DISNEY+ GIVES JIM HENSON AN EMOTIONAL DOCUMENTARY WITH "IDEA MAN"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - JIM HENSON IDEA MAN [2024] - Disney+ - Directed by Ron Howard. With personal notes from Rita Moreno, Frank Oz, Brian Henson, Dave Goelz, Fran Brill, Karen Prell, Jennifer Connelly and others.

Jim Henson was a passionate and dedicated artist who created an imaginary world of muppets that followed him his whole life. When he reached one plateau of success, he’d strive for another; never slowing down, never resting. This movie is a deep look into the man who brought us the humorous Kermit the Frog, the world of muppets, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and many other puppet movies and shows that created a strong cult following of loyal fans young and old. 

THE GOOD - There was a on of never before seen footage of Jim Henson and his early family life. Many of his good, closest friends added their take on Henson’s rise in the entertainment industry. The documentary has the right pacing to keep you interested and the right artistic details to keep you  entertained with several good uses of animated story telling, show the step by step process in his creative footprints of bringing certain characters to life.

THE BAD -  Not that the film was rushed, but the documentary didn’t cover all of Henson’s creative works that touched pop culture, missing out on covering “Emmit Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” which was one of my personal favorites. IMO the movie could have been a little bit longer to cover those other shows that weren’t covered.

POST MORTEM - From life through to his death, Henson loved to entertain his family, friends, and fans. There was a lot humor and heart, tons of moment of deep emotion, including the painful loss of Henson at his death. It’s hard to believe that he is gone, but his work and his ideas continue on with the desire from his family. This was a touching, good documentary. Kudos to Ron Howard!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 of 5 Stars)

"WHEEL OF TIME" DOESN'T JUST MISFIRE, IT IMPLODES FROM THE START

🎥🎞Series Review🎞🎥 - WHEEL OF TIME Season 2 - Amazon Prime - [PG 13] - This series is based on the book series by Robert Jordan. During the first season, there was something about this series that honestly intrigued me to follow it...maybe it was the addition of Rosamund Pike [from Gone Girl (2014)] that honed my willingness to give this thing a try; or maybe it was the visual effects, the details in the production, the hint of mystical mystery, the look of being defiant against the new prequel series out there, some distant recollection of the Lord of the Rings...whatever it was, I fell for it watching the first trailer and I only watched the second season in hopes the show would change direction and gain strength. SEASON 1 REVIEW if you dare to read this one too.

Honestly, after Season One, I have no earthly idea what this series is about or what is going on. There are witches or sorts in a world led by strong women, some guys that have the abilities of Warlocks, and I honestly don't know or care to know anything else about this dumpster fire. There are three plots and at least five storylines all going on at the same time and your guess is as good as mine to what this season is all about.

THE GOOD - Uhmn...lets see. Rosamund Pike is in the series. She definitely is the best actor in the entire production and she takes up the entire screen with her emotions, which sell perfectly when she's upset or failed to do something...uh yeah, that's about it.

THE BAD - Good Lord, where do I start. The pacing is atrocious; primarily due to the lack of emphasis on the plot and making a story that aligns with it. The writers to this train wreck lost all credibility to the series by slowing down and having arc after arc of character development, when all of that should have been established in the first season. There's tons and tons of bad acting. The screenplay completely fails to bring in a big reveal when it's needed and every episode ends with a badly choreographed battle or quick skirmish that leaves some of the main characters injured, maimed, or unconscious. There's so much mystery in this "what could be" epic series, but the director and the production team can't being in enough CGI to save the show from just drowning in the huge toilet flush that the viewers are sure to activate within the first two episodes of this fresh season.

POST MORTEM - There's far too much female liberalism and hints of lesbian love that's damaged the core of this show. Wiping the male race as a bunch of brainless warriors and lower priests just brings this thing to a non-clamactic pyre of burning dog shit that I just can't review anymore.

COMPLETE DOGSHIT! [💩]

"TO LESLIE" IS A DUD, BUT NOT A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - TO LESLIE [2023] -Rated R - Netflix - Directed by Michael Morris. Written by Ryan Binaco. Stars Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, Marc Maron, Owen Teague, Andre Royo, and Stephen Root.

