Pokémon Detective Pikachu

PG
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Max Finchman, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe,  Chris Geere and Suki Waterhouse
Running Time: 1Hour and 44 Minutes


This is a movie based on the ever so popular “Pokémon” video games. This movie is entertaining enough that it will appeal to the seasoned and devoted mega-fans and also to the newer less informed movie goers.
This movie is set in London in a kind of alternate world where humans and the popular characters from the game exist together.
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) a young twenty-something that has unfortunately lost his mother and has a strained relationship with his father. He works as an insurance appraiser and lives a pretty mundane life. He always loved Pokémon characters as a youngster and had hoped someday to train them once we was an adult. Suddenly he finds that his father has disappeared and it is feared that he was murdered! Tim must travel to a place called Ryme City, which is Mecca for all things Pokémon. It was created by an interesting man named Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy) for the humans and Pokemon’s to interact with each other.
Tim wants to investigate and inquire about his fathers disappearance, he meets up with his fathers boss, Lieutenant Hide Yoshida (Ken Watanabe) and receives some of his fathers belongings.When he looks through the belongings, a strange purple smoke is emitted and a bunch of Gremlin type characters suddenly appear and start frantically chasing him! Tim is very frightened but fortunately his fathers personal little Pokémon character, Detective Pikachu mysteriously appears and saves the day!
 Pikachu (Ikue Otani) is a sweet and adorable soft-voiced little yellow character who helps him get away from the pesky gremlins. Detective Pikachu is a welcome little friend in a very strange and unusual world that he is suddenly thrust into!
The two of them are able to understand each other and become pals. They set out on a mission to find out what happened to Tim’s father. Tim also rallies the help of a young reporter named Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) who helps him discover the ever-so-evil and sinister Mewtwo (Kotaro Watanabe). Mewtwo has devised a wicked plan that includes the dreaded purple smoke to wreak major havoc in the city!
I enjoyed this movie and found it to be sweet and touching. The computer generated Pokémon’s were very realistic and imaginative, they did a great job of mingling them together with the humans.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. I would recommend this movie for children five and over.
I think most children will be fine with it. The little Gremlins are a bit intimidating and the evil Mewtwo can be a little fearsome.
There is some mild action violence and some silly crude humor but overall it is fairly mellow.
I am giving “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” three bags of popcorn.

Avengers: Endgame

PG-13
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Gyneth Paltrow, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman and all of the rest. (Too many to list).
Running Time: 3 Hours and 1 Minute

WOW... where do I begin? Well with three hours of captivating entertainment, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed!!
As you probably know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in existence for over 11 years with the original “Iron Man” debuting in 2008 (can you believe it)?
“Avengers: Endgame” is the 22nd film in the series.
After the final scenes of the previous movie “Avengers: Infinity War”, where a majority of the main characters seem to virtually disentegrate into thin air before your very eyes, you really have no idea what to expect or just how this movie is going to begin.
 My oh my the genius of The Directors, Anthony and Joseph Russo (who are brothers) is not to be underestimated!! “Endgame” is just astounding, a truly emotional rollercoaster with its ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns. From sincere heartfelt emotion to a lot of clever humor and just plain fun moments, this movie has it all. For those of you who are true Marvel Cinematic Universe afficianados, just be prepared to be mesmerized and transported to the journey and memories of a lifetime!!!
I feel like with the popularity and notoriety of these movies being what they are, that there is almost a sort of reverence about them. Therefore I just want to give my followers the chance to see it and experience it for themselves! I hope you will go into it with no expectations and just enjoy the ride you are about to encounter!
When it is all done and said, it really does feel very final. Almost a little too realistic!
I personally, thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It answered many questions and explained what to look forward to in the future.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13 as are most of the MCU movies. I think if your children are familiar with these movies and they are comfortable with them, then they will be with this one as well. I usually recommend these movies for children 13 and above. I know this is going to be such an enormous blockbuster that everyone is going to want to see it. It has just about the same amount of mild profanity, super-hero situations and super-villain violence as do its predecessors.
I am giving “Avengers: Endgame” four bags of popcorn hands down!!!

SHAZAM

PG-13
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Djimon Hounsou, Jack Dylan Grazer, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans,  Faith Herman, Grace Fulton, Ava Preston, Jovan Armand and Evan Marsh
Running Time: 2 Hours and 12 Minutes

