“Breakthrough” Movie Review

    I live in the state of Michigan, a state hit by the outbreak of the Coronavirus and under heavy restrictions not unlike most states and counties currently.  In an instant, life changed for many of us with some of us without a job for the foreseeable future and others working extra hard to keep people safe.  From our health care workers to our grocery store workers, everyone is either working extra hard or are without a job suffering from uncertainty.  We need escapism more than ever but sadly the shut down of almost all theaters is yet another casualty of the spreading Coronavirus.  On the bright side, we happen to live in a time of affordable digital and physical media options.  I suggest seeking films and shows with more positive messages and themes personally so I decided to watch “Breakthrough”.

    The film tells the true story of a young boy named John whose life forever changed when he fell through a sheet of ice and almost died while playing on a frozen lake.  Throughout everything and against all hope, his mother Joyce believed her son would recover.  Joyce’s faith in God never wavers and when John finally recovers, it’s a sign to anyone who believes in a higher power that miracles really do happen.

    So what are my first impressions of this film?  Well, while I believe in God, I am not the most religious person out there and I tend to not be the biggest fan of faith based films.  It’s not so much that I am against their messages or their religious tones, but most are sort of over the top and it pulls me out of the film.  While there are a few over the top moments in this film, the film finds a decent balance with it’s message and it’s depiction of the actual events.  This balance makes the religious based aspects of the movie feel more relatable and moving, to me personally at least.

    The film was directed by Roxann Dawson of “Star Trek: Voyager” fame and she does a great job with her transition from directing television to directing a feature film.  No doubt due to her time on “Star Trek: Voyager”, Dawson brings to the table the ability to focus on her ensemble without losing direction of the central story.

    The ensemble cast all delivered an earnest and honest performance which helped with the believability of the film overall.  The cast was led by Chrissy Metz of “This is Us” fame and Metz gives a strong performance as Joyce (in addition to singing “I’m Standing With You” during the end credits).  Topher Grace is also very good in his role as Pastor Jason Noble.

    In this time of uncertainty and fear, we all just need to sit back and have some faith in one another and refrain from panicking.  Our way of living has changed, perhaps forever, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be for the worst.  “Breakthrough” may not be perfect and it may be a bit cliche, but it also might just be what some people need to watch now.  Miracles are possible, you just have to keep the faith.

Grade: B-

“The Aeronauts” Movie Review

    When you live in Michigan and a snow storm hits the state, it sort of limits what you can do and where you can go.   On a bad snow day, you can literally be stuck in your house for hours or even days.  On a snow day like that, you aren’t left with a lot of options for entertainment.  Of course, my old fall back is watching a movie, of course, and the film I decided to watch was called “The Aeronauts”.  The movie is currently available as an Amazon Prime exclusive and this will be the first Amazon Prime exclusive film I review!  We live in exciting times!

    The film tells the story of Amelia, an aeronaut and courageous adventurer, who agrees to help a young man named James Glaisher who seeks to prove he can successfully predict weather patterns from the air using scientific methods.  Amelia and James start to bond over the voyage and everything seems to be going well until they find themselves unexpectedly caught in the middle of a storm.  The pair will have to fight for their lives after the storm causes damage to Amelia’s hot air balloon.

    Amazon Prime has shown promise the past few years in the development of it’s tv shows.  “The Boys”, “Jack Ryan”, and even “The Tick” have shown that Amazon knows what it takes to craft good television, but would “The Aeronauts” show they can tackle a film successfully?  Well, that is a little bit yes and a little bit no.  There are aspects of the film that work, but the film as a whole really does not.

    This film is based on a book entitled “Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air” by Richard Holmes.  The book and film were ‘inspired’ by true events and it’s here where the term ‘inspired’ is used with a lot of liberties.  James Glaisher really took a flight similar to the one depicted in the film, but not with a woman named Amelia.  James Glaisher took his voyage with Henry Coxwell, not Amelia.  The film forsakes historical accuracy for a strong female lead.  Despite this switch which should make the movie at least more compelling, the film remains fairly boring.

    The film’s leads, Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne have excellent chemistry together and clearly enjoy working together.  Jones and Redmayne previously appeared together in the acclaimed film “The Theory of Everything” so perhaps their chemistry together shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.  Aside from the cast, the visuals are also often quite good throughout most of the film (although there are a few poor visual effects shots sprinkled in the film that sour the well done ones a bit for me).

