The Hill

Films about sports are about as numerous as the amount of films made. Hollywood has tapped into a subject that most audiences like, whether one is a sports fanatic or not. The list of these films is far too broad to list, but suffice it to say what other sports, specifically baseball films that is about a perennial underdog attempting to overcome a lifelong degenerative spine condition in order to become a professional baseball player? Well, "The Hill" gives you this and more. 

Growing up impoverished in small town Texas, young Rickey Hill (Jesse Berry) shows an extraordinary ability for hitting a baseball, despite being burdened by leg braces from a degenerative spinal disease. His stern father, Pastor James Hill (Dennis Quaid) discourages Rickey from playing baseball to protect him from injury, and to have him follow in his footsteps and become a preacher. As a young man, Rickey (Colin Ford) becomes a baseball phenomenon, and his desire to participate in a tryout for a legendary major league scout, Red Murff (Scott Glenn) divides the family and threatens Rickey's dream of playing professional baseball. His girlfriend, Gracie (Siena Bjornerud), when it's all said and done, seems to be Rickey biggest cheerleader. Will he make the grade? 

Others to round out the cast are Joelle Carter as Helen Hill, Rickey's mother, Bonnie Bedelia as Gram Lily, Randy Houser as Ray Clemons, Ryan Dinning as Robert Hill, Rickey's brother, Carina Worm as Connie Hill, Rickey's sister, Mason Gillett as young Robert and Tyler Johnson as Quinn. 

This was directed with as much pathos as there was emotion by Jeff Celentano ("Under the Hula Moon" '95, "Gunshy" '98, "Primary Suspect" 2000, "Moscow Heat" '04, "Say It in Russian" '07, "Breaking Point" '09, "Glass Jaw" '18) plus shorts. His ability to showcase how he is able to extract the most effective emotions out of his actors is amazing. He hasn't directed as many films as one might think considering he's been a filmmaker since 1995, but it is obviously because he chooses the projects he works on carefully. It was effectively written by Angelo Pizzo ("Hoosiers" '86, "Rudy" '93, "The Game of Their Lives" '05, "My All-American" '15, "Bleed for This" (story) '16) plus TV and Scott Marshall Smith ("Men of Honor" 2000, "The Score" '01, "When the Game Stands Tall" '14, "Camera Store" '17), based on other treatment of story by Bill Chaffin. As with other films, this was treated as a flashback in 1975, with Rickey in his uniform at his infamous tryout. He's contemplating thinking about the past. His childhood upbringing goes back to the 1960s showing his life with his family and when he was on braces because of his degenerative spinal disease. This athlete not only came from impoverished conditions, but striving to become more that he was told he only would ever be--a baseball player not being one of them, it's amazing that he survived. What truly got him through was his faith and his family. There were a couple of places in the script that deemed a bit slow and choppy, but it didn't hinder at all what was being conveyed to the audience. If you haven't noticed from reading his resume, Angelo Pizzo is a sports film writer. At one point in his career, he felt he was getting pigeon-holed in writing these types of films, but, after a while, he wrapped his head around it and kept doing what he does best. I feel, if you like your work--in this case, subject matter--why change it, especially if you are talented. Unfortunately, this was the other writer's Scott Marshall Smith's last film considering his death. The film was dedicated to his memory. 

If you like films about sports, or more pointed, about baseball, you'll love this, however, I'm not a huge fan of the sport, I was still glued to the screen. This is the quintessential underdog film where this hopeful baseball player should've never gotten his chance, but with faith, family, friends and determination, it happened, and does so for so many other things one strives for in life. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: PG-13                                          126mins.

Gran Turismo

Race car films have always be an exhilarating sport to explore, and Hollywood has far exceeded in giving the audience an amazing roller coaster. ride. From "Grand Prix" to "Le Mans", from "Driven" to "Rush", these films take you along for the ride of your life with thrilling sequences and amazing photography. After viewing "Gran Turismo", the same could be said of that as well. 

Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver. What he must learn from trainer, ex-race car driver Jack Salter (David Harbour) and realize is that playing a Gran Turismo game, no matter how sophistical the game is, is definitely not like driving a formula race car at upwards to 360mph. Marketer, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) is the one that talked Nissan into conducting this Gran Turismo academy in order to find out which player is going to be the best, so he has everything on the line to ensure this works. This is the quintessential underdog film, and who doesn't like an underdog film?

Others to round out the cast are Darren Barnet as Matty Davis, Djimon Hounsou as Steve Mardenborough, Jann's father, Takehiro Hira as Kazunori Yamauchi, Geri Halliwell Horner as Lesley Mardenborough, Jann's mother, Josha Stradowski as Nicholas Capa, Daniel Puig as Colby Mardenborough, Jann's brother and Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Audrey. 

This was delineated with such precision by director Neill Blomkamp ("District 9" '09, "Elysium" '13, "Chappie" '15, "Demonic" '21) plus TV, videos, music videos and many shorts. I believe that Blomkamp chooses his films with care since they are seemingly helmed with amazing emotion, staging and pacing. So, he doesn't have a tremendous amount of feature films under his belt, but couple that with all the shorts he has been involved with, and you have a great amount of talent. It was equally well penned by writers Jason Hall ("Spread" '09, "Paranoia" '13, "American Sniper" '14, "Thank You for Your Service" '17) and Zach Baylin ("King Richard" '21, "Creed III" '23), based on a story by Jason Hall and Alex Tse. The continuity, cohesiveness and conciseness in this script was truly formulated well from this kid's blue-collar background to becoming the racer he has become which is all he really wanted ever since he was 5 years old. Really, other than maybe one small area of slowness and the fact that for not having much money, this teen had an impressive setup in his bedroom, which begs the question, where did he get the money?, this was spot on. Apparently, it must've taken time to acquire this kind of setup--can you say working yourself to the bone? As with most racing films, the photography, visuals and locales were amazing. 

If you are a racing aficionado, you'll love this film, but even if not, like I mentioned prior, this is an amazing underdog film which you will want to get on your feet a cheer this guy on. If you want to see this up, close and personal, it's also being presented in both IMAX and 4DX formats. Have fun with this, I know I did!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: PG-13                                     135mins.

Blue Beetle

As DC Entertainment and Marvel Studios battle it out to see who garners the most popularity, not to mention, the most box office receipts for this year's summer film season, the competition is fierce.  As the season wanes, it looks to be a tie even with the film being offered now which is DC's "Blue Beetle". The one aspect that this film has over a good portion of the rest is that family is certainly at the core of this.

Recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) returns home full of aspirations for the future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it--a lot of turmoil going on with family, namely his father, Alberto (Damien Alcazar), his mother, Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) and his sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo). As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien technology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses, by will, Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE. 

Others to round out the cast are Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord, Becky G as Khaji-Da (voice), Adriana Barraza as Nana, Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord, George Lopez as Uncle Rudy Reyes, Raoul Max Trujillo as Carapax and Harvey Guillen as Dr. Sanchez.

This was directed with such grit and wit by Angel Manuel Soto ("Frailty" '12, "The Farm" '15, "Charm City Kings" '20) plus shorts, TV and a video. With his feature films and the plethora of shorts this filmmaker has to his credit, it's no doubt that Soto was able to, not only give us an adventurous project, but a humorous one as well. The way he was able to extract emotions from his actors ranging fro serious to lighthearted was amazing. His staging was just a bit off in a couple of very few places, but he carried this off in spades. It was cleverly written by Gareth Dunnet=Alcocer ("Miss Bala" '19) plus shorts. The character of Jaime played by Mariduena was genius in that he wasn't cocky--in fact he didn't even want to be a super hero, however the Scarab knew better, and this made for more of a 'real' person instead of someone that has an ego problem, and this is talented writing. I'm not sure where they got this actor--maybe he does a fair amount of TV, but he was a very believable and credible Jaime. He will go far. Really, other than a couple of very small places of choppiness, this script was simply spot on. If you liked the writing of this, Alcocer's "El Muerto" is in pre production. And, I can't help but think that veteran actors, Susan Sarandon and George Lopez just had a thrill ride with this considering their roles were c somewhat hammy. Those are always fun roles for any actor. And considering that ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Digital Domain designed the brunt of the visual effects, made this an even more fun film to see. 

