Greta
The new Greta is a nice and tidy attempt to scare you, and for the most part this is compelling. This stars Chloe Grace Moretz, whom I really like and is a fine young actress, she stars as. This also stars Isabelle Hupport as the insanely mentally twisted, Greta. She is a very lonely upper middle aged woman who lures young women into her life, and eventually stalks, and then kidnaps them to hold them as a kind of "daughter" figure.
This has a strong hint of the Stephen King classic, Misery in it, as Greta is a demented woman bent on being horrible, and doing unspeakable things to people for her own gratification. This has some originality, but not enough. The story is predictable, and you are way ahead of it most of the time.
But our principles are strong and give good performances, even if what they are dealing with is mostly rehashed. This is suspenseful at times, and entertaining as well. Short and sweet too at an hour 38, it ends when you are ready for it to.
Fighting With My Family
Here comes one of the best surprises in a long time at the movies. This is the true story of "Paige" and her rise to fame in the WWE, opening the door for other women to get better chances in wrestling. This is certainly a story none of us has seen before, and that always scores points with me.
This is an interesting story that you need no knowledge professional wrestling to understand what is going on here. And that is the movies absolute strength. This is loaded with cameos from that world and that's fun too. This is funny, and this is entertaining. This is well cast, paced nicely and overall just fun. Vince Vaughn is great here as a real guy, reinventing his career and he is terrific!
This is simply good cold weather fun. Take your favorite wrestling fan and go see it.
The Lego Movie 2
Not to really belabor this point, this movie is mildly fun, and not nearly as original as the first one, or as a few of the spin-offs that have come from this. It is fun to hear some of the snappy pop culture humor, and tons of your favorite stars voicing a bevy of Lego characters. But this concept is limited, and we may ave seen the best shot this franchise dish out with the original.
Cold Pursuit
Here comes Liam Neeson again with a well timed mid winter action movie. This formula has done well for Neeson with the Taken franchise and others. Make action movies that are released when the box office competition is low, and the return can be high.
Problem is, over the years, they all have started to look the same with little variance. And no one is questioning the acting ability of Neeson, but how much longer are we to believe he can still mow down legions of bad guys at his age.
What Men Want
Didn't we go down this path a few years ago with Mel Gibson? Isn't this about the same flick were one can hear the inner, private thoughts of the opposite sex?
Well, yes, and I guess turn around is fair play, but there is not a great deal, if any originality here. I like Taraji P. Henson, I sometimes wish her projects were better.
The Prodigy
Mid winter horror flick. There's a reason they keep making movies where a kid is possessed and causing a whole lot of problems. They work.
They have for a long time now, and this will find a following.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Monday, December 17, 2018
MOVIEW REVIEWS AND PREVIEWS
The Holidays are here and there are a ton of new movies coming out, and some that are out. Let's reviews and preview.
The Upside
The National Critics are being unkind to this, and I am scratching my head why. Are there flaws here? Yes, some. But I have to ask this. What do you want from a comedy? I mean what do you want?
This is not a rip roaring hilarious comedy, but this is an entertaining, and sometimes funny movie, based on a true story of a very rich man confined to a wheelchair, and the unlikely guy he takes a huge chance on to be his caregiver. Kevin Hart, Brian Cranston, Nicole Kidman and others star here and all give strong performances. This has a heart, a soul, and is a pretty darn good story. This does not mire itself down in raunchy skits and language, and keeps its head above the fray. It develops characters well, and you feel like you're in the movie with them.
Yes, this is a bit too long, and there are a few moments that may have been rethought or redone. But over all this is quite good, and audiences are going to really like this movie despite that the national media will not. This could have been a lot of things. But it dares to be a real movie and not a sell out to easy locker room laughs. Pay no attention to the critics, go see this.
Escape Room
This is the first in what will be an ongoing franchise, that will remind many people of the Saw series. It is not as violent, or bloody, but the premise is essentially the same. Some person, or entity trying to off a bunch of heavily researched and chosen young people and this time the rage of the trendy Escape Room game is used.
This movie does a few things well. It's short, and has a script that is not leaning on blood and guts to make it's point. There are some intense moments, and this is shot pretty well, in fact better than most movies of this type and budget.
But it loses points with me for lack of originality, and a formula that has been done to death. This will find a loyal audience, and more will be made and this will do well streaming and DVD.
Vice
Sometimes there is a big difference between a good movie, and good movie making. That is going to be the take away from many I feel with this. This is the star studded bio-pic of former Vice President Dick Cheney. This as you may have guessed is no where near flattering to him, and this clearly has a political agenda that some will have a hard time looking beyond.
Whether you agree with the message or not, what is undeniable is the sheer skill used to make this movie. Christian Bale stars as Cheney, and he is incredibly good. The transformation to become our star character is simply phenomenal. In fact the makeup and performances in this movie are insanely good. Costumes, sets, settings, the entire thing is amazing as we are taken from era to era. The script is slick and keeps you guessing the entire time.
This movie is very polarizing and there will be division in the coffees grabbed afterwards, but what is not up for debate is the fact this is one of the best made movies of the year.