    “The Aeronauts” isn’t on par with Netflix’s best, but it is also a cut above Netflix’s worst so it isn’t a complete wash for Amazon Prime’s original films.  Still, this film leaves a lot to be desired overall and contains all the excitement of a history or science class taught by a drunken feminist revisionist substitute teacher.

Grade: D

“The Irishman” Movie Review

    I have been waiting to see Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” since it was announced.  I have to admit that I was surprised to learn that it was going to be a Netflix film since Scorsese is such an old school filmmaker.  I will fully admit that on Tuesday night, I stayed up so I could watch the film (although at roughly three and a half hours, I ended up having to finish it in the morning).  This film has received wide spread acclaim so I had to see if the film is really the masterpiece it is being made out to be.

    The film tells the story of Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and his connections to the Mafia and the labor unions under the leadership of the infamous Jimmy Hoffa.  Sheeran gets his start in the criminal underworld working under Mafia boss Russell Bufalino.  Sheeran quickly gains favor with Russell and becomes one of this most loyal hitmen.  Bufalino introduces Frank to Jimmy Hoffa and the pair become friends shortly after their introduction.  Frank becomes Hoffa’s primary bodyguard while he is head of the Teamsters.  The film chronicles Frank’s torn loyalty to his friend Hoffa and his boss Bufalino as Hoffa begins to clash with the Mafia families who helped him rise to power.

    Let me start this review by stating that this movie is long.  That isn’t to say the film doesn’t make the best of every second or that I necessarily think it would have been better if they edited the film down, but at the three and a half hour long runtime, it is still difficult to take it all in during one sitting (I couldn’t even manage to do so).  One advantage to this being a Netflix film is that it is possible to pause it and come back to it if you have to take a bathroom break without missing any of the film.  I would recommend taking a bathroom break roughly one hour into the film right before Jimmy Hoffa is introduced (it makes for a good intermission in my opinion).

    The film definitely feels more like a classic Martin Scorsese film in the vain of “Goodfellas” and “Casino”.  Scorsese is definitely the master of the Mafia epics and this film joins the long list of his classics.  Scorsese has always been a very visual storyteller and this film is greatly enhanced by his eye for detail.  The depiction of Detroit, Michigan during the mid 70s was very accurate for instance.

    What makes “The Irishman” so captivating is it’s performances.  Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci all deliver powerhouse performances in this character driven motion picture.  Robert De Niro knocks it out of the park as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran right on the heels of his standout performance in “Joker”.

    In a supporting role, Al Pacino is the best he has been in years.  Pacino’s Jimmy Hoffa is a charismatic leader without the foresight to know when to quit.  It was nice to see Al Pacino actually care about a role for a change.  It was great seeing Pacino and De Niro’s natural chemistry together on screen.  Rounding out the main cast was Joe Pesci.  Pesci has famously been retired for years and had turned down several projects before Martin Scorsese was able to persuade him out of retirement.  On a side note, I thought it was interesting seeing someone playing David Ferrie in this film was a bit distracting considering Joe Pesci famously played Ferrie in the movie “JFK”.

    The film digitally de-aged it’s three lead actors for several scenes fairly successfully.  There were only a few scenes with an uncanny valley effect but it was primarily with De Niro’s scenes and it was one of the best uses of de-aging technology overall I have seen to this date.

    “The Irishman” deserves the acclaim it has received and is a return to form for many of the actors headlining the film.  Though the runtime makes it feel a bit more like a mini-series than a movie, it is an excellent character study.  If you have a free afternoon (or day), “The Irishman” is worth the watch.

Grade: A-

“I Spy” Movie Review

    Once upon a time, I used to go out to the movies at least once a week with my parents (before they sadly passed away) and one movie I remember my dad really wanting to see was “I Spy” because he was a fan of the original show.  I never actually did see the original television show but the film looked funny and I have always been a big Eddie Murphy fan.  This movie has a special place in my heart partly because it reminds me of my dad and I am glad it is finally getting a wide Blu-ray release.

    The film tells the story of a spy named Alex Scott as he is paired with hotshot boxer Kelly Robinson on a mission to recover a stealth fighter named the Switchblade.  The fighter was taken by an arms dealer named Arnold Gundars but Scott and Robinson have to learn how to get along before taking down Gundars and recovering the Switchblade.

