ALEXXANDAR MOVIE REVIEWS: Race to see 'Gran Turismo'

This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Archie Madekwe, left, and David Harbour in a scene from ‘Gran Turismo.’

“Gran Turismo”

(Action/Drama: 2 hours, 15 minutes)

Starring: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour and Orlando Bloom

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Rated: PG-13 (Intense action and strong language)

Movie Review: Based on a true story, this is a by-the-book sports drama that includes strategically placed, touching moments. It is a feel-good movie that excites audiences to observe the underdog achieve success.

Jann Mardenborough (Madekwe) is a world-class British gamer from a working-class family. In 2011, Mardenborough participates in the GT Academy and is chosen over 90,000 other entrants. He wins the competition, which gives him a chance to compete in actual racing events.

His coach is Jack Salter (Harbour), a former race car driver, and Danny Moore is an optimistic motorsport executive overseeing Mardenborough’s financial, scheduling and publicity needs. The men must work together to prove a racing gamer can compete in the racing world with longtime professional drivers.

“Gran Turismo” is a movie that should leave audiences rejuvenated with hope. For racing enthusiasts, this movie places one on the track and lets you ride along for Mardenborough’s triumph rise.

Madekwe of television’s “See” (2019–22) agreeably plays Mardenborough. The character is under much stress and Madekwe plays well enough. It is also good to see Orlando Bloom back on the big screen in a meaningful role. Yet, it is David Harbour who manages to provide the most compelling character.

The scenes move fast. Often, they allow little time for these talented men to show their skills. Instead, the movie resides on emotive content placed in between racetrack scenes. The result is a movie that entertains with father-son and pupil-teacher sentiment and energetic racing moments. However, the concluding scene shows Mardenborough and his team’s triumph while not providing a solid attached inspiration.

Grade: B- (A welcome ride.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Meg 2: The Trench”

(Action/Thriller: 1 hour, 56 minutes)

Starring: Jason Statham, Jing Wu and Cliff Curtis

Director: Ben Wheatley

Rated: PG-13 (Action/violence, bloody images, language and suggestive material.)

Movie Review: Jason Statham returns in this follow-up to “The Meg” (2018). This action-thriller entertains but that source of fun also has multiple mundane material. The special effects and acting are not on par.

Statham plays Jonas Taylor. He leads ocean explorers beneath a thermal barrier beneath the ocean. Once there, mining operations cause an accident that releases multiple massive sharks. The sharks emerge from beneath the ocean and begin attacking humans. Taylor and his team must stop the megalodons.

“Meg 2: The Trench” is comical and filled with action, but those moments come with trite, substandard material. Plus, the special effects are not always consistent.

That feels similar to something one has seen many other times in other movies. The problem is that entertainment comes at the expense of a convincing reality. It feels like a monster movie from yesteryear, something prior to the 1970s.

Grade: C (It digs deep for laughs over substance.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Blue Beetle”

(Action/Science-Fiction: 2 hours, 7 minutes)

Starring: Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon and George Lopez

Director: Angel Manuel Soto

Rated: PG-13 (Sequences of action and violence, language, and suggestive references)

Movie Review: The DC Universe just got its first Mexican-American superhero as the lead character. The “Blue Beetle,” much like Shazam, is as comical as it is action-oriented, unlike movies featuring Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman from DC. “Blue Beetle” is about family and saving the world from a tyrannical corporation.

Jaime Reyes (Maridueña) receives a metallic blue alien scarab in a chicken box container from Jenny Kord (Marquezine), the daughter of a former Kord corporation CEO.

Kord tells Reyes not to open it, he does not listen. He opens the chicken box container in front of his family. The metallic object latches on to Reyes and forms a symbiotic connection that cannot be undone. Soon, Reyes and his family are in danger as the current CEO of the Kord corporation, Victoria Kord (Sarandon), wants the technology back immediately.

“Blue Beetle” is a fun movie if one does not take it too seriously and just goes with the flow. It has a different feel for DC movies where the plot almost appears like something from the 1980s.

Often the movie focuses on comedy while giving special effects and action sequences a rest. The comedy works sometimes, other times it misses its marks and falls flat. However, the overall presentation remains entertaining throughout.

Xolo Maridueña plays his part well. His youthful approach to life as an inexperienced superhero fits. Although he lacks chemistry in the romantic department with the attractive Bruna Marquezine, they are nice eye candy as a couple.

George Lopez adds laughs. He is that crazy uncle — every family has at least one — who is the comical star of the family. Opposite, Sarandon brings added drama. She appears readymade for a soap opera villain.

Do not see many standalone “Blue Beetle” films in the future but the character has made his mark. This mostly Latino-American cast is a worthy addition to the DC Universe.