The Mule
Clint Eastwood has a new movie out, and it is simply fantastic! The Mule stars Eastwood as a very elderly man who somehow finds himself running drugs for the Mexican Drug Cartel to Chicago. He has failed in about every avenue of his personal life, and this is a final chance to be relevant again, and make easy money.
Eastwood continues to amaze us with his movie making, and in this case his performance. He is terrific here as is his incredible supporting cast of Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishbourne, Andy Garcia Diane Weist, and various members of his family. Great script, shot wonderfully, and an amazing musical soundtrack that is used very skillfully.
This is intense at times, fun at times, and very entertaining. Plus, this movie delivers a very powerful real life message that is really refreshing to see. This is dramatic movie making at its very best.
Mary Poppins Returns
There was a lot of pressure on Disney to get this right. Updating an absolute classic in a very different social era. Everything seemed to be in place. Time, a new story, great effects, and the perfect person, (Emily Blunt) to play Poppins. And it worked.
No one is going to confuse the singing ability of Blunt, against the original Julie Andrews, but she does fine. She, like Andrews was, is born for this role, and being fair, I would not mind to see her again in this role in times ahead.
This is the kind of movie that Disney does best, by a long shot. Great performances, great music, big production numbers with a great mix of old school animation mixed in with live action. This is more than enjoyable in every way. This pays homage to the original, by not trying to be a slicker, more modern version. But in many ways this looks a whole lot like the original.
Blunt is great, and so is the time you and your family will have at this new classic. Go see this.
Bumble Bee
What a great surprise this holiday season. Up front, I am not a fan of the Transformer franchise, as they are way too long, and full of way too much CG for me. But, this is the "Wonder Woman" of the Transformers series. I am not saying it's as good as Wonder Woman because it's not. But the format and feel are the same. This was directed by Christina Hodson who seems to understand that story, and characters are far more important than 2 hours of robots fighting.
This is the story of the origins of the Transformers coming to Earth, with B-127, or Bumble Bee being the first. This takes us back to 1987 in every way there is. Great sets, props, and a very good soundtrack, Hailee Steinfeld is terrific as a young woman who is the first human to encounter a
Transformer, and befriends Bumble Bee. She makes any movie better, and as cool as the effects can be in these movies, they needed her to make this work.
Great story, well written, and delivered well, so if you've never seen a Transformers movie, you can now, and understand how it all began. There are wonderful effects and there is plenty of action that doesn't go on too long. This whole thing checks in at about 2 hours, and that is plenty.
Bumble Bee. Darn good.
Christmas Chronicles (Netflix)
Maybe you are staying in this month for your holidays movie watching. If so original content may be tough to find, but this is great. Kurt Russell stars as Santa (of sorts) in this very entertaining Christmas flick that really takes us to new places.
Russell's Santa is a big different then many, but his mission is the same, to make sure Christmas is saved on Christmas Eve. With the help of a couple of kids in need of a Christmas miracle as well, this is fun and is a nice diversion from the "normal" Christmas flick, without reworking the spirit of the season.
This is fun, funny, and extremely well done. This is good for all ages, but some of this will lean better to late teens and up. Russell is great, and so is the supporting cast. This is great, and I wood watch this again.
Mary Poppins
Out this week and is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Emily Blunt seems born to play this role, and the award show nominations are going to roll in
Bumble Bee
Well the Transformers series goes back to the beginning and takes the wonderful Hailee Steinfeld with it. Don't worry, there are plans for more of this series well beyond this one. Word is there will be many, many more.
Aquaman
The much hyped superhero flick will absolutely find an audience, but I am a bit confused about the release timing of this. Tons of competition at Christmas time, but they must have confidence it will pull through.
Second Act
Been a while since Jennier Lopez made a comedy like this for the theater, but here we go. J-Lo plays a woman thrown into an amazing work circumstances she never dreamed at a "later age." Looks like a ton of other J-Lo flicks, but may do well because of it's fun premise and nicely positioned anti-action alternative for movie goers.
Vice
Reviewed well, and nominated for a ton of awards for sure. Not so sure of its commercial success.
The Upside
The National Critics are being unkind to this, and I am scratching my head why. Are there flaws here? Yes, some. But I have to ask this. What do you want from a comedy? I mean what do you want?
This is not a rip roaring hilarious comedy, but this is an entertaining, and sometimes funny movie, based on a true story of a very rich man confined to a wheelchair, and the unlikely guy he takes a huge chance on to be his caregiver. Kevin Hart, Brian Cranston, Nicole Kidman and others star here and all give strong performances. This has a heart, a soul, and is a pretty darn good story. This does not mire itself down in raunchy skits and language, and keeps its head above the fray. It develops characters well, and you feel like you're in the movie with them.
Yes, this is a bit too long, and there are a few moments that may have been rethought or redone. But over all this is quite good, and audiences are going to really like this movie despite that the national media will not. This could have been a lot of things. But it dares to be a real movie and not a sell out to easy locker room laughs. Pay no attention to the critics, go see this.
