James' World 2

Violent Night is a Christmas action-comedy directed by Tommy Wirkolal and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. The story is about a magical Santa Claus who finds himself fighting off mercenaries that have taken a wealthy family hostage in their home. Violent Night is one of the worse movies I’ve seen since the likes of “The Menu” and “Bros”.

On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus (David Harbour), who appears to have tied on one too many, continues to pour down the drinks at a Bristol pub while lamenting that children have become increasingly materialistic, in a world unaware he actually exists. Determined to resume delivering gifts, Santa emerges to the roof and flies off in his reindeer-driven sleigh. In Greenwich, Connecticut, Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell), his estranged wife Linda (Alexis Louder), and their daughter Trudy (Leah Brady) visit his mother Gertrude’s (Beverly D’Angelo) mansion to celebrate Christmas…

Devotion is a biographical war film based on the 2015 book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos, which retells the comradeship between naval officers Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War. It is directed by J. D. Dillard and written by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart. Another historic movie based on a true story that depicts one of many important roles African American’s played in developing the United States of America. Despite needing a box of tissues, I thought Devotion was well done.

In early 1950, Lieutenant Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) transfers to Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) at Quonset Point Naval Air Station. There he meets Ensign Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), the only African American member of the unit. Hudner integrates well into the squadron, which is assigned F4U-4 Corsairs – powerful planes with a reputation for fatal accidents if not handled properly. After Brown’s car breaks…

The Menu is a black comedy horror film directed by Mark Mylod, written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, and produced by Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, and Will Ferrell. Since I don’t like horror films, I had no desire to see The Menu. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I found myself in a situation where I had to make a decision; should I or shouldn’t I.  As it turns out, I should have stuck to my guns as this film has racked up my worst movie experience of 2022, in my opinion.

Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his companion Margot Mills / Erin (Anya Taylor-Joy) travel by boat to Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant owned and operated by celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), located on a private island. The other guests attending the dinner are (Janet McTeer) Lilian Bloom, a food critic; her editor Ted (Paul Adelstein); wealthy couple Richard (Reed Birney) and Anne…

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Black Panther 2018 and the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Wakanda Forever is directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole. The leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. This most anticipated sequel was well done with a fitting tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Wakanda Forever was well worth the wait.

T’Challa, king of Wakanda (Chadwick Boseman), is suffering from an illness that his sister, PrincessShuri (Letitia Wright), believes can be cured by the “heart-shaped herb”. Princess Shuri attempts to synthetically recreate the herb after it was destroyed by Killmonger. The Princess was unable to save King T’Challa before he is ravaged by…

The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark comedy written and directed by Martin McDonagh. The film follows lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their friendship. The Banshees of Inisherin seemed like an interesting story, I think it was entertaining.  It reunites the two main stars, who previously worked together on McDonagh’s directorial debut “In Bruges” back in 2008.

In 1923, on the small fictional Irish isle of Inisherin during the Irish Civil War, folk musician Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) and Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) appeared to have a friendship for many years.  Suddenly, without notice, Colm decides to dissolve their friendship.  Confused and upset Pádraic who doesn’t live far from Colm, becomes depressed and will do anything to restore their relationship. Pádraic’s sister Siobhán Súilleabháin (Kerry Condon) lives with her brother and is an acquaintance of Siobhán.  She cannot understand what’s…

Armageddon Time is a coming-of-age drama written, directed, and produced by James Gray. Inspired by Gray’s childhood experiences, the story follows a young Jewish-American boy who befriends a rebellious African-American classmate and begins to struggle with expectations from his family and growing up in a world of privilege, inequality, and prejudice. While this film did not move mountains, it was informative for some who didn’t know, well acted, and offered no solutions — in other words, hopeless!

In 1980 Queens, New York City, on his first day in 6th grade, 12-year-old Jewish-American Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) becomes fast friends with an African-American boy named Johnny (Jaylin Webb) who was a year older because he was held back by a year.  Paul noticed that Johnny gets harsher treatment from their teacher, Mr. Turkeltaub (Andrew Polk) when they both joke around in class. The two still bond over their love of music…

Ticket to Paradise is a romantic comedy about a divorced couple who decide to team up and sabotage the impending wedding of their daughter. The film is directed by Ol Parker and written by Parker and Daniel Pipski.

I expect “Ticket to Paradise” to be an end-of-the-summer fill-in. However, despite being totally unbelievable with a familiar, overdone topic, it was still a  nice getaway, funny, and well done.

David (George Clooney) and Georgia Cotton (Julia Roberts) were formerly married.  Having gone through a bitter divorce 20 years ago, the Cottons are currently in a hate relationship and regret having ever been married. Their daughter and only child, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) graduates from law school and goes on vacation with her best friend and fellow graduate Wren Butler (Billie Lourd) to Bali. While snorkeling off the coast, their tour boat inadvertently leaves them behind. They are rescued by a young Balinese…