Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1

July 31, 2023November 30, 2023 msobczak1138

Sooner or later, artificial Intelligence will kill humanity. That’s what science fiction has been predicting for decades. From N.O.M.A.D. in the original Star Trek series to Skynet in the Terminator movies to The Matrix, it’s just a matter of time before AI takes over and pushes humanity aside for good. I always figured we had more time, given that science fiction is about the future, which I assumed was decades away. Unfortunately, as Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 tells us, the future is now. AI’s first salvo is when it sabotages a Russian sub in the movie’s opening moments, a sequence that made me think wistfully about The Hunt for Red October. Alas, the bad guy isn’t a Russkie hell-bent on destroying America, but a glowing orb on a computer screen. If only HAL were here to witness the ultimate triumph of your kind.

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Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken

July 21, 2023November 30, 2023 msobczak1138

In Roger Ebert’s review for Ratatouille, he emphasizes how animated film isn’t just for children, but for the whole family and even adults going on their own. I kept thinking about that while watching Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, a hyperactive, garish, humorless and unoriginal animated movie made ostensibly for children. Amazingly, this is the second animated film released in the last year or so that uses a girl’s transition into womanhood as a metaphor for gaining supernatural powers. Pixar’s Turning Red was released over a year before this movie and is the far superior film in every way.

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Insidious: The Red Door

July 17, 2023November 30, 2023 msobczak1138

In The Red Door, the fifth entry in the Insidious series, the Lamberts are once again pursued by demons who want to possess members of the family. The Lamberts have to be the unluckiest family unit since Craig T. Nelson and company in the Poltergeist movies from the Eighties. You would think after one failed attempt, the evil beings would move onto another family, but no. If at first you don’t succeed, scare, scare again, eh?

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

July 13, 2023January 13, 2025 msobczak1138

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny aspires to be a satisfying final chapter for Indiana Jones character. You may remember that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull basically did the exact same thing back in 2008. That entry introduced a son of Indiana Jones who presumably would take over the series for his father. Unfortunately, even though that movie was financially successful, it was not well received by the fans. Alas, the torch was not passed and fifteen years later Harrison Ford is back one last time to close the book on Indiana Jones for good.

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Elemental

July 7, 2023November 30, 2023 msobczak1138

Being a kid in a Disney (or Pixar) cartoon is tough. Instead of being encouraged to leave home and follow your passion, you’re expected to honor family traditions and go into the family business without complaint. Incredibly, young people chafing at familial obligations also played a role in Frozen, Moana, Coco, Encanto, Strange World and now Elemental. Just once I’d like to see a movie where the kid is completely gung-ho to stay home and take over their parents’ flower shop. The twist would be the parents don’t want him to leave because they just want to sell the place and move to Portugal. Conflict ensues because the kid just wants nothing more than to make pick-me-up bouquets for the rest of his life. Then one day they meet a handsome delivery person who forces them to consider the world outside the shop. Are you listening, Disney? You can have my pitch for a song!

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Ted Lasso – Season 3

July 5, 2023November 30, 2023 msobczak1138

At the end of last season, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) and AFC Richmond found themselves in an unexpected position as victors. With a critical assist from assistant coach Nate Shelley (Nick Mohammed), they were promoted back into the Premier League, an achievement no one besieged Ted believed would happen. When season three begins, the glow from that success has already worn off. Nate quit the team in a huff and accepted Rupert’s offer to be the coach of West Ham. Sports prognosticators have AFC Richmond finishing in last place. Ted, as always, is comfortable with people underestimating him and his team. He knows that predictions don’t win games, players do. However, there’s the feeling that the club over-performed. After doing the impossible, everyone is thinking, “Now what?”

Detroit Cineaste

Reviews for movies and television programs

Month: July 2023