Film: Hobbs & Shaw

GENRE: Action

RATING: PG-13 for violence and some strong language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 17 minutes

STARRING: Dwayne Johnson (Jumanji 2, Skyscraper, Fast Five)

Jason Statham (Crank, Spy), Idris Elba (Star Trek Beyond, Furious 7)

DIRECTOR: David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2)

WRITERS: Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious 3-8), Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3)

PLOT: Hobbs & Shaw reluctantly team up to help Shaw’s sister and keep a virus out of a cyber-enhanced villain’s hands.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve only seen the first Fast and Furious

STORY STUFF: I did not follow (or care much about) the motivations of the bad guy and what they were trying to achieve. Also, not sure if I needed to know more about the backstory between Shaw and the villain. Either way, the story went on a bit long and could have been tighter.  

ACTING STUFF: The chemistry between Johnson and Statham is fun. You can tell that they are having fun insulting each other and fighting together. There’s a cameo on the plane that’s kind of entertaining. I really enjoyed Ryan Reynolds as Locke. He has fantastic line delivery every time. So funny.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Enjoyable action sequences. Having been to London recently, it’s fun to watch them race around the city. The editing at the end is confusing. First it’s before dawn and dark so the fire looks cool, the sun comes up quickly, but then it’s dark, then it’s sunshine-y as they drive, then a rain storm comes out of nowhere for them to fight in. Also, I found their transformable motorcycles convenient. How does the bike know when and how to twist?  

VERDICT: Two stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like the Fast & Furious serious I guess.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Fall TV Preview, Fall Film Preview

Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for language, graphic violence, drug use
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 58 minutes

STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revenant, Titanic, Django Unchained)

Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street)

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Hateful Eight, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill)

WRITER: Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Jackie Brown)

PLOT: A has-been TV actor and his stunt double/driver adjust as old Hollywood changes against the backdrop of the Sharon Tate murder.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m a big Tarantino fan.

STORY STUFF: Not my favourite Tarantino film. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic scenes with crackling dialogue, interesting camera angles, drawn out suspense, quirky flashbacks and killer song choices. Tarantino’s previous films have more gripping storylines where this one was more slice of life. Overall, the story did not captivate me, which is a shame. Also, the Sharon Tate storyline almost seems unnecessary. I would recommend reading a bit about the Sharon Tate murder before seeing this film to gain a better appreciation of what Tarantino does with it.

ACTING STUFF: Pitt and DiCaprio are stellar; they know how to nail Tarantino’s words and they create such vivid characters that are fun to follow. Everyone brings their ‘A’ game. I found Al Pacino (Godfather) an odd choice, it looked better suited for Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) but he still did well.

ARTISTIC STUFF: It has all the Tarantino touches that I love. The visuals, the props, the soundtrack, production design, the costumes. All of it almost makes me forget what’s lacking in the story.   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You enjoy Tarantino films with a little less violence

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Hobbs & Shaw

Film: The Lion King

GENRE: CG Animated Adventure Drama

RATING: PG for violence and thematic elements
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 58 minutes

STARRING: Donald Glover (Solo, Community, Atlanta, The Martian)

Beyonce (Goldmember, Dreamgirls), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up)

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau (Jungle Book, Iron Man, Elf)

WRITER: Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2, Catch Me If You Can)

PLOT: Young lion avoids responsibility after accidentally causing the death of his father.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Love the original.

STORY STUFF: It’s basically the original story with a few tweaks, so if you liked the 1994 version, you’ll be fine with it. There’s a little more story for Beyonce’s Nala this time around. The big question I have is “was this version necessary”. I’m not so sure.

ACTING STUFF: Good casting all around. Also loved hearing James Earl Jones (Star Wars) voice Mufasa again. The hyenas weren’t as goofy as the original which I missed. I thought Rogen matched the character of Pumbaa but the dude was struggling with the singing. Billy Eichner however was rocking the singing as Timon.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: Some beautiful visuals and realistic looking animals. The big thing missing though is the animated expressions from the original. These CG animals aren’t showing the facial expressions that add to the story. I feel bad for the original animators.  

