Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of August 5, 2019
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Rated PG for action/peril, some rude and suggestive humor, and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
Available on Disc and Streaming
We’ve seen a lot Pokemon in television and movies, but until now, quality was never seemed to be even a slight concern and the majority of the audience didn’t care. But this time out Warner Brothers turned to Goosebumps director Rob Letterman and superstar Ryan Reynolds, along with an accomplished production team, to bring a live-action Pokemon that would please the kids and hopefully not annoy the adults too much. The story follows a young kid who wants to investigate his father’s disappearance and fortunately gets help from his father’s Pokemon, Pikachu. There’s a lot that more than likely won’t make a lick of sense to most, included me, but they try to keep the plot to a minimum and honestly, it does’t really matter if you understand it by the end, because you can still manage to squeak out an entertaining experience. I was hoping for a bit more than I got, and I still have no plans of watching the original television shows, but I walked away with a smile and better appreciation of the weird world of Pokemon. B-
Long Shot
Rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
Available on DVD and Streaming
From 50/50 director Jonathan Levine comes this hilarious comedy about a passionate journalist who refuses to back down to injustice (Seth Rogan) who somehow finds himself in a relationship with a potential presidential candidate (Charlize Theron) after she hires him as a speech writer. It’s a movie that understands full well that the scenario is highly unlikely, if not impossible, but goes with the narrative anyway, down a sometimes raunchy yet always creative rabbit hole. And while it is very much a political comedy also, it allows for exploration of multiple points of view due to some very smart character writing. Overall, this is a wildly successful comedy that should leave your gut exhausted from laughter by the end. A