Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (8.7)
Our favorite entry in the trilogy, this movie was stunning visually and tied a perfectly crafted bow around the gift that was this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The comedy and banter between the team was as witty as ever and we had an absolute blast lifting off to space with the Guardians perhaps for the last time. As fun as this movie was, at it’s core lies a dramatic and deeply emotional story that saw the Guardians truly become a family. While the team acting as a unit is at the heart of this story, we were long overdue for a Rocket origin story and James Gunn delivered, shining a spotlight on the angry little raccoon’s devastating past. It was fascinating getting an insight into the trauma in Rocket’s past that forced him to develop an angry sarcastic exterior as a protective shield over his own vulnerabilities and feelings of worthlessness. Watching Rocket become the captain of the squad and gain real purpose in his life was a brilliant and fitting sendoff for such a complicated character. Overall, Guardian’s 3 served as an emotional exclamation point for this version of the guardian’s saga.
The Little Mermaid (7.8)
We had a decidedly DELIGHTFUL time seeing The Little Mermaid (2023) on opening night last week. The latest in a slew of hit-or-miss Disney live action remakes successfully captures the spirit of the animated classic while simultaneously expanding upon the source material with heightened character development and fun new musical additions to Alan Menken’s original 1989 film, this time penned by none other than Broadway and animation hitmaker Lin-Manuel Miranda. At times the new rendition stumbles slightly and lacks the vibrancy of its source material, but, overall, it’s a fun, nostalgic, and rewarding experience for any Disney fan, young or old or in between.
Sure, we could nitpick about Javier Bardem’s awkward performance as King Triton and a few baffling shots that probably should have been left on the cutting room floor (IYKYK – in our theater, there were unexpected bursts of laughter as the camera lingered a bit too long on King Triton appearing suddenly from beneath the depths to stare blankly at his daughter and her new husband), “Under the Sea” could have had a bit more razzle-dazzle, and we’re still wondering why Eric looked so damn sad at the end of the film, but, really, we don’t have much bad to say about this cheerful rendition of one of our favorite Disney classics. It was pure and simple fun the whole way through, and we left the theaters with big, cheesy smiles on our faces. It’s been almost a week since we saw it on release day and we’ve been singing and humming “Kiss the Girl” (our favorite song and scene) ever since.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (8.8)
This movie redefined the boundaries of animation. With six different unique animation styles, this movie is visually arresting and incredibly impressive. It felt like an amusement park ride for the eyes. This wasn’t all pomp and circumstance however, Across the Spider-Verse was supported by a foundation built on emotion, character building, and further development of the relationship between Miles and Gwen. It felt like a Gwen Stacey Movie as much as a Miles Morales one, and it was awesome seeing her get her moment to shine . Miles is done letting other people make his choices for him, and it’s safe to say he’s gonna do his own thing going forward. One of our favorite animated movies of all time and one of the best of the year, Across the Spider-Verse takes the baton from Into the Spider-Verse and runs for gold, improving upon nearly every element in the first film, Across the Spider-Verse is a tour de Force in the Animated scene.
Flamin Hot (Hulu)(7.0)
Flamin Hot was surprisingly fun when it wasn’t lecturing viewers. A feel good story about the origins of a classic snack, Flamin Hot was better than expected and a worthy watch for a random Tuesday in August with no major sports on and the Yankees on an off day.
The Flash (8.0)
The Flash is an above-average to good movie and we won’t hear otherwise. Don’t allow the movie critic zeitgeist and the negative buzz bias you going in, and we promise you’ll have a good time. Of course there are easy things to criticize, the action scenes looked truly bizarre at times with early 2000s esque CGI, but at its core this movie served as a fitting love letter to the cinematic pantheon of DC characters. While marketed as a massive superhero conglomerate, this was definitely a Flash movie, and for the first ⅔ we got an intimate look into the life of the titular character x2. But the highlight of the film came when Michhael Keaton donned the cowled cape again for potentially one last ride. Keaton stole the screen with his charisma, and you could tell he was pumped to become the Batman for the first time in nearly 40 years. While flawed, this movie was really fun and ya’ll are wrong about this one.
Elemental (7.7)
Elemental was a nice return to form for Pixar who hadn’t produced a solid movie in what felt like a decade (note: if you thought “Luca” was a good movie please re-evaluate your entire life). While a far cry from top tier Pixar, Elemental was fun, heartfelt, and beautifully animated.
no hard feelings (7.9)
One of the better comedies we’ve seen in quite a while, No Hard Feelings felt original and most importantly had us laughing throughout. In a seemingly infinite desert of joyless comedies over the past 5 – 10 years, No Hard Feelings felt like an unexpected drink of water. Jennifer Lawrence was hilarious, and her trashy hot girl schtick meshed well with the goofy nerdiness of the male lead, Andrew Feldman. If you were looking for a raunchy comedy in which Jennifer Lawrence gets donkey kicked in the crotch you came to the right place.
