The Reel World

Live action remakes are Hollywood’s latest trend, and they are usually a hit or a miss. That was a universal truth that I went into this movie knowing. To that end, I fully expected that Dora and the Lost City of Gold to be on the side of the latter rather than the former, and yet I was unexpectedly wrong. The film even managed to captivate my daughter, and if you guys have been reading my reviews, you know that she has the potential to be a harsher critic than I do. (If you need proof, look no further than her opinion of Missing Link). I wasn’t even sure that my daughter was that a big a Dora the Explorer fan. Well, if she wasn’t before, she most certainly is now after this movie. Isabela Moner (Instant Family) brings the titular character to life in this live action film that has her facing the biggest challenge of her life.
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“It’s easy to fool people when they are already fooling themselves.”

There was a lot of pressure on this film to be great; it being the first MCU film following the epic known as Endgame. This film needed to be the statement that the MCU was finished after the events of Endgame, which completely and irrevocably changed the landscape of the franchise going forward. By the way if you have not seen Endgame yet, two things. First, what is wrong with you! You are the reason that the film hasn’t taken the all-time box office record away from Avatar yet. The film has just been re-released with additional footage, so there is even more to enjoy. So, get to a theater ASAP! We need to beat Avatar! Secondly, you should probably stop reading this review immediately, as I will be discussing events that will likely leave you lost. Let the previous declaration serve as your warning disclaimer. Iron Man is gone, Captain America has laid down his shield in favor for a lifetime with the love of his life. A little selfish, but I’d say he’s earned after his many sacrifices. The Avengers are essentially disbanded, but the world still needs heroes. Enter your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
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The Conjuring franchise and its spin-offs have been a success at the box office since 2013.  Now with the third Annabelle hitting the big screen, it’s time ask the question: is this the end for the franchise?  We already know there is going to be a third Conjuring film coming out next year, but beyond that, I’m guessing the studio heads are watching to see how this film fares with the summer competition.  I wasn’t a fan of the first Annabelle. The second one was better but still it seemed to pale in comparison to The Conjuring films, so to be honest, my expectations were not very high for this new installment.  As it turns out, this ended up being my favorite of the spin-off movies, and I have no shame admitting how much fun I had with this one.
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“You know kids lose their toys every day. Sometimes they get put in the wrong box, and that box gets taken away.”

In 1995 Pixar didn’t just put themselves on the computer animated feature film map. They completely created a new map. Yes, there were works before Toy Story, but that was the film that changed everything in an entire industry. It also began a push-and-pull relationship between the independent studio and its distribution partner, Walt Disney Studios. It was a disagreement over Toy Story sequels that found Pixar shopping for a new partner for their future output, and before you know it Disney wrote a check, and Pixar was a part of Disney. The small studio’s chief, John Lassiter, ended up in charge of the Mouse House animation department, and those disputed Toy Story sequels became box office gold and examples of the right way to continue a film franchise. Now, a lot’s changed in that 25 year interval.
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“You are a diversity hire. The important part is that you’re here now.”

Mindy Kaling knows a little bit about diversity hiring in the television industry and attempts to spread her wings a bit wider by staring in Late Night, an “inside baseball” look at the workings of a late-night talk show television program. Kaling not only stars in the independent film but was the writer as well. She certainly knows a thing or two about life behind the scenes on a television show. Her The Mindy Project has provided her with firsthand experience on that score. The film pulls in heavy hitters like Emma Thompson and John Lithgow, so there is no lack of star power to surround the young actress/writer in her first real chance at a prominent role in a feature film. So why does Late Night feel somewhat unfocused and incomplete? The answer might just lie at the feet of Mindy Kaling.
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It was the summer of 1997 when audiences were first introduced to the Men in Black.  Will Smith was on the fast track to being a box office star, and Tommy Lee Jones, well, he’s always been awesome to watch on the screen, and he seemed to be having fun in this popcorn blockbuster.  It was no surprise that the film became a hit. As for the sequels that followed, for me they just never could touch the fun energy that the first one had.  I always loved the potential the first film had, as it gave us a world filled with an array of aliens and worlds the Men in Black could venture too, but instead the films that followed played it safe, and really, that’s a shame.  Now over twenty years later and in the fourth installment, we get a soft reboot/sequel that gives us some fresh new faces and new aliens for them to pursue, but is it too little to late, or is this the jolt the franchise needed?
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So, the announcement of this film was of particular interest of me. Of course, I have familiarity with the character of Shaft from childhood. Not to mention the remake that wasn’t really a remake that premiered in 2000 starring Samuel L Jackson. The most interesting thing about the film is that it brings three generations of the character under the umbrella of one film, with Richard Roundtree and Samuel L Jackson reprising their roles as the titular character and introducing Jesse T Usher into the franchise as the latest addition to pick up the mantle. Another interesting thing is that despite it being a sequel it shares the same name as the 2000 version. Though this does introduce a certain level of confusion, it just proves just how bad a mother- shut-your-mouth Shaft is; he can name his movies whatever he wants.
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“Something weird is going on.”

