When the first Sing came out, I remember not expecting to like the film much, but enjoying it quite a bit. Now, with Sing 2 coming out, once again I was not certain that I would like the new Illumination film. However, for the second time, I enjoyed this sequel a lot.

In much the same way as the first film, our mismatched group of animal performers now are trying to put on a show on a bigger stage, for the wolf Mr. Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), whose viciousness showed through. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) yells Mr. Crystal that he can guarantee the return of rock star Clay Calloway (Bono), who went into seclusion after the death of his wife. Problem was… Buster did not know where he could find Clay.

The story was pretty simple and straight-forward, with the creators throwing conflicts into the story to cause issues. Each of the main characters had something that they had to overcome in order to put on their show.

The first act of the film is a bit slow, bordering on dull. As the film progressed, the story picked up steam. In the third act, the story was mostly about the show, as the characters accomplished what they had to do in order to be successful.

Easily the best part of the movie is the music, with the exception of the opening number, Let’s Go Crazy, which would most likely have Prince rolling over in his grave. The stage show that makes up the third act is filled with amazing music and beautiful animated backdrops. The colors and brightness of these scenes leaped off the screen.

The film is filled with a great deal of voice talent, both those returning from the original and new ones to the sequel. They include Taron Edgerton, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Nick Offerman, Halsey, Letitia Wright, Pharrell Williams, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz, and Adam Buxton.

Though the ending was predictable, it still had an emotional wallop and made the journey worthwhile (that is …after Let’s Go Crazy).

4 stars

The prequel to the Kingsman franchise, The King’s Man, finally opened after several years of pushing the film back for a variety of reasons.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the world was filled with dangers and on the brink of war. There was a cabal featuring some of the worst individuals from history such as Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) trying to push the world toward war. This led to the eventual formation of the Kingsman agency.

I did not enjoy this movie that much. Let me specify. I did think the third act was pretty good, probably my favorite part. I did think Rasputin was over the top and I enjoyed him. He seemed to fit with the idea of the Kingsman universe.

However, much of this movie did not feel like a Kingsman film. There was a long stretch where the film was more of a World War I film than what was expected. This section of the film felt out of place and was drawn out.

Ralph Fiennes played Orlando Oxford, who lost his wife around the turn of the century and had to raise his son Conrad, desperate to protect him. As Conrad (Harris Dickinson) grew to a young man, he wanted to go and serve his country in the war, but his father did whatever he could to keep Conrad safe.

I did not find the first two acts of this movie entertaining, if not dull. The overall film is a mess. It does not know what it wants to be and the tones do not work together.

Djimon Hounsou played a partner of Fiennes named Shola, and he does a decent job as always. Gemma Arterton played Polly, another who would be within the eventual Kingsman.

The film played with a lot of the real history of Europe and the world. It certainly did not make Woodrow Wilson look very good.

I enjoyed the first Kingsman a lot, but I did not like the sequel. Unfortunately, this tips to the side of negative.

2.3 stars

Aaron Sorkin has returned with his newest film that he both wrote and directed, this time the story of the week where Lucille Ball’s possible Communist ties were published and the doubt of the future of her career and the show, I Love Lucy, created a stressful and difficult workplace.

The film started in the style of a documentary, with several older version of people who were there with Lucy and Desi, talking to the camera about the events of that week. The film also used flashbacks to give us a flavor of how Lucy (Nicole Kidman) and Desi (Javier Bardem) met, fell in love and became one of the power couples in Hollywood during the 1950s.

Much like celebrities today, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were interesting personalities that people wanted to know more about and, at the same time as the Communist story was being threatened to drop, a story speculating about Desi cheating on Lucy came out, adding to the stress and anxiety of the week.

The film showed us a behind the scenes look at I Love Lucy and how it was created. It showed us the powerhouse, the tornado Lucille Ball could be in search of the perfect comedic bit. The film went out of its way to show how Lucy could focus on the small details in order to make a scene perfect and how some of the crew may have taken it.

JK Simmons and Nina Arianda played William Frawley and Vivian Vance, respectively, who were the actors behind Lucy and Ricky’s next door neighbors and best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz. JK Simmons was awesome as William and seemed to embody “Fred” beautifully. We also got to see how much he cared for Lucy and how much he had a tempestuous relationship with Vivian Vance.

As with all of Sorken’s scripts, the dialogue is sparkling and a wonder to listen to. While his direction may not reach the level of his writing, the film does a great job of showing us who these people were, despite the fact that we know all about them.

Nicole Kidman is exceptional as Lucille Ball. She brings a ferocity to the character that you may not have known existed. Javier Bardem may not look much like Desi Arnaz, but he brought a definite energy to the Cuban bandleader and gave him his own strength outside of his famous wife. The lead performances , as well as the rousing dialogue, prevents this from turning into a Lifetime movie.

Placing the film during this time is a good choice and the life of Lucy and Desi is filled with drama and comedy. I loved the way this was presented, smart and witty.