This award winning Independent Film tells the story of a West Texas native trailer trash single mom, Leslie [Riseborough], who wins the lottery, not a million dollars or anything, but enough to get her out of the small Texas town she's lived in her entire life. She bails on her son, her family, and winds up squandering all of her winnings on alcohol and drugs, eventually leaving her broke down and penniless. She struggles to house and feed herself. After realizing she's used up all of her favors, she seeks help from her son [Teague], she falls for alcohol, and winds up returning home trying to restart her life, but her mother [Janney] has given up on her. With the help of a motel manager [Maron], she gets a job, cleans herself up and is granted a second chance at a happy and normal life.

THE GOOD - There are some strong performances in this film from Teague and Janney. The transformation of Riseborough is a little harsh to watch as I have seen her in other movies looking pretty sultry, but in this film there's a little bit too much of her losing weight and presenting a beaten down woman on the last string of her coherent mental existence.

THE BAD - This film has no pacing. It's progression in storytelling is very slow, over developing characters and bringing nothing to the film to feel good about. There's absolutely no hope in the leading character and everyone is against her and not wanting to help her out at all. The Hotel Manager, played by Maron, just seems like he's that one actor who took the role because the Casting Manager couldn't find anyone else to fill the spot.

POST MORTEM - This movie has an aimless story. The plot of the film isn't revealed to the very end and I was surprised that a plot existed in this mess of complete hopelessness. Watch at your own risk and I dare anyone to watch it without looking at their cellphones to try and find some excitement while the movie plays on in the background. Yes, it's that bad...but there is a nice message at the end of the film.

⭐️⭐️💫[2.5 of 5 Stars]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES THRIVES WITH FANTASY, ACTION

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Honor Among Thieves [2023] - [PG13] - Paramount+ - Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Story by Chris McKay and Michael Gillo. Stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Rene-Jean Page, and Hugh Grant. Bradley Cooper has a small part in this film, and I write that with a humorous zing to it.

This movie is an action packed, detailed fantasy film that covers a story about a pair of thieves who learn about a mystical gizmo that can bring back people who have died. The lead character, Edgin Darvis [played by Pine] - a musician and thief - who is also a "planner" that has great foresight in planning capers on the run, enlists the aide of a few thieves to assist him steal the gizmo to bring his wife back from the dead, and with the additional help of his close partner Holga Kilgore [played by Rodriguez], to break into a castle that is controlled by Forge Fitzwilliam [played by Grant] and protected by a mystic sorcerer [played by Daisey Head]. There are monsters, dragons, gargoyles, wizards; everything you expect to see in a film based on the D&D medium that has been around for many years.

THE GOOD - The special effect CGI is mind boggling, refreshing and very well designed to bring both a dark and humorous presentation to an overplayed genre of monster designs that help the movie move along in a positive direction; i.e. keep a look out for the plumply dragon that slides about a cavern on it's belly. The action scenes are choreographed well and not over payed. Also, being a fantasy movie, there are several solid comedic performances by the cast as they come across several challenges they must overcome at each new issue that arises at each turn. The movie flows seamlessly from one scene to another, with some interesting editing that keeps the viewers attention in tune to each new scene.

THE BAD - I'm not a big Chris Pine fan or follower, and he does has several moments of grandstanding and over playing his part in the film. Where usually I add that too much CGI can be too much to absorb, remember that this is a fantsy based film and you have to suspend belief to follow it along. If you put your mindset in that arena, the film is brilliant. If you can't, you'll agree that this film is full of cheese.

POST MORTEM - This is a good, fun film. Even though a lot of the CGI used in the film lacks the cutting edge delivery to make a ground breaking breakthrough in film production, the two directors did a diligent job in presenting a fantasy film moving in the right direction. This is a fun film to watch and laugh with at every turn.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]

"POKER FACE" ISN'T FRESH, BUT IT'S HUMOROUS & ENTERTAINING

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - POKER FACE [2023] - Peacock - Created by Ria Johnson, Produced by Cameron Angeli. Writers Wyatt Cain, Ria Johnson. Stars Natashia Lyonne, Benjamin Bratt, and a whole sleuth of talented veteran actors in each new episode. This is a Peacock original series and I am sure that a real network would have never picked up the series because of the unoriginal filming format style used in the shows production.

Charlie Cale [Lyonne] has a unique, natural ability to sniff out a lie during any communication with a person; whether through body language, use of specific words, or natural instinct. We learn in the first episode that Cale uses her ability to become a poker champion; jumping from one casino to another, winning countless scores of money until she's sniffed out, black balled and forced to work at one casino in Las Vegas as a waitress to make ends meet. What isn't known is whether her ability to substantiate the truth from a lie is a supernatural ability or not. Since most of what is seen is the fact that Cale has to ask questions and wait for answers. If one doesn't give her answers or refuses to communicate, her ability will be useless in any case or mystery that falls in her path. Throughout the series, she is on the run with hitman Cliff LeGrand [Bratt] always on her tail.