Escape Room
This is the first in what will be an ongoing franchise, that will remind many people of the Saw series. It is not as violent, or bloody, but the premise is essentially the same. Some person, or entity trying to off a bunch of heavily researched and chosen young people and this time the rage of the trendy Escape Room game is used.
This movie does a few things well. It's short, and has a script that is not leaning on blood and guts to make it's point. There are some intense moments, and this is shot pretty well, in fact better than most movies of this type and budget.
But it loses points with me for lack of originality, and a formula that has been done to death. This will find a loyal audience, and more will be made and this will do well streaming and DVD.
Vice
Sometimes there is a big difference between a good movie, and good movie making. That is going to be the take away from many I feel with this. This is the star studded bio-pic of former Vice President Dick Cheney. This as you may have guessed is no where near flattering to him, and this clearly has a political agenda that some will have a hard time looking beyond.
Whether you agree with the message or not, what is undeniable is the sheer skill used to make this movie. Christian Bale stars as Cheney, and he is incredibly good. The transformation to become our star character is simply phenomenal. In fact the makeup and performances in this movie are insanely good. Costumes, sets, settings, the entire thing is amazing as we are taken from era to era. The script is slick and keeps you guessing the entire time.
This movie is very polarizing and there will be division in the coffees grabbed afterwards, but what is not up for debate is the fact this is one of the best made movies of the year.
The Mule
Clint Eastwood has a new movie out, and it is simply fantastic! The Mule stars Eastwood as a very elderly man who somehow finds himself running drugs for the Mexican Drug Cartel to Chicago. He has failed in about every avenue of his personal life, and this is a final chance to be relevant again, and make easy money.
Eastwood continues to amaze us with his movie making, and in this case his performance. He is terrific here as is his incredible supporting cast of Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishbourne, Andy Garcia Diane Weist, and various members of his family. Great script, shot wonderfully, and an amazing musical soundtrack that is used very skillfully.
This is intense at times, fun at times, and very entertaining. Plus, this movie delivers a very powerful real life message that is really refreshing to see. This is dramatic movie making at its very best.
Mary Poppins Returns
There was a lot of pressure on Disney to get this right. Updating an absolute classic in a very different social era. Everything seemed to be in place. Time, a new story, great effects, and the perfect person, (Emily Blunt) to play Poppins. And it worked.
No one is going to confuse the singing ability of Blunt, against the original Julie Andrews, but she does fine. She, like Andrews was, is born for this role, and being fair, I would not mind to see her again in this role in times ahead.
This is the kind of movie that Disney does best, by a long shot. Great performances, great music, big production numbers with a great mix of old school animation mixed in with live action. This is more than enjoyable in every way. This pays homage to the original, by not trying to be a slicker, more modern version. But in many ways this looks a whole lot like the original.
Blunt is great, and so is the time you and your family will have at this new classic. Go see this.
Bumble Bee
What a great surprise this holiday season. Up front, I am not a fan of the Transformer franchise, as they are way too long, and full of way too much CG for me. But, this is the "Wonder Woman" of the Transformers series. I am not saying it's as good as Wonder Woman because it's not. But the format and feel are the same. This was directed by Christina Hodson who seems to understand that story, and characters are far more important than 2 hours of robots fighting.
This is the story of the origins of the Transformers coming to Earth, with B-127, or Bumble Bee being the first. This takes us back to 1987 in every way there is. Great sets, props, and a very good soundtrack, Hailee Steinfeld is terrific as a young woman who is the first human to encounter a
Transformer, and befriends Bumble Bee. She makes any movie better, and as cool as the effects can be in these movies, they needed her to make this work.
Great story, well written, and delivered well, so if you've never seen a Transformers movie, you can now, and understand how it all began. There are wonderful effects and there is plenty of action that doesn't go on too long. This whole thing checks in at about 2 hours, and that is plenty.
Bumble Bee. Darn good.
Christmas Chronicles (Netflix)
Maybe you are staying in this month for your holidays movie watching. If so original content may be tough to find, but this is great. Kurt Russell stars as Santa (of sorts) in this very entertaining Christmas flick that really takes us to new places.
Russell's Santa is a big different then many, but his mission is the same, to make sure Christmas is saved on Christmas Eve. With the help of a couple of kids in need of a Christmas miracle as well, this is fun and is a nice diversion from the "normal" Christmas flick, without reworking the spirit of the season.
This is fun, funny, and extremely well done. This is good for all ages, but some of this will lean better to late teens and up. Russell is great, and so is the supporting cast. This is great, and I wood watch this again.
Mary Poppins
Out this week and is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Emily Blunt seems born to play this role, and the award show nominations are going to roll in
Bumble Bee
Well the Transformers series goes back to the beginning and takes the wonderful Hailee Steinfeld with it. Don't worry, there are plans for more of this series well beyond this one. Word is there will be many, many more.
Aquaman
The much hyped superhero flick will absolutely find an audience, but I am a bit confused about the release timing of this. Tons of competition at Christmas time, but they must have confidence it will pull through.
