Author: Mike Smith

• JAWS@50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY
• Documentary
• Featuring:  Steven Spielberg, Cameron Crowe and Jordan Peele
• Directed by:  Laurent Bouzereau
• Not Rated
• Running time:  1 hr 28 mins
• National Geographic

Our score:  5 out of 5

I bought my first laser disc in 1995.  It was a special edition collection to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the greatest film ever made, Jaws.  I bought it for one reason.  The amazing documentary put together by filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau.  I should note here that at the time I did not own a laser disc player.

As someone that prides himself on his knowledge of the film Jaws (my most recent book, “FINATICS: 50 Years of Jaws” was just released) I usually the various documentaries on the film with a grain of salt because I usually don’t learn anything new.  That being said, I knew when I watched Jaws@50 that that would not be the case.  And I was not disappointed!

A skilled documentarian, Mr. Bouzereau has also done outstanding “making of” films about such classic movies as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and Jurassic Park, as well as last year’s amazing Music by John Williams.  He has a style that allows him to share the story of a familiar film in a way you never expected, making the familiar seem new.  And Jaws@50 is no exception.

Through an amazing treasure trove of archival footage, and current interviews with Steven Spielberg, as well as conversations with some of the greatest filmmakers working today, the film manages to weave a tale I’ve never known.  Each film clip, or comment by Mr. Spielberg, opens  new windows into the film and the behind-the-scenes troubles that nearly kept it from being made.  To someone that has seen the film literally hundreds of times, Jaws@50 made it seem like I was watching Jaws for the first time, learning more and more about something I have loved for five decades.

The film premiers on the National Geographic channel next Thursday, July 10^th, and can also be found on the new 50^th Anniversary 4K Steelbook.  Even if you don’t own  4k player, buy it.  I don’t and I did!

On a scale of zero to five I give Jaws@50:  The Definitive Inside Story ★★★★★

• KARATE KID: LEGENDS
• Starring:  Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio
• Directed by:  Jonathan Entwistle
• Rated:  PG 13
• Running time:  1 hr 34 mins
• SONY/Columbia Pictures

Our score:  3 out of 5

A young boy becomes a fish out of water when he and his mother move to a new city.  There he is bullied and only being trained in martial arts can help him.  Sound familiar?  That’s the plot of the original “Karate Kid,” released in 1884.  It’s also the plot of the new “Karate Kid: Legends,” which plays like a cross between the familiar “Karate Kid” themed films mixed with a little “Best of the Best.”  The film is entertaining, but it’s very formulaic.

The film opens with a scene from “Karate Kid Part II,” with the wise Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) explain the secrets of his family’s karate to his student, Daniel Larusso (Macchio).  The scene is expanded to inform the audience that Miyagi-go karate is also based in kung-fu.

China.  Enter Mr. Han (Chan), the featured teacher in the 2010 version of “The Karate Kid” starring Jaden Smith.  These days Mr. Han runs a kung-fu academy and his prize student is Li (Wang).  Li’s mother, (Ming-Na Wen) is not happy that Li is doing, having lost a son in a fight years ago.  When Li and his mother move to New York City, mom believes LI’s fighting days are over.  As Sam Kinison used to ask, “Is she RIGHT?”

Familiar, with lots of foreshadowing, “Karate Kid: Legends” obviously hopes to ride the tails of the recently ended Netflix series “Cobra Kai.”  And while the story is easy to figure out, I can’t deny that the film is entertaining.  Li meets Mia (Sadie Stanley), a local girl who works in her father’s pizzeria.  He immediately pisses off Mia’s ex-boyfriend, who just happens to be the karate champion of the city.  And so on and so on.

What makes the film enjoyable is the cast.  Wang is both a skilled fighter and endearing young man.  When he’s referred to as the “Chinese Peter Parker,” you can imagine him in the part, bringing the same youthful feel to the role that Tom Holland has.  The supporting cast is strong as well.  Ms. Stanley plays Mia as tough but tender and Joshua Jackson, who plays Mia’s father, has certainly come a long way from “The Mighty Ducks.”  As the television commercials inform you, Ralph Macchio returns as Daniel Larusso though his role is just a little larger then a cameo.

The martial arts scenes are spectacularly done, with some amazing choreography.  Chan is 71 – Macchio is 63 – but they both move like they are in their prime.

