Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I like to watch movies and share my thoughts on them. I have been writing reviews and distributing them since 2013.

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians                              4 stars

Last year’s Crazy Rich Asians was one of the big hits of the summer, a return of the rom-com that seems to have been missing from Hollywood for years.  Only this time it’s one featuring an all Asian cast, something extremely rare in mainstream Hollywood.  Rachel Chu, a young New Yorker is persuaded by her boyfriend, Nick to accompany him to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore.  But the thing she didn’t realize is that Nick’s family is rich, but not just that. They are insanely rich or crazy rich.  Also, Nick happens to be one of the most sought after bachelors in the country.  She meets his family and friends including Nick’s former girlfriend and learns about the trappings and baggage that goes along with belonging to a fabulously wealthy family.  She faces some sobering challenges and ultimately faces them making some tough choices.  The film is definitely a comedy with very funny moments featuring some funny cast members.  Included among these is Awkwafina who plays Rachel’s best friend, a role that seriously raised her profile in the industry.  Crazy Rich Asians doesn’t have a political statement to make but is special because of its all Asian cast which shows they are to be taken seriously.  It’s a light enjoyable movie that appeals to a wide audience and is something of a throwback to classic Hollywood comedies.  Among the notable cast is Michelle Yeoh (Captain Georgiou of Star Trek: Discovery) as Nick’s controlling mother in an especially outstanding role.

Good Boys

Good Boys                          4 stars

It has been a good year for comedies so far and that trend continues with Good Boys, a profanity filled R rated comedy about three 12 year boys on a mission to learn how to kiss girls before going to their first kissing party.  The three boys, who are long time friends are not the cool kids and have to endure abuse at their middle school.  They engage is many funny hijinks episodes including trying to spy on teenage girls with a camera equipped drone, conducting a drug deal and selling one of their father’s sex toys before they finally end up at the much anticipated sex party.  It’s a formula very similar to Booksmart, a hit comedy from earlier this summer that involved two high school girls scheming to enjoy their first real alcohol filled party before they graduate.  It works well with the 12 year olds thanks to some over the top acting by Jacob Trembley (as Max), Brady Noon (as Thor) and Keith Williams (as Lucas).  You will remember Trembley from Room and Wonder.  Williams of course was Jasper on TV’s The Last Man on Earth.  The comedy plays off the children’s innocence and curiosity about girls, achieving a balance between vulgar and sweet.  An added bonus was seeing Will Forte as the father of Max.  Molly Gordon from Booksmart also is present as one of the arch nemesis teenage girls the boys have to deal with.  See Good Boys when you can, but don’t take your kids to it!

The Peanut Butter Falcon

The Peanut Butter Falcon             4 ½ stars

The Peanut Butter Falcon is a different kind of adventure story.  Here we follow a Mark Twain like journey of Zak, a young man with Down syndrome as he escapes from the nursing home he lives in, under the eye of employee Eleanor (Dakota Johnson).  It is Zak’s dream to meet his idol, the Salt Water Redneck, a professional wrestler who runs a professional wrestling school so that he can become a wrestler himself.  Circumstances leads to Zak pairing up with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) a small time outlaw on the run from some local bullies.  The two do what they need to in order to survive and avoid the bullies.  Along the way Zak gets some training in from Tyler as well as some whiskey drinking and finding God.  Eventually, Eleanor catches up with the pair and the three continue the journey due to more unusual circumstances.  The story might strike you as farfetched, but all the characters seem real thanks to the fine acting from LaBeouf, Johnson and newcomer Zack Gottsagen as Zak.  The film may not be getting much attention from audiences, but I recommend you see it if you get the chance.

