Jack Black

Jumanji: Unwelcome is the Remake

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
  • IMDb: link

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle movie review1995’s Jumanji isn’t a great adaptation of the award-winning children’s book about a game which brings jungle chaos to the real world, but it works well-enough as a family-friendly adventure. Fast-forward to 2017 and Jumanji is reinvented as a video game, a concept which gives the sequel/remake the ability to cast big name stars playing kids trapped in the game. While the concept is initially interesting, nothing about the plot makes sense in the structure of a video game as the script quickly devolves into a hot mess.

The film begins in Breakfast Club-style when four students, a nerd (Alex Wolff), jock (Ser’Darius Blain), popular girl (Madison Iseman), and freak (Morgan Turner), get thrown in detention by a stern principal. Finding an old video game in the school’s basement, the foursome are transported into the world of Jumanji as the avatars they chose: the hero (Dwayne “It’s Okay to Call Me The Rock Again” Johnson), his zoologist sidekick (Kevin Hart), a cartographer (Jack Black, basically doing Rob Schneider‘s shtick from The Hot Chick), and a dance-fighter (Karen Gillan). As in the original, the group will discover another player (Nick Jonas) trapped in the game.

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Kung Fu Panda 3

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Kung Fu Panda 3
  • IMDb: link

Kung Fu Panda 3Building on the epilogue of Kung Fu Panda 2, the latest sequel introduces Po (Jack Black) to his father Li (Bryan Cranston) and an entire tribe of Pandas hidden away in a secret valley deep in the mountains. Along the way Po will also struggle with passing on his knowledge of Kung Fu in the role of teacher, first to the Furious Five and later to his Panda students, when an old threat returns and begins stealing the chi of Kung Fu masters across China.

While not as good as the first film, Kung Fu Panda 3 stands up pretty well against Kung Fu Panda 2 – even if it ignores the most intriguing subplot of the first sequel involving Po’s evolving relationship with Tigress (Angelina Jolie). J.K. Simmons proves to be a good choice for the film’s villain Kai: Oogway‘s (Randall Duk Kim) one-time friend who escapes the spirit realm in his search of ultimate power.

And the film introduces us to an entire village of thinly drawn but (mostly) entertaining Panda characters while still finding time to deal with Mr. Ping‘s (James Hong) jealousy and insecurity at Po exploring a relationship with his “real” father.

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4 Film Favorites: Movies that Rock

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Rock of Ages, School of Rock, Detroit Rock City, Empire Records
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

4 Film Favorites: Movies that RockCollecting four movies with plots revolving around music 4 Film Favorites: Movies that Rock includes Rock of Ages, School of Rock, Detroit Rock City, and Empire Records.

Although none of the four are standouts, the highlight of the collection (in terms of both star power and musical performances) is likely the theatrical adaptation of the jukebox stage musical Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Malin Akerman. Read the full review.

Empire Records is a B-movie version of High Fidelity starring Anthony LaPaglia, Rory Cochrane, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, Ethan Embry, Liv Tyler, and Johnny Whitworth as employees of a struggling record store. School of Rock stars Jack Black as a struggling musician who takes over the job as a substitute music teacher. Detroit Rock City stars Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Edward Furlong, and Sam Huntington as four teens struggling to make it into a KISS concert in 1978.

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The Muppets

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Muppets
  • IMDB: link

the-muppets-posterIt’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s been a long time since the The Muppets took Manhattan, had a great caper, or set their sites on an original movie. Sure there was that attempt to give Gonzo his own film, and the series of movies adapted from literature to star The Muppets over the years, but for the first time in a long time, with no small part to Jason Segel, The Muppets are back.

The story begins with brothers Walter (Peter Linz) and Gary (Segel) traveling to Los Angeles with Gary’s longtime girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams). Although the trip was initially set as an anniversary getaway for the lovers, Gary brings Walter along to let him realize one of his dreams by visiting Muppet Studios.

Walter is crushed to find the studio in disrepair and horrified to learn that an oil tycoon (Chris Cooper) is set to take ownership of the property and destroy it. The Muppets have only one chance, the contract leaves a clause that they can buy back the studio before the deadline if they can raise $10,000,000.

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The Holiday

/ / Movie Reviews, Theme Week
  • Title: The Holiday
  • IMDb: link

the-holiday-posterDirector Nancy Meyers gives us a great Christmas present – a fun romantic comedy, a chick-flick that guys can actually tolerate and enjoy. Who would have thought it possible? Merry Christmas everyone!

Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) have two things in common: neither has good taste in men, and both are depressed and alone at Christmas. The two complete strangers decide to swap lives for two weeks.  And so movie trailer maker Amanda finds herself in a small British town in a cozy home with a stack of books, and Iris ends up in a posh L.A. mansion with a host of DVD’s.

As each explores their new surroundings they meet new people. Amanda falls immeadiately for Iris’ roguishly handsome brother (Jude Law), and Iris cultivates two friendships – the first with an elderly screenwriter (Eli Wallach), and the second with a composer (Jack Black) who has as much luck in love as she does.

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