4.4 stars

Wes Anderson is one of the most original, quirky film makers working today. His style is unlike any director in the movie industry and that oddball flavor is in full display in The French Dispatch, Anderson’s latest film.

According to Anderson, The French Dispatch is a “love letter to journalists” as the film follows three separate stories of three journalists preparing their stories for the fictional Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun newspaper as they create its final issue. The three sections of the movie are “Concrete Masterpiece”, “Revisions of a Manifesto” and “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner.”  Each section have its humor and eccentricities that fill the approximately balanced screen time.

I laughed a lot during The French Dispatch because there were so many things that were so silly that it was humorous. So much was presented with a sly, deadpan delivery that no one involved believe it to be funny or even strange. This, of course, made the situation all the funnier.

There is a massive ensemble cast. Wes Anderson has many of his reoccurring troupe of actors in the film, but there were others present that we have not seen in Anderson movies prior. The cast included Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeffrey Wright, Benicio Del Toro, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Henry Winkler, Bob Balaban, Owen Wilson, Timothée Chalamet, Léa Seydoux, Lyna Khoudri, Adrien Brody, Christoph Waltz, Liev Schreiber, Stephen Park, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Fisher Stevens, Willem Dafoe, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Winston Ait Hellal, Tony Revolori, and Griffin Dunne.

The first and third sections of the film were my favorites. There is an animated bit in the third story that was just hilarious. It is so clear that the whole cast was just having a ball with their bizarre characters that it came across in their performances.

The colors are perfectly mixed with stylish black and white that enhances the storytelling of each act. The writing is witty and verbose. The dialogue is rich and intricate and helps to infuse each individual character with something original and special.

If you are a fan of Wes Anderson’s work, this film is for you. If you enjoy eccentric characters and some ridiculous situations, you’ll like The French Dispatch. Yes, it is a little disjointed but it fits together sufficiently enough, I guess. It is an experience for sure.

4.2 stars

CODA stands for children of deaf adults. This film has been around all year, originally debuting at 2021 Sundance in January, and it was one that I heard about from the For Your Consideration crew on YouTube. It reminded me of this movie that was being talked about earlier this year on SEN Live.

I went to see where the film was streaming and found it on Apple TV +. I don’t check Apple TV + much so some things may slip past. CODA was one of the films that slipped by, but I am so grateful that I was able to circle back to CODA because it was a tremendous film.

Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is a teenager whose mother (Marlee Matlin), father (Troy Kotsur) and older brother (Daniel Durant) were all deaf. Ruby is the only member of her immediate family who could hear. At school, Ruby joined the choir because she loved to sing. She also had to help her father and brother on their fishing boat as the translator.

In the choir, after some initial doubt, Ruby showed her talent and her teacher, Mr. Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) thought she had that special “it” and wanted her to try to apply to Berklee.

The film does a wonderful job creating these characters and presenting their relationships. How important Ruby was for her family and how she was getting overwhelmed by expectations and how it conflicted with what she wanted to do.

The ending of the film was very emotional and real. There was a scene between Ruby and her father sitting on the tailgate of his truck that was just beautiful.

By the way, Eugenio Derbez does a phenomenal job as Bernardo. He was funny, had great dialogue and played off Emilia Jones so well. This was one of my favorite performances from him.

This coming to age movie tells a great story, has great performances with real deaf actors and fills the screen with awesome characters. It is a film that you should seek out. It’s worth it.

4.3 stars

Now that winter break is here, I have the opportunity to catch up on a few of the films that I have missed over the year (especially since the year end lists are coming up soon). Today, I went to Disney + for the animated film Ron’s Gone Wrong.

Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer) was a socially awkward middle schooler who was lonely and isolated from his class. Picked on and tormented, Barney was the only person seemingly anywhere who does not have a B-bot, the new walking, talking, digitally-connected device- the best-friend-out-of-the-box. Barney desperately wants one for his birthday so he could possibly become one of the crowd. When he did not get the B-bot, Barney was truly disappointed. His father Graham (Ed Helms) realized his mistake and went to find him one, but it was going to take 3-months back order. He found a damaged one that had fallen off the delivery truck and he bought that for Barney.

Barney realized almost immediately that the B-bot he had was unlike the others. After some chaotic moments, Barney bonds with the B-bot and named him Ron (Zach Galifianakis). All the while, the producers of the B-bot were desperately trying to find Ron and recycle him, through a crusher machine.

This animated film was fun, enjoyable and had a good message of friendship and respect, as well as a message about the online community and how it is a danger to become too hooked into the internet.

The connection between Barney and Ron really work and it feels real. They were more like brothers in the film than they were kid and their toy.

I also enjoyed the simple design of Ron. He reminded me of a smaller version of Baymax from Big Hero 6 and his look absolutely created something that I can believe cares for Barney.

This is a movie that would be good for both adults and kids. It can be found not only on Disney +, but also on Hulu and HBO Max as well.

