The Cinematic Review-verse

Walt Disney Animation Studios made another excellent combination of fantasy. action, and fun with ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’. I thought the titular dragon was voiced by Fran Drescher and the music was by Hans Zimmer or someone else, but nevertheless, I liked the voice casting, story, humor, and music.  Set during ancient times, the land of Kumandra is divided when Sisu, the last of siblings of dragons, voiced by Awkwafina, puts her magic into a gem and uses it to banish the Druun, evil spirits that turns people to stone, and the people fight to gain its power. When the struggle ends up turning her father, Chief Benja of the Heart Tribe, voiced by Daniel Dae Kim, to stone, the gem’s guardian, Raya, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, seeks to revive him with the help of Sisu and a small army of survivors who lost their families to the Druun, but first they need to find the missing pieces of Sisu’s gem.    The plot seems similar to other Disney works, specifically the power struggl...

Oh say, can you see? I came to the conclusion that 'Coming 2 America' is a sequel that shouldn't have been made. We waited over 30 years for this to happen, and it pretty much recycles the same patriarchal rule plot and objectifying women (most of the film). However, it made up for it with explaining more of Zamunda's backstory, female empowerment, and humor from new cast additions and celebrity cameos.  Set 30 years after the first film, Akeem Joffer, played by Eddie Murphy, is now king of Zamunda. But he needs a male heir in order to settle a trading problem with neighboring country Nexdoria, or face a hostile takeover led by General Izzi, played by Wesley Snipes. Akeem unknowingly fathered a son during his first trip to America, Lavelle Junson, played by Jermaine Fowler, and must retrieve him and groom him to be the new king on the block. Eddie Murphy as King Akeem Joffer in 'Coming 2 America'. Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios. Understanding the need for ...

While less musical and humorous in comparison to its 1998 counterpart, the 2020 'Mulan' was worthy to watch. It gave a predominantly-Asian cast a chance to shine, paid more respect to the legend of warrior Hua Mulan, and had great scoring by Harry Gregson-Williams. Even though the story is mostly similar, Yifei Liu put up a good fight as the Chinese war hero. Yifei Liu as Hua Mulan, ready to fight Böri Khan and bring honor to her family. Photo courtesy of Disney. Set in Imperial China, Rouran warriors led by Böri Khan, played by Jason Scott Lee, plan an attack to kill the Emperor. When the Imperial Army sets out to conscript one man from each family to prepare for war, Hua Mulan takes her disabled war veteran father's, played by Tzi Ma, place. Despite the risks of dishonoring her family and country, Mulan will do everything in her power to bring down her malevolent foes and save the Emperor's life.  The few moments of humor came from Mulan chasing a chicken early on, ...

With all due respect to the cast and crew, "The New Mutants" was not the film to end the 20-year-old "X-Men" franchise. There were few moments of humor and teamwork, but it was too horrific and more of a drama or psychological thriller than an traditional superhero film. The film had potential, but "X-Men" should've stopped at "Days of Future Past". Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin, Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa, and Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair in "The New Mutants". Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.  In "The New Mutants", Danielle Moonstar (played by Blu Hunt) is brought to a hospital housing other mutants- Rahne Sinclair (played by Maisie Williams), Illyana Rasputin (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), Sam Guthrie (played by Charlie Heaton), and Roberto da Costa (played by Henry Zaga)- who, like her, have been victims of a tragedy while their po...

Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan can not cease to amaze me. While the plot of the film seems recycled, the cast of 'Jumanji: The Next Level' did a great job in continuing the story with nonstop action and humorous chemistry. I think director Jake Kasdan chose wisely in adding Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, and Awkwafina to the ensemble. The characters of the 'Jumanji' video game are ready to face danger. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures. 'The Next Level' continues the story with the young heroes off to college. But Spencer, played by Alex Wolff, repairs the old Jumanji game in secret and gets sucked back into it, and his girlfriend and friends, played by Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman, along with his grandfather, Eddie, played by Danny DeVito, Eddie's former friend, Milo, played by Danny Glover, and former Jumanji captive Alex Vreeke, played by Colin Hanks have to rescue him. Adding to that mission is saving ...

After years since returning Arendelle to its former, non-icy glory, Anna and Elsa came back with some new adventures in Disney’s ‘Frozen II’. This time, it’s with bigger plot points than Elsa learning to conceal her gifts or embrace them. There were a few additions to the story that made it seem a little darker than the first film, but ‘Frozen II’ still gave its best performance with top-notch voice acting, messages about family and true love, powerful musical numbers, and of course, occasional scene-stealing by Olaf, the Snowman. In ‘Frozen II’, past mistakes come to light as elemental spirits begin ravaging the kingdom of Arendelle. In order to save their kingdom, Anna and Elsa, voiced by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, travel with Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad, and Sven the Reindeer, to figure out what is angering the elemental spirits of water, fire, earth, and air. Along the way, Anna and Elsa also try to uncover the mysterious circum...

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in Marvel’s 'Captain Marvel.' Courtesy of Disney. 'Captain Marvel' plays off of other superhero films I’ve seen, but it was a great starring vehicle for Brie Larson. It’s like Guardians of the Galaxy and Wonder Woman combined, and Larson still could stand on her own as a true superhero. With hilarious chemistry between Larson, Jude Law, and Samuel L. Jackson, colorful costume designs, and high-flying adventure, 'Captain Marvel' was a stupendous example of a powerful woman, while also creating hype for the forthcoming 'Avengers: Endgame.' “Captain Marvel” takes place during 1995, when Carol Danvers crash lands in Earth following an attack by the alien shapeshifters, Skrulls. With the fate of the Earth in the balance, Danvers must team up with young Nick Fury (played by Jackson) to end the extraterrestrial war. Along the way, Danvers must figure out the story behind her powers, but most importantly, who she is. Larson was the p...