‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Film Review

Grade: A

“Supercalifragilistexpialidocious”, “Practically perfect in every way”, “Wonderful”. All these words could be used to describe the character of Mary Poppins as well as her feature debut back in 1964 (She used to be a character in P. L. Travers’ series of books). Her return in this sequel is just as glorious and spectacular. Though, this time, Emily Blunt dons the uniform that Julie Andrews wore, as well as that chipper English delivery she won the Academy Award for. While time will tell if ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ gets nominated for a majority of Oscars, as far as I am concerned, I enjoyed this movie and will call it “delightful”.

‘A Quiet Place’ Film Review

Grade: A

When making ‘A Quiet Place’, I am sure that director (and star) John Krasinski thought of the phrase “Silence is golden”; almost every moment in this post-apocalyptic horror flick is free of dialogue. Instead, we are treated to a movie that speaks almost entirely in sign language. It was quite a skill for this small cast to learn, especially since teenage star-in-the-making Millicent Simmonds (who plays Krasinski’s and real-life wife Emily Blunt’s teenage daughter in the film) is actually deaf. Whatever it took, I bet that the making of ‘A Quiet Place’ was worth it in the end. Not only is it one of the most intense horror films I have seen in recent years, but also one of the more original entries in the genre.

‘Sherlock Gnomes’ Film Review

Grade: C

There really is not that much to say about ‘Sherlock Gnomes’, except that its animation, when compared to its predecessor ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’, is a breath of fresh air. That is saying something for an animated feature that could be passed off as something that feels more like a Direct-To-DVD movie than something meant for theaters. I did not hate ‘Sherlock Gnomes’, but I cannot stamp it off as great either. It is what it is.

‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ Film Review

Grade: D+

I may not be a huge Brony (Male fan of ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’, in case you were out of the loop) enough to have seen every episode of the popular sensation, created by Lauren Faust, and based on the toy line by Hasbro; but from what I have seen, there was no reason for ‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ to exist other than to provide fan service. I am not saying this is a terrible follow-up, it just seems slow for an hour-and-a-half children’s movie; and despite its shoehorned musical numbers being toe-tappingly fun, the forced comedy barely helps; I barely heard any laughs from the few children in the audience. I cannot say I did not chuckle at a couple of its lines; ‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ has its cutesy elements that made ‘Friendship is Magic’ entertaining.

‘The Girl on the Train’ Film Review

Grade: C+

Emily Blunt is a very charming and eloquent actress with films like ‘Into the Woods’ in her filmography, but in this movie ‘The Girl on the Train’, based on the book by Paula Hawkins, she plays someone who is obsessed with the people who kind of happen to be a part of her life; I mean that in a Robin Williams as Seymour Parrish from ‘One Hour Photo’ kind of way. Her performance as an alcoholic stalker, who spends her money on train rides from her city to New York (much to her roommate played by Laura Prepon of ‘That 70’s Show’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’s chagrin) in order to see what’s going on around her personal ex-married life, is one that should definitely be remembered during Oscar season.