Movie Review: Violent Night (R – 112 minutes)

 

There’s always something to be said for a movie that delivers exactly what it promises.

Violent Night begins with the real Santa Claus in a bar, tired, worn out, drunk and depressed at the general lack of Christmas spirit in the world.  He is feeling unappreciated and thinking about a way out because not even his own Christmas magic (that he doesn’t really understand) is helping him cope.  Meanwhile, we meet Jason Lightstone, being picked up by his wife, Linda, and daughter, Trudy, to head to his wealthy mother’s for Christmas. We gather fairly quickly from context that they have recently split, and Trudy is not handling the separation well.  Once they arrive at the house, we also gather from context that mother Lightstone, Gertrude, is very wealthy, and between Jason and his sister Alva, they gather every holiday to attempt to get some of her money.  Jason seems to be putting a plan in place to end this nonsense and hopefully win back Linda.

As the family are proving how terrible they are, Santa is going house to house and enters the Lightstone residence just as it is infiltrated by criminals looking to steal the three million dollars in the Lightstone safe. Trudy manages to contact Santa via walkie talkie, and her faith in him and Christmas restores a bit of his as he takes steps to save her – by whatever means necessary.

The movie is fast paced and violent as hell.  Directed by Tommy Wirkola, who did Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters (a movie I really enjoyed for almost no reason), it is tongue-in-cheek and definitely funny while somehow also managing to have some genuine Christmas touching moments and magic. The Lightstones are all terrible people, but the criminals are even worse and the things that are done to them, both by Trudy and Santa are hilariously over the top. 

The cast is fine in their roles, but really, this movie centers around David Harbour and thank goodness it does. I am not sure who else could have pulled off a depressed and bewildered Santa who is also a former Viking warlord. Harbour does it with such glee that you cannot wait for him to eliminate the next bad guy.

Alex Hassell as Jason, Alexis Louder as Linda, and Leah Brady as Trudy are the few LIghtstones you root for, but even they have some questionable moments. Edi Patterson as Alva, Cam Gigandet as her husband, action movie star Morgan Steel, and Alexander Elliot as their influencer son, Bert are the absolute worst in truly hilarious ways.

John Leguizamo leads the crew of baddies which includes Brendan Fletcher as Krampus, Andre Eriksen as Gingerbread, Mitra Suri as Candy Cane, and Stephanie Sy as Sugarplum. I love all their code names.

The surprise for me was Beverly D’Angelo as the truly hateful Gertrude Lightstone. What a treat to see her playing something completely opposite of what she is generally known for this time of year.

Overall, the movie is fun and silly and very gory. I enjoyed the way it has some callbacks to classic Christmas-adjacent flicks like Die Hard and Home Alone. It especially points out that perhaps Home Alone is not great for kids to watch as all those booby traps could kill people – which of course, works perfectly here. I strongly recommend watching this in as full a theater as possible – the audience reacting to each of the various over-the-top kills together made it even more entertaining!

7 out of 10

Movie Review: Black Panther Wakanda Forever (PG13 – 161 minutes)

Be sure to listen to the Wakanda Forever LAMBCast where I joined fellow LAMB members to discuss the movie! https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2022-11-14T14_48_39-08_00 

It has been four years since the astounding release of Black Panther and in that time, we have finished up an entire MCU multi-phase movie collection, collectively endured a global pandemic, and lost Chadwick Boseman.  With all that in place, Wakanda Forever had a nearly impossible task of just existing, much less being an entertaining superhero movie. 

There were many who felt that the character of T’Challa was too important to lose and even with Boseman’s passing, should have been recast so that he could continue to exist in the movies. I understood that point, but those who made the movie had an intense familial bond and it would have been impossible for them to continue their work with a new person in that role.  What Ryan Coogler and team have managed to do is create a beautiful tribute that honors Boseman, and T’Challa, incorporates that loss into the story, but does not make it the entire story.  Again – a nearly impossible task.

