Family – Matthew Liedke on Film (2024)

Incredible how there are now two movies this year that squander the creative imaginary friends concept.

Unlike “Imaginary” from earlier in 2024, though, “IF” is not a horror movie. Far from it. Instead it’s a family film centered on 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming), a girl who’s staying at her grandma’s New York home while her father (John Krasinski) is in the hospital for a surgery. Having lost her mother due to cancer already, Bea is on edge.

That is until she comes across a man who’s accompanied by a fantastical creature, which inspires her to find out more. It turns out the guy is named Cal (Ryan Reynolds) and he’s helping various imaginary friends find new children to connect with after having been forgotten by the kids who made them. Wanting to help, Bea decides to assist Cal in the endeavor.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Inconsistent tone and fantasy rules cause ‘IF’ toflop”

Production issues nearly sidelined this film. Thank goodness it was revived and released on Netflix.

“Nimona” is set in a kingdom where the past meets the future. While the kingdom has all the makings of a medieval state in function, the movie is set in a high-tech world, with knights using hovercraft and advance technology.

The movie centers on one such knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who finds himself framed for killing the queen of the kingdom. He meets an unlikely ally, though, in an unruly shapeshifter named Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has been shunned by the society at large for her abilities.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Nimona’ is an awesome animatedadventure”

Pixar movies can often turn on the water works or leave a person fired up when the credits roll. Surprisingly and disappointingly, “Elemental” doesn’t do either.

The studio’s latest film, “Elemental,” is set in a sprawling metropolis inhabited by beings made of air, water, plants and fire. Most of the different elements stick to their own kind, though, especially the fire people, who are the most recent immigrants to the city and reside in a more dilapidated part of town.

In their community, though, residents have found success, such as Ember (Leah Lewis) and her parents who operate a small convenience shop that she plans to take over. That plan hits a road block, though, when a water being named Wade who works for the city lets Ember know the shop isn’t up to code. However, in a twist of fate, the meeting actually brings the two together.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ is a miss for thestudio”

I’m not going to lie. When this film reached the halfway point and a character said he saw something cute that could be a merchandising opportunity, I considered walking out.

“Strange World” centers on a community surrounded by seemingly impassable mountains. That doesn’t deter fearless explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid), though, who gets lost in the mountains trying to find a way out. His son Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) never shared his father’s quest for exploration, and instead became a farmer of a valuable natural resource.

However, when that resource becomes threatened, he joins an expedition underneath the mountains to a strange subterranean area with his own son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White). As it turns out, it’s where Jaeger has been the whole time.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Strange World’ is Disney’s weakest effort in recentmemory”

“Lightyear” may feature rocket ships that can reach incredible heights, but the movie itself can’t manage to get a high rating.

As the film points out at the very start, “Lightyear” is a movie released in the “Toy Story” universe that Andy watched before getting his Buzz Lightyear action figure. The film tells the story of how Lightyear is a space ranger who was part of a mission that went wrong.

The botched mission caused him and several others aboard a massive ship to become stranded on an alien world. To leave the planet, Buzz (Chris Evans) begins testing hyperspace fuel cells in single-man ships to try and find a way to leave the planet, but doing so causes him to go years into the future.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Yearning for more from ‘Lightyear’”

Pixar has went back-to-back with great coming of age films, following up last year’s “Luca” with this superb animated feature.

Domee Shi, who helmed the Academy Award-winning short film “Bao”from 2018, directed and co-wrote this Pixar film. The movie is set in Toronto during 2002 and centers on Mei (Rosalie Chiang), a straight-A student who works hard to meet the high standards set by her mother (Sandra Oh).

At the same time, Mei is also a typical 13-year-old. She hangs out with a group of best friends and they enjoy boy bands and have crushes. She has a pretty good balance going on, but that begins to change when a mystical family spell that passes generation-to-generation turns her into a giant red panda.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Turning Red’ absolutelyrocks”

The fourth and final “Hotel Transylvania” was initially set for a theatrical release, but this approach was later cancelled, with Sony Pictures instead taking a digital route.

It makes sense, because this has all the makings of a straight-to-home-video animated movie.

The installment takes place not long after the events of the third movie. Dracula (voiced now by Brian Hull), is still running the hotel and is now living there with his wife Erica Van Helsing (Kathryn Hahn). At the movie’s outset, Dracula is considering retiring, and in the process, handing the keys to his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) and son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg).

However, Dracula is nervous about doing so, as Johnny is not a monster. Johnny soon learns this and decides find a way to turn himself into a monster. He succeeds, but this move accidentally turns other monsters, including Dracula, into humans. Determined to set things back to normal, Dracula and Johnny set off on an adventure.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Don’t bother checking in to fourth ‘Hotel Transylvania’ film”

This movie and the new “Matrix” in a few weeks is only reinforcing my concern about a robot uprising.

As the title implies, this movie is about a family, named the Mitchells, taking on evil bots. While the whole family is included, though, the main focus is on Katie (Abbi Jacobson), a teen who’s preparing to go to college in California to study film. Her academic path has put her at odds with her dad Rick (Danny McBride), though, who’s never been interested in technology and enjoys the outdoors much more.

Knowing that he has one last chance to connect with his daughter before she leaves for school, Rick decides to take Katie, as well as his son Aaron (Michael Rianda) and wife Linda (Maya Rudolph) on a college move-in road trip. Unfortunately, their journey is interrupted by the robots who’re in the midst of a global takeover because of an A.I. gone bad.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Mitchells Vs The Machines’ never rises abovemediocre”

“Encanto” invites audiences to spend time at a home where residents have various super powers.

It’s like a less intense version of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is the main character in “Encanto,” and also happens to be the one member of her family without powers, making her the odd one out. For generations, her family has been gifted with powers, allowing them to create a safe, comfortable community in Columbia.

In most cases, Mirabel is overshadowed in her family, especially by her older sisters Luisa (Jessica Darrow) and Isabela (Diane Guerrero). However, she uncovers an issue with the source of her family’s magic and becomes the one person determined to set things right, even without powers.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Disney’s ‘Encanto’ is mostlyaverage”

I’d rather watch “Jingle All the Way.”

Pam (Ellie Kemper) and Jeff (Rob Delaney) are a married couple facing some adversity during the Christmas season. Jeff is between jobs and it means they may have to sell their house, a home they both love. Their financial issues have a potential solution, though, as they have an antique which could sell for a lot of money.

However, during a chance encounter, they believe the antique fell into the hands of a kid named Max (Archie Yates). Around the same time, it turns out Max has been left home alone, with his family leaving for vacation. While it seems great at first, Max becomes worried when Pam and Jeff start snooping around, as the couple has hopes to get the antique back.

Continue reading “REVIEW: There’s nothing sweet about ‘Home Sweet HomeAlone’”