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want to hear new voices for beloved characters

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Film: Spider-Man: Far From Home

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for action violence, some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 9 minutes

STARRING: Tom Holland (Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, Nightcrawler), Zendaya (Greatest Showman)

DIRECTOR: Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cop Car)

WRITERS: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Homecoming, Jumanj 2)

PLOT: Peter Parker doesn’t want to save the world; he just wants to get close to MJ on the school Europe trip.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Tried to keep expectations low.

STORY STUFF: After a good first half, this sequel gets pretty awesome. I don’t want to spoil things though. Let me just say that the trailer does not do the film justice. I had some added enjoyment having been to London recently and been to Venice before. Solid action, solid acting, solid jokes. For my wife's sake, I enjoyed their comments on perfume allergies and large crowds. Also, the Netherlands are well represented. 

ACTING STUFF: Holland is fantastic. He’s hands down the best Peter Parker (sorry Tobey). Zendaya plays the awkwardness and strength of MJ perfectly. I felt she outshone Jacob Batalon’s Ned this time around. Gyllenhaal does a great job; better than I thought he’d be. Martin Starr (Silicon Valley) and JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) are far too inept to be chaperons on this ‘science’ trip. Also, some awesome cameos.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The visual effects are awesome, especially at the midpoint of the film. Also great use of European locales I thought the music wasn’t as good this time around, but that’s a minor point.

VERDICT: Five stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Spider-Man and a good time at the movies.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Lion King; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Film: Yesterday

GENRE: Comedy, Fantasy

RATING: PG-13 for language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 56 minutes

STARRING: Himesh Patel (EastEnders - British TV series)

Lily James (Baby Driver, Cinderella), Joel Fry (Game of Thrones)

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionare, 127 Hours)

WRITER: Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral)

PLOT: A struggling musician miraculously becomes the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles and uses it to his advantage.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Love the premise. Love The Beatles.

STORY STUFF: I love a good ‘what if’ film. Films like Big, Liar Liar and Truman Show always make you think while having a good time at the theatre. This film is no exception. How would I handle it if I was in this situation? I love some of the twists and turns Curtis employs. While some might not like the resolution, I have no problem with it. My one issue is how moronic Jack is by not recognizing the amazingness of Ellie right from the start. She’s a ray of sunshine that cannot be ignored. I also took some offense to a line the implied that a school teacher does not have time to engage in outside creative endeavors. I beg to differ.

ACTING STUFF: Patel plays the struggling musician well with his charm and internal conflict. Again, he is also moronically blind. Like I said, James is a ray of sunshine. Fry is bumbling fun as a sidekick. Kate McKinnon (SNL) goes big but that is to be expected. Ed Sheeran has fun with his persona (that ringtone – so tacky). Alexander Arnold plays a small role but his performance reminded me of a mix between Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) and Stephen Merchant (Extras). Fun stuff.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Great use of music. (Thanks Beatles.) Liked the editing with the jumps to the Google search. Some of the camera angles did not work for me. A dutch tilt is used early in the film and it looked awkward, and not in a good way.

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like The Beatles and a good premise (and rom-coms)

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Spiderman: Far from Home

Film: Toy Story 4

GENRE: Animated Adventure

RATING: G for action sequences
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 40 minutes

STARRING: Tom Hanks (Toy Story, Forrest Gump, Big, Cast Away)

Annie Potts (Toy Story, Ghostbusters), Tony Hale (Veep)

DIRECTOR: Josh Cooley (newcomer)

WRITERS: Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall-E)

Stephany Folsom (TV-Star Wars Resistance)

PLOT: Woody tries to help Bonnie by saving Forky and realizes that there may be a different future for some toys.    

FULL DISCLOSURE: Was a bit skeptical about this fourth one.

STORY STUFF: Not the strongest story of the franchise but definitely had a plenty of awesome moments. There are some laugh-out loud moments, fun action sequences, a couple creepy scenes and a few heart-tugging lines. My major issue with the story was that the toys would go through all this work to, let’s say rescue someone, only to have them not want to be rescued. This happens multiple times. Regardless, the good outweighs the bad though.

ACTING STUFF: Hanks still brings the awesome as Woody. The whole original cast for that matter does a bang up job. Loved Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) as the plushy Ducky and Bunny with their ‘imaginative’ plans. Also loved Keanu Reeves (John Wick) as Canadian stuntman Duke Caboom. Such fun new characters. Hale’s Forky is too one note at the beginning but once he realizes his purpose grows on you with some very funny lines.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The animation is impeccable. There is this is puddle shot in the opening that was amazing. It’s short but impressed me. I was shocked and saddened that there was no Pixar short before the film. I love those mini films.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Toy Story (and if you don’t – what’s wrong with you?)

