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Are there any movies you missed in the past year? Maybe now is a good time to catch up. Keith the Critic gives his reviews, as only he can, on some recent movies.
Keith began his career as a film critic nearly 25 years ago in Lawrence, Kansas, and has also had a career in radio and TV. He has interviewed many stars such as Tom Cruise, Billy Bob Thornton, Will Farrell, and Dakota Fanning. Keith the Critic also produces the annual Slash ‘n Bash Sci-fi & Horror Movie Festival every year, a fun event for all ages.
All of these movies may not be your cup of tea, but surely you will find some that you like. For more information, visit Keith the Critic on Facebook.
Keith the Critic
Midway (2019)
It happened on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. So many people were killed and surprised the Japanese came after them. Six months later the battle at Midway occurred and for the next three days the fighter pilots of the United States took on the Japanese in the one of the most epic battles of all time.
Of course, the writer and director is Roland Emmerich and I think he is a lousy writer and director. And once again the script is terrible and his directing is just as bad. Now, is he a great special effects director but he shouldn’t write a script or direct a movie again!
I saw it at the new Topeka Wheatfield 9 MX 4 D, and I thought it was fantastic to look at. Of course, the chairs move, there is snow, smog, and it’s some of the best military flying sequences that I’ve ever seen. Emmerich knows how to direct a beautiful looking movie – visually he’s perfect as far as telling a tale but in directing a good movie he falls way short.
Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans and so many more make this movie like a dream team of good quality actors. So visually the movie looks amazing but the directing and the script are not good so I’m sorry I had to only give this 2 out of 4 stars.
Harriet
Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo) was one of the leaders in the inspirational of the Freedom Fighters. Tubman escaped from slavery and was one of the greatest heroes who freed so people who suffered from the same effects if but she suffered from not being a free citizen.
I thought that Cynthia Erivo was tremendous in playing the part of Harriet Tubman. I thought she was brilliant in her heartfelt performance of an American legend. Erivo portrayed Tubman with a heart and such a passion because she just wanted everybody to be free to make their own decisions and not have to depend on answering to anybody.
It was a good movie, but Cynthia Erivo was really unbelievable in her role and you really get an education on everything that the African-American people were going through back then and are still going through in 2019.
I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.
Terminator: Dark Fate
Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives as The Terminator and Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor and that right there makes me want to see this movie.
It also stars Danny Ramos (Natalia Reyes), he’s just trying to live a simple life in Mexico City with their brother. And then a new Terminator – a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) – travels back in time to hunt Danny down because like Sarah Connor they are survivors. Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is a super soldier from the future who comes to battle Rey-9 to protect Danny.
It was so cool to see Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger reunite – it’s been a long time. And Linda Hamilton comes in and just really gives a fantastic performance, she’s taking everything so seriously because she has to, because the Terminators are back. And her chemistry with Schwarzenegger is just as good is it was in the second movie and it’s like they just picked up and keep the ball rolling.
I thought that Mackenzie Davis was fantastic in playing part Terminator/part human and Natalia Reyes was fantastic at playing Danny. And Rev-9 played by Gabrielle Luna was a great advanced Terminator.
James Cameron is also back as a producer and he is behind the fantastic special effects, and he has so many other fantastic special effects operators that make this version look like it is real. Like the previous Terminator movies and Avatar, the looks of these movies are like you’re really there.
I thought this movie was well-acted, written, and directed and special effects once again are outstanding, so I’m giving this movie 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
Countdown
A young nurse Quinn Harris (Elizabeth Hail) is about to graduate and move on in her medical career. Everything is going fantastic then she decides to download an application, which tells you down to the second when you are going to die. But she tries to figure out how to stop the day and time that she is going to pass.
I thought the “Countdown” was a pretty good movie. I thought the story was pretty good and Elizabeth Hale is very good playing Quinn Harris. I also thought the directing was pretty well done, and the script was pretty solid as well.
I really did enjoy the movie, it was fun, and I gave “Countdown” a solid 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.
Jexi
Phil (Adam Divine) is completely addicted to his cell phone, and he suddenly realizes that Jexi, The Voice of the cell phone (Rose Byrne) is trying to teach him how to be a real man. He has no love life, no girlfriend and Phil pretty much sticks to himself.
And he always goes by a bike shop run by Cate (Alexandra Shipp), and he completely falls in love with her, and Jexi keeps telling him to ask her out in a very forceful way. So she pretty much has a voice in everything that he does. She teaches him how to get to work in a hurry even though Phil is very careful and doesn’t want to offend anybody.
We really did enjoy “Jexi,” I thought that Adam DeVine was so good once again and think this movie was highly underrated. Now if you’re 18 or older, yes go see this movie but this movie isn’t for the kids.
And I really enjoyed Rose Byrne as playing the voice of Jexi, she’s so funny and just hilarious at what she was telling Phil. Michael Pena, Wanda Sykes and everybody else who was involved in this movie was very funny as well. And also, director John Lucas just went in and had a really good time at directing some really good actors. I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) come back to the big screen with the reboot. I’ve always been a huge Kevin Smith fan and this one didn’t disappoint.
