The Magician’s Elephant is lacking magic.

The orphan boy Peter sets out to find his missing sister. He asks a fortune teller if she is still alive. She advises him to find a magician with an elephant. Peter must then complete three difficult tasks.

A genre that Netflix often struggles with is animation when it comes to films, every once and awhile you will get some really good ones like Klaus or The Sea Beast for example. But a lot of the time they really land on the forgettable territory. 

I watched The Magician’s Elephant yesterday (at the time this was written) and I honestly couldn’t tell you exactly what happens, mainly due to just how forgettable it really was. The few good qualities come from the animation, which does have it’s issues with the human characters. But for everything else it’s smooth and is nicely done for the most part. The voice cast isn’t too bad, it’s clear everyone involved is trying their absolute hardest to make this work. 

What really does this movie in is mostly in the writing department, there’s so much potential here that could be written thoughtfully and in a way that could even resonate with audiences. But unfortunately it’s written in the sort of way a lot of bad kid’s movies tend to be, focuses a bit too much on humor and relies on very bland character moments to tell a story. The movie really lacks the spark in it’s writing to get the audience engaged and ultimately leads down a forgettable path. 

The Magician’s Elephant is available on Netflix. 

4/10 D+

65 is a very below average sci-fi movie that disappoints.

After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth — 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at a rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures.

65 is so far the most disappointing movie of 2023 for a multitude of reasons, 65 had a very promising premise as well having the writers from A Quiet Place and Adam Driver involved. Finally it was a movie involving dinosaurs attacking people, which is unbelievably uncommon outside of the Jurassic Park movies. 

I’ll start with what worked as always, Adam Driver does a fantastic job here. Driver has always been a really strong actor and that applies here, Ariana Greenblatt is also pretty solid here as well. Driver and Greenblatt work very well together on screen there’s some genuinely sweet moments as well. There’s some neat action scenes that are pretty thrilling as well and I do appreciate the limited dialogue scenes in a lot of areas in the movie. They add some suspense that is well done for the most part. 

Unfortunately that’s really where the movie ends for me, a lot of people have said this movie is basically Jurassic Park meets A Quiet Place and I can’t help but agree, while that might sound good on paper when it comes to execution it becomes a mess. The movie doesn’t do nearly enough with it’s premise and the limited dialogue scenes while interesting never really amount to anything, there’s some decently suspenseful moments that were begging to be explored more. 

A lot of the sci-fi elements are very surface level at best, and the direction is sort of lifeless. While I understand that might have been the intention due to earth not having any humans at this time, it doesn’t help when 65 tries to explore Adam Driver’s character. While his past about his daughter is very upsetting the viewer just isn’t given nearly enough development to really care. It’s sort of tacked on to a very below average sci-fi movie. 

Overall 65 had a lot of potential but unfortunately misses the mark, if you are a fan of Adam Driver and want to see this only because of Driver you might get something out of it otherwise I don’t recommend it. 

65 is available in theaters. 

4/10 D+

80 for Brady is a charming movie with a fantastic cast!

Four best friends live life to the fullest when they embark on a wild trip to see their hero, Tom Brady, play in the 2017 Super Bowl.

80 for Brady was one of those movies I immediately wrote off as “this is going to be terrible” due to the trailer and just the whole concept alone, I did not think they were going to be able to execute the premise all that well. 

But as I have said in the past in my reviews I like to be proven wrong and that’s the case here, for starters the main four Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Lily Tomlin are all quite great. They combine their character’s personalities and make the movie incredibly charming, the Guy Fieri cameo is also pretty fun as well. I haven’t been a really huge fan of cameos as of late but I will give credit where credit is due the Fieri cameo was at least very fun. 

The movie’s strongest parts come from the interactions the main four have with each other and the other characters, there’s a lot of genuinely charming scenes that you just can’t help but smile at and some scenes are actually pretty funny as well. I don’t think the movie really succeeds in the comedic department as a lot of the humor is very hit or miss, but I do think it most certainly makes it up with charm. 

As far as execution on the idea the movie does it fine enough, the movie executes it the best it could have possibly could, sure there are some missed opportunities when it comes to humor. But as it stands 80 for Brady is a fun little comedy that has a very charming cast. 

80 for Brady is available on all VOD platforms. 

6/10 C+

Sweetheart is a charming coming of age story.

A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager named AJ is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully ‘normal’ family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla.

I really don’t have much to say about Sweetheart, it’s a very sweet little film (no pun intended) about trying to figure out who you are with some family dynamics. 

The performances are all quite great and really move the film at a satisfying pace, the direction is solid enough to the point where it captures plenty of heartfelt moments. The family dynamics in the film are quite interesting and really give the film the extra push it needs. 

