NEW in THEATERS

Creed 2

This may not pack the punch that Creed had, but this is still pretty good.  This is the continuation of the Rocky series, and this still can movie us like the previous have.

Who knows where this franchise goes, but it will go on.  The first two Creeds have been very well thought out and well written.  There has been a very nice mixture of new characters and the blending in of the old, and of the older style that was Rocky.   Sylvester Stallone again, is terrific as the aging Rocky, now a trainer, and Micheal B. Jordan is great as Creed.

Toss in a great supporting cast and you have a very entertaining afternoon at the movies.  If you are hanging on to the past and have Ricky angst, let it go, and go.  This rebooted, reinvented series is great, and is a wonderful mass appeal experience.  If you missed Creed, rent it and then go see Creed 2.


The Girl In The Spiders Web

Been a while waiting for the next installment of this franchise, but it's here.  We have a new "girl"  Claire Foy, and now she is trying to save the world from nuclear war in addition to making sure she hurts men, who hurt women.

There is nothing really wrong with the movie, I'm not sure though what is really right with it.  It's been a very long time since we have visited this series, and that may be a huge problem.  Also, when will movie makers realize that watching people peck a keyboard, or hack into something is NOT riveting movie making?  It just doesn't work.  That is the bulk of the action here, in addition to a few fight scenes, and a chase scene or two that are forgettable.

All in all, the timing of this may have come and gone.  You just don't connect to the characters, and from my seat, you just don't care about them.   And that is the kiss of death to any movie.

Bad?  No.  Just no very good.


Bohemian Rhapsody

It's the brave critic that will dare to say tough things about a music movie, especially when it deals with a band a iconic as Queen.  And we won't here either.  This is a pretty darn good movie.

This is the story, more than anything, on the life of Queen lead singer, Freddie Mercury, and his rise to stardom with Queen.  This explores the origin of the band in the early 1970's, and leads us to their amazing performance at Live-Aid in the mid 1980's.  This movie is perfectly cast, and very skillfully filmed, directed and edited.  The music is absolutely incredible as you would expect, and in total, this is very well done.  There is also Oscar buzz for, Rami Malek as Mercury, and he is terrific.

What this movie does better than anything though is put you in two places.  It makes you feel what it was like to be in a crowd of 100,000 watching a Queen concert. And at the same time, it makes you feel what it would be like to perform in front of that audience as well.  Very skillful movie making in that regard.

This has played to mixed reviews with the national critics for some reason, but the fans love it. And if you go you more than likely will too.  Very well done.




Halloween

Well, it's 40 years later and this series is still going and still a hit.  This version picks up 40 years after the original, and attempts to take us to back to the original story to a degree.

Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this, she still plays the same character as she did in the original, and she has a score to settle with Micheal Meyers who has been in jail for 40 years, but is now out as he has escaped.  Some of this really works, and some of this really doesn't.  My biggest problem is simply this.  Somehow, Micheal Meyers who is now 60-plus is still the awesome force he was then.  You can shoot him, run him down with a car, and about anything else, and he's not even phased.

There is a nice "creepy" factor to this and there is wonderful use of the incredible soundtrack as well.  This looks good, and outside of the Meyers gaffe, there is a decent script the work with here. But in the end, the star of this movie, is the nostalgia that surrounds it.  Fans love the idea of this as much as any frame of this movie.

Halloween.  Tons of hype. 





First Man

This is a huge role or Ryan Gosling and he delivers in the new Neil Armstrong bio-pic, First Man. Armstrong, of course the first human to walk on the moon, was a very complicated man, and this pic dares to go there.  This is more than just a NASA flick, it shows Armstrong in all facets of his life in the heat of the space race.  And to its credit, they show a man who is amazing, and very flawed at the same time.

This deals with his personal life, as much as his life as an astronaut.  The severe ups and downs he was dealing with both as a professional and as a husband and father.  What we have is a man who is not the warmest muffin in the tin, and one that takes tragedy and decides to lose himself in his work.  This also shows the extreme pressure the entire NASA family was under during the Gemini and Apollo Programs, as that is part of the story.

Gosling is terrific, and so the the very large supporting cast.  This takes us back beautifully to the Saturn V days of NASA, and the sets, costuming, styling, makeup and special effects are extremely good. The musical soundtrack is right on point, especially during the lunar scenes, and the use of actual NASA spoken footage is fantastic too.

This had a disappointing opening weekend money wise, and that's too bad.  Not enough action maybe for some, and the timing of this release is strange, as I feel more around the holidays may have been better.  This may be the best movie of the year that no one will really see.   Very, very good.




A Star Is Born

It will be a brave critic who will dare give a negative about this new version of a classic tale.  So many won't go there. And neither will I, as this is pretty darn good for the most part.  Bradley Cooper and Lady GAGA star in this nicely updated adaptation of the timeless story.  They both shine.  But she is terrific!

The music has been updated well, and for my eyes and ears, there could have been more of it.  The two things this movie needed was her, and new music, and they both deliver.  This will be the opportunity and the role of her career, as these kind of projects don't come around often, and she grabs it.  There is Oscar buzz about her here, and a nomination will happen, and probably a win. This is powerful, emotional and moving much of the time. There are some very poignant scenes that had the theater crying, and that's to its credit.

Truth be told, this had great pace to it and the 2 hour 15 is not really a problem.  There is a weakness or two.  For me, Lady GAGA, in her role was not an underdog enough at the beginning, and some of her written dialogue is tough to believe at times, but that fades.  Her rise to stardom is handled well after a shaky start, but it's not a deal breaker.  Cooper is good here, but his character is extremely one dimensional and that is fatiguing at times.  But again, there is far more to like here, than not.

A Star Is Born.  You'll love it, well done.