THE GOOD - The series is inventive, always starting off with presenting a well planned murder or other crime, that leads to the perfect crime. Then each episode is replayed with a side plot of how Cale is inserted into the story and solves the crime by asking a few questions. Lyonne is humorous at best, always playing a quirky hippy-woman that either smoked too much marijuana or drank too little to stay pickled up and present her deep throated lines. What I like best is how nosy Cale is, how she is constantly questioning the mystery that bothers her, even while she's at rest. The action scenes are simple, the dramatic build up in each mystery by the supporting cast is spot on the best I've seen in a series in a long time.

THE BAD - Lyonne's silly acting style gets a little too far fetched at times and then becomes a silly staple that you have to endure towards the end of each episode. Where most of the time, the viewer can figure out what actions need to take place to solve the crime, Cale stumbles through her divinity of solving crime and takes another angle that you will not expect, and then in a silly "twerk style" maneuver, the case is quickly solved and the episode is over. After a few episodes, this writing format gets old and un-inventive.

POST MORTEM - This is a good series. The plethora of quality veteran actors helping out as "guest stars" in each new episode is truly remarkable. None of the new episodes cross over in plot or story, which is refreshing, but sometimes I feel like a good character arc, well designed and developed, is wasted on the idea that they were just arrested and taken away. I expect some type of crossover to eventually happen. Still, even though not ground breaking, this is just a fun show to watch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

STALLONE TURNS UP THE HEAT IN "THE SAMARITAN"

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - THE SAMARITAN [2022] - PG13 - Amazon Prime - Directed by Julius Avery, based on creative works by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta. Stars Sylvester Stallone, Javon Walton, Pilou Asbaek, and Dascha Polanco. This is a dark story about two brothers with incredible powers who are at odds with one another; one fallen to evil [called Nemesis], the other follows the life of law and order [called The Samaritan], who wind up in a battle for control that costs one their life. Many years later, living in a city torn with the admiration of the populace living in the Urban Legend of the two brothers, always wondering who won the final battle, who lost, and where they vanished to, a young boy [Walton] meets a mysterious old man [Stallone] and begins to believe that he has stumbled onto one of the survivors of the final battle.

The movie has a slow start, but in small spurts the visual effects fall to the mainstream high action and super hero filled special effects that usually follow in every super hero movie that's been produced in the last ten years. So, there's no surprise at what abilities are presented when the quiet super hero attitude of Stallone's character "Joe Smith" suddenly sparks to life and emotion, and the truth surfaces. Walton seems a little out of his league performing as a surprised teen, finding out that his childhood Urban Legend hero is actually alive and kicking. But he does his part consistently and he grows quickly as a young actor during the entire run of the movie.

THE GOOD - Stallone is playing a usually quiet and dark character, a stigma of his decision to choose roles recently. He looks old and tired in this film, which fits him perfectly for the role. He turns up the intensity as the film progresses and there's just something that he does to bring the house down in style, and I mean that literally. The CGI at the end of the film is pretty impressive for building up the final battle and there are moments where the viewer can honestly believe that their standing in the middle of a fiery inferno. The director chose to shoot this film in a wide-angle format, giving the film an epic feel from beginning to end, which gives the film a larger preview of the background locations and big city feel. The back story is the real mystery and the totally of the cost of life is brought to the forefront, giving a good plot a really good chance to show its true colors.

THE BAD - The start of the film, after the brief history opening, just seems to slow down to a crawl. Plus there are few moments of grand standing by other actors. Walton was obviously picking up some bad habits from the other senior actors around him, as he begins to show some over-acting in some scenes. It's noticeable, but does not alter the films energy. Pilou Asbaek plays the perfect villain for the film, but I can't shake off the fact that his "tremendous presence" makes his performance seem a little over-the-top. I know I sound like I'm being a little bit picky, but these are the only weaknesses to the film that I noticed.

