James' World 2

Downton Abbey is a British period drama that represents the continuation of the BBC television series of the same name. The film is directed by Michael Engler and written by Julian Fellowes, who is also the creator and executive producer of the television series. Much of the original cast has returned as they perform the first Downton Abbey movie.  An official state visit by the British Monarchy to Downton Abbey upsets the entire staff and their way of life, as they bend over backward to please the King and  Queen of England. I found Downey Abbey to be one of the year’s best movie and I absolutely loved it.

****  SPOILERS BELOW  ****

Downton Abbey begins in 1927 when Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), the Earl of Grantham, receives a letter from Buckingham Palace announcing that King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) are coming to Downton…

Don’t Let Go is a psychological horror-thriller directed and written by Jacob Aaron Estes, from a story by Estes and Drew Daywalt. Jason Blum serves as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner, alongside Bobby Cohen and David Oyelowo.

I took a chance and went to see Don’t Let Go, despite the fact I  never heard of it. This one flew way under the radar, as I really enjoyed it.

Don’t Let Go starts off with Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo) who is a homicide detective, picking up his niece Ashley Radcliff (Storm Reid) from a theater, after her parents had forgotten. Ashley is somewhat detached from her parents, especially her father Garret Radcliff (Brian Tyree Henry) due to his bipolar disorder and past years of drug abuse. Jack decides to have a stern talk with Garret about his lack of decent parenting skills. The movie goes on to show the…

Overcomer is a Christian drama directed by Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote the script with Stephen Kendrick. It is the Kendrick brothers’ sixth film and their second through their subsidiary, Kendrick Brothers Productions. I was unsure of Overcomer but was glad I went to see it.

John Harrison (Alex Kendrick) is a basketball coach at Brookshire Christian High School. Since the city’s major source of employment is closing down, most of the town’s residents are forced to look for employment elsewhere.  Because most of the town’s people had to leave the city, coach Harrison lost his basketball team but was offered the job of coaching the cross-country running team, which he reluctantly takes on despite there’s only one person on board, Hannah Scott (Aryn Wright-Thompson) who is asthmatic. Hannah’s sporting journey will be accompanied by a self-discovery that will answer a question that has been a concern for her for a…

Ready or Not is a black comedy/horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. When I first saw this movie listed, it had 100% rotten tomatoes. A few days later it had been adjusted to 91%. The film is about a newly-wed woman who becomes hunted by her in-laws. I felt I had to see it. It was the biggest waste of my time, ever.

“Ready or Not” follows the ultra-rich Le Domas family. They are in the business of games and are about to add a new member, Grace (Samara Weaving) to the family. After courting Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien), the youngest brother of the family, the two have decided to tie the knot. The wedding is taking place on the enormous family estate where Alex’s parents, Tony Le Domas (Henry Czerny) and Becky Le Domas (Andre…

The Lion King is a computer-animated musical directed and produced by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney’s traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name. The plot follows Simba, a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his native land following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar. As with Jungle Book, the CGI characters were spectacular.  There was very little difference in the story, if any, from the original 1994 animated film. I was glad I went to see Lion King in this format.

In the Pride Lands of Africa, in a place called Pride Rock, lived King Mufasa, Queen Sarabi and their pride of lions who ruled over the animal kingdom. Mufasa’s and Sarabi’s newborn son, Simba, is presented to the gathering animals…

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (also known as Hobbs & Shaw) is an action film and a spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise. The plot follows the unlikely marriage of the Hobbs & Shaw characters introduced in the main series, as they are forced to team up with Shaw’s sister when a genetically-enhanced terrorist and his organization threaten the world with a deadly virus. The film is directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, from a story by Morgan.  For me, this was a must-see but soon became more of the same despite one of my favorite actors at the helm.

A crew of MI6 agents from the terrorist organization, Eteon, attempts to retrieve a virus labeled Snowflake, which can be programmed to decimate millions of people. Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), an Eteon operative with advanced cybernetic implants that allow…

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a comedy-drama written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is an international co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie — I am neutral as to the quality of the movie but I feel it is worth seeing.

****  SOME SPOILERS  ****

In February 1969, Los Angeles actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), star of 1950’s Western television series, Bounty Law is now a struggling has-been. Realizing he is no longer the young budding star he was in the 50s, Rick shares this revolution with his best friend and former stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), that his career is over. Cliff, a war veteran, lives in a trailer behind a drive-in movie with…

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics’ character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the twenty-third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Parker is recruited to face elemental threats from another dimension while he is on a school trip to Europe. I really had no interest in seeing this version of Spider-Man but wanted to write about the film hoping it would be of some interest. I didn’t love it;  see my thoughts explained in the last paragraph below.

Spider-Man: Far From Home opens in Ixtenco, Texas, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) investigating an unnatural storm. While there, they…

Yesterday is a British romantic comedy directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis, based on an original screenplay by Jack Barth and Mackenzie Crook. A struggling musician who, after an accident, finds himself as the only person in the world who remembers the Beatles. That leaves him with the unprecedented opportunity to become famous by taking credit for writing and performing Beetle songs.  The film falls a little short on imagination but since it’s the Beetle’s songs, it “rocks”.

Yesterday opens with Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling singer-songwriter from Lowestoft. His manager and childhood friend Ellie Appleton (Lily James), begs a bewildered Jack, not to give up on his dreams. During a global blackout, Jack gets hit by a bus, when he awakens, aside from two missing front teeth, he discovers that no one else on Earth had ever heard of the Beatles. Once he confirms…

Shaft is an action-comedy directed by Tim Story and written by Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow. Unlike its predecessor, which was distributed by Paramount Pictures, this film is produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the fifth film in the Shaft film series and a sequel to the 2000 film with the same title. Given the last version of Shaft, I didn’t expect too much from this version — however, it ended up being pretty decent and pretty funny.

The film starts in 1989, John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson), his wife Maya Babanikos (Regina Hall) and their infant son, John “JJ” Shaft Jr., survives an assassination attempt by druglord, Pierro “Gordito” Carrera (Isaach de Bankolé). Concerned Shaft’s lifestyle would expose them to even more danger, Maya thought it best to leave her husband and raise their son on her own. 25…