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Yesterday

Film: Aladdin

GENRE: Adventure, Musical

RATING: PG for action sequences
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 8 minutes

STARRING: Will Smith (Fresh Prince, MiB, Bad Boys, I Robot)

Mena Massoud (Jack Ryan), Naomi Scott (Power Rangers)

DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, Man from UNCLE)

WRITERS: John August (Charlie’s Angels, Charlie & Chocolate Factory) 
Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch)

PLOT: A commoner gets a magic lamp and uses its genie to help woo the princess but an evil grand vizier also wants the genie’s powers.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: I loved the original Disney cartoon.

STORY STUFF: Ritchie and August do a pretty good job of sticking to the Disney story while adding a few embellishments. The addition of Nasim Pedrad (SNL, New Girl) as Dalia added some fun to Jasmine’s storyline. I also liked the minor backstory add-on for Jafar. The extra loyalty of Hakim didn’t seem needed though. If you like the Disney cartoon, you’ll probably be okay with this live version.

ACTING STUFF: Will Smith is no Robin Williams. He had some mighty big shoes to fill but I was glad that he made the genie his own. Just imagine less impersonations and more rap bravado. I also had no problem with him being blue. Aladdin and Jasmine are well cast. They sing well and are lovely together. Again, Pedrad is a fun addition. I’m also glad they made the sultan less of an imbecile this time around. I did miss Gilbert Gottfried as Iago (Sorry, Alan Tudyk – I usually like you but not as much this time) but glad they kept voice artist Frank Welker as the Cave of Wonders.

ARTISTIC STUFF: I was incredibly worried when I saw this version of ‘One Jump’ (a song I really enjoy from the cartoon version). Ritchie did some weird editing by speeding and slowing down sequences that felt disjointed. Luckily everything was back on track with the next song, ‘Friend Like Me’. The songs are performed well and I enjoyed Jasmine’s number, ‘Speechless’ written by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, the geniuses behind The Greatest Showman, La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen. The visuals are impressive, especially the costumes and sets. Of course, some of the CG is a bit much at times.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like live versions of cartoons like The Jungle Book.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Yesterday

Film: John Wick Chapter 3 - Parabellum

GENRE: Action

RATING: R for strong violence and some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 11 minutes

STARRING: Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Speed, Point Break)

Halle Berry (Die Another Day), Ian McShane (Deadwood)

DIRECTOR: Chad Stahelski (John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2)

WRITERS: Derek Kolstad (John Wick), Marc Abrams (Bernie Mac Show),

Chris Collins (The Wire, Sons of Anarchy), Shay Hatten (newcomer)

PLOT: John Wick is on the run with a every assassin trying to kill him to get their $14 million reward.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I expected a kick-ass conclusion to the franchise.  

STORY STUFF: Lots of fast paced action sequences mixed with slower exposition about the assassin organization rules. Some great action set pieces (like the library and the bizarre storage space with knives and chandeliers) but I’m wondering why it took four people to write this. Unfortunately, the fights start to get repetitive as the movie goes on.

ACTING STUFF: Reeves plays Wick with amazing precision as he kicks ass and shows the pain. Berry is a welcome addition and looks like she’s having a lot of fun. I also really liked Mark Dacascos (Hawaii 5-0) as Wick’s main nemesis who also happens to be a fan-boy. Asia Kate Dillon (Billions) is perfectly calm as The Adjudicator which plays nicely against the smarmy McShane. I was glad to see Lance Reddick (The Wire) get more screentime but wished Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) got more lines. Overall a fun cast.

ARTISTIC STUFF: It’s mind boggling to imagine just how much time must have gone into choreographing those fight sequences. They are pretty spectacular. I was also super impressed with the lighting; always a nice contrast of colours that make each space come alive. Beautiful cinematography at times.

