Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Dr. Sleep

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“Dr. Sleep” is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s classic “The Shining;” both of which are based on novels by Stephen King.  The tricycle riding boy from the first movie, Dan Torrance, is now a 40-something alcoholic ( played by Ewan McGregor) who wanders from place to place until finally settling down in a small New Hampshire town.  Here he joins AA, becomes sober, and gets his first steady job in years working in a hospice facility.  He gets the nickname ‘Dr. Sleep’ because of his uncanny ability (along with his cat partner) to sense when someone is going to die, and be there to offer comfort.  Now that he is not drinking, his extraordinary abilities, which he calls “shining,” emerge.  He finds he is able to communicate with a young girl  named Abra (played by the excellent Kyleigh Curran) who has even more of the shine than he does.  Together, they uncover an evil cult of semi-immortals who stay alive by killing “shiners” and ‘drinking’ their dying breath.  They mainly prey on kids and they kill one in a rather brutal way.  Dan and his friend from AA, Billy along with Abra, confront the cult, and their defense forces Rose, the cult leader, to pursue them for revenge. The characters end up back at the original hotel for a haunting showdown.  I liked this movie.  Since I had not read the book, I didn’t know what to expect.  The cultists, called the True Knot, were chilling -especially Rose the Hat as played by a pretty creepy Rebecca Ferguson.  It was not too bloody, but it was suspenseful.  I did think the beginning was slow, so that might be the best time to run to the bathroom.  Apparently Stephen King was not a fan of “The Shining” movie, but gave this one his seal of approval.  If it is good enough for Stephen King, it is good enough for me.

Zombieland : Double Tap

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Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin are back in fine form as our favorite zombie killers (Yes, I love Walking Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and even Night of the Living Dead, so no disrespect).  This time our intrepid companions face some new versions of old threats.  There are still the slow-moving, dumb zombies – the Homers. But there are mutated quicker and smarter zombies – the Hawkings and even worse, the Ninjas, nicknamed the T-800, who are smart and relentless.  If that weren’t enough, Columbus (Eisenberg) has caused Wichita (Stone) to leave when he professes his love for her.  Then Little Rock (Breslin) runs away with a peace-loving hippy named Berkley (Avan Jogia).  This causes Wichita to come back and with Tallahassee (Harrelson) they drive off on an expedition that takes them from their comfy home in the White House to Graceland to the hippy paradise of Babylon.  On their way, they meet some new characters. One is played by Zoey Deutch as Madison, the blonde (of course) dim bulb who has survived the apocalypse by living in a freezer. Rosario Dawson is Nevada, and runs the Hound Dog Hotel near Graceland which holds all the Elvis memorabilia from his old homestead. But Abuquerque and Flagstaff ( Luke Wilson and Michael Middleditch) earn a New Character award from me as two partners at the hotel who have an uncanny resemblance to Tallahassee and Columbus. And they haven’t even gotten to Babylon yet! Are you a little confused? Don’t worry. There is so much action, you just have to see it to get it. Once you get into the flow, it will all be clear. This movie is everything that made the first Zombieland so endearing.  If you loved the first one, you will not be disappointed. Stay for one of the best post-credit scenes ever and you will be pleasantly surprised by a great cameo.  Not only that, but there is a very short after all the credits scene that is just fun.  Zombies might be gross, disgusting and undead, but Zombieland is anything but.  A real treat!!

Joker

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Joaquin Phoenix  gives a tour-de-force performance as one of the most interesting and tragic villians from the comparatively lackluster DC Universe.  Joaquin immerses himself so far into the role of Arthur Fleck that you completely forget you are watching an actor.  Arthur is a little weird,at first, with a plethora of strange habits and quirks that put him firmly outside the mainstream.  He means well, but due to a series of catastrophies in his life, that build on a history of poor socialization from an addict mother and mistreatment since childhood; the mild mannered, well meaning man slowly evolves into the sociopathic killer who declares himself THE Joker.  This is definitely not a happy movie.   “Joker” is unrelenting in giving us depressing  scene after depressing scene, each more heart breaking than the last.  There is never any let up and it all drives him over the edge.  There is no happy ending here, or even a shred of hope.  Even more depressing, he strikes a deep chord with a large number of the city’s other losers and failures, who are more than ready to explode into mayhem and violence.  Despite the mesmerizing performance by Joaquin Phonex, I can’t bring myself to give this movie a top rating.   I really would not care to see it again.  However, when award season gets started, I would be surprised if Joaquin did not see his share of acting nominations.  He has been nominated three previous times for an Oscar – I predict this will be his year.

Judy

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Have you ever wondered what life was like for Frances Gumm?  Probably not, I imagine.  What if I told you that Frances Gumm was in actuality Judy Garland, the iconic singer from the golden days of Hollywood – whose girl-next-door innocence and powerful and sweet voice graced so many great movies, including “The Wizard of Oz” and “Meet Me in St. Louis”?  Now would you be curious? The movie “Judy” documents the last 6 months or so of her life. And wow, was it sad.  This is not a life affirming or even uplifting story – her life was a depressing series of unfortunate events. As the movie opens, Judy is penniless and is reduced to singing anywhere she can for as little as $150 a night.  She tries to make a semblance of family with two of her children (Lorna and Joey Luft), keeping them with her as she is thrown out of hotels for not paying the bills and having to virtually rely on the kindness of friends to keep going. She is very difficult to work with and is considered unreliable and uninsurable.  However, the English people still love her and she is offered a lucritive deal to spend the Christmas holidays performing in London.  This ultimately results in her fifth marriage to, yet again, a man who is out to exploit Judy.  Her time in England is heart-breaking. Her kids remain at home, and she battles insecurity and alcohol and drug abuse, teetering on the edge of personal disaster. The movie intersperses scenes of Judy as a young girl making ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ showing how studio head Louis B. Mayer mentally and physically abused and demeaned her (his sexual abuse are not addressed), calling her fat and unattractive and putting her on a cycle of pills to pep her up for 18 hour days, then to take her down so she could sleep. She has no support from friends or family, and any hopeful thought is taken from her. No wonder she is insecure and difficult! Renee Zellweger is the shining core of this movie though.  She wonderfully creates the misplaced hope and infinite sadness and self destructive behaviors of this flawed yet incredible musical talent. I see an Oscar nomination coming!  Ultimately though, this movie will leave you feeling sorry for the girl who dreamed of a rainbow that she never found in life.

Rambo:Last Blood

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Sylvester Stallonee’s Rambo is at it again.  Absolutely nothing new or surprising here. If you liked the previous Rambo movies, I imagine you will enjoy this one too.  Me, not so much.  Too gory for my tastes and no character or plot development.  Whether you decide to go or not, there is one thing you can be sure of: Rambo: Last Blood, won’t  be the last Rambo movie.