

Civil War is a violent film that does an admirable job at not taking a side in the conflict, nor does it blame either. It spends time with four characters who have to deal with the consequence of war and trying to exist in a war zone. It is a compelling movie with strong lead performances that anchor the film.

4.25 stars

The First Omen

Posted on by

I caught up with this film that had been released last week, and I heard some positive reactions to the prequel. Unfortunately, I did not find these reactions matched up with my own.

This basically tells the story behind the birth of Damien from the original Omen movie, and the mythology behind it. Honestly, I found a lot of this to be shaky, as the reasoning behind it felt all over the place for me.

Nell Tiger Free starred as the main character Margaret, who had just arrived in Rome to begin her service to the church. This film was set in 1971, but did not necessarily feel that way in any other manner than the production values.

I will say that I think Nell Tiger Free did a spectacular job in this role, in particular with the physical demands of the performance. She was definitely the stand out for me, at least about two-thirds of the way into the film when things started happening.

I had a lot of trouble with what was happening in the plot. I did not understand the reasoning behind it and I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to be rooting for.

So, this was okay, but I did not enjoy it very much. I can understand why people liked it, because it was better than a lot of other horror sequels/prequels. I just did not think much about this.

2.5 stars

Monkey Man

Posted on by

Dev Patel had his debut as a feature length director. He was also a writer on this project as well as the lead actor, so Dev had a huge presence across Monkey Man.

I would say that the best parts of this movie was Dev Patel. His performance was outstanding. He took this character and provided a ton of emotion for him.

According to IMDB, “Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.“

This was very violent and brutal in many moments, but the biggest problem I had with the movie was the use of shaky cam. So much of the fight scenes were difficult to see because of the shaky cam. There were some scenes where the camera was set and not shaking and they looked great.

There were several moments that the film felt kind of dull. It feels as if it were too long and could have used some editing.

Monkey Man has its flaws, but it is a good movie despite those. It was an impressive debut for Dev Patel behind the camera.

3.4 stars

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

Posted on by

The WWE has always done exceptional documentaries. The new doc about the late great Windham Rotunda, better known to the world as Bray Wyatt, is about as exceptional as it comes.

Windham Rotunda shockingly passed away in 2023, something that no one expected or saw coming and it left a massive hole in the world of WWE. This documentary gives the story of Windham Rotunda from his early days to his final days inside the squared circle.

Narrated by the Undertaker, Becoming Immortal did not just focus on the positive moments of Windham’s life, but also the challenges that he faced as he worked his way through the world of sports entertainment. Though many said how difficult it was to work with him, everyone admitted what a creative genius Windham Rotunda was.

Comments from so many of Bray Wyatt’s contemporaries spoke throughout the doc, including Triple H, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Braun Stroman, Sami Zayn, Big E, LA Knight, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Alexa Bliss and Erick Rowan.

However, the most emotional moments are provided by Windham’s younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, known to the WWE audience as Bo Dallas, as well as other family members of Windham, including his father Mike Rotunda, uncle Barry Windham, his first wife Samantha and his second wife JoJo. The recollections of this group of people about the final days of Windham’s life were absolutely heart-breaking and brought tears to my eyes.

It was so clear how much Windham Rotunda was loved by everyone around him. Jason Baker, who was one of Windham’s closest friends, was one of the creative forces behind the masks and outfits for the character of Bray Wyatt. His insights into Windham Rotunda were very powerful as well.

Seeing some of the art Windham did during the time when he had been released from the WWE was amazing. It displayed such an amazing truth about how talented and creative Windham Rotunda was.

As a fan of Bray Wyatt, this was tough at times to watch, but I am very pleased that the documentary was shown. It is available on Peacock.

4.6 stars

Immaculate

Posted on by

Sydney Sweeney has now appeared in two of the worst movies of 2024. First, Madame Web and now this religious themed horror movie, Immaculate.

