Space Jam: A New Legacy Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

25 years after the original “Space Jam,” Warner Bros. relaunches the series with “Space Jam: A New Legacy” starring NBA superstar LeBron James. The plot follows James as he struggles to connect with his youngest son Dom (Cedric Joe), who would rather design video games than follow in his dad’s footsteps. In an attempt to bond with his son, LeBron brings him to a Warner Bros. pitch meeting for something called Warner 3000. The idea is conceived by WB’s algorithm Al-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle) and would see LeBron become the star of every Warner movie.

LeBron rejects the concept, angering Al-G, and when LeBron and Dom attempt to leave the WB lot, Al-G traps the two inside the Warner ServerVerse. He challenges LeBron to a basketball game where if Lebron wins, he and his son go free. But if Al-G’s side comes to put on top, Lebron and dom have to stay in the server verse forever. LeBron has to put a team together quickly, and he recruits Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang to help him get his son back.

I guess the best way, to sum up, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is that the movie tries to be a little bit of everything: a showcase for LeBron James, a re-introduction of the Looney Tunes characters, and a tale about how we should focus on the more important things in life. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t execute any of them well enough, and instead A New Legacy serves as nothing more than a two-hour-long Warner Bros. infomercial to let people know all of the cool properties they own.

The relationship between LeBron and Dom is supposed to serve as A New Legacy’s emotional anchor. But from the first moment we see LeBron interact with Dom, I was rooting for the kid. The LeBron we see in these scenes is a horrible parent. Not only does he constantly compare Dom to his older brother, but he also puts down the things Dom cares about. Based on this alone, it was not a surprise when Dom forms a bond with Al-G and turns his back on his father. Now some of this has to be the fault of the script, but I’m surprised no one attached to the movie thought it made LeBron James look like a dirtbag instead of the sympathetic dad he should be.

However, where “Space Jam: A New Legacy” lost me for good was in the pitch meeting scene. After LeBron is shown clips of himself in movies like “Batman” and tv shows like “Game of Thrones,” he turns to the Warner executives and literally says adding to all these properties “is a terrible idea.” Keep in mind that this scene takes place15 or so minutes into a movie that is all about LeBron James interacting with every Warner Bros. property possible. This may be one of the dumbest scenes ever put into a movie. I mean why would you shoot down your own project at the start?

Like the 1996 original, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” contains plenty of the classic Looney Tunes humor. But unlike the previous movie, there weren’t any standout moments for me. Porky Pig’s rap battle was alright but could have been funnier. Lola Bunny attempting to become an Amazon was decent enough, but why Warner Bros. didn’t get Gal Gadot to voice Wonder Woman baffles me. Surely someone at WB has a Zoom account and they could have recorded Gadot that way. And don’t get me started on Bugs Bunny’s voice. Now that I think about it, some of the funnier Looney Tunes moments came in the closing credits, like Foghorn Leghorn’s reaction to a Chicken & Waffles sigh.

The only moments I can honestly say I liked comes while Leron and Bugs Bunny search for their team. Somewhere, the two end up in the middle of “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and it was so unexpected it did make me chuckle a bit. The other moment that I liked came during the climactic basketball game, Sylvester the cat claims he found Michael Jordan, and it turns out to be Michael B. Jordan. One of the other Looney Tunes characters shouts out “Couldn’t you find Michael A. Jordan?”

So, yeah, at the end of the day, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was not for me. I didn’t care for the human characters, most of the jokes fell flat, the Looney Tunes were not used well, and Lebron James is made to look like the worst father in years. But having said that, I’m sure this movie will appeal to younger viewers and die-hard fans of the 1996 film.

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” final grade: C-

In the Heights Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

The new film “In the Heights” was directed by Jon M. Chu and based on the Broadway play by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The story set in New York City’s Washington Heights follows Usnavi de la Vega (Anthony Ramos), a bodega owner who dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic to fulfill his father’s dreams. His best friend Benny (Corey Hawkins) works at the local dispatch company owned by Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smits), the father of Nina (Leslie Grace).

