Review: Cha Cha Real Smooth

Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
R ‧ Comedy/Drama ‧1 Hour 47 Minutes


Written by Cooper Raiff

Directed by ‎Cooper Raiff

THE CAST

Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Raúl Castillo, Odeya Rush, Evan Assante, Vanessa Burghardt, Brad Garrett, and Leslie Mann

THE STORY

(In their own words) A man who works as a bar mitzvah party host strikes up a unique friendship with a young woman and her teenage daughter.

THE REAL STORY

A young man who can’t help falling in too quickly gets caught up being a nice guy to a (slightly) older woman and tests his own boundaries and hers in this “coming of love” story. 

THE BEST

The BEST things about the film

  1. The Direction – this is really hard to describe to people who haven’t worked on making a film, if the film isn’t stylized toward a particular director like Wes Anderson or unless the director is really known for things like making giant explosion films like Michael Bay.  Sometimes excellent directing is just because the director really knows how to work with a wonderful script and knows how to create the gorgeous moments between actors. That’s what this film does. Some of the best moments in the film happen between the lines. The silences in this film are incredibly rewarding. This film’s moments are handled with incredible care. There’s a delicate touch to the film as it is guided.  The director, who was also the star, really understands how to craft a story and how to draw the viewer into the scene without visually trickery.  
  1. The writing – It’s just so damn well written.  It’s the kind of film that I watch as a filmmaker and go “why can’t I do this.” I’m simultaneously jealous and inspired and in awe. It’s not a complex story but it tells a lot.  I almost would calling it a coming of age story, but the lead is too old for that. So I call it a “coming of love” story.  This film reminds me of the saying “do a simple story, really well.” Accomplished.   Also, it has so many great lines that I’ll be quoting for years. 
  2. The pacing – I know the film is paced really well and incredibly tight because I was shocked to discover the runtime was an hour forty-five. It flew by.
  3. Dakota Johnson – Her performance was so nuanced, subtle and strong in this film. Mark my words, she is going to get a bunch of nominations at the end of the year for best actress at awards shows. As a testament to her acting, her character was crossing some lines that I really felt she shouldn’t and would normally upset me,  but she managed to drum up so much empathy, I could let it go. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Acting – I don’t have a lot of bad things to say about. the film, there are few weeks spots. I will say that when I found out the star of it, Cooper Raiff was also the director, I wasn’t surprised. I did unfortunately feel like he had the weakest performance in the film. He relied too much on constantly smiling as a reaction to everything.  Maybe this was a choice, but I kept thinking “that’s an odd choice. Why is he still smiling like that?”  I don’t think choices should be distracting.
  2. Apple Streaming – This isn’t really a fault of the film but rather of Apple TV+. They list the film as a comedy, in reality it is definitely more of a drama/comedy. Calling this a comedy was a little misleading for what I was expecting, though perhaps it did get me ready to laugh, which it did at times, but it is at very least a mixed genre film.

THE LESSON

Love is hard. 

Finding your soulmate doesn’t mean it will be easy. 

THE FINAL WORD

Cha Cha Smooth is funny, charming, and exceptionally directed film. It’s the kind of film that I love; one that focuses on a good story and acting. It examines flawed characters and gives us a better insight into what it is to be human. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

I give Cha Cha Real Smooth a Love It. 

WHERE TO WATCH

Cha Cha Real Smooth is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review: Elvis

Elvis  (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Musical/Drama ‧ 2 hours 39 Minutes

Written by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner

Directed by ‎Baz Luhrmann

THE CAST

 Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey, Natasha Bassett, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Samuel, and Kodi Smit-McPhee

THE STORY

(In their own words) Elvis Presley rises to fame in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

