Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of January 20, 2020
Gemini Man
Rated PG-13 for violence and action throughout, and brief strong language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Megastar Will Smith and Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Life of Pi) team up here in this special effects extravaganza about an elite assassin who is targeted by a young, perfect clone of himself. And with a remarkable leap forward in technology, both parts are played by Will Smith. The film is truly impressive-looking, much more so than what we saw in the aging effects used in The Irishman recently. But the story here just doesn’t deliver. The relationship between villain Clive Owen and young Will Smith doesn’t gel and the third act is simply ridiculous. When Ang Lee has a solid script, he can work wonders, but when the screenplay suffers, as this one does, the end result is disastrous. So this might be one where you just watch the trailer to appreciate the cosmetics and call yourself lucky you didn’t waste your time with the rest. C-
Zombieland: Double Tap
Rated R for bloody violence, language throughout, some drug and sexual content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Set after the events of the fantastic 2009 zom-com Zombieland, the gang is back and still trying to survive in a zombie-filled world where the walking dead have evolved in crazy and scary ways. As is expected, the film is fun and fairly exciting, but lacks the originality many of us were hoping for. I dug the new zombie subtypes and the pacing is as fast as the script is witty – but by the end I was hoping for just a little more than the end product. B-
The Addams Family
Rated PG for macabre and suggestive humor, and some action
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%
Available on Disc and Streaming
From the 60’s television comedy to the 90’s theatrical releases, The Addams Family was known to provide a curiously weird and darkly funny entertainment experience. But with this new animated version, the family has now hit a new low. The narrative follows a home improvement celebrity who wants to do something about the Addam’s home, which she considers an eyesore, and the family must passively thwart her efforts. And if you think that description doesn’t make much sense – neither does the story which never becomes even moderately funny or clever. Even my nine-year-old found the movie to be a bore without a single laugh of enjoyment. It’s so unusual that a cast including the talents of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz and Allison Janney would have found this a worthy script to take on, and even more strange that a studio could have pumped so much money into it. But the end result is a dud that will leave both you and your kids cringing. F