“What a happy surprise” were my sentiments after I screened “Shazam” Tuesday night. I found Zachary Levi who plays the adult Shazam to be a pure delight! This movie was just plain fun! It was sheer entertainment, a real true to form popcorn movie. We live in such a crowded “Super-Hero” overload Universe these days that is was really refreshing to have something so new and original to feast our eyes and senses on!
When teenager Billy Batson (Arthur Angel) (who also did a great job as Billy) finds himself without a family and running away from foster home after foster home. He becomes more and more obsessed with finding his biological mother, Marilyn Batson (Caroline Palmer) after straying away from her at a carnival at a very young age never to see her again, fast forward and suddenly he is a teenager.
He is thrust into a very unusual situation while riding on the subway, and finds himself alone at a high rate of speed suddenly arriving at a cave-like place where The Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) has been waiting and anticipating his arrival. He is overwhelmed with the information that the wizard has just told him!!! The wizard tells him he has been waiting for someone “pure in heart” to assume the sacred role of “Shazam” The Wizard!  Shazam stands for: S-The wisdom of Solomon, H-The strength of Hercules, A-The stamina of Atlas, Z- The power of Zeus, A- The courage of Achilles and finally M- The speed of Mercury.
Suddenly he is back on the subway speeding away from the wizard in complete disbelief of what had just occurred.
Billy is not content with his life and doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere. As a last ditch effort he is put into a type of group home with several other kinds of misfit kids and sent off to another new school along with these new kids he is living with. He immediately is singled out by a couple of tough kids and has to defend himself.
As time goes by Billy finds out he is somewhat different from the other kids, he actually finds out that he has some pretty cool super powers that he is not quite sure how to control. He realizes that by saying the word “Shazam” he can transform himself, super-power bright red suit and all into a hero that he never dreamed he could be!!! He has no knowledge of superheroes and  he suddenly finds himself thrust into the middle of. His newfound brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) is a superhero genius who would love nothing more than encountering a true superhero! When Billy turns to Freddy for help, Freddy ends up being his best buddy.
Eventually, Billy is forced to confront the evil and diabolical villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong). He is one very, very angry villain determined to destroy everything in sight! When he singles out Billy/Shazam... all catastrophe breaks loose!
This movie has it all... action, comedy, villain, bullies, some scary smoky monster guys, clever humor and just fun imaginative drama. The CGI effects were very cool too.
I found myself enjoying this superhero movie more than I have some of the very serious and ultra popular Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. It is filled with dramatic scenes but nothing I feel would be too disturbing for children. I would recommend this movie for children ages 10 and above. Some mild profanity, bullying and some scary monster guys are intimidating. Also an intense scene at a winter carnival where Shazam and The Villain fight it out.
I am giving “Shazam” Three and a half bags of popcorn.

DUMBO

PG
Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins
Running Time: 1 Hour and 52 Minutes

“If you have a heart, Dumbo will steal it”, that was my very first impression after screening this movie. This is the live action remake of the original 1941 Disney classic movie.
Having been a fan and owning the original Disney animated Dumbo on VHS, I wasn’t quite sure how Director Tim Burton was going to take this live action rendition?
He actually followed the original story very closely however, he sensationalized the dramatic scenes causing them to be even more dramatic!
For those of you who are familiar with “ Dumbo”, you will know that the story pulls real hard at your heartstrings. This version also did just that! I told my self I was going to be just fine unless...
they played the song “Baby Mine”, from the original movie which of course they did and I was toast! That song always gets me!
This story takes place in 1919 during World War I, when Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns home from the war to be with his children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) shortly after his wife has passed away and missing an arm. He returns back to the life he had left behind, the Circus or to be more exact, The Medici Brothers Traveling Circus under the direction of Mr. Max Medici (Danny DeVito). This time around though, it will be much more challenging!
The female elephant, Mrs. Jumbo had just given birth to a beautiful little blue-eyed baby elephant they named Dumbo because he was born with extraordinarily large ears.
The circus people did not know quite what to do with this unique little fella. The two children, Milly and Joe had become very fond of little Dumbo and discovered he had a very unusual talent... he could fly because of his huge ears!!! In the beginning he was very awkward but as time went by he became more adept at it and with coaxing he was finally able to master it. When an owner of another much bigger circus, V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) found out about little Dumbo’s unique talent he decided to contact Max Medici and bribe him to take part ownership in the Medici Brothers Circus. Max agreed and things start to take a tailspin! The very first thing he does is separates Dumbo from his mother and chains her up in a train car, Dumbo and his mother are not allowed to see each other which causes them both to have broken hearts! He forces Dumbo to literally, new heights pushing him way beyond his comfort zone.
This movie truly will steal your heart. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the theater. It is a sweet and precious story that will move both you and your children. Also, the movie ends on a very positive note as well.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG and it is very dramatic. There are scenes that are difficult to watch that might be too intense for children. Plus there are some scary scenes when things go haywire and the circus starts to fall apart and burn. There are two sections of the circus, one is “Dreamland” which is a pretty fancy theme park and the other one is ”Nightmare Island” which has very heavy Tim Burton overtones. I would not suggest this movie for kids who are sensitive to animals being treated poorly!
I am giving “Dumbo” three bags and a half bags of popcorn.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls

PG
Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan and Renee Elise Goldsberry
Running Time: 1 Hour and 45 Minutes

