Blockers (2018)

Blockers (2018)

C – 102m
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Cherries, The Pact
Prod.s: Chris Fenton, Seth Rogan, Jon Hurwitz and James Weaver
Dir.: Kay Cannon
Starring: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ramona Young, Kathryn Newton, Miles Robbins, Gary Cole, Graham Phillips and Jill Jane Clements.

Parents accidentally find out a pact that their daughters have to lose their virginity on prom night and set out to stop them. American Pie for girls with meddling parents as the heroes of the film. Nice twist on the Pie storyline. For those who care Kay Cannon, the director of this film, wrote the Pitch Perfect series. This made her a natural choice to direct this (if you will pardon the pun) coming of age story. The film has more to it than meets the eye and ear in the advertisement campaign (television spots and theatrical trailers). The casting is perfect and there is a lot of heart behind the otherwise crude jokes. At that, the jokes start off as cringe worthy but elevate from there after the first little bit of the film. If one can stomach vulgarity, than this is a breeze. If one can’t see past the crudeness, than this film may not be for them. The parents are played as slow, which may appeal to teens, though they ultimately prove to be more on top of things than you may think. The teens are played as highly intelligent and very self–aware. While the accuracy of that may be questioned, it works well for this film to have well–rounded characters. Seldom do these kinds of comedies score high with this reviewer, but this one hits all the right notes. It would be a shame to miss this one!  

Trivia: The title is short for: “Cock Blockers”. Due to censorship on advertising, a silhouette of a rooster (a cock by definition of gender) is shown in front of the word Blockers on the advertisements to suggest the full title.

Rated: [R] – Crude And Sexual Content, And Language Throughout, Drug Content, Teen Partying, & Some Graphic Nudity
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy

Spider–Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider–Man Homecoming (2017)

C – 133m
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 – Widescreen – 3D / 2D
A.K.A.: The Summer Of George
Based On Comic Books By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Captain America Character Created By: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Dir.: John Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Michal Keaton, Robert Downey, Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Connelly, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Hannibal Buress, Stan Lee and Chris Evans.

Peter Parker comes into his own doing a balancing act between his life as student Peter Parker and crime–fighting Spider–Man. This is the next to worst Spider–Man film made to date. The acting is good, so is the CGI and the first 40 minutes move along well. Sadly the pacing goes awry right at that point and although there are a few good action scenes to go before the end of the film, the pacing is so bad that this reviewer became detached from the film. Somehow this film garnered B–ish ratings from critics. This reviewer suspects something is amiss there. In short, this film is far from the best that Marvel has to offer, much less anything resembling a good Spider–Man film. Skip it!

Trivia: Jennifer Connelly voices Spider-Man’s suit’s voice, Karen. Her husband voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. – the voice in Iron Man’s suit. Connelly was additionally cast because she was in the John Hughes film: Career Opportunities (1991), since this film is a tribute to John Hughes’ high school films. Tom Holland was the youngest actor to play Spider–Man at age 19. Previously the actors who played the part, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, were in their mid–20’s when they played the role. Michael Keaton plays a character called: The Vulture. The appearance of The Vulture is not unlike the design of Birdman in the Best Picture Oscar® winning film: Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014).  

Rated: [PG–13] – Sci–Fi Action Violence, Some Language & Some Suggestive Comments
Available in 3D and 2D on 4K and regular Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy

Christina Ricci Teen Movie Summer 1995 Double Feature

Gold Diggers: The Secret Of Bear Mountain (1995)

C. – 94-m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
Starring: Christina Ricci, Anna Chlumski, Polly Draper, Diana Scarwid, David Keith, Gillian Barber, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Jewel Staite, Andrew Wheeler and Jennifer Hale (as Carren Learning).

A city girl (Christina Ricci) moves with her mother to where her mother grew up and makes friends with a tomboy (Anna Chlumski). Together they solve the mystery of Bear Mountain, Molly Morgan, treasure and find out what friendship is all about. “Some friendships are worth a fortune,” isn’t just the tagline for this film in this reviewer’s opinion. A coming of age story that isn’t afraid to be somewhat dark and yet capture the happy abandonment of such things that teen friends can experience when they are together. The warmth of the film brings nostalgia to this viewer even many decades after first seeing it. 

Trivia: Christina Ricci revealed that she wished she had never starred in this film on Watch What Happens Live in a segment titled: “Never Should Have.” Christina Ricci and Ashleigh Aston Moore starred as friends in Now And Then (1995).  And finally this was the film debut of Jewel Staite.

Rated: [PG] – Mild Language & Thematic Elements, Including A Child’s Exposure To Domestic Abuse.
Out Of Print on VHS and Laserdisc but Available on DVD & Digital Copy. Should be on Blu–ray.

Now And Then (1995)

C. - 100m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: The Gaslight Addition, Dear Friends
Starring: Demi Moore, Gabby Hoffmann, Rosie O’Donnell, Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Melanie Griffith, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Rita Wilson, Walter Sparrow, Cloris Leachman, Hank Azaria, Bonnie Hunt, Rumor Willis, Devon Sawa and Brendan Fraiser.

A group of teen girls growing up during the summer of 1970 have some summer fun and form a life-long bond. Years later, in 1991, they reunite for one of them being pregnant and giving birth to a baby. I am convinced that this should be considered part of the strongest teen coming-of-age stories from the 1980’s. The, “adult,” cast is perfectly fitted to the, “teen,” cast in appearances. While the story is simple the way the cast plays it makes one wish they were around when these teens were growing up, even if they are far removed from it. It has the feel of a John Hughes film without actually being that. The story of life long friendships may seldom play out in real life but it always makes for a feel good film. Another annual must-watch film; suggested for summer viewings!   