Overall, the nostalgia of the previous films is a big drawing point for the film and it’s with those fond memories in the back of your head that “Karate Kid: Legends” excels.  Another plus, you don’t have to be familiar with the “Cobra Kai series to enjoy this film but if you are you’ll be rewarded for having done so.

While my 8-year-old grandson, Hudson, told me to write it’s “the greatest movie ever made,” on a scale of zero to five I’m giving “Karate Kid: Legends”  ★★★

• MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
• Starring:  Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell and Simon Pegg
• Directed by:  Christopher McQuarrie
• Rated:  PG 13
• Running time:  2 hrs 49 mins
• Paramount

 Our score:  4.5 out of 5

I wonder how many of you remember the great stuntman Dar Robinson?  Robinson, along with Yakima Canut, Jean Coulter and the great Buster Keaton, who basically invented the concept, would make up the Mount Rushmore of stunt-workers, would do things no one else would even dare try.  If you’re seen the film “Sharky’s Machine,” you may remember the scene where a character doubled by Robinson went BACKWARDS out of a window of the Atlanta Hyatt Regency Hotel and, without a harness, fell 220 feet to the ground.  The year before, Robinson had jumped off the top of the CNN tower in Toronto.  I mention Mr. Robinson not only because of how he lived but sadly how he died.  While riding his motorcycle he accidentally hit the bike’s accelerator instead of the break and went off of a cliff.

Some well-known actors started their careers as stuntpeople, including Burt Reynolds, Jackie Chan and recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh.  Reversing that trend is Tom Cruise who, over the past four decades, has undertaken some of the most dangerous and jaw-dropping stunts ever captured on film, many of them while filming the “Mission: Impossible” film series.  And he tops them all in the latest chapter, “Final Reckoning.”

It’s been two years since we last met Ethan Hunt (Cruise) in “M:I – Dead Reckoning Part One.”  But in “film-time,” it’s only been a month.  Hunt is still on the trail of the mysterious Gabriel (Esai Morales), who has stolen a key needed to stop an A.I. type entity called, well, the Entity, from destroying the world as we know it by taking control of the nuclear arsenals of the world’s biggest superpowers.  Don’t believe me?  You could make a drinking game out of how many times “the fate of the world” is mentioned in this film.

Hunt attempts to assemble his usual team – Grace (Atwell), Benji (Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) who, despite their best intentions, continue to run into lies, deceit and double-crosses.  Will Ethan and his team succeed?  After all, “the fate of the world” hangs in the balance.

Jam-packed with action, “M:I – The Final Reckoning” actually opens with a montage of Ethan Hunts greatest hits, showcasing some of the amazing adventures from the previous films in the series.  Cruise, who in my opinion may be the last great movie star, once again commands the screen and his dedication to his work, both on-screen and behind it, shows.  In this age of loud movies full of action and explosions just for the sake of being loud and having explosions, Cruise and his co-stars stand out.  There is actually an emotional element in this film that many action films lack.

The various set-pieces are skillfully directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has not only co-written and directed the last four films in this series but has worked with Cruise on many other projects, including “Jaeck Reacher” and “Top Gun: Maverick”  He also wrote the brilliant Oscar winning script for “The Usual Suspects.”  He fills the screen with action and makes sure that the audience senses every punch, every gunshot, ever drop of adrenaline.

If the film has one drawback it may be the length.  Like “Dead Reckoning – Part One,” this film is nearly three hours long.  Many of the action scenes are extended and I don’t think the film would have suffered with a little more trimming.

That being said, this film is ana amazing way to kick the summer off with a bang!  I definitely recommend that you accept this mission.

On a scale of zero to five, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” receives ★★★★ ½  

• SNOW WHITE  (2025)
• Starring:  Rachel Ziegler and Gal Gadot
• Directed by:  Marc Webb
• Rated:  PG
• Running time:  1 hr 49 mins
• Walt Disney

Our score: 2.5 out of 5

It’s finally here.  We’ve been beat over the head for the past year about the updated version of “Snow White” which was going to change everything you thought you knew about the story.  Of course there will be dwarves.  Oops, no, sorry, we’re going to have “magical creatures” of all sizes and genders.  Oops, sorry again.  The dwarves are back.

