In Theaters: December 29, 2017

This time there is only one new wide release.

All the Money in the World (Monday release)

just ignore that name in the middle

Ridley Scott's second movie this year stars Michelle Williams, Kevin Spacey Christopher Plummer, and Mark Wahlberg.  Sony wants it to be an oscar contender for Spacey Plummer.  The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping and ransom of John Paul Getty III, grandson to J. Paul Getty (Spacey Plummer), the wealthiest man to have ever lived (as of the film's setting in the 70's).

The story of this film does look very interesting to me, even though I could've gone on Wikipedia and learned about the real ending a long time ago.  Some of Ridley Scott's best work is found in his non-epic and non-sci-fi pieces.  And it's a very strong cast, including Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, and not Kevin Spacey.

This brings us to the cultural significance of this film.  Having Kevin Spacey not be in your movie usually isn't enough to make it historically of interest, but let me tell you a story.

You are probably familiar with what has been happening in Hollywood the last three months.  After Harvey Weinstein went down, several other notable filmmakers followed, including Kevin Spacey.  Spacey was outed on October 29th.  The trailer release and oscar campaign for All the Money in the World began on September 14th.  The movie had already been completed - with Spacey as J. Paul Getty.

Sony and Ridley Scott (especially Ridley Scott, reports suggest) were furious that Kevin Spacey's reputation would inevitably ruin their film.  Something had to be done.

Ridley Scott proposed something radical and unprecedented to Sony.  He wanted reshoots for the film to entirely replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer.  He would do this with real sets, real locations, and real co-stars.  And he would finish the new footage and complete the new edit of the film in time for the December 22nd release date.  This plan was announced on November 8th, reshoots began on November 20th, and the film was released - as planned - on December 22nd.  Ridley Scott had done it.  Amazing.

There are some notable things I want to add here.  Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg agreed to do these reshoots for free, which is very professional of them, and shows dedication to the project.  And Ridley Scott actually has quite the reputation for completing his films on budget and on time.  In other industries that is obviously the expectation, but most film directors regularly go over time and budget.  He also celebrated his EIGHTIETH birthday the day after these reshoots were completed.  The man is an animal.

Anyway the movie looks pretty good.  I would definitely go see it if it wasn't rated R.  Here's a poster that Sony would actually want you to see now.

you don't have to ignore the name in the middle anymore

All the Money in the World is rated R for language, some violence, disturbing images and brief drug content.

      Big Shot Critic

Editorial: Fake News and The Last Jedi

The topic of media narratives lying about movies has been on my mind a lot lately, because I've been on the butt end of the narrative surrounding the new Star Wars movie for the last week and a half.  I didn't like the movie, and that is simply unacceptable to some film journalists, so they must explain it away so that potential moviegoers are not deterred.  I don't know why this is important to them.  They didn't make the movie, and they don't profit from the film's success.  And I thank heaven that Disney, Lucasfilm, and Rian Johnson have not embraced this narrative, the way some filmmakers have in the past...

Hollywood fake news hit a fever pitch in 2016 during the time between the release of the trailer for Ghostbusters, and the release of the film itself.  The trailer hit YouTube in early March and quickly became the most disliked movie trailer in YouTube history, currently sitting at 1,000,000 dislikes and 300,000 likes.  All over YouTube and the rest of the internet the trailer was ridiculed and torn apart for being awful, because it was honestly an awful trailer.  One YouTube critic went so far as to say that he would not be reviewing the film when it hit theaters.

Sony had a problem on their hands.  Unfortunately for Sony, the film's director, Paul Fieg, and the four leading ladies of the cast were the ones who answered the call.  It was one of the most amazing downward spirals I've ever seen.

