Uncategorized – Page 2 – Movie Reviews by Johnny

TOP GUN:Maverick (2022, JOSEPH KOSINSKI)

WOW….What a ride. This was such a great movie.

It was a 2 year waiting time to actually finally get to see this movie. Thanks to COVID, there was a lot of anticipation. Thankfully, the anticipation paid off.

Actually, this second version was actually better then the first. Thank you technology for making seeing this type of movie more like an amusement ride.

There was enough action and plot in this film to keep you on your seat the entire run time. You know my only complaint in this movie was Tom Cruise’s hair was way to black. I mean seriously this movie was to have taken place 30 years after the first one. One’s hair colour does start to go grey!!!!

So with only one complaint I give this film 5 extra full popcorn bags.

DOWNTON ABBEY – A NEW ERA (2022, Simon Curtis)

Finally….. a five popcorn bag movie.

After watching 52 TV episodes and 1 full length movie, I was anxious to reunite with the cast.

Right from the start, i felt at home. Knowing all the characters as well as I do, it wasn’t hard to be part of the new situations. What makes this film great, was the many plots. As well, seeing part of the family go to France , my favourite country.

The ending brought good and sad news. It was hard not to get emotional, especially since they do feel like family. I know it is fiction but “Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.” – Simone Weil.

I had a great escape tonight. I highly recommend if you are a fan.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS ( Sam Rami, 2022)

I love the Marvel movie series and always look forward to a new one.

To be honest this one was just okay. There was a lot going on with all the diiferent multi-verse versions of the same character. I got lost quickly and missed having my son in law filling in the blanks.

This flick was way too dark for a Marvel flick. Had the feel of a DC flick along with little humour. Dr. Strange looked like he was always conducting a large orchestra

I am on the quest to see another 5 popcorn bag film. Sadly this one only scored two

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRET OF DUMBLEDORE (2022, David Yates

I am a sucker for a sequel. I never want to miss the next movie in a series that I enjoyed. I was looking forward to this one. I was upset that I couldn’t see it on opening weekend.

The problem with waiting to see any movie is the fact you start hearing reviews. And in this case, the reviews for this movie were coming in on the negative side.

I still needed to see this sequel, as I am a big fan of Eddie Redymayne.

The sad news is that the critics were pretty accurate. The dialogue was bad as was the acting . I did enjoy the reference to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts castle> . ( I love that place at Universal Studios Florida).

I’d wait to see this one on one TV.

EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022, Dan Kwan)

It has been a long time since I’ve seen a cheap Tuesday movie. Even better, we went to the Movie Mill, which made the night even cheaper.

I had never heard of this movie till my grandson had mentioned it at a family Sunday supper. He felt it was a best picture contender. So I had to see it.

Seeing sub-titles at the start made me think, we had another Parasite movie winner. I won’t predict this film will ever win best picture. I did enjoy watching it. The plot was so bizarre. A mix of reality and fantasy all rolled into one.

The cinematography was amazing.

Overall, the movie had some good life lessons. Most memorable… the kindness of the husband proving that niceness makes the world a better place, and the two rocks. You will have to see the movie to find out more

THE NORTHMAN (Robert Eggers, 2022)

I love Viking movies and TV series, so I thought this was the perfect movie to see. Boy was I wrong. Even with good actors like Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård it had to be good right?

It didn’t even start off well. The King and Prince doing a ceremony being dogs. I’m sure it had some mythological reasons but it was beyond strange

The premise: son watches dad die. Plans revenge to kill his killer. Grows up as viking destroying villages. Becomes a slave so he can get sent to Iceland where he sets his plan in motion to save his mom and kill his dad’s killer.

That is basically the whole movie. It could have been over in an hour. The dialogue was so hard to understand. Like listening to a Shakespeare novel. Even subtitles wouldn’t help. And wow, so much overacting.

Anyway, one of the worst movies, I’ve seen in a long time, and my first zero popcorn bags

AMBULANCE (Michael Bay, 2022

It was a perfect day to go to a matinee. Kind of a chilly day, and matinees are never as busy as the first show in the evening. I remember seeing previews for this film months ago. I also saw a talk show this past week with one of the actors and it showed great promise.

They said this movie will put you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the very end without a let up. It delivered. Even after the film ended you still had the adrenal high

It was an exciting movie. But be prepared for shaky cam overload. Had to take my glasses off which helped with many of chase scenes, which is the entire movie.

Lots of wide-angle cameras views. As well multiple drone shots did their best to feel like you were part of the chase.

Just another day in Los Angeles with not one traffic jam. Enjoy the excitement and forget the details.

THE LOST CITY (Aaron and Adam Nee, 20222

This film had great appeal to us, having Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum as the main actors. They even put Brad Pitt in for a small part which even added to the movie

I will admit the beginning of the film, dragged a bit. At one point I thought this one would be lucking to get a one popcorn bag rating. But settling in to the film, and starting to relax and enjoying the ride of this “rom com” adventure it was enjoyable.

Seeing Channing as the wimpy side kick was awkward at first, but it added to hilarity of the plot. I loved the scenery of where they filmed this movie. It put me in my happy place of being somewhere warm and green.

I really liked this film. It is a great date film where both of you will go home satisfied that you picked a good movie.

CYRANO (Joe Wright 2021)

Not every Monday do you get to go to a matinee. Pat and I had the day off booked to recover from her mothers 90 birthday bash. We were intrigued with this flick, a see had good memories of the 1987 Steve Martin version

I loved Peter Dinglish in Games of Throne and thought he would do a great job in this role. I was shocked when the film began that it was a musical. I had no idea Well okay, I do like musicals. Let’s give this one a chance. Bad mistake. This one however, was a disaster.

The songs and musical were awful. Peter Dinglish is no Josh Groban either. I had a hard time getting through this movie. It really didn’t work. Way too serious. And way too long. Definitely don’t recommend. Stick with the “87 version. Much more entertaining.

THE BATMAN (Matt Reeves 2022)

“The Batman” or in my day just known as “Batman” was as expected. It was only OK.

I wanted to see if a different actor, could somehow make this franchise be more appealing. For me Robert Pattison was no better or worse than any of his predecessors.

Once again, the character of Batman is a solemn, dark force that needs a big bottle of happy pills.

Pattison, fills out the Batman suit nicely. But when he has his first scene as Bruce Wayne, it looks like he just walked off the set of a Twilight movie

My brother-in-law told me that he walked out before the movie ended. I wanted to give it a fair chance, except failing, by falling asleep after the two-hour mark. Thank goodness my son in law who was with me, caught me up on the way home, about what the hell happened. I also apologized to him in case I was snoring. Thankfully I did not.

I don’t get DC and their portrayal of one of my favourite comic books as a child. I much preferred the “BIFF’s “BAMS” and “OOF’s” of the first Batman and Robin TV series.

To me the popcorn was the best part of this bad movie.