Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of March 14, 2022
The Adam Project
Rated PG-13 for language, violence, action, and suggestive references
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
Streaming on Netflix
Netflix went all out in this straight to streaming sci-fi adventure starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldana, which tells the story of a man from the future who goes back in time from 2050 to 2022, only to find himself teaming up with a 12 year old version of himself in order to rescue his dad and set the future straight. From the very start, the film is charming and funny with a sense of danger and thrills, just like you would expect from a Reynolds movie. The plot is fairly simple but works well and does a very good job at dumbing down the science enough for you to stop asking questions about feasibility while avoiding too much over-thinking about how ludicrous the whole thing is. Perhaps what works the best is having Reynolds alongside a 12 year version of himself, played by an excellent child actor, Walker Scobell, making the film twice as fun. Overall it’s an enjoyable family sci-fi comedy that should have had a theatrical release, but that we are lucky enough to enjoy at home right off the bat. B+
Turning Red
Rated PG for language, thematic material and suggestive content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Streaming on Disney+
Another film that should have opened in theaters rather than start with streaming is Disney and Pixar’s latest animated feature about a young Asian Canadian girl who discovers that, as she enters puberty, she turns into a giant red panda when she gets upset or emotional. At first you get the sense that Pixar is trying to make a clever, maybe off-color movie about menstruation, and they even throw you a few hints to lead you down that path. But you quickly find out that she really is a red panda and it gets even crazier than that when her friends love both her and the giant furby she becomes. Pixar loves to make odd little films with unique story telling and this is no different. Showing us the geographical and cultural similarities and differences is a great way to relate, learn and appreciate. This one is really quirky but still fun and enjoyable. Its only fault is that the girl and her friends can be annoying. But I’m pretty sure all young teenage girls can be annoying at times, so if anything, it’s just more believable. B
Red Rocket
Rated R for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use and strong sexual content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Available on Streaming and Disc
From writer/director Sean Baker (The Florida Project) comes this dark comedy about a washed up porn actor, Simon Rex, who comes back to the South Houston area to hustle up enough money to find himself a post-porn life. But when he falls in love with a girl in a donut shop, played by newcomer Suzanna Son, he begins to formulate a plan to get his former world back again. Filmed in Texas City, Kemah, The Golden Triangle and Galveston, the film provides for a great representation of Southeast Texas from a talented filmmaker with a unique perspective. While some of the acting is sub par and feels a little too indie at times, Rex and Son are terrific with amazing chemistry, elevating the project quite a bit. That being said, you can’t help feeling sad for them as they meander through life without a goal or a clue. In that regard it’s probably more real than most of us give it credit for. B-