Shazam! The magic word for teenage entertainment Movie Rating 8 out of 10 Family rating It has an M rating with mild swearing, some disturbing gargoyle-like creatures that cause harm to humans, and superhero violence. Equivalent type movies would be Goonies or Poltergeist. With DC continually falling short of Marvel movies for entertainment, they have created Shazam to bring some fun back to the franchise. The movie is still about superheroes and of course super villains but does not come with DC's usually dark and grimy undertones. It has a good young cast, contains juvenile humour and is much more appealing than most of their stories and is suitable for older families. It carries themes that many youth/young adults can relate to such as being different, dealing with bullying behaviour, broken families and learning to deal with growing up. The story revolves around a teenage boy, Billy Batson, who has been through numerous foster homes after becoming separated from his single mother. In his efforts to locate his mother he falls foul of the police and is taken into custody and reassigned to another family. This household consists of five other foster children, each dealing with their own issues. However, Billy becomes friends with one of the boys, Freddy, who deals with a disability by being annoying to everyone. At the same time, there is an old wizard who has been given the task of keeping the supernatural bad guys under control. However, he is getting too old and is seeking a pure-hearted person to pass his powers on to. He is continually interviewing potential candidates but they have all failed the test that would qualify them for the power. One of these unsuccessful candidates is Thaddeus Sivana, who then does everything to obtain the power of the Wizard Shazam. Dr Sivana releases the seven deadly sins and as Shazam is nearing his end he recruits Billy to be the keeper of the power. This is done by calling out the word Shazam which turns Billy into an adult superhero. The movie then deals with Billy learning what superpowers he has as well as learning to act like the adult that he now looks. The adult Shazam is played with a childish innocence by Zachary Levi. The rest of the movie explores what can happen when someone acquires power without knowing how to use it, how it impacts on friendships and how to use it for the benefit of others rather than for selfish reasons. While watching the film I had the sense of seeing this before and in many ways, it is similar to 'Big' in which Tom Hanks becomes an adult overnight, or 30 Something with Jennifer Garner doing the same. In this movie, though Billy is able to change from a teenager into a superhero and back again by using the magic…

Instant Family will bring the family together. Movie Rating 8 out of 10 Family Rating It is rated PG but does have some coarse language Recently there have been too few movies that I have been able to recommend for families to watch together but Instant Family fits the bill. It is a movie for families that addresses what makes a family and how we all want to be part of one. The story centres on a married couple, Pete and Ellie Wagner (Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne) who in their late 30's recognise that they have missed their prime for having children. Instead, they consider adopting and thus begins a story that puts the foster/adoption programme on display. The movie begins with Ellie and Pete attending an 8-week training programme run by Karen (Octavia Spencer) and Sharon (Tig Notaro) who bring some comedy to this phase with their diametrically opposed training techniques. Next stage is meeting their foster children, yes multiple, Lizzie, Juan and Lita with their various characteristics and traits. Without giving too much away we then follow their journey as they try to become a 'normal' family. For those who are a little older, this movie has an 'Uncle Buck' feel to it that has the right mix of comedy and tenderness. There were many scenes in which I laughed out loud as the characters acted out just as many familiar members of my own family. There were cringe-worthy 'foot in mouth' moments that we can appreciate as something our partner, our parents or unfortunately ourselves would say. As with any family, but possibly more with a blended family, there is the awkwardness of establishing boundaries, relationships and trust and of course the horrible fear of rejection or failure that at times will dog us. There is a large supporting cast of family members and other parents going through the adoption process that all help the movie to share its message. From the adult sibling rivalries and involvement of parents/grandparents, through to the reality of being sometimes relieved that others are coping even worse than yourself, this has at least a couple of scenarios that we can all relate to. Instant Family may be seen by some as a sugar-coated tale that glosses over the many challenges facing both children and adults in the foster/adoption programs. However, I felt that it shared with the audience some of the hardships that have to be overcome and the overwhelming joy that can come to those who face these challenges and are willing to stick it out. to the end.  

