Wicked

When L. Frank Baum wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" which was published in 1900, I'm sure he had no idea of the phenomena he started. Subsequently, a film by the name of "The Wizard of Oz" was released in 1939 and after a number of decades, was released on TV as a yearly telecast. We've seen other films since based on the franchise, and now we have "Wicked" based on the musical of the same name which is originally based on Baum's story.

A vivid reimagining of the classic "The Wizard of Oz", "Wicked" spotlights the untold stories of Oz's most famous (or infamous) characters, namely The Wicked Witch of the West or Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and her unlikely friend Glinda (Ariana Grande), The Good Witch. The film follows green-skinned star Elphaba from birth to college and through the life-changing events which eventually label her 'wicked', introducing spoiled rich girl Glinda, local prince and heartthrob Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and even the Wizard of Oz  (Jeff Goldblum) himself, a troubled man very unlike the one you may remember. As Elphaba, a passionate political activist if there ever was one, fights injustice and seeks to undo the mistakes of the past, dark secrets, and personal tragedies shape the history of Oz, paying homage to the classic 'Wizard of Oz' story while simultaneously changing fans' understanding of it forever. A cautionary tale about love, friendship, and trust, "Wicked" effortlessly reveals that there are indeed two sides to every story. 

Others to round out the cast are Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessa, Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond (voice of), Andy Nyman as Governor Thropp, Courtney Mae-Briggs as Mrs. Thropp, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Bronwyn James as Shenshen, Aaron Teoh as Avaric, Shawn Prendergast as Shiz President and Keala Settle as Miss Coddle

This was brilliantly directed with such whimsical flair by Jon M. Chu ("Step Up 2: The Secrets" '08, "Step Up 3D" '10, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" '11, "G. I. Joe: Retaliation" '13, "Justin Bieber's Believe" '13, "Jem and the Holograms" '15, "Now You See Me 2" '16, "Crazy Rich Asians" '18, "Triage" (TV movie) '20, "In the Heights" '21) plus other films, TV, shorts and music videos, Considering there was a great deal of story involved with the screenplay, this filmmaker was able to sequence this story with such pathos, finesse and passion all in a film that was very entertaining. If you like this director's brand of work, his "Wicked: Part 2" is in post production for a 2025 release. Yes, there will be a Part 2-a continuation if you will. It was also equally written with excitement and adventure by Winnie Holzman ("'Til There Was You" '97) plus TV and a short and Dana Fox ("The Wedding Date" '05, "What Happens in Vegas" '08, "Couples Retreat" '09, "How to Be Single" '16, "Isn't It Romantic" '19, "Cruella" '21, "The Lost City" '22) plus TV, based on the musical book by Winnie Holzman, which is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, which is based on characters created by L. Frank Baum. This was a clever look at the story considering it's about the meeting and subsequent friendship of Elpaba and Glinda well before Dorothy et.al. converged in Oz. The effort that went into the birth and the ultimate entering college for Elphaba made the story that much more compelling. The script was concise, cohesive and kept the audience's attention for the entire 160 minute running time. As aforementioned, this is Part one of a two part film released in 2025. Hopefully this won't become yet another franchise like so many other films. A two parter I get to tell the complete story, but after that, it simply risks getting old. The visual effects predominantly created by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Framestore were seamless and definitely added to the story. And the cinematography by Alice Brooks asc was breathtaking. And even though I knew nothing about the music of this production, the music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz were amazing. And the two leads in Erivo and Grande were superb and could possible be in the running come Oscar time.

Certainly if you enjoyed the Broadway production or any other production of "Wicked" you will revel with this film. It's a fresh, original update of the story that all should see. The message? Don't judge a book by its cover, because you will probably be quite surprised. Enjoy!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                         Rated: PG                                               160mins.

 

Gladiator II

It simply amazes me that the original film, "Gladiator" was released 24 years ago! Where has the time gone? Although this film's predecessor was an amazingly well crafted movie, "Gladiator II" was every bit as well crafted. I believe waiting for almost a decade only served this film, and the fact that both films were directed by Ridley Scott didn't hurt.

16 years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucius (Paul Mescal) must enter the Colosseum after the powerful emperors of Rome, Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people. 