Second Act
Been a while since Jennier Lopez made a comedy like this for the theater, but here we go. J-Lo plays a woman thrown into an amazing work circumstances she never dreamed at a "later age." Looks like a ton of other J-Lo flicks, but may do well because of it's fun premise and nicely positioned anti-action alternative for movie goers.
Vice
Reviewed well, and nominated for a ton of awards for sure. Not so sure of its commercial success.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
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.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
ALBUM REWIEW - Claudia Sala E- Oro
I'm always looking for original things to write about, and this is one I have never tackled before. Reviewing a new EP from Claudia Sala, who is Italian. She has a new pop album that is half sung Italian and half English. I learned through this, that it really makes no difference with the language barrier, good is good. We enjoy Opera every day with no real understanding of the words. I'm willing to give it a go if you are.
Claudia Sala is from Palermo, Italy and was a performer at Festa Italiana in Akron this week, where she brought her new EP E- Ora (It's Time) with her. It is a 6 song set that is a breath of Spring air, and has spawned a single, Don't Set Limits, sung in English. It is a beautiful ballad that cuts right to the heart of a challenging love. Sala sings it beautifully, with great vulnerability and a wonderful Italian accent, that is superb with the English lyrics. While many lose their accents singing English, lucky for us, she does not.
To me, the strongest performance on this EP, is the lead and title cut, E-Ora, sung in Italian. It is clear that Sala sings with more confidence in Italian which is understandable. It is a delicious, jazz infused Italian pop song that you like from the very first listen. It's just her with a small combo, and Claudia sings this with the voice of an angel that is as smooth as a glass of fine wine, being lovingly poured into tall long stemmed glass in candlelight. This magnificent song is the perfect lead in to the rest of this very well done project that showcases who she is, and what her music is all about. E-Ora is incredibly alluring and gentle to your senses, even though I literally understand two words.
Talking with Claudia, she tells me her deep influences are surprisingly American. Her old soul music taste range from Joni Mitchell, to Judy Collins, to Joan Baez, and even today's Country music. And all of it shows here. Incidentally, all three of the above, very strong singers.
Claudia is immensely talented as a singer with a tone from heaven. She never struggles to find a note, and sings with undeniable passion and feeling. She understands what singers from all over the globe seem to never really understand, that louder is not better. Better is better. And when you know where the notes are, find them easily, and simply sing them from the heart with the incredible gift you've been given, it really works. No shouting here, just perfect pitch with an ease that is to be envied.
She is not interested in impressing us how long she can shout a note, or hold one. There are no real soaring high notes, and hard to listen to crescendo song endings. The strength of this album is it's simplicity. It is not overdone, overproduced and she certainly does not over sing it. The producers were very savvy in letting her gift be the star and not have overdone production get in her way. Claudia is confident that you will be drawn in by her easy to listen to vocals, that do not require bells and whistles to make it better. It just is better.
Is this album good? You bet it is. Very well done. Bellissimo!
Claudia Sala is from Palermo, Italy and was a performer at Festa Italiana in Akron this week, where she brought her new EP E- Ora (It's Time) with her. It is a 6 song set that is a breath of Spring air, and has spawned a single, Don't Set Limits, sung in English. It is a beautiful ballad that cuts right to the heart of a challenging love. Sala sings it beautifully, with great vulnerability and a wonderful Italian accent, that is superb with the English lyrics. While many lose their accents singing English, lucky for us, she does not.
To me, the strongest performance on this EP, is the lead and title cut, E-Ora, sung in Italian. It is clear that Sala sings with more confidence in Italian which is understandable. It is a delicious, jazz infused Italian pop song that you like from the very first listen. It's just her with a small combo, and Claudia sings this with the voice of an angel that is as smooth as a glass of fine wine, being lovingly poured into tall long stemmed glass in candlelight. This magnificent song is the perfect lead in to the rest of this very well done project that showcases who she is, and what her music is all about. E-Ora is incredibly alluring and gentle to your senses, even though I literally understand two words.
Talking with Claudia, she tells me her deep influences are surprisingly American. Her old soul music taste range from Joni Mitchell, to Judy Collins, to Joan Baez, and even today's Country music. And all of it shows here. Incidentally, all three of the above, very strong singers.
Claudia is immensely talented as a singer with a tone from heaven. She never struggles to find a note, and sings with undeniable passion and feeling. She understands what singers from all over the globe seem to never really understand, that louder is not better. Better is better. And when you know where the notes are, find them easily, and simply sing them from the heart with the incredible gift you've been given, it really works. No shouting here, just perfect pitch with an ease that is to be envied.
She is not interested in impressing us how long she can shout a note, or hold one. There are no real soaring high notes, and hard to listen to crescendo song endings. The strength of this album is it's simplicity. It is not overdone, overproduced and she certainly does not over sing it. The producers were very savvy in letting her gift be the star and not have overdone production get in her way. Claudia is confident that you will be drawn in by her easy to listen to vocals, that do not require bells and whistles to make it better. It just is better.
Is this album good? You bet it is. Very well done. Bellissimo!
