Movie Reviews

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
  • IMDb: link

The unlikeliest hit of any Marvel Studios movie was 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. After a so-so sequel, and appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the gang reunites one last time for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Jumping between stories involving a nightmarish version of Halfworld and exploration of Rocket‘s (Bradley Cooper) past, the return of the most unlikable version of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) we’ve seen on film, the bug-eyed machinations of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), and the (completely unnecessary) addition of Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Guardians 3 is a mess. Don’t get me wrong, at times it’s an entertaining mess, but it’s a mess nonetheless.

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
  • IMDb: link

The award-winning, and often banned for its frank discussion of puberty and religion, Judy Blume 1970 young adult novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is adapted for film by writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig. Smartly choosing to keep the film in the 70s, and avoid having to deal with modern day technology that would certainly alter the story, we are introduced to sixth-grade student Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) facing a number of challenges as she and her parents move from New York City to New Jersey and she navigates a new grade, new friends, the arrival of puberty, and struggles with the ideas of her family’s two different religions.

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R(eally).M(eh). Renfield

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  • Title: Renfield
  • IMDb: link

Renfield, which puts Dracula‘s (Nicolas Cage) long-suffering familiar R. M. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in the starring role, is a clever concept and about half a good movie. Playing on themes of codependency, unhealthy relationships, and being stuck with the worst boss ever, the film gives us Renfield in a support group, struggling with Dracula’s demands, and beginning to find the courage to stick up for himself after meeting a local cop (Awkwafina) in a police force so corrupt it makes the GCPD look respectable.

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The Adequate Mario Bros. Movie

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  • Title: The Super Mario Bros. Movie
  • IMDb: link

The 8-bit plumber who launched a franchise gets his own big budget animated movie in Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. You can tell Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the team that gave us the more successful Teen Titans GO! To the Movies, have genuine affection for the Super Mario franchise and the script finds some clever ways to work various gameplay elements into the story. It’s the story, however, that falls a bit short. Even at only 92 minutes, the film runs out of gas, noticeably dragging in spots. You could easily trim 20 minutes off its runtime.

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Air

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  • Title: Air
  • IMDb: link

I have to say, I’m really enjoying the last few years of Matt Damon‘s career. You could easily slot Air into an entertaining double-feature with either The Martian or Ford v Ferrari. Using a well-worn Hollywood trope of an underdog fighting the odds, Air stars Damon as Nike salesman Sonny Vaccaro who in the mid-1980s pushed the running shoe company into an unlikely deal by signing rookie basketball star Michael Jordan to an industry-changing contract.

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