Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Today, I finished off watching “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which came out in April, but I saw it on HBO Max while exercising. Now I will let everyone know what I thought of this sequel.

It’s hard to believe this is the third installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” series and none of them have given us anything remotely memorable. AMovieGuy said in his review, “They exist, all of them directed by David Yates, with an all-star cast of actors, set as prequels to the saga of Harry Potter and I have yet to remember anything about them. This installment- The Secrets of Dumbledore– might be the best of the three, which is not saying much, especially since I found this one to be the most disappointing yet.” There may not have been a lot of anticipation from the first three films, but “The Secrets of Dumbledore” wastes all of its potential, on a boring story about an election for the new Minister of Magic, giving a movie that is anything but “Fantastic.”

The plot of this one start where the second one, “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” had left off, only this time Gellert Grindelwald has been recast from Johnny Depp with Mads Mikkelsen. The evil wizard is the longtime friend and once lover of Dumbledore, played by Jude Law with a great beard and a little seriousness, but now the two have grown apart, what with Grindelwald wanting to start a war with muggles, seeing them as the enemy. Now it’s up to Dumbledore’s assembled team, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), his brother Theseus (Callum Turner), Lally Hicks (former correspondent on “The Daily Show,” Jessica Williams), and returning muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) to stop Grindelwald and his team of evil wizards before he rigs the election to become Minister of Magic. There’s a little magic along the way, a pitstop at Hogwarts in the early stages as a school, a mythical creature called a Quilin (I guess you can describe this as a baby Pegasus), and a few want battles. You would think all of that and two-hours and twenty-two minutes would give us more, but sadly.

One thing we can see the Fantastic Beasts movies have had more than a fair share of disagreements that don’t help. AMovieGuy noted, “Writer J.K. Rowling has shown her bigotry to members of the Transgender community, Johnny Depp was removed after one day of shooting (he still gets paid his 16-million for his contract), and just this past week Ezra Miller was arrested.” Even if these didn’t happen, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” still fails to be an adventure. The screenplay, co-written by Rowling and Steve Kloves, collides too much. There are so many subplots, none of them getting any true attention, one with Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth (Richard Coyle) and his long-lost bitter son Credence (Ezra Miller) willing to do anything Grindelwald orders. There’s Jacob wanting to be with his girlfriend Quennie, played by Alison Sudol. Then there is the fight to stop Grindelwald enlisting in the election, only for the outgoing minister to say “even people who murder muggles deserve a chance to be voted on by the people.” Everything is completely strange and none of it builds up to anything worthy of the runtime.

There is one actual entertaining scene, where News must rescue his brother from a prison, which includes a herd of baby lobsters and a giant scorpion that eats a prisoner as soon as their time is up. AMovieGuy said, “The set piece reminded me of the Shelob spider scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but even with those memories at hand, it’s still routinely interrupted, where Yates feels the necessity to go back to other matters of Grindelwald.” It’s that consistent problem of the direction and actual flow of the story that makes “The Secrets of Dumbledore” to fail at every moment.

I agree with AMovieGuy when he said, “It’s not that The Secrets of Dumbledore is the worst movie one could see this year, but for a large scale production, and a collected cast this charming, it’s the biggest nothing burger I’ve ever digested.” Katherine Waterston only reprises her character as a cameo, which may have been a smart choice on her end. Jude Law plays an elegant younger Dumbledore but is never focused on enough. Maybe the biggest crime for this crew is that they made Mads Mikkelsen feel like he didn’t want to be in this. The great actor looks like a villain and barely breaks a sweat in his performance. I’m really surprised that a franchise with only three films, with so many successful films, to each have little to no impact. Maybe that’s the greatest magic spell they put on. AMovieGuy ended his review by saying, “With a wave of the wand, I hope this is the end of Fantastic Beasts. I guess I should say, Expelliarmus!”

I’m sorry to say guys, but this one did nothing for me. This one felt like a romantic flick as opposed to a movie where I wanted to see more magical creatures and spells. However, I didn’t really get all of that, and I would not give this a recommendation. I think this one is just average, and if you want to see it and you have an HBO Max, see it if you want. If you end up liking it, great, but I don’t see myself going back to this one.