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Now In Theaters
A Simple Favor
This is good. This is real good. This is a small movie with a big story, and should not be missed, but sadly, it will be.
This is a twisted story of two women, and a man that you have not seen before. It's a thriller, it's a thinking persons flick. Two women, one very prim, one very not. One man, who is wishy washy. Murder, money, love, sex, this adult movie targeted movie has it all. You are thinking the whole time who is setting who up for the huge 4 million dollar insurance pay out.
This has a great cast lead by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. They are both terrific as our leads, and the entire supporting cast is great, as is the writing, the editing, and the incredible music soundtrack that is used sparingly, but highly effective. This is skillfully directed, and has the feel of a movie that virtually everyone that will see it, will like it. Problem is, these kind of movies many times get lost in the animation and superhero shuffle.
But if you can go see this. Very, very good.
1Crazy, Rich Asians
It has been a long time since a true romantic comedy has really been a factor at the box office, but this one is. This is terrific.
This is the story of a crazy rich Asian family and the "normal" woman who is about to marry into it. This is rally creative, and is wonderfully written as it walks the fine line between comedy and parody. This feels very good, and is set in the same manner as rom-coms were years ago. This is not vile, or raunchy at any point. It has a story to tell, and does it well. Incredible use of music, wonderfully filmed in Singapore and just flat out entertaining.
This is a breath of fresh air that virtually anyone can enjoy. Plus, this is right on time and should enjoy strong success right through the early fall, as word of mouth will be big on this.
Crazy, Rich Asians. Really well done!
Alpha
Well, this is a bit different, this is Alpha. If you've ever wondered why man and dog get along so well, and how that came to be. This movie gives one possible answer. Should be noted, this is not a true family movie, as this is a bit intense at times. But this is good most of the time.
This takes place 20,000 years ago, where human tribes in Europe are trying survive the conditions, and the general tough life that is the era. As a tribe goes out on the annual hunting mission, one of the young hunters is lost and left for seemingly dead. But Keda does survive and through his fathers previous teachings he attempts to survive and get back to his tribe. He is attacked by wild dogs, one of which he badly wounds, and then nurses back to health and names him, Alpha. And the friendship develops and the long journey begins, together back home.
Full disclosure, this is subtitled, but it's not a problem, as this is not dialogue heavy. Wonderfully filmed, and easy to watch. A tidy 90 minutes is sufficient here as well. This is good, and interesting and a movie that may not be on your radar, but is a good afternoon at the flicks. And "Chuck The Dog" is outstanding as Alpha. He alone is worth a ticket.
The Meg
Well it's about time we get a movie like this in the summer theaters. The Meg, is what you would think it would be. It's campy, it's parody, and it's pretty darn entertaining. We need flicks like this to balance out the dark cloud at the movies this summer.
The Meg is about a group of underwater explorers that unearth a gigantic, prehistoric shark like we have never seen. And this thing becomes a big problem. Yes, this is shark movie parody, and yes this is fun and funny at times. Yes, people get eaten, but this is notbloody, or with excessive gore. This is just a a hoot at times, and right on time. But this is also handled so well, that all you see is entertainment on the screen. This does have some moments of SUSpense, but this is not INtense.
I laughed, I cheered, and I enjoyed this glorified Shark Week type of movie. And you will too more than likely. Regardless of what the national critics may say, this is just fun.
Mission Impossible: Fallout
For some reason we just don't get tired of this Tom Cruise series based on the old TV show of the same name. And this is pretty good.
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team at the IMF are this time trying to save the world from nuclear attack. This has a great cast, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Henry Cavill, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Michelle Monaghan. There is plenty of action to go around, and there are some amazing chase scenes that are memorable. This is filmed wonderfully, and set in a beautiful European backdrop for the most part.
This is fun, exciting and has great pace. It may be a bit too long, but what action movie isn't? For some reason this franchise is aging well. Why? Great cast, and an original premise spawned decades ago, that is holding up against the test of time.
Well Done.
Equalizer 2
I would ask you this. Pay no real attentoin to the stuffy national critics on this one, they are begin unkind and having ridiculous expectations here. If you go, you will like his flick. Denzel is back as the complicated Robert McCall.
This is a summer action flick, with a brain. McCall s still called by his troubled past to help those who can't help themselves, and this does lose a bit of focus at times and winds off course a bit. So what? Refreshing that we have a movie that is adult, and McCall is taking on real people, that live in our world today. And being even more fair, he is fighting to help the ONE person and not save the universe from some creature that can fly and has rays flying out of his eyes.
This has been update nicely, and looks great. Antione Fuqua is a great director and his mark is all over this. Denzel is terrific, and so is the supporting cast. Yes, this is plenty violent, but his business is messy. This is handled very well, and is not gratuitous. Not all movies are made to win Oscars, and this won't, but you'll like it. An we need movies that are more human based for grown ups to see.
Equalizer 2 - Nothing wrong here. Hoping for more.
This is good. This is real good. This is a small movie with a big story, and should not be missed, but sadly, it will be.
