By Michael C. Woody | Lake Panorama Times
“The Drama”
“The Drama” stars two beautiful people (played by Robert Pattinson and Zendaya) who meet in a cute way, have a nice relationship and naturally decide to get married. The stress of that decision and all that accompanies it put their relationship to the test right up to, and including, the wedding. “The Drama” has moments of humor and lots of craziness with its share of angst and darkness. GRADE: B+
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is the sequel to “The Super Mario Brother’s Movie,” two movies that will confound me right up to my death bed. It is only marginally more coherent than the first film, but you need to be a whole lot younger than I am to even start to understand (or care about) this mess of a movie. I will score this for the kids younger than 12. GRADE: B-
“You and Me & Tuscany”
“You and Me & Tuscany” is a romantic comedy about a young woman (played by Halle Bailey) who has a habit of getting into the homes of people who are out of town — or the country — in this movie. When she sees the opportunity to sneak into an empty Italian villa, she jumps at it. A family in this small-town setting assumes she is the fiancée of the owner of the villa, which quickly gets messy when she falls in love with another man. The movie is full of fluff, fun and lots of Italian cooking. It redeems itself late in the film and ends up being much better than I expected. GRADE: B
“Normal”
“Normal is an interesting action crime thriller film starring Bob Odenkirk (and Henry Winkler of “the Fonz” fame in a small role) that takes place in the corrupt small town of Normal, Minnesota. Odenkirk is the new sheriff in town. When he investigates a bank robbery in his first few days, his own deputies open fire on him, revealing that the town’s law enforcement is compromised. Inside the bank, he discovers a big secret — a cache of cash, gold bars and military-grade weapons. They are tied to a criminal operation connected to Japanese gangsters — really bad guys who have come to this small town to take what they feel is theirs. GRADE: B+
“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy”
I don’t have a clue who Lee Cronin is, but I really don’t care to see any more movies from him. “The Mummy” is a bloody, gory mess of a film. We are introduced to a young America family living in Cairo with young children. When a daughter is stolen by a creepy looking lady, the family grieves her loss and struggles to move on. Fortunately, or maybe not, they find their daughter eight years later. She is not in great, or even good shape. The film goes down from there. “The Mummy” is creepy and has a few good moments but goes way too far. GRADE: C-.
Michael C. Woody has been reviewing movies on radio and television since 1986. He and his wife, Susan, are residents of Lake Panorama.