Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

The Justice League

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Batman and Wonder Woman band together in this movie to organize a group of super heroes to, you guessed it, save the world!  These DC super heroes are not as interesting as the Marvel ones.  There are several reasons for this.  First of all, the writing is kind of lackluster and doesn’t have the snap or pizzazz of the recent Thor movie or even Guardians of the Galaxy.  Next, this movie kind of jumps over the back stories for The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg.  These characters could have been fleshed out more, especially since they didn’t get a prior movie to establish who they are and what they’re about. As someone who is totally unfamiliar with the comic books, I would have appreciated more back story for these characters instead of merely a sentence or two of exposition.   Last of all, killing Superman off and then bringing him back from the dead just seemed kind of dumb.  On the other hand, this is not a bad movie.  Aquaman, as played by Jason Momoa, is a hunk, and definitely not one of your cookie cutter hero types.  Ezra Miller makes a humorous and interesting, and even a bit endearing, Flash.  As she has previously demonstrated, Gal Gadot is great as Wonder Woman.  Ray Fisher as Cyborg didn’t get enough screen time for me to decide if I liked his performance (or his character).  I also felt Amy Adams was wasted as Lois Lane, but then, how much dialogue can you have between her and “zombie superman?”  (Even though he wasn’t really a zombie, just re-animated).  Jeremy Irons as Alfred handles his sardonic dialogue with a stiff British upper lip as he deadpans several references to Wonder Woman and Batman not taking the opportunity to romance it up a bit.  All in all, this is an enjoyable movie and I am sure you will be entertained.  However, if you only have time to see one super hero movie, you might be better off seeing Thor Ragnarok!

Thor Ragnarok

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Some super hero movies get so bogged down in cinematic effects that they lose that magic spark that makes super heroes so appealing.  Luckily that is not the case for this one.  First of all, there is a lot more wit and humor than is usual even for the Marvel Universe movies. Thor, as played by Chris Hemsworth is not only pleasant on the eyes ,but is quite the comedian and will have you laughing many times at the witty dialogue.  His character has come a long way from that duck-out-of-water of his first movie. Yes, there are still plenty of special effects, but I didn’t mind because I was having too much fun watching.  Cate Blanchett is deliciously evil as Thor’s visually striking sister, Hela, who wants to destroy Asgard.  When she appears at the beginning of the movie, Thor finds himself without his hammer and ends up on a planet ruled by Jeff Goldblum playing a wacky, oh wait a minute, playing Jeff Goldblum.  If you have seen any of the trailers you know that Thor and The Hulk will be forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena. Thor and Hulk eventually escape. They have to, events in Asgard are coming to war and rebellion, and there is plenty of action as Thor and his companions strive to save the real Asgard.  Not sure what that means?  Go see this movie and all will become clear, it’s worth it!  Other standouts are Tom Hiddleston, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Look for a fun trio of cameo appearances by Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Luke Hemsworh.  Stan Lee makes his usual cameo too,and I think it is my favorite.  This is an entertaining and funny movie and I think that just about everyone will find something to enjoy.

mother!

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I am not one to give you spoilers, so don’t read this review if you do not want a little hint as to what this movie is about.  That said, I can guarantee that you will be totally confused without this hint.  I went to this movie without knowing that the whole thing was an allegory.   Knowing this upfront would have helped me get at least a little grasp of what was going on. I thought from the trailers that I would be seeing a kind of updated Rosemary’s Baby. I think the trailers were misleading. Ready?  Here it is, your hint….the movie is an allegory for Mother Earth and the first book of The Bible.  Each character, outside of Mother herself, represents a character in the Bible.  I could readily discern Mother Earth, God, Jesus, Adam, Eve, Cain and Able.  There are probably a lot more, but those are the ones I figured out.  Even knowing this, “Mother” is bewildering.  The cinematography is great, but that just isn’t enough.  Jennifer Lawrence is very subdued as a newlywed who is married to a writer.  They live in a gigantic, creepy house in the middle of nowhere.  Ed Harris and Michelle Pfieffer are spooky as a couple who appear out of nowhere and are inexplicably invited by Jennifer’s husband, Javier Bardem, to stay with them.  Things only get weirder, as more and more odd things happen, and crowds of people arrive in increasingly complex scenarios .  By the end of the movie, it seems as if the whole of humanity is living, loving and fighting in that house.  Will you like this movie?  I really don’t think many people will like it.  It is a brutal roller coaster of perplexing  allegories and people doing things that just don’t make any sense.  I am not giving it a rotten apple only because the performances are excellent, and I love Ed Harris and Javier Bardem.  But I think you will be happy to have missed this one.

The Dark Tower

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I notice that this movie has been getting terrible reviews, but I have to disagree with most of these critics.  I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  In fact, I would be happy to see it again.  The basic story involves around The Gunslinger, the last of his kind,  played convincingly by Idris Elba, who is tasked with protecting the Dark Tower.  Once the Dark Tower falls, many parallel worlds, including  Earth, will fall to the dark powers of The Man in Black played deliciously by Matthew McConaughey.  The fuel that The Man in Black uses to destroy the tower is creepy and won’t be spoiled here.  The main thing standing in the way of the evil plans is a young boy with super psychic powers.  The interplay between the Gunslinger and the young boy are heartwarming and the threat to Earth seems very real.  Perhaps some of the poor reviews are from people who have read the books and were dissatisfied with the transfer to the big screen.  I have not read the books, so I had no preconceived idea of the movie. In fact, this movie has actually inspired me to want to read the book.  A lot of Stephen King based movies would not be good for kids, but I think older kids would really appreciate and enjoy this one.  The classic battle between good and evil always makes for a good movie.  In my opinion, skip the reviews and give this one a try!

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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The first 20 minutes of this movie is a breathtaking tour-de-force.  Using minimal dialogue, we learn the origin of the Thousand Planets and are introduced to an intriguing race of Avatar-like creatures who live in a shimmery paradise.  Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is quite a let-down.  Where to begin?  First of all, Dane Dehaan might be a very nice person, but he made a terrible Valerian.  I never once believed that he was a seasoned veteran agent (of what?) of nine years.  He didn’t really have any star appeal, and his performance was pretty bland.  He looks to be about fifteen ( I looked up his age and he is actually 31?!?).  The dialogue he and his partner, played by an equally insipid Cara Delevinge,  were given to speak was dull and uninspired, even when engaging in excruciatingly (un)sexy “banter.”  I was especially disappointed in Clive Owen, as I loved his performance in “City of Men.”  But he wasn’t given much to work with either.  In this role, he was reduced to a stock villain who had a lame reason for his actions.  Apparently the comic this is based on began in 1967, and what may have been innovative then, has been used so often in other pictures and media, it really pales for the modern viewer. On the plus side, the special effects are amazing and the world that Beeson has created was fascinating.  Rihanna’s performance was a welcome surprise.  If you are a fan, though, she wasn’t in the movie enough to be a major draw.  So the bottom line is, should you waste your money to see this movie, or should you wait until it is on HBO?  I would say, save your money and go enjoy “Spiderman” or  better yet “Wonder Woman.”