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Reviews
In the Heights (2021)
Disappointed
I was so looking forward to the cinematic retelling of In the Heights. My family and I really enjoyed the play - but this movie doesn't resemble the play - and it's filled with anachronisms like texting, iPhones, Beats headphones and vegan pasteles that really detract from the story.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Disappointing
What the heck was that? The movie made absolutely no sense, and watching it was a waste of two and a half hours of my life that I'll never get back. It's truly sad when the only redeeming scene happens in the middle of the closing credits.
***Spoiler Alert***
The way that the original Wonder Woman series changed time frames was unusual, but incidental to the story - in this train wreck, the mechanism for Steve's reappearance in the 1980's is not only ridiculous (and temporary), but at the same time always tainted, since it's not a true time travel (or even a suspended animation) story - it's a phony takeover of another person's life - something that Diana never should have accepted.
If this movie had come out when originally scheduled, I wouldn't be so annoyed. But now, it's like finding out that the Christmas pudding went bad. I'm going to try to forget this movie ever came out; you should too.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Really fun, great movie!
We saw this movie at one of the AMC early preview shows on May 2nd, and I'm so glad we did.
Why? Because "video game movies" are something that historically were a "wait til it's on TV" type of thing - no real reason to see them on the big screen; they weren't much different than the games they came from.
Detective Pikachu, on the other hand, is an actual movie. Yes, it's set in a world where Pokémon actually exist, and this one can talk to both humans and Pokémon (Doctor Doolittle, anyone?), but unlike a "video game movie", the plot isn't just a vehicle for the setting. It's an actual mystery/adventure, with characters you come to care about, both human and not. Twists and surprises and feels. All the parts of a great flick.
One thing that surprised me was how I was amazed by the emotions expressed by the Pikachu character - not only did he feel "real" in the movie, his face, ears, body language conveyed emotion clearly and strongly. It's hard to explain, it was kind of like a cross between looking at a child and a puppy... I don't know how they did it, but when Pikachu was saddened, you *felt* it; when happy, you knew it...
Finally, I also do have to say that all of us were concerned about the "Deadpool factor" - which turned out to be a non-issue. Ryan Reynolds is a great actor, and like any great actor, you only see and hear the character he's playing - not his past ones.
Excellent movie for all ages, even if you're not a Pokémon fan, you'll enjoy it.