I don't know when or where it started, but pretty early on Paul and his stars played the sexist card: "if you don't like this trailer, it's obviously because you don't like women."  With seemingly no hesitation, the filmmakers decried all detractors as misogynist bigots who could not abide one of their cherished male-dominated movies remade with women.  Not surprisingly, this tactic backfired monumentally, with more and more people disinterested in the movie simply because the filmmakers so obviously resented their own audience.  Sony did nothing to rein in Paul and company's unprofessional behavior, and when the movie finally came out it actually opened okay, but its total domestic take was $16,000,000 under its production budget.  Figure in the marketing budget and the international receipts and the movie may have broken even, but I doubt it.

The most disturbing thing about all this was how willing the film journalists were to champion this false narrative about sexist fanboys.  They were in lockstep with Paul and his cast from day one through to writing good reviews.  The levels of denial were alarming.  In light of a Trump presidency, this kind of media behavior is not so alarming anymore.

Fast forward eighteen months...

I was very excited for The Last Jedi before release.  I had no reason to doubt Rian Johnson's filmmaking ability, and the trailers looked really good.  The Force Awakens had minor issues, but was an enjoyable and exciting film overall, and I thought The Last Jedi had the potential to outgrow those minor issues.

And then I saw it.

Before I go on I must say that everything in this movie with Rey and Kylo was absolutely spot on.  Kylo is still the most interesting new character in decades, in my opinion.  But it's all downhill from there.  The humor is what stuck out to me the most, and not in a good way.  It was really bad.  There are also some pretty hefty plot and character issues, along with a string of missed opportunities, but that's not really the point of this post.

The point is that it was not a good film.  It was very clearly not a good film.  I thought I would be alone in my proclamations of this until I saw the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which has gone on to being the lowest for any Star Wars film ever.  I already had friends on my Facebook feed preemptively defending the movie from criticism, and the film journalists were not far behind.

Deadline Hollywood

Collider

Vanity Fair

Vox

As the story goes, people like me who didn't like the film are upset because our fan theories didn't pan out.  The movie is flawless, but you can't please everyone, because some fan theories obviously aren't going to happen.  So get over it, you basement-dwelling nerds!  Oh, also, people like me are responsible for heavily skewing the Rotten Tomatoes audience score, by spamming it with bad reviews, since the critics can't possibly be wrong about this one.

It's embarrassing.  The amount of mental hoops these articles' authors have to jump through is hilarious and disgusting at the same time.  I haven't seen this much BS in a piece of writing since high school English.  It's so dishonest, and the numbers are starting to prove me right (duh).

The Force Awakens hit theaters in an almost identical situation, on December 17, 2015.  Same franchise, identical target audience, same studio, similar budget, similar frame, similar marketing, etc.  The Last Jedi opened $27,000,000 under The Force Awakens.  That's not alarming, as it still scored the second-highest opening weekend ever, at $220,000,000.  What is alarming (besides the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes - 52% to The Force Awakens' 88%) is The Last Jedi's current ten day domestic total, which tallies $175,000,000 behind The Force Awakens, at $365,000,000, as well as The Last Jedi's second weekend drop, which is looking close to a whopping 70% compared to The Force Awakens' 39%.  Yesterday TLJ's domestic total was 27% under TFA, and today that number is over 32%.  This percentage will obviously make smaller jumps as the days go by, but the fact that this number is growing at all is scary.

Put another way, The Last Jedi is missing almost a full third of its audience.  Make no mistake, this movie is still likely to make over a billion dollars, so it's nowhere near a bust.  But The Force Awakens made over two billion.  Bob Iger (Disney CEO) knows Lucasfilm can do better, and you can bet he's going to want to see some changes after this whole mess.  He hasn't forgotten that with the cost of acquiring Lucasfilm, these movies haven't even turned a profit yet.  If I was Rian Johnson, I would be feeling very nervous right now about that trilogy promised me by Kathleen Kennedy (Lucasfilm President).