The Farewell

The Farewell                                      4 ½ stars

The Farewell follows a Chinese family who discover that their beloved grandmother is dying and must keep the secret from her while bringing the family together to see her one last time.  At the beginning we are told the story is based on an actual lie, then see a scene where Billi (Awkwafina) who lives in New York gets a call from her grandmother in China.  Both individuals tell lies about what they are doing at that moment thus setting the premise for the story.  This is a mostly serious family film that demonstrates the difference in culture between the east and west.  But it also shows the universal importance of family relationships whatever culture you are from.  Part of the story involves a fabricated wedding involving one of the grandchildren as the excuse to bring the family together, but there is little detail about this event was planned.  Instead the story focuses on the relationships within the family including the difficulty that Billi had as a child adjusting to living in America with only her parents, having left the rest of the family behind in China.  The hurt of separation follows these characters throughout their lives.  I thought it to be one of the best family dramas in years.  The movie played at Sundance and was very well received.  The film is said to be semi-autobiographical by the writer-director Lulu Wang.  I don’t know how much of it is true but it certainly a beautiful story and one of the best films of the year.

Scream 7

Scream 7              2 stars

It has been four years since the Ghostface killer appeared once again in Woodsboro to continue his murderous spree on the local teenagers and others, who are related in some way to Sidney Prescott (Neve Cambell), the original victim of the knife wielding Ghostface going back to the nineties. But then, the very next year he showed up again in New York City in search of more victims, (only minus Sidney since she moved away to an undisclosed location (in Scream VI)). This perpetual killer did not let that stop him though. By now you know the formula. Ghostface makes a sudden appearance in Woodsboro, going on his usual rampage killing victims that are in some way connected to our heroine, Sidney. Some local sleuths come up with theories about who the killer or killers may be (Usually there are more than one.) Then there is a final confrontation where the mask comes off and we discover the identity of the real killer who gives a speech on why Sidney deserves to die, only to be killed by one of our heroes in a thrilling climax. Scream 7 has arrived in theaters and it is much the same story as we have seen in the previous six movies going all the way back to 1996. This time around Ghostface has tracked Sidney down in a different town, only now it is Sidney Evans’ daughter, Tatum (Isabel May of 1883) that he is after. The name is Evans now since Sidney is married to the local police chief, Mark Evans (Joel McCale of Community). In Scream fashion we get an opening scene where a young couple goes on a tour of a house built to recreate the original crime scene complete with Stab movie posters and a Ghostface mechanical figure, only to face their end at the hands of the costumed killer. Ghostface goes on to make threats to Sidney over the phone using that familiar, sinister voice, then follows through by stabbing some of the local teens to death who happen to be friends of Tatum. Then the reporters show up to get the story including the famous Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox returning for her seventh appearance) and her two minions. The rest is basically a repeat of the time-tested routine, when the killer’s identity is discovered and we get the same result. The writer of the original Scream movies, Kevin Williamson returns, this time as both writer and director to bring us this seventh of the series. The earlier directors of the franchise were Wes Craven, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. But there was an actual variation in the latest movie. In what can be called Ghostface meets AI, things get more complicated for poor Sidney with the creation of AI videos showing previous killers thought long dead reappearing on screen to make more threats. Thus, we see once again Dewey (David Arquette) and Stu (Matthew Lillard) making appearances on screen. The use of AI (without actually using AI in the movie) is an added twist that does nothing to add to the story. In my review of Scream VI, I said that it was time to call it quits on the franchise, but the filmmakers didn’t listen to me. My guess is that there will be a Scream 8 one day. But remember, Shoot ‘em in the head!

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain                      5 stars

The animated film Little Amélie or the Character of Rain co-directed by Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han is short and simply drawn but presents a complex story of self-realization by a toddler. It is based on the writings of Amélie Northomb about her own life growing up in Japan. The story is set in 1970’s Japan where a Western family is living with their three children. The father is a Belgian diplomat. Amélie is the baby and is completely noncommunicative with the family, but she has a wild imagination as described by the narrator. She sees herself as God but is set apart from humanity. Or she sees herself as a tube, something that food passes through without changing. It isn’t until she is two and a half years old when her grandmother from Belgium visits and gives her some chocolate that she finally connects with the family and can immediately speak in complete sentences. (Her first word is vacuum cleaner.) She likes their Japanese housekeeper, Nishio-san the most, who introduces her to Japanese customs and the idea that Amélie’s name means rain. She becomes fascinated by rain and sea creatures, something that leads to a dangerous situation when she wanders off on her own. Even though Amélie is a Westerner, she sees herself as Japanese preferring the company of Nishio-san over her own family. Later though, she learns of the suffering caused by the war and the resentment of the Japanese landowner toward white people, but she is incapable of understanding such complex issues. The animation is done with few colors and without defined lines, preferring a fuzzy look in a minimalist style. The movie gives us some idea of how a toddler might see the world around them, doing all this in only 78 minutes. The movie is up for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award.