The pair go to court because of a marijuana charge, and then the lawyer has them sign a couple of papers before the judge takes over and they are found innocent. Then the lawyer moves to the other side and sues Jay and Silent Bob because they don’t own their names, and they are going to make a Jay and Silent Bob reboot to be directed by Kevin Smith. So they travel all the way to Hollywood California to stop the reboot.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a great, fun, check-your-mind at the door movie; Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are so good. With Kevin Smith recovering from a heart attack and Jason Mewes a recovering addict they both look good. I am glad that they are going to continue and make a few more films including Clerks 3 and hopefully a few other classic Kevin Smith movies. Harley Quinn Smith (Kevin’s Daughter) also stars and does a wonderful job.
The cast includes Melissa Benoist, Matt Damon, Chris Hemsworth, Ben Affleck, Rosario Dawson, Shannon Elizabeth, Joe Manganiello, Val Kilmer, James Van Der Beek, Jason Lee, Justin Long, and Joey Lauren Adams.
I love just about anything Kevin Smith does and I thought this movie was excellent with a bit of heart in the story. I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars. if you’re a Kevin Smith fan I suggest this movie fully.
The Addams Family– 3 out of 4 stars
Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Lurch leave land they lived in for so many years. Hey Morticia just said we just want some land that we can live on with some really good people. Well they arrive in New Jersey at an insane asylum and they decide to move in to the facility.
Then of course the TV personality Margaux Needler, who’s a woman that repairs houses, decides that she needs to go up to The Addams Family’s house and try to repair everything that’s damaged on their property. But the Addams love the house that they live in, but Gomez says that’s okay and invites her and her crew to come into their home. And there is one disaster after another.
Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron are very good at voicing the characters of Gomez and Morticia because they added kind of a different layer to the real love that’s between these two outstanding characters.
Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, Allison Janney, Martin Short and all the other characters are so good because all they have to do is add the voices because animation and the look in the movie is so fantastic.
The script was okay, it wasn’t great, but the voices and the looks of the movie are outstanding. So I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.
Judy (2019)
Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) the beautiful and talented actress who’s been married five times, is completely broke. Garland arrives with her two kids after they were turned down at the hotel room. She travels to one of her ex-husband’s houses who’s the father of the two children. But he wants to take custody of her two children, he feels that they have to go to school and they can’t be traveling around from hotel to hotel. Sidney Luft just tells her that the kids need to be in a stable home and make friends, and not have to worry about moving around.
Garland talks to her representative and he said go to London, it’s a guaranteed money maker because they love what she does as an actress and a singer. So she goes to London and sells out every show, she’s so happy on the stage but when the music ends Judy has nobody to have dinner with or just talk to.
Renee Zellweger is perfect playing Judy Garland, it is a tragic tale, and she gives such an incredible heart-wrenching performance. She died in 1969, 30 years after doing The Wizard of Oz; she had so much heart and passion in the work that she did. They started giving her pills to help her sleep and that just turn ed into a total disaster because she also started doing alcohol. Garland was married five times and all the men that she married wanted something from Judy. This is a story about a great actress, a beautiful woman who is one of the best singers, I think of all time. But being in the movie business and having nobody to take care of her as a person, the studios and everybody else took advantage of the talent that she had, but they didn’t take care of Judy and that is a very sad tale.
I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars. Renee Zellweger is incredible playing Judy Garland. Zellweger sings beautifully and sings every song in this movie.
The Joker
Gilmore Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) tries to be a good guy but he fails at everything; he fails as a comedian, he lost his job at playing a clown, and once he’s attacked and disregarded by society, he has to make a change. Then Fleck just snaps and he’s on his way to becoming the arch-criminal known as the Joker.
I thought that Joaquin Phoenix did an outstanding job at playing the crown prince of crime, just as good as Heath Ledger’s. Phoenix, who lost 50 pounds to play this part submerges himself into this character, who’s really a good guy who just wants to do good things. Then all of a sudden he snaps and Phoenix shows him slowly just fed up with life, and I kind of thought that he did such an awesome job to see how he became a villain.
I think that Phoenix should be nominated for best actor, he is fantastic. I like the fact that he lost that much weight just to pick up this coveted role.
Yes this movie is rated R and if you are old enough you should go and see this movie. It’s a brilliant movie about a one of the most hideous criminals in the comic book industry. I thought the movie was brilliant and it is a very dark, gritty story and I felt that it was completely worth it. I’m giving this 4 out of 4 stars.
Doctor Sleep
Who doesn’t remember 40 years ago with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall starred in one of the most terrifying movies of all time, “The Shining.” I didn’t want another version The Shining … I love Ewan McGregor – he’s a fantastic actor – but The Shining was so perfect, and I was very paranoid to see “Doctor Sleep.”
Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is still traumatized by his stay, they do Overlook Hotel even though he tries to get over it. He goes through recovering as an alcoholic and he’s getting so much better. And then he comes across Abra (Kyliegh Curran), who has the same powers as he does.
She is brought out to Danny because she is desperate to help him against Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). She and her followers are going out kidnapping people who have the same powers that she, Danny and Abra have. The true knot Club is out to feed off the shine in their quest for immortality.
“Doctor Sleep” is one of the biggest surprises that I had in the movie business in a long time. Ewan McGregor is terrific playing Danny Torrance and all of the difficulties he had in his life. How he recovered from everything and then he goes back in to the Overlook Hotel once again. And I really loved Rebecca Ferguson and Kyliegh Curran.
I thought the direction was excellent and the script was excellent and I thought this was a fantastic follow-up to The Shining. I gave this movie a perfect 4 out of 4 stars!
–Lee Hartman | Metro Voice
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