According to IMDB, “Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney), a woman of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clear to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.“

I should not single out Sydney Sweeney, because there is no doubt that she is the absolutely best part of this fart of a movie. Her performance is savage, and she dominates her screen time.

The problem is that the film is just not very good.

The first hour of the movie was very dull and it spent the entire time throwing jump scares at the audience where the music suddenly spikes loudly, only to see nothing in particular. It was one of the most prolific uses of jump scares I have seen in quite awhile.

While the film’s premise had some promise, the film just goes off the rails in the third act, settling for shocking moments over any sort of storytelling. While I appreciate some of the swings it took in that final act, particularly right at the end, it depends on shock to create emotion in the audience, not anything to do with character or story elements.

Sydney Sweeney was really good in this. She gave it her all. The material was just not up to the quality of her performance.

1.3 stars

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Posted on by

Godzilla and Kong are back together once again with the Monsterverse as a new threat forces the two titans to work together. Yes, the story is a little wonky and lacks any real sense of dread, but there are some epic monster fights, and where else are you going to see Godzilla give King Kong a suplex?

That was a life-affirming moment for me.

The new threat is another giant ape by the name of the Scar King. Scar King has been trying to escape from the bowels of Hollow earth for a long time and, with Godzilla on the surface, Scar King has been having more success. He has marshalled his forces together, including a cold controlling titan that he is using pain to force it to help him (that’s not coming back at the end…sarcasm). Kong realizes that he can not take the new threat on his own and he went back to earth to recruit Godzilla, who has been sensing trouble and has been charging up with some nuclear energy.

The plot of this film is really weak. What this movie had to do to hit its purpose was to have great monster fights, and I already mentioned the suplex, right? The fights were well done and the CGI looked fantastic. Was there some cheesy moments? Sure. Kong gets a bionic arm to help with his injured arm. Luckily this bionic arm was already in Hollow Earth.

However, there was a major problem. I never felt as if Scar King was a danger to any sort of combination of Godzilla and Kong, along with whatever other Titans that might show up (no spoilers). I never believed Scar had any chance of taking them down, even after he did well in his initial fight with Kong.

The humans were kept as a sideshow, as they should have been. The human cast included Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle. Kaylee Hottle, played the lovely young lady Jia, reprising her role from Godzilla vs. Kong. Hottle had a real presence on screen and she stood out among the human characters. She seemed to fit beautifully in with the grandness of the monsters around her. I was very impressed by this young actress, who apparently is deaf as well.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was a fun time if you wanted to see giant monsters fighting. Though it is an unfair comparison, this does not match up to Godzilla Minus One at all. That was a much better movie, but this is still fun and a decent popcorn flick.

3.2 stars

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2

Posted on by

Last year, in my opinion, the worst movie of 2023 was Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. By far. Despite the negative word of mouth (and honestly, probably because of it), I saw that movie on streaming and hated it. There were several movies that I saw last year that, in my movie reviews, I said that this ‘new movie’ would be the worst movie I saw that year, except that I had seen Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

I was very surprised to see a sequel already to this horror schlock. What was even more odd was that I saw that it had 100% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time (6 reviews).

Admittedly, this sequel is better than the first one. Honestly, that bar was REALLY low.

Then, it kicked off with an opening between Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the director, and Scott Chambers, who had assumed the role of Christopher Robin. They spoke about their new Pooh cinematic universe that they are building including movies featuring horror-takes on Pinocchio, Peter Pan and Bambi, and then even a Poohniverse film where all the monsters assemble like the Avengers. I’m not making this up. The most unbelievable part was when they spoke to the director of the upcoming Bambi: The Reckoning, Dan Allen, who said if you liked movies like Jaws, Aliens and Jurassic Park, you will love Bambi: The Reckoning. What?

Then, Pooh 2 started with an animated intro which made me pause. I thought it was very well done, and I was intrigued with the set up coming out of the opening. Could this actually be a good film after the pile of crap that the first one was?

Short answer: No.