    “I Spy” was met with mediocre reviews and was quickly forgotten.  While I don’t think the film was a masterpiece at all, I did find the film to be fun.  The biggest fault I can say about the film is that it played everything a little too safe and was a bit by the numbers.  “I Spy” actually had a few well executed action set pieces but they often got overshadowed by the constant banter of Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson.

    The original television show starred Robert Culp as Kelly Robinson and Bill Cosby as Alex Scott (the film swapped the character’s races around).  Unlike this remake, the television show also featured both men as spies and equals from the very beginning.  The original show had more in common with James Bond than “Beverly Hills Cop”, which is part of the reason many critics considered this film to be a ‘in name only’ remake.

    The original television show also pioneered new grounds by featuring the first black lead actor in a drama series.  Both Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy do a decent job with the material they are given, but they also don’t have much chemistry together either.  Malcolm McDowell as Arnold Gundars is the real scene stealer in my book.

    I actually got a chance to meet Robert Culp before he passed away at the Motor City Comic Con and he ironically autographed an “I Spy” script for me.  I wonder if including Culp and Cosby might have made this remake a little better.  Side note: I did not know that Robert Culp had a grandson who raps (stage name Bones) who was raised in my town of Howell, Michigan.  You learn something interesting everyday and it really is a small world.

    Thank you Mill Creek Entertainment for providing me a review copy and letting me relive a fond memory I have of seeing this movie with my dad.  I also had a fun time rewatching this movie as well.  “I Spy” is definitely an overlooked action/comedy that deserves more attention.

Grade: B-

Buy “I Spy” on Blu-ray Here!!!

“Jury Duty” Movie Review

    It is hard to explain the phenomenon that was Pauly Shore.  Well, a lot of things that were popular in the 90s are hard to explain now.  Remember how hot Pogs were?  Trying explaining Pogs to a kid now, you will be lucky to only get a blank stare.  In that respect Pauly Shore sort of equates to Pogs, a lot of people seemed to love him in the 90s but we didn’t exactly know why and we still can’t explain the appeal.  Pauly Shore enjoyed a string of modest hits despite critics hating his films and then he disappeared as mysteriously as he arrived.

    Of course, not all of Pauly Shore’s films were a success, the film “Jury Duty” for instance was a box office bomb.  Still, box office figures are just numbers and critics such as myself can only tell you their opinions so I had to see this film for myself.  Thankfully, the generous folks at Mill Creek Entertainment were kind enough to provide me a copy of the film so I could tell you my take on it.

    The film follows a young man named Tommy who lives a carefree life but must find a place to stay while his mom gets married.  After being let go as a male stripper, Tommy decides that his best option for room and board is to be put on jury duty.  Though the case seems pretty straight forward, Tommy prolongs the jury deliberation in an effort to keep his hotel room and to get closer to Monica, a fellow juror who Tommy has a crush on.

    I personally think much of the appeal of Pauly Shore can be traced to his key demographic at the time, teenagers.  Pauly Shore had a very over the top and cartoonish style of comedy and that is very prominent in this film.  Critics tend to enjoy slightly more mature fair and it’s part of the reason Pauly Shore was so hated by them.

    “Jury Duty” was a loose reimagining of the teleplay “Twelve Angry Men” and it doesn’t exactly carry the same weight the 1957 Henry Fonda film did.  I would be curious to see what the YouTube channel LegalEagle would make of this film.

    This is exactly the kind of movie I would expect critics to tear apart but I have to admit, I kind of liked it.  Yes, it’s dumb and it certainly won’t stay with you but it isn’t made to be profound or change someone’s life.  It is just made to get a cheap giggle or two and it succeeds in that way.  Plus it is fun to see some great comedic character actors in some of their early roles.  Heck, even Stanley Tucci turned up in this film...and he even had hair!  It should be noted that Andrew Dice Clay also appears in an uncredited cameo at the beginning of this film.

    I saw Pauly Shore at the 2019 Motor City Comic Con in Novi, Michigan and while I didn’t get a chance to meet him personally, from what I saw, he seemed legitimately nice.  He greeted and interacted with all his fans and he seemed to have a good time.  It made me appreciate Pauly Shore a little more, I have to admit.

