Category: Movies

CODA (2021)

The story has been told many times, in many movies.

A teenager/young adult is the odd one out of their family as he/she tries to follow their passion that will be in direct conflict with their family, despite the family being a loving one. These are movies such as October Sky (1998), Billy Elliot (2000), Bend it Like Beckham (2002), Sing Street (2016), and Blinded by the Light (2019). Even if the movies were good to some degree (as are the previously named films, in my opinion), we know the formula so well that it is near impossible not to predict what will happen.

Tags 2021, Amy Forsyth, Apple TV, Bend it like beckham, Billy Elliot, Blinded by the Light, CODA, Daniel Durant, Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Marlee Matlin, Movie Reviews, October Sky, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Sing Street, Troy Kotsur

4 Stars Movies

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Even though it is the definite article used in all English language, I admit I did not think just adding “The” in a movie title could be a big improvement to a sequel.

Still, that change will help you remember which of the two Suicide Squad films is the superior one.

Tags 2021, Comic Book movies, Idris Elba, John Cena, Movie Reviews, R, Rated R, Suicide Squad, Tarantino, The Suicide Squad

3 Stars Movies

Black Widow (2021)

Even with the COVID pandemic pushing back the release date of Black Widow (and a host of other films), the newest Marvel film indeed seems to be arriving rather late.

Perhaps those who have never seen a film from the MCU won’t feel that way, but for the rest of us, it is inevitable (pardon my Thanos plug there) to feel this film should have come out before the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), where Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johanson) dies. That fact still hovers over the second female lead film of the MCU (after 2019’s Captain Marvel), leading us to feel like those behind the scenes may have screwed up.

Tags 2021, Black Widow, David Harbour, Disney, Florence Pugh, Marvel, MCU, PG-13, Rachel Weisz, Rated PG-13, Scarlett Johansson

5 Stars Movies

Summer of Soul…(or, when the revolution could not be televised) (2021)

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date July 10, 2021
3 Comments on Summer of Soul…(or, when the revolution could not be televised) (2021)

Why?

That is the question that was on my mind not long into the documentary Summer of Soul. It continued to grow more and more until the credits began to role. Most of the time, when this one word question is in our heads during a film, it is the beginning of the question “Why was this movie made? It is so bad!”

Tags Documentary, Movie Reviews, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Summer of Soul

1 1/2 Stars Movies

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Maybe I was just Mr. Grumpy pants when I was watching this film.

Perhaps I just was not giving The Tomorrow War a fair opportunity to try to be a semi fun time travel film. I do confess that I can overthink a lot at movies, but it did not take me a long time to realize this film should have stayed in the future. The very, very distant future.

Tags Amazon Prime, Betty Gilpin, Chris Pratt, JK Simmon, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Sci Fi, Science Fiction, The Tomorrow War 2021, Time Travel, Yvonne Strahovski

4 Stars Movies

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)

Post author By Mark A. Lester
Post date July 2, 2021
3 Comments on The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)

Some movie formulas are so much fun you can’t help but want to put yourselves in the character’s shoes.

If it were a body switch comedy (or any genre), you wonder, “Who would I want to switch bodies with?”. If it were a fish out of water plot, where would you as the (hypothetical) fish wish to be? And, if you were stuck in the same day on a constant loop (most notably done in the classic film Groundhog Day), what would you do?

Tags 2021, Groundhog Day, Kathryn Newton, Kyle Allen, Me Before You, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Stargirl

4 Stars Movies

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

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

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.