The very next scene was a kill scene with Pooh, his new cohort Owl and a reanimated Piglet, attacking and killing three of the worst female characters you will ever see in a movie. There was no rhyme or reason to it. It was just to have some kills, and I realized that my initial possible thoughts (dare I say, hopes) would go unfulfilled.

I am going to say this. I actually thought when the film focused on Christopher Robin in the first act of the film, it was decent. I liked the conflict of Christopher Robin being accused of being involved in the 100 Acre Wood Massacre (which was basically the first film). Chris had become a doctor and he was struggling not only with the events of the last movie, but also a trauma involving his brother when he was a young boy. All this piqued my interest.

Sadly, that entire storyline was interposed with some of the dumbest scenes of Pooh and Owl killing random people in graphic and gory fashion. Some of these kills were laugh out loud funny, and I did that several times. They took away most everything from those initial scenes with Chris.

By the end of the film, I hated the Christopher Robin story too because they had taken it in the most bizarre and stupidest path. Predictable too. I said several points during the film that were so obvious that it was shameful that they tried to pass them off as reveals.

There were several story elements that were brought up, but either never followed though with or tossed aside with a rampant abandon.

The film did look better. Frake-Waterfield and Chambers had said in their intro that the success of the first film allowed them to approach this one with a considerably larger budget and it did show in the look. However, just because something looked better, does not mean that is better.

Case in point, the film introduces Tigger late in the third act and does nothing with him. He is there for basically one slaughter scene and he was a tiger with long claws that killed people. No sign of “the tops are made of the rubber, the bottoms are made of the springs” that you might associate with Tigger. The film did nothing to establish that this was the Tigger we knew. It made him generic.

The relationship between Pooh and Chris took an even more messed up twist that was completely unnecessary and barely acknowledged.

Yes, this is better than last year’s film. I don’t think that this is an automatic, no-doubter for the worst movie of 2024. However, I am not saying that it won’t be the worst movie of 2024. It will be in the conversation.

1 star

Road House (2024)

Posted on by

I just watched the original Road House on Hulu this morning. I wanted to have seen it before watching the remake on Amazon Prime tonight. I did not love the original. I did not hate it because I could see the appeal. The 2024 version of Road House I did not love, but I liked it more than the original.

Jake Gyllenhaal steps into the role of Dalton (who gets a first name in this movie, Elwood), this time a former UFC fighter whose career ended after a tragedy. Dalton’s name was enough to intimidate most people so Frankie (Jessica Williams), who owned a bar named Road House in Florida came to find Dalton and offer him a job to help clean up the bar.

Just like the original, Dalton discovered that the backwoods town had problems with certain individuals who want the Road House gone.

These people bring in Conor McGregor to try and kill Dalton.

I was actually more engaged with the character of Dalton immediately in this movie because of a scene with a train. I found him more interesting than the late Patrick Swayze version.

The villains were every bit as one dimensional as the original. Even McGregor was just the violent killer character.

This was just as violent as the original with Gyllenhaal being quicker to fight than it was with Swayze. The fight scenes were very brutal and displayed Dalton’s skills in mixed martial arts.

There were less involvement with the rest of the bar employees in the new film than the original, but they were there in the scenes.

Gyllenhaal is the star of the film and I thought he did a really solid job. The film is not brilliant, but I was entertained and I did find it better than the Road House I watched this morning.

3 stars

Late Night with the Devil

Posted on by

I remember hearing about this film last year from Kevin Smith on his Fatman Beyond podcast. Smith raved about this from his friend David Dastmalchian. So I was excited to see this when I saw it coming out at Cinemark.

I can honestly say that I have not been as shaken or unsettled as much from a horror movie is quite some time. The creativity and originality of this film is off the charts and it strung me along in a beautiful manner.

The film starts off in a style of a documentary where the topic was a late night talk show in 1977 that wound up going off the charts. The main part of the film featured the Halloween episode of the Night Owls late night talk show and footage from behind the scenes recorded that night, which presented a picture of a tense and nerve-wrecking situation.