Grade: B

Buy “Jury Duty” on Blu-ray with a Retro VHS Slipcover Here!!!

“Mindwarp” Movie Review

    The other day, I got a bit of an early birthday present in the form of a package from the kind folks at Mill Creek Entertainment.  It was filled with a variety of films and I was in pure ecstasy looking through all the titles to watch a review.  Mill Creek Entertainment really outdid themselves and I want to thank them yet again for the kind support they have given my blog since it’s inception.  Now, it’s my task to watch and review the movies and I thought I would start my reviews off with a film I had never heard of before, “Mindwarp”.  I admit that I mainly picked this movie first because it starred one of my favorite actors, Bruce Campbell.

    In the year 2037, the Earth is mainly a wasteland and the population is split up between normal and healthy people living in a sealed biosphere and mutated cannibals who live outside the protection of the biosphere.  The “dreamers” living in the biosphere are plugged into a virtual reality in which all their dreams can come true.  The main character Judy ends up exiled from the biosphere after interfering with other people’s realities and is cast outside.  Once on the surface, she is saved by Stover from a group of cannibals.  Together, the two must manage to find a way to survive this apocalyptic Earth.

    I have a lot of thoughts about this movie and I am not sure where to start.  For starters, this movie feels very much like an early version of “The Matrix”.  Humans plug into virtual reality and the “real world” is a wasteland.  I can’t help but feel like the Wachowski brothers got some inspiration from this movie.  Now, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean “The Matrix” didn’t expand and improve on the concept, but “Mindwarp” did it first.

    The film had an early made for the sci-fi channel feeling to it.  The film was the first movie produced by Fangoria Films.  As you might imagine, it was very low budget as a result.  It is very much a B movie but it also seemingly embraces the fact it’s a bit of a schlock fest.  I also have to give it extra credit for being filmed in Michigan (home boy has to represent and all that jazz).

    The film stars Marta Martin as Judy and she does the best she can with what she is given.  Bruce Campbell, who is given top billing, co-stars as Stover.  This is Bruce Campbell at his prime, “Army of Darkness” and “The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr.” era.  What I love about Campbell is how he fully commits to even the most over the top performances.  He does his best in this film but his character isn’t given much time to breath or react to things.  Lastly, horror icon Angus Scrimm portrays the leader of the cannibals (and the source of a few twists in the film).  Honestly, Scrimm was the highlight of the film but isn’t introduced until the third act.

    Now, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t go into how the budget effected the film.  There was a part in the film that actually sort of made me mad because Judy talked about creating a world and riding on dinosaurs, all things more interesting than what was depicted in the movie.  To me, that dialogue is almost calling attention to the lack of a budget.  While the first act reminded me of “The Matrix”, the second and third acts reminded me of “Mad Max”...on a budget.  Seriously, there was a part where one of the cannibals had a hubcap as a breastplate.  That is the sort of costume me and my friends would wear as kids when we made home movies.

    So, I have danced around the issue of how I felt about the movie overall and it’s hard to get into it without getting in to spoilers.  To me, it felt like a short film stretched out to feature length.  There were some interesting concepts but it had boring parts and there clearly wasn’t a budget for properly done film.  The film picked up steam going into the third act but the final few minutes not only ruined the third act, but it also ruined the movie as a whole.  This is a movie that tried to have way too many twists and all those twists just ended up undermining everything that came before it.  That being said, I am sure M. Night Shyamalan loved everything about this movie.

    So how do you rate a movie that you feel botched it’s ending?  I really didn’t mind the movie until the end, sure it was cheap looking and a little goofy, but it also owned that for the most part.  I think the movie was trying too hard to give an ending that would be talked about in hopes of elevating the film.  In my opinion, it lost sight of what it might have been destined to become.  “Mindwarp” could have easily become a cult classic, and one can make an argument it is, but it will never be as fondly remembered as it could have been.

Grade: C

Buy the “Mindwarp” and “Brainscan” Double Feature Blu-ray Here!!!

“Isn’t It Romantic” Movie Review

    It’s been a little while since I have been able to go to the theaters lately.  You see, I live in Michigan, and for the last few weeks, we have been randomly hit with ice storms and extremely cold temperatures.  Of course, most of these storms hit while I am off from work.  This week however, I caught a break and so my girlfriend and I set off to catch a screening of “Isn’t It Romantic”.