THE BEST


The BEST things about the film

  1. Loved that this is one of the first films to really show how much Black music influenced Elvis by him growing up in the culture. 
  2. This first ½ of the film is filmmaking at its best.
  3. Tom Hanks is brilliant in his role as Colonel Tom Parker. Hanks has this amazing ability to draw us in to watch him in a film and then let us forget that it is him. 
  4. Cinematography is fantastic in this, the editing is wonderful. It really does a great job telling this story.
  5. Despite having seen a lot of films about Elvis, I feel like this film actually showed us a new story. 
  6. The pacing is great. It’s a long film but it  didn’t feel like it. 
  7. The music. You have to like the Elvis music style a little bit to enjoy this. But even outside of his singing there is a lot of rhythm and blues music, showing us what Elvis was influenced by. 
  8. It actually made me care about Elvis again, which I didn’t think would happen since I was twelve years old. 
  9. Austin Butler’s performance is an amazing impersonation of Elvis.
  10. This film finally got me to understand why girls went crazy for Elvis. The cinematography really created this understanding. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. It really glosses over some really bad stuff about Elvis – like how old Priscilla was when he married her, and his cheating on her while on the road.
  2. Some of the music choices, like including rap during his walking around the Black neighborhoods, didn’t work for me because they didn’t continue throughout.
  3. It suffers a typical problem of biopics, this film struggles in the third act trying to include his whole life. It would work better to just be a section of his life. 
  4. At no point did the film seem relevant to today. I kept asking, why this film? Why now? I really didn’t need this. 
  5. The music wasn’t that memorable and I would expect the Moulin Rouge director to do better with a piece like this.

THE LESSON

It doesn’t matter what you accomplish, if you are unhappy with yourself, you’ll never feel like you’ve done anything.

THE FINAL WORD

The first ½ of the film is worth the ticket price. This is an interesting take on Elvis but not one that feels especially poignant for today. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Elvis gets a Like It.

THE TRAILER



THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

REVIEW: GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE
R, Comedy/Drama, 1h 37m

Written by Katy Brand
Directed by Sophie Brand

THE CAST

Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack

THE STORY

(In their own words) Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection, and some sex–some good sex.

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson in the film GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. The writing – Excellent dialogue. Usually when it is this good it started off as a play or something. But it wasn’t. Also the setting is very minimal, most of it just being two people in a room. Felt so much like a play, that’s good writing. 
  2. The bravery – Emma Thompson commits some huge acts of bravery in this film for what she’s willing to bare for the part. Hollywood is not kind to women over 50. She is raw, and brave and takes some huge chances she didn’t have to in order to  make this film happen. Fearless. I wish I could be as brave as her. 
  3. The acting – The acting in this film is delightful. Both actors. It’s everything that I love about acting and watching actors worth. The back and forth, the pinches and ouches, action and reaction. This is a master’s class in acting. Just delightful. 

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. For a film it isn’t super dynamic. It’s almost all in one location. Is this the best medium for the story?
  2. The film may have limited appeal for audiences. Not sure how many young people are able to connect to Emma Thompson’s character. 
  3. By nature of the way it was done, subplots that were created can’t really get resolved. 

THE REVIEW

After recently seeing film after film of huge casts in giant Hollywood blockbusters,Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is a breath of fresh air. Getting the opportunity to watch two exquisite acting performances by Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack is a welcome palette cleanser. 

This film is very honest, raw, brave, and pretty sexy. It’s a film about exploring sexuality and sensuality. It’s about coming to terms with parts of life you missed and deciding it isn’t too late to explore them. 

Nancy Stokes hires an escort so that she can enjoy sex with a younger man. Mostly so she can experience something she never experienced in her life long marriage; sexual pleasure. Her deceased husband was the only lover she ever had in her life, and sex was a bit utilitarian. 

Her escort, the dashing Leo Grande, teaches her to open up, both sexually and about her life. 

The film is broken into four different acts with three of them being in the same location, with just the two of them on screen. This gives us a rare treat in film these days; the exploration of characters through dialogue. Emma and Daryl both have wonderful chemistry with each other. The dialogue runs smooth and unforced, the scenes make sense from beat to beat, and we get to see monologues. Monologues in modern cinema are so rare when the film is not based off of a play or novel, it was so great to see that there are still screenwriters who know how to write them. I was just really impressed by the writing of the film. 

