The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
You shall not pass...listening to this 50th episode of Movies Merica! To commemorate this event, a revisiting of the one trilogy to rule them all, is in order! In 2001, Peter Jackson took the world by storm with his first installment of this trilogy. It was a movie everyone talked about and deservedly so. A real live-action adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classics hadn't been attempted, and especially not one with the big budget this trilogy had. Listen in to hear some of my fond remembrances of this movie and takes on the characters and story we all love. Next week, a revisiting of The Two Towers will make its presence known!
3000 Years Of Longing
Lords and ladies, boy and girls. Gather round for a story in the form of a movie called 3000 Years Of Longing. Then again you may not want to. Check out Van's spoiler-free review of the latest movie from Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller in order to decide. This movie stars Tilda Swinton as the finder of a mysterious bottle and Idris Elba as the genie, or Djinn, trapped in it but then released. Tilda gets the usual offer of 3 wishes but is it really that simple? Is there a dark side?
Beast review
The lion does not sleep tonight in this movie. This lion must have insomnia and must also be rather angry because it rampages throughout this movie. Idris Elba stars as a Dad that takes his teenage daughters on a trip to Africa to bond as a family. Nothing bonds family together like a fight for survival so the bonding is strong here. Should you check out this movie in the theater or just wait until you wake up on your couch at 3 in the morning and it happens to be playing on HBO? Check out this spoiler-free review to find out!
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial review
Iconic. Legendary. Ground-breaking. Epic. Profound. Earth-shattering. Phenomenal. This movie took over the whole world in 1982 and it's the 40th anniversary of the high impact event, not just movie, but event that was E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. For this anniversary, it was essential to me that I put my thoughts out there about this movie that won me over, broke my heart. and then made me stand up and cheer. My journey of loving movies for decades started with a little alien giving a boy what he needed most: a best friend.
Bullet Train review
Pew Pew Pew! Brad Pitt stars in Bullet Train, an original, frenetic, kinetic action-comedy movie from the director of Deadpool 2. Aptly titled, this flick mostly takes place on a Japanese bullet train where bad boys and girls are all after a valuable briefcase. Needless to say, they do not play nice together on this bloody choo-choo. Co-starring Sandra Bullock, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Hiroyuki Sanada and Brian Tyree Henry. Should you jump on board? Check out Van's spoiler-free review to find out!
Logan review SPOILERS!
SPOILERS! Movies Merica is going back in time to 2017. Hugh Jackman hangs up the sideburns in his last Wolverine movie directed by Ford v Ferrari and Walk The Line director James Mangold. This isn't your kindly, old grandma's X-Men movie. This is one is gritty, serious, brutal and intense and is not for the kiddies Patrick Stewart is also back as Professor X as they try to survive in a world that has left the X-Men behind.
Nope review
Yep this is Nope, a new movie from Jordan Peele from Key & Peele and Get Out. This stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun and Michael Wincott. Peele brings the mystery, thrills and otherworldly mayhem in this. Does he do it well? Is it an after school special disguised as a movie? You should listen to Van's spoiler-free review to find out.
The Tender Bar review
Ben Affleck ditches the cape and cowl for this George Clooney-directed coming-of-age movie with Affleck playing the uncle we'd all want as a kid. He's uncle to our main protagonist, J.R., who doesn't really have a Dad so he has to get his education on finding his identity and how to be a good man from his uncle and his buddies at the bar. How to treat women, what drinks to never order, what books to read are just a few lessons he's taught. If you want to hear Van's lesson as to whether you should watch this, check out his spoiler-free review!
Thor: Love And Thunder review
By the power of Greyskull....er, sorry. Wrong franchise. Marvel Studios delivers their 29th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this one featuring Thor the God Of Thunder. Chris Hemsworth again plays Thor and sinks into the role like a pair of comfortable bedroom slippers. Natalie Portman, way past playing the child protege of a hitman in The Professional and Padme in the Star Wars prequels, is returning to the franchise. Check out Van's spoiler-free review of this latest MCU effort.
Elvis review
Elvis has entered the building! Baz Luhrmann, from Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby fame, has directed this latest Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler as The King and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. If you know any of Luhrmann's prior work, you know this isn't going to be some drab, dull telling of the life of Elvis Presley. Is it worth you putting down the peanut butter and banana sandwich and going to see it? Listen to my spoiler-free review to find out!
