Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

The Happytime Murders is a movie that answers the question – what if Puppets were real and part of society? It’s not necessary to know, but they live among us, and in this case, L.A.

What we have here is a traditional film noir story, but involving puppets. Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) is a puppet, and a former LAPD officer. He’s now a detective, and a beautiful woman puppet approaches him for a case. It leads him to reunite with his former partner Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy), his old squad leader, Lt.  Banning (Leslie David Baker), and a LOT of trouble. It’s all played for laughs. This is a dark comedy with puppets.

It’s directed by Brian Henson (Jim’s son). Runtime is 1:31 and it ends before it wears out its welcome. There’s a lot of humor here that is definitely NOT for kids. It’s amusing and funny. It’s quite sexually explicit and there’s a lot of violence against puppets. It is not your standard puppet faire, but it is amusing. I wouldn’t necessarily rush out to see it, as I’m sure it’ll be on streaming services soon enough. I’d rate it as good, not great.

Standard Review

Not much I feel like saying about the story, however, FBI Agent Campbell (Joel McHale) does make a good foil for the main characters. Maya Rudolph plays the typical noir-ish secretary Bubbles to Phil, and plays it well.

This film was initially announced in 2008, and has had Cameron Diaz and Katherine Heigl associated with the role Melissa McCarthy  finally won out. Melissa plays her typical over-the-top character, and here, it works rather well.

The Credits have some interesting background images, so you might like staying to watch those. Towards the end of the credits, the producers thank Mia Sara, lead actress in both Ferris Beuller’s Day Off and Legend, and both me and another patron were wondering why. After some investigation, I found that she’s been married to Brian Henson since 2010. Just another bit of silly trivia to squirrel away for another day, I guess.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Christopher Robin is a new live-action film from Disney. Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) left the 100-acre Wood decades ago, and is now an adult. Life has been a mixed bag, and things are going downhill. Its up to Winnie the Pooh and his friends to rescue him from the drudgery his life has become.

Since his departure, Christopher Robin’s gone through a bunch. his backstory is brought up to date in a way that’s delightful, clever, and occasionally sad, because of the  nature of what happens. There hasn’t been as good a quick retelling of a life lived since the movie Up, which sets a very high standard, indeed. It allows them to get to the heart of the story fast.

McGregor puts in a heartwarming performance as the titular character, as does Haley Atwell, as Evelyn, his wife. The story was captivating for both children and adults, so it was quite entertaining for all. I admit I found it bit smarmy, yet delightful. There’s enough of Pooh and his friends to keep it light. I couldn’t help but think how much better Hook would have been if they had used a similar approach.

I definitely recommend it. Christopher Robin is proof that Disney can still capture that old Disney magic, when they really put in the effort. There is a mid-credits song that’s worth watching, too.

Main Review (some spoilers):

There really isn’t too much left to talk about. The CGI of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and all integrated fairly well into the live-action cast, though everything had a kind of washed-out look which made that simpler.

The voice acting was on-target, and resonated really well, and one choice, in particular, was rather spot-on, but because of who they used (I’ll leave it for you to figure out which). The aphorisms of the various animals really fit, because sometimes, simpler is best.

The film left me feeling nostalgic, but it really wasn’t anything forced or heavy-handed. I really do like this film, and I hope you do, too.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Ant-Man and the Wasp is yet another Marvel Superhero movie in an ever-expanding movie universe. All of these films take place in essentially modern times. It stands alone in that it only really relies on the previous film, with some references to the events of Captain America: Civil War. It starts a while after that movie, and ties back to events that happened many years ago.

Paul Rudd returns to the role of Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man), and has fallen out of touch with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). He is under house arrest, and the FBI keeps checking up on him because they expect something is going on that he’s hiding. Circumstances emerge that force them to reunite and try to resolve the problem without Scott getting into any more trouble.

