FROZEN II

PG
Starring the voices of: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood and Jason Ritter
Running Time: 1 Hour and 43 Minutes

Sequels are so unpredictable, you just never quite know what to expect. As we all know by now, the original “Frozen” was such a huge smashing success that it has just become a part of our culture especially with the eternal ear-worm song, “Let It Go”.
It seems to me nowadays that the movie industry is trying so hard to be current and empower young women to be fiercely independent that sometimes it’s just too forced and artificial.
Even with the message of strong young women, “Frozen II” stayed true to the original story theme and it felt like it was a fairly smooth transition from the original to the sequel.
It’s hard to believe that “Frozen” came out in 2013 so Disney has had six years to get this sequel just right.
Fortunately, “Frozen II” does NOT have a huge theme song like “Let It Go”. I am so grateful for that!
Anna (Kristen Bell), and Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) are both back in Arendelle, along with their loyal crew; Olaf (Josh Gad),  Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Sven (Jonathan Groff) and yes, he does indeed do the voiceover for both Kristoff and Sven.
Anna and Elsa hear a tale about a battle that took place between their ancestors and different tribes living on a mountain in an enchanted forest land. This battle destroyed the relationship between the people of Arendelle and the mountain people. Elsa knows and is determined that she has to go and explore to find out the mystery that is her and Anna’s past history. She also is being haunted by a  voice that only she can hear. When she gets to the mountain she finds a beautiful Autumn-like forest that she has to enter to begin her adventure.
Anna gets together with the always enjoyable snowman Olaf, her boyfriend Kristoff, who is always searching for the perfect opportunity to propose to her and and the reindeer Sven. They also enter into the  elusive enchanted forest to search for Elsa.
This is a movie full of adventure and excitement about the two sisters who are fiercely loyal to one another that I think both children and adults alike will enjoy.
The special effects were incredible and very realistic! The  detail and colors were phenomenal!
There is also a darling little character who is a Salamander named Bruni who will capture everyone’s hearts.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. I think this movie is appropriate for children of all ages. However, there is a dark and scary forest with some frightening situations that take place that are fairly intense.
I am giving “Frozen II” three and a half bags of popcorn.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

PG
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson and Maryann Plunkett
Running Time: 1 Hour and 48 Minutes

I have to admit I was a little confused why there was another Mister Rogers movie being released after the documentary movie, “Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like” was just out last year.
Now I can say, these two movies are completely different! Last years documentary was more of a tribute to the TV series.
This new movie “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” is based on a true and very touching story. Tom Hanks stars as  the infamous Mr. Fred Rogers and plays him masterfully!
When Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is assigned to do an expose on Mr. Rogers, he is what you might say, a little less than excited. As he reluctantly sets out on this new and challenging assignment he finds out a lot more than he ever dreamed of!
This movie ends up being a lot more about Lloyd’s past and his personal relationship with his own father Jerry Vogel (Chris Cooper). Lloyd is very uncomfortable with Mr. Rogers discussing and opening up a can of ancient worms that he would rather forget!
This movie is a heartwarming and beautiful story of the true and sincere person that Fred Rogers really was! He was honestly kind and dear to everyone. He formed such a personal bond with Lloyd Vogel and helped him to overcome his anger and his hang-ups.
The relationships in this movie are all very special and will touch your soul! This is a movie that will stay with you and I think everyone will find something in this movie that they can relate too.
I was impressed with all of the acting and I enjoyed seeing a cameo of the real Joanne Rogers.
Tom Hanks did an exceptional job as Mr. Rogers and I hope he will be nominated for a Best Actor Award.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. It is rated this for a reason, because it deals with real life drama and realistic situations. This is not a movie for children, don’t be misled by the Mr. Rogers association. There is no profanity or sexual innuendo, just adult subject matter.
I am giving “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” four bags of popcorn.

Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil

PG
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sam Riley, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Robert Lindsay
Running Time: 1 Hour and 58 Minutes