Nina has just returned from her first year at Stanford and is trying to figure out how to tell her friends she’s decided to drop out of school. Then there’s Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) dreams of becoming a fashion designer downtown, but struggles with how to make that a reality. All of the events take place over several days amid a summer heatwave, with each of the characters choosing what their next big steps in life should be, but also with how their decisions will affect their neighborhood.

I didn’t know what to expect from the film version of “In the Heights.” While I knew what the basic story was about, I hadn’t listened to any of the music and none of the trailers had blown me away, and since I saw “Hamilton” last summer on Disney+, I figured there was no way this musical would be as good. But you know what? “In the Heights” exceeded all my expectations and then some

The film centers on a few characters from the Latinx community, but I thought it was a celebration of life. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or when you were born because “In the Heights” is easily accessible to everyone and that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed the movie so much.

The story and the music will have you laughing and perhaps shedding some tears. But the film does a good job balancing the ups and downs the characters experience. A;l; of the main characters are likable and all are well developed. It also helps that the cast have great chemistry, especially Corey Hawkins and Leslie Grace. But the big highlight for me was Melissa Barrera as Vanessa. She had some of my favorite scenes in the movie and has a great duet with Usnavi de la Vega in the third act of the movie.

Another reason I liked “In the Heights” is the way the film uses New York City as a setting. I never got the sense the film was shot on a lot, and every building from the bodega to the Abuela’s house felt like they were real places. And being able to pull off stuff like that, elevates any movie. The city setting gave the musical numbers a lot of energy too, like in the “carnival” number.

Since its release last week there has been a lot of talk about the casting choices made for “In the Heights.” I honestly didn’t notice anything while I watched the movie, but once the topic was brought up I thought “Oh yeah, that’s a good point.” Still, I don’t think anyone involved with the movie went in with bad intentions. The way I see it, they were telling the story of these particular characters, and they accomplished that.

When it comes to complaints I have about “In the Heights” I only have one: The movie is too long. But I’m not sure what (if anything you could cut. However, at almost two and a half hours, I started to doze after the bodega found out they’d sold a winning lottery ticket. Of course, starting the movie after 10 pm probably wasn’t a good idea. Luckily the music pulled me back in and I was fine the rest of the way.

Because “In the Heights” comes from Lin-Manuel Miranda, I’m sure a lot of people will compare it to “Hamilton.” But as I found out, you can’t compare the two. “In the Heights” is its very own thing, and a damn good one too thanks to fun and likable characters and music that will keep your foot tapping the entire time. So yeah, this movie is long, but in the end, it was well worth it.

“In the Heights” final grade: B+

Mortal Kombat Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

The all-new, all-different “Mortal Kombat” film begins in 1617 Japan where Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) fights Bi-Han (Joe Taslim), a member from a warring clan who has the power to create ice and use it as a deadly weapon. Of course, these characters are better known as Scorpion and Sub-Zero, respectively, but before they assume those identities the film jumps to the modern-day and introduces a new character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan).

Cole is a failed MMA fighter, but he bears the birthmark of a dragon that is an invitation to a tournament known as “Mortal Kombat.” For centuries the tournaments have seen champions of Earthrealm battle against the forces of Outworld led by the nefarious Shang Tsung (Chin Han).

Soon, Cole teams up with special forces soldiers Jax (Mechad Brooks) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) as well as smartass mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) to find the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) where they can fight alongside fellow warriors Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang). However, the forces of Outworld have no intention of fighting fair and hope to eliminate the champions before they can make it to Mortal Kombat.

The Mortal Kombat video games caught on with fans in the 90s not just because they were gory, but because they were fun. The 1995 and 1997 live-action films failed to capture what made the video games great, and I’m afraid to say Simon McQuoid’s adaptation never gets there either. The best part of the movie is the prologue set in Japan. This sequence looks incredible and it’s heartbreaking. But it’s far too long and it doesn’t matter again until the very end of the film, making it almost unnecessary.

