SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a computer-animated superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales, aka Spider-Man.  Morales  becomes one of many Spider-Men as they team up to save New York City from Kingpin.  The film is produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.  Into the Spider-Verse  is the first animated feature film in the Spider-Man franchise, and is set in a shared multiverse called the “Spider-Verse”, which has alternate universes. The film was directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman from a screenplay by Phil Lord and Rothman.  I had never heard of the Spider-Verse but for good reason, this is the first of the Spider-Verse series.  Judging by the weekend box office of 2/3, $175,424,664 and over $347M worldwide, we will see more.  Actually, I liked this film and am having trouble distinguishing between other animated features as to which is the best one.

Miles Morales / Spider-Man (Shameik Moore) is a teenager who admires Spider-Man. He struggles living up to the expectations of his parents, especially his father, police officer Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry), who sees Spider-Man as a menace. After school, Miles secretly visits his uncle Aaron Davis / Prowler (Mahershala Ali) , who brings Miles to an abandoned subway station where he can paint graffiti. While there, Miles is unknowingly bitten by a radioactive spider and begins to develop spider-like abilities.  After an embarrassing encounter with a classmate, Miles realizes the changes he is undergoing as a result of the bite. Searching for the spider, Miles returns to the station and unintentionally runs into a particle accelerator built by Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), who wishes to access parallel universes to find alternative versions of his wife and son who died in a car crash.

****  SPOILERS  ****

Spider-Man / Peter Parker (Chris Pine) of Miles Morales’ universe, whose death inspires Miles to become Spider-Man, is trying to disable the accelerator while fighting off Fisk’s enforcers, Green Goblin / Norman Osborn (Jorma Taccone) and Prowler. Spider-Man also discovers that Miles has abilities similar to his. He vows to teach him how to control his powers, but is gravely wounded by an explosion during the battle that kills Green Goblin. Spider-Man gives Miles a USB drive to disable the accelerator and warns that the machine could destroy the city if turned on again. Miles then watches Fisk kill Spider-Man in horror before fleeing from Prowler.

While attempting to master his new abilities, Miles inadvertently damages the USB drive. At Spider-Man’s grave, Miles meets Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man (Jake Johnson), a depressed and worn-down version of Spider-Man from another dimension. Peter has been brought into Miles’s dimension by the accelerator and needs to return home, so he reluctantly agrees to train Miles in exchange for help stealing data to create a new drive. While breaking into Kingpin’s research facility, they are confronted by Fisk’s chief scientist Olivia “Liv” Octavius / Doctor Octopus  (Kathryn Hahn), who reveals that Peter will deteriorate the longer he stays in their dimension and eventually die.

Being a young person has it’s props.  An adult might get totally lost in this rather hectic story or not!  While I think the plot is excellent, I think you’d better pay attention or else.  I like the message this version of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sends and I think the cast is outstanding.  There is much more to this story — a must see in order to understand the intensions of the writer.  This animated film is more organized than some of the others I’ve seen this year (2018).  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is not for everyone, as this is strictly a children’s flick.  Check It Out, it’s worth it!

[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature Film]

 

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a fantasy film directed by David Yates and written by J. K. Rowling. A joint British and American production, it is the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). It is the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the tenth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, which began with the Harry Potter film series.  The plot follows Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore as they attempt to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, while facing new threats in a more divided wizarding world. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll love this sequel.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set in 1927 with the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) transferring the powerful dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) from their maximum security prison to London to be tried for his crimes in Europe. While departing New York City, Grindelwald is freed by his follower and MACUSA employee, Abernathy (Kevin Guthrie). Grindelwald kills the guards and escapes.

