Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Spiderman: Far From Home

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The Avengers Universe movies set the bar really high for Super Hero movies.  The newest Spiderman (played again by the likable Tom Holland) movie doesn’t reach the bar; but it is amiable enough to be a good, but not great, summer action movie.  First of all, this movie does a good job in capturing teenage angst and the ups and downs of high school life.  However, the stereotypical terrible teacher roles ( played by J.B. Smoove and Martin Starr) made me cringe.  No teacher would do the irresponsible things on a field trip that these educators did!  I also wasn’t impressed with the villain in this one.  Jake Gyllenhaal plays Mysterio almost as a kindly mentor so his menace, once finally revealed, is not that believable to me.  There is a lot of humor though, and beautiful scenery from several European cities, including Venice.  I loved some of the supporting cast performances especially those of Zendaya and Jon Favreau.  There is a lot of action and a little romance to go along with the humor – so I guess it all adds up to a fun, popcorn movie that the whole family can find something to enjoy.

Stuber

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Stuber is a not very good buddy film, is a bad comedy, and is a terrible detective/thriller.  David Bautista plays Detective Vic, who loses  his glasses during a shootout, thus ( in his mind anyway) causing the death of this partner.  By the way, kudos to Karen Gillan, who is murdered in the first few minutes of the movie and thus doesn’t have to stick around for this silliness. The “humor and action” come when the detective decides to get lasik surgery and is told he will not be able to see more than a blur for 24 hours.  Of course, he gets a tip right after the operation, but since he can’t drive, he hires an Uber to help him get to the places he needs in order to apprehend the man who killed his partner and bring him to justice.  The Uber driver, Stu (Stu + Uber = Stuber hahaha) is played by Kumail Nanjiani who really just wants a five star review and to get the girl he is pining for.  Anyway, the whole thing is rather silly, but not in a good way. The acting is plebeian at best, the action not inventive, and the writing weak. There are a few laughs here and there, but nothing to warrant even waiting for the release to pay tv.  So you may thank me for helping you dodge a bullet (unlike several characters in the movie) on this one.

Toy Story 4

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Toy Story 4 is everything you want in a Toy Story movie.  Of course, Sheriff Woody (so endearingly voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (enthusiastic Tim Allen) are back.  So are the usual gang, Bo Peep, Jessie, Hamm, Rex, Slinky and The Potato Heads just to name a few.  The new characters introduced, really too many to mention, are all well-acted and well-animated for that matter.  One of the standouts is Forky, as voiced by Tony Hale, who thinks he is trash but learns to accept his destiny as a toy.  The other standout characters are  Ducky and Bunny as voiced by the hilarious Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.  The story is funny, heart-warming, has an unexpected twist, and even brings a tear to your eye at the end.  Add in music by Randy Newman and you have a movie that people just can’t complain about.  Everyone will enjoy.  I brought my 82 year old Mother who had never seen the other ones and she loved it!  Kudos to everyone involved to create a movie that everyone can go to and still enjoy!

Yesterday

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There are so many  movies out there that are remakes or updates or that just rehash the same old plot over and over that it is refreshing when someone can put a new spin on a tired formula.  In this new romantic comedy, there is an original twist that I found intriguing. The premise of “Yesterday” is that a world-wide blackout, that only lasts twelve seconds, has somehow changed some small parts of history so that a few pop cultural phenomena  have completely disappeared from memory, or even existence! People not only don’t remember them, but there is no trace of them ever having been. The most well-known is The Beatles! Except for…  Enter Jack Malik (played winningly by Himesh Patel). Jack is a struggling songwriter, who has an accident at the exact same moment the blackout occured.  This causes him to incredibly be the only person (or so he thinks) who knows who the Beatles were, and who knows their songs.  This gives him the perfect opportunity to pursue his career, get rich and famous, and perhaps win the girl of his dreams – school teacher/ manager Ellie (Lily James). As you might expect, things don’t happen the way Jack is hoping they will.  Along the way, Jack hooks up with Ed Sheeran, who gives him advice on the song “Hey Jude,” and helps launch his career. One thing I loved was the riffing on all things Beatles; like why some of their album titles just wouldn’t work today, for example.  I loved this movie; but then again, I am a big Beatles fan. Their songs (especially some of the lyrics) really make you think.  MINOR SPOILER ALERT:  There will be an appearance by one of the Beatles.  I totally did not expect that.  As written by Richard Curtis (who also wrote “Love, Actually”) you know there is going to be a sweet, “happy” ending.  My advice:  Go see “Yesterday” tomorrow.

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.