And it didn’t help that the actress playing Snow White told the press:

“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937, and we absolutely wrote a “Snow White” that’s not gonna be saved by the prince, and she’s not gonna be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true. And so, it’s just a really incredible story for young people everywhere to see themselves in.”

These comments, and the whole yes/no dwarves controversy, put this film in the same category of “Twilight Zone: the Movie, where the death of actor Vic Morrow and two children overshadowed the actual film when it was released.  Sometimes controversy pays off.  Sometimes, it doesn’t.

In a land far, far away, the king and his wife are traveling in a blizzard when the queen gives birth.  Since the child was born during a snow storm, she is given the name Snow White.  (sigh)  That’s like saying Batman took his name from the fact that he liked to play baseball.  The new family spend their days wandering the kingdom, meeting and helping out their subjects.  Sadly, the queen passes away and the king, lonely for female companionship, the king takes a new bride (Gadot in all of her epic wickedness), a woman whose vanity forces her to constantly question her magic mirror as to her status as the most beautiful, or fairest, of them all.  She gives young Snow White (Emilia Faucher) a really bad haircut and keeps her locked in the castle, forced to do menial chores.  While scrubbing the floor one day, a now adult Snow White (Ziegler) is surprised by Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), a sort of Robin Hood-like figure who came to rob the castle.  He is captured but Snow White, with her heart of gold, helps him escape.  This makes the queen angry.  Very angry!  She orders her huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and cut out her heart (this film is particularly dark for a PG rating).  He lets her go, she finds the dwarves, the end.  Not exactly, but that’s what it felt like.

Where to start?  This is pretty much “Snow White” the way we remember it, meaning someone at Disney must have realized that the recent trend of failing films needed to stop and persuaded the filmmakers to be as familiar as possible.  Ziegler was so good in Steven Spielberg’s updated “West Side Story,” but for whatever reason she doesn’t bring the slight vulnerability needed for the role she showed in “WSS” here.  Sadly she doesn’t make Snow White likable, so you don’t really care what happens to her.  Also, apparently Ziegler was directed to never blink and her constant, wide eyed stare is pretty unnerving at times.

It is good to see the familiar seven dwarves, even CGI ones, and the film picks up every time they are on screen.  The film turns the “magical beings” into Jonathan’s band of men, who spend a lot of time singing and dancing.  “You and Finch are such good dancers,” Snow White tells one of them.  He replies that they’re “just good friends.”  “If you say so.”  Ha-ha.

The songs are ok and the CGI clever, but unfortunately you go into this film looking for the worst and, even though it’s not a bad as it could have been, it may take you a couple of viewings before you find the story you were hoping for.  I’ll never know.  One time was plenty for me.

On a scale of zero to five I give “Snow White” ★★ ½.

• NOVOCAINE
• Starring:  Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson
• Directed by:  Dan Berk and Robert Olsen
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  1 hr 50 mins
• Paramount

Our score:  3.5 out of 5

One of the greatest bad ass characters in movie history was Mr. Joshua, played by Gary Busey in “Lethal Weapon.”  Willingly holding his arm over a direct flame and not flinching…it still makes me grimace.  Meet Nate Caine (Quaid).  He makes Mr. Joshua look like a wimp.

Packed with humor and over the top violence, “Novocaine” is an ultra violent, ultra funny film ostensibly about a man following his heart.  Nate is a quiet guy who earns his money as the assistant manager of a local bank.  While running a morning meeting he can’t help but notice a new teller named Sherry (Midhunder) as she comes in late.  Afterwards she apologizes and offers to take Nate to lunch.  He finally agrees but is surprised when Nate only orders a milkshake.  She offers him a bite of her pie but he refuses, explaining that he was born with a condition that prevents him from feeling any kind of physical pain.  He can’t eat solid foods because he could inadvertently bite his tongue and bleed to death.  Things are looking up for Nate.  Until they aren’t.

It’s hard to put a label on this film.  Yes, it’s violent.  Yes, it’s action packed.  Yes it’s funny.  But it’s neither a horror, action or comedy film.  It’s the rare combination of all three.  The story moves along quickly, carried on the shoulders of the film’s three leads, two of them (Quaid and Ray Nicholson) the sons of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors Dennis Quaid and Jack Nicholson (their mothers aren’t too shabby either – Meg Ryan and Rebecca Broussard, respectively).  Both have a fine screen presence.  Quaid is quite likable.  Nate would be the perfect “every man” if not for his little issue.  As chief bad guy Simon, Nicholson sends chills down your spine with only a glance and a comment.  As Sherry, Ms. Midthunder is both sweet and sour, hiding a secret that gives the film its genuine tension.