After the prologue the movie shifts between the vague plot with more exposition than action. When the film goes for an action scene, I found the fight scenes dull and badly lit. Several of them are edited badly too, making the action look even worse. Other scenes were filmed at night and in a dark place making it impossible at times to see what the hell was going on. If the filmmakers hired some of the best martial artists in the business, don’t hide the action, let us see them fight. After all, it’s what everyone watching this movie came to see in the first place.

This version of “Mortal Kombat” tries to skate by on gruesome fatalities, but do little with the rest of the plot. The film’s leading character, Cole (Lewis Tan), is boring and brings nothing new to the material. Sub-Zero looks great though, but I wish the script had given him more to do. Out of the entire cast, the only one who stood out for me was Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). But again, the script barely scratches the surface there. I was left feeling that there is much more to Sonya than what we got in the final cut of the movie.

Another issue that I had with “Mortal Kombat” is that the movie spends too much time introducing the characters and explaining things. I understand it’s been twenty-four years since the last live-action adaptation, and a new generation of potential fans haven’t seen a Mortal Komba movie. However, chances are anyone checking out the new movie has been a fan for a long time. Don’t waste so much time, and get to the fights already!

As you can tell, the new “Mortal Kombat” didn’t do it for me. The movie has some good ideas and some solid special effects. But for some reason, the movie just never gets going. The entire thing seemed like the first episode of a new series rather than a stand-alone movie. On the bright side, the movie is far better than the 1997 sequel “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” so I suppose that’s something.

“Mortal Kombat” grade: C-

Godzilla vs. Kong Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

Directed by Adam Wingard from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is the latest chapter in the Monsterverse that began in 2014 with “Godzilla.” The new film explores a lot more of the Titans’ lore, while also laying the foundation for their big battle.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” takes place a few years after Godzilla saved humanity (and was destroyed by beloved Fenway Park). Things had been quiet until Godzilla reemerged attacking cities and killing many in the process. But once He senses King Kong, the big ape becomes his target. Meanwhile, Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and Jia (Kaylee Hottle) are working to protect Kong from Godzilla and from humans who want to use him as a weapon.

However, things change when Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), who is tasked by Apex Cybernetics CEO Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) to take Kong from Skull Island to Hollow Earth in a bid to obtain its power source and use it to defeat Godzilla. Of course, there is more to this than meets the eye, and those things are being investigated by conspiracy-theorizing (and Apex employee) Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) and Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown).

One of the big complaints fans had about 2014s “Godzilla” was that it didn’t have much of the jolly green monster. The main complaint I had about “Godzilla: King of Monsters” was that nearly every monster battle took place in the rain or the dark (sometimes both). But I’m happy to say that “Godzilla vs. Kong” delivers on most fronts. Godzilla shows up early and often, and some of his appearances ramp up the tension for what lies ahead.

The fight scenes between the two titans are fantastic and easy to follow most of the time. Kong and Godzilla go at it scratching, clawing, and throwing punches. Given the scope of the battles, there is plenty of destruction in the film. But at least this time, we understand the reasons for the fight. As I mentioned earlier, “Godzilla vs. Kong” delves further into the lore of the Titans and Hollow Earth, which I must say is incredible to look at. But nearly everything in the movie is visually stunning, and I think it helps when most of the action takes place during the daytime. There are still some sequences filmed with little lighting, but it’s not as bad as it was in King of Monsters.

When it comes to the human characters, they’re mainly there to deliver exposition. But I have to say this is the first time in these movies that I gave a damn about what happened to these people. The most interesting human plotline involves Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and her unique bond with King Kong, who trusts her and protects her. She is the only human who can communicate with Kong, and their relationship is one of the film’s highlights.