Like the first film, this is an Action/Adventure/Comedy, but this one finds a way to work in more comedy. I realized that as the post-credits scene finished, I had a smile on my face, as I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. The story flowed organically and played out rather well. Scott’s friend Luiz (Michael Peña) returns and steals every scene he’s in. Most of his time on screen is full of the sort of digressive banter that makes British comedies work for me. It’s hard to describe without spoiling it, so I’ll stop there.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is rated PG-13 for super-hero style violence, and has a runtime of just under 2 hours. I am sure that there is some of the wow factor of seeing it in 3D, however, it’s not necessary to see it that way.

There is a mid-credits sequence, as well as a post-credits sequence, and they make more sense if you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War, but it’s not 100% necessary.  About 90% of the audience stayed for these scenes, because they know that Marvel films do that, always. I strongly recommend this movie. It’s a lot of fun.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

When Hank Pym first developed his Ant-Man suit, his wife had a similar costume, and the two of them worked for the government. Unfortunately, she was lost in a mission, and that’s been a sort spot for him and his daughter, Hope. They have a flash of an idea on how to find out what happened, and that’s how their story begins. Meanwhile, Scott went to Germany to fight in Marvel’s Civil War, and has been fitted with an ankle bracelet, so he can’t leave his home. With only a few days left until retirement, er, only a few days left on his sentence, Hank, Hope, and Scott are reunited in the strangest of ways, which sets the course of the movie.

Nothing is ever that simple, as there’s someone who’s been selling them black market Quantum Technology. They’ve decided they want to cash in, and try to seize Hank’s research. Meanwhile, someone else is interested in it, but for some other reason.

Paul Rudd is such a natural for the role of Scott. It requires some skill at delivering awkward dialogue and keep a straight face. It’s very clear this role was tailor-made for him. Scott has a great relationship with his daughter, Cassie (Hannah John-Kamen), and she has a few funny moments, too. Michael Peña has become his business partner in a small security firm, and it’s like the two of them have been working together for years.

I didn’t expect the movie to be this good. It’s fortunate that the trailers, which gave away a couple of the good laughs, didn’t really reveal what the story was, and I think I’ve only hinted at it, here.

It’s a good film, with good effects. The CGI doesn’t overwhelm the experience, and there are more than a few good laughs. I really like this movie.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the latest film in the franchise.  The Jurassic World theme park has been abandoned after the disastrous events of the events during the Jurassic World movie.  There’s a mountain on the island that has become an active volcano, leading to a governmental discussion of “let nature take its course” or “save as many dinosaurs as you can”. After all, they’re endangered species, once again.

It wouldn’t be much of a movie if they chose option 1, so they go with option 2.  The co-founder and financier of the original park, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), implores Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to help with the rescue mission, already under way. She convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to return as well. They arrive, and that’s where the fun begins.

Overall, I liked this one better than Jurassic World. In general, people do behave smarter and make fewer stupid choices, so it plays better. There are more tense moments, and I let myself enjoy this one. There are some predictable moments and a couple of unexpected moments, but those were infrequent.

Fallen Kingdom is rated PG-13, as there is the typical dinosaur-based violence. They stop short of the on screen gore being too graphic, but they certainly imply it when they don’t show it. Runtime is 2 hours 8 minutes, but it didn’t feel that long. There is an extremely brief post-credits scene, and the trailers you’ve seen only give up part of the story.

I give this one a half-hearted recommendation, as there are so many films currently running to choose from.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

They never learn.  Containment, containment,  containment,  containment, containment . Single layer containment is NEVER enough, and this goes back to the original movie. They got better  with the computer and data security, but screw the rest!

Now that that’s out of my system, I’ll comment on a few things.

• Chris Pratt is his usual self onscreen, albeit less snarky than his turns at Star Lord.
• They bring in another mercenary leader and jokingly call him Great White Hunter in one scene
• Bryce Dallas Howard wears sensible boots
• There are too many callbacks to the previous movies, including specific plotlines. I wish they’d stop that.
• Some secondary characters serve as the plucky comic relief, and thankfully, some are more properly clever and resourceful.