So where does this all leave us?  What changes?  Well, we have even less trust in film journalists, for one thing.  I want to make special mention of Variety for remaining honest in their reporting and not capitulating to this nonsense.  Also, I wouldn't be terribly shocked if Kathleen Kennedy is a little less sure of her job security moving forward.  She knows now that you can't just crap out a Star Wars sequel willy nilly.  She knows now that the box office can strike back just as well as the Empire.  I don't care that much if Rian Johnson gets his spin-off trilogy or not, just as long as the main saga is handled with more care.  As it stands, J.J. Abrams is at the helm for Episode IX, and I think he's right for it.  We know he loves to please fans, and he has mentioned how excited he is to apply what he learned from directing The Force Awakens.

As for people like me, I thought that maybe I should learn to let go of my expectations after all.  Perhaps I shouldn't be this disappointed over a movie.  But then, what of hope?  I would rather feel disappointed than cynical.  A major theme of The Last Jedi is learning from failure, and clinging to hope in spite of it.  That is certainly more meta than our friend Rian realized it would be, and I choose to follow it.  Maybe, after all this, Lucasfilm will give George his advisory role back!  Wouldn't that be something?  And if you scoff at that idea, then maybe you just need to let go of those unfulfilled fan theories you had for the prequels.

In Theaters: December 22, 2017 (Christmas Catch Up)

There were TWO wide releases last weekend, TWO wide releases that came out on Wednesday, THREE wide releases that come out this weekend, plus TWO limited releases expanding to wide this weekend that are both worth mentioning at least a little.  It's time for a speed round.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Dec 15 release)

With the narrative inspiration of a My Little Pony episode, and all the compelling characterization of a Target print ad, The Last Jedi falls very short of expectations.  Adam Driver turns out another INCREDIBLE performance as Kylo Ren that is unfortunately surrounded by directorial/scriptorial (Rian-Johnson-torial) incompetence everywhere else.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Ferdinand (Dec 15 release)

Ever heard of Ferdinand the Bull?  You remember, he wanted to smell the flowers instead of fight the matadors?  He's got a feature now!

Ferdinand is rated PG for rude humor, action and some thematic elements.

The Greatest Showman (Wednesday release)

Hugh Jackman stars as the inventor of show business.  He's down on his luck, loses his job, and decides to follow his dream as an entertainer, surrounding himself with talented acts to showcase for the world.

I think it looks kinda good!

The Greatest Showman is rated PG for thematic elements including a brawl.  Must be one of those *thematic* brawls...

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Wednesday release)

I didn't believe in the idea, but the trailer was wonderful.  So the movie is anyone's guess.  I kinda want to see it.

Four kids get sucked into a video game version of Jumanji, playing as adult characters in the game (Hart, Johnson, Black, and Gillan), and must fight through the game and win in order to get out.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is rated PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language.

Downsizing

A scientist has invented a technique to shrink people to just a few inches, making their lives much less expensive.  It's an ideal retirement strategy, being very cheap.  Damon's character and his wife decide to take the plunge, only his wife backs out, leaving him irreversibly small and alone.  So he sets out to make a new life for himself!  It looks interesting, and Damon is a good actor.

Downsizing is rated R for language including sexual references, some graphic nudity and drug use.

Father Figures

All I will say is this: no actor or actress pictured on the poster here is proud of this movie.  Not one of them.  They may say they are, but they're lying to you.  Just don't.  Just don't.

Father Figures is rated R for language and sexual references throughout.

Pitch Perfect 3

Because, hey, why not?

Pitch Perfect 3 is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language and some action.

The Shape of Water (expanding)

Cold War era janitor at a top-secret facility is mute.  She falls for sea monster man who is held captive there for cruel study.  They're both different so they fall in love and it's touching, I'm sure.  But of course bad administrator man doesn't like this and is the antagonist.

This is what fantasy oscar bait looks like.

To be fair, bad administrator man is played by Michael Shannon, who is always great.

The Shape of Water is rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language.

Darkest Hour (expanding)

Critically-acclaimed movie about Churchill.  What more do you need to know to want to see it?  I know I want to see it!

Darkest Hour is rated PG-13 for some thematic material.

