Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Pet Sematary

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I am a fan of Stephen King but I have never read this book ,nor did I see the original movie.  However, when I heard this version featured John Lithgow, I knew I would have to see it.  Tha main story follows the The Creed family, who have just moved from Boston to a quieter life in a small Maine town.  No more ER night shifts for Dr. Louis Creed, who looks forward to being able to spend more time with his children, Gage and Ellie.  Things get off to a creepy start when Ellie stumbles upon a pet cemetery or “sematary” as spelled by the town’s children, while exploring. They have been burying their pets in the forest for generations.  Louis (played by Jason Clark) didn’t realize this cemetery was on his property as it is huge and he hasn’t really checked it out. The cemetery is bordered on several sides by a high log wall. The cemetery is scary enough, but Ellie, and her Mom witness  a burial procession composed of kids in very creepy masks.  Ellie is a bright and curious child, and decides to go back to investigate the high log pile.  She begins to climb up the wall.  She is stung by a bee and falls, but luckily old man Jud (John Lithgow) helps her and takes out the stinger -the beginning of a fast friendship. SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT:  Unfortunately their beloved cat, Churchill, is hit by a truck and dies.  Jud knows Ellie is heartbroken, and is insistant that he help Dr. Creed bury the cat in the cemetery.  Things get real weird when he suggests they bury the cat in a secret area on the other side of the barrier.  Apparently, there are mystical powers that can resurrect the dead, but your loved ones may not come back “right.”  And indeed, after the mysterious reappearance of “dead” Churchill, things begin to literally go to the dark side.  At Ellie’s birthday party, things take a dreadful turn.  You can guess… The movie does a good job with creating atmosphere and I give a lot of kudos to Jete Laurence, who plays daughter Ellie.  She is the right amount of niave and creepy!   I read somewhere that Stephen King doesn’t like this story much and that he feels it is his darkest tale.  I have to agree with him.  This story doesn’t offer a hopeful ending.  But then, you don’t go into a King story expecting a “they lived happily ever after.”

Hotel Mombai

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This is a very hard movie for me to review.  It is definitely well-made and tries to stick to the facts as much as possible.  However, by the time the movie was over, I felt depressed and hopeless.  A movie that tells us a tragic story about horrible events usually tries to  lift us up in some way and give us hope for the future.  I did not walk away from this movie with that kind of feeling at all.  “Hotel Mombai” tells the story of a series of terrorist attackes that rocked the city of Mombai in 2008 and left over 178 people killed and many more injured.  Several public buildings and areas were targeted, but the movie concentrates on the seige of the Taj Mahal Hotel.  Dev Patel  plays one of the luxurious hotel’s waiters who misses out on a lucritive (but eventually deadly) plum job because on his way to work he accidentally dropped a shoe  and was not properly attired (this hotel is very much the upper class hotel usually seen in British period pieces).  I usually love Dev Patel, but he really didn’t have a lot to do other than run and hide while trying to guide the guests.  Other actors you might recognize are Armie Hammer as the husband of a wealthy socialite and Jason isaacs as a retired Russion Special Forces agent.  Their characters didn’t have much to do than get killed, and there was no opportunity to develop them in a way that you are involved in them. The movie is at its best showing the devestation, terror and bloodshed the terrorists inflict on their innocent victims, and their motivation-religious fanaticism inspired by a shadowy Pakistani leader known as “Brother Bull.”  As usual, men like him avoid any actual involvement on their own.  They send the desparate young men, fired by misplaced passionate anger and religious fanaticsim  directed at the ones they think are responsible for their lot in life.  It’s really not anything new for these events.  This movie definitely earns its R rating as the violence looks very real and it seems overenthusiastic, if that is the word, in showing the dying, and the heartless, religion driven hatred and spite of the perpetrators.  I had to avert my eyes many times.  The movie did include some of the heroics, especially by the hotel staff, many of whom risked their lives to help the guests and fullfill their mantra, “Guest is god.” It clearly depicts a government, local or national, clearly unprepared and utterly inefficient in responding to the crisis.  I really wanted to see more of the positive stories  and less of the blood and body parts.  In fact, I wouldn’t recommend this movie to you if you are not a fan of realistic violence.  In the wolrd today, with these kinds of attacks frequently in the news, this movie was a little too real for me.