The Black Phone review
When are people going to learn? When you see a creepy van with no windows you run as fast as you can the other way! That's part of the creepy, suspenseful plot of Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone starring Ethan Hawke. Derrickson directed the first Dr. Strange movie but has also mostly directed horror films like Sinister and The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and he sort of returns to that with this movie. Hawke plays a psychotic child abductor in the late 1970s in this but listen to this spoiler-free review to hear more about the plot and whether you should see it or run as fast as you can the other way.
Edge Of Tomorrow review
Tom Cruise is no Maverick in this one but he gets battle-tested real quick. No new movies this week worth reviewing (just an after school special starring Buzz Lightyear), so in light of the phenomenon that is Top Gun: Maverick, we're going to a past Tom Cruise movie. The 2014 sci-fi action-adventure mind scrambler that is Edge Of Tomorrow. Here he gets top billing with Emily Blunt who commands the screen as a mighty soldier against man-killing aliens bent on world domination. Picture a mashup of Starship Troopers and Groundhog Day and you'll get a little picture of this Doug Liman-directed film. Listen to my spoiler-free review to learn more!
Jurassic World Dominion review
Dinosaurs roam the Earth again! Get the details here in Van's spoiler-free review of Jurassic World Dominion. This is the third, and final, movie in the Jurassic World franchise and it joins the classic Jurassic Park trio with the newer characters of Jurassic World. Velociraptors, T-Rex's, bears OH MY!
RRR review
Rise! Roar! Revolt! Reach out and listen to this episode! Van goes international and exotic in this episode with the absolutely buzz worthy movie from India, RRR. He reviews this action thriller/rom-com/bromance/Marvel movie/political drama/musical and lets you know if you should get ready for your eyes to pop out of your head or for your eyelids to get heavy. Either way you'll get the spoiler-free take on this movie of epic length and scope.
Top Gun: Maverick
I feel the need, the need for you to read....on. Finally, after 36 long years of waiting we get a Top Gun sequel. Is it worth the wait we've been put through? Listen to Van's spoiler-free review to find out. You can then decide whether to put on your flight suit and jet over to your local theater. You get F-18s, Tom Cruise, cocky pilots, jet fights, and of course Jennifer Connelly. Enticed to listen yet? Like Maverick says, don't think, just do!
Everything Everywhere All At Once review
If you want to experience, what I would imagine is as close to a cinematic version of an acid trip, then Everything Everywhere All At Once might be your drug of choice. This movie directed by Daniels gives you a story involving the multiverse that has nothing to do with Marvel or Dr. Strange. Film legends Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and James Hong bring this adventure/comedy/drama/Kung Fu movie to life. We even get to say welcome back to Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom in this. Check out my spoiler-free review!
Firestarter review
You'll find this episode to be fire-roasted and maybe tasty too. In the movie "Firestarter" we have a little girl who can set anything on fire that she wants. You'll have to excuse her parents if they're a little hesitant to send her to her room with no supper. This is a remake of the 1984 Drew Barrymore movie which is based on a Stephen King book. Check out this spoiler-free review to see if you should be fired up to go see this.
Dr. Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Stranger danger! Dr. Strange has a new batch of baddies on his hands to battle with his mastery of the mystic arts. Joining him in this latest MCU offering is Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch who just might be up to no good. Is this movie pure magic or is it just a lame magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat? Sam Raimi, from Evil Dead and Spider-Man fame, joins the fraternity of MCU movie directors for this one. Check out Van's spoiler-free review!
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent review
Get ready to fly Con Air on a trip to a Face/Off with a National Treasure. Strap in because we're Gone In 60 Seconds. The legend who stars in all these pokes fun at himself by playing himself in The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. Nicolas Cage, who is never boring, stars in this action comedy with Pedro Pascal that is guaranteed not to bore you. Like the IRS, you'll be obsessed with Cage if you weren't already, so check out this spoiler-free review to learn more about this monumental movie!
The Northman review
“I will avenge you father, I will save you mother, I will kill you Fjolnir!” To find out what that even means check out this spoiler-free review of the Viking epic, The Northman. If you love sword fighting, bloody action and Willem Dafoe playing a fool, boy, is this the movie for you! Robert Eggers follows up The Witch and The Lighthouse with this bigger budgeted historical revenge tale that’ll illicit some kind of reaction in you. I guarantee that. SKOL!