And with that, you really have to give huge props to the director, Sophie Hyde. Making an interesting feature length film with mostly two actors is not an easy task. She hit all the moments nicely, created really nice builds, and kept the pacing perfect. This might be the best direction I’ve seen in a film this year. 

This film is going to be streaming on Hulu and I really do feel like this will be a trophy piece film for them. If they can find more films like this, it could get known as a place to watch films with terrific performances. 

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson in the film GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE LESSON

It’s never too late to learn to enjoy yourself. 

Pleasure isn’t something to be ashamed of.

THE FINAL WORD

An acting triumph. Excellent writing and wonderful performances make this a much watch for people who love acting. Be prepared to take a cold shower after. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande gets a strong Like It

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review: Lightyear

Lightyear  (2022)
PG ‧ Animated Adventure ‧ 1 hour 45 minutes


Written by Jason Headley, Angus MacLane

Directed by ‎Angus MacLane

THE CAST

Chris Evans, Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Keke Palmer, Efren Ramirez, Peter Sohn, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

THE STORY

(In their own words) From Disney and Pixar comes an animated sci-fi action-adventure — the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear (voice of Chris Evans), the hero who inspired the toy. “Lightyear” follows the legendary space ranger on an intergalactic adventure alongside ambitious recruits, Izzy, Mo and Darby, and his robot companion Sox. As this motley crew embark on their toughest mission yet, they must learn to work as a team to escape the evil Zurg and his dutiful robot army who are never far behind.

THE BEST


The BEST things about the film

  1. The Comedy – It’s a pretty funny film.
  2. The Premise – We are watching the movie that the Buzzlight year action figure was based off of. This is a brilliant rounding out of Toy Story Universe.
  3. The Easter Eggs – The film is absolutely filled with little easter egg nods to past scifi films. 
  4. The inclusiveness of the film. Wonderful amount of diversity and representation and I believe this contains Pixar’s first openly LGBTQ+ character that is human. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Time travel stories always have problems. You have to just nod and go along with it. 
  2. Buzz DID NOTHING WRONG – The premise of the story is built on the idea that Buzz made a mistake. But he doesn’t really. He feels guilt but not for a good reason and nobody tries to counter him. 
  3. Dropped plot of the third new Ranger. I wanted some resolution to that. 

THE REVIEW

I’m going to be honest, I was a skeptic. I almost didn’t even go to see this screening because I thought, “Why on Earth do I need to see a Lightyear spin off? The Buzz Lightyear origin story? What is that supposed to be? But I thought if I could find a friend I hadn’t seen in a while to go watch with me, it would be a good excuse to see them and I’ll give it a chance.

THANK GOODNESS I WENT!

I am shocked how much I enjoyed this film. I said it before and I’ll say it again – This is the Toy Story tale that I didn’t know I needed.

The premise is this: In 1996 Andy (from the Toy Story film) is given a Buzz Lightyear action figure based on a character from a movie. This is that movie.

Wait…What? It’s a movie?! It’s not some weird origin story, we get to see the movie that excited Andy so much that he neglected his longtime favorite toy Woody.

The film we see is basically the story of the Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear who is traveling with a group of scientists to a new colony when the discovery of an uncharted planet makes them go off course to investigate. While Buzz and his fellow Rangers are checking out the planet, they discover it’s a hostile planet and attempt to leave, during their emergency exit, an accident happens and they are trapped on the planet. They begin to colonize the planet while building a new “hyperspeed” engine, which Buzz is the test pilot for. The problem is, everytime he takes it out for a test, four of his minutes pass by while on the planet, 4 years pass by. All of Buzz’s friends are growing older while he keeps trying to get the new engine working correctly. The question becomes, will Buzz be able to find them a way off the planet before everyone he knows is still alive?

While the role of Buzz Lightyear has been played in the past by Tim Allen, this version is voiced by Chris Evans. Though while writing this review, it’s really hard to get Tim Allen’s voice out of my head. Evan does a fine job taking the voice over.