POST MORTEM - This is a solid film where the director seems to have had a eye-opening idea to keep things simple, punch out the better scenes with up close action, and deliver the type of action sequences that seem to look like the production used practical effects instead of making the whole movie look like a CGI video game. Stallone was a perfect cast for the role as Joe Smith and I honestly like that the film didn't go over board and show more than just a localized area of mayhem; keeping the universe of the main story to only a small section of a big city and not the entire world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4 out of 5 Stars]

HALLMARK PRESENTS A WINNER WITH "THE WAY HOME"

 🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - THE WAY HOME [2023] - Hallmark/Peacock - PG - Created by the talented writing skills of Heather Conkie, Alexandria Clarke, and Marly Reed, this little jewel of a series is remarkably well produced and delivers an emotional zeal to a simple plot about a small family that has to heal itself from past events to move on with life. The series stars Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams, Sadie LaFlamme-Snow, and Andie McDowell. The series has been scheduled for 10 episodes and as of the release of this blog, only four episodes have launched exclusively on the world reknown Hallmark Channel. 

THE WAY HOME [TWH] is a family friendly series with some believable, emotional performances by Leigh, Andie, and Sadie; with some standard emo daughter issues due to a daughter being exposed to a failed marriage. The story may sound redundant, however, the series flows flawlessly from one plot and storyline to another as the daughter finds a portal through time which gives her the ability to  expose herself to a few moments of the families past and help her find a way to mend the family through a harrowing event that crippled the family during the summer of 1999. There are no outstanding CGI effects or explosions in this series, but the drama and mystery are superbly presented in all of their glory.

THE GOOD - The cinematography is just outstanding. Shot in epic cinematic quality and each scene was directed with a natural screenplay that gives the actors plenty of room to maneuver through their scenes with tremendous strength. The lighting quality, shifting from bright day to heavy shaded areas was carefully examined and planned prior to shooting, carefully controlling the color variances from bright colors to cool shades with tremendous forethought. The editing is impeccable and definitely shows that an experienced team worked together to ensure that there are no skips in the shows presentation.  The story arc is progressive, leading the viewer to absorb the character development and to hope that things come together by the end of each new episode. The casting seems perfect and no actor tried to out-do the other. Each leading actor in this series has an extensive list of films under their belts to carry this series to the next level, and there is some really tough emotional scenes that are masterly delivered in each new episode.

THE BAD -  The Hallmark Channel has received some pretty harsh criticisms  for apparently altering their recent movie and series productions more towards a "woke" atmosphere that makes a lot of people uncomfortable with being exposed to the changing "hormonal climate" of today's youth, and even though there's very little of that being presented in this series, those sharp edged criticisms may endanger the real success of this series.

POST MORTEM -  This is a series that exposes it's characters to time traveling. I find it funny that the time travel jumps from 2023 to 1999, which in my run of history isn't really all that far, but for production costs and, of course, location spotting, the story covers enough events in that time frame to spin a nice little mystery that needs explaining and closer. The atmosphere of the series s very casual and warm, perfect for letting you watch on a quiet evening or a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else to do or watch on TV. Each episode is only 49 minutes long, but a lot of information and emotion is pump through that time frame to give you plenty of soft details to consider in each passing episode. This is certainly a fun and entertaining series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]

EVERY GREAT WRITER HAS A BAD BEGINNING, TAYLOR SHERIDAN WAS NO EXEPTION

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - WIND RIVER - Amazon Prime - [2017] - Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olson, Jon Bernthal, Graham Greene, and Kelsey Asbille. This movie was billed as an answer to the countless numbers of Indigenous Native American women that are reported missing every year in staggering numbers and mysterious circumstances. This was a planned dramatic feature film with a message to open up the investigations to the many missing women who are still missing to this day. If produced right, this movie seemed like it could make make waves in the history, and now urban legend, of why females are missing in the western regions of the United States.

With the recent successes of all of the current writings created by Taylor Sheridan, I decided to do an in-depth look into his career as a writer and filmmaker. First, I was surprised to learn that Sheridan was a film director and that he had an $11 Million film under his belt with a heavy star studded cast. Even though this film had a tremendously dramatic trailer, the film was anything but dramatic and I'm surprised that Sheridan was able to bounce back from the obvious failure of this film. I have to admit, that after watching all of the recent works written by Sheridan already released through streaming services, I was not completely impressed by this film. I truly expected a far better production and message from this film.

THE GOOD - I mentioned that there's a big lineup of infamous actors in this feature film; the talented Elizabeth Olson from the recent fame of "Wanda Vision," Jeremy Renner from the MCU's "Avengers," and the rugged Jon Bernthal from "The Punisher." There's a slight glimpse of the mountainous beauty and vast landscapes of Utah and Wyoming. The film won an award from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, but I'm not sure why.

