Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Black Adam

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For anyone out there listening, this will be my last weekly review for awhile.  I am still seeing a movie at a theatre every Saturday and have seen some really great movies.  Reviews can not exist in a vacuum though, and I am not sure my little missives are being read by anyone.  This is not to say that I will completely give up movie reviews, but they will not be coming out weekly.  That being said – here we go!!

Black Adam is a DC movie that I found rather meh.  I am a fan of The Rock, especially when he is in comedies like “The Jungle Cruise” or “Jumanji”.  I thought it might be fun to see him as a superhero, but this movie really wasn’t much fun at all.  It all starts out in ancient Kahndaq where Teth Adam is given superpowers by a council of gods.  He uses these powers to get revenge on the people who killed his father, so he is imprisoned for 5,000 years, thus turning into Black Adam.  Through some very muddled story telling, Adam is released and reluctantly helps to save his hometown from various evil doers.  Viola Davis is completely wasted as a feeble sort of Nick Fury, but the storyline doesn’t give her much to do, or even explain what she is up to.

Tasked with bringing in Black Adam are the Justice Council, who  seem to be copying (and not in a good way) some of their more superior Marvel counterparts.   The Justice Council consists of Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.  Except for Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan) none of these heroes are  interesting or even very powerful. It’s over complicated and jumps all over the place.

I guess Black Adam wasn’t a bad film, it does have its moments, and the CGI is impressive.  But if this is the best that DC has to offer, I think I will stick with Marvel.

Thor: Love and Thunder

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Thor: Love and Thunder is a sequel to Thor: Ragnarok which came out in 2017.  Both movies were directed by (and in the later he also doubles as writer and actor)  Taika Waititi.  So you know the movie will be fun and maybe a little silly but highly entertaining.  Waititi definitely delivers the goods.  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) begins the movie where the first one left off with an overweight Thor fighting the good fight with The Guardians of the Galaxy.  In search of inner peace, he shapes up, and parts ways with the Guardians in order to answer a call.  Apparently Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) has made it his mission to destroy ALL gods in the universe. So Thor leaves the Guardians in order to help defend the transplanted remains of Asgard (which has been turned in to a Disney-like tourist attraction) from Gorr’s attacks. While he’s doing that, a former character returns, now wielding Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer! Now that we have the plot details out of the way, we can sit back and watch the fun.  One of my favorite moments was seeing Russell Crowe camp it up as Zeus.  Other fun roles were played by Sam Neill, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth and Melissa McCarthy as the Asgardian Players and Taika Waititi  as Kong, Thor’s wacky sidekick.  Other people you will see in various parts big and small are Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, and a cute group of courageous kids.  As in all Marvel movies, there are end credits: two to be exact.  You will miss the second one if you do not stay to the very end.  I found myself laughing out loud at some of the writing, which is quite clever, but I found the story itself a little lackluster.  For mindless summer entertainment though , I don’t think you will be disappointed.   Oh, and fun fact – Chris Hemsworth’s daughter, India Rose plays the titular Love.

Jurassic World Dominion

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Let me start out be saying DO NOT listen to the critics (except for me, but I am more of a reviewer anyway And besides, I know better!).  Critics are panning this movie big time and I just don’t get it.  I was very entertained throughout the whole movie.  The plot, in a nutshell, has dinosaurs loose all over the world.  People are trying to learn how to live with them, but mankind, no surprise, is not being kind.  Some are being hunted and used as sport in giant fight pits, some are turned into side show carnival food, while some are being protected in dino sanctuaries.  But overwhelming all of that is a worse problem. A certain evil biotech company has made genetically altered dino-grasshoppers that are threatening the entire food crop producers of the world (except in areas they control).  This is where the original Jurassic Park crew meets the Jurassic World actors.  I loved this whole part of the movie.  It was so cool to see Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) and Alan Grant (Sam Neill) reunited along with Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm.  Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt are back too.  Not only do these five band together to save the earth, they are out to rescue a young girl whose genetics hold a key to the future for us all.  One of the best things I like about this movie was the little tributes to the original.  There are allusions to electric fences, a shaving cream can, the original Jurassic Park logo, Samuel L. Jackson’s “hold on to your butts” line and Ian Malcolm’s many wives and kids.  I am not saying this is the best movie of the year (I think I would give Top Gun that distinction) but for fans of the Jurassic movies this is definitely a must see.  On a side note, if you have never read the original novel by Michael Crichton, I highly recommend you put this book at the top of your summer reading list.

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

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Dr. Strange is my favorite Marvel character, and I have waited for six years to see this sequel.  Benedict Cumberbatch is compelling as the titular Doctor, who must travel to different “multiverses” in order to help a teenage girl (Xochitl Gomez) save not only our world but others as well from Elizabeth Olson’s Scarlet Witch.  (And, an alternative universe Dr. Strange turns out to have initiated all the multiverse problems due to his own ego and over confidence!) This is an entertaining, action-packed movie, which is to be expected from Marvel.  The special effects dazzle, incredibly so.    There are some cool surprise appearances by old favorites and new super heroes that I won’t spoil, but I am hoping that they will be seen in future Marvel movies.  Other people featured are Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, the Doctor’s lost love in several different universes and, of course, Benedict Wong as the Sorcerer Supreme.  Also, look for a short sequence involving a fight with music that I loved. However, this was not a completely satisfying movie.  It was extremely hard to follow the plot.  It is confusing to meet multiple characters in different universes.  And for a Marvel movie there was not a lot of the humor I have come to expect.  However, I do think this is a worthy entry into the Dr. Strange canon and I can’t wait to see the next one.  Obviously – stay to the end of the credits. All of the credits! There are two, but the one at the very end will make you laugh.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

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Hi everyone!  I think I have turned a corner since breaking my arm.  I just haven’t felt comfortable typing reviews (even though we have seen movies every weekend as usual).  My arms is getting to the point where I have a better range of motion, and typing is not as much of a chore as it was – so here comes my first review since The Batman on March 7!  This is the third Fantastic Beasts movie out of what is supposed to be five.  I was charmed by the first one, didn’t like the second one at all, and thought this one was better, but not great.  When the movies stick with Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, who roams the world looking for fantastic creatures, the movie is enjoyable.  Also, Dan Fogler as the muggle baker Jacob Kowalski is a scene stealer and lights up every scene he is in.  But the rest of the movie is missing something and that is saying a lot when other characters are played by some great actors, namely Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore and Mads Mickkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald.  The plot, involves Grindelwald, who is manipulating people and events to seize control of the wizarding world and ultimately begin a war to destroy all muggles.  There is also a secret Dumbledore child, a cute animal called a quilin (looks like a tiny deer), a bunch of look alike suitcases,  and a new method of traveling by the pages of a book.  This whole Fantastic Beasts franchise doesn’t seem to contain the spark, or whatever you call it, that the original Harry Potter books had in abundance.  Maybe it misses the comradeship and trust of the Hogwarts students and their teachers. Maybe it’s that the plot lines are more murky and even somewhat disconnected and harder to follow. It just lacks that something special that the Potter saga has. Even so, if you liked the first movie, I think you will like this one too.