Lightyear is a delightful and funny story. Sold animation again by the folks at Pixar. They did a great job with this film. They managed to make the character of Buzz more likable than he ever has been in the past.  We get a new adorable side kick in the robot cat, Sox. This is a cat that will be talked about for a long, long time. Cause unlike a lot of side kicks, this one is original and acts in surprising manners. 

They also present a same-sex relationship and marriage, between two human characters, which is a great advancement since last time they did that directly was in Pixar and they weren’t human. 

I was really drawn to the messages about how important teamwork is to the success of any goal. But ultimately Lightyear is about coming to terms with past mistakes. It reminds us that the past should be left in the past because dwelling on it makes us lose sight of what’s important and straight up miss the life that is happening. 

This is definitely a rewatchable film. Sprinkled throughout the film are obvious nods to past scifi films and television, from Star Trek to Aliens, you will find lot of visual nods.   This is a film made with love and care not just to Buzz Lightyear, but to scifi in general. It may not advance the genre but it has an amazing time playing in the sandbox. 

To infinity and beyond!

THE LESSON

Living with regret will make you miss out on life.

THE FINAL WORD

This is the Toy Story film I didn’t know I needed. And I did, I absolutely did. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Lightyear gets a Love It. 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review: Jurassic World Dominion

Jurassic World Dominion
PG-13 ‧ Adventure/Sci-fi ‧ 2h 26m

Screenplay by Emily Carmichael and Colin Trevorrow
Story by Derek Connolly

Directed by ‎Colin Trevorrow

THE CAST

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, Omar Sy

THE STORY

(In their own words) Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs now live–and hunt–alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures in a new Era. 

(from left) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.

THE REVIEW

If this movie was a dinosaur, it would be a Funasaurus Rex. 

This is the sixth film in the Jurassic park/world franchise. The original was a masterpiece, in part because it was the first time we saw dinosaurs on screen at that quality of animatronics with touches of CGI, and it was the first time exploring this universe. Not to mention it being directed by Steven Spielberg who is a master storyteller. At this point in the franchise, there are just naturally going to be less mystery and less surprises about this universe. One of the biggest mistakes sequels make is trying to recapture the former glory by repeating the same tricks, by following the exact same formula. Also, with CGI becoming so much cheaper and studios wanting to utilize it, I think it hurts franchises like this. The limitations of CGI actually help in creating mystery and with story telling. I am of the strong opinion that limitations are great for storytelling. 

Where this film exceeds is in its special effects  and the storytelling.

The special effects; at times it’s hard to tell which is a practical animatronic dinosaur and when it’s CGI, the biggest give away is when it does “too much.” But also, the CGI itself is pretty incredible. There are times I had to tell myself “dinosaurs aren’t real, this is just a story, breath, Silas. In through the nose, out through your mouth.” 

Storytelling; I liked  that it managed to tell a somewhat new story within this established universe. Are they stories I’ve never seen? Not really, but I loved the way it was told and that they put them in this world. The story is split in the first two-thirds between two narratives – one following the original Jurassic Park stars and the second by the Jurassic World stars, until they inevitably meet up. This isn’t a spoiler because you know this is something that has to happen. 

(from left) Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.

Let me say this though, if you are coming to a film about dinosaurs walking modern day earth as a result of cloning technology and the complete breakdown of the amusement park they were built for, you need to be watching this film with a very open mind. You need to be watching this for the fun of it, for the wild entertainment, to enjoy it like an amusement park ride. This is not meant to be Shakespeare, we know we are not watching a serious academy award contender. This is not going to be a Million Dollar Baby with dinosaurs.  

Do I wanna see crap? No. Do I expect crap? No. Not at these ticket prices.  What I want is to be swept away into a fun story that doesn’t make me think too much, and plays within its own defined laws of physics, science, and stretched believability. I think Jurassic World Dominion does that. 