Movie Rating 8 out of 10 Family Rating Adult Themes, Violence, some coarse language M Night Shyamalan started his directing his career with the incredible The Sixth Sense, then in 2000 came Unbreakable with Bruce Willis in the lead. Since then, many of his films failed to register with audiences, Signs, The Village, The Happening and then he went from poor to awful with The Last Airbender and After Earth. His career looked at an end until he went back to his roots and made the amazing Split, with James McAvoy and this last piece of the trilogy, 20 years in the making, Glass. While Unbreakable and Split can be watched without knowing the full story, I would recommend that you watch both of these before seeing Glass. If you haven't seen the first two there may be some spoilers ahead but not the outcomes of each movie so I hope it encourages you to see them rather than puts you off. Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis tells the story of David Dunn, the sole survivor of a major train crash, who becomes the obsession of Elijah Price, Samuel L Jackson, who is a brilliant man but has a condition that has weakened his bone structure so that they will break under the slightest pressure. Price confronts Dunn and tells him that he believes that he is a superhero who has a role to play in helping others. This movie has a real twist at the end that I will not reveal. Split is the story of a man, James McAvoy, who has 24 distinct personalities. He has kidnapped 3 young girls and the movie goes through how each of the personalities interrelates, with some trying to save the girls while others welcome the arrival of the personality known as the Beast. James McAvoy is amazing as he revolves through so many characters, who refer to their collective self as the Horde, each with its own voice and characteristics. The film plays out as a stand-alone story until the very last scene where Split and Unbreakable become linked. So this is a long build-up to my review on Glass. This movie focuses on the character of Elijah Price, from the Unbreakable movie. Dr Ellie Staple, Sarah Paulson, brings Dunn, the Horde and Price together in a program designed to reform people who believe that they may have superhuman powers to see that they are just normal. While none of them is the standard superheroes/villains of Marvel status they believe that they have significant powers which are brought into question by the doctor's treatment. The film has continual twists and without adding any spoilers we find out at the end who has been manipulating who. The three main actors in Bruce Willis, James McAvoy and Samuel Jackson, play their roles brilliantly and the film becomes a real…

Vice - Amazing performances, ordinary story Movie Rating 7 out of 10 Family Rating Adult themes, strong coarse language, depictions of war violence. This movie is based on the story of Dick Cheney and so the name 'Vice' refers to the office of Vice President of the United States in which he served during the period that George W Bush served as President. I really wasn't planning to see this film, as modern American politics leaves me cold, but as it will be nominated for some Academy Awards I have the reviewers duty to share with you all my opinions. The story follows the development of Dick Cheney from a lethargic university student with little ambition to the point that he becomes one of the most powerful men in the world. This review will be in two parts today as I will firstly review the movie and its cast and then secondly the politics of the presentation. Christian Bale is an amazing actor and will go close to winning the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Dick Cheney. Some of you may recall the little rant I had last year about Gary Oldman's performance of Winston Churchill, fat suit and all. In contrast, Bale has the mesmerising ability to physically become the character he is playing, losing heaps of weight in The Machinist and now putting on weight to play Cheney. Halfway through the movie, I forgot that this was an actor and not the real character. In support, Amy Adams does a great job as his ambitious wife without turning it into an episode of House of Cards. Steve Carel is also impressive as Donald Rumsfeld and Sam Rockwell as George W Bush. So with such good performances, you would expect that I would have given Vice a higher rating. Unfortunately, the movie really doesn't know what it wants to be as it swings from a Michael Moore documentary to a spoof on the Bush presidential reign to an episode of the Soprano's. It is hard to watch the movie with an unbiased view as it obvious that the writer and director, Adam Macky, does not think highly of Dick Cheney or the Republican party. Early in the film, he tells us that the story is based on facts relating to decisions and actions that Cheney took in his life however he then adds his own interpretation of what he believes motivated Cheney to make those decisions and none of it implies that Cheney had any concern for people at all. The movie runs for over two hours and during that time he tries to cover over 40 years of Cheney's life and so there are many stops and starts that makes it hard to understand segments in context. Throughout the movie, there are continual montages of cuts from real film clips that…