Admittedly Sweetheart is very familiar in a lot of areas, if you have seen a lot of coming age films in the past you probably know what to expect. However I still can’t help but feel that the movie is still genuinely interesting. I’m not exactly sure why but I think it’s mainly due to the writing, which does actually feel like it captures how teenagers or everyday people talk.

Overall Sweetheart is a cute little movie that for the most part accomplished what it was sent out to do, it might not be one of the best coming of age stories. But it’s still a very satisfying little movie. 

Sweetheart is available on all VOD platforms. 

6/10 C+

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a weak addition to the trilogy

Mike Lane takes to the stage once again when a business deal that went bust leaves him broke and bartending in Florida. Hoping for one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse — and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, he soon finds himself trying to whip a hot new roster of talented dancers into shape.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third installment of the Magic Mike trilogy, the Magic Mike movies aren’t something I’m not that huge of a fan of. But I can still appreciate the work that was put into them and a lot of the filmmaking in general. The first two movies are solid movies with a lot of chemistry and charm that really work, so how does the third one stack up? 

You would think with Steven Soderbergh returning as director (he directed the first) that this would repeat the quality of the first movie, unfortunately that’s not the case here. Magic Mike’s Last Dance starts out promising enough, with some really great charm and chemistry between Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek. Those first several minutes are by far some of the best moments of the movie. 

After that however is when the movie starts to take a nosedive, while the choreography is fantastic and there’s some solid song choices here that do match the movie. It’s mostly the writing and chemistry that are completely missing, there are a lot of moments where it really did feel like the writers had no idea what to really do so they threw a bunch of ideas at a all to see what sticks. The chemistry between Tatum and Hayek just doesn’t work here, after the beginning the chemistry starts to fall apart and doesn’t reach the sort of chemistry that the other movies had (in terms of Tatum’s character with the other characters from the previous movies.)

There’s just a whole lot missing here that is very noticeable after the opening, the movie itself is well made and has a lot going on in terms of choreography and music. But lacks when it comes to storytelling and writing. I definitely don’t think Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a bad movie, it’s just a very noticeable drop in quality from the other two movies. 

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is available on all VOD platforms. 

5/10 C

Marlowe lacks in story and writing.

Detective Phillip Marlowe becomes embroiled in an investigation with a wealthy family in Bay City, California after a beautiful blonde hires him to find her former lover.

Out of the sea of Liam Neeson movies that have been coming out like crazy, Marlowe stood out as the one with the most potential. It’s based on the 2014 novel The Black Eyed Blonde by Jon Banville who writes under the pen name Benjamin Black. The cast seemed quite good and Neil Jacobs is a pretty solid director. 

Marlowe does have it’s good parts which mostly comes from the performances and the style of the movie. While it doesn’t completely nail the film noire style, it does it pretty well and actually has some quite transformative moments that do put you into the atmosphere of the movie. Between Liam Neeson’s performance (one of the best he’s given in awhile) and the atmosphere it does a decent job of creating a film noire type style. 

What ultimately drags this down is everything else, the story becomes way too generic and starts to repeat what a lot of better films in the film noire have done already. The writing falls incredibly flat towards the end with a lot of pacing that is just way too slow for it’s own good, by the end it starts to become your usual Liam Neeson action movie. Which would be fine if this was trying to be something like The Commuter, but that’s not the case here as it’s trying to be a film noire mystery. 

Overall Marlowe has great style and acting, it’s also better than a lot of other Liam Neeson movies that have been coming out the last few years, but unfortunately it falls short when it comes to just about everything else. 

Marlowe is available on all VOD platforms. 

4/10 D+

Cocaine Bear is bizarre classic B movie entertainment.

After a 500-pound black bear consumes a significant amount of cocaine and embarks on a drug-fueled rampage, an eccentric gathering of cops, criminals, tourists, and teenagers assemble in a Georgia forest.

Where to even start with Cocaine Bear? In some ways the film is exactly what it says it is, an American black bear gets a hold of cocaine and goes on a rampage. Cocaine Bear is loosely based on a true story that happened in 1985. 

To start with Cocaine Bear does a really great job of mixing genres together, it combines the horror comedy genre with the killer animal movie genre and does it quite well. There’s tons of hilarious moments and even some thrilling ones as well, the film also has that classic B movie type feel that really works in the film’s favor. It’s B movie entertainment that really has just about anything you could want. 

The acting can definitely be a hit or miss at times, a lot of the characters are admittedly only there to be killed by the bear, which I do have to say the kills are a lot better than I expected. There’s some quite gory and gnarly kills that really add to the film’s B movie atmosphere, whether it was intentional or not it does feel like a bit of a callback to how gory some very low budget films from the 80s were. 

As far as execution on the premise goes Elizabeth Banks did a really solid job here, she definitely found her footing after Charlie’s Angels (2019) and Pitch Perfect 2. She makes sure to make the film as bonkers as it possibly can and while the third act isn’t quite as strong as it could have been, it’s still a very satisfying way to pull off such a bizarre premise. 

