Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I thought I would give you a quick update on what I’ve been watching lately at the theaters before I head to Kansas for Christmas Con (make sure you are following me on social media to get updates on all the fun.)
So here goes!
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
There are some movies that are just ok blockbusters- nothing more, nothing less and that’s what I would say about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Anthony Ramos is a big step up as far as leads in this series and I loved the relationship between him and his little brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez.) Dominique Fishback is under-used as an exposition dump museum curator character (her whole role is to explain stuff to Autobots and dudes.)
Speaking of the Autobots they are enjoyable here particularly Pete Davidson as Mirage and Peter Cullen as the beloved leader Optimus Prime (I think every Transformers movie has to have a scene where Optimus plays a Messianic role and this is no exception.) These movies always take themselves too seriously but at least this film saves us from the racist and sexist jokes of the Bay movies (and it’s mercifully short at 127 minutes.) The ending will probably be divisive (it honestly made me groan) but overall this is a serviceable blockbuster and I’ll take that all day from this normally dismal franchise.
6 out of 10
Smile Worthy
The Country Club
It’s hard to find a winning comedy these days but fortunately sister-duo Fiona and Sophia Robert have made a pretty fun one with The Country Club. It might not be the next Caddyshack but it is inspired by the broad comedies of the 80s and I had a lot of fun with it.
The film tells the story of a young female golfer who is working at a posh country club and gets invited by mistake to participate in a big golf tournament. As she and her sister keep telling lies the screwball antics grow bigger and broader and they are helped by comedic veterans like Elaine Hendrix and Steve Higgins.
If you are ready for some silly shenanigans than The Country Club will fill the bill. It will be available June 23rd on VOD so turn it on for a hole in one of comedy.
6 out of 10
Smile Worthy
Asteroid City
I know a lot of people are huge Wes Anderson hive members but I’d consider myself more of a casual fan. He’s more hit and miss for me but when he hits I find his films to be charming and enjoyable in all their quirkiness. Unfortunately I can’t put his latest, Asteroid City, on that level. While it looks absoloutely amazing with an incredible attention to period detail the story felt completely random and all-over-the-place with nothing to bring the various scenes together in a satisfying way.
The cast is of course unbelievable with the likes of Tom Hanks and Steve Carrell joining Anderson’s usual players like Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright and more. They all do a good job with what they are given but again every scene felt random like they were making it up each day when they got to set. The structure of it being a play also made no sense and actually added to the randomness instead of providing a coherent story.
Honestly if I wasn’t a critic I probably would have left because it the longer it went on the more annoyed the randomness became. I believe instead I’ll just watch Moonrise Kingdom– a movie with an actual plot and charming characters- over whatever this is.
4 out of 10
Frown Worthy
If you get to see any of these films let me know what you think!
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