Author: Mark A. Lester

Luca (2021)

Dear Link,

From all the stories and photos you mom put on social media, it did not take me long to realize you and your younger brother Lenny had a blast during your first ever trip to Disney World.

This, of course, has been a bit of a family tradition going back long before you were even born. It’s been nearly two decades since I was last there: Pirates of the Caribbean was not even a movie yet. It was also brought to my attention that, before you guys left, you and Lenny watched most of the Disney classics to prepare you. Take it from me, that is a lot of movies for two brothers who are only five and four!

Tags 2021, Disney, Disney/Pixar, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jim Gaffigan, Luca, Maya Rudolph, PG, Rated PG

4 1/2 Stars Movies

In the Heights (2021)

When the credits rolled at the end of In the Heights, I stayed to see if I could find out how many extras were used for dancers. I soon realized that the list would have been at least the size of three screen shots. I returned home, I logged on to HBO Max, and (to the best of my ability) counted how many extra dancers were used.

The final count I arrived at was 274. Honestly, it may as well have been 96,000.

Tags 2021, Anthony Ramos, Crazy Rich Asians, Gregory Diaz IV, In the Heights, Jon M. Chu, Leslie Grace, Lin Manuel Miranda, PG-13, Rated PG-13

3 1/2 Stars

Cruella (2021)

It wasn’t the hair. It wasn’t the look. It wasn’t even the fact that dogs may get killed.

Around the age of five, what got me scared right off the bat of Cruella De Vil was simply that she seemed to always be yelling. Even when she was not upset (which was rare), she was at a high volume.

Tags 101 Dalmatians, Cruella, Disney, Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Mark Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Stanley Tucci

4 Stars Movies

The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date May 14, 2021
2 Comments on The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)

This time of year, we normally get some original Netflix films that are not worth mentioning (such as the atrocity that is Thunder Force, a movie I detested so much I keep forgetting it is not called Thunder Rush). That irrelevant film took the superhero premise and made a family film that was not fun for anyone in the family. Thankfully, that film will be forgotten once families discover a film that was made for any member of the family: The Mitchells vs the Machines.

Tags 2021, Chrissy Teigen, Danny McBride, Eric Andre, Hotel Transylvania, John Legend, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Olivia Colman, PG, Rated PG, Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, The Emoji Movie, The Mitchells vs the Machines, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, The Smurfs, Thunder Force

2 Stars

Wrath of Man (2021)

I will give Guy Ritchie’s newest film this much: It is the first film I have seen in some time that revolves around the drivers of big bags of cash.

In heist films, the drivers are very much underappreciated (if not by their employers, then certainly the audience), so the Wrath of Man did have me a tad bit hopeful in that we may get a new type of action packed thriller. Sadly, that is not the case.

Tags 2021, Aladdin, Andy Garcia, Guy Ritchie, Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett, R, Rated R, Wrath of Man

Movies

The 93rd Oscars: Bafflingly Bad

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date April 25, 2021
No Comments on The 93rd Oscars: Bafflingly Bad

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 12: Oscar Statues are displayed at the 2007 "Meet the Oscars" presented by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on February 12, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Before the Oscars, I bought a package of something I have always had a weak spot for: Orang tic-tacs.

I bring this up for a simple reason: The big container will not be enough to wipe the bad taste in my mouth left by the 93rd Academy Awards.

3 Stars Movies

Mortal Kombat (2021)

My love for cinema truly became apparent to me in my early teen years, but my love of the Mortal Kombat video games started at the age of five.

I remember with perfect accuracy my parents’ hesitancy to get the game for my older brother Adam and I, but they eventually gave in to our wishes (provided we got along). The following years resulted in many hours playing MK 1-4 with friends (most notably my best friend Greg) on button mashing, face punching, gut kicking, head decapitating, limb ripping, organ exploding bliss. That is not to mention the 1995 original film (with a theme song that never grows old) that still delights today, despite a sequel that proved to be one of the worst films mankind has ever known.

Tags 2021, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Josh Lawson, Lewis Tan, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Mehcad Brooks, Mortal Kombat, R, Rated R, Tadanobu Asano

"Top Tens", and others Movies

My Predictions for the 93rd Academy Awards (expect some history to go down)

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date April 20, 2021
No Comments on My Predictions for the 93rd Academy Awards (expect some history to go down)

When Parasite won the Oscar for Best Picture last year, it was truly one of the only great moments of 2020 (the lockdown was only a couple weeks away). Now, nearly 14 months later, the next Academy Awards is occurring (and, more importantly, the hopeful end of this horrible pandemic).

I will try my best in my predictions to answer all the questions that are on the table before Hollywood’s big night: As always, you need to guess in every one of the 23 categories (they meshed sound mixing and sound editing) if you have a pool you are participating in, so here are my predictions.

Tags Mank, Nomadland, Oscar Predictions, Oscars, Predictions, Promising Young WOman

3 1/2 Stars Movies

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Truth be told, my knowledge of “March Madness” is very low (which would surprise no one who knows me). I truly picked Gonzaga to win without knowing until later that they were undefeated, so it should come as no surprise that I have not really watched any games this year.

Why do I say all this? Because the real march madness I have waited for (even more than the “SnyderCut”) since witnessing the ending credit scene of 2017’s Kong: Skull Island has finally arrived, in the ultimate movie monster matchup of Godzilla vs. Kong. In fact, I quickly realized that I have awaited this film since my dad showed me the original (and rather badly dubbed) 1960s version, which has had me on #TEAMKONG ever since.

Tags 2021, Brian Tyree Henry, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Kong, Kong, Kong Skull Island, Millie Bobby Brown, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Rebecca Hall, Team Godzilla, Team Kong

3 1/2 Stars Movies

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date March 21, 2021
1 Comment on Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

IMDB may have the director of 2017’s Justice League as Zach Snyder, but that was far from his original film.

The origins of the “Snyder Cut” are now well known: When the film was being finished in early 2017, Snyder had to back out after the tragic suicide of his daughter, Autumn. Joss Whedon (who helmed the first two Avengers films for the MCU) stepped in, and the film was changed drastically. The film’s 4 hour run time was basically cut in half to two, the tone of the film was much lighter, and composer Thomas Holkenborg (better known as Junkie XL) was replaced by Danny Elfman.