The story picks up after the events of Endgame and abruptly begins with Shuri praying to Bast for assistance in saving her brother. She’s the smartest person in the smartest country on the planet but is unable to save him. Heartbreaking for her, and for the audience. The Marvel credits kick in featuring exclusively Chadwick content (get the tissues ready early on this one) and then the movie time jumps to a year later as Queen Ramonda has been reinstated and Wakanda is dealing with the repercussions of T’Challa’s decision to partially open the country and its resources to the world. Now everyone knows about vibranium, and while T’Challa vowed to open outreach centers and scientific connections, everyone else really just wants vibranium. As Ramonda dresses down the UN for their demands, we see a strike team attempting to steal vibranium weapons from an outreach center in Mali – a French strike team (oh, how I love the super strong anti-colonialism not-so-subtle messaging in this movie).  The Dora Milaje deposit the team in front of the French representative in the UN and Ramonda reminds everyone that while the Black Panther may be gone, Wakanda is not weak or unable to defend itself.

Meanwhile, an American research team seems to have found some vibranium under the ocean, but is mysteriously attacked while attempting to drill it.  Shuri has been working in her lab on various defense tools and Ramonda wants her to come process her grief. While out, they encounter a man who emerges from the water, introduces himself as Namor – and tells them Wakanda’s decision to go public about vibranium has put his underwater people at risk. He then demands they bring him the American scientist who created the vibranium-detecting machine so he can kill them.  From that point on, Wakanda has to decide if they agree with and side with Namor and his kingdom Talocan, or if they are on opposing sides of this issue.

There are some incredible fight sequences, amazing music, flawless costumes and set design. The movie is a visual feast and stunningly sumptuous. It is about 30 or 40 minutes too long in my opinion, but that’s a minor complaint. Coogler’s work to repurpose Namor’s comic backstory (the more traditional ancient Greek Atlantis vibes) to a MesoAmerican based Talocan culture is not only wonderful for representations’ sake, but beautiful to see and fits the story perfectly, especially when paired with Wakanda: Two cultures that know the danger of colonialism and the generational pain it can cause to people. The returning cast is spectacular and the new cast is fantastic.

Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba all return to their Wakandan roles. Even with a cast this big, each get some amazing moments to shine. Lupita’s war-dog spy Nakia has to go on a rescue mission, Danai’s Okoye has to chase down the scientist, Winston’s M’Baku has to provide counsel, and Florence’s Ayo gets to step a little more to the forefront – fitting, since she was the first Dora Milaje we ever saw, all the way back in Captain America Civil War. 

Angela Basset crushes every single scene she is in as Queen Ramonda. Lots of people are mentioning she should be nominated for all the awards for this, and whether or not that happens, she is a cyclone of power at the center of this piece that makes everyone around her better.

Spoiler alert from here down – I tried to keep it spoiler free, but I have to dip in a little.

Letitia Wright had a nearly impossible task in this movie. The question of who would be the new Black Panther was not really a question in my mind because Shuri had already been the Black Panther in the comics. Wright had a lot of off-screen nonsense happening, but she really put the work in on screen. She centers this movie and you feel every moment of her grief and anger.  I love how Grief has been the big bad of the most recent MCU phase because it is so relatable.  And when grief gets layered with guilt, the rage and demand for vengeance or (as she puts it in the movie) retribution that results is terrifying. She was excellent across the board here.

Michaela Coel enters as Aneka, a Dora who has been Ayo’s partner in the comics and in this movie as well. She was great in what she was given and I am not sure it needed to be more or less, but it did feel forced here and there. Dominque Thorne debuts as RiRi – who will have her own Disney Plus show shortly. She is fun and engaging and the show should be entertaining.

Alex Livinalli as Attuma and Mabel Cadena as Namora were wonderful and powerful and I really hope we get a Sub-Mariner stand alone where they really get to shine. Livinalli has some fantastic fight sequences with Danai Guirira and Cadena gets to question Namor on several of his decisions – which could lead to the plot of the stand-alone.

Which brings us to Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor. Marvel once again proves they hire the right people for the job. The Mexican actor had already been an anti-racism activist for years who understood the importance of representation this movie offered. He joins the ranks of Marvel ‘villains’ or anti-heroes who have points you agree with, even if their methods are a little questionable. In this movie in particular, he is just looking out for his people, even if he has to burn the entire surface world to accomplish that. Huerta gives Namor a gentle and seductive believability that is layered with a truly dangerous brutality. And my goodness, how they managed to make those little wings on his ankles actually useful and cool-looking is beyond me. 

Overall, yes, I thought it was too long, and there were a couple of questionable plot moments. I did see it twice opening weekend and I am really glad I did. The first time I had the weight of my expectations on it, and the second time I was able to just let go and watch it. I love it more and more each time I see it. It’s a beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman and I think it is the perfect way to continue the character.