Grade: B- (Blue is in for superheroes.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Strays”

(Comedy: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Rated: R (Pervasive language, crude and sexual content, violence and drug use)

Movie Review: “Strays” is an adult comedy. It may feature talking dogs as its leading stars but it is a raunchy, rated R film.

It is not like other talking dog movies that have happened in the past, many of which featured Dennis Quaid, who has a cameo in this movie. However far-fetched it becomes at times, “Strays” is an enjoyable movie, even when the story pushes its limits.

The movie follows four dogs, Reggie (Ferrell), Bug (Foxx), Maggie (Fisher) and Hunter (Park). When Reggie’s owner, Doug (Will Forte), abandons Reggie in an urban area, the small terrier must find his way home with the help of a stray, street-savvy urban dog Bug, Maggie and Hunter.

As Reggie hangs out with the other dogs, he realizes that Doug is not the owner, he thinks, and is out for revenge.

A good thing is “Strays” has a plot and a story worth following. Otherwise, it would just be a bunch of animals, voicing very filthy language, with other crude displays and actions. The movie finds a way to make these animals endearing, even though they are far from angelic.

Grade: B- (You will not be led astray.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”

(Animation/Action: 1 hour, 39 minutes)

Starring: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ice Cube and Jackie Chan

Directors: Jeff Rowe and Kyle Spears

Rated: PG (Sequences of violence and action, language and impolite material)

Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have appeared on movie screens, televisions, in various forms of other media, not to mention multiple toy variations. This animated motion picture rendition is one of the better ones. It is artful brilliance. It contains sensational art with each scene and plenty of action to keep hardcore core fans and others inspired and entertained.

Four teenage mutant turtles become awesome ninja warriors taught by their sensei and father, Splinter (Chan), a giant rat. Leonardo (Cantu), Donatello (Abbey), Raphael (Noon) and Michelangelo (Brown) are the turtles. Their skills are essential when an intelligent mutant called Superfly (Ice Cube) terrorizes New York City.

This is one of the better reinventions of the four brothers. The story moves along without getting bogged down in the characters’ history. Instead, the movie moves forward with a good narrative.

Additionally, the movie contains plenty of eye candy and a big cast that vocalizes their animated characters well.

The scenes appear like art ready to be installed in galleries. This neat visual appeal is striking and as engaging as the action presented. Combined with a good cast, the visuals are perfect.

Jackie Chan, Ice Cube and Seth Rogen are just a few of a large cast that charms. The voices are not always recognizable, but even when they are, the actors make the best of the words. Ice Cube is especially gratifying as Superfly.

The writers want to keep the story focused and they do. However, the story rushes some moments, as if producers and writers wanted to get to the good stuff fast.

Still, the action, the vocal talents of a good cast and the stylish animation make this enjoyable. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is a reason to go green times four.

Grade: B (A good mayhem.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (Horror: 1 hour, 58 minutes)

Starring: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian

Director: André Øvredal

Rated: R (Bloody violence)

Movie Review: Based on the Captain’s Log from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel “Dracula,” this inviting new take on Dracula takes place at sea. It is interesting but its execution is poor. Too late to express bon voyage now, the ship has sailed.

The Demeter set sails from Carpathia to London. The ship has a small crew under the command of Capt. Elliot (Cunningham). The crew must survive the voyage while the vampire Dracula (Javier Botet) stalks them at night.

A horror movie on board a vessel in the past is an attractive endeavor.

André Øvredal (“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” 2019) helms this horror movie. He describes this movie as basically “Alien” (1979) on a ship in 1897. The director’s comparison is adequate, except in space one has nowhere to run if something dangerous is aboard a vessel; on a naval ship, the crew can at least escape to the water.

Too bad, the writers do not consider this when writing this story. Characters’ unintelligence is one thing. When writers intentionally create seemingly intelligent characters who appear dumbfounded and cannot remedy a situation in a meaningful manner, the screenplay suffers.

When told what they are facing by the ship’s only female passenger and after witnessing what happens to the monster’s victims when exposed to sunlight, the men fail to act during daylight hours. They instead decide to fight a being of the dark at night.

The writers take an otherwise good story and ruin it by not thinking of a clever scheme for characters to exit their situation. These writers and other moviemakers of this voyage focus on horror elements rather than a better-rationalized way to have The Demeter arrive derelict at its intended destination.

On the other hand, the ship is wrecked, so no sequels.

Grade: C+ (It was good until it sank.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Mob Land”

(Crime: 1 hour, 51 minutes)

Starring: Shiloh Fernandez, John Travolta, Kevin Dillon, Stephen Dorff Clayton Minor

Director: Nicholas Maggio

Rated: R (Violence, drug content and profanity)

Movie Review: “Mob Land” attempts to be a modern-day, small-town Western set in the southern United States. Its major problem is its main character, played by John Travolta. He tries too hard to be Southern. Shiloh Fernandez on the other hand does his best, playing his part with zeal.