This is a twisted story of two women, and a man that you have not seen before. It's a thriller, it's a thinking persons flick. Two women, one very prim, one very not. One man, who is wishy washy. Murder, money, love, sex, this adult movie targeted movie has it all. You are thinking the whole time who is setting who up for the huge 4 million dollar insurance pay out.
This has a great cast lead by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. They are both terrific as our leads, and the entire supporting cast is great, as is the writing, the editing, and the incredible music soundtrack that is used sparingly, but highly effective. This is skillfully directed, and has the feel of a movie that virtually everyone that will see it, will like it. Problem is, these kind of movies many times get lost in the animation and superhero shuffle.
But if you can go see this. Very, very good.
1Crazy, Rich Asians
It has been a long time since a true romantic comedy has really been a factor at the box office, but this one is. This is terrific.
This is the story of a crazy rich Asian family and the "normal" woman who is about to marry into it. This is rally creative, and is wonderfully written as it walks the fine line between comedy and parody. This feels very good, and is set in the same manner as rom-coms were years ago. This is not vile, or raunchy at any point. It has a story to tell, and does it well. Incredible use of music, wonderfully filmed in Singapore and just flat out entertaining.
This is a breath of fresh air that virtually anyone can enjoy. Plus, this is right on time and should enjoy strong success right through the early fall, as word of mouth will be big on this.
Crazy, Rich Asians. Really well done!
Alpha
Well, this is a bit different, this is Alpha. If you've ever wondered why man and dog get along so well, and how that came to be. This movie gives one possible answer. Should be noted, this is not a true family movie, as this is a bit intense at times. But this is good most of the time.
This takes place 20,000 years ago, where human tribes in Europe are trying survive the conditions, and the general tough life that is the era. As a tribe goes out on the annual hunting mission, one of the young hunters is lost and left for seemingly dead. But Keda does survive and through his fathers previous teachings he attempts to survive and get back to his tribe. He is attacked by wild dogs, one of which he badly wounds, and then nurses back to health and names him, Alpha. And the friendship develops and the long journey begins, together back home.
Full disclosure, this is subtitled, but it's not a problem, as this is not dialogue heavy. Wonderfully filmed, and easy to watch. A tidy 90 minutes is sufficient here as well. This is good, and interesting and a movie that may not be on your radar, but is a good afternoon at the flicks. And "Chuck The Dog" is outstanding as Alpha. He alone is worth a ticket.
The Meg
Well it's about time we get a movie like this in the summer theaters. The Meg, is what you would think it would be. It's campy, it's parody, and it's pretty darn entertaining. We need flicks like this to balance out the dark cloud at the movies this summer.
The Meg is about a group of underwater explorers that unearth a gigantic, prehistoric shark like we have never seen. And this thing becomes a big problem. Yes, this is shark movie parody, and yes this is fun and funny at times. Yes, people get eaten, but this is notbloody, or with excessive gore. This is just a a hoot at times, and right on time. But this is also handled so well, that all you see is entertainment on the screen. This does have some moments of SUSpense, but this is not INtense.
I laughed, I cheered, and I enjoyed this glorified Shark Week type of movie. And you will too more than likely. Regardless of what the national critics may say, this is just fun.
Mission Impossible: Fallout
For some reason we just don't get tired of this Tom Cruise series based on the old TV show of the same name. And this is pretty good.
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team at the IMF are this time trying to save the world from nuclear attack. This has a great cast, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Henry Cavill, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Michelle Monaghan. There is plenty of action to go around, and there are some amazing chase scenes that are memorable. This is filmed wonderfully, and set in a beautiful European backdrop for the most part.
This is fun, exciting and has great pace. It may be a bit too long, but what action movie isn't? For some reason this franchise is aging well. Why? Great cast, and an original premise spawned decades ago, that is holding up against the test of time.
Well Done.
Equalizer 2
I would ask you this. Pay no real attentoin to the stuffy national critics on this one, they are begin unkind and having ridiculous expectations here. If you go, you will like his flick. Denzel is back as the complicated Robert McCall.
This is a summer action flick, with a brain. McCall s still called by his troubled past to help those who can't help themselves, and this does lose a bit of focus at times and winds off course a bit. So what? Refreshing that we have a movie that is adult, and McCall is taking on real people, that live in our world today. And being even more fair, he is fighting to help the ONE person and not save the universe from some creature that can fly and has rays flying out of his eyes.
This has been update nicely, and looks great. Antione Fuqua is a great director and his mark is all over this. Denzel is terrific, and so is the supporting cast. Yes, this is plenty violent, but his business is messy. This is handled very well, and is not gratuitous. Not all movies are made to win Oscars, and this won't, but you'll like it. An we need movies that are more human based for grown ups to see.
Equalizer 2 - Nothing wrong here. Hoping for more.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
New In Theaters Now
The past few weeks have been either feast or famine at the movies. There have been huge jsut blockbusters and there have been some movies that have simply come and gone without a whimper.
We seldom review the gigantic blockbusters at length. They have a built in audience and seemingly they love everyone every frame before even seeing it.
But lets get you caught up on what's out there right now.