9 out of 10, cannot wait for more!

Movie Reviews: Black Adam (PG13 – 124 minutes)

 One thing for sure, the Rock is always going to give you everything he’s got.

Black Adam seems to begin in ancient Kahndaq – a fictional mid-eastern country thousands of years ago. The people are enslaved by a cruel king who seems to want to summon a demon? He’s having the people mine rocks to make a demon-summoning crown.  A young man decides this is not right and unifies the slaves, becoming empowered by the ancient gods to be the champion of the people.  He fights the king and ends up buried for a long time.  In present day, a woman and her son, their friend, and their business partner (?) are living in Kahndaq which seems to be under the control of foreign mercenaries.  They find the tomb of the champion and set out to release him using the ancient king’s crown.  Teth Adam awakens, but has an issue with everyone and begins taking out everyone in his way.

Concerned with the awakening of this super powerful ancient begin the ultra-shady Amanda Waller contacts Carter Hall and strongly suggests he pull together a squad to go handle it. Hall seems to be running the Justice Society, the B team to the Justice League.  From what I could tell, it has rotating members and he calls up whoever will be best suited to the current mission - or whoever is not busy?  He sets out to Kahndaq with Dr. Fate, Cyclone, and the Atom Smasher. Chaos ensues.

The movie is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who also did Jungle Cruise. It is over the top, loud, and driving with some great costumes and fun action set pieces.  The score felt non-stop.  A good score should be unnoticeable and an exceptional score should be one that you notice at the appropriate time.  A bad score is one that is too loud and happening all the time with no moments of silence to appreciate what is happening.  There does not seem to be a lot of character development, but to be fair – you do not really need it.  The story is confusing at best and convoluted at worst.  I still could not tell you the name of the villain. Black Adam began as a villain in the comics for Shazam (why their powers are so similar – he even has to say “Shazam” to activate), so I can’t help but think a stronger move would have been to introduce him as a sympathetic villain in Shazam 2, and then give him a spin-off anti-hero movie. 

As I said, Dwayne Johnson does not disappoint and certainly is wonderful as Black Adam. With such a large real-life personality, it can be hard to see him as anything other than “THE ROCK”, but he does a great job here and is believable as an ancient dude just fed up with everything and everyone, including himself and his past failures.

Sarah Shahi, Bodhi Sabongui, and Mo Amer play the crew awakening him and both needing him and helping him in his new crusade. Unfortunately, both they and their struggle are a little forgettable. 

Aldis Hodge plays Hawkman as wrangler and babysitter to Pierce Brosnan’s Dr. Fate, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone. They were all cool, with wonderful outfits, banter, and action – Brosnan and Hodge especially.  The problem is that they were thrown together so quickly and so rapidly explained, it was difficult to care about any of them enough to get engaged in the battles. Perhaps that makes sense since this is a Black Adam movie and none of these heroes are the center focus.

Overall, the movie was plenty fun and the crowd I saw it with really enjoyed it. As long as you don’t think too much about it, you’ll have a great time – but it may be better off waiting to stream it rather than paying to see it in the theater.  I am looking forward to either the second Black Adam movie or him teaming up with whoever else he can find. And if this is the promise of a new DC direction, that's a great idea - put the work ethic and the enthusiasm of the Rock in the lead, let him inspire everyone else involved.

5 out of 10

Sabbac – the big bad’s name was Sabbac.  I had to look it up.

Movie Reviews: Bros (R – 115 minutes)

 I have said it before and I will say it again, the Romantic Comedy is the one genre of movie that I prefer to be predictable. It suits the style – person 1 meets person 2, they seem at odds, they fall in love, there’s some insurmountable conflict and they fall apart, then they realize they do belong together and through some over-the-top large gesture by one if not both of them, they reunite and live happily ever after.  It’s standard, and expected, and exactly what you want in a rom-com.  The very best rom-coms add something extra or elevate the formula through fantastic performances, great ensembles, or truly hilarious circumstances. 

Bros prides itself on being a run-of-the-mill rom-com and it plays out the formula perfectly.  Bobby is a perfectly happy single guy working hard on the launch of New York City’s LGBTQ museum. He is using dating apps for hookups and hanging out with friends when he unexpectedly meets up with Aaron, a more typical “guy’s guy” who is not into one-on-one encounters or relationships.  The unlikely couple hit it off and begin dating much to the surprise of those around them. Each of them has to overcome their insecurities of being ‘not enough’ in many ways for the other and eventually, they click and agree to mutually enter a three month relationship and reevaluate after that deadline.

