Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Alan Tudyk, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate
Synopsis: Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.
Review: A Silence of the Lambs reference and a Shining reference in the sequel. A Godfather reference in both. These movies now how to cater to children and to their parents. Ke Huy Quan has the most adorable voice and plays such a cute snake. And we get the whole Handsome podcast hosts of Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin.
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Writer: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis
Synopsis: Avatar: Fire and Ash continues the story of Pandora, introducing a volatile fire-based Na’vi clan and shifting the conflict inward among the Na’vi themselves. Jake Sully and Neytiri face escalating threats that challenge unity, morality, and survival, expanding the Avatar universe into darker emotional and thematic territory.
Trailer:
Review: I saw this movie on opening night, because obviously. I’m one of the biggest Avatar fans in the world, and I geek out pretty hard over these movies. I, of course, saw it in IMAX3D. I went to the Jordan’s Furniture in Natick. The one in Reading I hope to get to for this movie, as well as it is the best in New England. By far.
A lot of people liked this one more than the second one. I don’t think I did for two reasons. Way of water hit really hard because it had been so long since an Avatar movie had been out. We only had to wait two years between Way of Water and Fire and Ash, luckily. But I also just really enjoyed the water theme. I am happy that Fire and Ash still included so much of the Water, but that whole introduction in the second film was breathtaking.
The introduction fire as a new element and clan was really cool. I love the new antagonist. I am over Miles Quartich. I love Stephen Lang. But I recently read in an interview that he is also going to be in 4 and 5. I just hope he is a minor character by then. Or an ally like he almost became in this movie. I thought Varang was sexy, and badass, and fun, and I did like her dynamic with Quartich. The planet was mostly peaceful, until humans showed up with their weapons. What else is new.
The movie, especially the third act, felt very, very familiar. But I had read interviews with James Cameron and it made sense. He always wanted Avatar 2 to be split between Avatar 2 and 3 and have Avatar 4 split between Avatar 4 and 5. So, the familiarity works. This movie really expanded upon Kiri’s relationship to Pandora. To the nature, the animals, the Goddess. The underwater nighttime scenes with her were visually stunning.
Premise: After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe.
Review: This movie was a lot of fun. It has the original cast and has new cast members that really add to it. Jenna Ortega couldn’t have been a better choice to play Lydia’s daughter. Justin Theroux was insufferable, in a good way. Willem Dafoe played a dead action star turned detective and it was, somehow, his most sane role.
The film uses practical effects, props, and sets to make the movie feel just like the original. Even the sandworms weren’t updated, which I loved. The writing felt a little off, at times, but the movie came in under two hours, didn’t drag on, and was a great movie to see in theaters.
Premise: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Review: This was one of my most anticipated films of the year and boy did it hold up. It also lead me down a deep nerd rabbit hole. One I haven’t been on in years. Since maybe even the Cloverfield days. I watched Alien I-IV, Promethesus, Alien: Covenant, and both Alien vs. Predator films prepring for this movie. I also started playing Alien: Isolation, a game I bought years ago and had been sitting on my shelf. And I spent a good amount of time on Reddit learning more about Wayland enterprises, the comics, the novels and so on.
I went opening night, on Thursday. I was able to get the popcorn bucket with the facehugger on it. The employee asked if I wanted the popcorn in the bucket or not. I didn’t even know that I had that option!
A lot of the reviews that I read about the movie said that it felt like a video game. And I guess it did, in a way. Because I had just played the game and the movies took place inbetween Alien and Aliens. I also read a lot of reviews that said the movie just felt like it rehashed from previous movies. While it did pay homage to previous movies it also
Fede Alvarez must have had a good time working on this film because he would like to make an Alien vs. Predator sequel and split directorial duties with Dan Tratchenberg who directed Prey, the most recent Predator film.
Writer: Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy
Director: Shawn Levy
Premise: Deadpool is offered a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the Time Variance Authority, but instead recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen.
Review: I very much enjoyed this movie. It was absolutely hilarious, very fun, had a great soundtrack, and it was over the top. I believe that it was a little too over the top with it’s pop culture references and breaking the fourth wall, but that’s what it is.
The movie has a very similar synopsis to the last Spider Man movie and some of the other recent Avenger films: A character goes back in time and/or visits different timelines to alter their own. That being said, this had a different feel as it plays out more like a comedy than anything and also because this is the movie that was supposed to and did help get the next Avengers phase going and get viewers back on board.
This movie is packed with pop culture references, nods to Disney now taking on the Deadpool character, a soundtrack that will make you wonder how any of it was acquired, and forgotten and never brought to life Marvel/Sony charcters.