Since both protagonists are creatures, there is a lot of exposition delivered by the actors. However, in “Godzilla vs. Kong” the exposition matters to the overall plot. Nearly everything that is discovered by the cast leads to something else, making their stories much more interesting. I’m not saying every piece of dialogue is a home run, but I got the feeling that the screenwriters were trying for a change. Also, the movie has some solid humor from a conspiracy theorist and podcast host Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir). Watching him realize his “conspiracies” are true was pretty amusing, as was his line about not wanting to die sober.

Something else I enjoyed about “Godzilla vs. Kong” is that at no point did I feel like the movie was just setting up another sequel. It’s quite the opposite, because once the credits rolled I felt like everything had led up to this and that it was worth the wait. Not only that, but this movie is fast-paced and clocks in at under two hours, making it an easy watch.

As for complaints, I would have liked to have seen more of Rebeca Hall’s character. She’s in the entire movie and plays a key role. But, everything we know about her and Jia is told to us in about five sentences. I wanted to know who Hall ended up on Skull island, what made her take Jia in, and how her bond with Kong began. All of this could have been done in one of two scenes, and I’m sad we didn’t get to see any of it. And not that I’m a huge Kyle Chandler fan, but I feel bad for him because he only got about three scenes in the entire movie. Considering he’s the father of one of the main characters, I thought he’d be featured more.

Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised with how good “Godzilla vs. Kong” was. The movie delivers on the fights, features one or two surprises old-school fans will like, it keeps things moving, and the human characters don’t overshadow the monsters. As far as I’m concerned, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is the best film in the series so far.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” grade: B

Zack Snyder’s Justice League Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

At the end of 2017, I ranked “Justice League” as one of my favorite movies of the years for one main reason: as a longtime comic book fan, there was just something about seeing DC’s most important superhero team on the big screen. However, despite my ranking at the time, there were things in the movie I did not care for, and I was well aware that the movie I saw in the theater was not what Zack Snyder had planned for several years. But now thanks to a massive fan campaign we finally get to see what the director intended to do with “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”

The four-hour film picks up following the events of 2016s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and sees Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) — come together to stop Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) from unifying three alien mother boxes that will bring Darkseid (Ray Porter) to Earth.

Unlike the theatrical cut which had little to no character development, Zack Snyder takes his time introducing each character individually before finally bringing them together to prevent Steppenwolf from gaining the mother boxes. While each introduction is good, the standout has to be Cyborg’s story. Ray Fisher finally gets to shine as Victor Stone as the popular hero gets a full arc that is both tragic and heartfelt. Not only do we get to see how he became Cyborg but also how he’s struggling with the change. His anger isn’t theater, it’s real emotion brought on by his father’s actions. And there are layers upon layers of the family drama between Vic and his dad, and they build throughout the movie in a way that I won’t lie, made me misty-eyed.

With four hours to play with, Zack Snyder and his team included plenty of new subplots and action scenes. Some are an extended sequence of the scenes in the Joss Whedon cult, (like the Wonder Woman museum scene) while others like Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane) still grieving Superman’s death, are brand new to audiences. There are some great moments between Diana and Bruce Wayne, and between Aquaman and Wonder Woman which made me believe these people were bonding as a group.

For those in the public who like humor in their superhero films, “zack Snyder’s Justice League” features some great one-liners. Most of the jokes come from Alfred and Barry Allen, but my favorite joke came when Bruce Wayne brings the team to the Batcave for the first time and introduces Alfred by saying “Everyone, this is Alfred, I work for him.” The good news is that all the awful jokes from the 2017 movie are gone, as is the scene when Flash falls on Diana’s chest.

Something else I enjoyed about the new Justice League is how respectful Snyder and the other filmmakers treated Wonder Woman. Let me put it this way: the museum scene alone is better than anything in “Wonder Woman 1984.” This is the Wonder Woman I want to see more of. She’s still beautiful of course, but gone are the numerous butt shots that Joss Whedon added four years ago. Her fellow Amazons also fare better here, with an extended action sequence and with color corrected costumes which made them look regal instead of strippers.