The movie is directed by Nicholas Stoller who co-wrote it with star Billy Eichner. It is charming and fun, could have been a little shorter, and is a little heavy handed in parts.  It does earn the R rating on some racy sex scenes, but most are played for comedy and definitely enhance the hilarity.

The cast is wonderful – and if (like me) you enjoyed Billy on the Street, know that Billy is a little restrained here. Probably for the best, I am not sure anyone could handle him at full volume for two hours.  There is one sequence where his character Bobby ‘roid rages’ and that sequence is classic Eichner and definitely hilarious.  Luke Macfarlane as a quiet and still Aaron is the perfect counter-part and makes for pure rom-com compatibility in the couple.

The surrounding cast provides plenty of laughs with Guy Branum as Bobby’s friend, Monica Raymund and Guillermo Diaz as his best couple friends, Jai Rodriguez as his brother, and Miss Lawrence, TS Madison, Dot-Marie Jones, Jim Rash, and Eve Lindley as the council that Bobby is working with to get the museum open. 

Overall, the movie is charming and fun and a near textbook-perfect rom-com.  It is just fine – exactly what it promises. It does not elevate the material and as such, underperformed at the box office. Honestly, it perhaps would have been better to have a streaming debut as well.  The marketing pushed hard on the ‘first major studio gay rom-com theater release’.  That may have been unnecessary. Ceiling breakers do well when you don’t have to be reminded of the ceiling they are breaking. If the movie had been allowed to stand on its own rather than attempting to live up to a fairly heavy promise, it may have been more successful. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it streaming at home just as much.

5 out of 10

Movie Review: The Gray Man (PG13 – 122 minutes)

 

While this did release briefly in theaters, I watched it on Netflix, and found it to be a perfectly entertaining streaming action flick. 

Based on the book by Mark Greaney, The Gray Man begins by introducing us to the man who will be known as Six moving forward. Recruited in prison by Fitzroy, he goes to work for the CIA – a nameless assassin.  On one particular mission, he is instructed to take out a target despite several kids and innocents in the way. He declines and becomes the next target of the CIA’s hit squads. When he evades them, head of the unit Carmichael is worried that he knows too much and resorts to some off-the-books assistance from standard psychopathic-hitman-with-unlimited-resources-and-connections Lloyd Hansen.  Despite Carmichael’s number 2, Suzanne, having some issues with the way he is doing business, the CIA continues to pursue Six as he continues to evade Hansen and protect Fitzroy’s niece in the process.  Action hijinks ensue. 

Directed by the Russo brothers, this feels a bit like an action throwback – something I appreciate.  Guy one chases guy two because he did the right thing in a difficult situation. Throw in a couple of good fight scenes and some big action set pieces – a fun way to kill a couple of hours.  The Russos do a great job with making the movie feel big as it criss-crosses the globe by using their signature giant location title cards. The movie stays in its box, and the action scenes are good. The cast is surprisingly big in small parts, but I feel like that contributed to the enjoyment.

I cannot put my finger on what irritates me about Ryan Gosling, but something sure does. I didn’t buy him in this because I don’t usually buy him in action roles.  I think Glen Powell or Jordan Calloway would have been a more interesting choice.  Gosling plays it very small and contained – appropriate for the character, and certainly does a good job with the action. In fact, I think he is good in the movie, the issue is entirely mine.  Will that affect me watching the planned sequel? We will see.

I do feel that Chris Evans stole this movie by going big and crazy with Lloyd.  He’s over the top and playing with no conscious and with Six meant to be more stoic, it goes without saying that he steals the majority of the movie, especially scenes with Gosling. 

Ana de Armas plays another agent who sides with Six and becomes his ally as he goes off-mission and then runs for his life. She is proving to be a good action star herself, and certainly holds her own here.

Billy Bob Thornton brings his patented guy-who-has-had-enough-of-your-sass-so-will-respond-with-his-own-sass to the role of Six’s mentor and friend while Julia Butters plays his niece.  I enjoyed his performance as he attempts to not be surprised by anything that happens. Alfre Woodard plays Six’s other mentor, and both of them go out in explosions of their own making – so clearly, being Six’s mentor is not worth it.

