Rated PG
Opens: November 8, 2024
Kevin says The Best Christmas Pageant Ever kinda rocks!

Move over, turkeys. We’re comin’ in hot with the Christmas movies.

First up is THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, an adaptation of the beloved children’s book. The story follows a family of problematic children who take over a church’s annual Christmas pageant. And while everyone thinks it will be a disaster, things take a surprising turn.

The people making this film certainly have their hearts in the right place, putting together a charming and light-hearted movie that delivers some appropriate messaging.

The film tries to evoke the kids-eye-view that we see so wonderfully in A CHRISTMAS STORY, though when the adults turn a blind eye to the shenanigans, they just come across as horrible parents and leaders. This, along with some archaic stereotypes, rings sour at times.

The movie doesn’t hold the same punch as some of the classics like A CHRISTMAS STORY, but it’s still a sweet film with a committed cast.

I’m not sure if it will be a perennial favorite, but it makes for a nice slice of entertainment for the family audience.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER gets three snowballs out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated PG-13
Opens: November 1, 2024
Kevin says Here kinda sucks!

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reunite with director Robert Zemeckis for a new film.

HERE tells the story of a home, starting from wilderness in prehistoric times to the life of (mostly) one family. Hanks and Wright play a couple we see go from high school to retirement and the struggles they face over the years.

Zemeckis is a talented director, but he often gets distracted by gimmick filmmaking. And make no mistake, HERE’s one camera set-up perspective is the ultimate gimmick. It’s got some interesting moments, but it is loaded with challenges.

HERE tries to show a mosaic of American families, but struggles to avoid idealizing even the toughest times. And with the fly-on-the-wall perspective, too many moments feel like the stilted opening scene of a stage play. Only the acting of Hanks and Wright carry us beyond that.

As real as the human experiences are in this film, this reality reveals too many insufferable characters I couldn’t care less about.

Technically impressive but dull from the story perspective, HERE gets two bay windows out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated PG-13
Opens: October 25, 2024
Kevin says Venom: The Last Dance kinda sucks!

Sony is desperately trying to keep its Spider-Man-adjacent properties alive this year with a third VENOM movie.

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE finds Eddie Brock and his symbiote on the lam while an immortal being from outer space is sending an army to search for Venom. Meanwhile, under a decommissioned Area 51, a group of scientists are tinkering with other alien symbiotes.

If you liked the first two VENOM movies, you should enjoy this one because it is entirely the same type of film. Unfortunately, those movies have all be sub-par superhero pulp that feel like they were stripped from the 90s.

A surprisingly good cast – including Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, and Chewitel Ejiofor – struggle to carry the silly script, which feels like it was written by a group of hyperactive children on a diet of sugar cereal and Pixy Stix.

Goofier than the later Thor movies with overdone goopy visual effects, this superhero flick is fine, but like the other two, could have been so much better.

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE gets two and a half alien blobs out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated R
Opens: October 18, 2024
Kevin says Smile 2 ROCKS!

After Paramount’s SMILE was a box office hit, it’s no surprise they made a bigger and louder sequel.

SMILE 2 follows a trouble pop star on the verge of a world tour. She witnesses a traumatic event and then discovers an entity has attached itself to her, appearing as horrifying visions of people smiling.

Where the first film was a lower-budgeted slow burn, this one goes big with intensity. Not just with jump scares and sound effects, but with a pounding soundtrack meant to be heard in the loudest cinema possible. Along with TRAP, it’s the second what if this happened to Taylor Swift thriller this year.

Noami Scott is the MVP, carrying the film and never behaving like the horror genre is beneath her. Her commitment to the character keeps things real… even if it’s loaded with dark fantasy.

Like other movies about a curse following victims – like THE RING or IT FOLLOWS – the SMILE series offers some interesting allegorical moments, even if the trauma-as-horror trope is a bit overworked.

Visually interesting and loaded with shocking moments, SMILE 2 gets three and a half grins out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated R
Opens: October 11, 2024
Kevin says Saturday Night kinda rocks!

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE turns 50 this year, so Hollywood is looking back at the origins of the groundbreaking sketch comedy show.

SATURDAY NIGHT is a real-time look at the chaos that surrounded the production leading up to its premier in 1975.

Jason Reitman directs an ensemble cast that takes you through the infighting, unprofessionalism, and unrelenting mayhem of that first night.

This is a striking look at what has become an institution, back when it was nothing more than rowdy, drug-fueled, experimental television. The show’s humble, rag-tag origins provides a stark contrast to what it has become.

The actors manage to rise above caricatures of the original players, offering some humanity for most of them beyond their antics. So fans of the show’s early years should find it relatable.

It’s a fast-paced and intense look at what live TV used to be. Sure, it runs a bit too long… but isn’t that quintessential SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE?

SATURDAY NIGHT gets three and a half hot mics out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated R
Opens: October 4, 2024
Kevin says Joker: Folie À Deux kinda rocks!

In 2019, Todd Phillips’ JOKER offered a look into the mind of a killer from DC’s Batman comics.

Now, JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX continues the story of Arthur Fleck as he faces Gotham’s justice system. In Arkham Asylum, he meets the mysterious Harleen Quinzel, and she latches onto him for his infamy.