Indiana Jones And the Dial of Destiny (7.4)
Indy deserved better in his swan song. This movie wasn’t bad per se, but it felt lifeless and emotionless, which seems hard to do considering how beloved the main character is. The de-aging CGI tech looked fantastic, but it was jarring to see a younger version of Indy with a clearly 80+ year old voice accompanying it. Despite its flaws, it was awesome seeing Indiana Jones in action again, and the horse chase scene in the subway is instantly one of the best in the series. Unfortunately the ending was anticlimactic and marred by shotty CGI, but getting to see Harrison Ford don the Fedora, Khaki pants, and iconic whip one last time was well worth the price of admission.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (8.6)
MAKE ACTION MOVIES GREAT AGAIN. Tom Cruise accepted the mission and delivered. The last true living movie star, his ability to get asses in the seats is unparalleled. Hell, if the actors and actresses joining the writer’s strike were doing ⅛ of what Tom Cruise does in every single film for the last 15 years, I’d be out there picketing right alongside them. This man deserves every dollar and residual that he earns. NOBODY is doing what this man is doing, especially at the age of 61. This man drove a motorcycle at top speed off a makeshift ramp at the top of the Austrian Alps 7 times, all to get the perfect shot! Who does that? Tom Cruise does! Seriously, nobody can match the dedication that this guy shows to his craft. He literally puts his life on the line to make the most immersive, cinematic experience possible. He truly cares, and this makes the audience want to care. I hope he continues to make movies for the next 20+ years; he is truly one of a dying breed of old school movie stars who compel audiences to see his movies on the big screen. People are drawn to watching masters of their craft do what they do best, think Jiro slicing up perfect sashimi, Aaron Judge hitting a 500 foot tank job, Joey Chestnut slugging down 70 hot dogs and buns, and Tom Cruise performing jaw dropping action sequences. Of course we all love seeing the latest installment of Mission Impossible; it’s a fantastic action franchise that has evolved and reinvented itself, while showcasing some of the most impressive scenes and set pieces in the genre. But, we go to these movies, first and foremost, to see Tom Cruise do his thing.
BARBIE (7.5)
One of the most popular movies of 2023, earning a staggering $1B at the global box office, Barbie is a smash hit that will make many top executives very happy. The director, Greta Gerwig, accomplished her goal of getting asses in the seats while simultaneously cementing herself at the forefront of the modern feminist movement. Viewers audibly clapped at the close of our screening, as Barbie unflinchingly took on the patriarchy. All is well in Barbieland and at WB where they desperately needed a box office win. But, if we’re being honest and look past the hot pink tinted facade, Barbie is a movie that makes little sense and leaves a number of unanswered plot points. While I loved the set pieces and costume design, the actual meat of the movie left a lot to be desired.
Oppenheimer (9.0)
Oppenheimer was our favorite movie of the year (so far) and it was a masterclass in acting, directing, writing, cinematography, and editing. This move is bomb (pun intended) and Cilian Murphy deserves all of the awards as he put on a tour de force of acting. This might have been the best singular performance I’ve ever seen from an actor, Cilian literally became death, the destroyer of worlds. You could feel the weight of his burden in every action and facial expression, just a killer performance all around. Robert Downey Jr. will probably take home an oscar in a supporting role as well. You could cut the tension in the movie theater with a knife and it was amazing to see an entire theater of people fully captivated for an entire 3 hours. Christopher Nolan is absolutely top tier and he proves he still has every bit of his fastball. His ability to create unprecedented levels of tension and suspense despite the entire audience already knowing the outcome going in was next level. My only criticism would be that it dragged a little in the final 40 minutes or so, it’s asking a lot of the audience to be laser focused on a purely legal trial after over 2 hours of intense drama. The close of the movie was haunting and perfect however, with Oppenheimer thinking out loud to Albert Einstein, unable to shake the inescapable reality that he may have just set off a chain reaction that will cause the end of the world as we know it. The knowledge that we’ve been given the tools to destroy ourselves is etched painfully on the face of the titular character as the screen rolls to black, but the final destiny of this movie will be gold.
Blue beetle (7.4)
A fun night out for the whole family, nothing more and nothing less. Blue Beetle is a solid entry in the DCU? DCEU? IDK but whichever universe it’s in we wouldn’t mind seeing more of Blue Beetle. Xolo Mariduena was charming and endearing as the lead character and although it would be fun to see him interact with other DCU? DCEU? Characters, it was nice to watch a self-contained movie that didn’t rely on interconnectivity with other properties for a change. The biggest surprise of the cinematic year so far was that we actually liked George Lopez’ character, he played the crazy uncle so well it was uncanny. Susan Sarandon was about the worst choice of villain imaginable, she was neither believable nor intimidating. The sister needs to be re-cast in the sequel as well, she needs to be acting on hallmark channel and not the silver screen. But overall, Blue Beetle is a nice movie about family unity and loyalty worthy of a date night.
vacation friends (6.6)
This is not a good movie by any stretch and it regressed in nearly every way in comparison to the first film. But John Cenas comedic timing was still serviceable and we laughed enough to justify spending an unremarkable Wednesday evening with this goofy film.
You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (7.1)
A cute family movie about growing up in the fast paced, ever changing middle school jungle. Sunny Sandler, Adam Sandler’s Daughter, was actually very good in her debut, she displayed solid emotional range and might already have surpassed her dads acting chops. There’s nothing overly memorable about YASNITMYBM, but it makes for a solid netflix night in.
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