Certainly if you like the "Blue Beetle" DC comics, you'll love this, however if you're like me, and have never heard of Blue Beetle, you'll still like this since it is directed with grit and written with such feeling. The one aspect that I definitely enjoyed was the element that family was everything, and it's so nice to see a film that represents that aspect.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                Rated: PG-13                                      127mins.

Jules

Among all the big-budget films that are the staples during the summer film season, it's so nice to have a small independent film, or two, during this time to give us a break from all the adrenaline and massive amounts of CGI. One of those small films is in the form of "Jules", a delightful film about a man discovering a UFO that crashed lands in his backyard and subsequent friendship from that point.

"Jules" follows Milton Robinson (Ben Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in western small town, Boot City, Pennsylvania, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls 'Jules'. Things become complicated when two neighbors, Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin) discover Jules. Shocked at first, they soon develop a bond with Jules as Milton did. The government being as snoopy as they are, start closing in on suspicions of something 'odd' going on in that town. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life--thanks to this unlikely stranger. 

Others to round out the cast are Zoe Winters as Denise, Milton's daughter, Jade Quon as Jules, Donald Paul as Agent Mann, Anna George as Dr. North, Cody Kostro as Danny, Eric T. Miller as Tim, Patrick Noonan as Cop #1, Lee R. Sellars as Chief, Jeff Kim as Agent Shu and Teddy Canez as Mayor Martinez.

This was touchingly directed by Marc Turtletaub ("Gods Behaving Badly" '13, "Puzzle" '18) plus shorts. The way that this filmmaker presented this film as a touching and heartwarming production was creative as it was so unusual given the premise. Usually, once the alien is discovered, all hell breaks loose and it truly becomes a cat and mouse game with the authorities at that point. One can tell that this director was in close communication with the writer. It was brilliantly written by Gavin Steckler (TV). The amazing aspect of this is that the film is written by a writer with no feature film experience. I have mentioned in prior reviews that if a writer has enough TV or shorts experience, it can take them far. Well, that must be the situation here, because this script was delineated with such subtlety and richness that once I was immersed in this story, I felt like I was on this amazing trek to truly enjoy another place and amazing characters in a story that transcends all concerns outside the theater walls. The bond between Milton, Sandy and Joyce with Jules was genuine and iron clad. 

This film was a, sort of, cross between "E.T. The Extra-terrestrial" and "Lars and the Real Girl" whereas in E.T., the alien just wanted to go home as with this film, and as with "Lars and the Real Girl", it was charming in that Lars so wanted for all to believe in his 'girl' Bianca, just as with this Jules was charming, so it wasn't a task to help him. This is a film all should see for its whimsy and heartwarming story. Why can't there be more films like this to be offered?

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG-13                                   87mins.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The genre of horror isn't one of my favorites--most are predictable, similarly written and poorly acted, so why waste my money and time? However, assuming that the premise is original and fresh, I'll take the chance. After viewing the trailer of "The Last Voyage of the Demeter", I felt, it being labeled a horror film, decided to go see it, and it was a very interesting tale of Dracula's origins.

Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker's classic novel, "Dracula", "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo--fifty unmarked wooden crates--from Romania to London in 1897, strange events befall the doomed crew comprised of Clemens (Corey Hawkins), Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham), Abrams (Chris Walley), Digaren (Stefan Kapicic) and others, as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England a month later, it is a charred, derelict wreck, and there is no trace of the crew. 

Others to round out the cast are Aisling Franciosi as Anna, Jon Jon Briones as Joseph, Martin Purulund as Larsen, Nikolai Nikolaeff as Petrofsky, Woody Norman as Toby, Javier Botet as Dracula and Graham Turner as Constable. 