    The film had a theatrical release here in America but was released directly to Netflix in most parts internationally.  The film revolves around a woman named Natalie who grew up cynical of romantic comedies due to her mother and is oblivious to her friend Josh’s feelings towards her partly because of her cynicism.  Natalie ends up getting knocked out and wakes up in a romantic comedy version of her life.  This event takes her through a time of self discovery.

    Rebel Wilson leads the cast as Natalie and she is one of the funniest actresses working today.  Even when she is given the best material, she always finds a way to get a giggle from her audience.  Liam Hemsworth plays the attractive object of Natalie’s desires who falls madly in love with her.  Liam Hemsworth doesn’t have the same screen presence as his brother Chris yet but he still holds his own in this film.  Lastly, Adam DeVine plays Josh, Natalie’s best friend and possible true love.  Now, I am going to say I am not a big fan of Adam DeVine.  While I enjoy a lot of projects he is in including “Workaholics”, his humor gets on my nerves very quickly.  Luckily, DeVine gives a relatively reserved performance and he has great chemistry with Rebel Wilson (no doubt from their time filming “Pitch Perfect” together).

    “Isn’t It Romantic” isn’t the type of movie that is going to win an Oscar but it wasn’t made to.  It was made to be a fun date movie that both partners can find humor in and it very much lives up to it’s goals.  The film was also original in an era where everything is a remake or sequel and it’s refreshing to see a movie be different and have fun.

    This film isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea of course, but you would be hard pressed to find a film that can generate chuckles from both the men and women of the audience.

Grade: B

“Army of Darkness” Movie Review

    After watching the ending of “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” and seeing the movie ended on a cliffhanger, I was excited to how the franchise was going to wrap up.  The third “Evil Dead” movie, now titled “Army of Darkness”, did not disappoint.

    As shown at the end of the previous film, “Army of Darkness” picks up with Ash now stuck in the Middle Ages.  He spends most of the movie fighting deadites (naturally) and looking for a way back to the future.  This third film in the franchise is famous for taking a more light hearted, self aware, look at itself.  There is slapstick humor in the vain of “The Three Stooges” and the movie just has fun.  It works extremely well.

    Much of the charm of these films is the performance given by Bruce Campbell.  In this movie, he is given even more to work with as he takes on two roles.  Campbell plays both the main protagonist and antagonist of the film.  Evil Ash is so delightfully over the top, you sort of begin to root for him.

    “Army of Darkness” was given an R rating by it honestly plays more like a PG-13 movie.  While the first “Evil Dead” movie earned it’s NC-17 rating, I feel like this movie was unfairly given an R rating because of it’s pedigree.  The MPAA does that sometimes.

    Lastly the film is famous for having two vastly different endings.  The theatrical edition (and official) ending showcased Ash back home in Michigan and working at a S Mart (“Shop smart, shop S Mart”) while still showing his heroics as he saves the day once again from a deadite attack.  The other ending I was exposed to when I bought “Bruce Campbell vs. the Army of Darkness Bootleg Edition” DVD.  It features Ash waking up from his hibernation only to find out he overshot his own time and woke up after the end of the world.  It was dark and twisted and felt like it was meant to lead somewhere else.

    I really liked what Sam Raimi and company did with “Army of Darkness”.  I like the shift in tone and risks they took.  “Army of Darkness” to this day is one of the most famous cult hits ever.  I know it’s a personal favorite of mine and the highlight of the series in my opinion.