THE BAD - Where dramatic films are concerned, this film drags on and on with sketchy pacing and lackluster cinematography. Most of the actors seem to just be on set to earn a check and put no other energy in performing their roles which makes for a lack luster presentation in the final product of the film. The screenplay and editing of the film are almost horrific, giving an almost amateur pacing to the film and not giving a solid development of worry for the story to make its point. The explanation why the FBI sent an agent to help with the investigation of a body being found on Indian territory was very dry and Olson's part of the film feels a little far fetched. Sheridan tries to develop tension in the film, but his limited skill in directing scenes truly makes RIVER seem like a wasted effort in telling a significant story that needs explaining.

POST MORTEM - This film would have better served as a mini-series or maybe a full series production on a streaming service. Furthermore, the opening credits billed this film was a tiny, little look into the disappearance into local women in the Native American culture, but there was no tie to the actual long list of names that have been abruptly removed from the local communities. Sheridan was smart to leave the directing of his scripted creations to the professionals. His other series work wouldn't have been as successful as films and his writings are proving to work on longer running productions. WIND RIVER might have been the awakening that Sheridan needed to focus more on his writing.

⭐️⭐️💫[2.5 of 5 Stars]

STALLONE MAKES HIS MARK IN STREAMING WITH "TULSA KING"

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - TULSA KING - Paramount+ - A series written by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, and Dana Delany. This is another series created and written brilliantly by Sheridan, creator of YELLOWSTONE, 1883 and 1923, who has gone out of his way in the last three years to release some refreshing new shows on the Paramount network. TULSA KING [TK] is his new installment, and once again, he has a strong cast filled with veteran actors to build up a fantastic first season to the series.

Stallone plays a "General" in the New York Mafia who spent the last 25 years in prison for murder. Upon his release, his "family" of gangsters order him to leave the city of New York and head out west to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start new business ventures. He reluctantly leaves New York and his family for a new start, and upon the first day of arrival, he gets off to a great start spotting crime running free in the streets of Tulsa and making money from side hustles in the legalized marijuana trade. Keep in mind that Stallone does not play a physical monster in this series, instead he's in a role where his leading character is a thinker and planner, outsmarting all of the potential & established criminal competition and law enforcement agencies in the city. To make things even worse, he's pissed off members of his old mafia family back in New York and they want him dead.

THE GOOD - Stallone carries the series well. There are several story arcs in TK that help develop supporting characters and they are performed brilliantly by some talented new actors. Most of the scenes in the series are actually filmed in Tulsa, OK and a tons of scenes are filmed at outside locations, giving the series a broad look at the local territory. Sheridan even takes the time to add a little Native American zest to the series and develop a plotline where [of course] a gambling casino will be eventually involved. I know that none of this sounds brand new or overly interesting, but with the addition of Stallone still settling his feet with the idea of slowly developing characters with patience and precious time on his side, his acting prowess is starting to promote a better way of him delivering his performances.

THE BAD - There are times where the series makes Tulsa seem like a small town, with people who think backward from a time long gone. The addition of Delany was a little weak; her character hasn't developed well and she is mostly seen hanging around the horses at a stable. Giving Delany top billing for a small role seems a little like "big name dropping." She plays her mysterious role well, but he real energy of the show should be spent elsewhere. Action scenes are too sporadic and some of the motions of the story are filled with long speeches and drawn out dialog. Plus it doesn't help that Stallone still mumbles his line from time to time. The final episode of the season was a little too transparent and seemed a little rushed, but I am sure that Sheridan strongly felt that the rushed ending to the first season just meant that a second season was gong to be approved.

POST MORTEM - This is another fantastic edition to the powerful line of Taylor Sheridan writings that are building up an impressive universe of drama, murder, intrigue, and of course, action. The series has already been approved for a second season and I am sure that Stallone is more than happy about that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]

TOP GUN MAVERICK AMAZES WITH VISUAL EFFECTS FIRST

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - TOP GUN - MAVERICK - Paramount+ - Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Glen Powell. This movie has some stunning visuals and the fighter plane scenes are realistic, breathtaking, and at times, a little beyond belief. The directors and writers to this film pulled some dramatic cinematography to show the realism behind being a fighter pilot and having to fight G-forces while pulling wild maneuvers in the air. It was said that many of the areal scenes were shot with the actors actually flying real planes and that Cruise demanded that everyone take part in flying a real plane to build their knowledge of fighter pilot communications pilot skills, and officer etiquette.