If you’re having a bit of zombie fatigue, you’re not alone. From movies to TV shows and video, we’ve had well over a decade of being blasted with the undead. Basically it’s the sub-genre that just won’t die.  I love zombie movies, but I feel audiences could use a bit of a break from them for a little bit and let another monster indulge in the spotlight.  With that being said, when a good one comes along, I’m still going to want to give it a try.  Already this summer we have Black Summer on Netflix that is worth giving a binge, and now hitting the cinemas we have The Dead Don’t Die.  Never in a million years would have guessed that writer and director Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man, Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise) would ever tackle this kind of horror film, but it is a welcome surprise.
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When the first trailer of the Secret Life of Pets film came out I thought that the Illumination and Universal Pictures were onto something.  I think every kid and even adult wonders at some point what their pets’ lives are like when they are not around.  This was what I felt could have been the pet equivalent to the Toy Story franchise.  As it would turn out, the first film started out strong, but for me it quickly fizzled into an absurd storyline.  Kids seemed to like it, and really that’s all that mattered, but personally I felt there was enough strength in the material where we could have gotten something great.  Now we have Secret Life of Pets 2. Does the film manage to pull off something great, or is this a big pile of stale kibble?
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“The mind is a fragile thing. Takes only the slightest tap to tip it in the wrong direction.” 

The simple reality is that this franchise should have ended with Days of Future Past. That would have been a good point to call it quits; it had a good resolution and all, but the chasing of additional box office revenue has forced us to have to endure two more mediocre additions to the franchise. Though Dark Phoenix is better than Apocalypse, and it is a better telling of the Dark Phoenix Marvel Storyline, Fox’s second bite at the apple is still not the film that I hoped it would be. Fortunately, with Marvel recovering the property we are undoubtedly due for another reboot, and perhaps the third time will be the charm.
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“All you have to do is learn to connect the dots and get ready.”

Noble Lincoln Jones hasn’t had any real feature experience in the director’s chair. He’s notable for some rather well-known country music videos, and now he’s made the jump to the feature film world. It shouldn’t come as any complete surprise that his first effort would be a rather small-budget independent film like The Tomorrow Man. The movie offers a pretty simple premise with a limited cast, so there aren’t a lot of moving parts here. It’s the kind of playground where a young filmmaker gets to show us what kind of a storyteller he is without the grand distractions of a seasonal anchor film and all of the trimmings that entails.
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“My name is Elton Hercules John.”

When I was a kid he was Captain Fantastic, and I spent a lot of time and money on Elton John records since the early 1970’s. I was a 12-year old kid when Goodbye Yellow Brick Road came out, and I’ve been a pretty huge fan ever since. I’m a veteran of about 50 concerts over the years, and I was looking forward to this movie in the same way I used to anticipate a new Elton record for decades. Most of the time I was rewarded with brand new songs that would quickly become part of my own story growing up. Once in a while I was disappointed. I hated Victim Of Love so badly that I threw the record across the room, and there is still a stain of peach paint on my copy. I wish that I could say that the film Rocketman was more like those wonderful vinyl treasure chests, but it was more like the latter, and no one is more frustrated than I am. I wanted terribly to love this film. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a middle finger to Elton’s fans, and I think it’s going to be a long, long time before I get over it.
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Back in 2014 when Godzilla came out, I had a blast with the film, though one of the major complaints people had seemed to have been that there was not enough fights or not enough of Godzilla.  Personally I didn’t see how this could be a complaint to take too seriously; after all, if you watch some of the older films, we’d only get maybe 15 minutes of screen time, but thankfully this wasn’t always the case. Now with the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the human story is a bit of an afterthought, and it’s the titans that carry this blockbuster bonanza.  Is this a good thing?  You bet it is, though I’m sure there are plenty of stuffy critics who will complain about there being too many monster fights; for those critics, this movie wasn’t made for them.  This is a movie made for the kid in all of us who wanted to believe in the possibility that giant monsters could exist, and seeing these hulking giants duke it out while destroying cities in the process just made us smile.
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If you think the movie Get Out was shocking, wait until you see the diabolical Ma. You won’t have a clue to what this party woman has cooked up until just the right moment.  Then, as it unravels, even some of the hints are misleading.  When you do know the truth, then it’s just one sick scene after another. Being transferred from LA to a new school in her mom Erica’s (Juliette Lewis), small hometown in Ohio, Maggie gets noticed by a clique.  The in-group members, Haley (McKaley Miller), Andy (Corey Fogelmanis), Darrell (Dante Brown), and Chaz (Gianni Paolo) are the wild bunch of the school crowd who like to get drunk and smoke pot.  But, Maggie likes that they were the first to greet her and makes friends with them. She also has an instant connection to Andy.
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“I think it’s time I told you about Aladdin, the princess, and the lamp.”