Phew!  Speed round over.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: December 8, 2017

There is only one wide release this weekend.

Just Getting Started

It's set at a retirement community.

These old people comedies are getting out of hand.  And Morgan Freeman is in every single one of them.

Morgan Freeman manages a retirement community and he's very popular there.  Tommy Lee Jones moves in and also becomes popular.  A rivalry begins.  But then they have to team up because someone is trying to kill Morgan Freeman, because he's actually part of witness protection.  It's really too much.

Just Getting Started is rated PG-13 for language, suggestive material and brief violence.

Just wait for Star Wars next week.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: December 1, 2017

There are zero wide releases this weekend.  But I missed last week because it was Thanksgiving and I was too stuffed with turkey to even type.  Last week there was just one wide release.

Coco

Miguel crosses to the land of the dead.  The dead zone?  The phantom zone?  The dark dimension?  Something.

I'm not clear on why it's called Coco, but it's about Miguel, who is an older child in a Mexican family.  It's Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the family is celebrating.  Miguel somehow crosses over to the other side using his grandfather's guitar (he wants to be a musician).  On the other side, he learns about himself and his destiny, and also has a limited amount of time to get back to the land of the living if he wants to stay living.  He also meets his dead grandfather while on the other side!

Coco is rated PG for thematic elements.

It's Pixar, so it's probably a really good movie.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: November 17, 2017

There are three wide releases this weekend.

Justice League

Possibly the least creative poster design I've ever seen for a movie of this size.

Do you remember when Star Wars: Episode III was coming up, and everyone knew it was going to be about Anakin turning to the dark side?  Everybody expected the teaser poster to be a headshot of Hayden Christensen that was half Anakin and half Vader.  That's what all the fake posters were.  But in my heart I knew they would come up with something better.  This was Star Wars, after all.  And they did.

Is that not the greatest teaser poster of all time?  That's inventive.  A billowing cape that takes the shape of Vader's mask.  The shape of the mask, the cape itself, and the red lightsaber all point toward what we know is coming in this movie.

And on the other hand we have...

"Just get all our heroes in there.  Make sure we can see their faces.  Okay, good, now come up with the most simplistic superhero team up tagline you can."

"This tagline has a 'W' in it.  Wonder Woman's logo also has a 'W' in it.  Oh my gosh!  We can put her logo in the tagline!"

"Good thinking, Debbie.  Make that happen.  Throw the rest of them in too.  Yep.  That'll do."

What happened with the poster seems pretty representative of what happened with the whole movie.  It's all just "that'll do".  If the entire DCEU had a tagline, it would be "that'll do".

It's just very sad.  This is their answer to Marvel?  Really?  Five years ago, the MCU brought us The Avengers and it literally blew everyone's minds like a nuke through butter.  And the first studio in line to try to copy that was Warner Brothers, because they have the DC film rights.

Unfortunately for Warner Bros, they hadn't been developing the brand new "shared universe" concept as Marvel had been, and their Nolan Batman cash cow came to an end that same summer.  And they've been playing catch up ever since, tripping over themselves endlessly while doing so.

And the fruit of their labor is here.  Justice League.  The future of Batfleck is in question, three of the five main characters have had almost no prior introduction, and for some reason Superman is dead.  It just doesn't seem like anyone really cared.  That's the feeling I get.

But I'm DEFINITELY still gonna go see it!

Justice League is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action.

The Star

It's the nativity story told from the perspective of the animals involved.

The voice cast is loaded.  But, just being honest, it looks very second rate.  I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it put a smile on your face every now and then.

The Star is rated PG for some thematic elements.

Wonder

"You can't blend in when you were born to stand out."

Wonder is the fictional memoir of a child with a deformed face.  Hence the helmet.  He wears it sometimes because it's weird - but not as weird as his face.

His name is Auggie for some reason, and he's just starting fifth grade at a public school.  So it's inspirational and all that rot.