3.8 stars

I’m struggling with a review for the new Guillermo Del Toro movie, Nightmare Alley. This is a film that, to me, is as much of a tweener as any movie I have seen recently.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet“

While I found the setting of the traveling carnival to be extremely awesome, I found myself bored for much of the first part of the film. Some of the mentalist tricks and strategies were cool to hear about and see in action, but I feel as if there were too much for the film.

Bradley Cooper is very engaging as Stanton Carlisle, being both someone who you could root for but also someone who is simply a horrible manipulative person. Cooper brought a lot of depth to the role. He has chemistry with most of the characters. There is a deep seeded daddy issues with Stanton that is coloring his choices.

I was more interested in the film later on when they were dealing with Richard Jenkins and the attempt to gaslight him over the death of his love. Watching Bradley Cooper continuing to descend into his pain and his bad behaviors was great.

There is a lot of style to this movie. It had great design and a tremendous look to it. Much like other Guillermo Del Toro films.

I did find myself checking the time within the first hour or so. To me, the second half of the film had a better pace to it.

In the end, this film has a lot of problems for me. It was up and down throughout and it left me uncertain about how I feel about it. It looked good and had some solid performances, but there are problems with pacing and could have been edited down more.

2.95 stars

Spoiler alert: I love this.

Spoiler alert: I knew I was going to love this.

There will be no more spoilers in this review.

The third Spider-Man MCU “Home” trilogy film from director John Watts was released today after a little bit of hype… and the hype is 100% earned in one of the best, most emotional, exciting and creative Spider-Man live action films ever produced.

No Way Home picked up immediately after the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home when Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealed to the world that Spider-Man’s real name was Peter Parker (Tom Holland). The chaos and insanity that followed was being ramped up by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) and his podcast.

Finding that the reveal of his secret identity was causing real life problems for the people in his life, May (Marisa Tomei), MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) especially, Peter looked to his friends and allies for possible help, namely Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Peter wondered if Strange could use his magic to help fix the problem. Unfortunately, something went wrong while Strange was casting the spell, bringing trouble from all ends of the multiverse.

For any of those people who complained that the MCU Peter Parker/Spider-Man was just Iron Man Jr. or that he did not understand the character, you can now be quiet because this is the absolutely perfect version of the character, brought to life brilliantly by Tom Holland. I believe that there now can not be any discussion on who is the best live action Spider-Man, because the answer is Tom Holland.

Holland’s Peter Parker has to face the doubts and uncertainties of the character and has to deal with the weight of the responsibility of his choices and the stakes of the story, stakes that were real and palatable. This Spider-Man needed to follow the path of the previous two MCU films in order to become this hero. It was a process and I am glad that the filmmakers and Marvel Studios chose to take this direction.

There were rumors that Marvel Studios wanted the three villains who had been revealed in trailers (and through interviews) to have stayed secret and they wanted to promote the film as Spider-Man vs. Dr. Strange conflict. I do not know how insane I would have gone if I did not know that Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) was going to show up on that bridge. Same with Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe). Would the box office be as potentially crazy for this film if they had not revealed these villains? I don’t know, but I know I would have lost my damn mind if they were a surprise.

The relationship between Peter and MJ is at the center of No Way Home. The chemistry with Holland and Zendaya is absolutely off-the-charts and they make one of the great MCU couples. Every minute with the two of them cemented their status as the It couple. Ned Leeds fit right in with the pair as the proverbial third wheel, but one that was welcome and loved. The trio of kids have built this relationship over the previous two films and it really pays off here.

As epic as it is to see Alfred Molina as Doc Ock again, and how much of an improvement this version of Jamie Foxx’s Electro is, Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn steals the show. Dafoe is utterly terrifying and brings a depth to the character that we may not have had in the Sam Raimi films.

The other two villains we see in the trailer was Sandman and Lizard and there is less of these two than Ock, Goblin and Electro, but that is understandable. Both Sandman and Lizard had their individual moments in the film and are welcome.

This is easily the darkest of the Spider-Man films, but it still has the undeniably funny humor involved as well. The first act had a lot of awkwardness and that felt right because it was shadowing how Peter was feeling during the reveal of his secret identity.

I love how people are using the terms “nostalgia” and “fan service” as bad things. This film certainly has its share of both, but it does it expertly and it is usually in service of the story. I would say that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the perfect amount of both.

Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding as Dr. Strange yet again. He has been presented in the most effective manner outside of his own solo film. His appearance in Avengers: Infinity War and in this Spider-Man movie show Strange as such an effective character. I liked the movie Doctor Strange, but he has flourished in his supporting roles over the last few years.

Two post credit scenes , so stay through to the end. The first scene was at both times funny and ominous. The second one was unexpected and set up what was coming. Both were amazing.

I have seen many people claim that this was a love letter to the character of Spider-Man and I can absolutely get on board with that idea. This is probably the least surprising score of the entire year for me, but Spider-Man: No way Home hit a home run, nailing every aspect that needed to be in a Spider-Man movie.

To no one’s surprise…

5 stars