Thank you for joining in on this review. Look out next month to see what I will review next.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Today I saw “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which came out last month, but was released on Disney+ this past week. I will now let everyone know what I thought of this sequel.

The film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Michael Waldron, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Strange travels into the Multiverse to protect America Chaves (Gomez), a young girl capable of traveling the Multiverse, from Wanda Maximoff (Olsen).

Marvel had played with the idea of parallel universes before in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” While that film was a huge nostalgia-blast for Spider-Man fans, this film is in a different area completely. While it doesn’t fall under any genre, it could broadly be described as a horror film. Jerey said in her review, “But this genre-bending film isn’t just limited to horror. It’s a swashbuckling adventure story as well and is a cracking origin movie for America Chavez’s character.” It follows events of “WandaVision” and “No Way Home” and somewhat points at where the upcoming Marvel films are going. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” comes six years after the first film and just months after this magician important involvement in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Jerey said, “In keeping with MCU credo, the film is one of the hyperlinks in a multi-billion multiverse that continues to spawn films and spin-off shows.”

The standalone series “WandaVision” helps explain the transformation of Wanda into an evil version of her alter ego Scarlet Witch. Wanda is after the unattached power of teenager America Chavez, who encounters Doctor Strange first in his dreams and then int eh real world. Jerey noted, “America is a time-space bending traveller across parallel universes – the perfect excuse to trot out several Doctor Stranges for the price of one ticket as well as imagine different outcomes for the same triggering incident.”

Benedict Cumberbatch looks like he was born to play Dr. Strange. He makes us love and hate the character yet again. Jerey credited, “But Elizabeth Olsen steals the whole show by displaying both virtuosity and versatility in her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff. She goes through different shades of character through the course of the film and wins our sympathy.” Xochitl Gomez is a welcome addition as the confused yet difficult America Chavez – a teenager, who possesses the superpower to jump between universes.

Director Sam Raimi returns to the superhero films after “Spider-Man 3.” Raimi is also known for his cult horror “Evil Dead” trilogy. Jerey said, “Imagine the blood, gore and the terror of his horror films married to the colourful and yet deeply moving narrative of his Spider-Man films. If Marvel ever decides to make a film on their Marvel Zombies series of comics, Raimi is the man for them. Michael Waldron’s screenplay is as tidy as a computer screen with many tabs open at the same time. The frequently incoherent plot, which toggles between Wanda’s rampage, America’s transformation and Doctor Strange’s emotional upheaval, is more concerned with fitting into the larger MCU franchise than giving its charismatic hero his own playground. Raimi and his writers ensure the plot is well-paced out and give ample scope for it to be immersed in colourful special effects and elaborate set designs with unparalleled visual finesse.” Danny Elfman’s soundtrack was good to the splendor visuals.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is another different attempt from MCU going into a new genre of horror with the perfect direction for that at the wheel Sam Raimi. Elizabeth Olsen steals the show with her performance. The camera work is amazing. Overall, this is a good film with Sam Raimi’s signature horror elements. Watch it on Disney+ to get the IMAX Enhanced experience.

This is a great sequel. I would say another one of my favorites in the MCU. All the twists and turns this film made and put you at the edge of your seat. If you had seen “WandaVision,” you should see this film than, otherwise you won’t be able to understand everything. Everything that happens was having you think what was going to happen or if that was the right choice to make. If you don’t feel safe going to the theaters, do what I did and see it on Disney+, if you have an account with them.

Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Look out what I will review next month.

The Imitation Game

Craig Mathieson started his review by describing, “Benedict Cumberbatch is to aloof geniuses as John Wayne was to stoic cowboys: numero uno.” Having already given us “Sherlock” on BBC and Australian hacker-turned activist Julian Assange in “The Fifth Estate,” Benedict Cumberbatch is now in “The Imitation Game,” released in 2014, as Alan Turing, the Cambridge mathematician who played a central role in winning World War II and inventing the computer, yet lived in secrecy before committing suicide in 1954 at the age of 41.