It actually looks pretty solid.  Like, I would see it if someone invited me to go with them.  But I probably wouldn't be all like, "Hey, everybody, let's go see Wonder!"

Wonder is rated PG for thematic elements including bullying, and some mild language.

      Big Shot Critic

Star Trek: Discovery VS The Orville

DISCLAIMER: Each of these shows had only seven episodes released at time of writing.  Any episodes after beyond that number have not been considered here.

The word "critic" is in the name of this blog, so I do, occasionally, actually critique things!  Today I must break the silence.  I am compelled to write on an issue that has gripped a nation.  Trek Nation, that is.  The issue at hand?  Star Trek: Discovery, the divisive new entry into the Star Trek franchise.  And one can hardly discuss fan reaction to Discovery without discussing Fox's alternative, The Orville.  Get ready for some serious in-depth nerdiness.

First up . . .

Star Trek: Discovery

Anticipation

A new Star Trek show was announced almost two years ago, and that was music to my pointed prosthetic ears*.  Music that ended on a sour note: in an era where the highest-rated television dramas are all doom and gloom, zombies and bullets, meth labs and chemists, dragons and thrones . . . can CBS resist the temptation to drag Star Trek there too?  Star Trek is fundamentally optimistic.  What would Star Trek look like in the modern TV world?  Would it be anything I wanted to see?

Then there is the question of serialization.  It's not a concept Star Trek fans take to without hesitation.  Serialization would deny the flexibility of story that made previous Star Trek shows such a joy to watch.  One episode could be a procedural, then a romance, followed by a comedy and then an action episode or a family drama.  Those shows could go wherever the characters needed them to go, and allowed ample room for very lighthearted dabbles here and there.  Would this freedom be retained?  Could they rework it into a mix of both?

Bryan Fuller was announced as showrunner.  On the one hand, his career started with Star Trek in the 90's.  On the other hand, his career really kicked off when he ran other more modern serialized shows.  See the above two paragraphs.

They announced it would be set in the Prime Timeline (the one that includes literally everything except the three recent Abrams-produced films), but it would take place ten years before Kirk.  Okay.  There have been five main Star Trek shows before, and only one of them is widely considered a failure.  That would be Enterprise.  It also happens to be the only one that went backwards in time and was set before all the rest.  Right out of the gate, the only thing we knew about this new show was that it shares a significant commonality with the one Star Trek show that isn't well loved.  #worried

Then they announced the title.  Star Trek: Discovery.  That sounded like they were going in the right direction with the tone.  Exploration is a hallmark of Star Trek, and a Starfleet ship called the Discovery sounds like a great fit.  But then you have the abbreviation issue.  Trekkie shorthand includes TOS for the original series, TAS for Star Trek: The Animated Series, TNG for Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, VOY for Star Trek Voyager, and finally ENT for Star Trek: Enterprise.  And that brings us to . . . STD for Star Trek: Discovery.  With time though, I'm sure DIS will be the official shorthand.

From there all the announcements amounted to an array of big question marks.  Not the good kind of question marks, like fans desperate to get a look at what's coming.  Bad question marks, like why was he let go?  Why were those other two fired?  Why has it been delayed?  Twice?  Why does the ship look so stupid?  Why do the klingons look so stupid?  Why does the main character, who is a woman, have a man's name?  And most importantly, what is up with all these nutty stories I've heard about things going on behind the scenes?  There was not a single behind the scenes story or official announcement that inspired confidence.  Not one.  #extraworried

I almost forgot the biggest bit of information that made fans ill at ease.  Star Trek: Discovery was to premiere on network television and then make the transition to a CBS All Access exclusive.  So you can watch the first one free, but then you have to cough up $6/month minimum to watch the rest.  And that plan comes with limited commercials.  Also, the general opinion is that all other CBS All Access content does nothing to tempt the potential subscriber.  #seriouslyconcerned

At point of release, many fans were not asking the question, "Will it fail?", but rather, "When it fails, who will be blamed?"  The concern was that the cash-grab decision of requiring a subscription to a show that was already unappealing to fans would doom the show to a swift cancellation, and that the franchise itself would be blamed for the failure, rather than the business model or this particular version of Star Trek.  In short, we were afraid Trek Nation would be left high and dry with a cancelled reboot and no hope of another chance.