The only negatives I can give “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is that the director used too much slow motion. I can understand using it during any action scenes with the Flash because you want non-comic book readers to see what his powers are and how he uses them. But there’s no reason to use them during a football game, while someone is walking, or while waves wash over Aquaman. If you edited out some of the slow-motion scenes, this movie would easily be 20-25 shorter and would not lose anything plot-wise.

Also, there’s the introduction of Iris West (Kiersey Clemons). While it was nice to see the Flash get an action scene all to himself in this version, I’m not sure this was the best way to do it. I say that only because I believe Iris West has already been recast for the upcoming Flash movie (or whatever they’re going to call it), so I wasn’t invested whether this character made it or not. None of this is Kiersey Clemons’ fault though, she was fine in what little screen time she got.

Staying with the Flash for a moment, Ezra Miller is better in this movie. Snyder took out a lot of the more cringe-worthy Barry Allen moments from the theatrical cut, as his rant about brunch. But, Ezra Miller is still not my first choice to play the character. He’s not playing the Barry Allen from the comics, he’s not even playing Wally West at his worst moments. If anything, Miller is playing Bart Allen (Impulse), and I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or not.

That said, as far as I’m concerned, this is one of the movies Zack Snyder has made. I was invested from the opening scene until the very end. But I’m also well aware that this movie will not be for everyone. If you liked Snyder’s previous DCEU movies, I think you will be happy with Justice League. However, if you didn’t care for “Man of Steel” or “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” then this movie is probably not going to change your mind.

In the end, this movie delivered everything I could have hoped for and more. It has excellent performances by all involved and exciting action-sequences throughout. But at four hours in length, I did have to take a couple of breaks. But doing so only enhanced the anticipation for the next chapter. I don’t know where the DCEU goes from here, but I would be more than happy to return to the Snyder-verse.

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” grade: B

Tom and Jerry Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

Tom and Jerry, the perpetually feuding cat and a mouse who’ve been entertaining kids and adults since 1940 are now starring in their hybrid live-action/animated Warner Bros. adventure titled “Tom & Jerry: The Movie.” Or maybe it’s just “Tom and Jerry” I’m not sure. I’ve seen it called both, so who knows for sure?

Anyways, the new film sends the classic cartoon rivals to modern-day New York City for an adventure that mostly revolves around a young woman named Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz). Kayla is a new employee of the Royal Gate Hotel who hires Tom to catch Jerry before the high-profile wedding of Ben and Preeta (played respectively by Colin Jost and Pallavi Sharda). Watching Kayla’s every move is hotel event manager Terence (Michael Peña), but being a Tom & Jerry movie, things don’t do quite as planned.

Directed by Tim Story from a script by Kevin Costello, “Tom & Jerry” is set in a version of the world where all animals are cartoons. Not only that, but they’re portrayed in a 2-D animated look instead of the 3DCG you’d expect this day. While it’s charming to see old-school animation, the cartoon animals are never explained. Neither is the reason why most of the animals can talk but not Tom and Jerry. The cartoon animals also made me wonder if the humans in this world eat animated animals? Or are there real animals too?

The slapstick physical comedy between Tom and Jerry does provide some laughs for younger viewers. But if you’ve watched more than a couple of Tom & Jerry, then you’ve seen most of these gags before. However, there is one scene I did find funny in which Tom pretends to be a blind piano player in Central Park. Though I suppose most of the laughs come from the humans who turn on Tom once they realized they’ve been conned.

The majority of the action in the film is set within the swanky hotel where Kayla gets hired for a job for which she is not qualified. I didn’t like how Chloë Grace Moretz’s character steals someone else resumes to get the job, but I did enjoy how her character grew and developed during the movie. Chloë Grace Moretz did a nice job with a part that isn’t well written, but the actress made Kayla a very likable character.

Hotel event manager Terence (Peña) dislikes Kayla from the start and is the closest thing this movie has to a villain. But just like with Chloë Grace Moretz, the Terence character grows throughout the film. He’s not as well developed as Kayla, but he does have some great moments in the movie, like when he’s recruited to take Spike for a walk around the city. It’s a short sequence, but it was one of the few times I laughed.