Others to round out the cast are Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Denzel Washington as Macrinus, Derek Jacobi as Gracchus, Lior Raz as Viggo, Alexander Karim as Ravi, Matt Lucas as Master of Ceremonies, Rory McCann as Tegula, Peter Mensah as Jubartha, Yuval Gonen as Arishat and Tim McInnerny asThraex. 

As with "Gladiator", this film was also brilliantly directed with amazing grit and intensity by the incomparable Ridley Scott ("The Duelists" '77, "Alien" '79, "Blade Runner" '82, "Thelma & Louise" '91, "White Squall" '96, "Gladiator" 2000, "Black Hawk Down" '01, "Matchstick Men" '03, "American Gangster" '07, "Prometheus" '12, "The Martian" '15, "All the Money in the World" '17, "House of Gucci" '21, "Napoleon" '23) plus other films, TV, a TV movie, videos and shorts. Certainly as time goes by Scott just gets more and more talented as he is obviously in a field of endeavor that he was born to do. His sequencing was presented in an almost effortless way. His cohesiveness and clarity in how he maneuvers his actors is second to none. He, like Spielberg and Nolan, has commanded a trustworthiness from his audience. It was equally well penned by writer David Scarpa (""The Last Castle" '01, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" '08, "All the Money in the World" '17, "Napoleon" '23) plus TV, based on a story by Peter Craig and David Scarpa which is based on characters created by David Franzpni. This writer was able to delineate the characters in this film with such finesse and clarity that I believe, along with the directing, it helped create a more chilling screenplay. And actually, the only issue I had with this script was that there were a couple of places of slowness in the story, but considering this was basically a two and a half hour running time that moved right along, this was a small infraction. The visual effects by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Framestore were amazing as they were incredibly effective. The sound effects editing by Matthew Collinge and Paul Massey were simply amazing and I noticed that almost immediately. 

It you liked the original "Gladiator", you'll love this. Between Ridley Scott's directing and Paul Mescal and Pedro Pescal's acting, this movie was amazing. FYI: this is rated 'R' for a reason--the gratuitous violence is evident as is is here so all can see. Hey, the Roman Empire days were ruthless and very violent. Enjoy!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: R                                       148mins.

Small Things Like These

There are films produced in Hollywood that range many genres, and even though there are many choices in which to make to enjoy ones' movie adventure, even if you break down the genres to just drama, there are several different categories under that. There are light drama, musical drama, a combination of comedy and drama and then there's a penetrating drama, where the story is so intense and in your face that the film becomes a tough sit. This is the case of "Small Things Like These".

This story takes place over Christmas in 1985 Ireland, when devoted father and husband to Eileen (Eileen Walsh) and coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy) inadvertently discovers startling secrets kept by the convent head up by one Sr. Mary (Emily Watson) in his town, along with some shocking truths of his own. The film reveals truths about Ireland's Magdalene laundries--horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820s until 1996, ostensibly to reform "fallen young women". These tactics were only to advocate the Catholic Church for their benefit and kept it from public knowledge. 

Others to round out the cast are Patrick Ryan as Pat, Giulia Doherty as Joan Furlong, Rachel Lynch as Sheila Furlong, Helen Behan as Mrs. Kehoe, Michelle Fairley as Mrs. Wilson, Mark McKenna as younger Ned, Zara Devlin as Sarah Redmond and Louis Kirwan as young Bill Furlong.

This was directed with stark reality by Tim Mielants ("Patrick" '19, "Nobody Has to Know" '21, "Wil" '23) plus TV and shorts. As I mentioned in the preface, there are seriously realistic dramas, such as "Schindler's List", "Revolutionary Road", "Belfast" "Sophie's Choice" and others that, when viewing them, one feels like they're eavesdropping into people's lives. This film absolutely falls into the same category. The intensity of each character in this, especially that of Murphy and Watson, was heart-pounding and kept its audience glued to the screen. It was interestingly written by Enda Walsh ("Disco Pigs" '01, "Hunger" '08, "Chatroom" '10, "The Last Hotel" (TV movie) '16, "Weightless" '17, "Lazarus" '18, "The House" '22) plus TV and shorts, based on the book by Claire Keegan. This film is actually based on a fictional novel of the same name, however the story of the book is based on these happenings where young women were forced in slavery by the then all powerful Roman Catholic Church up until 1996. The film was almost written in the style of it being 'based on a true story', but doesn't negate the truth that these practiced events weren't happening. It was brilliantly photographed in a very cold, austere way with an underlying depressing presence, which simply adding to the seriousness of this story that much more. There were a couple of places of disjointedness where the past and the present weren't as obvious as they could've been, otherwise is was an incredible well delineated and concise film. 