Overall there might not be a whole lot going on in the story and character department, but that doesn’t stop Cocaine Bear from being an incredibly wild ride from beginning to end. It’s a very solid film that I do recommend checking out! 

Cocaine Bear is currently in theaters. 

8/10 B+

Champions is a sports comedy that exists.

A former minor-league basketball coach receives a court order to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. Despite his doubts, he soon realizes that together they can go further than they ever imagined.

The Regal Mystery Movie was Champions and well it definitely does exist. Champions is actually a remake of a 2018 Spanish movie of the same name. 

I’ll start by saying that I am very happy to see disabled actors on screen especially with a huge studios behind the movie (Gold Circle Entertainment as the production company, Focus Features for the United States distribution and Universal Pictures for the International distribution.) there were a few standouts such as Joshua Felder, James Day Keith and Kevin Iannucci who really gave such strong performances as well as touching ones as well. All the disabled actors did such a fantastic job and brought a huge amount of heart. 

The rest of the movie unfortunately is very frustrating, while Woody Harrelson is great, Kaitlin Olson does well with the script she’s given and Ernie Hudson is a nice addition to the supporting cast. A lot of the movie boils down to yet another inspirational sports comedy, it has the exact same elements as you would expect and really doesn’t do anything different. It’s incredibly predictable and becomes a bit tiring very quickly. 

Champions also did not need to be 2 hours and 4 minutes long, you could have easily cut at least 15-20 minutes of the movie and it would not have changed a single thing at all, perhaps the biggest frustration comes from the movie looking like it was actually going to talk about ableism but quickly moves on from it and doesn’t bother to touch the topic, there is a scene where Benny’s boss at a restaurant treats him like garbage because of who he is, It’s a shame that was glossed over within seconds. 

Overall Champions does not have a whole lot to it, I’m sure there will be people who will enjoy it as a little inspirational sports comedy or even a feel good movie. But if you are looking for anything more you won’t get it here. 

Champions releases in theaters March 10th

5/10 C

Emily has lines that blur fiction and reality.

Imagines the transformative, exhilarating, and uplifting journey to womanhood of a rebel and a misfit, one of the world’s most famous, enigmatic, and provocative writers who died too soon at the age of 30.

Emily could have been just another biopic but luckily there are a handful of things the film does a bit differently. Emily is a part fictional portrait of English writer Emily Brontë, which really does sum up this film quite well. 

For starters Emma Mackey is truly fantastic here, she gives so far one of the best performances of the year and truly hits it out of the park whenever given the opportunity. There’s these moments where the lines of fiction and reality are blurred, Mackey takes those moments and only makes them stronger with her incredible acting ability. 

The cinematography is gorgeous and gives the film a more gothic period piece type aesthetic which is very pleasing to the eye and really compliments the film quite well, the attention to detail with the costumes, background and foreground is truly sharp and creative as well. There’s so much to look at in each scene even if there is just a shot of one person in frame. 

When it comes to directing Frances O’Connor really nails it down, this is actually her directional debut which is quite impressive and really shows the upcoming talent really well, O’Connor creates a real but also fictional world. It has this playful atmosphere towards the beginning but at the same time has this dark atmosphere of tragedy which ultimately does come up in the film. It’s impressive to see how quickly O’Connor can capture so many different types of moods really well. 

The only main flaw is the movie does go on for a bit too long towards the end, however that doesn’t stop Emily from being such an interesting film that is truly beautifully told and done. 

Emily is available in theaters. 

8/10 B+

Shin Ultraman is a blast of fun!

After the accidental death of a human during battle, Ultraman takes on the man’s appearance and place at the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol to protect Earth from further threats.

It should really be pointed out how big the scope really is in Shin Ultraman, because wow this is a large movie that is just a huge amount of fun. There might not be a whole lot to Shin Ultraman in terms of story but there really does not need to be. 

For starters the film itself is very well made, it’s anime come to life in the best possible way. Which isn’t a bit too surprising due to the director being Shinji Higuchi who directed the live action Attack On Titan parts 1 and 2 (he also did Shin Godzilla which I loved). There’s so many strange elements combined with the traditional Kaiju elements we all know and love, there’s a lot of energy to the action scenes as well as so much entertainment value. 

The score is booming at different parts of the film especially during the action scenes that give the movie the extra energy it needs to bring in the viewer, it’s such a creative little movie and this is coming from someone who really didn’t watch the Ultraman tv series. I definitely have heard of the character but just haven’t checked out the series. 

Honestly what you see is what you get with Shin Ultraman and what’s shown is a huge amount of fun and genuinely fantastic, some of the writing definitely could have been a bit better during the first act of the film. But overall it’s quite great and I would imagine any fan of Kaiju films or Ultraman would love this one. 

Shin Ultraman is currently in theaters. 

8/10 B+