The action scenes are top notch, if not a little over the top.  I mean, sure you can’t feel someone smash your head into a wall but you should at least stumble a little, right?

If you need to jump start your spirits this week then I recommend seeing “Novocaine.”  It’s Pure Adrenaline!

On a scale of zero to five, “Novocaine” receives ★★★ ½        

• THE BRUTALIST
• Starring:  Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce
• Directed by:  Brady Corbet
• Rated:  R
• Running time: 3 hrs 20 mins (3 hr 35 with intermission)
• A24

Our score:  5 out of 5

Budapest.  World War II has recently ended.  We find Erzsabet (Jones) writing a letter to her husband, Laszlo (Brody), reminding him of her love and where he can find her.  An important fact as Laszlo is now living in Pennsylvania, trying to build a new life in a constantly changing new world.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, “The Brutalist” is a beautifully shot film that celebrates one mans desire to be remembered, no matter the cost.  Arriving in America, Laszlo is given work by his cousin, a businessman with a furniture store.  Laszlo is an architect and his skills go well with furniture designing.  He is also a proud Jew, who is upset that his cousin has not only changed his last name but is now a Catholic.  Laszlo battles many demons, from terrible dreams to drug addiction but no matter what, he will fight to achieve the “American Dream.”

Thanks to the amazing cast, the three hour plus run time does not seem that long.  Brody is always at his best when he is playing tortured souls and his performance here is top notch.  Both he and Huffman are Oscar nominated for their work and they are well deserved.  But the stand out performance here goes to fellow nominee Guy Pearce, who owns every scene he is in.  I have loved Pearce ever since his breakout performance in “L.A. Confidential” and he is outstanding here.

The film is beautifully shot and the period settings perfect right down to the smallest detail.  The film is also propelled by it’s Academy Award nominated musical score, as well as the greatest selection of mid-century standards since, well, “L.A. Confidential.”

Please note, I had the opportunity to see the film without and intermission so if you see it in the cinema, add 15 minutes to the run time.  But believe me, it is time well spent.

On a scale of zero to five, “The Brutalist” receives ★★★★★

• LOVE HURTS
• Starring:  Ke Huy Quan, Josh Stoddard and Ariana DeBose
• Directed by:  Jonathan Eusabio
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  1 hr 23 mins
• Universal
• Our Score: 3 out of 5

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend I’m reminded of a question that is usually reserved the game’s MVP:  “Hey Ke Huy Quan, you just won the Academy Award.  What are you going to do now?”  However, instead of proclaiming he’s going to Disney World, Quan declares, “I’m going to make an uneven action film.”

Valentine’s Day.  As a mysterious woman spends the morning defacing the many bus benches and yard signs featuring real estate agent Marvin Gable (Quan).  Meanwhile, Marvin is doing his best to sell his most recent house, repeating his mantra for prospective buyers, “I want a home for you.”  Returning to work, Marvin is stunned to learn that he has received a prestigious award for his realtor skills.  It’s a pretty good day for Marvin.  Except, of course, for the assassin hiding in his office.

Full of fun martial art battles, but not much else, “Love Hurts” seems to be a film that was hurried to theatres to capitalize on both Valentine’s Day and the fact that the cast includes a pair of recent Oscar winners (Ms. DeBose won hers a couple of years ago for “West Side Story.”)  While the action scenes are top notch – first time director Eusabio did a lot of stunt work for films like “The Fall Guy” and the “John Wick” series), the story is fragmented.  With a run time of only 83 minutes, including credits, it feels like there is more to the story that is missing.

That being said, the film boasts a strong cast.  If you’ve ever seen an interview with Quan, you know that he is a very likable person, and that personality fits Marvin to a tee.  Marvin has done his best to distance himself from his past, but even nice guys have bad days!  The rest of the cast play to their strengths as well, with a special mention to Sean Astin, who gives his character a true humanistic heart.

Overall, the film is enjoyable, but I can’t help but wonder about what it could have been.