Two people behind me thought it was hard to follow the story because it jumped around so much. I think maybe they are idiots and I guess they don’t like subplots. It followed the story telling technique  of something like Empire Strikes Back, which while I love it, isn’t exactly rocket science. 

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. Special effects.  The animation is really incredible. The use of “practical dinosaurs was great. Hard to distinguish which were CGI and which were animatronic. 
  2. They actually found an original story to tell within this Jurassic Park world setting. This wasn’t just a rehash of old plots, it had definite nods to the past, but those were mostly pretty subtle. 
  3. Pacing and surprises. The film went by really fast.  There are definitely a fair number of twists and turns in the film to keep suspense up throughout the film.

THE WORST

A Mosasaurus in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. There’s a lot of movies to watch before this to get the full emotional depth the film would provide. 
  2. There’s only so many ways to get eaten by dinosaurs, so there are limits to what the film can do with action scenes. 
  3. Even if you suspend your belief for the dinosaurs, you have to really not have your thinking cap on as far as physics and laws of science would work.  Don’t think too hard for this film. 

THE LESSON
There are actually many lessons from this film.

1. Biotech companies that alter food are nearly always questionable

2. Our desire to mess with natural law  will lead to our deaths. 

3.  Humans tend to fail to learn from their mistakes when there’s money to be made. 

THE FINAL WORD

This movie is a thrill ride for your soul, not for your brain. Grab some popcorn but not a big drink because the runtime is so long. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

I give Jurassic World Dominion a Love it, because it is something I definitely want to see again. 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS LINDENSTEIN

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review: Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun Maverick (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Action ‧ 2 Hours 17 Minutes

Written by Peter Craig; Justin Marks

Directed by ‎Joseph Kosinski

THE CAST

Cast

THE STORY

(In their own words) After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

THE REVIEW

Top Gun Maverick is a film gushing with nostalgia of the first film while providing just enough new story to drive a new tale.  Fans of the original will enjoy the many call backs including bars songs sung, Cruise cruising around on a motorcycle, beach sports scenes, and wise cracking arrogance. 

The film succeeds on many levels, especially as a sequel. It takes the established character we know, shows us how things have been going since we last left off 30 years ago, and then furthers that character’s journey while reminding us of the ghosts of his past.  As a sequel it is nearly perfect. This will likely go down as one of the top sequels ever done.

As an actor, Tom Cruise does a fine job playing the charismatic and rule-pushing Maverick. A man who is haunted by the loss of his best friend in the first film. Someone who seems two of not allowed himself to advance in his career, a sort of atonement or perhaps simply to make the loss worth it. If he can’t be the best, there was no reason for him ever to have pushed the limits that caused the accident.

There’s also an element of the film that is both a good choice and a weakness in the film. The “enemy” in the film is named as “Nato adversary” but they never name a country or allude to what it might be. Which works well in the sense that the film can now play anywhere and will work in any time period, but also kills the stakes for the film. Keeping the enemy faceless doesn’t give depth to the villain, and you need a good villain to make a great hero.

While I liked the film, I am struggling with all the glowing reviews of the film that I’ve read. I thought it was okay, not the best action film in years. The fighter aerials are truly outstanding, it’s not like this film is moving the genre forward in any way. I don’t see other filmmakers using this as a blueprint going forward. If anything, it just used the standard action film formulas that we are used to. The film was somewhat predictable, which I think adds to the comfort feelings we all have with it. It’s very familiar, because we’ve seen this film outline before. Maybe I simply lack the Top Gun DNA that seems to be embedded in most of film lovers. I really, really wish I could like this film as much as everyone else seems to, but I just don’t. I don’t dislike it, but I doubt I’d watch it again on my own.

Overall, Top Gun: Maverick works as a film and is well worth the viewing in IMAX.  You need the optimal film quality to really appreciate Tom Cruise’s hair.

MONICA BARBARO PLAYS “PHOENIX,” JAY ELLIS PLAYS “PAYBACK,” AND DANNY RAMIREZ PLAYS “FANBOY” IN TOP GUN: MAVERICK FROM PARAMOUNT PICTURES, SKYDANCE AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS.