Skyscaper
The Rock just keeps making movies that people want to see. This is one of them. This is nothing except summer thrills and fun.
I can't even say this is a good movie. But what I can say this is an entertaining movie, especially in the summertime. The Rock is trying to save hisfamily from the worlds tallest building that is on fire, and under attack by terrible people. Can we love this guy any more?
This is filled with sweaty palmed moments and we are almost falling 3,000 feet many times. This movies along nicely and is compelling in it's action, as opposed to its underlying plot, which is adequate at best. But you won't care. This is summer fun action with a smile. And a good, fun action flick is right on time right now
Sacario 2
The original was a very good movie, and so is this one. This is one of those movies that has no good guys whatsoever. This deals with the drug cartels, how are awful. The secret part of the US Government , and they are awful. Corrupt police north and south of the US/Mexican border.
This is the second in what is turning out to be a series, as this is set up for more. This time the US kidnaps a cartel leaders daughter in the effort to start a civil war between the cartels in Mexico. The effort is being made because in our movie, he president has deemed the cartels as terrorists. And we must engage theme south of the border.
Needless to say, this goes wrong. Violent, harsh, not easy movie watching. But very good, and puts you on a slow burn that keep you watching. A hard R rating, and well deserved. The first one was good, this is very good.
Uncle Drew
This is the new basketball movie that stars Kyrie Irving, and a bunch of other ex-NBA stars, that is a sort of live action semi version of the 1990's classic, Space Jam. Being honest, this lookied real bad on first trailer view.
But, this is not going to win on award anywhere, but you will laugh. The full theater did at the screening I went to. This is pretty darn funny. I laughed a bunch. This movie is plain and simple escapism that shows you a good time for your money. My hope is that this is the only one they will make, as it could not hold up another.
All in all, this works. It's not perfect, it's just fun. Sometimes we need to just slow down, and let funny be funny, and not really worry about art. This movie is OK, and good for a few laughs, way better than I ever thought this would be.
Jurassic World:Fallen Kingdom
Well it is making hand over claw, but its a shame this is not a better movie. This 5th installment of the 25 year old series is a far cry from the masterpiece that was the original. In fairness, you do get all the dinosaurs you could possibly want as there is not a shortage of action sequences. Trouble is, that's about all e get.
This movie is the poster child for movies made for a attention shortened audience. It moves from one action scene to another leaving story holes and character development in the dust. This movie also feels kind of bad. There is not real awe, or joy in seeing this. It's dark, agenda laden, and just not the fun experience it should be.
This is not summer escapism. This is very intense at times and some of this may be a bit too much for the too young. Is this a bad day at the movies? No. But this franchise is a beacon for one that has run its course. But there will be more.
Jurassic World 2 - Getting tired.
Oceans 8
The trend continues this week, where there was far more thought put into who would be in this movie, than what they would say in it. Oceans 8 boasts a huge cast, and that is supposed to carry the day. And it did to the tune of a 41 million dollar opening weekend. too bad the budget was 150 million for this.
This is a disturbing trend right now in Hollywood. Big casts, and projects, and terrible scripts. This is not a bad day at the movies, but this should have been way better. There also may be some "Oceans" fatigue too, but this is simply falling short.
Anne Hathaway is really great here, as she did a lot with the little that was given to her, but she can't make this great. This will have to settle for average.
We seldom review the gigantic blockbusters at length. They have a built in audience and seemingly they love everyone every frame before even seeing it.
But lets get you caught up on what's out there right now.
Skyscaper
The Rock just keeps making movies that people want to see. This is one of them. This is nothing except summer thrills and fun.
I can't even say this is a good movie. But what I can say this is an entertaining movie, especially in the summertime. The Rock is trying to save hisfamily from the worlds tallest building that is on fire, and under attack by terrible people. Can we love this guy any more?
This is filled with sweaty palmed moments and we are almost falling 3,000 feet many times. This movies along nicely and is compelling in it's action, as opposed to its underlying plot, which is adequate at best. But you won't care. This is summer fun action with a smile. And a good, fun action flick is right on time right now
Sacario 2
The original was a very good movie, and so is this one. This is one of those movies that has no good guys whatsoever. This deals with the drug cartels, how are awful. The secret part of the US Government , and they are awful. Corrupt police north and south of the US/Mexican border.
This is the second in what is turning out to be a series, as this is set up for more. This time the US kidnaps a cartel leaders daughter in the effort to start a civil war between the cartels in Mexico. The effort is being made because in our movie, he president has deemed the cartels as terrorists. And we must engage theme south of the border.
Needless to say, this goes wrong. Violent, harsh, not easy movie watching. But very good, and puts you on a slow burn that keep you watching. A hard R rating, and well deserved. The first one was good, this is very good.
Uncle Drew
This is the new basketball movie that stars Kyrie Irving, and a bunch of other ex-NBA stars, that is a sort of live action semi version of the 1990's classic, Space Jam. Being honest, this lookied real bad on first trailer view.