If you are into well crafted films, this is the film for you: fine directing, acting, cinematography and even writing, but if you're in the mood for something more uplifting and fun, I'd pass on this one. Of course, assuming you know the premise to this film, you will realize what you're walking into. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: PG-13                                     99mins.

Red One

Every year Hollywood sets out to bring us a number of Christmas films around this time of year. Hohoho! Like past Christmas films i.e. "It's a Wonderful Life", "Home Alone", "Miracle on 34th Street", "Elf", "The Santa Claus" and the most recent, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever', we now have "Red One" in the offing to rev up our anticipation of that time of year. 

After Santa 'Nick' Claus--Code Name: RED ONE (J. K. Simmons)--is kidnapped a witch named Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), the North Pole's Head of Security, Callum Drift (Dwayne Jonson) must team up with his director Zoe (Lucy Liu) and the world's most infamous bounty hunter or tracker, Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas. Considering that Jack is a definite skeptic of the whole Santa Claus thing, this mission is going to take some convincing by Callum and Zoe to get him to acquiesce since time is of the essence. 

Others to round out the cast are Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, Kristofer Hivju as Krampas, Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Olivia, Wesley Kimmel as Dylan, Nick Kroll as Ted, Wyatt Hunt as young Jack and Marc Evan Jackson as Uncle Rick.

This was uproariously directed by Jake Kasdan ("Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" '07, "Bad Teacher" '11, "Spring/Fall" (TV movie) '11, "Sex Tape" '14, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" '17, "Jumanji: The Next Level" '19) plus TV and a short. By his very resume, it was evident that Kasdan was simply within his comfort zone and we are the positive recipients of his talent. This had just the right amount of action, humor, drama, and great visuals to truly enjoy this film. His sequencing was spot on which made the story incredibly fluid. And all the cast were believable in their respective roles. It was equally well written by seasoned Chris Morgan ("Cellular" '04, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" '06, "Wanted" '08, "Connected" '08, "Fast & Furious" '09, "Fast Five" '11, "Fast & Furious 6" '13, "47 Ronin" '13, "Furious 7" '15, "The Fate of the Furious" '17, "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" '19,  "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" '23) plus TV and a short, based on a story by Hiram Garcia. Obviously this is an updated version of the whole Santa Claus legend replete with high tech equipment, computer generated graphics, and almost  done in a military style all with wit and a ton of action. Obviously this is basically the 'Fast & Furious' writer which certainly allowed to be more adept at penning this screenplay. I must say, the cinematography by Dan Mindel asc/bsc was amazing in that as the action scenes unfolded, the way the camera followed the sleigh as though you were on the sleigh itself, was a stroke of genius. And the visual effects predominantly designed by SPI (Sony Pictures Imageworks) and Rodeo VFX were seamless and certainly added hugely to the story. 

If you're into 'Santa Claus' films, this will do well for you. It has wit, action and light drama all with a great message of looking within and attempt to reconnect with those that one might have issues with--definitely heartwarming. It should go down in film history as a holiday classic like so many others. You be the judge. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                     Rated: PG-13                                        123mins.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Through the decades we've seen a plethora of Christmas films that span many different genres: drama, comedy, musical, even fantastical, but when I viewed "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", it was a film that not only celebrated the real story of Christmas, but did it in a very learning and entertaining way. 

The Herdmans are absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world--which is how the story begins. They lie, they steal, they bully...and now they've hijacked the town of Emmanuel's Christmas pageant. This story follows six siblings, including Imogene Herdman (Beatrice Schneider), Ralph (Mason Nelligan), Ollie (Essek Moore), Leroy (Ewan Matthys-Wood), Claude (Matthew Lamb) and Gladys (Kynlee Heiman), who sneak into church searching for snacks and ultimately walk away with the lead roles in the town pageant. Grace (Judy Greer) is directing the play for the very first time; she and her daughter Beth (Molly Belle Wright) and husband Bob (Pete Holmes) are in over their heads especially against a town that wants to kick the Herdmans out of the play. But the play's mischievous stars might unwittingly teach a community the true meaning of Christmas. 

