Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Men In Black:International

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The Men in Black have returned to protect the Earth against the aliens that live hidden amongst us (and the real baddies that want to invade us).  This time around Chris Hemsworth plays Agent H, a super-hot but rather laid back agent who teams up with rookie Agent M (played by Tessa Thompson).  They are tasked with a mission – to take down a hive species thing that takes them to Paris, Marrakesh and London.  Along the way, they pick up the obligatory cute wise-cracking little alien and must steal back the most powerful weapon in the universe, which seems pretty easily mislaid/taken/lost.  I found the whole thing kind of boring.  If you have seen any of the previous Men In Black movies, you have basically seen this movie.  There is the requisite mole ( I won’t tell you who, but you will figure it out anyway).  I loved seeing Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson as higher ups in the organization; but neither really had much to do with the plot or action, Thompson especially.  The special effects are top-notch and there were a few funny moments, but the story and writing fell flat.  They’ve gone to the well that one time too many.  I found myself looking at my phone several times just to see if it was almost over.  Honestly, if you are going to spend for a show and movie eats, there are better movies out there.  My suggestion is to watch the original Men in Black on Netflix.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters

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Everyone knows who or what Godzilla is; movies about this classic monster have been around since the 1950s.  Everyone also knows about his “side-kicks” like Rodan and Mothra.  But I bet you didn’t know that these are all Titans who have been on earth protecting it for thousands of years.  Unfortunately for us, Ghidrah, an extraterrestrial monster shows up and wakes  the sleeping Titans (except Godzilla) and gets them to team together to destroy mankind and take back the Earth.  With me so far?  Vera Farmiga and Charles Dance are ecoterrorists who mean well (well, Charles Dance, perhaps channeling Tywin Lannister, doesn’t really mean well at all!), and contribute to the chaos.  Bobbie Millie Brown (Stranger Things) and Kyle Chandler try to set things right by recruiting Godzilla to destroy  Ghidrah, take his place as the King of Monsters, and save our planet.  Most of this movie is shot in a pretty dark light,  a very popular but infuriating, trend in movie making.  I found the whole thing rather silly and do not look forward to any future iterations of the Godzilla story.  Please let Godzilla Rest In Peace!

Aladdin

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Hollywood has a rich history of remaking movies.  At the top of the list has got to be “A Star is Born” with four remakes to date.  “The Italian Job”,” Ocean’s Eleven”,” Cape Fear”, “Dumbo”, “The Fly” and “Willie Wonka” have all had indiffering success at remakes too.  My question to Hollywood is —–why?  A few of these are better than the original, but most are subpar or equal in appeal.  “Aladdin” is in the category of no better or no worse than the original.  The original had the late, great Robin Williams whose manic energy would be hard for anyone to beat and its animated presentation was attractive and fitting for the story.  Will Smith as the Genie gives it a very good try, but he is merely adequate. If he hadn’t had to follow Williams, his humor and special panache would probably have resonated more.  But now, that is not good enough in my opinion.  Everyone tries very hard, and I can’t fault any of the actors. But there is too much flash, and too much divergence from the source tale.  Guy Ritchie’s direction is fine and the special effects are well-done.  I imagine children, most of whom haven’t seen the original, will love this version.  It has been updated though. There is a new feminist twist to this retelling and a few of the original lyrics have been altered to make them a little more PC.  Also, a few more songs have been added to move the new plot additions along.  The songs are still wonderful though.  I left the theatre not hating this movie, but I didn’t love it either.  In fact when I got home I went on You Tube to watch Robin Williams sing the original version of “You’ve Never had a Friend Like Me.”  Pure Heaven!!

Avengers: Endgame

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Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!  After more than ten years, the Marvel Universe has come to a satisfying, poignant, heartrending and surprisingly hopeful ending.  In the previous movie, Thanos used the Infinity Stones and an iconic finger snap to destroy 1/2 of the universe, including many of the Marvel characters we have met and grown fond of over the years, including Iron Man, the first hero featured in this series.  The remaining Avengers are living a hopeless and bleak future.  They are still mourning their lost colleagues and can not seem to get out of their sense of failure, and break the ennui that has settled like a fog over the Earth.  Iron Man is on the verge of dying in space, looking broken and emaciated.  A bright, bright light shines in on him… What is it?  I’m not going to say to give away too much – I am no spoiler, but it’s not hard to figure something’s gotta change.  Let’s just say that Ant Man returns and has a plan.  The action moves to the remaining Avengers with a new sense of purpose and on a mission to go back in time and recover the Infinity Stones, and perhaps, use them to bring back their fallen comrades.  We all know it can’t be that simple.  Through it all, we get to see all of our favorite heroes, some more than others, but at one time or another, they are all here!  My favorite character has got to be Thor, his role in the story is hilarious to say the least.  It is hard to say much more.  First of all, there’s just too much going on!  And second, as I said, I’m not going to spoil this one! Not everyone is going to be happy with the movie.  After all, it has been hyped for the last ten years.  As to the end credits- there is no reason to stay to the end as there is no new movie to promote.  Or is there?  There is no scene at the end but if you stay, you will hear a sound.  Is the sound (no spoilers, sorry) a homage to the beginning of the Avengers or a harbinger of what is to come?  Anyway, ignore the giant plot holes, perhaps bring a kleenex or two, and enjoy the three hour ride.

Shazam!

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I am always a little suspicious about a  movie that feels the need to add an exclamation point to its title.  That usually screams ‘we didn’t make a very good movie and we hope this exclamation mark will make you ignore the buzz and see it anyway.’  Well, I am  not exactly right, nor am I exactly wrong.  This is after all a DC Universe movie, and we all know they just aren’t as good (with few exceptions) as Marvel movies.  This one wasn’t bad though.  In fact, if you have kids, this is a decent super hero movie to get their nerdy juices flowing.  Shazam is an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who transfers his super powers to fourteen year old Billy Batson.  Unfortunately, it’s a desparation move, as he is dying, and just can’t find a better candidate.  Billy is nowhere prepared enough to fill a super hero role!  Equally unfortunate, Shazam doesn’t have time to tell Billy what kind of powers he has or even how to use them.  Billy pretty much accidentally discovers that whenever he says the word ‘Shazam,’ he turns into an adult ( Zachary Levi) , buff, version of himself, while still retaining his teen age mindset.  Billy’s foster brother, Freddie, becomes his enthusiastic sidekick.  A lot of the heart and humor has to do with Shazam trying to figure out his powers – whether he is bullet proof (he is) or has invisibility (he doesn’t) and so on. Of course, there is an evil villian (Mark  Strong),  controlled by the evil spirits of the Seven Deadly Sins, out to destroy the world and only Shazam can stop him.  Compared to some of the other super hero movies (most notably Hell Boy), the violence is comparartively tame.  There is also a strong message about family, and another that will resonate with many kids.  Billy and many of his friends are the victims of bullies.  Even the main villan was bullied as a child.  The positive message is a little obvious at the end, but who cares?  All in all this is a sweet super hero movie that you can take your whole family to see.