Morten Tyldum’s biographical film is a series of interwoven mysteries. The first is whether Turing can solve “the most difficult problem in the world:” breaking the daily code made by Nazi Germany’s Enigma machine (put 18 zeroes after 159 and you have the number of possible solutions). Others include whether he can interpret people he keeps meeting, and navigate his homosexuality.

Taking place in 1951, where a burglary at his Manchester apartment brings a curious police detective, played by Rory Kinnear, into his life, showing how Turing’s orientation led to an opinion (homosexuality was illegal then), which led up to his death. Turing barely acknowledges being gay, and neither does the film. Mathieson noted, “It would have made a fascinating element, if only because Cumberbatch is so convincing as a brilliant, obsessive loner that it would have been fascinating to watch him add desire and physical intimacy to his portrayal.”

Mathieson continued, “That said, the movie makes the cloistered world of Bletchley Park, the country estate where Britain's cryptanalysts worked during WWII, a place of gripping drama.” Turing fights with the building’s no-nonsense naval commander Denniston (Charles Dance) and his suave team leader Hugh (Matthew Goode), and his only supporter in building a machine to crack Enigma is a fellow outsider, a brilliant woman named Joan Clarke (Kiera Knightley) who must act as a secretary.

Mathieson compared, “There are wry exchanges in Turing's social mystification, but you may also be reminded of Jim Parsons' Sheldon from television's The Big Bang Theory.” “The Imitation Game” goes on a fine line in making the familiar effective, also reflecting “A Beautiful Mind” at parts.

Mathieson said, “Tyldum's last (Norwegian) film, 2011's Headhunters, drew black humour from a superiority complex, but here he reaches for the stirring, aided immeasurably by Cumberbatch's exacting performance.” However, he especially doesn’t rest on victory: cracking the code simply means allowing enough Allied soldiers to die so that the enemy doesn’t suspect anything. That’s the tragedy that lights the film: no solution is ever perfectly complete.

This was a film that I didn’t expect to make such a turn the way it did. When everything was revealed, I was in shock, but that was because I never suspected the reveal of Turing’s orientation. I didn’t know anything about him, but this film really educated me on his life. However, this is still a good movie that I think everyone should check out. See it on Netflix because it is currently streaming on there. You will love it, I promise.

Alright, we have reached the end of “Pride Month.” I hope all of you enjoyed this and stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.

I Love You, Phillip Morris

If you wanted to make a movie about the life of Steven Russell, you might start with this question: Could we cast Jim Carrey? You would need an actor who can appear both instantly lovable and always up to no good. That “I Love You, Phillip Morris,” released in 2010, is based on a true story is relevant only because it is too outrageous to be fiction. Russell is a con man, and his lifelong scam is selling himself to himself.

All of this starts when he finds out he isn’t who he thought he was. His parents tell him he is adopted. Roger Ebert said in his review, “My notion is that if you love your parents, and they tell you you're adopted, you'd love them even more. It doesn't work that way for Steven Russell. Once that rug has been pulled from beneath his feet, he sets about creating a new reality for himself.” He becomes a police officer. He marries Debbie, played by Leslie Mann, as good as a toothpaste model. They have two children. He plays the church organ. He is a poster boy for truth, justice and the American way.

Continuing to find the truth, he finds out who his birth mother is. As some may predict, she is a disappointment. After a traumatic accident, he has time in the hospital to look at his entire life being made out of other people’s spare parts. Who is he really? He decides he is gay. Not only gay but flamboyantly, stereotypically gay, and soon living with a Latin lover, played by Rodrigo Santoro, on Miami’s South Beach. He beings to pass checks and falsely use credit cards to finance their rich lifestyle.

Ebert said, “Now when I wrote "he decides he is gay,” did some of you think you don't "decide” to be gay — you simply are, or are not? I believe that's the case almost all the time. I'm not completely sure about Steven Russell. The movie reveals him as an invention, an improvisation, constantly in rehearsal to mislead the world because he has a need to deceive. Who could be less like a church-going cop and family man than a South Beach playboy? Does he like gay sex? Yes, and very energetically, indeed. Does he like straight sex? You bet he does. He can sell himself on anything. I think gay sex is the easier sell here.”

