PoppaShane

I went to see “Early Man” today with a certain set of expectations. From a critical standpoint, I know I should go into any movie with a bit of a blank slate. Still, there will occasionally be one of those actors, directors, or producers of which I am a huge fan. I feel like there cannot possibly be a bad product. However, Robert De Niro has taught me that for every “The Godfather Part 2”, there is an equal and opposite “The Comedian” – same artist, noticeably different results. Having said that, I have not yet had that experience with Nick Park and Aardman Animations. The same folks that gave us “Wallace & Grommit”, “Chicken Run” and “Flushed Away” have once again had me either lightly giggling or chuckling uncontrollably in the movie theater. Aardman’s clay animation techniques have transitioned quiet well into the digital age (as “Shaun the Sheep” has shown). This is balanced by the fact that Park and Aardman clearly know their roots as I could see things clearly influenced by “The Flintstones” and “The 2000 Year Old Man”. Along with the great storyline and comic dialogue is a great cast which includes Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”), Eddie Redmayne (“Les Misérables”), Roy Ayoade (“The IT Crowd”), and Timothy Spall (pretty much every Aardman film). Like the Aardman works that came prior to “Early Man”, I can assure that this movie will quickly become part of my home video collection with me quoting dialogue repeatedly

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi is a spectacular movie on so many levels. First, ;et me give one proviso. I highly reccomend viewing Episode VII - The Force Awakens first as it explains a lot of the context of The Last Jedi. Now the bare facts. The Last Jedi handles character exposition, development, and disposition wonderfully. There are many points in the movie where you briefly ask: "Why?" only to have the explanation to become jaw-droppingly clear. As always, the cinematography is amazing. I can guarentee that when people get into long drawn out discussions as to which Star Wars film was the best of the series, The Last Jedi will rank among the top of the list of even the most rabid and opinionated Star Wars fans.

Pixar has done it again. "Coco" has elements of "Back to the Future", "An American Tail", and "The Little Mermaid" all woven into the storyline. This is a great thing. All the good elements are there without just being a rehash. The artwork is phenomenal. The accuracy that they put into the guitar music right down to the way that the fingers shape the chords is simply wonderful. This is definitely a must see.

First of all, I'll be honest. Going to the theater to see a movie with Will Ferrellis not something I'd normally do. Since I let my son pick the movie choice, there in the cinema I sat. "Daddy's Home 2" is likely to wind up in heavy tv rotation during the holidays in future years. It very clearly draws on "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". That's not neccesarily a bad thing. John Lithgow is a comic genius. Both Lithgow and Ferrell use physical comedy to great effect. Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg use comic banter that is in the league of Abbott & Costello or Martin & Lewis. The scenes of banter, in and of themselves, are hilarious but are compensating for a somewhat weak storyline. The biggest laughs, I must say, come near the end of the movie. You'll remember the movie more for the individual scenes and less of the movie as a whole.

"Justice League" " is, to some degree, DC Comics' equivalent of "Captain America: Civil War". You have superheroes meeting each other (with obvious tension and conflict). You even have a wet behind the ears young superhero who practically steals the film. With that aside, it's great to see Aquaman FINALLY get some due respect. This film is likely to further secure the careers of Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher (Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg respectively). Steppenwolf makes an awesome villain as he comes on the screen like heavy metal thunder (You really didn't think I was going to let that get by, did you?). I do find J. K. Simmons as Commisioner Gordon to be a bit misplaced (as much as I admire him as an actor). The action and cinematography are nothing short of spectacular. I didn't find this movie to be as much of a "knock out of the park". Still, this movie is worth seeing and will have you looking forward to the next installment. Check it out.

"Thor: Ragnarok" was definitely worth seeing. The storyline has the typical "Jerry Springer" family drama of all the Thor films. It has the special effects and action that you would expect from any Marvel film. Even better, the laughter was almost non-stop. The soundtrack had some interesting choices from Led Zeppelin to Willy Wonka. Jeff Goldblum's performance is icing on the cake.

Admittedly, I love Chadwick Boseman. This also means when I see him in a movie, I have high expectations. "Marshall" does not disappoint. Boseman, Josh Gad, and Sterling K. Brown all give brilliant performances. The cast is well rounded by the likes of Keesha Sharp, Kate Hudson, & James Cromwell. The movie has a nice film noir feel to it for which Reginald Hudlin deserves high praise. If you like courtroom dramas in the vein of "To Kill A Mockingbird" & "A Soldier's Story" You will love "Marshall.