When it comes to the film’s supporting cast, I’d say Jordan Bolger as Cameron, (a hotel bartender), and Patsy Ferran, who plays the quirky bellhop Joy, are among the film’s highlights. Sadly, Ken Jeong as Chef Jackie, a chef, and baker at the Hotel, doesn’t get much screen time, but he is pretty funny in the few scenes he gets.

Where “Tom and Jerry” failed is in the wedding storyline. Colin Jost and Pallavi Sharda are fine as Ben and Preeta, but I never got the sense the two were in love, to begin with. I’m still not sure why the two are famous or what either of them did for a living. None of this is their fault of course, but I wish the script had done a little more to develop their character beyond Ben wanting a big wedding and Preeta not wanting to tell him she does not.

When all is said and done, “Tom & Jerry” is a perfectly adequate offering, especially if you got kids and have access to HBO max. The movie does have some laughs adults will enjoy, and maybe a ga or two they will remember from the classic shorts. But this movie could have been better written and directed, and it would have been nice if Tom and Jerry hadn’t been supporting players for much of their movie.

“Tom and Jerry” grade: C-

Homework: The Podcast Mini-Episode

whats this? What’s this? What’s this?

Why it’s the first-ever mini-episode of Homework: The Podcast! in this special “Winter Break” John Hammel, Nick Jones and yours truly sit around the fireplace to discuss and review Christmas Day releases “Wonder Woman 1984” and Pixar’s “Soul.”

Homework: The Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker

The Flight Attendant Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

After twelve years on the successful “The Big Bang Theory,” Kaley Cuoco is Penny no more! Not only has she made her mark in the Harley Quinn animated series, but now Cuoco shows off her comedic and dramatic skills in HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant” which dropped its first three episodes over Thanksgiving weekend.

“The Flight Attendant” is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. Kaley Cuoco stars as Cassie Bowden, a flight attendant who parties and drinks too much. On a long flight to Bangkok, she meets Alex Sokolov (Michiel Huisman of “Game of Thrones”) a dashing and successful hedge fund manager who invites her on a decadent night out in the Thai capital. The next morning, Cassie wakes up with almost no memory of what transpired the previous night. That’s pretty normal for her, except that this time Alex is lying dead next to her and she is covered in his blood.

Hungover, panicked, and scared of going to jail in a foreign country, Cassie cleans up the crime scene and flees. From there Cassie spends most of her time trying to figure out what happened that night. But thanks to all the drinking her memory is fuzzy, a good thing she beings to see Alex in her head who tries to steer her in the right direction so she can clear her name. Unfortunately, every move Cassie makes only succeeds in digging herself deeper into trouble, eventually putting the FBI on her trail as well as the criminals who may be responsible for Alex’s murder.

To be honest, I was not a fan of “The Big Bang Theory,” but I was a fan of Kaley Cuoco from her work in “8 Simple Rules” and the current “Harley Quinn” series. But what she does as Cassie, maybe Cuoco’s best work yet. “The Flight Attendant” is a series that mixes dark comedy, a murder mystery, and an emotional story about a young woman coming to terms with who she is, and Kaley Cuoco delivers in every aspect. Her facial expressions alone are priceless, but she got my attention in the way she pulled off the dramatic scenes like when she’s first interviewed by the FBI.

Watching Cassie’s series of unfortunate life decisions is like watching a train wreck, and you can’t look away. You may want to look the other way, but Cassie’s escapades are so entertaining that you want to stay tuned and see how she gets out of this or how she makes things worse for herself. And despite the character’s mountain of flaws, Cuoco is so charming you want to follow along. I honestly can’t think of another actor who could have pulled this role off better than her.