David Dastmalchian played Jack Delroy, the late night talk show host who was struggling to try and become the leader in ratings for late night shows, but who was always coming up short to Johnny Carson. The first fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie set up the background, much like a documentary might, including giving us details on Jack’s wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig), who had died about a year before.

Jack and the producers of his sinking show were looking for a way to recover from the dwindling ratings since the tragic death, and they were looking for this Halloween episode to really pull in the viewers. They stacked it up with some amazing people.

First, was the psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), who was clearly pulling the old tricks of a fraudulent psychic, saying names and looking for people who might fit into the category. However, there were a couple of things that happen that make us wonder exactly what was going on.

Then, he brought out Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), a skeptic who would punch holes in the seemingly paranormal moments. Carmichael was a real jerk about it too, being very condescending and arrogant.

Things really picked up when Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and the young girl Lily (Ingrid Torelli) took the stage to talk about Lily’s demon residing inside of her.

From this point on, this film just took off, as you were never sure what was going on, what was real or what was about to happen. The ending sequence, which I will not spoil, was totally off the charts and absolutely stunning. I was completely floored by the third act of this movie, both in the story telling aspect and the way it made me unnerved.

David Dastmalchian is perfect in the role of Jack. You can suspect that there is more to Jack than what you see, but he is so likable that you really want to believe in him and root for him to make it back to the top. Ingrid Torelli is utterly creepy as Lily. Her looks, her voice, everything about Lily was distressing.

Jack’s sidekick (much like Jimmy Kimmel’s Guillermo or Carson’s Ed McMahon) was named Gus (Rhys Auteri) and you could tell that he was just not sure that they should be doing what they were doing. Gus spoke to Jack as the audience spoke, and he was rebuked over and again.

This movie has a definite retro feel to it, and you believe everything that happens. I really loved this movie. It built amazingly from the beginning until the ending sequence. I can see the end being something that some people will not like, but I was utterly engaged and shaken by it.

This is streaming on Shudder in April, and I would recommend everyone to search it out. It takes the old sub-genres of found footage and demonic possession and brings a new life to them. It is a really great film, one of the best of the year.

4.85 stars

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Posted on by

I love the Ghostbusters movie from 1984, and no Ghostbusters movie since has come anywhere close. That does not mean that every film since has been garbage. I had heard that the new film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was not very good. It lowered my expectations for the movie. I think that helped.

According to IMBD, “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.”

I did think the story was decent. I liked the idea of the villain and the powers made it very cinematic. There are some great moments with the cast, in particular McKenna Grace, who once again had the biggest arc among the new characters. Paul Rudd was playing Gary in the best Paul Rudd manner. Carrie Coon did not have much to do. Finn Wolfhard was a nice addition for comedic purposes.

However, there was way too many in the cast. There are too many characters who were just here because they were in the last movie, and they added several new characters who are performed by great actors. I do not think that any of the new characters were needed additions. I love both Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt, but they felt forced into the story.

And I hate to say it, but of the original Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz was the most important. Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson were there for no major reason and Annie Potts was just collecting a paycheck. It is nothing against any of these actors, because they are all great, but there was just not enough in the script for this many people to do.

Making William Atherton’s Peck the new Mayor of New York though is a stroke of genius. He is a perfect antagonist for the Ghostbusters and it makes sense why he hates them.

The special effects are great. They use them in the proper times and it does not seem to be overused.

However, the finale of the film was a touch underwhelming for me because of which characters were central in the battle, and I saw it coming a mile away.

I enjoyed the film for the most part, but it did feel as if there were just too much stuffed into the two hour run time, making the movie feel cramped. Very few of the new characters are developed. There were a couple that I did not even mention. Still, as a fan of Ghostbusters, this was a good time at the movies. It could have been considerably better.

