Elvis: Baz Luhrmann’s take on Elvis Pressley’s life ended up way more of a trip than I could have ever imagined and I’m familiar with The Baz. Evil Tom Hanks’ Southern accent topped out at half-decent (as did him being evil) but this was freaking cinema, with a dedicated lead performance surrounded by audio/visual treasures. Could’ve trimmed a few minutes, but otherwise — freaking cinema. ***3/4
Pinocchio: Disney+ called in Robert Zekeckis to direct a basically beat-for-beat remake of the famous cartoon, starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto (cue another accent) and Joseph-Gordon Levitt as the Crickett. They made a product that was mostly charming and harmless, other than the times it felt unnecessary and lifeless. **3/4
Everything Everywhere All At Once: This is the kind of movie I’d recommend to my closest friends, packed with so many things that make the movies great: compelling story, cool special effects, committed performances, and well-timed JOKES, all wrapped in an incredible sci-fi, philosophical and sometimes multi-dimensional package. Great Movie. ****1/2
Jurassic World Dominion: The reboot punched above its’ weight; any quality to follow was going to require some luck. Fallen Kingdom was forgettable; this just stunk. I guess it was nice to see some of the stars of the previous movies, I think. Kinda. *
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.: The acting talents of Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown were enthusiastically let loose in this comedy about a church scandal – the timing, delivery, and facial expressions were as good as any mid-90s All Japan classic. ***3/4