The method of “I Love You, Phillip Morris” gives great amount of plot and then holds them at arm’s length. This isn’t really about plot. Plot are scenarios that characters are involved in. Steven Russell improvises his own scenario, so that most of what happens is his own work in one way or another. Carrey makes the role seem easy. He cheats as naturally as others breathe.

The authorities have a supporting role. He keeps breaking the law, and they keep arresting him. After he’s in prison for theft and fraud, life changes when he’s given a new cellmate: Phillip Morris, played by a blond Ewan McGregor as we’ve never seen him before. He falls in love. Or maybe, as the song puts it, he falls in love with love. After he’s released, he creates a new identity, a lawyer, and floats this trick with a single amount of proof to pull off a stunt that gets Phillip out of prison. McGregor rises to this role like an impressed babe.

Undeniably, Phillip is in love with Steven. However, he is slow to understand the wisdom and density of Steven’s creations. He’s a sweet, naïve kid with a Southern accent and not the smartest guy out there. He’s a witness as Steven steals a lot from a health-care organization that has possibly never even hired him. Steven is soon back in prison, and the movie unfolds into a series of increasingly daring and convoluted confidence schemes.

Ebert noted, “All of this, as I said, is based on Russell's own story, as written by Steve McVicker of the Houston Press. Russell imitated doctors, lawyers, FBI agents and the CFO of a health-care company. He convinced prison officials he had died of AIDS and later successfully faked a heart attack. He escaped from jail four times (hint: always on a Friday the 13^th). He is now serving 144 years in Texas in maximum security and solitary confinement, which sees a little much for a man who never killed anyone and stole a lot less money than the officers of Enron.

This is another movie everyone should see. If you’re a fan of Carrey and McGregor, then this is one you should check out. It’s really good, but like all nonfictional movies, I don’t know how closely this follows the life of Russell. I never knew anything about the man, but that’s probably because when he was sentenced to 144 years in Texas, I was a child when they made that verdict. All of that aside, you should still see this movie because it is a good one.

Look out next week to see what I will end “Pride Month” off with.

Boys Don't Cry

Gender was more interesting when we knew less about it. When we continued from dark instincts rather than easy understanding. Roger Ebert said in his review, “Consider the Victorians, slipping off to secret vices and how much more fun they had than today's Jerry Springer guests ("My girlfriend is a dominatrix"). The intriguing border between the genders must have been more inviting to cross when that was seen as an opportunity rather than a pathology.” One of the many features of “Boys Don’t Cry,” one of the best films of 1999, is that never once does it say the cliched line, “I am a man trapped in a woman’s body.” Its motto instead could be, “Girls just wanna have fun.” Teena Brandon doesn’t think of herself as a gender case study. Nothing in her background has given her that word. She is a lonely girl who would rather be a boy, and one day she gets a short haircut, puts a sock down the front of her jeans and goes into a bar to try her luck. She is not a transsexual, a lesbian, a cross-dresser, or a member of any other category in the long list of gender identities. She is a girl who thinks of herself as a boy, and when she leaves Lincoln, Nebraska, and moves to the town of Falls City in 1993, that is how she presents herself. By then she has become Brandon Teena, and we must use the male pronoun in describing him.

All of this is true. Ebert mentioned, “There is a documentary, "The Brandon Teena Story," that came out earlier in 1999 and shows us photographs of Brandon, looking eerily like Hilary Swank, who plays the role in "Boys Don't Cry." In that film, we meet some of the women he dated ("Brandon knew how to treat a woman"), and we see the two men later charged with Brandon's rape and, after the local law authorities didn't act seriously on that charge, murder a few days later. Like Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, Brandon died because some violent men are threatened by any challenge to their shaky self-confidence.”

Ebert continued, “"Boys Don't Cry" is not sociology, however, but a romantic tragedy--a "Romeo and Juliet" set in a Nebraska trailer park.” Brandon is not the smartest person on the block, especially at judging what types of risks to take, but he is one of the nieces, and soon he has fallen in love with a Falls City girl named Lana, played by Chloe Sevigny. For Lana, Brandon is arguably the first nice boy she has ever dated. We meet two of the other local boys, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendan Sexton III), neither the smartest boys, both violent offspring of dangerous backgrounds. They have the same belief about women that a trigger-happy person has about prying his dying fingers off the revolver.