THE PLOT - The film takes place many years after the first film. Maverick is now a test pilot who endangers his job and is pushed right back to Top Gun to train pilots for a dangerous mission. He has to face his own ghosts, as his back seat best friends son, played by Teller, who just happens to be listed in the teams top list of pilots selected for the potentially one-way mission at hand. The training is dangerous, but there's always time for a little fun and some verbal hazing between the pilots about "who is the best." Of course, the mission doesn't go exactly as planned and Maverick has to fight his way back to safety.

THE GOOD - Cruise looks a little more refined and a lot more mature in the role as a Navy Fighter pilot and Captain. He's a little slower, a little more wiser, but he's filled with deep regret and has begun to doubt his abilities to lead; which are good qualities in building his character's new personae. Powell plays a brilliant role as Hangman, and they the writers should have really spent a little more time building up his cocky character. The writers bring back everything that you once knew from the first movie; the motorcycle, the partying, the quick one-liners between pilots. The general feel to the movie is that this is going to be a fun adventure and you'd better hang on for this ride.

THE BAD - What's missing in this movie is the real fun of being in the Navy. Everything in the screenplay is transparent, from the new girl Maverick falls for to the air-to-air dog fight. The writers should have spent more time on Teller's character [Rooster] and give him a better back story; save the fact that he's Goose's son. They could have really punched the fans in the gut if the original mother of the first film, played by Meg Ryan, stepped in and begged Maverick to pull her son from the mission. Ryan's character could have also closed the book on Maverick's last squeeze, stating that he will always be a "player" and he should have just settled down with "Charlie" of the first film. Instead, Teller's scenes as Rooster were limited and we had to rely on Cruises interpretation of Maverick's pain to help us understand what was going through his mind, when he wasn't wrapped up with the new love of his life.

POST MORTEM - This is a good action movie and there are some fun and funny moments in it. I'm not 100% sure if the writers had any real idea about how the Navy truly works, but for what they showed; a bunch of fighters in a hanger bay or parked out in a field, there's no real feel of danger about being on a fighter jet. The slow motion football game on the beach will never match the two on two volleyball game from the first film, but I guess eye-candy for females falls where ever it may these days.  But BRAVO to Cruise, this was another good, top action film to watch!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4 of 5 Stars]

"MOONFALL" IS SCIFI, DRAMATIC FUN!

🎥🎞Movie Review🎞🎥- MOONFALL - PG - HBO+ - In the swirling drain of recent Hollywood trash films and unpolished series that are steaming and leaving many fans confused with bad story telling and unforgivable plot twists, MOONFALL is an incredible fantasy SCIFI film that was smartly written, which also presents a real life finesse to the struggles of having to learn that NASA has been hiding secrets from the American public. The plot is dubious, as a trio of NASA astronauts who make first contact with an alien entity during a routine orbital mission, that plots a course for the moon and quickly forces the moon's orbit to decay, potentially slamming the moon into the earths atmosphere and perpetrating potential world-wide destruction. Of course, earth is not prepared and the entire success of a dire mission to the moon lands on a three man team that have only one chance to fix the failing trajectory of the moon.

The film stars Halle Barry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley. The screenplay is by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, and Spenser Cohen. Directed by Roland Emmerich. The movie didn't do so well in the box office, but on HBO+, the film has flourished and has received positive reviews where it counts. I was impressed with the visual effects, the acting, and the choice of music for the film. Bradley, who is widely known for his role as Samwell Tarly in the Game of Thrones, performs a stunning and humorous part of the "non-scientist" and conspiracy theorist, who has figured out the entire plot for the moon crashing into the earth at an increased rate, before any this real time information landed into NASA's lap.

The strength of the film comes from the performances of Barry, who always does a colossal job of transforming herself into the required role to give solid character development and bring some believable emotion to required scenes. Wilson plays his part well, and even though his has an exclusive skill of seemingly not being too excited for his part in any film, delivers a strong performance and provides the right temperament for a professional astronaut who is stripped from his job and future successes by NASA, in an attempt to keep the truth of aliens existing so close to earth.

The one weakness in the film is the story sub-plot, where the families of Barry and Wilson are left back on earth to struggle during the planetary holocaust that is crashing all around them. Obviously written in as filler, these parts in the film were cast with a bunch of nobodies that are let by veteran actor, Michael Pena. This story arc extension seems to drag, even though there are large explosions, action sequences that seem to go no where, and completely destroys any momentum made by the main arc being presented on the moon, the alien entity that is hell bent on killing all organic matter, and a separate alien technology that can restore the moons orbit and save the earth.