THE BEST
BEST things about the film

  1. Action flight sequences. 
  2. Perfect blend of nostalgia of the first film while moving the film forward 
  3. Loved that we dropped into the middle of his love interest’s story and didn’t play the exposition game with us.  They just let it unfold to us and allowed us to discover their past as the scenes unfold.
  4. Tom Cruise’s hair. 

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. Are there no Motorcycle helmet laws in this Top Gun world?
  2. While I think they made a smart move by not identifying an enemy country, it really killed the stakes with them fighting a faceless anonymous enemy. Why should I care. 
  3. Pretty predictable.

THE LESSON

It doesn’t matter how fast you go, you can’t outrun the ghosts of your past.

THE FINAL WORD

Probably one of the top film sequels made.  While I did really enjoy it, I’m a bit surprised at how extreme the praise the film has been. If you were a fan of the original, I think you are in for a real treat.  If you haven’t seen the original, go see it first so you can experience the joy others are getting. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Top Gun Maverick gets a Like It. 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Episode 201: Shila Ommi and Apple TV’s Tehran

Shila Ommi from Apple TV+’s show Tehran stops by to talk about the opportunities streaming and Apple TV+ is giving her, her background in Theatre, and she answers our world famous Seven Questions.

Review: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness  (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Action/Adventure ‧ 2 Hours 6 Minutes 

Written by Michael Waldron

Directed by ‎Sam Raimi

THE CAST

Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams

THE STORY

Doctor Strange meets a familiar stranger from another earth. Thus begins an adventure through the multiverse to save an innocent and to save his own earth. 

(L-R): Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

THE REVIEW

Disney is known to keep their films’ major events and plot twists secrets, but for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness they have taken their secrecy to new levels in that the general description the film’s plot posted all over the internet is not even accurate. 

“Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the doorway to the multiverse, including alternate versions of himself, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.”

That’s not even close to an accurate description of this film.

What is? Well, the film starts off straight into action and I can’t even tell you what happens without giving away a major spoiler for the rest of the film. 

What I can tell you is that Disney skated the line with a PG-13 film that they early on called the first horror film in the MCU. The film doesn’t really hit the level of horror, but there are some really chilling and scary moments. I really do wish they had been willing to sacrifice some box office money and make an actual Rated R movie because this movie was ripe for it. Instead of being a horror, it is just the normal Marvel Action film with some horror elements for some sections of the film. 

The film is full of fan service. Some things that they have been clamoring for years. And yes, I think we will get some explanations on how some of the recaptured Marvel properties like Xmen and The Fantastic Four will be integrated into the future.  If you’ve watched the Marvel What If… Series on Disney+, I think you will have some extra enjoyment of this film. 

For me, the film starts off very exciting but then drops off immediately. We then have a very slow build for the duration of the film. In the first 20 minutes I wasn’t even sure I was going to like the film, but then it got better with every passing minute. 

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

This is a movie that will command a second or third viewing because it has so many Easter Eggs and cameos. I really want to dissect a lot of what we saw. 

The scale of this film is huge. It expands the potential universe in ways that are hard to imagine. It is probably the most interconnected film of any other film. Do not a bring with you to the movie someone who isn’t’ familiar with a good portion of the MCU. They won’t know what is going on a lot of the time and you’ll spend time explaining things and missing out a lot of enjoyable moments. 

Doctor Strange is a flawed superhero. His ego controls him at times. Wanda is very flawed, but that can be expected considering her roots as a villain. Wanda has had so much happen to her and this film is as much about her flaws as it is Doctor Strange.

Is the film good? Yes. Is it the best film yet? No. It has some really interesting moments, we get some better insight into Doctor Strange, realizing that as arrogant and hard to like  as he is at times, we get the best version of Doctor Strange out there.  