The film is about hanging out in gas stations and roller rinks and lying slouched on a couch looking with rounded eyes at television, and dead-end jobs, and about six-packs and country bars and Marlboros. There is a reason county music is sad. In this desolation, which is all Lana knows, comes Brandon, who brings her a flower.

The Lana character is important to the movie, and despite Hilary Swank deserving all the praise for her performance as Brandon, it is Devigny who gives our entrance into the story. Representing the several women the real Brandon dated, she sees him as a warm, gentle, romantic lover. Does Lana know Brandon is a girl? At some point, certainly. However, at what point exactly? There is a stretch when she knows, and yet she doesn’t know, because she doesn’t want to know. Romance is built on illusion, and when we love someone, we love the illusion they have created for us.

Kimberly Peirce who directed this movie and co-wrote it with Any Bienen, was faced with a project that could have gone wrong in so many ways. She finds the right area. She never takes the story above the level it’s comfortable with. She doesn’t emphasize the vacuousness of the local law-enforcement officials because that’s not necessary. She sees Tom and John not as simple murderers but as the tools of deep ignorance and inherited anti-social pathology. (Tom knows he’s trouble. He holds his hand in a flame and then cuts himself, explaining, “This helps control the thing inside of me so I don’t snap out at people.”) The whole story can be explained this way: Most everybody in it behaves exactly according to their natures. Ebert said, “The first time I saw the movie, I was completely absorbed by the characters--the deception, the romance, the betrayal. Only later did I fully realize what a great film it is, a worthy companion to those other masterpieces of death on the prairie, "Badlands" and "In Cold Blood." This could have been a clinical Movie of the Week, but instead it's a sad song about a free spirit who tried to fly a little too close to the flame.”

This is an emotionally difficult movie to watch. But that doesn’t mean that it is bad. It just talks about a situation that is still happening today and raising awareness on it. So many members of the LGBTQ+ community have been murdered because of who they are, and that needs to end. I might be wrong, but I think transgenders have been the ones that have been murdered the most. The time for this must end and this movie explains why. It’s a true story that everyone should watch to see and know about. I had never heard of Brandon Teena, but I was only a child during the time he must have been murdered. However, Hilary Swank did a good job and she even admitted this was a hard movie to recover from, getting emotional about it during her interview on Inside the Actors Studio. See it for yourself because it must be seen to be believed.

Now that we have discussed this, check in next week when we look at another biographical film in “Pride Month.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Earlier this morning, I finished watching “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” released in April. I didn’t go see it in the theaters, so I waited until it was released on Paramount+ and saw it while exercising. Now, I will let all of you know what I thought about it.

It’s crazy to think that the first Sonic movie was released before we went on lockdown due to the pandemic. Two years later, we’re still in a pandemic, but we are doing much better, and the sequel was released. Dorian Parks admitted in his review, “As a fan of the first Sonic, this movie took every element that I loved from the first film and multiplied it by 10. Outside of the film franchise, I’ve always been a big fan of the blue speedster, and I can easily say that this film truly felt like a love letter to all of Sonic’s history throughout the years.”

After settling in Green Hills and finding a home with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is more confident in his powers and wants to prove he is capable of being a true hero. That comes when Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns with the help of Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba). The duo is searching for the Master Emerald, which can wipe out all mankind. Sonic is joined with Tails, voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and together they go on a mission around the planet to find the emerald before Robotnik and Knuckles get it first.

The original movie was more of a road trip with Sonic and Tom, and more of a way to set the foundation and the world before going even further. Parks said, “I thought the first film did a great job of setting up the perfect hero’s journey for Sonic to go through, and, by the end Sonic is ready to take on the world.” In the sequel, the story does an amazing job of developing Sonic as a character, and this is a good thing for Schwartz as he voices the character. You’re able to cheer for and empathize with Sonic because of the real emotions when he speaks.

