Mama Mia - Here We Go Again -Review - Melissa Keir

Join in the Dance Party!! Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again #movie_review

7/21/2018

Return to 1979 as Donna sets out to find herself in the sequel to Mamma Mia.
​
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is determined to re-open her mother’s hotel and make it a success after her mother’s death. In the days leading up to the opening, things go wrong—weather, travel and missing loved ones—turn the event into a disaster. Feeling like she’s let her mother down, Sophie wallows in despair. 

​Through flashbacks to 1979, we see Donna (Lily James) set out after her college graduation. She meets up with Harry (Hugh Skinner) in Paris but she’s called by fate to Greece. Along the way, she meets Bill (Josh Dylan) who gives her a lift to the island, Kalokairi, where she ends up staying in a run-down home and meets Sam (Jeremy Irvine), who is escaping his responsibilities back in the US. 

​Each man is one of Sophie’s potential fathers who are determined to get to the grand re-opening. Sam (Pierce Brosnan), who married Donna (Meryl Streep) at the end of Mamma Mia, lives on the island in a home overlooking the hotel. His wife’s death has weighed on him but he’s determined to do anything and everything to help Sophie. Donna’s best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) return to the villa to kick off the party. Sadly, Sophie’s husband, Sky (Dominic Cooper) is in New York and can’t be there…in fact, he’s been offered a job of a lifetime to stay in New York.

​Sophie’s and Donna’s worlds combine when Sophie finds out she’s pregnant in the same place as her mother. As she grapples with her mother’s loss, the coming baby brings her closer than ever to her mom.

​Featuring more songs by ABBA, Mamma Mia 2 is a grittier story with more emotion than the first one. This one will require tissues! The first movie focused on family and fathers while this movie’s focus is on mothers as we learn more about Donna’s early life. 

​Cher shows up in a cameo which seems forced and not really needed. But hey, it’s Cher. Lily James as a young Donna is entertaining. For fans of the original, there were many secret nods to only things fans will get—twins, spontaneous, Titanic recreations. While many of the songs aren’t as well known, they will quickly become some of your favorites. Two of the members of ABBA even show up in cameos. The musical numbers are fun with strong dance numbers and toe tapping songs. 

There are some continuity issues from the first movie which become glaring when you re-watch the first soon after seeing the second. But that’s what happens when ten years pass between two movies and when writers are forced to use songs to tell a story. Suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. Mamma Mia will appeal to fans of the original. The theater was filled with groups of women out enjoying some camaraderie together, celebrating life.

PS. Be sure to stay for a special after credits scene….way at the end!

0 Comments

 

 Death Wish...The Season of Remakes #movie_reviews

3/4/2018

 

A remake of the Charles Bronson 1974 movie, Death Wish with Bruce Willis entertains.
​
Paul Kersey (Willis), a trauma surgeon, lives in Chicago, where deaths happen every night. He’s good at his job, putting back together both the heroes and the bad guys. A family man, his daughter is leaving for college in the fall. The perfect family.

​When thugs decide to rob the house, expecting no one home, things go awry. His wife, Lucy (Elizabeth Shue) is killed and his daughter, Jordan is left in a coma. Dr. Kersey does everything by the book but the Chicago PD lack the leads to find the suspects, leaving Paul frustrated.

​After witnessing a couple of thugs manhandling a woman, Dr. Kersey decides to stop playing by the rules and teaches himself to shoot. Taking matters into his own hands, he becomes “The Grim Reaper”, a vigilante who sets to protect those who are victims. When a thug comes into the ER wearing Dr. Kersey’s watch, he gets the break he needs to find those men who attacked his family.

​Bruce Willis is back as a kick-butt character, similar to his Die Hard one. Now bald and a little older, Willis still is able to handle a gun and witty banter before he kills someone. He carries the movie as he moves from surgeon to vigilante. 

​The director Eli Roth does a nice job of updating the movie for 2018 with radio stations and television shows debating the use of violence versus protecting those who are unprotected. It’s an interesting debate in light of recent events. In addition, social media and viral video show how quickly information is shared around the world. While some pieces remain the same from the original, this movie has a “new” feeling. 

​Although it will keep you on the edge of your seat with the violence and action, it’s not a movie you need to visit the theater to see. The cheap seats or on your TV would be just as fine. Save the money for those spring blockbusters.

Black Panther Review - By Melissa Keir

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most highly anticipated movies of 2018, the Black Panther delivers at the box office and on the big screen.
​
Wakanda, believed to be a poor third world country, hides a large secret. One people are willing to kill to obtain. When the King of Wakanda is killed at the United Nations, his son, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) assumes the mantle of leadership, but a secret from the past sets out to destroy the peace Wakanda had worked so hard to keep.

​Filled with beautiful landscapes, a diverse country, and out of this world technology, the Black Panther movie draws the viewer in and keeps you on the edge of your seat, from the opening scene to the extra credit sneak peeks (and there are two). 

​Probably more than Wonder Woman, Black Panther features strong female characters who are leaders, generals and scientists. The women don’t take back seat. They are in all the action and make the decisions, hold to their morals and risk it all for what is right. They are some of my favorite characters and I can’t wait to see what they do during Black Panther 2. (Because with the high box office figures, you know there will be another!)

​I also loved seeing Andy Serkis without the full body costume. He’s an amazing actor who has missed out awards due to the fact that he’s so immersed in the characters in costume that people forget he’s really a man.

​The message of the movie resonates with audiences as it touches on borders, immigration, family and morality. Leaving the movie, you will feel upbeat and hopeful about our own future, after all… if Wakanda can do it, we can here, too.

​The movie reminded me of how I felt at the end of the first Ironman movie. Excited about what was coming up. Black Panther will be a favorite of many people, no matter their race or gender. It’s one I’m looking forward to adding to my video collection to see again and again.