Not much else to say, so go if you think you’ll like it, but not because you have to. It’s summer fluff, so treat it like that.

Capsule Review (Minimal Spoilers):

Action Point is Johnny Knoxville’s newest comedy. It’s loosely based on New Jersey’s own Action Park, an amusement park where attendees were more involved with their own fun, as compared to most amusement parks. Patrons controlled their own vehicles, and the water park rides were more dangerous. In reality, several people died there from injuries they sustained while on the rides.

Action Point is a similar park, but the story is about how they kept the par running.  It’s entertaining enough, but you don’t have to see it in the theaters. In fact, by the time you read this, it may have already left your local theaters. It’s not entirely memorable, but it’s not awful, and barely memorable.

It’s rated R, and its runtime is only 1 Hour 25 minutes.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

I’m not going to waste your time here. There wasn’t anything too outlandish or memorable.  I didn’t hate it, and I was hoping for more.  The introduce an ‘us vs them’ rivalry with a Six Flags knockoff.  There are some laughs, but I guess I was hoping more for a story about Action Park as it was. There’s a documentary that pops up on YouTube from time to time, and that’s almost more interesting.

Capsule Review (Minimal Spoilers):

Deadpool 2 is the followup film to the highly successful Deadpool movie from 2016. It easily earns its R rating for graphic violence, as well as for some of the humor, and is a worthy successor to the original.

It’s a story of loss and possible redemption that holds together, all held together with  Deadpool’s wise-cracking, never-serious, sensibilities. Highly recommended, and may require repeated viewings to get all the jokes and jabs.

There is a set of mid-credits scenes that put a hilarious cap to many of the things from the movie, and others.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

Thanks to a miscalculation on his part, Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) life is turned upside down. In a twist of fate, he gets recruited by the X-men, as a trainee.  It does not go well, and he is sent to a special prison, where mutants are kept, without their powers, thanks to a special collar they are all forced to wear. Fortunately, a prison break appears when a mutant appears, Cable (Josh Brolin), with a personal vendetta. It’s all a big mess that is unwittingly caused by Deadpool.

When I was younger, I was never really aware of Deadpool, or what he was all about. I saw many Deadpool cosplayers at comic cons, but still didn’t get it until I saw the first film. He’s silly, irreverent, and breaks the fourth wall with such impunity that it makes him more endearing than he should be. After all, superhero films are rather ridiculous, so why not make fun of them, relentlessly? Deadpool has become one of my favourite superheroes to date.

No target is safe from Deadpool. Most of the jabs are directed to things within the Marvel Universe, but many are not. For example, the opening credits are thing of beauty, in that they start after a major event occurs, and they don’t reference anyone by name. Instead, some of them refer to the events that just happened, and you’ll agree with the sentiment. I’ll stop short of being specific, because they’re entertaining on their own. If you recall, the opening credits of the first movie did something similar. Very “out of the box” thinking.

The stunts are fitting, the jokes are crazy, but inspired, and story ends up being a lot better than I expected. What’s not to love, here?

Let me repeat – it’s Highly recommended because it NEVER takes itself seriously. It’s probably the best superhero movie I’ll see all year.

There is no post-credits sequence.

Capsule Review (Minimal Spoilers):

Solo: A Star Wars Story  is an expansion of the Star Wars Universe, telling the tale of how Han Solo got his start. It’s a long story that establishes him as a smuggler and a scoundrel, and in quite an entertaining way.

It’s a tale of twists and turns, with a bunch of ties to the Star Wars you know and love. It’s a bit unpredictable in spots, and somewhat predictable in others.

This film is well worth your time if you are a fan of Star Wars, and does NOT “ruin” your childhood, as some people claim for episodes The Force Awakens (VII) and The Last Jedi (VIII). You will be entertained. Note that there is some violence.