I honestly had no idea what to expect going into this movie. This is the continuation of the movie,      “Maleficent” in 2014 (which is also a follow up to the original “Sleeping  Beauty” from way back in 1959). Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the always evil character that cannot deny that she has a heart even though she tries to deny it.
Elle Fanning resumes her role as the sweet and wonderful, Princess Aurora. Maleficent is protective and  possessive of young Aurora but Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) has stolen her heart!
When Prince Philip proposes to Princess Aurora, it was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in a movie! The animation and special effects were absolutely amazing and stunning!!
When Prince Philip goes back home to his family’s palace to share his special news, his father, King John (Robert Lindsay) is ecstatic and elated for his son! On the other hand his mother, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) is not so happy with her son’s announcement! They insist on bringing Aurora and her guardian, Maleficent to the palace to meet them and for dinner. Maleficent is uncomfortable  and reluctant to go but wants to keep Aurora happy.
Once the two family’s meet and sit down to enjoy dinner, the sparks start to fly! There is tension and hostility between Maleficent and Queen Ingrith! This pretty much sets the stage for the entire movie.
They continue to have many conflicts causing great sadness, heartbreak and destruction!
I didn’t find this movie to have a great storyline, it wasn’t as strong and entertaining as I was hoping for. There was a lot of anger, hostility and jealousy. In the end it eventually works out.
I will say it truly was one of the most beautiful and visually stunning special effects job I have ever seen in a movie!
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. It contains a lot of anger violence. The two Queens have a lot of rage and fury against each other! Aside from that it was enjoyable and I think children over the age of 8 will be entertained by it.
I am giving “Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil” three bags of popcorn.

The Addams Family

PG
Starring the voices of: Oscar Issac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Miller and Allison Janney
Running Time: 1 Hour and 27 Minutes

This is an animated movie based on the original TV series that debuted way back in 1964.
There have also been many different spin-offs of
“The Addams Family” over the years including two movies, TV movies and several cartoons.
This movie takes place during the current times with all of the bells and whistles of our technology and social media complete with all of the creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky and all together ooky details that
 “The Addams Family” is famous for.
The original cast is back reprising their unique roles.
It begins with Gomez (Oscar Issac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) at their wedding ceremony and suddenly things get strange and they are whisked off and end up at their amazing “Addams Family” mansion. Then the story begins 13 years later with both Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard) and Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz) as children trying to fit in and establish friendships with the neighborhood kids.
Pugsley is busy embarking on achieving his Barmitzvah-type initiation while he would rather be shooting off bombs. His parents have invited all of their unusual relatives to their home to witness Pugsley’s big event.
Also in the mix is a new character, Margaux Needler (Allison Janney) who is a busy body real estate developer who is suspicious of “The Addams Family”  and is not at all happy with their lifestyle.
It was fun to see all of the original details brought back to life including the characters, their lifestyle, music, and just the overall resurrection of the series that I loved so much as a child.
The animation and details were a lot of fun.
I think children and adults alike will enjoy this fun movie and just in time for Halloween.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. I didn’t find anything objectionable it just has a more contemporary and modern feeling with dark overtones.
I am giving “The Addams Family” two bags of popcorn.

Out Of Liberty

PG
Starring: Jasen Wade, Brandon Ray Olive, Casey Elliott, Corbin Allred, Adam Johnson, Danny James, Larry Bagby, Brock Roberts, Shawn Stevens and Travis Farris
Running Time: 1Hour and 51 Minutes

I am so late getting this review up, I was finally able to go and see it. I was unable to attend the sneak screening. This movie was released back on September 13th. Let me start by explaining that The Director of this movie Mr. Garrett Batty, grew up in the house right next door to me and is the son of my dear friend Sheryl.
To those of you who are not familiar with Garrett, he is also the writer and director of both of these spectacular movies; “The Saratov Approach” and “Freetown”.
They were both such great and inspiring movies! I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.
“Out Of Liberty”, is based on factual events that took place in 1839 over the course of 6 months.
This movie is kind of a Western style of movie that reminded me of an old jail-break movie from the past.
It begins with Joseph Smith (Brandon Ray Olive) and several other Church leaders of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints being held captive in The Liberty jail in Liberty, Missouri.
They are held in the cold and dreary basement in freezing and filthy conditions without any privacy. They only have a bucket to use for a toilet and are given very little food to eat. A very miserable situation!
They are being held because they had requested that The Militia assist them after they had received an extermination order to leave Missouri. The Militia did assist them and in all of the uproar with the mob mentality, a man was unfortunately killed. The local people accuse Joseph Smith and his fellow church members of killing him and demand that they be locked up and tried for his murder.
The jailer, Samuel Tillery (Jasen Wade) played a key role in keeping the men safe and alive. He had a genuinely good heart and took sympathy upon the men.
I found this movie to be riveting and captivating, I was on the edge of my seat with intrigue! It really held my attention. I honestly found it to be very similar to today’s mindset with a lot of people in our country.
I think all of the actors did a really great job portraying their characters, they made it very believable and realistic!
Garrett Batty has done an outstanding job on this movie and he should be very proud of his hard work!
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG. I think that this movie is appropriate for children ages eight and older because of the graphic and realistic conditions that the men endure and the harshness of the story matter. There was NO swearing or cursing.
I am giving “ Out Of Liberty” four bags of popcorn.