Execution

Allow me to bottom line this for you.  The pilot sucked.  Big time.  Weak story, poor performances, dreadful characters, and some truly terrible writing.  And these are general complaints.  To go into Star-Trek-specific complaints would take too long.

I can trudge through bad acting and lame stories for a pilot.  I can get over klingons that are all wrong.  What I can't forgive is characters as bland, boring, and hopelessly stupid as these.  I don't mean two-dimensional, I'm talking one-dimensional here.  In the pilot episode the main character of the show does something so colossally and bafflingly senseless that it may have destroyed the whole series for me.  This may sound like an overreaction, but much of the premise of the entire show indeed rests on this decision and an equally troubling one in the second episode.

I guess I have to get into some nerdy specifics here for a couple additional grievances.  The main character is a human raised by vulcans.  Fine.  She's Spock's adopted sister (who has never been mentioned before by Spock or either of his parents).  A little tougher to swallow, but okay.  She went straight from failing entrance into the Vulcan Expeditionary Group to immediately becoming the first officer of a Starfleet ship - without any Starfleet training whatsoever.  I'm sorry . . . WHAT!!??  No.  That makes no sense at all.  And then there's the small matter of her being completely ruled by her emotions throughout the first two episodes.  I remind you that this is the character who was raised by vulcans.  This is a race noted for its absolute control over emotion.

It's like this for all of the first five episodes.  In each one there's one or two giant lapses in judgment that a real person just would not make, or a decision that in no way fits with what we already know about Star Trek.  In one episode a Starfleet captain willfully leaves a Federation citizen behind in a POW situation.  Unbelievable.  Even if the character was a liar and even a turncoat of sorts, he's still a Federation citizen who that captain left to die!  For those of you who don't know, that goes against every oath a Starfleet officer must swear to begin service.  And while we're on the subject, we actually know this turncoat character from earlier shows, and he is definitely a liar, cheat, swindler, and scoundrel, but he was ultimately a nuisance at worst.  To make him into a traitor and - in a later episode - a savage murderer is one heck of a stretch to say the least.

Those are just a few of literally dozens of examples of bad writing in the seven episodes I've seen.

Verdict

I watched seven episodes of Star Trek: Discovery because of the Star Trek name, and because I could do so for free with a trial version of CBS All Access.  On the bright side, Jason Isaac's performance has definitely been a highlight, some story elements were very compelling, and the last three episodes have brought on the very likable character (almost the only likable character in the show) of Ash Tyler.  Also, the last two episodes in particular were very nearly recognizable as Star Trek, with the latest episode even successfully demonstrating lightheartedness and humor - something Star Trek: Discovery is gasping for.  But on the not-so-bright side: everything else.  Story concepts are still weak or borrowed.  The show's premise and setting show limited potential.  And the main character took six episodes to even show signs of likability.  That's a weak start.  And I'm not paying six dollars a month to count the weeks until they make Star Trek great again.  #MSTGA

And in this corner . . .

The Orville

Anticipation

May 16th was the day before the first look trailer debuted for Star Trek: Discovery.  Many Star Trek fans were eagerly awaiting that trailer, and some were hoping it would soothe their concerns and fears for the upcoming series.  In this unsure atmosphere among Trekkies, Fox released its first look trailer for The Orville.  The day before the Discovery trailer.  Coincidence?  I think not.

And that was it!  Before release, The Orville got maybe one one hundredth of the press that Discovery got.  But you better believe that trailer got the attention of Trek Nation, just like Fox hoped it would.  It was an invitation.  It tantalized us with its well-lit sets and bright colors (just like old Star Trek!).  Trek fans immediately began in earnest to produce YouTube video essays and debates, blog posts and online conversations, all about comparing and predicting the differences and successes of Discovery and The Orville.  If you search "discovery vs orville" on youtube you will never run out of videos comparing the two.

