Thor: Love And Thunder

Thor embarks on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced -- a quest for inner peace. However, his retirement gets interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods.

This is a tough one to review.  I actually sat on it for three days.  My love for Marvel movies is well documented so I was struggling with if I was just accepting this movie because it was Marvel or if I did actually like it while not loving it.  After thinking about it I think its more of the second part.  There was still plenty to like about this movie.  Christian Bale was awesome.  Korg is still one of my favorite MCU characters.  Natalie Portman was probably the best she has been so far as Jane Foster.  And there were plenty of laughs and silliness similar to Thor: Ragnarok.  The problem is that there was too much silliness and there is a part of my brain that massively struggles with Thor being like the Benny Hill of the MCU.  I mean he is Thor.  The sarcastic comments and great timing of delivery is top notch but the slapstick kind of stuff just hits me as off.   That is not to say that the movie was bad or that I didn't like it.  I definitely did but like I said I expected to love it and there were a lot of points that I was watching it with a confused dog face because of how slapstick silly it was.  

I would obviously still recommend people checking this movie out.  It's definitely an entertaining watch even with the "offness" in it.  Will this be ranked in the upper half of Marvel movies?  No.  But it will also not be at the bottom of said rankings either. 

Vengeance

A journalist and podcaster travels from New York City to Texas to investigate the death of a woman whom he hooked up with.

This was a very simple independent film.   Take the craziness of online dating and turn it into a fish out of water story with a guy going from busy city life to small town Texas life and let it play out just like you think it would.   Add in that its a developing mystery podcast being told and you get some pretty decent laughs.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see by any means but it is a decent watch if you decide to do so.

Elvis

From his rise to fame to his unprecedented superstardom, rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley maintains a complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, over the course of 20 years. Central to Presley's journey and happiness is one of the most influential people in his life -- Priscilla.

Always been a big fan of Baz Luhrman movies and this one was no different.  His very specific filming style meshed very well with the story of Elvis and his manager.  The actor playing Elvis was incredible and although the fat neck makeup of Tom Hanks was annoying as hell he did a great job of playing someone you didn't like for what felt like the first time ever.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.  It was a very enjoyable watch even though it was close to three hours long.

Lightyear

Legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear embarks on an intergalactic adventure alongside ambitious recruits Izzy, Mo, Darby, and his robot companion, Sox.

This was a great set up.  Making it that this was the movie that Andy saw that made him want the Buzz Lightyear toy was such a simple but awesome launching point.  The characters were all great - especially Sox, who stole every scene it was in.  The story was a little overcomplicated with the time travel and what not but you are able to let go of it because Pixar is just so good at what they do.  

I would absolutely recommend everyone checking this out.  It's a very fun ride and a great family watch like only Disney/Pixar can do. 

Where The Crawdads Sing

Abandoned as a girl, Kya raised herself in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the marsh girl haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, she opens herself to a new and startling world.

This movie was a decent story that you can definitely invest in but the pacing was kind of brutal and there was no way that this should have been two hours long.  Trim a half hour off of this and you have an excellent young adult novel based movie but it just plodded along way too much.

I would not really recommend anyone rushing to see this.  Its a decent story that is dragged out and loses its emotional hooks along the way. 

Minions: The Rise Of Gru

In the 1970s, young Gru tries to join a group of supervillains called the Vicious 6 after they oust their leader -- the legendary fighter Wild Knuckles. When the interview turns disastrous, Gru and his Minions go on the run with the Vicious 6 hot on their tails. Luckily, he finds an unlikely source for guidance -- Wild Knuckles himself -- and soon discovers that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.

I have been a massive fan of the Minions since day one.  They do not get old to me at all.  That being said - this back and forth that they do between the current time based Despicable Me franchise and the prequel franchise of the Minions is so well balanced/done.   You end up loving the current adventures but also loving the backstory of how they all came to be because they do a really good job continuity wise for an animation franchise.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.   It was a very fun continuation of the backstory to these lovable characters.