Jessica Henwick plays Suzanne Brewer and Rege-Jean Page plays Carmichael. I really enjoyed the bit about how they and Lloyd all went to Harvard together, which is why they are all connected.  Knowing how skilled she is at action, it was a little disappointing to see Henwick standing around in a suit becoming more and more distressed at Carmichael’s slide into villainy. Maybe she’ll get more to do in the sequel?

As Lloyd puts out the word to all squads of scary hitmen across the world (I would have liked to see a little more one squad at a time action – and each squad having distinctive characteristics as they encounter Six), Indian superstar Dhanush plays the Lone Wolf hitman who comes in to take down Six and then have a change of heart when he sees Lloyd put a kid in danger. He is incredibly charismatic and steals all his scenes.

Overall, the movie is fun and action-packed, just the right run time, and certainly entertaining enough for an evening stream. This is another one where I don’t know if I would have liked it as much if I had seen it in the theater, so I’m grateful it was a Netflix option.

6 out of 10 – extra point for random Shea Whigham and America’s Ass – even when Evans tries really hard to be someone else, his ass still looks amazing in those khakis.

Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder (PG13 – 118 minutes)

Be sure to checkout the LAMBCast where we discuss this movie top to bottom! https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2022-07-11T12_45_11-07_00 

Here we are with another fun stand-alone entry into the MCU. It has been just a few years since we last saw Thor, heading off with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers Endgame – presumably to find himself while they searched for Gamora. 

This movie begins where that movie ended but starts with a preamble of introducing us to Gorr – a being on a desolate planet. He seems to be the last of his people, struggling through a desert while praying to his god for salvation. During the process, his daughter dies, and just before Gorr himself perishes, he comes across an oasis and his god, reveling in the defeat of an enemy who wielded the Necro-sword.  This is convenient on several levels because the sword is calling to Gorr, someone who is furious with the gods for forsaking him, leading to the death of his daughter.  Also, it allows Gorr to see just how petty and uncaring his god is. He picks up the sword and kills him, swearing to kill ‘all gods’. 

We catch up with Thor as he is getting back in shape and assisting the Guardians on various missions throughout the Galaxy.  He still feels lost, and when they stumble across multiple distress calls due to Gorr’s actions, the Guardians seize the opportunity to go one way, leaving Thor, Korg, and Thor’s gift of two screaming space goats to head off to assist Lady Sif in a battle.  Sif tells Thor about Gorr, his mission, and that he is heading to New Asgard on Earth next.  As Thor returns to King Valkrie’s New Asgard, he encounters his ex, Jane Foster, now wielding Mjolnir as The Mighty Thor.  Together, they come up with a plan to stop Gorr before he can reach the center of the universe and kill all the gods.

Like Thor Ragnarok, this movie is helmed by Taika Watiti who continues with the loud, colorful, silly tone he set in Ragnarok. There may be some unevenness in balancing the truly over-the-top silly with some more serious and touching moments, but I found it to be delightful and honestly, exactly the type of nonsense I needed right now.  The score is mostly 80s Guns and Roses, the action is great, and I appreciated that this is the first MCU movie to shoot in the previously-Star-Wars-Shows-only Volume. It gives the actors a better sense of the environment for some of the larger sequences. As with Multiverse of Madness, the trick with continuing with the same actors in the same roles over a decade plus of projects is keeping those characters changing, evolving, or just plain fun to play. It did seem like everyone in this movie was having a good time.

Chris Hemsworth continues to portray Thor as a well-meaning dim-witted action star. He’s great in Watiti’s particular brand of crazy and I continue to enjoy his performance. The return of Natalie Portman to the franchise as The Mighty Thor is wonderful and very entertaining. She’s new to being a superhero, but determined to do as much good as she can while there. For someone who has been a little ‘meh’ on genre-type entertainment, it was nice to see her enjoying this adventure.

Tessa Thompson’s King Valkrie is fantastic – while she has very little to do in this movie, she is fun and action-packed, enjoying ruling her people but also missing going on adventures. I do find myself looking forward to her having more adventures – either with or without Thor. Taika Watiti’s Korg gets to do some narrating of the story in addition to helping out the heroes. Is he a reliable narrator? Who knows, but he surely is an entertaining one.

I was surprised by Christian Bale as Gorr – typically someone who seems to not be fun enough to enjoy this type of thing, he dove headfirst into Gorr and is equal parts angry, creepy, and weird. While I did think a little more could have been done to get us to nearly side with him (he does have a point) the movie was not really about that and I did enjoy his performance.