“The Flight Attendant” is not a one-woman show however, Cuoco is supported by an amiable cast including Michiel Huisman (who appears mostly in flashbacks and hallucinations), Rosie Perez as Megan Briscoe (Cassie’s longtime co-worker), Zosia Mamet as her lawyer/best friend Annie, T. R. Knight as her brother Davey Bowden, and Merle Dandridge as FBI agent Kim Hammond. But my favorite supporting player is Michelle Gomez as the mysterious Miranda Croft. After her roles in “Doctor who” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” Gomez can’t do anything wrong.

I enjoyed the three episodes HBO max dropped this weekend, but if I have any complaint’s about “The Flight Attendant” it would be that sometimes the series has too much going on. Cassie’s story (and her childhood) are more than enough to keep the plot moving. But nearly everyone in Cassie’s life, whether its’ Annie or her nervous coworker Megan (Rosie Perez) is exactly what they seem.

Everyone around her acts shady or has something going on their loved ones don’t know anything about. Even the FBI agents seem to have other things on their mind at times. If you have twenty-two episodes to explore all those subplots it would be fine, but as far as I know “The Flight Attendant” is only eight episodes long, so I’ll be curious to see how some of these smaller plotlines are resolved.

But despite these minor complaints, the show impressed me. In just three episodes, “The Flight Attendant” has dropped a bunch of laughs, twists, and misdirects to fill an entire season. This show is funny in a twisted way and Cuoco is perfectly cast as Cassie. That’s enough for me to come back next week and find out what other insane situations Kaley Cuoco gets herself into.

“The Flight Attendant” grade: A-

The Witches (2020) Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

HBO Max’s “The Witches,” is the newest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s novel. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the new film stays largely similar to the source material. However, the movie changes the location to 1960s Alabama, where our young unnamed protagonist (played by Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) is sent to live with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) after his parents were killed in a car accident.

Slowly but surely, the young boy begins enjoying his new life with his grandmother and even gets a pet mouse named Daisy. Things looked bright for the boy until an interaction with a mysterious woman at the grocery store changes his life once again. After telling his grandmother about the scary woman, she explains to him that witches exist, and to get away from the danger she takes him to a fancy seaside hotel managed by Mr. Stringer, (Stanley Tucci).

But the trip ends up being a mistake because the hotel is hosting the yearly witch conference hosted by the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway). And this year, the Top witch has a new plan: To turn every child in the world into a mouse so others will exterminate them. It doesn’t take long before the boy and his new friend Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick) get caught up in the witches’ evil plan.

First off, I haven’t seen the 1990 version of “The Witches,” or read the Roald Dahl book, so everything I know is from the HBO max movie. I should also mention I wasn’t planning on seeing this movie, but the wifey is a fan of the 1990 movie and decided we should watch it together. Anyways, “The Witches” is one whacky movie. There were things I liked and many others that left me scratching my head. Let’s start with the good: Octavia Spences is phenomenal (as usual). She is the heart of the movie from the start when she picks up her grandson at the police station. It’s through her that we navigate this crazy world filled with evil witches.

Also good in the film is Jahzir Kadeem Bruno. He and Octavia Spencer had great chemistry together and I bought into them being grandmother and grandson. I wish the script had given us more of them together and that it had given Bruno a little more to do. As it is, most of his story is told by Chris Rock who narrates the entire movie. Rock voices an older version of the boy, but I wish the movie had shown more of his background and not told us thru narration and slides.

Now we get to the bad stuff in the film, and that sadly includes Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch. To be fair though, it wasn’t her performance but the way the character was written that I didn’t like. The main witch is a one-note character, and her only purpose appears to be getting rid of children. Hathaway tries her best by hamming it up, but I never felt like the character went anywhere. Meanwhile, poor Stanley Tucci is only in a handful of scenes and doesn’t get to do anything important. I’ve said it over and over, if you’re gonna hire a big name, give them something to do.