In this film, Sonic isn’t alone anymore, he has his classic friend Tales who was teased at the end of the first movie. Tails was a great addition to the film. O’Shaughnessey is epic when bringing the two-tailed fox from the games and cartoons to the film. Audiences get to see the friendship between Tails and Sonic from the beginning and can see them grow as they go on their mission. On a sidenote, it’s also great to know O’Shaughnessey reprised the role after hearing the announcement, since she had voiced Tails in the games. It’s rare for a voice actor to be appreciated like she has, and she deserves it.

Tails isn’t the only one who joins the crew because we cannot forget about Knuckles. Parks said, “After watching the film, I completely understand why a Knuckles spin-off series was given the green light before the sequel even debuted.” Elba kills it as Knuckles. Usually when actors voice animated characters, it usually just sounds like a little heightened version of themselves. However, with Elba, he completely changes in the role. Parks said, “At certain points, you forget it’s him voicing the character and I mean that in the best of ways. The epic rivalry between Knuckles and Sonic brought some of the best moments of the film and I really enjoyed the fish-out-of-water story they told with Knuckles.” Despite Knuckles being a huge threat to Sonic, they do give him moments of humor and those moments work. Parks admitted, “I’d like to compare Knuckles to a more agile version of Drax who can adapt to earthly customs a lot quicker. There is so much lore around Knuckles and the echidnas as a whole, so I’m excited to see what they dive into for the series.”

This time around, Carrey is even more deranged as Dr. Robotnik. Viewers didn’t see Carrey start to look like Robotnik until the credit scene from the first movie, so seeing him go all out in the sequel was joyful. We rarely see Carrey do a sequel, so you can tell he loves the character and puts in everything. His faithful sidekick Agent Stone, played by Lee Majdoub, is back giving his all. The banter between Stone and Robotnik is just as funny as the first film and Majdoub is hilarious in the role. Parks admitted, “I’m glad Majdoub’s fan favorite character got an expanded role for this second movie.”

We also have Sonic’s extended family return. Park said, “One thing that I appreciate about the humans in this Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is how grounded they keep Sonic.” Tike Sumpter and James Marsden have great chemistry again as Tom and Maddie, and it was great to see how much they’ve grown to love Sonic. Parks noted, “There are some emotional moments with the Wachowski family that I think fans will surely love.” As always, Natasha Rothwell is hilarious as Rachel. She is the highlight when we see her performance in this sequel and she is given more to do, especially with the story arc about her wedding to Randall, played by Shemar Moore.

Director Jeff Fowler’s experience in visual effects work is completely shown in the cinematography of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” There are so many set pieces that made this feel like a real action movie, and it was incredible to see. Parks criticized, “I would have never expected the Sonic film franchise to be so visually pleasing, especially with all of the amazing action sequences. When I was watching the film on the big screen, there were so many moments from beginning to end that put the biggest smile on my face. Seeing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all on the big screen was something I will never forget. I got goosebumps multiple times (especially during the third act).” Fowler understands the characters and knows how to highlight their abilities in great ways. Parks said, “If I’m being honest with myself, I would call it peak cinema.”

When adapting video game storylines, somethings studios seem to move away from some of the fantastical elements to make it more grounded for a general audience. With the Sonic franchise and with this movie in particular, Fowler fully depends on the roots of the video game and the movie is better for it. Parks said, “One could say it’s “fan service” but to me, it felt like the team behind these movies are fans of the game and wanted to make a movie they would enjoy themselves and that’s exactly what this film is.”

Parks continued, “Paramount has a hit on their hand with this franchise and I hope we get 10 more movies and a bunch of spin-offs.” This movie gave everything a Sonic fan could ask for and then some. Fans of the franchise and usual watchers alike will have a great time watching the sequel.

If you don’t feel comfortable going to the theaters, see this on Paramount+, if you have an account. I think this film is better than the first one and I really found myself enjoying this one more, especially with the addition of more familiar characters. If you have played the games or have not and are familiar with the game character, see this because it was really enjoyable.

Spoiler Alert: there is a mid-credit scene that sets up a third movie that will include Shadow the Hedgehog. I’m pumped for that.