3.25 stars

Road House (1989)

Posted on by

As I was going to Amazon Prime yesterday, I saw that the new Road House movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal was now available for streaming. With the schedule, I plan on watching that later this afternoon or evening, but I thought I should watch the original 1989 movie starring Patrick Swayze first. I have never seen Road House even though it has a large cult following. I have heard a wide variety of opinions on the film. Everything from it is a favorite movie of all time to it is one of the worst. I found it on Hulu/Max so I watched it this morning.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he’s more than capable — busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot-spot. But Dalton’s romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay (Kelly Lynch) puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara).”

Starting off, this is a silly, mostly stupid, film with poor dialogue and simplistic characters. It is not a very good film.

However, it is entertaining. It is one of those film that you need to approach knowing what kind of film it is and not to expect a lot. There is fun to be had in the mindless violence and one-note characters.

This is basically a 1980s-style Western, with two main characters, Dalton and Mason (Sam Elliott), who are the silent, gunslingers, who coming into the town to clean it up. They are Clint Eastwood-like characters coming face-to-face with the mustache-twirling villains. The story fits right into the genre of the Western, right down to the shootout in the finale.

I will say that the longer the film went, the more ridiculous it became. There is no attempt at realism and it felt much more a cartoon than anything else.

It was awesome to see the late Terry Funk in this film. Sure, he was not much of an actor, but he wasn’t supposed to be. As brutal henchman, he was right in his element.

The more I reflect back on this movie, I can see why people enjoy it, but it really is not a movie that I would recommend unless you are bored on a Saturday afternoon and looking for a really dumb film to pass the time.

Arthur the King

Posted on by

This was the second film I saw today that I disagreed with the Rotten Tomatoes score. Arthur the King, the new dog movie starring Mark Wahlberg, had a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I did not find it as enjoyable as that.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ARTHUR THE KING follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.“

I really felt as if this film was pushing the boundaries of emotion manipulation with the times it put the dog in jeopardy, and the fact that this dog somehow followed this group of people across some brutal environments because Michael gave him some meatballs was just too much to believe. Yes, it is a true story, but I find it difficult to swallow.

There were some dramatic moments in the film, including one stunt with bicycles and a wire that was harrowing. The landscape was beautiful and was shot very well.

I never doubted what was going to happen in the movie. It was very predictable, which is not always a bad thing. Here, it just felt so manipulative that I rolled my eyes more than I should have.

I do love Simu Liu, but his character was really inconsistent throughout the film and it does not do an adequate job of explaining why he is as he is. Some of his scenes are in direct opposition to moments earlier in the film and even Simu’s great charisma could not help these moments.

A major problem I had was not necessarily the direct problem of the movie, but they showed WAY too much in the trailers, including several scenes from the very end of the movie. Any real tension there may have been in the scene was robbed because I knew there were scenes we saw in the trailer that had not yet happened in the movie. Scenes including the end of the race and subsequent after effects. Some films are hurt by their trailers, and, in my opinion, this is one of them.

I think a lot of people will love this movie, but I am not one of them. It was a basic story that we have seen dozens of times with a dog and a manipulative story. Still, it was not an offensive film and families should like it.

2.75 stars

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Posted on by

After I watched The American Society of Magical Negroes, I looked at the Rotten Tomatoes score. It was hovering around 31%, and I was surprised, because I thought it was much better than that.

According to IMDB, “A young man, Aren, is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.“

Justice Smith played Aren and he is really great. The charisma from Smith really carried a lot of this movie. I also enjoyed the performance of David Alan Grier, who played Roger, a member of the Society who recruited Aren. Grier and Smith worked very well together.

The story is pretty basic, and the film did intend to be a commentary on the race relations of the nation. It does have its moments, but it feels too surface for a really difficult issue. It had a lot of potential to really be a satire of the racial division of the country, but the film did not take advantage of its premise. However, Justice Smith did have a monologue in the third act that was probably the best part of the movie and did contain more than the rest of the film.

Overall, I found this to be quite funny at times and I did like Justice Smith very much. It was a creative idea that could have really done more. I did find more enjoyment in the film than parts I felt were lacking, so this is a borderline recommendation.

3.3 stars