Movie Review 6 out of 10 Family Review Strong violence for a superhero movie, scary underwater creatures and a few swear words. I am afraid my first review for 2019 will tear the superhero community in two as I have heard people rave about Aquaman and others pan it as poorly made. Already I have been involved in an international incident where an NZ local took my comments on the film and Jason Momoa's acting as an affront to Maori culture. For this reason, it is important that I am upfront in declaring that I am definitely a fan of Marvel movies over those produced by the DC banner but I do try to be unbiased when reviewing their movies. It is also important for me to mention that it has grossed $940 million worldwide so people obviously want to see it Now that I have made all my apologies let me share with you my opinions on this mega-blockbuster. I am not a Game of Thrones watcher so I do not know how good an actor Jason Momoa can be but I believe he was picked for the role based on his image rather than his ability to play a character. Momoa portrayed his character as 'one of the boys' that is not interested in taking any responsibility for events that don't immediately affect his world. While we find that he is mentored as a young boy/man to understand his heritage and place in the undersea world of Atlantis he has no desire to be part of it, even though he doesn't seem to have any career or desire to achieve anything on land. In Aquaman, DC is trying to establish a knockabout character modelled on a cross between Thor's self-assurance and Deadpool's bad behaviour but Momoa does not have the comedic timing to land the zingers. The movie is directed by Australian, James Wan, who is known for his horror movies Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious and recently Furious 7. Knowing his background it is understandable that the violence in the film is more intense and personal than most Marvel movies. The increased violence. along with the nasty creatures from the Trench, lead me to recommend that this movie may not be suitable for younger children. Some of the underwater scenes are reminiscent of Avatar and the movie does follow a plot that establishes Aquaman as a much stronger character than previously portrayed in DC shows. However, the story is very predictable and rolls along without feeling the need to explain how certain things happen or why. (For a list of these see Spoiler Alert below). There are two bad guys with Patrick Wilson playing Aquaman's half-brother who believes that he is entitled to be King of Atlantis and a pirate known as Mantra that has high tech gadgets but not much else going…

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Movie Review 7 friends out of 10 Family Review The film is much darker than previous stories but most of the nastiness is implied rather than seen. I would not recommend for young children. Having watched this film through the amazing medium of 4DX/3D (see last weeks review) I felt that I should wait a couple of days to calm down and then review this movie on its merits rather than its gimmicks. While 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them' was a good stand-alone movie, the 'Crimes of Grindlewald' carries the disappointment I experience when watching a story that serves as a bridge between the story origin and its conclusion. This applies to Star Wars, LOTR and even Twilight where the second movie answers some questions, raises more and then ends with you diving to your calendar to see when the 3rd episode is due to be released. The Fantastic Beasts franchise may be even worse than the others as I believe that 'The Crimes of Grindlewald' is only the second episode of a five-part series. With this in mind, I would not recommend that anyone watch this movie without seeing the original 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them' as most of the characters have already been established before finding them again in this story. Newt, Tina, Jacob and Queenie all come back together in Paris after Grindelwald escapes from custody. The movie then focuses on their search for Credence with both sides looking to harness his power to support their side of the cause. We see the introduction of new characters to this series, that are familiar to the Harry Potter fans, such as a young Dumbledore (played by Jude Law) and Nagini in human form. There are a smattering of 'fantastic creatures' but they do not dominate this movie as they did in the first episode and the story is a lot darker in its content and delivery. As the screenplays are being written without corresponding novels there is not the opportunity to be ahead of the story as was available with the Harry Potter franchise. I believe that for these reasons that this series will not be as popular with younger children who loved reading the stories and developing their own interpretation before the movie arrived. Fantastic Beasts does not allow that and so our imaginations are controlled by the CGI version that appears on the screen. While the movie was colourful and entertaining in parts I also felt that in other sections it dawdled through dialogue that didn't add to the backstory nor push forward in establishing the next episode. With another two movies before we reach the sought after conclusion, I am wondering if I will look forward to the next release with excitement or resign myself to let them pass and…