Thank you for joining in on my review today. Tune in tomorrow for the continuation of “Pride Month.”

The Birdcage

Recently I was thinking about what I was going to review for this month, but when I found out that June is Pride Month, I thought I would review certain movies to watch for this month. Let’s get started with the 1996 comedy, “The Birdcage.”

Roger Ebert started his review by saying, “Hollywood has had a little cottage industry in recent years, turning out American retreads of French films. Now comes the remake of the most seductive target, the comedy "La Cage aux Folles" (1978), which is about a gay man whose son wants him to play it straight for a few days. All of this will be familiar if you've seen the original, or the two sequels, or the Broadway version.”

“The Birdcage” isn’t about plot, anyway. It’s about character, and about the strange thinking of screwball comedy, where everybody acts the craziest just when they’re trying to make the most sense.

What makes the late Mike Nichols’ version more than just a rework is good casting in the main roles, and a great screenplay by Elaine May, who keeps the original story but adds little quips here and there (“Live on Fisher Island and get buried in Palm Beach – that way you’ll get the best of Florida!”).

The movie stars the late Robin Williams as Armand Goldman, the owner-operator of a drag show on South Beach. He lives upstairs over his nightclub with Albert, played by Nathan Lane, the tar of the show, who has been in a relationship with him for some 20 years. Albert is a basket case, threatened by trespassing age and insecurity. He works only because Agador, played by Hank Azaria, the colorful houseboy, sedates him with Pirin tablets. (“They’re just aspirin with the ‘as’ scraped off,” Agador reveals to Armand.) A problem. Armand’s son Val, played by Dan Futterman, has become engaged to a girl, and wants to bring her home to meets his dad, but not “Auntie Albert.” The problem is that his fiancée’s father is a conservator senator, played by Gene Hackman, who leads the Coalition for Moral Order and thinks the pope is too controversial and Billy Graham too liberal.

Albert is heartbroken that the boy he raised like his own son is turning against him. Armand is also upset, but goes along with a cover-up where Val’s mother, played by Chrstine Baranski, who had Val after a one-night stand with Armand, will pretend to be Mrs. Goldman.

Imagine everything that can go wrong, including the uniqueness of Val having two mothers onstage at the same time, and you have the rest of the movie.

Since the material is familiar, what’s a little nice is how fresh it seems at times, with an American cast. Robin Williams is the best surprise. He’s in a role that seems written as a license for splendor, he’s more controlled than in anything he’s done since “Awakenings.” Ebert noted, “Nathan Lane, from Broadway's "Guys and Dolls," doesn't have quite the semi-hysterical sincerity that Michel Serrault had in the original, and his impersonation of Val's mother is a little too obvious and over the top, but he works well the rest of the time, especially in his more pensive passages.” One problem is that some of his highlights (like when he tries to practice walking like John Wayne) are shown from the earlier movie.

Ebert admitted, “Most of the biggest laughs, for me, came from Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest, as the senator and his wife. Hackman's senator is weathering a crisis (his closest colleague has just died in bed with an underage prostitute), and thinks maybe meeting his new in-laws will appease his right-wing constituents by promoting family values.”

Dianne Wiest, who sees and understands more than her husband but spoils him, reads the situation in South Beach quicker, but goes with the flow.

“The Birdcage” is the first time Mike Nichols and Elaine May, who helped define improvisational comedy in the 1950s, have worked together on a movie. What mostly shines from their work here is the dialogue, like when the senator’s daughter, trying to tell the situation in the best possile way, explains that South Beach is “about two minutes from Fisher Island, where Jed Bush lives.” Or when Armand looks at the crowd at his nightclub and whispers to the maître d’, “Free coffee for the Kennedys.”

This is a classic comedy that everyone should see. You will absolutely love this movie, especially with the chemistry from Williams and Lane. Even though Williams wasn’t gay, he really did an amazing and convincing job here. For instance, look at the evolution of dance that he does in about a minute, but ends with saying to keep it all inside. That is one of the funniest moments in here. Check it out and having an enjoyably laughing time.

Even though we started with a comedy, next week we will look at an emotionally sad movie in “Pride Month.”