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You’ve seen the first two and want more kicks and gunshots.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Aladdin

Film: Long Shot

GENRE: Rom-Com

RATING: R for sexual content, language and drug use
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 5 minute

STARRING: Charlize Theron (Tully, Young Adult, Atomic Blonde)

Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), June Diane Raphael (Disaster Artist)

DIRECTOR: Jonathan Levine (50/50, Snatched, Warm Bodies)

WRITERS: Dan Sterling (The Interview) & Liz Hannah (The Post)

PLOT: An unlikely romance between a female secretary of state running for president and a shlubby journalist who she used to babysit.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: My expectations were not that high.  

STORY STUFF: The premise worked surprisingly well for me as I got on board pretty quickly. There are a lot of laughs throughout and some very touching moments. With the gong show of politics these days, this situation is surprisingly believable. The two hours go by pretty fast.

ACTING STUFF: Rogen is his funny but charming self. I’m glad he wasn’t made into an idiot but had strong beliefs and played up the nervousness. Theron shocked me with how relaxed she seemed in this genre. She played both extremes very well. O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) also does a great job as Rogen’s loyal friend. Unfortunately, some of the supporting cast needed grounding. Andy Serkis (LOTR) goes too cartoonish as a big bad media tycoon. The two administrative assistants are also not anything to write home about.

ARTISTIC STUFF: I love the 90’s nostalgia thrown into this film. Boyz II Men and Roxette feature heavily and I love every minute of it. During a climactic running to meet each other scene, they should have used another 90’s song instead of jumping further back to 1963’s “Then He Kissed Me”. Also, while it was definitely intentional and funny, Rogen’s wardrobe was hideous and made my eyes hurt.   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You enjoy the Seth Rogen’s less raunchy stuff and rom-coms.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: John Wick 3; Aladdin

Film: Avengers Endgame

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for violence and some language
RUNTIME: 3 hours and 1 minute

STARRING: Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, Chaplin)

Chris Evans (Captain America, Snowpiercer), Chris Hemsworth (Thor)

DIRECTORS: Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain Americas, Infinity War)

WRITERS: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Captain Americas)

PLOT: The Avengers avenge the fallen Avengers.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’d been looking forward to this since Infinity War.   

STORY STUFF: The three hours fly by (like Lord of the Rings). There’s a lot of story and a lot of characters to cover, but the directors, writers and Marvel are pros. The story seemed to be divided into three one-hour long acts, each with its own bells and whistles and emotional gut-punches. That’s all I’ll say to keep from spoilers.

ACTING STUFF: Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans give powerhouse performances as the backbone to the film and the series in general. It’s fun to see them have fun in their roles, inspire others with impassioned speeches and make us all cry with emotional moments galore. (The Russos have a soft spot for Captain America in particular, since it’s ‘their’ franchise.) Don’t get me wrong, the others are also on the top of their game. Kudos all around.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Special effects are awesome as usual. The music affected me more this time around. The blending of all these superhero theme songs are impressive and makes my heart full. I was also impressed with the way they honor the original Avengers in the end credits. So classy (reminding me of the Stan Lee intro for Captain Marvel). Brought a tear to my eye.  

VERDICT: Five stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You don’t want to miss out on what everyone’s talking about.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Long Shot

Film: Shazam!

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and suggestive material
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 12 minutes

STARRING: Zachary Levi (Chuck, Thor, Tangled, Heroes: Reborn)

Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Kingsman), Jack Dylan Grazer (It)

DIRECTOR: David F Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation)

WRITER: Henry Gayden (newcomer)

PLOT: A foster kid becomes a grown-up superhero by shouting ‘Shazam’

FULL DISCLOSURE: The trailer looked good and I loved Chuck.   

STORY STUFF: This was pretty fun. An entertaining cross between Big and Greatest American Hero. The discovery of powers and foster family relationships worked for me. Was okay with the main villain but the supernatural deadly sin beasts pulled me out of the movie. Luckily there is a lot of humour to counteract that. Over the last day or two I think they changed the movie rating from PG to PG-13. There is some excessive violence from the beasts and there are also a few references to a strip club that don’t sound very PG. Glad it’s been upgraded.