Recommended. Runtime is 2 Hours 15 minutes.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

Han Solo ( Alden Ehrenreich) has a rough start to his life. He is forced into a life of child/slave labor, but has bigger dreams, dreams that involve escaping, going to a place where the Empire doesn’t exist. With the help of a friend, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), he gets away, but the plans go bad right from the start. She is captured, and he vows to return for her. His only way out is to sign up for service in the Empire. Cut to a few years later, things haven’t worked out for Han, but things are about to change.

While it was being shot, the producers of the film had issues with the approach that the original directors (Phil Lord and Chris Miller) were taking, and had them removed. At the present time, reports indicate “Creative Differences”, but the rumors hint they were taking a risk on the story. Time will tell, but we shouldn’t judge the film by what they may or may not have done.

In the end, Ron Howard was selected, who’s done a few decent movies of his own. He’s created a caper movie that works on its own, even if it didn’t take place in the Star Wars universe. Han’s trying to score enough money to get a ship, so he can return home and get the girl, BUT, as with many things, it’s never that simple.  Some of the things we know about Han and Chewbacca are squeezed into the story, but they seem more natural  than simply happening because they’re supposed to.

The story gets convoluted, but not overly so. There are many good characters that come and go in this story, both sentient and artificial. There is a bunch of humor, and more than a few nods to tropes we know from all the films that came before this one.

I rather enjoyed my time with the movie, and I sincerely doubt people will complain  about how they’ve ruined Star Wars yet again. I do recommend it. Enjoy!

Capsule Review (minimal spoilers):

Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of most of the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU)’s collection of superhero films. There are dozens of heroes in the film.

The villain, Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a quest. He wants to take ownership of the Infinity Stones. According to the Marvel Wikia site, each of the stones possess unique capabilities that have been enhanced and altered by various alien civilizations for millennia.

These stones were separated, and have been spread out across the galaxy. When they are collected, they give their owner godlike powers. You’ve seen several of these stones in previous Marvel movies, most notably in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos is well on his way towards getting the full set, but the Avengers and others stand in their way.

This is an intense movie, and many things happen, both good and bad. To describe them would be to spoil them, so I will not do a more comprehensive review.

It suffices to say that they handle most of the superheroes well, and give each of the main ones enough screen time to satisfy most people. There are some bad special effects in the latter part of the film, but I suspect this is due to last minute changes, where they didn’t have enough time to properly integrate the CGI work to everyone’s satisfaction. They aren’t too noticeable, but they’re apparent if you look for them.

I definitely recommend the film.

Catch a trailer for the film here (as if you haven’t seen it far too many times already).

Capsule Summary *minimal spoilers):

RBG is a documentary by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

This is a wonderful documentary about her. You get her background and her life’s story, which I barely. She’s a great voice on the court, and it touches upon all aspects of her life, right through current times. There are many interviews included in the film from a number of politicians and other spokespeople, some of which were surprising.

Rather than providing a dry lofty portrayal, it gets into various things that most people didn’t know about. She talks frankly about her struggles, and there’s a bit of the fandom that precedes her, and a bit about her fan base.

I wholeheartedly recommend this documentary, which has opened in NYC on May 4th. This movie will definitely be on my top ten list for 2018.

Catch a trailer for the film on imdb.com

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Love, Cecil is a documentary from Lisa Immordino Vreeland  of the life and times of Cecil Beaton, a reknowned photographer and Oscar-winning costume designer, for My Fair Lady and Gigi. This is a tale of his life, using portions of his diaries, collections of his photography, and art. There are celebrity interviews as well, including a fashion designer or two. He was somewhat of a misanthrope at times, but what person is without their flaws?

It’s narrated by Rupert Everett, who sounds remarkably like him compared to the interviews they used. It’s an engaging story.

I do recommend it.

You can view the trailer on YouTube