THE BEST

Three BEST things about the film

  1. It gets better and better every minute of the film. 
  2. I like that they don’t waste time with backstory and just sump into the film. 
  3. The cameos. So many cameos and easter eggs. 
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. I can’t imagine someone watching this that doesn’t already know the universe. Not a good introduction movie.
  2. I wish the movie had gone for a Rated R horror. It backs off and it could have been SO GOOD.
  3. Some of the special effects were surprisingly not very good that it took me out of the film for a moment.

THE LESSON

Trusting other people to take control is hard.

THE FINAL WORD

The most interconnected MCU film we’ve had yet. Genre bending, universe expanding, and full of fan service. It is a film that must be seen in a theater. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness gets a Like It.

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review – The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
R ‧ Action/Comedy ‧ 1 Hour 47 Minutes

Written by  Kevin Etten &‎ Tom Gormican

Directed by ‎Tom Gormican

THE CAST

  • Nicolas Cage
  • Pedro Pascal
  • Sharon Horgan
  • Ike Barinholtz
  • Alessandra Mastronardi
  • Jacob Scipio
  • Neil Patrick Harris
  • Tiffany Haddish

THE STORY

(In their own words) Unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, actor Nick Cage accepts a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan’s birthday party. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when a CIA operative recruits Cage for an unusual mission. Taking on the role of a lifetime, he soon finds himself channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to save himself and his loved ones.

THE REVIEW

Nicholas Cage is obviously a massive talent. He has what most actors dream of….a distinct voice and style of acting that draws people. 

Above all though, he’s an artist.  I believe that it takes true artistry to be self-reflective and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a great opportunity for Nicholas Cage to be self-reflective and self-deprecating.  Nicholas Cage shows he is not afraid to make fun of himself and how self aware he is of how the public at large sees him.  The film is a clear fictional version of Cage, but clearly painted with a lot of truth. Truths that lesser men may not be able to handle. 

The essence of the story is that a financially struggling Nicholas Cage takes a million dollar paycheck to attend a fans birthday party. While there, he learns that his fan may be a high profile drug lord and the FBI wants his help to save a woman they believe is being held on the estate. 

The results of this are a wonderful, refreshingly original comedy. Cage is a comedic force in the film. It’s a great tribute to Nicholas Cage that will be enriched by how many films of his you have seen, the good and the bad. The film is part buddy comedy, part action comedy, but whatever it is doing, it is consistently funny. 

I love how self aware the film is…, it’s so layered. It’s almost a movie within a movie within a movie. Are we watching what happened or a story told about what happened? 

There are really only two points of the film I didn’t care for. One, is that I think a film focusing on the celebrity of a Hollywood actor shouldn’t have so many other recognizable faces co-starring. I think it takes us out of the film. It constantly reminds me that the story isn’t real because Nicholas cage is pretending he’s talking to an agent when it’s obviously Neil Patrick Harris. Give us unknown actors for these roles. 

The second point is the end of the film. I can’t tell if they just ran out of time, or just weren’t sure how to end it. But I felt as if I was robbed of a solid ending to the film with a little bit of slight of hand. 

Javi Gutierrez’ (Pedro Pascal, left) and ‘Nicolas Cage’ (Nicolas Cage, right) zooming through the mountains of Mallorca, Spain. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

THE BEST


BEST things about the film

  1. Original
  2. Self-Aware
  3. Pacing
  4. Very funny.

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. I don’t feel like we get the ending we deserve. 
  2. I wish other actors in the film were not so well known. I really like the idea of Nick Cage the movie star being amongst all these regular people. But having other semi-stars around him takes away the potential realness feelings of some of the scenes. I really wish the roles played by Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, and Pedro Pascal were played by unknowns, even though they do a fine job. 

THE LESSON

Being a Hollywood star doesn’t mean life is easy. 

‘Nicolas Cage’ (Nicolas Cage) greets ‘Javi Gutierrez’ with a ‘Palm Hold Fist’ salute as he arrives in Mallorca, Spain. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

THE FINAL WORD

A very funny love letter to Nicholas Cage that could only work being starred by Nicholas Cage himself. It is hilarious, self-aware, and very inventive. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent gets a Love It.

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.