Others to round out the cast are Lorelei Olivia Mote as Alice, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Charlie, Lauren Graham as Adult Beth, Stephanie Sy as Mrs. Thomas, Kirk B.R. Woller as Reverend Hopkins, Mariam Bernstein as Mrs. Armstrong and Jenni Burke as Miss. Graebner. 

This was directed with wit and heart by Dallas Jenkins ("Midnight Clear" '06, "What If..." '10, "Live Worship from Vertical Church" '12, "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" '17, "Christmas with the Chosen: Holy Night" '23) plus TV and shorts. This story certainly is within this filmmaker's comfort zone considering his inspiration film experience. Jenkins was the creator of the TV series "The Chosen" which has gained much popularity, so directing this comedy was evidently an easy task. No matter the character in this film, they came across realistic and believable and just what anyone would expect to see in a small town in the year 1972, and this is effective directing. It was wonderfully written by Ryan Swanson, Platte Clarke and Darin McDaniel, based on the novel by Barbara Robinson. Even though these writers don't have an abundance of experience, what they brought to the writing table was surely enough to write an amazing screenplay. Swanson had worked on the 'Chosen' series with Jenkins so his input certainly had to be pivotal. When I saw the trailer on this film, I personally wasn't impressed--the trailer doesn't sell this film, it goes much deeper than the trailer depicts. These six siblings however are hellish, they are seemingly the ones that, after a point, start gravitating to this story of Christmas which they've never experienced. Just like in the bible where the religious were pious and the tax collectors and prostitutes were hungry for info about God, the same goes here: the religious are pious (the townspeople) where these unloving, delinquent kids seem to be more hungry about knowing more about this Christmas story. They 'fight' these feelings, but as they hang around certain people, especially Grace, they slowly wonder if there's more to life. It's an interesting process, since it would be so easy to cast these kids to the wayside, but Grace saw more to them. 

If you see this, the message is amazing. According to Grace in this film, Jesus was born and died for all of us--not just the lovable and acceptable, so we should extend a hand to these people as well, and isn't this the reason the the holiday of Christmas? 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG                                       99mins.

Hitpig

Typically animated films are released either in the summer or around the end of the year, but the makers of "Hitpig" decided to release this animated flick in the middle of autumn--not sure why, but hopefully it will bode well for them. Designed by an animated company which isn't familiar--Talecraft Animation Studios, this is presented well and the animation is well thought out.

Hitpig (Jason Sudeikis) is a pig hired by humans to bring back their escaped animals. It's not easy, but it's a living. His latest hit is Pickles (Lilly Singh), a naive but vivacious elephant who had escaped the clutches of an evil Vegas showman, Leapin Lord of the Leotard (Rainn Wilson). Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm for big cash, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected adventure criss-crossing the globe that brings out the best in both of them. Set in a futuristic cyberpunk world, Hitpig proves sometimes what we want isn't necessarily what we need. 

Others to round out the cast are Anitta as Leticia, RuPaul as Polecat, Lorraine Ashbourne as Bertha, Andy Serkis as Newscaster, Charlie Adler as Super Rooster, Flavor Flav as Chef Emcee, Dave Rosenbaum as Janitor and Hannah Gadsby as Lola. 

This was directed with humor and clarity by David Feiss ("The Body Electric" (TV movie) '85, "A Cool Like That Christmas" (TV movie) '93, "Open Season: Scared Silly" '15) plus TV, shorts, videos and a TV short, and Cinzia Angelini (short). With the experience Feiss has including all the TV and shorts, it's no wonder why this film was sequenced well and delineated with crispness. Alrhough Feiss has the lion's share of the directing, certainly Angelini was pivotal with input that was needed. It was written well by Berkeley Breathed, Dave Rosenbaum and Tyler Werrin, based on a screen story by Berkeley Breathed, which is based on the book "Pete and Pickles" by Berkeley Breathed. This is a film that is geared toward kids, but all can leave the theater feeling better about themselves and others. And because its demographic is primarily for kids, it does have a tendency to be a bit predictable in its plot. This was probably purposed, however it would've been a bit more captivating if there were somewhat stronger challenges with these characters even it being a comedy. Although I've never heard of Talecraft Animation Studios--the company that drew this, its design was effective as it was original and as talented a company as Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Blue Sky and the like. 