In my opinion, I found it really hard to bash this movie as it was clearly produced to entertain and not be taken so seriously as a historically correct film. But with better promotional advertising, a stronger trailer, and the editing out of the "family survival" story arc, this film could have done a whole lot better at the theater and might have flourished with an all time high in streaming on HBO+.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 [3.5 of 5 Stars]

"THIRTEEN LIVES" BRINGS DIRE MEASURES TO HEROIC THINKING [No Spoiler Review]

🎥🎞Movie Review🎞🎥 - THIRTEEN LIVES - Amazon Prime - PG13 - A movie directed by Ron Howard is literally a breathtaking "true to life" film about thirteen Thai soccer players who were trapped in a cave [during a pre-monsoon storm] for almost two weeks and were kept alive by remaining calm and being led by their young soccer coach who reassured them they would be saved, even though they had no food. The entire film was produced in Thailand, with a few scenes shot in England.

The movie has a semi-slow start, due to the language barrier where there is a bunch of closed captioning [which I detest], but once the movie hinted on the introductions of the characters soon to be in jeopardy, the movie got straight to the business at hand. Where I would have approached the story telling a little differently at the beginning; showing the soccer players side of seeing the waters rise around them in the caves, Howard brilliantly maneuvered the story telling to bring you to the main characters, led by Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell. Mortensen was at the top of his acting game again, but I was truly impressed by Farrell's new ability to morph into a different character, something I haven't ever seen him do in films before. Both leading characters were vulnerable to their inner fears of potential failure, but both gave each other strength through humor; something that I was exposed to during my time in the military.

Many of the supporting actors were "islanders" who had very little training in acting, but they presented their parts realistically; something that I'm sure that Howard had to work with to make presentable. The cinematography was simply, incredible. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom did a wonderful job capturing the tight quarters of diving through caves with turbulent currents, building the tension through some claustrophobic views.

As with any Howard film production, there's always a happy ending in every film he makes with a little loss to build up the climax, and this movie delivered it's punch in the plot with me sitting on the edge of the couch hoping all of the kids would all make it out alive. This being a film about true events, I am SO happy that Howard did not bend to Hollywood elitist and add a fictional female character who "stepped up" to save the day. Not one of his best films, but it's a film definitely worth watching.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]

CONTINUUM [I'll Follow You Down] CRUSHES A FANTASTIC PLOT WITH A WEAK ENDING

🎥🎞MOVIE REVIEW🎞🎥 - CONTINUUM - [PG-13] -Peacock -  This nice little gem from 2013 fell under my scope of reviews shortly after I was doing a copyright search for stories that involved Quantum Time Traveling plots and short stories. The film stars John Paul Rutman, Rufus Sewell, and Gillian Anderson. This film can be found on Peacock under "I'LL FOLLOW YOU DOWN."

The plot is simple but very mysterious, a loving and well respected father is dropped off at an airport by his wife [Anderson] and young son. In previous scenes, the young boy is proven to be pretty intelligent far beyond his years. But the father [Sewell] boards a plane and never returns home. Th son's mother is horribly worried and her love for her husband is without question, but questions arise after his arrival to the city of destination; he's never checked out of his room, his wallet, cell phone, and other items left behind, and the husband has just disappeared. The father has disappeared like a whisper in the wind and his young son has to struggle through life with a damaged mother and a childhood sweetheart who will eventually become his wife.

Years pass and the young boy grows up questioning important decisions in his life, due to the mysterious loss of his father. Rutman - the once little kid also known from the brilliant movie, SIX SENSE - has a love interest that is constantly being put on hold due to his mother [Anderson] still grieving over the disappearance of his father. Eventually the story passes onto the boys grandfather, played by Victor Garber, who tells the young son that his father had stepped through a worm hole and traveled into the past. There are very few details about how the father was able to create the worm hole, but only that he sustained a power source to get him there.

Everything up to this point in the film is pretty believable an understandable. The second half of the story follows a rushed script with no subtle delivery on how the jump in time would be  a mind blowing experience. The film turns to a flashback of the father [Sewell] stepping into a time machine and vanishing in a brilliant flash. From there, the son had also made the trip back in time and confronts his father, eventually forcing to return home and save his wife, plus the spirit of the little boy who was lost without any answers to the big question; "What happened to my daddy?" - But there was no emotion in the delivery of the main story here. The director decided to have Rutman play an angry and determined boy who didn't care about the wonders of time travel, who just wanted his father to come home and put his family back to normal.

