#8 ‘Indiana Jones
and the Dial of Destiny’ (June 30)
This adventure must overcome the absence of franchise helmer Steven Spielberg, instead featuring James Mangold as director. With Harrison Ford, of course, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and John Rhys Davies.
The whole “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” phenomenon edges on two of the three co-directors, Aaron Horvath and Michel Jelenic, who were behind “Teen Titans Go! to the Movies” in 2018. I think that’s why Universal Pictures gave them the green light for this new project.
The voices for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” include well-known performers Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black and Anya Taylor-Joy. They compliment a fun and enjoyable screen adaptation that despite all the success kind of falls flat.
“Polite Society” -- This Indian comedy finds a girl dreaming big of becoming a stuntwoman while her older sister wants to get married to a man with ulterior motives. Very enjoyable tale is good family fun. B+
“Renfield” -- Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage hams it up as Count Dracula in this action- comedy about his assistant Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult. Renfield puts up with the count’s hijinks and the ridiculous day-to-day life as a vampire. B-
Mount up and move out, hunters! After 10 years of waiting, the second half of the manga edition of the “Vampire Hunter D: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea” (1988) finally hit bookshelves in North America in February.
The year is 12090 A.D. The vast landscape known as The Frontier is prowling with various beasts that could only be described through the endurance of nightmares. Humans lived in fear underneath the tyrannical ruling of the vampiric monstrosities for several millennia best known as The Nobles.
“Punch-Drunk Love” (2002) -- Well-done drama that proves Sandler isn’t just a comedic buffoon all the time, acting next to a standout performance from Emily Watson. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this film is prestige from beginning to end.
“Uncut Gems” (2019) -- Sandler is kind of a sleaze in this one, running a diamond store in New York City. He acquaints himself with basketball superstar Kevin Garnett in a series of increasingly poor decisions over the course of a week.
Even four chapters in, John Wick still rocks, even if it’s kinda weird to watch people indiscriminately die.
The “John Wick” franchise is centered around a secret society of assassins that have their own currency and way of doing things. When Wick is excommunicated from the society, he exits knowing all their secrets. In “Chapter 4,” a $40 million bounty is placed on his head.
Netflix concluded their K-Drama psychological thriller series “The Glory” on March 10. Moon Dong-Eun (Song Hye-Kyo) returns to her hometown of Semyeong after 20 years, with a purpose.
At 18 she endured horrific suffering at the hands of five of her classmates: Son Myeong-Oh (Kim Gun-woo), Choi Hye-Jeong (Cha Joo-Young), Lee Sa-Ra (Kim Hieora), Jeon Jae-Jun (Park Sung-Hoon), and the ringleader Park Yeon-Jin (Lim Ji-Yeon).
“Saving Private Ryan” (1998) -- Sizemore por- trayed Sgt. Horvath, part of Capt. Miller’s (Tom Hanks) platoon in Steven Spielberg’s World War II classic. Spiel- berg took home the Best Di- rector Academy Award for this war drama masterpiece.
Phase 4 of the Marvel Universe begins with the latest entry, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” This one features support actor Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror, who is also at the top of the box office with his role in the third entry in the “Creed” saga with “Creed III.”
The Best Actress category has a lot of surprising choices this year. For starters we have Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde.” Andrea Roseborough from “To Leslie” rode a social media push to land her first nomination. Michelle Williams, who plays the matriarch in “The Fabelmans,” is also in the running. Cate Blanchett, who won this award for “Blue Jasmine” in 2013, is back in the race as a troubled orchestra conductor in “Tár.” My money is on Michelle Yeoh for the time jumping, universe switching action-comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Hogwarts Legacy is a nice pastime for all, but it’s just like any other open-world game there is.
I don’t have much experience with Harry Potter games, but this one was a welcome surprise that allowed me to dive headfirst into the world of books and grow along with the characters in the game. The game aims to make up your character and play as a fifth-year at Hogwarts, completing quests and leveling up your gear as you discover new experiences. The characters, both major and minor, have a different variety of personalities and interests, and the teachers are a small but steady part of the experience. However, there are many issues with the game as well.
