“Creed 3”

8.5

Strong “Dark Knight Rises” vibes with this one…

An enemy that knows our hero better than he knows himself. Pierces the veil and exposes them in a way that opens up a new narrative avenue that refreshes the series. A fantastic landing pad for a trilogy, but I’m sure they’ll keep going.

Jonathan Majors is the best villain in Hollywood in my book. His menacing presence in this rivals that of even his recent outing as Kang in “Ant Man: Quantumania.” Even without saying a word, his mere presence in the scene evokes a feeling of unease. It’s a true talent, and a gift to this film as Adonis is tested as he’s never been tested before.

The stakes may have been weakened in the third act, but it is a Rocky anthology film after all. Still a phenomenal addition to the franchise that I highly recommend!

“Jesus Revolution”

7.8

Join a Christian revolution to land a hot blonde? I’ll buy it. Respect the game.

The Jesus metaphor with this one is thrown out the window in favor of an actual Jesus lookalike. This film expertly delves into humility, hubris, and their roles in the human condition on our journeys to self realization sharing this big old rock we call earth.

Kelsey Grammar and company mail it as a cast, and make this one of the most palatable prophecy pictures I’ve seen on the silver screen in a long time. Very well done!

“Children of the Corn”

6.1

It’s not good… I really wanted to like this, but it just refused to get out of its own way.

The special effects were terrible, the story was meh, and the acting was… no bueno. The worst part was really that there were no redeeming qualities in the characters. It takes away from the experience when there’s no one to root for. When you find yourself actively rooting for the characters to be killed off to wrap things up more quickly. And then the ending just leaves you laughing at the thought that they actually believed enough in a sequel to end it the way they did. Oy vey…

“Miracle Beach”

6.1

In the vein of “Mannequin,” but not nearly as good.

I had to use a clip in lieu of a trailer, because the trailer on YouTube contained an honest approximation of unnecessary topless women. Not that I’m necessarily complaining, but it started to take me out of the story and became comical after the first 30 minutes.

The genie, played by the incomparable Ami Dolenz, really carries the movie. She’s the emotional anchor, the comic relief… I wouldn’t doubt she even composed the score.

One of those “this is 3-4 layers deep on prime video and I’m looking for something off the wall, let’s give this a whirl” movies.

“Cocaine Bear”

7.2

Perfectly ridiculous. An entry into my favorite re-emerging genres of utterly insane films that cause you to question “how in the hell did someone green light this?!” As you know, one of my all-time favorite films is “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

A film that knows its audience and plays to them for a tight hour and a half runtime. “Going to hell for laughing at this” humor at its finest, with a BANGING soundtrack!

RIP Ray Liotta. RIP to the real cocaine bear, who now resides in a Kentucky shopping mall.