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Brittany Runs a Marathon            4 stars

Brittany Runs a Marathon is the new starring vehicle for comic actress Jillian Bell who I have seen previously in several movies always in supporting roles.  Here she is Brittany, a young woman in New York City who is facing issues of low self esteem mainly due to her weight and physical appearance.  She gets to know a neighbor in the building, Catherine (Michaela Watkins) who is a runner so she decides to join her running group, then meeting Seth (Micah Stock) who is also clearly out of shape also, so they have that in common.  Of course there are several comedic scenes of these two struggling to complete short distances that comes so easily to the other runners.  Then at the same time Brittany has to deal with her roommate Gretchen, who is of course petite and beautiful and Jern, the young Indian man who she shares house sitting duties with.  Then there is also Brittany’s sister and her husband, Demetrius, who are there to offer encouragement through her difficulties.  The trio, Brittany, Catherine and Seth decide to train to enter the New York City Marathon so this serves as the back drop to all of the relationship issues going on in Brittany’s life.  The movie succeeds due to the acting and comic timing by Bell who finally has her starring role in a movie.  I have not read any interviews with her but she clearly goes through an amazing transformation during the movie losing over thirty pounds from beginning to end.  Among all the comedic situations, the movie delivers a clear message about allowing others to be a part of one’s life and not shutting people out.  This is actually the second movie this year that paired Bell and Watkins.  The two also appear together in Sword of Trust which was out just a few weeks ago.  Jillian Bell also made appearances in Bridesmaids, Rough Night and Office Christmas Party.  Brittany Runs a Marathon was a hit at Sundance earlier this year where I first heard about it.

Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Poppins Returns   3 1/2 stars

I finally got to see last year’s Mary Poppins Returns, the long overdue sequel to the original Mary Poppins from the sixties starring Julie Andrews.  This time around it is Emily Blunt taking on the title role, a daunting task that she lives up to very well, capturing the personality and always in control attitude of the magical nanny.  This time she is back to take care of the new Banks family with young Michael (Ben Whishaw) who is widowed and Jane (Emily Mortimer) all grown up and in a crisis as Michael’s own employer is about to foreclose on the family house.  Mary takes the three children on some thrilling adventures through animated lands much like in the original movie and finds time to rescue the family from their troubles.  It is also fun to see Lin-Manuel Miranda as the always smiling and cheerful lamplighter, Jack and Dick Van Dyke in a brief special role as the owner of the bank.  There also memorable appearances by Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Angela Lansbury.  It is very tough to be compared to such a masterpiece as Mary Poppins, a movie I loved watching repeatedly as a child.  The musical numbers may not be quite up to the level of the creations that made the original movie so memorable.  The tunes don’t stick with me the way they did, but then I’m not a nine year old anymore.  Maybe today’s kids will find Mary Poppins Returns to be as enchanting as the original seemed to me way back then.