I really wish the commercials had not ruined that Russel Crowe was playing Zeus.  It would have been a fun surprise. He definitely was having a good time and did a fine job but used a questionable accent and made me wonder if surely they could have cast a Greek actor for that role?

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie – yes, there are a couple of holes plot-wise (not enough that I cared about them) and yes, the tone may have been over-the-top silly (again, I don’t care, that is what I wanted from this movie), but it worked for me.  Once again, I find myself so grateful that we are in a time we get new genre entertainment so regularly and there is so much of it that there is something for everyone!  I also particularly loved that Watiti made this feel like a movie he made with a bunch of his friends and family. The kids in the movie are made up of the kids of the cast and crew – which may have been pandemic-shooting safeguards, but also gives some fun moments.  There are some scary moments as Gorr sends some shadow monsters after the children of New Asgard, and some sad moments when Gorr loses his daughter and gives in to the seduction of the necro-sword, but overall, the movie is fun and silly and the perfect run time to sit and enjoy with your popcorn. 

9 out of 10.

Yes, stay through the credits. Apparently there are no decent wig-makers in Vahalla, but hey, what can you do.

Movie Review: Jurassic World Dominion (PG13 – 147 minutes)

 

I truly love the original Jurassic Park from 1993. I will never forget the amazement in the theater of seeing real-looking dinosaurs on screen. Thanks to Stan Winston and his practical effects and the astounding visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic – the movie contributed to a lot of accepted dinosaur looks and sounds. We all think we know what a TRex sounds like, because of that movie.  I enjoyed both sequels, to varying degrees and was unsure when they launched a reboot/sequel idea with Jurassic World.

I did enjoy Jurassic World, mainly because the most compelling characters in the movie were the dinosaurs. I maintain that Blue was the best character in the movie with the most compelling story arc and the hero entrance and of the T-Rex at the end was just spectacular.  I hated the second entry, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, which seemed to be made by someone who did not care about dinosaurs at all – which is fine, for anyone not making Jurassic movies.  While Jurassic World played into the love and awe we felt at the original, Fallen Kingdom threw all that aside by causing pain and terror to the dinosaurs and people in the movie. Having such a strong reaction to that movie, I was unsure I wanted to see another one, but was grateful that Colin Trevorrow was back at the helm.

This movie begins with humans attempting to deal with the after-effects of Fallen Kingdom – dinosaurs are now loose in our world and living with them side by side is proving difficult. There is a sanctuary built in Italy by Biosyn, the company run by Lewis Dodgson who we briefly met in the very first movie.  Remember how Nedry got the shaving cream can from him to steal dino embryos and help his company catch up with Ingen’s science?  Owen Grady seems to be working on collecting dinosaurs and sending them to the sanctuary, and Claire Dearing is working to stop the quickly rising black market breeding and trading of dinosaurs. Oh yeah, and together they are trying to raise the girl from the second movie who was the clone of the daughter of the secret business partner of John Hammond (what?). In the woods near their home, Blue has made herself a home and a baby (ohmygoodness the tiny baby raptor is the cutest!!). 

In addition, a swarm of giant locusts has started sweeping across the globe, completely wiping out crops and multiplying so quickly it could cause some serious damage – but remarkably not attacking crops grown from Biosyn seeds.  Our dear Dr. Ellie Sattler is researching the locusts and collects Dr. Alan Grant from a dig to head to the sanctuary to do some digging around where their old friend Dr. Ian Malcom has already begun some investigating.  On top of this, Owen and Claire and others we’ve met in these new movies head to Italy because a group of shady poacher-types has kidnapped both the clone girl and Blue’s daughter, and Owen is going to get both back.  Along the way they stop in an underground black market dino-dealing and dino-fighting ring where they meet some new cast and some returning cast (they really did put everyone in this movie).  Eventually everyone (EVERYONE) ends up in Italy just in time for a very exciting conclusion to this franchise.