But, this is not going to win on award anywhere, but you will laugh. The full theater did at the screening I went to. This is pretty darn funny. I laughed a bunch. This movie is plain and simple escapism that shows you a good time for your money. My hope is that this is the only one they will make, as it could not hold up another.
All in all, this works. It's not perfect, it's just fun. Sometimes we need to just slow down, and let funny be funny, and not really worry about art. This movie is OK, and good for a few laughs, way better than I ever thought this would be.
Jurassic World:Fallen Kingdom
Well it is making hand over claw, but its a shame this is not a better movie. This 5th installment of the 25 year old series is a far cry from the masterpiece that was the original. In fairness, you do get all the dinosaurs you could possibly want as there is not a shortage of action sequences. Trouble is, that's about all e get.
This movie is the poster child for movies made for a attention shortened audience. It moves from one action scene to another leaving story holes and character development in the dust. This movie also feels kind of bad. There is not real awe, or joy in seeing this. It's dark, agenda laden, and just not the fun experience it should be.
This is not summer escapism. This is very intense at times and some of this may be a bit too much for the too young. Is this a bad day at the movies? No. But this franchise is a beacon for one that has run its course. But there will be more.
Jurassic World 2 - Getting tired.
Oceans 8
The trend continues this week, where there was far more thought put into who would be in this movie, than what they would say in it. Oceans 8 boasts a huge cast, and that is supposed to carry the day. And it did to the tune of a 41 million dollar opening weekend. too bad the budget was 150 million for this.
This is a disturbing trend right now in Hollywood. Big casts, and projects, and terrible scripts. This is not a bad day at the movies, but this should have been way better. There also may be some "Oceans" fatigue too, but this is simply falling short.
Anne Hathaway is really great here, as she did a lot with the little that was given to her, but she can't make this great. This will have to settle for average.
Friday, May 11, 2018
New In Theaters
There are a few new movies out, and lets see whats new for you!
Life Of The Party
Melissa McCarthy stars in a new comedy that really needed not to be made. McCarthy again picks a movie where she is used wrong, and quite frankly, she has outgrown this kind of sophomoric drivel.
She plays a woman whose daughter is attending college, and after her husband decides to divorce her, she decides to go back to college and finish up her senior year that she didn't 20 some years ago. You can see where this is going. Plenty of drinking, parties, recreational drug usage, and of course hooking up with college boys.
This just isn't funny. Way too much needless dialogue that McCarthy is making up, and it just doesn't work. Yeah, there's a sight gag or two that works, but it's not enough. This is not funny, original or anything mildly entertaining.
Life Of The Party. McCarthy needs three things. A new agent. To stop making these kind of movies, and to stick to ensemble pieces where she is generally very good. This is horrible.
Breaking In
Here comes a movie that checks in at a very tidy 88 minutes, and it's a good thing. Gabrielle Union stars, and produced this flick, and this to misses the mark. This is the story of a woman, trying to save her kids who have been taken and locked inside a fortress of a house by a gang of horrible guys who want to rob this home of it's supposed cash fortune inside.
Union is appealing enough, but this really smacks of a Lifetime movie, and not the big screen. This script has tons of holes in it, and most of this does not add up. Plus, you generally know the entire time the eventual outcome of this, another outcome would have been socially unacceptable. And for a simple movie, this really drags at times. Even though 88 minutes is very short, an hour (Lol) would have been sufficient.
This movie has been made in one way, dozens of times before, and there is nothing original here, or compelling. This is a rental, at best in 90 days.
Breaking In. Broken.
Life Of The Party
Melissa McCarthy stars in a new comedy that really needed not to be made. McCarthy again picks a movie where she is used wrong, and quite frankly, she has outgrown this kind of sophomoric drivel.
She plays a woman whose daughter is attending college, and after her husband decides to divorce her, she decides to go back to college and finish up her senior year that she didn't 20 some years ago. You can see where this is going. Plenty of drinking, parties, recreational drug usage, and of course hooking up with college boys.
This just isn't funny. Way too much needless dialogue that McCarthy is making up, and it just doesn't work. Yeah, there's a sight gag or two that works, but it's not enough. This is not funny, original or anything mildly entertaining.
Life Of The Party. McCarthy needs three things. A new agent. To stop making these kind of movies, and to stick to ensemble pieces where she is generally very good. This is horrible.
Breaking In
Here comes a movie that checks in at a very tidy 88 minutes, and it's a good thing. Gabrielle Union stars, and produced this flick, and this to misses the mark. This is the story of a woman, trying to save her kids who have been taken and locked inside a fortress of a house by a gang of horrible guys who want to rob this home of it's supposed cash fortune inside.
Union is appealing enough, but this really smacks of a Lifetime movie, and not the big screen. This script has tons of holes in it, and most of this does not add up. Plus, you generally know the entire time the eventual outcome of this, another outcome would have been socially unacceptable. And for a simple movie, this really drags at times. Even though 88 minutes is very short, an hour (Lol) would have been sufficient.
This movie has been made in one way, dozens of times before, and there is nothing original here, or compelling. This is a rental, at best in 90 days.
Breaking In. Broken.
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