On a scale of zero to five I give “Love Hurts” ★★★

• INTO THE DEEP
• Starring:  Scout Taylor-Compton, Callum McGowan and Richard Dreyfuss
• Directed by:  Christian Sesma
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  1 hr 30 mins
• Saban Films

Our Score:  3.5 out of 5

The ocean is a pretty scary place.  Especially if you’re a young girl just learning to swim.  While treading water with her father, young Cassidy (Quinn P. Hensley) is getting mad, as her father keeps kicking her legs.  Only dad is several yards away.  Uh oh!

Well-acted, with some equally good effects, “Into the Deep” tells the story of the now grown up Cassidy (Taylor-Compton) and her boyfriend, Gregg (McGowan) as they prepare to dive to recover a rumored sunken treasure.  Thanks to the constant guidance of her grandfather Shamus (Dreyfuss), Cassidy has conquered her fears to become a marine biologist.  When the pair, and their friends, are taken captive by modern-day pirates searching for 80 kilos of heroin that has been lost at sea, it will take every bit of Cassidy’s will to stay alive.

Of course, any shark-themed film will be compared with “Jaws,” and “Into the Deep” is no exception.  Even with Dreyfuss aboard, it’s not “Jaws.”  But then again, it doesn’t try to be.  If I compare the film to a Peter Benchley story it would be “The Deep.”  The film’s suspense comes from the interactions with the pirates.  They are bold and ruthless and not above executing innocent boaters or the coastal authorities.  The sharks ramp up the suspense even more, and the attacks are well staged.  Nothing over the top.  Very perfunctory and quick.  In this day of CGI overuse, it is a credit to the filmmakers that they don’t go overboard, so to speak.

The cast is strong, especially Taylor-Compton, who displays the silent toughness she will need to survive.  Kudos also to Jon Seda, who plays the leader of the pirates.  He takes a character that could be played over the top and keeps him grounded, making him even more menacing.  And what a great bit of casting to have Mr. Dreyfuss in the cast.  He has always had a way of holding the audience with just his words, and as we listen to his advice, shown through flashbacks, you hang on every word.  “Remember,” he tells the young Cassidy, “this is their world.  You are a visitor.  You are a guest.”  The film is well-paced, and moves along swiftly.  Production values are strong and the musical score, by Andy Fosbery, sets the tone well.

The final credits run alongside a very heartfelt PSA from Dreyfuss on the importance of sharks in our world and how to assist in shark conservation, something that was very important to “Jaws” creator Peter Benchley.

On a scale of zero to five, “Into the Deep” receives ★★★ ½  

• ONE OF THEM DAYS
• Starring:  Keke Palmer, Sza and Katt Williams
• Directed by:  Lawrence Lamont
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  1 hr 37 mins           

Our Score:  3.5 out of 5 

Your rent is due and you’re late for a job interview that, if you get it, will change your life.  But, of course, things don’t go the way you plan.  It’s just one of them days!

Meet Dreux (Palmer).  She has worked hard to move up the ranks at the restaurant she waits tables at and has finally been given the chance to interview for the opportunity to manager her own store.  Things in her life are going good unless, of course, you add in her roommate, Alyssa (SZA), a woman more interested in hanging on to her boyfriend then helping her friend succeed.  When Dreaux learns that Alyssa has given their rent money to the boyfriend, the two must devise a way to pay the rent before the clock strikes twelve or face immediate eviction.  Let the hijinks begin.

Fast paced and quick witted, “One of Them Days” manages to stretch a one-joke story into a solid hour and a half.  This is due, in part, to the outstanding performance by Ms. Palmer.  She gives Dreaux a great mixture of both humor and seriousness that suits the character.  As the roommate whose decisions always seem to be the wrong ones, SZA carries the bulk of the comedy and handles it well.  The supporting cast is strong, from Maude Apatow as a new neighbor whose sunny disposition is very rare for the apartment complex to the always fun Katt Williams, who does all he can to dissuade the girls from getting a payday loan, cautioning “if you don’t have the money this month, you’re not gonna have it next month!”

The film does its best to cram a lot of antics into the 97-minute running time.  I would have rather they stretch the adventures over a weekend then force so much into, by the script’s reckoning, was only a few hours.  The film also serves as a great reminder that the Honey Butter Biscuits at Church’s Chicken are worth fighting for.

On a scale of zero to five, “One of Them Days” receives ★★★½