In my opinion, the writers lost faith in their script and the screenplay. There was no real character development of any of the characters, save the young boy who was now in love with a childhood sweetheart, both trying to live a life of being parents. The son missed a lot of school, but was too smart for college and apparently progressed though school only by "passing all of the tests." 

The script should have spent more time with the father's ignorance to his families needs and furthermore delivered him showing his son the importance of time travel and how they could witness importance events in history. Instead, the movie delivers a crippling blow to the film by making the son too smart for his own good and taking drastic actions to force his father to go back home and save his family.

What bugged me the most about the time traveling, was there was no real attempt to show details of the 1940s, save a change in clothes, some women walking around, introducing an old restaurant with a guy who wore paper hat and served coffee. There also wasn't a memorable scene in the film that made me want to remember this dud of a production. Rutman tried to be a leader in this film, but the lack of solid character development made him all of the other cast members seem like they were just going through the motions to finish this film.

⭐️⭐️💫 [2.5 of 5 Stars]

“THE EXPANSE” FIZZLES TO AN ENDING, WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE SIZZLED!

🎥🎞Series Review🎞🎥 - THE EXPANSE- [Amazon Prime] - January 14, 2022 presented the final episode to hungry views, after an outstanding six season run that had so many twist and turns at the end of each season, most fans were dying for an ending that would explain every plot line, every looped story arc, every ounce of political intrigue that was well written, well delivered by the cast, and well managed by the writers and directors of the show.

 

Two great things came out of this show, first was the expansive and ever growing plot line twists and turns and the other was the growth and performances of two actors, who took their parts to the next level; those two actors are Persian actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and U.S. actor, John Wesley Chatham. Both of these actors left a resounding impression on me during their six years of growth, wanting me to see and hear from them in their careers.

I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat during the last three episodes of season six thinking, “Wholly mother, this series is rewriting SciFi to an all new level!” - As each season passed, the character development was ironed out with stunning precision, the creative and robust CGI definitely helped carry the series in shocking “real life” art territory, and well, just the whole thing was leaning towards the “this could actually happen” arena of future history. The SciFi technology for this series is not too far off from what we, as space technology-minded idiots we truly are, have currently in our lives.

Led by actor Steven Strait, who during the the first season acted like he really didn’t want to be part of the show, tore through the mud and filth of obscurity and became a well polished leader of his crew. Over time, you would learn that his cold shoulder mannerisms were what the writers wanted all along. His part of the series was over shadowed by the acting talents of Thomas Jane, who played a Mike Hammer-type private detective who was trying to solve one of the biggest mysteries in the known universe, an item called the “proto molecule” - which unfortunately was never explained thoroughly.

However in Season 5, who actually cared about the mysterious molecule? A fresh and cold new bad guy arrived on the storyline, played brilliantly by Keon Alexander, who started a terroristic and perfect onslaught of mayhem to the series. For a time, the mysterious molecule was only briefly mentioned and the total dangerous from its exposure was only partly explained. The writers did a great job using the mystery to keep you off your toes, making you believe that the molecule could turn the tide to some major events that unfolded, costing the live of millions of innocent people in the series.

But, it all wasn’t meant to be. As the series entered towards the last three episodes, the main story was turned towards a poignant revenge story which could proved to the shows fans that some revenge endings can be filled with cold-hearted ruthlessness and severe actions that seem tasteless, as compared to the actions of other grimy shows like Game of Thrones. In part I’m referring to the payback potential for the character, Cammina Drummer, played brilliantly by Cara Gee, who had learned of the death of her great leader, Klaes Ashford, who had been set out into space without air or protection, by the terrorist leader, played coldly by Alexander.

In the end, the writers strayed from the revenge factor of giving Cammina a much deserved chance to end the terrorists life with her bare hands or a knife to the gut (which would have been epic) and just ended the bad guys life in a way that just made me say out loud to myself, “Oh…C’mon!” - After that the last episode just made a political charade of the ending, where there were no real answers, just another few ideas to ponder where the series “could go” from that point forth. 

I guess I expected too much after seeing so many good series flop with fruitless, well thought out endings. But I guess that this series at least had a good ending and they will be handed a good review for not completely wasting our time over the course of six years.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 [4.5 of 5 Stars]