 

SPIDER-MAN: Far From Home

PG-13
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Marisa Tomei, John Favreau and Jacob Batalon
Running Time: 2Hours and 9 Minutes

After such a momentous ending to the much anticipated end all be all “Avengers: Endgame” this past April, everyone was holding on for more great Marvel adventure with our beloved Spider-Man in “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, and boy oh boy did it deliver! Such a great, fun and entertaining movie.
Tom Holland delivers the goods as usual doubling as: Peter Parker/Spider-Man as a little more mature Peter as he departs for a much anticipated dream vacation to Europe with his High School group and best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). Peter has a mad crush on his fellow student MJ (Zendaya) who is also on the vacation.
 He is trying to get her attention without being overly-obvious. Ned keeps reassuring Peter that they are going to have a blast on this vacation and just be “American bachelors in Europe”. However, Ned starts a relationship with a young lady named Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) immediately, debunking the whole “American bachelors in Europe” theory leaving Peter anxious to pursue MJ, as a fellow student is alreading trying to start a relationship with her.
As they arrive in Venice,  things seem out of sorts and suddenly something sinister occurs in the beautiful canal system with the water being taken over by a very strange force of evil!
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) makes a first appearance before Peter and informs him that he needs him to step up, put some clothes on and go for a ride with him because, Spider-Man has a job to do!
All evil is about to explode when he encounters “Mysterio”/Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Spider-Man finds he is no longer on his dream vacation to explore and have fun but to get to work and help save the world from terror and evil as an epic battle takes place on the famous Tower Bridge of London.
This movie has all kinds of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat and highly entertained! I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Not only did it have drama it also had a lot of humor too. Tom Holland does an outstanding job as both Peter Parker dealing with the turmoils of the teenage years and first loves and also as the awesome “ Spider-Man”!
Just a great movie and even better if you are still agonizing over the finality of “Avengers: Endgame”.
Be sure and stay after the credits for some fun and informative scenes.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. I would recommend this movie for children ages 11 and over. There is a large scary monster character who is very powerful and destructive! There is also some profanity including “what the f-bomb” that is cut off. Just teenagers trying to be tough guys through their language.
I am giving “Spider-Man: Far From Home” four bags of popcorn.

Yesterday

PG-13
Starring: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Karma Sood and Harry Mitchell
Running Time: 1Hour and 56 Minutes

What a totally refreshing surprise this movie is! Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a young and very poor musician living in London. He works several small gigs with just a few spectators who show up to see him. He has a very good and faithful friend named Ellie (Lily James) who is devoted to him and encourages him to continue to chase after his dream of becoming a famous musician!
One night after finishing his show he was riding his bicycle home when there is some kind of cataclysmic event for a short time that causes the electricity to go out all across the entire world! Completely pitch dark everywhere! Jack collides with a bus and is injured. He ends up in the hospital for several days and also gets several of his teeth knocked out. Once he is well enough to leave the hospital, his ever faithful friend Ellie is there to drive him home. He gets better quickly and back on his feet again. One night he decides to play some of The Beatles songs, but no one seems to remember any of The Beatles music! He is dumbfound, he googles The Beatles and finds there is NO history or any mention of them at all! He is confused and finds the mystery getting deeper. It seems when the power went out that all of the people lost any memory of The Beatles completely!
He becomes very popular very quickly performing many of The Beatles legendary songs.
 The infamous Ed Sheeran shows up at his home where he lives with his parents and offers him to be his opening act. Suddenly he is wanted all over the world for his incredible music ability and is summoned by a huge musical recording empire in Los Angeles headed by Debra (Kate McKinnon). She is desperate to sign him and get the rights to all of his music and talent. Jack is so naive and innocent in this huge new world that he finds himself thrust into that he is completely overwhelmed.
He is becoming legendary and still questions those around him about their memory of The Beatles and they constantly reassure him they have no knowledge of the infamous group.
He is growing further apart from his beloved Ellie and she starts to become involved with Nick (Harry Mitchell) the first recording manager he began with. He knows he has to win Ellie back and proclaim his love for her!
I enjoyed this wonderful and happy movie so much, it was just fun and entertaining. A happy go lucky little movie that will brighten your spirits.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. I would recommend it for children over the age of 10 just because of the story content. I didn’t really find anything objectionable in this movie other than
Kate McKinnon dropped one F-bomb that you really couldn’t make out very easily. Plus there was one bedroom scene but it was pretty mild and ended abruptly.
I am giving “Yesterday” four bags of popcorn.