The Lion King

Jon Favreau will direct a live-action version of "The Lion King." The film will include songs from the animated film. The Lion King (1994) is one of the biggest animated films of all time with a lifetime global box office gross of $968.8 million, including $422.8 million domestically. It won Academy Awards for the original song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (Elton John, Tim Rice) and original score (Hans Zimmer), plus two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling over 14 million copies. In 1997, the stage production “The Lion King” made its Broadway debut, winning six Tony Awards; 19 years later, it remains one of Broadway’s biggest hits.

I was nervous about this movie because of how much the original owns a piece of my heart on a bunch of levels.  But it did not disappoint.  I actually thought that they did a really great job considering the animated facial reactions that they would not be able to do with the live animal CGI.  I was not a fan of pushing the Beyoncé voice/character so much and it definitely fell victim a little too much to the "Me Too" pc forcing that is so prevalent now.  But that being put aside - they really did a great job with characters that I have loved for decades.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  There are great iconic moments that are included and some elaborated on a little bit to put their own twist on it.  This is a very enjoyable family movie just like the original animated version.

Stuber

When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he's thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating.

Ugh.  Just plain ugh.  Did I laugh a couple of times?  I'll admit.  But was this movie awful?  Oh my god yes.  And not in the kind of a way where you can enjoy it because of how awful it is.  It was just outright bad.  Even more baffling is that I can't get past how in the blue hell this was a mid-July release.  That is how bad this summer is.  Stuber is a summer wide release in the middle of July.  Did you read that?  Read it again.  How insane is that?   Unreal!

No - nobody should waste their time with this movie.  It is absolutely not worth your time or money.  It's just completely baffling how this movie is a thing . . . . . . . and then the fact that its a summer release.  What in the actual hell is going on in Hollywood!?!

Crawl

When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father (Barry Pepper). Finding him gravely injured in the crawl space of their family home, the two become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, Haley and her father discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.

This movie was exactly what you thought it would be.  It's a movie that could have been made for tv with a little less blood that somehow ended up in theaters in this lamest summer movie calendar of all time.  Were there a couple of moments that made me jump out of my seat?  Yes.  Did you pretty much see everything else coming?  Yes.  This movie was totally formula in every way but still watchable for what it was.

I would not recommending anyone rushing to see this.  It's by no means a must see movie.  But like I said - if you like disaster and wild animal type of movies - you could definitely do worse than this.

Toy Story 4

Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky (voice of Tony Hale), declares himself as “trash” and not a toy, Woody takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (voice of Annie Potts). After years of being on her own, Bo’s adventurous spirit and life on the road belie her delicate porcelain exterior. As Woody and Bo realize they’re worlds apart when it comes to life as a toy, they soon come to find that’s the least of their worries.

I was beyond the realm of skeptical of this movie because I really thought that Toy Story 3 was one of the best franchise ending movies ever.  That ending still messes me up.  They even flashed through it at the beginning of this movie and I got choked up.  Anywho - I kept bringing my expectations down for this movie hoping that they had not caved and just made a money grab type of sequel.  They 100% did not do that.  This movie was excellent on many levels.  The kids will obviously love it.  The cords that it pulls in the minds and hearts of adults though . . . . . . WOW!!!  This movie made me crazy emotional a couple of times.  They new characters introduced were all awesome.  There were TONS of laughs throughout the movie and had an incredibly heartfelt ending.  Not as tear inducing as Toy Story 3 but kind of close.

I would 100% recommend people checking this movie out.  It is an awesome watch for all ages and I feel very guilty for having doubted Pixar.  I am ashamed.

Annabelle Comes Home

The film will pick up with the Warrens bringing Annabelle to the place where it can really no longer wreak havoc, which is their artifact room, of course, it turns out she can also wreak havoc there. And she really awakens the evil within that room and they target the Warrens’ 10-year-old daughter, Judy.

This movie was pretty much a snoozefest - especially compared to the others in the "franchise".  There was a solid hour of pointless build in this before anything actually happened.  Strike one.   When stuff finally did start happening it honestly was not scary/creepy at all.  Strike two.  Once they did start with the traumatic sight gag type stuff it was honestly cheesy as hell.  Strike three.

I wouldn't really recommmend anyone bothering with this but my opinion is not much of a factor here.  Either you like the franchise and you will see it or you don't.  But it is a pretty lame entry compared to the others.

Midsommar

Ari Aster’s next horror film, a story about a vacation gone violently wrong - as a couple travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

What in the blue hell was this movie?  I went into it knowing that this was not a mainstream type of movie and that there was only so much of a "horror" movie that it could be.  I have seen Hereditary and loved it but it was still one of those movies that I couldn't just blindly recommend to everyone.  It's for very particular tastes.  I assumed this one would be just like that and apparently it was because it has gotten amazing reviews but my review of it is that it was total and complete garbage.  Like what in the blue hell was this?  Why was it 2 1/2 hours long?  I was so annoyed by it that I just starting yellling WTF openly in the theater.  I understand it was well done from a directorial view and what not.  Like I get that.  But I still thought that movie was a giant turd.   

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  Do not buy the hype like its a must see or a mainstream/enjoyable movie.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel will continue to explore the adventures of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - the 2019 sequel to Homecoming will take Peter Parker out of New York for a European adventure in London that will reflect the global aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

I literally love Tom Holland as Spider-Man.  He is such perfect casting in this role.  I cannot possibly stress that enough.  This movie was great in many ways.  It was a perfect standalone movie.  It was a great sequel too.  But most importantly this was an excellent follow up to start the next chapter after Avengers: Endgame.  They answered some questions which will leave fans very very happy.  They did is straightforward which is even more appreciated.   And they kept it simple in terms of focusing on Spidey's age and the stuff he was going through along with having to fight off the bad guy and it be connected to a bigger picture moving forward.

I very much enjoyed this movie from beginning to end.  Love the Spider-Man franchise now that it is connected to Marvel Studios so much more than before.