If you like animation and a heartwarming, witty story, this is the film for you. As aforementioned, this is primarily geared to kids, but adults can revel as well--I did enjoy it. It is a bit predictable, however not really enough to take away from this story based on the classic book.  

Out 4 Stars: 3.5                                     Rated: PG                                          85mins.

Here

Robert Zemeckis has given us a plethora of films that utilize a certain look or effect that he attempts to accentuate his films with, and I must say, these techniques are a very powerful way to convince his audience of the story. We've seen "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Back to the future", "Death Becomes Her", "Forrest Gump", "The Polar Express" and "The Walk" where he has showcased these effects. So now, he has given us "Here" whereas he again has implemented those effects with concise delineation.

"Here" is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the most relatable of human experiences. Robert Zemekis directs from a screenplay by Eric Roth and himself. Told much in the style of the acclaimed graphic novel by Richard McGuire on which it is based, Tom Hanks as Richard and Robin Wright as Margaret star in a tale of love, loss, laughter and life, all of which happens here.

Others to round out the cast are Paul Bettany as Al, Richard's father, Kelly Reilly as Rose, Richard's mother, Michelle Dockery as Pauline Marter, Ophelia Lovibond as Stella Beekman, Beau Gadsdon as Young Elizabeth and Jonathan Aris as Earl Higgins. 

This was directed with heart and deep feelings by the incomparable Robert Zemeckis ("I Wanna Hold Your Hand" '78, "Used Cars" '80, "Back to the Future" '85, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" '88, "Death Becomes Her" '92, "Forrest Gump" '94, "Contact" '97, "Cast Away" '2000, "The Polar Express" '04, "Flight" '12, "The Walk" '15, "Allied" '16, "Pinocchio" '22) plus other films, TV, shorts and videos. Whether Zeneckis utilizes special effects or not in order to effectively direct a film, he is typically a well-honed, caliber filmmaker. His ability to encourage his actors to exude the emotions they need to be convincing is their respective roles is amazing, and this film is no exception. If you like this director's brand of filmmaking, his "The King" is in development. It was wonderfully written by Eric Roth ("The Nickel Ride" '74, "The Concorde...Airport '79" '79, "Suspect" '87, "Forrest Gump" '94, "The Insider" '99, "Ali" '01, "Munich" '05, "Lucky You" '07, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" '08, "A Star is Born" '18, "Dune: Part One" '21, "Killers of the Flower Moon" '23) plus other films, TV and a short, and Robert Zemeckis ("1941" '79, "Used Cars" '80, "Back to the Future" '85, "Trespass" '92, "The Polar Express" '04, "A Christmas Carol" '09, "The Walk" '15, "Welcome to Marwen" '18, "Pinocchio" '22) and other films, TV, shorts videos and video games, based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire. The film was presented in an almost play format because the camera was set up in the living room and facing the front bay window, and then implemented split screen effects within the plot which helped in allowing this film to progress in a more rapid way, otherwise I could see this film running in excess of two and half hours. It did jump from family to family and time period to time period, but there was definitely a connection within the different scenes so it became cohesive. It was shot in a heartwarming and enduring way 'looking' into different families' lives. It has some interesting aspects such as the home across the street was a house Benjamin Franklin lived in and one of the families in the house invented the Lazy-Boy recliner which made it interesting. The performances by both Tom Hanks and Robin Wright were exquisite and a delight to see them reunite from "Forest Gump" in which they co-starred. And the musical score by Alan Silvestri, basically Zemeckis' music composer, flowed incredibly well throughout the production. The cinematography by Don Burgess asc was incredibly original and even though the camera was set up in one position, it still kept ones' attention, and lastly, the visual effects predominantly designed by Double Negative were stunning and went hand in hand with the story. 

If you are a Zemeckis fan, you'll love this. It is heartwarming, funny, dramatic, redeeming in that families are healed emotionally. It's original presentation of the premise is entertaining as it is captivating. I'm perplexed that other critics have panned this film--I feel that they perhaps didn't or couldn't 'feel' this film. For this to happen, one must allow themselves to feel the film. This is a gem!!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                           Rated: PG-13                                      104mins.