There are some very strong elements here, including compelling performances by both Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. The grim cinematography has a beautiful, gritty look. And the movie channels films like THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST.

However, it also stumbles by not quite nailing the homage like the first film did with Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER and THE KING OF COMEDY.

Purporting to be a musical version of a twisted romance, the songs are well constructed but overstay their welcome. And that’s a shame because those are some of the best moments in the film. Unfortunately, they put a drag on the bloated running time, which clocks in at well over two hours.

Ultimately worth a look, but loaded with problems, JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX gets three playing cards out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated PG
Opens: September 27, 2024
Kevin says The Wild Robot ROCKS!

This week, theaters are being taken over by robots and cute animals.

Based on the best-selling children’s book, THE WILD ROBOT tells the story of a service droid that crashes on a forest island and has to survive. She takes it upon herself to raise an orphaned gosling and strikes up a friendly relationship with a lone fox. They must learn to live together and unite the animals of the forest against an outside threat.

This film manages to focus on two things extremely popular with kids: robots and forest creatures. Even though these seem very different, they blend together quite well to make a film about finding goodness inside.

This animated gem works great for the kids, but it also juggles some heavier, mature elements that will connect with the adults in the audience.

With a strong but not overpowering cast, and universal themes of community and altruism, THE WILD ROBOT offers a sweet, charming, and uplifting family film.

THE WILD ROBOT gets four cute critters out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated PG
Opens: September 20, 2024
Kevin says Transformers One kinda rocks!

A popular cinematic franchise is transforming into animation and rolling out with a new film.

TRANSFORMERS ONE is a prequel that shows the origins of hero Optimus Prime and villain Megatron. The story goes back to their home world when they were young robots who fought together against an oppressive leader.

I don’t care how much the other movies have made, having a Transformers movie free of the chaos and beer-commercial filmmaking of Michael Bay is a breath of fresh air. Sure, it’s still noisy, cluttered and bombastic, but at least this movie is coherent.

As an animated film, it taps into the sugar-cereal-fueled excitement of Saturday morning cartoons, so it should be a winner for the kids that have these any of these various toys.

It has a limited reach to the adults in the room, but it mercifully doesn’t overstay its welcome… unlike most of the bloated live-action movies in the series.

Come for the robots, and stay for the child-like fun. TRANSFORMERS ONE gets three Autobots out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated R
Opens: September 13, 2024
Kevin says Speak No Evil kinda sucks!

Hollywood’s remake for this week offers a new presentation of a Danish thriller from two years ago.

SPEAK NO EVIL follows an American family who befriend a couple while on vacation in Italy. Weeks later, they accept an invitation to visit the couple at their out-of-the-way farmhouse. However, warning signs begin to mount, and the family realizes they might never escape.

The film is competently made with a healthy dose of suspense and atmosphere. And acting from James McAvoy as one of the antagonists is unsettling and nuanced.

However, this family in danger comprises some of the most insufferable and clueless people imaginable. I mean, it’s like a whole family of Skylars from BREAKING BAD.

Even if the trailers weren’t so loaded with spoilers that you could walk in on the third act and still be able to predict what will happen next, the action retreads so many other similar films that it just feels stale.

I love a good thriller, and there is one hiding in this movie. But to fully enjoy it, you kind of have to have never seen a movie like it before.

SPEAK NO EVIL gets two creepy couples out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated PG-13
Opens: September 6, 2024
Kevin says Beetlejuice Beetlejuice kinda rocks!

With all the reboots in Hollywood, it’s no wonder Betelgeuse is rising from the grave.

It’s been 36 years, and BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE drops us in on the Deetz family after their patriarch has died. Lydia, her step-mother Delia, and her estranged daughter Astrid return to their old home only to discover their old pal Betelgeuse is reaching out to them from the underworld.

Even with the return of most of the cast, director Tim Burton is clever enough to not just retread the original story. We do get a standard plot about a family in strife, and this can feel a bit mundane. But what makes the movie tick is the title character causing chaos and havoc.

At least the film strikes a good balance with this.

Things get off to a clunky start, but the film delivers the off-kilter goth humor we all want without relying solely on nostalgia.

It’s got a lot of energy, though it’s not nearly as fresh as the original film. But honestly… could it ever be?

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE gets three three and a half half ghosts out of five five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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Rated R
Opens: August 30, 2024
Kevin says Slingshot kinda rocks!

If you think your job can make you feel isolated, there’s a movie that might give you new perspective.

SLINGSHOT is a science fiction thriller that examines the potential challenges of space travel. The story follows a trio of astronauts on a mission to Saturn’s moon of Titan.

However, as they approach a critical moment where they have to slingshot around Jupiter, things begin to break down. The harsh dangers of space and the influence of drugs used for suspended animation start to affect their psychological and emotional stability.

I’m a sucker for movies about a handful of people trying to survive in space. And a strong – but limited – cast featuring Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne helps carry the film.

The paranoia and trauma of the characters is where the meat of the story is. The movie milks the tension a little too much, drawing out the running time. But it kept me guessing, and for an ambitious psychological thriller in the vast emptiness of space, it made its point.

SLINGSHOT gets three gas giants out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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