This was rivetingly and graphically directed by Andre Ovredal ("Future Murder" 2000, "Troll Hunter" '10, "The Autopsy of Jane Doe" '16, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" '19, "Mortal" '20) plus shorts. His staging, pacing and sequential format was to perfection. Of course, he's worked along side of Guillermo del Toro's producer duties when he helmed "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", and del Toro is a consummate director. This filmmaker's ability to emit just the most effective amounts of emotion given the scene, was startling. Truly Ovredal, by his very resume, is definitely within his comfort zone here,and we are the victors for it. It was refreshingly and originally written by Bragi F. Schut ("Season of the Witch" '11, "Escape Room" '19, "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" (based on characters created) '21, "Samaritan" '22) plus TV and shorts, and Zak Olkewicz ("Fear Street: Part Two--1978" '21, "Bullet Train" '22), based on a screen story by Bragi F. Schut, which is based on a single chapter called "The Captain's Log" from the classic novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. I've never read Bram Stoker's Dracula, so I had no idea how he reached London until seeing this film. Was this really a horror film? Perhaps, but when I hear the term 'horror', what conjures up in my mind is the typical slasher, slice and dice film that I've grown way too weary of. I feel this is more of a scary story with a heavy dose of blood. This had a premise that was based in a classic story, and one that was pivotal in that in involves how Dracula was able to reach another part of the world. These writers wrote a tight, cohesive script that kept me riveted for the 2-hour running time. And, this is the most hideous looking and acting Dracula I've ever seen in any films about him, and there have been a few. The cinematography by Tom Stern was exquisite as well. He has worked on a plethora of Eastwood films in the past and others as well. He definitely knows his way around a camera. 

If you're a Dracula fan, you'll like this, especially since it represents him as the hideous beast that he is--he does not take any prisoners. The directing, writing and acting were effective and definitely gave you what you would be looking for in a film as this is. Was is flawless? No, really others than a couple of very small areas of continuity issues, this was spot on. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                       Rated: R                                            119mins.

Theater Camp

Satirical films have always been my favorite format in which to convey a comedy. Some excellent films come to mind: "Best in Show", "State and Main", "Thank You for Smoking", "For Your Consideration" all come to mind, and they all are quality films. Even though "Theater Camp" is a satire, it could've been a bit more biting in its writing. 

As summer rolls around again, kids are gathering from all over to attend AdriondACTS, a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York that's a haven for budding performers. After its indomitable founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) falls to a stroke and subsequent coma, her clueless "tech-bro" son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is tasked with keeping the thespian paradise running. With financial ruin looming, Troy must join forces with technical director, Glenn Winthrop (Noah Galvin), teachers, Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), producer Rita Cohen (Caroline Aaron), and their band of eccentric teachers to come up with a solution before the curtain rises on opening night. 

Others to round out the cast are Ayo Edebiri as Janet Walch, Owen Thiele as Gigi Charbonier, Nathan Lee Graham as Clive DeWitt, head of dance, Patti Harrison as Caroline Krauss, financial consultant, Kyndra Sanchez as  Darla Sanchez, Bailee Bonick as Mackenzie Thomas, Donovan Colan as Devon Miller and Alan Kim as Alan Park.

This was incredibly well directed by virtually two newcomers to feature films, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman (shorts and music videos). Other than stage work (acting, music), Gordon has no other directing experience, whereas Lieberman otherwise has only some shorts and music videos to his credit, however, their ability to stage and pace these actors was exercised incredibly well. I'm sure it has everything to do with their stage work along with the fact that they are both seasoned actors as well. I know I've mentioned this in prior reviews, but typically if a projects has more than two writers that created the screenplay, it seriously has a tendency to get bogged down with confusion and choppiness. This being penned by four writers, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman and Ben Platt (shorts), I was amazed with the continuity, conciseness, and cohesiveness this carried. Really, the only complaint I could even have is the fact that it could've been a bit more satirical (not hit over the head satirical), but just a bit more of a parody since this was clearly being pushed in that direction. Also, the aspect of putting this in a 'documentary style' format, gave it that satirical look as well. The cast was effective and worked well off of each other. I felt that Jimmy Tatro as Troy gave a terrific portrayal of the guy taking his mom's place at the last second to run this camp. He was seriously like a fish out of water, socially, financially, and managerially. He was a nice guy, but clearly was clueless. And the overs had their own issues as well to contend with. 

