New Releases:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 – After travelling to Greece for a family reunion, a woman attempts to locate her deceased father’s childhood friends.
Expectations: After the release of The Equalizer 3 last week, September continues to be the month of unnecessary sequels with a double shot this week, kicking off with this film that is the second “Why did you make this?” in the franchise. Nia Vardalos is charming and I enjoy her on screen but all these movies do is try to capitalize on a remarkable first movie by diminishing the returns every time. I like and even own the first film but this is where I stop and, hopefully, it’s where the studio stops too because no one is even talking about this one.
The Nun II – A follow-up to the enigmatic gothic horror about a strong evil that haunts and causes supernatural harm to everybody it comes into contact with. After the events of the first film, the said powerful evil begins to spread in 1956 throughout a town in France as word gets out that a priest has been violently murdered. A finished contemplative in her novitiate, Sister Irene, begins to investigate the murder, only to find a demon behind it — the same evil that terrorized her in the original film as a nun — Valak, whom she once again soon comes to encounter.
Expectations: Unnecessary sequel number two here and we all know that this film only serves to further the expanded universe of James Wan’s Conjuring universe as Bonnie Aaron’s Valak character first appeared in the second of those films. I will say that the first film benefited from a great creepy monster performance from Aaron and I love Demian Bechir a lot but it is now up to Taissa Farmiga to carry the franchise and I think she is pretty capable of doing that, much like her mom does with the mothership franchise. I also find it interesting that Aaron is suing Warner Bros. when this is being released for profiting off her likeness without compensation. Sounds like one of those issues this strike is about to me. Get ’em, Bonnie!
Blu-Ray:
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse – Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
Review: This is one of the best movies of the year easily the greatest animated feature of 2023 and a must-see for all audiences. The creators manage to capitalize on a perfect first movie brimming with heart and soul and make a film that equals it and doesn’t waver your journey with Miles Morales whatsoever. These movies sit at the pinnacle of superhero storytelling and leave an open ending that will keep you salivating for the third piece of the trilogy. The sad news is, because of the writer’s and actor’s strike, it has all been delayed. The sadness is real.
Asteroid City – Following a writer on his world-famous fictional play about a grieving father, who travels with his tech-obsessed family to the small rural town of Asteroid City, to compete in a stargazing event. Only to have his worldview disrupted forever.
Review: Wes Anderson holds his audience in the palm of his hand as we, for decades now, have salivated over all of his work since he debuted with Bottle Rocket and then really introduced us to his style with Rushmore. Now he is making the movies for himself it seems as both The French Dispatch and this film take very different approaches to storytelling. Dispatch played more of an anthology game but this film is more about the method of writing, less about character development and way more about the mindset to go into it with. Oh, and there’s an alien too, done totally in his own way, but the draw is the cast, especially those who have never worked with him before.
Star Trek Picard: Complete Series – Shortly after the Destruction of Romulus, Starfleet reneged on a prior commitment to help the evacuation of Romulus. Culminating With a battalion of “Rogue” Starfleet Synthetics attacking The Mars Colonies (Short Trek: Children of Mars) This set forth a series of unprecedented events that led to a Galactic Conspiracy. Ten years into his retirement, Jean Luc Picard has a stranger ask for his help, which unearths unnerving questions that no one will answer. So now it is up to Picard to rise up and face those challenges head-on.
Review: Just three seasons, that’s all we got from the return of Patrick Stewart to the most iconic role of his long career and they went full bore for a Next Generation reunion for the final season, making any stumbles in the first season absolutely worth it. The series definitely got better as it progressed so I recommend plowing through the uneven first season because I had fun with season two and absolutely loved the third season. To be honest, if we got a spin-off with Todd Stashwick’s Captain Shaw I would definitely watch it.
NCIS Los Angeles: Complete Series – Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J star in this second show in the “NCIS” franchise, focusing on the high-stakes world of the Office of Special Projects (OSP) in Los Angeles. Highly trained agents use the most-advanced technologies available and go undercover to apprehend criminals deemed a threat to national security. Special Agent G. Callum can transform himself into whoever he needs to be to infiltrate criminal factions. His partner, former Navy SEAL Sam Hanna, is a surveillance specialist who uses state-of-the-art equipment to monitor field agents and feed them information.
Review: Scott Bakula and the New Orleans crew bid audiences adieu, Mark Harmon did the same from the original spin-off from JAG under some damning allegations and now the Los Angeles contingent is calling it quits too. This leaves the flagship show still running under the new eye of Gary Cole as well as the newbies, Hawaii and Sydney, but this will leave a void as I really enjoyed this one the most and definitely because of Chris and LL who make the show pretty great with their banter. The good thing is now I can roll through all fourteen seasons on my own accord.
