About My Father

  

    This new comedy co-written and starring Sebastian Maniscalco is a 90 minute therapy session that ends with Mr. Maniscalco's better understanding of his father. His stand-up routines about his father are very funny but unfortunately they don't translate well in this loosely based but fictionalized version of his life.

   Mr. Maniscalco plays a version of himself and for the most part is the straight man in the film or the recipient of a joke. Robert De Niro plays his father and he gets the best lines and comic reactions. If you've seen the trailer, then you have already seen the best bits and what's left is a sappy, sentimental, not very funny, comedy about family.

   The film also co-stars Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, and Kim Cattrall. Their characters are all stereotypes and almost everything in the film rings of a false note.

   A major disappointment, Mr. Maniscalco should stick to stand-up or acting in someone else's films. I also can't understand why the studio didn't release the film on Father's Day weekend which may have helped the marketing.

Fast X

     

       Family. Remember that word. This latest installment in the "Fast & Furious" franchise is so packed with action sequences that it becomes mind-numbing and you forget there is a story buried in there somewhere. But every fifteen minutes or so, the screenwriters will remind you. Family. It's all about family.

      By this chapter, I think fans have come to realize it's about family but for anybody new to the series and drawn in by the trailer, the filmmakers want to make sure you understand that. It's about family. Did I mention that?

      As the 10th installment, writer Justin Lin and his co-writers Dan Mazeau and Zach Dean pull their plot together from every other film in the franchise. They overstuff the story with even more impossible stunts and appearances (in one way or another) of every actor who has ever appeared in the franchise.

      Vin Diesel returns as Dom Toretto along with all the other characters fans know so well. Jason Momoa is the villain seeking revenge against Dom and his family. Oh yeah, it's about family. While Mr. Diesel seems to never age, the same can be said for the rest of his team but their "schtick" is getting old. Mr. Momoa, on the other hand, breathes fresh life in his role as a gleefully psychotic villain.

       The action is pretty much non-stop and the story takes us around the globe with stops in Rome, Portugal, Rio, Los Angeles, and even a surprise location. There is a cameo by a comic that many will enjoy. Personally, I don't get the appeal.

       Most fans are aware but I must warn others that this is the first of a two or even three part finale to the series, so don't expect a tidy resolution at the end.

        

SISU

 

 Destined to be a cult classic, this violent, action adventure is mind-blowing entertainment if you love watching a high body count of Nazi soldiers getting slaughtered.

  It's 1944 in the middle of rural Finland. An ex-Finnish soldier is prospecting for gold. When he strikes it rich, he must travel hundreds of miles by horseback to reach Helsinki. The only thing standing in his way is a retreating company of Nazis with a tank and a truck full of female prisoners.

  When the Nazis steal his gold, our Finnish hero spends the rest of the movie trying to get it back. It's a simple plot with minimal dialog but this is no ordinary ex-soldier. Soldiers are killed in very inventive ways. The film gets more and more gonzo as it goes along. The finale is off the charts crazy.

   The film is written and directed by Jalmari Helander and stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan and Mimosa Willamo. The minimal dialog is actually in English except for a few lines in Finnish.

    If you enjoy the genre films like "John Wick", you will love "Sisu".

   

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

 

 

     Writer/director James Gunn sends the Guardians on their way with an epic final volume. If you are a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed.

     All the stars are back for one grand adventure to save the life of Rocket Raccoon, who, in this volume, gets a lengthy back story that figures predominantly into the plot. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel (as the voice of Groot) and Bradley Cooper (as the voice of Rocket) and all back and still at the top of their game. Ms. Saldana as Gamora is a standout. Also returning are Sean Gunn, Elizabeth Debicki, Will Poulter (as Adam Warlock), Maria Bakalova (the voice of Cosmo the dog) and unnecessarily Sylvester Stallone (as a Ravenger captain who just seems to be out of place). The new villain is the High Evolutionary, a well-known Marvel universe villain, played here by Chukwudi Iwuji.

    The sets and visuals are amazing as usual as is all the CGI work. In Rocket's flashbacks, we find him as a young raccoon being experimented on, along with other animals, by the High Evolutionary. It's to Mr. Gunn's credit that we find ourselves getting emotional over tortured CGI animals. Some of these scenes are actually hard to watch.

    As with the previous Guardian films, the soundtrack is terrific, all the songs coming from Peter's iPad playlist. The film runs a bit long, but Mr. Gunn seems determined to throw everything into this finale. Something tells me though we haven't seen the last of most of these characters as they all still exist within the Marvel universe.

    The film looks great on the big screen and is a lot of escapist fun. It is certainly the best of the recent Marvel film releases.

     

    

Evil Dead Rise

     Nothing like a blood soaked, gore filled horror film to wake the senses. This is the fifth installment in the Evil Dead franchise. It's written and directed by Lee Cronin and he infuses the series with fresh blood. (Pun intended).

      After a short prequel with a clever title shot, the story moves to an urban landscape and features a family in danger from the evil supernatural force released from the Book of the Dead. Mr. Cronin has a assembled a cast willing to be put through all sorts of indignities for the sake of "art". 

      The film stars Lilly Sullivan as Beth, Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie, Morgan Davies as Danny, Gabrielle Echols as Bridget and Nell Fisher as Kassie. Ms. Sutherland, in particular, does a terrifyingly good job as the possessed mother.

       Besides breathing new life into the "dead" series with his plot, Mr. Cronin does a fine job directing the mayhem. He uses multiple camera angles in disorienting ways to keep the audience unsettled. While the film obviously misses the iconic character Ash, there is a clever nod to him late in the film and Bruce Campbell (who played Ash) makes an audio cameo in an unusual way.

        If you're a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed. And if you like horror and are new to the series, it's a good place to start without needing any background.