There is very little new coming out of the Walt Disney Studios in recent years. For the last few years and into the near conceivable future, there has been a concerted effort by The Mouse House to remake as live-action films the vast library of animation classics. It pretty much started with the huge success of The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau in 2016. The film did a wonderful job of bringing these jungle creatures to life through the modern-age miracle that is CGI. Somehow the film captured the very heart of the original animated feature and immersed us more fully into that world. No, it wasn’t the first time Disney recreated an animated feature with live-action releases. But it was so dominant at the box office that it appeared to set the mold for these conversions going forward. This summer Disney set an ambitious schedule, delivering no less than three of these remade films to the summer schedule.
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by John Delia Jr.

The life of a dog can be very short, but the dog’s purpose can last you a lifetime. A Dog’s Journey is a wonderful sequel and extends the story even further, grabbing your heart making it spill over with emotions. This story picks up shortly after where the first one left off. Bailey (voice Josh Gad) is a little older, and Hannah’s (Marg Helgenberger) son died, leaving his wife Gloria (Betty Gilpin) and a toddler Clarity June (Emma Volk) behind. Trying to help Gloria with the baby, Hannah and Ethan (Dennis Quaid) are doing their best to provide for them both. Being so young, Gloria seems to be preoccupied by trying to find a life for herself that tends to allow little CJ to wonder off. Sometimes it can be a little dangerous on a farm for a toddler. Bailey being the loving and protective dog that he is does his best to help keep CJ from harm. But after an incident, Ethan and Hannah offer to take care of CJ so Gloria can take a job far from home.
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“Fourteen million dollar bounty on his head. Every interested party wants a piece of it. I’d say the odds were about even.”

The word “Parabellum” acts as a double entendre for the film. First there is the obvious reference to a 9mm parabellum bullet, and then there is the Latin phrase, “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” which translates to “If you want peace, prepare for war.” That is exactly what Keanu Reeves gives to those interested parties looking to cash in on the bounty on his head. Picking directly after the events of Chapter 2, Winston (Ian McShane) grants John Wick a one-hour head start after he violates Continental rules and kills crime boss Santino D’Antonio on hotel grounds. Now excommunicated with a 14-million-dollar bounty on his head, John is the target of every member of the criminal underground of New York. Cut off from resources and without protection, the most anyone can hope to survive is a hour or two; however, John Wick is not most people. His attempts to stay alive lead him along the streets of New York City to the sandy dunes of Morocco. All while attempt to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, including the High Table that he used to serve.
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“Tell me a story…”

One of the first people in my life to tell me a story was J.R.R. Tolkien. I was given a colorfully illustrated copy of The Hobbit that I still have to this very day. Sure, it was abridged and was mostly filled with pictures, but I was likely five years old when I got the book. The fact that I’ve kept it this long should tell you something about the kind of story Tolkien told me. Since that time I’ve read the Fellowship Of The Ring trilogy at least three times. I’ve written music inspired by those stories. And then there are the six massive films from Peter Jackson. In all these years I’ve never quite shaken the words of a man I never did have the opportunity to meet… that is, until now. Watching the biographic drama Tolkien leaves me with a sense of connection that I always wished I might obtain to the man himself. It’s still rather early in the film season, and while this might not quite be the season for such things just yet, I must say I’ve at least seen the best film of 2019 to date.
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“That’s a great fifth option; let’s work on the other four.”