Grade: B+

”Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” Movie Review

    After my first time watching “The Evil Dead”, I really wanted to see what was next in the Evil Dead universe so that brought me to “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn”.  The sequel remains many people’s favorite film in the franchise and I can definitely see why.
    “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” is an interesting film because it acts as a remake and a sequel.  I imagine this was done partly to showcase the increased budget (which was still extremely low).  I can’t really think of too many other films ambitious enough to attempt that even to this day.  It worked pretty well for this movie since it (along with the first film) had a rather simplistic plot.
    The sequel is also interesting because it had a different tone than the first film.  While the original film was straight up horror (with some unintentional comedic elements), the sequel has a lighter more comedic tone.  At times acting as a parody of horror films while never totally lampooning the genre, “Evil Dead 2” succeeds in delivering something different.
    The cast is once again led by survivor Ash, played  again by the legendary Bruce Campbell.  Campbell seemed more comfortable this time around.  This film also allowed Bruce Campbell to showcase his impressive slap stick comedic abilities.  The rest of the cast was an improvement over the first film but no other real standouts.
    Sam Raimi took great advantage of the fact he had an increased budget.  His style was really taking shape by this film.  His camera work really helped enhance the film and tell the story.  Raimi remains one of my favorite filmmakers to date.  Plus, Raimi is from Michigan and set this film here so once again, he gets extra credit in my book.
    “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.  You definitely have to be in the mood for an over the top horror film.  When you have that craving though, “Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn” certainly hits the spot.

Grade: B+

“The Evil Dead” Movie Review

    I remember going to my local video store as a kid and passing through the horror section with curiosity.  It was a useless voyage however because my parents never allowed me or my siblings to rent something from the horror section.  You see, to them, renting from the horror section was a waste of money because all horror movies were “crap”.  Yet, I would still travel to the horror section each time, intrigued by the cover art of the films I wasn’t allowed to rent.  Well, when I became a teenager, I remembered some of those movies I wasn’t allowed to rent and decided to pick them up myself.  The first horror movie I subjected myself to was “The Evil Dead”.
    “The Evil Dead” franchise always had some of the most eye catching cover art in the video store.  So after catching my attention and finally watching the movie I remember feeling surprised.  The movie didn’t exactly scare me, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
    The movie was made with a very low budget.  It was the first film directed by Sam Raimi and it really showcased his ingenuity behind the lens.  He was able to take something that might handicap another filmmaker and turn it into an asset.  The best example of this is how Raimi decided to depict the evil in the film.  With a shoe string budget, he couldn’t afford to show the approaching evil, so he instead gives us the point of view of the evil which is unnerving and suspenseful all at the same time.
    The film itself is fairly simple which works well considering it’s budget.  The film is over the top and campy but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deliver on the gore.  This is something I do need to stress, this film is not for younger audiences or for people who are sensitive to adult subject matters.  It wasn’t rated NC-17 for nothing.  Be cautioned, there is also a pretty graphic scene between a woman and a tree (and no, you didn’t  read that wrong, an evil tree really does get all Bill Cosby on a lady).
    Along with Sam Raimi, the film is also noteworthy for launching the career of fellow Michigan native Bruce Campbell.  Campbell has remained a beloved B movie icon and has returned to the role of Ash many times since this film.  Out of the entire cast, Campbell always shines the most in his scenes.
    So this movie has a special place in my heart for many reasons.  I have watched and enjoyed all the sequels and even the remake and I have enjoyed them all (to various degrees).  If you like horror movies and aren’t sensitive, this is the film for you.

Grade: B

"The House with a Clock in It's Walls" Movie Review

    Let me start my review of “The House with a Clock in It’s Walls” off by saying I was not particularly excited to see this film.  I like Jack Black but I am not a fan of Eli Roth in the slightest.  Well, I don’t get to say this often so here goes, the movie was a pleasant surprise.
    I was surprised by how reserved Eli Roth remained on a lot of aspects he could have went darker with.  Eli Roth got the right vibe when it comes to a family movie which isn’t easy.  Roth also managed to get the best performances from his actors as possible.
   The glue that holds this film together and makes it stronger than usual is it’s cast.  Jack Black movies tend to succeed or fail depending on how well he fits a role.  I like Jack Black a lot, but Jack Black’s strength is playing  himself.  It worked in films like “Tropic Thunder” and “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” yet failed in films such as “King Kong” (although I still very much enjoyed that film).  His charm and child like demeanor suit this film adaptation well.  Cate Blanchett was also great but she could sleepwalk through a role and still win an Oscar.  The breakout star has to be Owen Vaccaro.  Vaccaro was a delight and provided a unique and quirky performance that felt unique.

    The story was simple and easy to digest yet solid and something adults can enjoy as well.  It is nice to see a film which is fun for the whole family which is rare these days.  Plus the film is set in Michigan so it gets bonus props from me.  While it won’t go down as a classic, it’s a notch above most family oriented offerings over the past few years.  That is a win in my book!

Grade: B