I am very happy this was directed by Colin Trevorrow – it does have the same sense of appreciation and awe of the original films as Jurassic World did.  I liked all the sequences of people respectfully attempting to live with dinosaurs and I appreciated all the practical effects - Far more robotic dinos in this movie.  The black-market sequence was both entertaining and unnecessary…honestly, that is the perfect description for the majority of this movie. I liked the introduction of a couple of new dinosaurs that we hadn’t seen yet, once again leading me to say that the dinos were the best characters in this movie – well, almost the best.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are just fine as Owen and Claire, I like the operation they have set up, out in the woods where they can raise their adopted clone daughter and keep an eye on Blue and her daughter.  Pratt is getting so good at playing generic leading-man-action-hero-guy that they have all started to feel the same, not necessarily a problem. Howard was a little more fun and seemed to understand that you don’t have to take this so seriously. Isabella Sermon plays Maisie Lockwood, the clone introduced in the last movie. She does a fine job, and I liked her scene of helping some construction guys gently move some apatosaurs out of their way.  That said, she and her entire storyline could have been removed from this movie and I think we would still be okay. 

Also returning from various version of the new trilogy are Justice Smith as Franklin Webb, Claire’s sidekick from the last movie, and Omar Sy as Owen’s sidekick from the first movie. Both are essentially cameos that seem to be there just to remind you they were in the other movies.

In terms of new cast, DeWanda Wise was super fun as pilot Kayla Watts. She seems to be all about black market dino transfers, but then has a change of conscious and works to help our heroes. I was very excited to see Dichen Lachman pop up, but as much as I enjoy her – her black-market dino-trading baddie was also unnecessary. I suppose she introduces a pack of raptors trained to pack hunt whatever she targets with a laser, but again – unnecessary. Campbell Scott steps into the slimy shoes of Dodgson and my goodness, what a creepy bad guy.  You can’t wait for him to get eaten.  Mamoudou Athie joins as Ramsay Cole, a guy working for Dodgson. He’s great, again, but all his scenes could have been done by B.D.Wong.

Speaking of which, B.D.Wong’s Dr. Henry Wu shows up once again looking for redemption.  Honestly, it would have been more interesting having him be the big bad that our heroes find in Italy, running the company and going full mad scientist – looking to create human/dino hybrids. Instead he’s quietly sitting in a lab working to eliminate the locusts.  Again, he’s great, but why not let him go a little over-the-top?

The best part of this movie is getting to see Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill back as Drs. Malcolm, Sattler, and Grant.  They clearly understood the assignment, are not taking anything too seriously, and are having a great time.

I still think Blue is the best character in this new trilogy, although she had less to do this time around.  She basically established her new life in the beginning, and then seemed to request Owen’s help once her baby was taken, and then demonstrating some gratitude at the end when Beta was returned to her. Oh yes, I will spoil that for you – Beta is fine. Also, the T-Rex gets some well-deserved love too. After being the hero of Jurassic World, she is the hero again here, despite nearly getting felled by a Giganotosaurus. She gets some accidental help from a Therizinosaurus – an herbivore with a deadly manicure.

Overall, I certainly enjoyed it, but there were way too many humans in it and not nearly enough of them got eliminated by dinosaurs.  In the very first Jurassic Park, we meet a whole group of very interesting humans and only a handful make it out of the movie. Here, we meet a whole group of not-very-interesting humans and nearly all make it out.  Also, way too many unnecessary plot lines in a movie that was way too long - two and a half hours. Cutting some of that would have brought this to a tidy two hours. Take out the locusts, the black market bits, most of the new cast, and focus on giving us more with the returning cast and awesome dino-chase sequences. I will say – so many dinosaurs!  Which I loved. Lots that we had seen before and some species we have never seen – which makes sense, because new species are being discovered constantly. I love the inclusion of feathers on many of them, and I particularly loved seeing the Dilophosaurs return, wonderful – but nothing beats baby Beta. In case you want a full list of them – I’ll recommend this site: https://a-z-animals.com/blog/meet-every-dinosaur-featured-in-jurassic-world-dominion-30-total/

6 out of 10 – Too many people, but plenty of dinosaurs! An exceptional entry into the unnecessary nonsense genre!

Movie Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (PG13 – 126 minutes)

 

For a bonus treat - check out the LAMBCast on this movie, where opinions were mixed! https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2022-05-09T15_54_46-07_00 

Those who live inside the MCU continue to deal with the fallout from Thanos’s snap, the resulting blip, and the reappearance of all those who were blipped.  In addition, they now have to deal with the sudden and brief exposure to the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home.  It feels like we have had multiple Doctor Strange movie, but in reality, this is just his second stand-alone movie.