This line is one of the signature witty clips that Ryan Reynolds brings to the character of Pikachu in this movie adaptation of the popular Nintendo DS video game, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. It is clear that Pokemon is standing the test of time, as I remember collecting and playing the cards in my youth. Though the card game appears to have fallen out of favor, the franchise received a resurgence a few years ago with the emergence of popular mobile phone app, Pokemon GO! In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised of the popularity of app led to the decision for this live action film starring Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, and Bill Nighy. This was a solid opening in my opinion, though I am skeptical of its film franchise potential, given that those without a basic understanding of the video game or card game (there does not appear to be any connection to the original animated series or subsequent animated films besides inclusion of the Pikachu character) are unlikely to get by the questions of “What are Pokemon?” or “Where do they come from?”
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“No man will ever believe that a woman is smarter than he is.”

I love con movies. You name it, I’ve seen it. There is just something about someone or a group working towards pulling the wool over the eyes of some arrogant, corrupt fool that believes that they can’t be outsmarted. Mainly, it is about the scam; I like to see the elegance of the con. Lately I’ve been starved for a good con movie in recent years, essentially since Will Smith’s Focus, which was underrated in my opinion.
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“It’s going to be a tearjerker.”

It all started with Iron Man in 2008. Marvel Studios put together the most ambitious film saga in the history of the medium. 22 films that served as introduction to comic book heroes and the various story threads that would ultimately bind them together into one epic tale. All along the way it was important that each film stand on its own legs and provide enough story and action to satisfy the film audiences at each signpost along the way. 22 films over 11 years, and it all finally comes to its inevitable conclusion in The Avengers: Endgame. From this film forward, it’s going to be a very different landscape for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. New heroes are on the way, and some will either no longer be there or will take on an entirely different form and persona. I’m not about to tell you where these changes come down. That would ultimately ruin this 3-hour ride you are about to embark upon. But when it ends, you will completely understand that it was all leading to this point, and it will be a sad but satisfying conclusion. But before we talk about endings, let’s enjoy that final ride into the end.
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It’s an inescapable fact of life that some things get lost in translation. Italian poetry loses its imagery. War And Peace is apparently much more compelling in Tolstoy’s original Russian. And I’ve been told that Abbott & Costello is painful when told secondhand. You can add to that axiom that Stephen King really doesn’t translate very well on the silver screen. The notable exceptions are films based on non-horror works like The Shawshank Redemption and the barely horror-related Stand By Me. Both are wonderful films that manage to capture King’s knack for the absurd in every day life. While some consider Kubrick’s The Shining a classic, you’ll find just as many King fans who hated it, “Here’s Johnny” and all of that.
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Zachary Levi is every geek’s dream come true, becoming a superhero as he takes on the mantle of Shazam. I am not well versed with this hero, but it is safe to say that he is not someone to discount, having an impressive number of abilities that put him in the same league as a superhero. Going in, I was not expecting a lot from this film, as the previews made it seem very silly and without substance. However, I can honestly say that the previews did not do this film justice. Thanks to lively performances by Levi as well as his counterpart Asher Angel, much needed comic relief from Jack Dylan Grazer, and a surprise star-studded twist toward the film’s climax, Shazam is the film to see this weekend.
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“Welcome to The Taj. Home to statesmen and celebrities for over a century.”

There are times when movies come almost uncomfortably close to real life experiences. This can be both a blessing and a curse. I’ve heard World War II vets have mixed feelings after watching Steven Spielberg’s relentless portrayal of the D-Day storming of the beaches of Normandy. Many cried because it brought them back to a place that lives vividly in their own minds. Some were resentful for the pain they experienced. As an audience member who has never experienced anything close to battle, it was compelling and also fatiguing.
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So Dumbo was never one of my favorite Disney classics. In fact, when news initially broke about a live-action version being filmed, I wasn’t moved one way or the other. I figured I would end up seeing it for the sake of my daughter, but I figured it would just be something that I would have to endure. I speak these words with the full knowledge that I now have to eat them, as Dumbo has gone from one of my least favorite Disney films to one of my favorite movie experiences of the year. With an all-star cast that includes Colin Farrell, Eva Green, Danny Devito, and Michael Keaton, Dumbo is a fantastical and wholesome family experience that I will be taking my daughter to, but dragging her to it if she puts up a fight.
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