Sheriff Bodie Davis (Travolta) must piece together one crime after another after his relatives, Shelby Conners (Fernandez), a desperate family man, and Shelby’s brother-in-law Trey (Dillon) rob a pill mill that belongs to a New Orleans mafia. Enter mob enforcer Clayton Minor (Dorff), his job is to find who stole the money. He complicates the lives of the three men as he kills those connected to the robbery.

“Mob Land” is watchable even when it comes across as unoriginal a composite of characters from better mobster flicks. The most annoying is the Travolta impersonation of a Southerner. His accent wavers and his use of Southern colloquialisms do not fit an Italian American born in New Jersey.

Cliched material taints Nicholas Maggio’s directorial debut. “Mob Land” is gritty at times and gratifying occasionally but it never reaches a sound realism.

Grade: C (Land for sale.)

“Jules”

(Comedy/Science-Fiction: 1 hour, minutes)

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin and Zoe Winters

Director: Marc Turtletaub

Rated: PG-13 (Strong language)

Movie Review: “Jules” is an amiable science-fiction comedy. It is about aging and aliens. Think of it as a modern-day mix of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and “Cocoon” (1985).

It stars Ben Kingsley as the curmudgeon Milton. He lives in a Pennsylvania town and suffers from dementia. His life is very routine. He attends city council meetings and constantly tells them the same items they need to take up as a governing board.

His life changes when an alien spacecraft crashes in his backyard. No one believes him until neighbors (Harris and Curtin) see an extraterrestrial that the group names Jules (Winters) sitting on Milton’s couch watching television. Together, they act as Jules’ guardians until the being can repair its ship.

Kingsley, Harris and Curtin are dynamic here. The characters are in their golden years but still find reasons to be resourceful to their community. Kingsley is a hoot to watch and Harris is a gem. Curtin has her moment to sing and let fly comical one-liners that resonate. Winters relays much with little words.

The movie is just short and sweet enough to allow them adequate time to expand their characters in a way that is meaningful even though the relationship with the alien seems one-sided because the alien cannot speak.

Directed by Marc Turtletaub, the producer of good movies such as “The Farewell,” (2019), “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) and “Loving” (2016) and ably written by Gavin Steckler (revision series “Review,” 2014-17), they and the cast create a friendship movie worth seeing.

Grade: B (Meet Jules when you can.)

“Back on the Strip” (Comedy: 1 hour, 57 minutes)

Starring: Spence Moore II, Wesley Snipes, Tiffany Haddish

Director: Chris Spencer

Rated: R (Sexual material, strong language, violence and drug use.)

Movie Review: “Back on the Strip” has a double entendre. Much of the movie takes place on the Las Vegas Strip and the movie is about strippers. The movie has its moments as a comedy but dips into the commonplace. Filthy repetitive quips become less funny with each reuse.

Merlin (Moore) moves to Las Vegas to pursue work as a magician. After his attempts at magic fail, he reluctantly takes a gig as the lead for a revival of The Chocolate Chips, a Black male exotic dancing crew led by the retired Luther “Mr. Big” (Snipes). Desmond “Da Body” Day (Faizon Love), Pastor Amos “Slim Sexy” Fowler (J.B. Smoove), Xander “Dr. X” (Gary Owen), Tyriq “Da Face” Coxare (Bill Bellamy) are older men now, but they still have moves, including one to reunite Merlin with the woman he has loved since childhood.

One of the beginning scenes features Kevin Hart, the comedian is merely playing himself at what appears a teenager’s birthday party. Kevin Hart is loud and obnoxious, a routine the comedian plays far too often in movies. The scene goes on too long and it is one of the worst scenes in this comedy.

Hart is not the only one who flubs his scene. Several other actors in this movie are merely playing themselves or a part they play too often in movies.

However, Spence Moore plays a character that is worthy of his handsome appearance. He has Hollywood star appeal, making him the perfect person to play a magician trying to find his way up the ladder to fame while performing as an exotic dancer. Moore (“Superman & Lois,” 2023; “All American,” 2018-22) is the grounded character who works but only he can do that when the script needs improvement.

The movie does have one good concept and that is a group of men playing aging strippers, who decide to return to the stage after being away for some time. That is the part where the movie should have kept its focus. Instead, it is a trite relationship drama with ready-made reality stars that make this movie less tangible.

Grade: C (The Strip never gets to a point to “bare” the goods.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar has been reviewing movies for more than 25 years for The Valdosta Daily Times.

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