All in all, this definitely gives you a funny and interesting behind-the-scenes look at how a theater camp is run, both in the acting and what it takes to get the production off the ground otherwise. I feel this is definitely worth the price of admission if for only all the eclectic characters this houses.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                              Rated: PG-13                                         93mins.

Meg 2: The Trench

Ever since "Jaws" graced the cinema back in 1975, there have been more sequels to it along side with other shark and man-eating fish films to last a lifetime. In 2018, "The Meg" was released and grossed a huge amount at the box office. So, as unoriginal as Hollywood is, a sequel had to be produced in the form of "Meg 2: The Trench". 

Get ready for the ultimate adrenaline rush this summer in "Meg 2: The Trench", a literally larger-than-life thrill ride that supersizes the original 2018 blockbuster and takes the action to higher heights and even greater depths with multiple massive Megs and so much more! Dive into uncharted waters with Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) and global action icon playing Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu) as they lead a daring research team comprised of James 'Mac' MacKreides (Cliff Curtis), DJ (Page Kennedy), Rigas (Melissanthi Mahut), Curtis (Whoopie Van Raam), Sal (Kiran Sonia Sawar) and Lance (Felix Mayr), on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths (25,000ft) of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation, headed up by Montes (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), threatens their mission and forces them into a high stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers, our heroes must outrun, out smart, and out swim their merciless predators in a pulse-pounding race against time, where the depths of the ocean are matched only by the heights of sheer, unstoppable excitement!

Others to round out the cast are Sophia Cai as Meiying, Skyler Samuels as Jess, Sienna Guillory as Hilary Driscoll, Billy Clements as Mercenary, Robin Hill as Cargo Ship Captain and Stewart Alexander as Tourist Businessman.

This was grippingly and intensely directed by Ben Wheatley ("Down Terrace" '09, "Steve Coogan: The Inside Story" (TV movie) '09, "Kill List" '11, "Burge & Way" (TV movie) '11, "Inside Burge & Way" (TV movie) '11, "Sightseers" '12, "The ABCs of Death" '12, "A Field in England" '13, "High-Rise" '15, "Free Fire" '16, "Happy New Year, Colin Burstead" '18, "Rebecca" '20, "In the Earth" '21) plus TV, a video and a music video. The pacing and staging in this was very much akin to "Speed"1994 with Keanu Reeves, which simply moved in rapid speed which represented the kind of film it was. This film does the same, giving you the feeling of dragging you through a knothole. Coupling that aspect and keeping all other areas of the film intact and this filmmaker made this film rock. It was written effectively by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber and Dean Georgaris, based on a screen story by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, which is based on the novel, "The Trench" by Steve Alten. All three writers have anywhere from a fair to a plethora of writing experience which is why this film kept ones' attention, however, with the exception of a few areas of inconsistencies and continuity issues, this story moved right along all the while keeping its audience on the edge of their proverbial seats. Hey, two of the writers were involved in the writing of the most recent 'Transformers' film, "Battleship" and "RED", so they know what it takes to write big-budget films. The visual effects, predominantly designed by DNEG (Double Negative) and Scanline VFX were creative as they were seamless. 

Certainly, if you liked "The Meg" (2018), you'll like this. Statham is back bigger and badder than ever. Will this be up for any Oscar nods? With maybe the exception of best visuals or sound, definitely not, but this is clearly not why they made this film. This film is for the single male, 18-34 demographic--get 'em in those theater seats--caching! It is also presented in an IMAX format as well. I did see the original film in a 4DX format, and if you've never seen a film in this format, I recommend it highly. It's a bit pricey, but well worth seeing a film in the format once--this film is also in that format. It's a great popcorn film, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                             Rated: PG-13                                     115mins.