Puss in Boots The Last Wish Is a terrific animated feature that will be enjoyed by children of all ages and their elders! It is the story of a legendary cat who faces his ninth life and discovers what is really important. (4*)
Avatar: The Way of Water is a visual spectacle, a story setting up the next three sequels, and, yes, long.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever starts with the death of the former Black Panther and moves through nearly three hours of sometimes beautiful, sometimes action packed, scenes but with so many obligations to fulfill that it is ultimately unsatisfying.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is an insane look at one woman’s romp through the multiverse as she learns what is really important about life. (4.5*)
Cruella (4*) – A delightful diversion with great chemistry between the two Emmas and an interesting story of how movies happen.
An Overview of this year’s Oscar Adventure movies, my recommendations of five of them, plus five more from last year.
(2.5*) Free Guy – Some good acting can’t quite save this fairly shallow movie.
(3.5*) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is thrilling and a lot of fun to watch. It also involves a compelling story of family dynamics.
(4*) Spider Man No Way Home has great visuals but also tells a human-level story. A surprisingly good comic-book movie.
(3.5*) No Time to Die is exactly what you expect from a Bond film. Sixty years after Dr. No, the franchise has changed, but lives on.
(1.5*) Luca is fun for about twenty minutes and then descends into boredom!
(2.0 *) Raya and the Last Dragon is visually stunning, but is going to leave adults rather empty!
(0.5*) The Mitchells vs the Machines is quite possibly the worst movie I’ve ever seen and certainly the worst one this year.
(5 Stars) A stunning sensory experience and quite likely the next Star Wars.
An Overview of the 2021 Oscar-nominated Adventure Films (and a look back to 2020)
(4 Stars) A War-time Adventure that challenges White America at the same time that it doesn’t go far enough!
(1.5 Stars) Might work for families with small children.
(4 Stars) Much better than the critics say. Beautiful imagery and sounds and a story with a twist.
(4.5 Stars) Beautiful animation, Celtic music, and an Irish folk story with modern day lessons.
(3 Stars) The film doesn’t hang together real well, but there are some great songs and terrific visuals.
(2.5 Stars) Family Entertainment and a refreshing unique style of animation.
(3.5 Stars) Many good things here, but, in the end, not real memorable.
(4.5 Stars) Interesting and Creative approach to some very abstract questions. Excellent film.
(2.5 Stars) A disappointing remake when it could and should have been much better.
An Overview of this year’s Oscar-nominated movies in the Adventure genre.
(1.5 Stars) Some fun visual moments do not make up for a plodding story. Pfeiffer occasionally shines, but Jolie’s talent is wasted.
(3.5 Stars) I suppose if you are a Star Wars buff, you will be disappointed. But for the rest of us, it is just plain fun.
(2.5 Stars) As to be expected, terrific visuals. But the story is a little weak and the songs aren’t memorable.
(3.5 Stars) Visually stunning and terrific sound. But not up to Kubrick standards!
(2 Stars) A retelling of the original story with amazing computer-animation technology. Watch it if you, or your family, didn’t see the original.
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