ACTING STUFF: Kudos to the casting department. Levi is fantastic as Shazam. He plays it perfectly – he’s such a kid at heart. I also loved the kid actors. Grazer is perfect as the ‘mentor’ for Billy Batson and his new found powers (also perfect adult version casting as well – reminds me of the exceptional casting look-alikes in This Is Us). Faithe Herman (This is Us) is simply adorable as the ‘best sister’ and almost stole the show. Strong plays a good villain and John Glover (Smallville) always shines as the worst father ever. Well done all around.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The action stuff is pretty good, but like I said, not a fan of the CG deadly sin beasts. I think this movie depends more on the actors and story than the bells and whistles and that’s a good thing.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like the fun of Big mixed in with your superhero film.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Avengers: End Game

Film: Dumbo

GENRE: Family

RATING: PG for thematic elements and mild language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 52 minutes

STARRING: Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, Minority Report, In Bruges)

Danny DeVito (Batman Returns), Michael Keaton (Batman, Birdman)

DIRECTOR: Tim Burton (Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands)

WRITER: Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, The Ring, some Transformers)

PLOT: A baby elephant with large ears is seen as a freak until he can fly.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Only Tim Burton compelled me to watch this film.  

STORY STUFF: When I think back to the animated film, there was not much to that story. Burton expands it with Farrell as a veteran and Keaton as a rival circus owner wanting Dumbo for himself but it still didn’t draw me in. I really only cared what happened to Dumbo. Burton also fills his cast with interesting circus folk but they are pretty one-dimensional. They also suddenly love Dumbo but we are not shown why.

ACTING STUFF: Farrell does an admirable job in this film; he fits the role nicely. Keaton and DeVito chew the scenery but that was to be expected. I did not like Nico Parker who plays Farrell’s daughter and biggest Dumbo supporter. She got on my nerves a lot with her self-righteous tone. I also think Eva Green was miscast as Colette, the trapeze artist (and love interest?). I just find her creepy. She better at playing villains.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Dumbo is adorable. He’s the reason to watch the film. Lots of ‘aww’s throughout. Of course, the Burton-esque production design is also fantastic. I also appreciated that the animals didn’t talk and we didn’t have those racist crows. Smart choice.  

VERDICT: Two and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like cute elephants

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Shazam!

Film: Captain Marvel

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 4 minutes

STARRING: Brie Larson (Room, The Glass Castle, Kong: Skull Island)

Samuel L Jackson (The Avengers), Ben Mendelsohn (Star War 7 & 8)

DIRECTORS: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (It’s Kind of a Funny Story)

WRITERS: Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider 2018 version)

Boden & Fleck (Half Nelson)

PLOT: Carol Danvers recalls a past life when she is caught between a war between two alien races.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Knew nothing about this superhero.  

STORY STUFF: I had a hard time getting invested with the first twenty minutes of the movie as it dealt with the alien war. Once it lands on earth, the story is a lot of fun and full of action and humour. The fact that it takes place in the nineties is a bonus.

ACTING STUFF: Larson is awesome, she is engaging at all times. You can tell that Jackson is having a lot of fun playing a younger version of himself; that fun is contagious. Also enjoyed the work of Mendelsohn. I found Jude Law and Annette Benning pretty boring. I don’t think they needed big names for those roles. I’m not really a cat person but I loved Goose.

ARTISTIC STUFF: There are great special effects throughout but the highlight for me was the nineties nostalgia. Great to see Blockbuster again (I used to work there) and the soundtrack made me smile. Also, the Marvel logo intro was classy and almost choked me up a little.

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You are a Marvel or a nineties fan.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Dumbo, Shazam!

Film: Lego Movie 2 - The Second Part

GENRE: Animated Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for mild action and rude humour
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 47 minutes

STARRING: Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World)

Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip)

DIRECTOR: Mike Mitchell (Trolls, Shrek Forever After)

WRITERS: Phil Lord (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse)
Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

PLOT: Emmet tries to save the world from Duplo invaders.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Loved the first one.  

STORY STUFF: Not quite as good as the first film. While there are a lot of fun laughs throughout, the story didn’t grab me as much. Not a fan of new character Rex Dangervest for some reason. While the first one had the fun twist of live action, the second uses it too liberally and is too obvious at times. I did enjoy the new songs though.

ACTING STUFF: Pratt still shines as the optimistic Emmet. All the returning characters have their moment. Enjoyed Haddish as the Duplo queen. The movie is very well cast.    

ARTISTIC STUFF: It has the same gonzo energy as the first film. I appreciated its consistency. Again, I enjoyed the songs; especially the Lonely Island rap during the ending credits.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You liked the first one and want more.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Captain Marvel