Three months after Grindelwald’s escape, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) appeals to the British Ministry of Magic to restore his international travel rights, lost during his visit to New York City. While at the Ministry, he meets with Leta Lestrange (Zo Kravitz), an old Hogwarts friend who is now engaged to his Auror [a position equivalent to a cop against magic] brother, Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner). The Ministry of Magic offers to restore Newt’s travel rights if he agrees to work for them, alongside Theseus, in locating the Obscurial Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who has resurfaced in Paris. Many suspect that Credence is Leta’s long-lost brother, Corvus Lestrange, the last of a long pure-blood line of wizards. Grindelwald believes Credence is the only person who can kill his living equal, Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). When Newt declines, not wanting to choose a side, the Auror Grimmson (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) is dispatched in his place. After leaving the Ministry, Newt is summoned by Dumbledore, who also asks Newt to locate Credence in Paris.

When Newt returns home, his American friends, Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) have unexpectedly arrived. Jacob has retained most of his memories from the 1926 events in New York City because MACUSA’s city-wide Obliviating order only erased memories from people who had bad ones.  Jacob’s memories stayed in tact since his were mostly good.  Queenie tells Newt that her sister, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), is in Paris searching for Credence and she and Jacob have followed her to Europe. Queenie also reveals that Tina believes Newt is betrothed to Leta Lestrange after reading a newspaper article announcing their engagement.  Newt explains that the paper confused him with Theseus. After Jacob and Queenie quarrel about the marriage ban between wizards and Muggles, Queenie, upset, leaves to find Tina. Hoping to reconcile with the women, Newt and Jacob follow them to Paris.

While the plot is fairly simple, Crimes of Grindelwald gets pretty involved with complicated subplots.  From the search for Credence in Paris to accidentally freeing animals and Credence’s birth mother search, it’s hard to keep up.  Many characters, join the film making it slightly more complicated.  There are strange animals and ruthless murderers also adding to the twists and turns of this movie. You really have to be a fan in order to fully enjoy Crimes of Grindelwald.  While I thought I was a fan, I was unable to make complete sense of all that was happening.  I did enjoy the cinematography and the fashions and most of the plot, despite the abundance of cast and over the top story twists.  The action was plentiful as was the special effects.  The acting was brilliant and many of the characters were British.  If you’re taking your youngster(s) to see Crimes of Grindelwald, you may have some explaining to do, or they may be explaining the movie to you — Overall, I think Crimes of Grindelwald is a pretty good flick, –Check it out!

 

ROUGH NIGHT (2017) – My rating: 6.5/10

Rough Night was a rough movie.  While some of it was funny most of it was a play on male bonding comedies done many times before.  I found Rough Night down right silly yet tolerable.  There were quite a few “not so bad moments” along with too many annoying moments, as well.

The movie starts in 2006 with 4 friends Jess (Scarlett Johansson), Alice (Jillian Bell), Frankie (Ilana Glazer) and Blair (Zoë Kravitz) in their first year of college.  During this period of friendship and bonding, they are doing what first year students do, attending silly parties and performing senseless acts, like spitting a ball across the room to break a rubber boob.  Oh my, what a party that was.  Guys dressed in thongs, women dressed in ridiculous outfits that served no purpose and everyone just drank and did stupid things.  Nothing that really resembles a real party like dancing and meaningful conversation.  The film then takes us 10 years in the future where Jess is running for office and is engaged to be married to Peter (Paul W. Downs).  She seems to be out of touch with her old friends from college except for her upcoming bachelorette party. Alice, who always considered herself Jess’s best friend, decides that the four friends should spend the weekend in Miami partying. They are also joined by Pippa (Kate McKinnon), Jess’s friend from a semester she attended in Australia. The friends get high and party at a club and then decide to hire a male stripper (Ryan Cooper).  When the stripper arrives, the adventure really gets going.

The series of events is the meat of Rough Night so I can’t list what follows.  There’s a death, misunderstandings, an unexpected trip, unexpected sex, oversexed neighbors (Ty Burrell and Demi Moore), robbers, wild emotions, make ups, break ups, bodies, handcuffs, drugs, burner phones, diamonds, boats, a cop (Colton Haynes), hellos and good-byes.  Rough Night is a roller coaster of crazy.  It starts off crazy and ends crazy with crazy in the middle.  Good acting — but doesn’t measure up to any of the guy bonding movies like The Hangover Trilogies.  I would wait for the DVD.