Trivia: Reportedly, in the scene where Chrissy punches Roberta in the face for pretending to drown, Christina Ricci forgot to turn her head and wound up actually getting punched in the face full force by the late Ashleigh Aston Moore. This shut down production for a few days due to Ricci being badly bruised. Incidentally, Ashleigh Aston Moore had to gain 20 pounds for this film. Also, this was one of two films she made with Christina Ricci in 1995, the other being: Gold Diggers: The Secret Of Bear Mountain (1995). Additionally, Christina Ricci’s love interest in this, Devon Sawa, was also her love interest in the same year’s Casper (1995). It is also reported that Christina Ricci and Gabby Hoffmann are best friends in real-life. And finally: Notice that every time the teen women play, “Truth Or Dare,” they always pick truth.  

Rated: [PG–13] - Adolescent Sex Discussions
Out Of Print on VHS and Laserdisc but Available on DVD & Digital Copy. Should be on Blu–ray.

It (1990) & It (2017)

It (1990)

C. – 192m. (Original Cut), 187 (DVD & Blu–ray)
Format: 1.33:1 – Fullscreen & 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Stephen King’s It
Dir.: Tommy Lee Wallace. Novel by Stephen King.
Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O’Toole, Tim Reid, Jonathan Brandis, John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Tim Curry and Olivia Hussey.

A group of school–bullied teens get stalked by a monstrous clown during the summer; years later they reunite as adults and vow to take down the clown who has just reappeared. The film is mild in terms of how everything looks decades on from when it was made but it still boasts of fine performances by the cast, particularly Curry. Worth a watch on a rainy day.

Some trivia: Tim Curry gave such a creepy performance as Pennywise the monstrous clown that everyone avoided him during the production. Years later he was offered a chance to reprise the role in the remake but turned it down. Tim Curry was reluctant to take the role because of a bad experience with heavy makeup in Legend (1985). Upon hearing this, the director minimized the makeup for Curry. Sadly Jonathan Brandis and John Ritter died suddenly in 2003. Brandis committed suicide by hanging himself, while Ritter suffered an unexpected and fatal Aortic Dissection. And finally, on the day that the shoot called for the kids to go into the sewer, it was actually raining – thus saving the filmmakers the trouble of creating fake rain.

Rated: [Unrated] or [R] – Violence & Language.

Out Of Print on VHS and Laserdisc, but Available on DVD and Blu–Ray.

IT (2017) Movie Poster

It (2017)

A.K.A.: Stephen King’s It Chapter 1, Stephen King’s It Part 1 and It: Chapter 1

C. – 135m.
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 – Widescreen

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis.

A group of teens have a year and change of growing up terrorized by the school bullies and a monstrous clown. It should be noted for those who are not impressed with the film’s ending and feel that there is a massive amount missing from the film, including the ending of the book, that this is just the first half of the story. While a ton of material was left out, there is still (at the time of this writing) a part two pending release. This is a ton darker than the original with much better C.G.I. Perhaps a tad too dark since it features an un–needed incest pedophilia sub–plot. Very well done though and the performances are stellar. Skarsgard’s insane clown is played with gusto and the aid of a plethora of C.G.I. His performance stands out here, as is the performance of Lillis as Beverly!

Some trivia: Skarsgard felt a ton of pressure to play the role of Pennywise to the same flamboyant level as Tim Curry, since Curry’s performance was widely praised in the original 1990 film. Those are really Skarsgard’s eyes that look in different directions in the film, not C.G.I.! The number 27 is often associated with this story; in the film it is mentioned that every 27 years Pennywise returns to Derry; this film was purposefully set to be released 27 years after the original 1990 mini–series aired on TV; the actor Jonathan Brandis, from the original film, died at age 27 (suicide by hanging), and this film was released one month after Bill Skarsgard’s 27th birthday! Skarsgard reportedly trained with a contortionist for his role in the film and yes, he does speak Swedish in the film.

Skarsgard was the fourth actor offered the role of Pennywise. Tim Curry was offered it first as a chance for him to reprise the role, but her turned it down. Then Ben Mendelsohn and Will Poulter were offered the role. The slideshow scene was a nod to Stephen King’s story: The Sun Dog. Chloe Grace Moetz, best known for playing Carrie in the 2013 version of that story, was originally considered for the role of Beverly here but was rejected due to her age when the film finally got around to being shot. The woman that you see in the film, Sophia Lillis, was cast instead. The novel took place in 1957 and 1958, where–as this film takes place in 1988 and 1989. The film, believe it or not, was in pre–production for seven years before the film even started shooting. And finally, the film’s shooting wrapped (finished) one day before Stephen King (the author of the book) turned 69 years old – 9/20/2016 (King’s birthday being 9/21/1947).   

A personal note: When I saw this it was 9/9/2017 with Thomas Sawyer and Cory Fairfield. It was part of a celebration of my 30th birthday. We went to Chunky’s Cinema Pub in Nashua, NH and had drinks and watched the film. The boys had food too. The theater had professional people dressed in creepy clown masks stalking around the theater scaring the hell out of patrons who were there in droves to see the film. Mostly they scared the women of the crowds.      

Rated: [R] – Violence / Horror, Scary Images, & Language

Available On 4K Blu–ray, Blu–ray, DVD and Digital Copy.