Execution

I'll bottom line it for you again.  The pilot was very okay.  It had a few belly laughs and a decent story - but with promising characters.  The second episode was better and much more character oriented.  The third episode is where the revolution began.  The third episode was truly Star Trek reincarnate.  It was thinly-veiled social commentary of the highest order.  Since then The Orville has consistently proved itself worthy of Trek Nation attention.  A spiritual reboot, if you will.  The true modern torchbearer of Gene Roddenberry's vision.

While advertised as a spoof of Star Trek, The Orville has revealed itself to be something else entirely.  This is not a spoof.  It's a full-fledged drama with some jokes on the side.  Furthermore, the love for classic Star Trek is dripping from the screen from start to finish.  Seth MacFarlane loves Star Trek.

All the sense of adventure, the brightness and hope, the faith in humanity, and the commentary on today's world - all of what Star Trek was, The Orville is.  In seven episodes, The Orville has tackled issues like the cycle of violence, social media and mob justice, transgenderism, and isolationism.  In the same number of episodes, Star Trek: Discovery has taken on issues of . . . violent klingons . . . dimly lit spaceships . . . uh . . . save the space whales?

Verdict

In the end, the world of The Orville is a place I would want to visit.  That was Gene Roddenberry's vision.  A happy future.  All but two of the eight main characters are very fleshed out and quite interesting, with the remaining two being reliably real and comedic at the very least.  With a surprising ability to make you think, and the added bonus of serious laughs** every now and then, The Orville is an unmitigated hit.

      Big Shot Critic

*let the record show that I don't actually own any false Vulcan ears

**oxymoron of the year

P.S. Want a good laugh?  Look up the Rotten Tomatoes pages for both of these shows and look at the disparity between critic and audience ratings.  #Gamergate is coming for you, film and television critics.

In Theaters: November 10, 2017

There are two new wide releases this weekend.

Daddy's Home 2

It looks like a solid yet disposable comedy.

In the first Daddy's Home, Will Ferrell plays the step-dad to some kids and their birth father (Wahlberg) gets out of prison or something and the two clash.  I never saw it.  But I think it's still on Amazon Prime and I might give it a look.

By the end of the first they learn to get along, but they have a combined Christmas with both paternal grandfathers coming to visit, cast hilariously in Mel Gibson and John Lithgow.  I gotta admit the premise is great and the casting is even better.

Daddy's Home 2 is rated PG-13 for suggestive material and some language.

That's a softer PG-13 than I would have expected, honestly.

Murder on the Orient Express

As you can see the cast includes many names.

Kenneth Branagh, whose last name I still have not learned to pronounce, returns to the director/leading man combo in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's most famous Poirot novel.  Incidentally, I have learned to pronounce the fictional character he portrays, Hercule Poirot.  (~Her-Kyool Pwar-Oh)  Try not to cringe at my pronunciation guide if you actually speak French.

Hercule Poirot is one of histories fine fictional detectives, along the lines of the much more famous Sherlock Holmes.  Really the main difference is that Poirot is Belgian and has a famous moustache.

Peter Ustinov as Poirot

Albert Finney as Poirot

David Suchet as Poirot

The moustache is an important feature.  It is described in the books as "very stiff and military".  So does the new Poirot have a moustache?  Does he ever!

Kenneth Branagh as Poirot's moustach - I mean, as Poirot

Did the moustache need to be that big?  I don't know.  Moving on.

One interesting cast member to note is Daisy Ridley.  You know her as Rey from The Force Awakens and the soon-upon-us The Last Jedi.  After TFA she was a real hot commodity, and she lined up a whole bunch of roles.  It took two years to get the first one out the gate, but here it is!

Murder on the Orient Express is rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements.

      Big Shot Critic