Something else that was bad in “The Witches” was the special effects. The creatures that the kids get turned into look like something I would have created in art school 20 years ago. They’re not believable in any way, and neither is Anne Hathaway’sclaws and bald heads. But based on how good the sets were, my guess is most of the budget went to that instead of the special effects. Finally, there are some scenes in the movie that are terrifying. At one point Anne Hathaway and the witches hold down the main boy and force-feed him the candy that will transform him into a mouse.

The scene involves the boy twitching as if he’s having a seizure while all these women laugh maniacally over him. That was bad enough, but later on, when Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick) gets turned into a mouse his parents don’t seem to care. At no point did I get the sense that they were looking for him. Even the hotel staff is seen unconcerned when Bruno’s parental leave or Octavia Spencer leaves without his grandson. The movie is rated PG, but if you have kids, you may want to watch it ahead of time, because some of the scenes could be scary for younger kids.

At the end of the day, “The Witches” is a mess of a movie. In a way, I’m glad the movie debuted on HBO max because had I paid to see it in the theater, I would be very pissed off. It’s too bad, because the movie does have a stellar cast, but except for Octavia Spencer, the cast is wasted.

“The Witches” grade: C

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote Review

Officially titled “A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote,” the one-hour program is a reunion in which the entire cast of the critically acclaimed NBC drama series reassembled to do a live reading of 2002 episode “Hartsfield’s Landing.”

Nearly all of the original main cast is here, save for the late John Spencer who died during the show’s final season. In his place as Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry is Sterling K. Brown. In the episode, President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) is forced to deal with two big problems at once: Increasing tensions with China and the first primary votes in a little town in New Hampshire. As Bartlett works out the China situation with Leo, he also spends time playing chess with Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) and Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff).

Meanwhile, deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) gets his assistant Donna (Janel Moloney) to call a family in Hartsfield’s Landing to make sure they vote for Bartlett. The third subplot involves press secretary CJ Craig (Allison Janney) and presidential aide Charlie Young (Dule Hill) as they spat over the president’s daily calendar leaking to the press. Instead of commercials, the show features appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others talking about the voting process and making sure you go vote this year.

I was only about five minutes into HBO Max’s The West Wing reunion when I realize how much I miss this show and this cast. However, when this special was announced several weeks ago, I assumed it would feature the cast standing on a stage 6 feet apart reading from the script. But boy was I wrong!

HBO Max put some money into the special. The entire thing is staged beautifully, with minimal sets and lighting which kept the focus on the actors. Thomas Schlamme returned as director and he hit a home run. He shot and edited everything like an episode of the tv show, and yet, somehow managed to make it seem like the cast was in the West Wing set, and not on a theater stage.

I know President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is a fictional president facing fictional problems, but I always appreciated how the series broke issues down so that people at home could understand them. So in the episode when the President tells Sam Seaborn “Look at the whole board,” he isn’t just talking about their chess game. And fictional or not, there is something special about a president who was smart and capable and above all else, cared about everyone.

But it wasn’t just Martin Sheen who impressed in this reunion. The rest of the cast was back in form as if they’d never left their respective roles. Rob Lowe as Sam is as goofy as ever, Richard Schiff’s Toby is as stubborn as ever (even if he’s’ right). However, the big cast change is Sterling K. Brown taking over as Leo. At first, it was jarring because Brown’s line delivery is very stoic compared to his predecessor. But as the show went on, the more I warmed to Brown’s take on the character and he fits in quite nicely with the veterans.

The cast is so good, that I’m hoping Aaron Sorkin decided to do a new version of “The West Wing.” I’m not saying it would be easy to match the original, but it’s certainly doable. Perhaps the biggest casting decision will be the new president, but I think Sorkin and his team could find someone. Then, make Sterling K. Brown the new chief of staff, Charley can become his deputy, and go from there.

“The West Wing” is my favorite TV show of all time, and it’s the only show I’ve watched from start to finish multiple times. Over the last few years, the series has kept me sane and helped me escape from the real world. I thought the DVDs were enough, but after watching this reunion I now realize I want a new West Wing Series, or at the very least, give more specials like this.

“A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote” grade: A+