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights          2 stars

Director Emerald Fennell gives us a very different take on the gothic novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte by casting two of the hottest stars working in Hollywood today in the leading roles. I have never seen any of the many previous adaptations of the novel nor have I read the book. I only know that it has a reputation as a tragic love story. But I doubt that Bronte envisioned her story to be nearly as steamy as portrayed on the screen here. Previously, Fennell, the actor turned director brought us Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, two movies that combine revenge themes with sex and she continues that theme in Wuthering Heights. This movie has a lot of sex. And I mean a lot of sex! And it’s not just the two main characters either. Even the opening scene is very suggestive of what is to come. In the beginning we meet Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) as a twelve-year-old living with her father (Martin Clunes of Shakespeare in Love and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?) in a large, isolated, but decaying house in the countryside called Wuthering Heights. Living with them is another girl, Nelly, who serves as a companion for Catherine, but also as a servant. They have other servants too, so they’re not exactly poor. One day, father brings a young boy home with him as he couldn’t stand seeing him wandering the streets with no one to care for him. Catherine takes to him immediately, calling him Heathcliff (Owen Cooper of Adolescence), the name of her dead brother. But Father thinks nothing of beating and whipping Heathcliff when he doesn’t live up to expectations. We flash forward several years and find Catherine (Margot Robbie of Barbie and The Wolf of Wall Street) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi of Frankenstein and Saltburn), now in their thirties and still living with her father along with a grown Nelly (Hong Chau). Things have changed and now they are quite poor, the father having gambled away his money. Catherine and Heathcliff (represented as two of the most perfect specimens of humans) now look at each other quite differently and you can see that things will soon take a turn. When a new neighbor moves to the area (five miles away), Catherine investigates and meets Mr. Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), who is fabulously wealthy, has an enormous estate, and very stylish clothes, carriages and servants. There is also a young woman, Isabella, living with him who we never find out exactly how they are related. Naturally, since Catherine is poor, she must marry Edgar for the benefit of the family even though she is madly in love with Heathcliff. And this is where things go awry and jealousy takes over all sense of right and wrong. Both Catherine and Heathcliff make it their purpose to get revenge on each other for their circumstances but still end up meeting secretly repeatedly for sessions of mad sex. And they do it a lot, with most of it in the rain it seems. There is plenty of ill will and jealousy spread around between them and every other character as well. In fact, I would say that there is not a single character in the movie with redeeming qualities. Everyone wants to cause harm to someone or even themselves. The contrast between the two families is greatly exaggerated, showing Edgar’s extravagant wealth and Catherine’s beautiful clothes and jewels versus the dirty unkept look of the Wuthering Heights house. Not only is the selfish nature of the characters disturbing, all the rain and the fog make everything about the film depressing. I suppose that that’s what Fennell was going for, but I couldn’t enjoy it. I can’t say if that’s what Bronte’s original novel is like. (Perhaps it was, but without all the sex.) I will point out that most of the music was written and performed by Charlie XCX so it has that going for it.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash        3 stars

As incredible as it sounds it has now been seventeen years since James Cameron brought us Avatar, his spectacular CGI-3D movie about the blue-skinned inhabitants of a distant planet called Pandora and the efforts of humans to dominate and exploit it for its natural resources. The humans developed a technology that allowed them to blend in with the alien race in copies of their bodies. Then in 2022, came Avatar: The Way of Water, which followed a family of the Na’vi race who flee from their own tribe and come to live with the Metkayina, another tribe that has a close relationship with the sea and the creatures that dwell there. Both movies were noted for their colorful and overwhelming special effects using body capture technology and their tales of exploitation of native cultures by a technologically superior race in the search for valuable resources (an indictment of corporate greed). Cameron’s latest incarnation, Avatar: Fire and Ash continues the story, with most of the same characters and the same astounding special effects of the first two films. We follow Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), the fearless Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family through family drama, their dealings with their Metkayina hosts, adventures with some incredible animal inhabitants and the inevitable conflict with their human pursuers, who seem to never learn from their past experiences. Meanwhile, Jake’s enemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), has not given up on tracking down Jake, who he regards as a traitor for “going native”. (You may remember that Jake and Quaritch were both humans who now inhabit Na’vi bodies, able to breathe the air of Pandora that is toxic to humans.) The movie feels like it has little to add to the story, featuring much of the same conflicts and action that we’ve seen before despite its three and a quarter hour running time. One very notable addition though is the villain, Varang, who leads her tribe, the Mangkwan, who prey on the vulnerabilities of other Na’vi tribes and steal whatever things of value they can find. Varang is ruthless and smart as well, able to adapt to new situations. It doesn’t take long for her to see the value in allying herself with the vengeful Quaritch. Oona Chaplin is perfect for the role of this native leader. (Chaplin is the granddaughter of the legendary Charlie Chaplin.) Overall, this third iteration seems like more of the same including the relentless greed of the humans and the spirituality of the native Na’vi. Of course, the movie did not need to be nearly this long. The word is that James Cameron is planning on two more movies in this series (each probably over three hours). I feel that the story has been played out and it is time to move on to something else. We will see if he follows through on this plan.