What classics did you see last week ? (22 Dec - 28 Dec 2019)

Coming To America (1988)

Murphy and Landis make a solid pair every time, and this movie still works after all these years. I haven't seen it since the 80's so it seems pretty fresh to me now. It's not non-stop laughs, but you get actual storytelling to maintain your interest.

Eddie and Arsenio Hall both play multiple characters and this was the first movie in which Eddie did so. Why didn't Arsenio have a bigger movie career after this? He is funny in a way that not many people can be

This is one of Eddie's best and most successful movies. The sequel should be fun when it rolls out next year.

Noelle (2019)

Yes, I got Disney + for Christmas and I kicked it all off with this Christmas offering.

Anna Kendrick's exuberant charm makes this movie, which otherwise taunts us with Bill Hader and then withholds him from us for most of the movie. We are more forgiving of Christmas movies because we watch them at Christmas when we are feeling Christmasy and are full of gingerbread and rum. This was enjoyable for the most part and it fulfills it's Christmas movie duty.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

So much was going on in this final finale that it would be a real brain strain to get into it all. I did like the obvious fan nods, especially Chewbacca getting his medal.

I did not like the vibe that they were course-correcting after The Last Jedi a lot of the time and the general sense of rushing moments so we can rush on to the next moment.

Overall, it's quite satisfying, it was never going to make everyone happy, but it will feed Star Wars debates for many years to come. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley carried the movie, the rest of the cast had a lot less to do.

The Force will be with you...always.

Dumbo (2019)

I came for Dumbo's sweet blue eyes and Eva Green's French accent and both delivered as I expected. Danny DeVito is surprisingly poignant as the circus owner. This live-action update is really quite good, probably better than some of the rest that all seemed to come out at once in 2019, although I haven't seen them all just yet. It has a classic magical feel, that nice Tim Burton-esque vibe.

Dark Phoenix (2019) a.k.a. X-Men: Dark Phoenix

It takes great talent and skill to take on one of the most beloved X-Men stories and make it average. At least there was some excitement in The Last Stand, which covered Jean Grey going dark back in 2006. The X-Men look great in group shots in their uniforms, but they get very little action. That train sequence at the end saved this from totally becoming My Dinner With Jean. The villains were initially intriguing but were never fleshed out.

It's still an X-Men movie, so I enjoyed just seeing them again, but kept wanting it to go all epic, like this series has in the past. It reeks of 20th Century Fox wanting to pump just one more out before being swallowed whole by Disney. There wasn't a lot of heart or humor like in previous chapters. J-Law has only a small role, and I nearly gave up waiting for Fassbender to show up. The cast are game, but the script is pretty limp half the time. As the concluding chapter of the X-Men movies at Fox, this should have been a monster of a movie, instead it whimpers off like a wounded dog.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
A beautiful looking movie, the costumes and set design are more than impressive, and the music is amazing, since all this is based on the famous ballet. Mackenzie Foy as Clara is very talented and will go on to great things, no doubt. Keira Knightley is both on point and slightly bonkers at the same time.

But it's all a little unexciting and seems a little bland at times. It's not terrible, just doesn't give us much reason to care. It was a almost a nice Pride & Prejudice (2005) reunion with Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen both in this, but they don't share any scenes.

Men In Black: International (2019) a.k.a. Men In Black: Ragnarok


Loved when Rebecca Ferguson appeared (she's been a breakout star of 2019) and of course, the Thompson Twins (Emma and Tessa). Hemsworth plays his usual suave-dork character again, but the script isn't so clever or funny as other MIB movies. Still, it maintains interest throughout and well, at least it's not R.I.P.D.

Have a safe and happy new year! Catch ya next week/year/decade!