Us

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Ask M. Knight Shyamalan how hard it is to make a second movie when your first effort is a great movie like “The Sixth Sense.”  His next outing was not well-recieved and further movies never quite measured up.  Well, there’s no sophomore jinx for Jordan Peele ! “Us” is a compelling and worthy successor to “Get Out.”  “Us” is the story of a typical American family, headed by Adelaide (a dazzling Lupita Nyong’o) and Gabe (Winston Duke), who are on vacation with their two kids near the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  Adelaide had a scare in a house of mirrors at that very same beach when she was a kid, which has left her very traumitized. So she is more than a little paranoid about her family’s safety and well being when they stay in a vacation rental close by the beach.  And sure enough, after her son runs into a very strange character and approaches the mirror house, the next night they are stalked by a family of shadowy doppelgangers who want to harm, and perhaps take over, the lifes of those they resemble.  Most of the rest of the movie is bloody, scary, suspenseful and provocative.  There is a lot to think about in this movie, including the title.  Us can also be inturrpeted as U.S.  In fact, the doppelgangers call themselves Americans at one point.  Is it as good as “Get Out”?  I would say no. partly because it is a little disjointed and contains a few plot holes (but so do  a lot of pretty great movies) and partly because there was so much hype.  But it doesn’t matter because this is a top-notch horror film, and even if I did guess the “twist,” it was still well-worth the ride to get there.  Does the ending open up the possiblity of a sequel?  Definitely.  If another “Us” is indeed in the works; I will definitely be there!

Captain Marvel

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Marvel did it again!  I don’t know how they keep putting out top-of-the-line, action filled, super hero movies – but they do.  Captain Marvel is another tour-de-force!  From the opening credits where they pay homage to Stan Lee to the end credits teasers, this movie is jam-packed with things to love.  First of all, Brie Larsen is great as Captain Marvel.  She plays Vers, a noble warrior who battles for the Kree, a super race of aliens who look just like us, have super-strength and are benignly governed by an A.I. called the Supeme Intelligence – who appears to each Kree in a different form.   Annette Benning plays the Supreme Intelligence that Brie Larson sees and speaks to.  But all is not as it appears to be of course, for it turns out that Vers is actually Carol Danvers (Vers, get it?) who was a hot shot military jet pilot on Earth.  Not to tell all the story, but a combat related incident gives her great powers and the Kree decide to take her to their homeworld and train her as a warrior. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember her life on Earth until she accidently crashes on her home planet chasing the Krull, shape shifting enemies of the Kree.  On Earth, she meets a young Nick Fury (a digitally rejuvinated Samuel L. Jackson) and his subordinate Agent Colson ( old friend Clark Gregg back in his familiar place).  There are a lot of talented actors rounding out the cast including: Jude Law, Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou, and Ben Mendelsohn just to name a few.  As in most of these movies, there is action, humor, a back story and even a cute animal, in this case a cat named Goose.  Even though Captain Marvel’s powers are considerable and very visual, I didn’t feel this movie is over-encumbered by special effects. These sort of movies are driven to varying degrees by CGI and other effects though, and these are impressively done.  I also hear that some people are upset and resentful that Captain Marvel is a woman and are trying to rig reviews on sites like Rotten Tomatoes to keep people away.  Don’t listen to this narrow minded and mysoginistic approach.  This movie is a thrilling and engaging entry into the Marvel Universe.  Don’t forget to stay until the very end to get a teaser for the upcoming “Avenger: Infinity Wars.”  My opinion is – kudos and well-done!

Fighting With My Family

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I know absolutely nothing about the WWE except for the fact that Hulk Hogan and The Rock started there.  I have never been a fan, don’t ever watch it; and yet, I love this heart warming little movie.  It is a mainly true story about an English family who all wrestle.  Patriarch Patrick Knight spent time in prison and his wife Julia was  a homeless oddball, but they found each other – and wrestling.  The whole family participates in a low-level traveling wrestling show, as well as conducting wrestling lessons for local kids..  But the Knights have hopes that one of their children will someday make it into the WWE.  Daughter Saraya Knight  looks like Wednesday Adams, and while she has skill and grit, lacks the confidence and inner strength she really needs. Her brother Zack “Zodiac” has potential with physical presence.  Great performances by Nick Frost and Lena Headey make the oddball Knight family almost endearling.  The scenes of various family members wrestling were entertaining, especially a very brave blind boy who wants to be famous.  Jack Lowden and Florence Pugh are fine as the two sibling wrestlers: one whose dream comes true  as WWE superstar Paige and the other who has to deal with disappointment.  They get an invite to try out for a chance to appear in the WWE. Only one gets to go on, and to face a unique set of challenges to overcome.  Dwayne Johnson makes a funny cameo as himself (a real life friend of Paige).  Stephen Merchant and Vince Vaugh are also successfully  featured, Vaughn as the hard nosed ‘coach’ who is tasked with preparing all the candidates for the one chance to perform.  “Fighting With My Family” is the kind of movie only the English could make; sweet, quirky, and endearing.    Apparently the real life of WWE star Paige could not be portrayed accuratley in a family-friendly movie, so it is probably just as well that the movie concentrates on her life and her family’s life before she became famous.  The story will remind you of “Rocky” at times, and that is not a bad thing!