Friday, March 29, 2024

Weekend Watch: ‘ The Lego Movie 2’ Has a Leg Up On Competition

Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) and her minions in “The Lego 2 Movie.”

*“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” directed by Mike Mitchell, has a leg up on its competition and rightly so. It is a movie both kids and adults can enjoy. Besides its pop culture references, there are many relevant social commentaries mixed in with the animated action fun filled film.

“Lego 2”  reunites the heroes of Bricksburg to save their city. The battle to defeat the invaders will take Emmet (Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett) and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds.

Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) and her Duplo army attack from the Systar System. With world domination on her mind, Wa-Nabi plots to get Batman to marry her. That in itself, is a hilarious scenario—seeing Batman succumb to Wa-Nabi’s wiles.

What Men Want

What Women Want,” a prototype of the Mel Gibson film “What Men Want,” has Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) hearing what men think. The movie does have some laughs but using a 10-year-old to wear the already worn panties over his face of a woman he finds in bed with his father is NOT funny. Especially when he makes a disparaging reference to “Black Panther.” Or, Davis wearing a used condom on the back of her clothes to work. But it was great hearing the three R&B classics “Poison,” “Push It,” and “Free Your Mind,” that produced one of the fiercest female (En Vogue) music videos ever.

Ali Davis is a successful sports agent who doesn’t get a well-deserved promotion. When she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts, Ali gets the upper hand and races to sign the next basketball superstar.

Directed by Adam ShankmanAldis, the film also stars Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Josh Brener, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Tracy Morgan.

The ball is in her court. Tarsi P. Hansen as Ali Davis in “What Men Want.”

The Prodigy

Going in I thought “The Prodigy” would be sort of like “The Omen,” and was happy it wasn’t. Either way, both films deal with a boy being possessed. There were several times—and have to include myself—where the jump factor was in effect. “The Prodigy” is a slow burn and that factor adds to the suspense. What cools it down is the overwhelming attempt to intensify the drama  by unnecessary violent acts.

In “The Prodigy,” Sarah’s (Taylor Schilling) young son Miles (Jackson RobertScott) exhibits signs of disturbing behavior. She must choose to either ignore that an evil force has overtaken Miles or choose to keep her head buried in the sand while being deluged with constant reminders that an ominous and deadly force is threatening her family’s survival.

Directed by Nicholas McCarthy, the film also stars Peter Mooney,Olunike Adeliyi, Colm Feore, and Brittany Allen.

Cold Pursuit

Unlike the second film reviewed here, “Cold Pursuit” does not rely on gratuitous sex scenes to substitute for creativity and imagination. But it does rely on graphic violence to grab audiences’ attention. Some filmmakers are still trying to cash in on the “Taken” franchise but that train has left the station.

“Cold Pursuit” is a dark comedy of sorts and in the Coen Brothers and Quintan Tarantino vein. Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a family man whose quiet life with his wife (Laura Dern) is upended following the mysterious death of their son. Nels’ search for justice turns into a vengeful hunt for Viking (Tom Bateman), a drug lord he believes is connected to the death. As one by one of Viking’s associates “disappear,” Nels goes from upstanding citizen to ice-cold vigilante, letting nothing and no one get in his way.

Directed by Hans Petter Moland, the film also stars Tom Jackson, Emmy Rossum, Domenick Lombardozzi, Julia Jones, and John Doman.

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