“Wicked”
By now many of you have probably seen “Wicked,” but at last month’s deadline, I made the choice to see “Gladiator 2” to review and hold “Wicked” for January. Both films are excellent, and I was surprised by that fact. My wife and I took the boys to New York City years ago and had the good fortune to see “Wicked” on Broadway as a family. Everyone loved it except me. So, back to the new movie. It is fabulous — long and fabulous. The music is great, the filming is masterful and the story seems to work better than when I saw the play. A word of warning, this nearly three-hour epic is only the first half. You’ll get the second half in late November. Grade: A-
“Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.”
This is another winner from the folks at Angel Studios who seem to be cranking out good quality faith-based movies monthly. This time, we get the incredible true story about a priest who is asked to join a plot to assassinate Hitler and save millions of Jews from genocide. I had never heard of this true event, and the movie tells its story well. Grade: B+
“Black Doves”
Keira Knightly and Ben Whishaw star in this espionage-packed six-part series on Netflix set in London. Two assassins tearing up London to get the bad guys is a fun premise, and, for almost all episodes, it works. It might have been a great four-part series, but the story and action seem to be stretched thin by episode six. Still, it’s a fun watch. Grade: B-
“Nightbitch”
Beware, Amy Adams is trying to re-establish her acting cred. A young mother and her son are all but left alone by a traveling husband. She doesn’t fit in with the other moms in the neighborhood, so she takes a curious turn and starts to go feral. As crazy as that word sounds, the movie is even crazier, and, by the end, it is head-shaking silliness. This is one of the weirdest and worst movies I’ve seen this year. Grade: D
“Y2K”
This is easily the year’s worst movie. In it, we go back to visit the night we went from 1999 to 2000 and all the craziness that night brought. Here we’ve got the stereotypical high school fat kid and his best nerdy buddy making plans for the big night. That’s all I’m going to tell you since it is one of the inanest films I’ve ever seen. I will now use this movie when anyone asks what the worst movie is I have ever seen. I sat there for 70 minutes, got up and left. I didn’t bother anyone else since I was the only one in the theatre. Grade: F-
“Kraven The Hunter”
As a longtime Spider-Man fan, I was looking forward to this movie. My son, Tom, and I went opening weekend to a less-than-packed theater. Russell Crowe plays Kraven’s father, a hard-driving parent intent on teaching his kids the life skills that will not only make them successful but also deadly. That’s where the story runs out and it is turned over to action scene after action scene — all well done, in our opinion. Is “Kraven The Hunter” a great film? Far from it, but it is well-made and well-acted, and that’s probably better than it had to be. Tom and I actually enjoyed it. Grade: B
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
I saw an early afternoon screening of this animated film, which is set nearly 200 years before “The Lord of The Rings” series. This time out, we get the story of a great king being threatened by his brother, who desires his crown. The king’s daughter is a great warrior, and the film tells the story of the fight for the crown and the impact this talented young woman has in helping her father keep his kingdom. While the film’s animation is “Scooby-Doo” level, the story is strong and well told. Grade: A-
“Mufasa: The Lion King”
I’m not sure we needed a live action version of the classic animated film, but the folks at Disney didn’t ask me. Technically, it is a sequel, and, from a technical standpoint, the movie is amazing. From a story-telling standpoint, it is confusing and difficult to follow. In the classic Disney way, plenty of action scenes distract from the confusing storylines and characters who seem shoved into scenes so everyone can reminisce fondly about the original film. I was more disappointed than excited about this sequel. Maybe my expectations were too high. Grade: B
I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I’ll be back next month with the great Bob Dylan bio-pic (“A Complete Unknown”), a steamy Nicole Kidman film (“Babygirl”) and the remake of the classic horror film “Nosferatu.”
Michael C. Woody has been reviewing movies on radio and television since 1986. He and his wife, Susan, are residents of Lake Panorama.