Steve’s Blu-Ray and DVD Geekouts:
Personality Crisis: One Night Only – Continuing his vibrant and invaluable documentaries about iconic American artists and musicians such as George Harrison: Living in the Material World, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and the Fran Lebowitz portrait Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese turns his camera on another beloved New York institution: the singular David Johansen. Equally celebrated as the lead singer-songwriter of the androgynous ’70s glam punk groundbreakers The New York Dolls and for his complete reinvention as hepcat lounge lizard Buster Poindexter in the ’80s, the chameleonic Johansen has created an entire genre unto himself, combining swing, blues, and rock for something at once mischievous and deeply personal.
Review: Out comes another one of my many documentary biases, the music-focused films and this is actually a great follow-up for anyone who enjoyed the film, New York Doll, as this is a David Johanssen-centric story, the frontman for the legendary-punk group. This film comes together so well under the co-direction of one of the greatest directors of all time, Martin Scorsese, adding this to the pantheon of great documentaries on his resume. This film is fascinating, and informative and gives a full portrait of one of the most interesting individuals in the New York scene for decades.
The Black Demon – Oil company inspector Paul Sturges takes his family on a vacation to a small town in Baja, where he is sent to inspect an oil rig called “El Diamante.” Upon arrival, they discover the town in ruins and encounter a massive and deadly megalodon shark known as “El Demonio Negro.” Stranded on the dilapidated rig with limited time and constant shark attacks, Paul and his family must fight for survival and find a way back to shore before it’s too late. It becomes a thrilling battle between man and nature in this harrowing adventure.
Review: I would be lying if I said I wasn’t leery about getting into another megalodon movie after the disappointment that was the Meg sequel, a film that is severely lacking some Meg action but this looked like something fun to dispel that. I like the casting of Josh Lucas, fresh in everyone’s mind at the moment with his performance as the young John Dutton on Yellowstone, and the film languished in that B-movie effects pool that entertains as long as you don’t get too in-depth with the script. I can honestly say it was a step up from the August blockbuster I just took in but the comparison isn’t that great.
Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage – A documentary about the Canadian rock band Rush relates the group’s 40-year history and examines its continuing popularity. Using extensive archival footage, it follows the resilient rockers, lead guitarist Alex Lifeson and singer/bassist Geddy Lee, from when they started the band in the late 1960s through to the present. A diverse group of interviewees, such as musician Billy Corgan, actor Jack Black and “South Park” creator Matt Stone, share what makes the band so special.
Review: The original greatest band out of Canada, the power trio that brought us the birth of progressive rock in a way and classic album after album got the full-on documentary approach from Victoria-born director Sam Dunn in 2010 and I just got my hands on a copy of the steelbook blu-ray this week and I had to gush about it. Even if you aren’t a fa, Dunn engages you with a story of three technical geniuses in music who strived, persevered and inspired so much more creativity and music on their musical journey. Geddy, Alex and Neil are gods of music and this film celebrates them perfectly in my opinion. An absolute must-see.
Television:
I Am Groot: Season 2 (Disney+) – Baby Groot is a mischievous toddler who is growing up and getting into trouble among the stars as a member of the superhero team, Guardians of the Galaxy.
Review: Another round of short films arrives on the Mouse streamer that again follows one of the fan favourites from the Marvel cinematic universe and, really, how can you not love this dude? Voiced by Vin Diesel, each little installment is adorable and endearing and now seems like our last grip on James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, the perfect trilogy with the expansive franchise. Gather the whole family for this one and binge all of them, it is definitely worth it.
The Changeling (AppleTV+) – When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, he left his son a box of books and strange recurring dreams. Now Apollo is a father himself–and as he and his wife, Emma, settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Apollo’s old dreams return and Emma begins acting odd. At first, Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression. But before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s quest to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His odyssey takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.
Review: Alternate worlds, pre-destinies and Lakeith Stanfield as the lead? Yeah, this show is something I can definitely dig into and it is another genre gamble for AppleTV+, a streaming service that always seems to surprise me with their releases. The series also features Canadian actor Jared Abrahamson, star of the underrated heist flick American Animals, and Alexis Louder, who blew me away in her starring role in CopShop as well as the Christmas action thriller Violent Night, both featured in a story that feels fresh and unpredictable at every turn. I hope this isn’t a limited series because I’m really loving it so far.
Star Trek Lower Decks: Season 4 (Paramount+) – The series focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the USS Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi must keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The ship’s bridge crew includes Captain Carol Freeman, Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant Shaxs and Doctor T’Ana. This is the second animated spin-off in the franchise after 1973-74’s “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” but has a decidedly more adult tone and humour.
Expectations: It’s not crazy to see the success of another Star Trek series after the Paramount+ created Discovery hit screens and the resurrection of Picard and his crew for his own show but the fact that a very adult series within the franchise has survived to a fourth season is pretty wild. I really love this show and Jerry O’Connell and Jack Quaid’s characters are the big reason why and I’m excited to see what the crew will do this time around. I’m also looking forward to them addressing Quaid’s character Boimler who just did a stint on Strange New Worlds with Captain Pike and his crew.
Steve Stebbing 