This movie is based on John Bellairs 1970's children's book, "The House With The Clock In Its Walls". He has also written many other scary children's books. (I bet if this movie is successful, they will make more of his books into movies too).
When young Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) suddenly finds himself an orphan after a tragic car crash kills both of his parents, he is whisked off on a bus by himself to live with his next of kin. He is sent to live with his fathers brother, Johnathon Barnavelt (Jack Black). Uncle Johnathon is not someone that young Lewis is familiar with. Johnathon's unconventional lifestyle is weird and quirky and he lives in a very old and what seems to be haunted house!
There are all kinds of weird goings on at the house and it makes Lewis very uneasy and just plain scared!
Johnathon has absolutely no idea how to be a parent and allows Lewis to do and eat anything and everything that his heart desires. Johnathon has an unusual friendship with a unique woman named Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett). She is very kind and understanding to the young and bewildered Lewis.
Lewis walks himself off to his new school all alone to register and finds he doesn't really fit in with the student-body. He feels like a misfit both at school and at his new place of residence.
As time goes by he is finding more and more creepy goings on at the house! He finds out that Uncle Johnathon is actually a Warlock and that he performs magic in the house too! A clock is constantly ticking but at night, it gets especially loud and no one can seem to find out where the mystery clock really is.
There are many haunted and magical things going on all of the time!
Lewis grows to like both Uncle Johnathon and Florence. He becomes a little more comfortable in the unusual surroundings and also starts to do better at school.
This movie is an intense movie. It has many scary and unusual special effects. I also thought a lot of it was very clever, especially if your are looking for a new and surprising Halloween movie.
Parents be advised: This movie is only rated PG. I honestly believe it should be rated PG-13. I would not recommend it for children under the age of 13. It has some very intense and dark scary scenes. The special effects are realistic and might be too much for young children! I think it could cause them to be uneasy and have nightmares! There was also some mild profanity and a lot of unnecessary bathroom humor. It kind of has the feel of an old-fashioned horror movie complete with sound effects and organ music. Great for teenagers and adults alike. .
I am giving "The House With A  Clock In Its Walls" two and a half bags of popcorn.

Crazy Rich Asians

 PG-13
Starring: Constance  Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina and Ken Jeong
Running Time: 2 Hours

Based on the popular 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan and the first film by a major Hollywood Studio to feature a majority Asian American cast since "The Joy Luck Club" in 1993.
What a fun, happy and pleasant surprise this movie is!
 Rachel (Constance Wu), a wonderful young woman  meets the dreamy young man Nick (Henry Golding) in New York, and they start up a romantic relationship.
When Nick needs to go home to his native Singapore to attend the wedding of a relative, he invites Rachel to go with him.
When they get on the plane and fly first-class, she becomes a little suspicious. She is suddenly very well aware that Nick is not like an ordinary average young man as his family owns one of the wealthiest real estate companies in Singapore.
Rachel is a little shocked and overwhelmed with all of the action and excitement that Nick's upper-class lifestyle has to offer.
Many young eligible Singaporean women have their sights set on Nick and do not approve of her relationship with him.
Thrust into the middle of Nick's ultra fast-paced life, she is confronted by Nick's very possessive mother, Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh). Eleanor makes it very apparent that she does not approve or condone of Rachel, she wants her to leave and go back home to America.
 Rachel is heartbroken and discouraged and decides to leave.
I really enjoyed this movie. It has a bit of a fairy tale feeling to it. A great popcorn escape movie.
The scenery and upscale Singapore lifestyle was very fun and exciting.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. I would recommend this movie for children over the age of 12. There is some profanity and adult-themed circumstances. Overall it was fun and refreshing.
I am giving "Crazy Rich Asians" three bags of popcorn.

Christopher Robin

PG Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael and the voices of: Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh/Tigger), Brad Garrett (Eeyore), Nick Mohammed (Piglet), Peter Capaldi (Rabbit), Sophie Okonedo (Kanga), Sara Sheen (Roo), and Toby Jones (Owl)  

Running Time: 1 Hour and 44 Minutes

This movie was so tender and so touching. One of the sweetest movies I have seen for a long time.

Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin is the perfect fit.

Christopher Robin was a totally different character than I was expecting, a little rough around the edges. As an adult, he had been conditioned to the times and hardships to which he was living in.

When Winnie the Pooh unexpectedly makes an appearance in his life, the important things suddenly start to come into focus for Christopher.

Sweet little Winnie is still very much in love with his old-time pal and thinks things should still be the same as they were many years ago, but they are not. Some precious things in life are so valuable that you should never take them for granted!

This movie was incredible they way they took all of the original "Winnie the Pooh" characters and brought them back to life. How Disney meshed them back into Christopher Robin's current life is magical!

The characters were absolutely adorable, so lovable and believable. 

I absolutely loved this sweet little movie! It was very touching and it will transport you back in time to your childhood when things were more simple, fun and exciting. This movie also deals with some serious adult issues as well.

Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. It deals with realistic life issues and it is not a fantasy movie. I would not recommend it for children under the age of eight years old. 

I am giving "Christopher Robin" four bags of popcorn.