The Girl in the Spider's Web - Movie Review 4 friends out of 10 Family Review Strong language, strong violence, adult themes If you are a fan of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo novels and films, especially the Swedish versions, then I think you will be very disappointed with this fourth instalment in the Millenium trilogy. Let me share some background to explain why. The Millenium trilogy was created by Swedish Writer, Stieg Larsson, who died prior to the first book being published. With Dragon Tattoo being acclaimed, the publishers then released Larsson's remaining novels '...Playing with Fire' and '...Hornets Nest'. Instead of allowing the trilogy to stand on its own, it was decided to use another writer to continue the series. While the names remain the same Lisabeth and Bloomkvist no longer have the same motivation and the story becomes a cross between Mission Impossible and the Bourne Ultimatum all be it with a female hero. The film retains Lisabeth Salander's hate for powerful men who abuse women and sees her dishing out strong justice for those who have not been protected by the law. In this story, her computer hacking skills are employed to infiltrate the US Security Systems to recover a key to all the nuclear weapons in the world. As could be expected, this makes her a target for various governments and criminal organisations and she is constantly at risk. To assist her in finding out which organisation is chasing her she contacts her journalist friend, Mikael Bloomkvist, for help and so the two are linked together again. Her fight for the truth ties her efforts to the young son of a computer program developer and an American NSA agent who was responsible for keeping the nuclear program safe. In this episode of the story, Claire Foy (The Crown) has mistakenly been cast as Lisabeth Salander as in her performance she acts like a petulant teenager rather than the brooding goth portrayed by Noomi Rapace. The original Lisabeth relied on street smarts gained from her tough upbringing and resulted in a savage independence but with a repressed desire for attention. In this story, Foy's Lisabeth is needier, less calculated and moves like a trained secret service agent. Rather than a developing drama, the movie comes across as a James Bond story with implausible escapes from death, corny dialogue and an over the top villain. Bloomkvist, who acts as an equal in the earlier stories, becomes a weak male sidekick, and for some reason is much younger than in the original movies. The movie comes across lazy in some of its plots such as having a protected safe house that doesn't have curtains, trying to keep a low profile by stealing the most expensive car you can find and have vital paper evidence survive the total destruction of a burnt out…

Bohemian Rhapsody will Rock You. Movie Rating 10 friends out of 10 Family Rating Mild coarse language, sexual references, drug use Bohemian Rhapsody captures everything that seduces me to attend the movies. It made me laugh, had me supporting the underdog and booing the villains. It made me stamp my feet and sing along to great music. I shed a tear out of sadness and also out of pride and on a number of occasions it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as only great music or sport can do. At the end of the movie the entire audience broke out in applause and no one was in a hurry to leave the theatre as the music continued through the credits. The story is basically the telling of how the band Queen came to be, how it wrote its music and grew to be one of the greatest music acts of all time. While the story focuses on lead singer Freddie Mercury the plot does not diminish the other three band members and shows how they worked (didn't work) together to create some of the most iconic music of the 70/80s. Rami Malek was amazing in capturing Mercury's character as he struts his stuff on stage. Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor) and Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon) provide great support as does Lucy Boynton as Mercury's early girlfriend, Mary Austin. I don't know enough about Freddie Mercury's life to know whether the relationship with his fellow band members and Mary, as portrayed in the film, is accurate but the portrayal of friendship is so good that I am happy to accept that it is true. The same applies to the timeline of events shown in the film. They are not always chronologically correct but they work together to tell the message behind the story. While you could watch Bohemian Rhapsody for only the music and come away satisfied, it provided you with so much more. There were positive messages about the value of family, the importance of friendship, to believe in your own ability and not be limited by others belief in you. It shows that you need to associate with people who want the best for you and that not being yourself to prove popular to others can leave you lonely while in a crowd. But most importantly it was just joyful to watch and be overtaken by the story and musical performances. I really enjoyed the sequences related to how many of their iconic songs were created and then brought to life and I had goosebumps when they portrayed the first live performances of Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You, however, the real magic occurs when they show Queen appearing at Live Aid in 1985. The director of Bohemian Rhapsody plays with the storyline…