This story picks up after Dr. Stephen Strange has helped the world (including himself) forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.  He wakes up from what he assumes is a nightmare where a different version of himself was helping a young girl evade a monster by trying to reach a fancy book.  As he heads off to attend the wedding of Dr. Christine Palmer, his ex, the reception is interrupted by a big one-eyed tentacle monster (with great facial expressions despite having only one eye) chasing that same young girl.  After he and the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, defeat said monster and rescue the girl, she informs him that was no nightmare, but a glimpse into one of his variants in the multiverse.  She is America Chavez and has the unique power of being able to travel the multiverse, but without the ability to control that power.  The monster was sent by some sort of demon who wants that power for itself.  Wong takes the girl to protect her, and Strange heads off to speak with Wanda Maximoff to get her opinion on the runes used on the monster.

From this point on – spoiler alert!

Wanda is at first shocked by this turn of events and offers some opinions on the runes, the multiverse, and her life at the moment. She then slips up and requests that Stephen bring America to her, so that she can protect her.  Of course, since he has not told her America’s name, he realizes she is the demon that has been sending the monsters. She’s still obsessed with finding her ‘children’ that she manifested and then lost in WandaVision.  Stephen must then try to protect America while falling through the multiverse.

I was not sure what to expect with this one, I enjoyed the first Doctor Strange stand-alone, and knowing Sam Raimi was stepping in, this one had the potential to go a little dark. And it certainly does. It has the expected Raimi touches from the Danny Elfman score to the Bruce Campbell cameo.  It has some genuinely terrifying moments and truly scary scenes. It seems to me that bringing Raimi back into these movies with this particular story was a great choice.  With any huge franchise, especially one like this, the actors can suffer some fatigue from playing the same character over and over in multiple movies. The way to avoid that is to keep the characters fresh, growing, and evolving.  I felt like everyone involved in this movie was having a great time.

Benedict Cumberbatch continues to have tons of fun as Doctor Strange. Despite this being his second Doctor Strange movie, he was also in Thor 3, Infinity War, Endgame, and No Way Home, so it can feel like this is his sixth movie.  Strange is still crazy arrogant and confident, but that is tempered a bit here by realizing that Christine is moving on and he never really has, despite having amazing adventures. I really appreciated how this movie seems to end with him putting his past away (literally and figuratively) so that he can finally move forward with his life. Being able to play multiple Strange variants seems to have made him very happy and he looks like he is having an absolute blast – especially as the zombie Strange.

Benedict Wong has stepped up his game as Wong and again, seems thrilled to be the Sorcerer Supreme. Wong has just about everything handled until Strange throws all kinds of mess around.  Their partnership feels real and genuine and I look forward to their continuing adventures.

It was fun to see Chiwetel Ejiofor back as Baron Karl Mordo.  I could not get enough of the scene between he and Cumberbatch where they attempt to out-thespian each other at the highest level and then have to have a hand to hand combat sequence. Fantastic.

Xochitl Gomez brings a freshness of spunky confusion to America with an amazing power that she is confused by and struggles to control. She is going to be great in additional MCU projects. And, while it might be a little cheesy – I love her star-shaped power – very fun!

Rachel McAdams as various Christine Palmers all get to keep Stephen grounded, focused, and reminded that he is not the be-all-end-all of existence. It’s a tempered and layered performance that I enjoyed.

I feel like Elizabeth Olsen steals the movie. Continuing her excellent work from WandaVision, where her grief was the big bad – here she is corrupted by dark magic using that grief to manipulate her into becoming a true villain and a fully realized Scarlet Witch.  She dives headlong into very Raimi-esque horror sequences and thrashes her way through anything and anyone that tries to stand against her as she struggles to reach her kids.

Overall, the movie was scary, yes, twisted, sure, but so much more fun than I expected and mainly because the cast seemed to be having such a good time.  In a franchise this deep, creating new flavors and layers is a great way to keep new entries fresh while still feeling familiar.  Side note – I did get to see this in 3D and I loved it. 

9 out of 10

Super spoiler-y statement here, but I loved the Illuminati as they appeared. Who knew this would be the movie that justified my watching the Inhumans TV show, or that that Professor X version we would get would be the one from the 90s show, or that watching the animated What If show pays off in a brilliant Captain Carter turn by Haley Atwell, or that Lashana Lynch is an exceptional Captain Marvel variant, or that the fan-casting a lot of us have been hoping for would be fully realized in John Krasinski.  Now I cannot wait for that Fantastic Four movie.