Macall PolayThis image released by Warner Bros. Picures shows Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera in a scene from 'In the Heights.'

“In the Heights” (Musical Drama: 2 hours, 23 minutes)

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Martinez, Corey Hawkins, Gregory Diaz IV and Jimmy Smits

Director: Jon M. Chu

Rated: PG-13 (Profanity and suggestive references)

Movie Review: “In the Heights” is a musical drama with a primarily Latino-American cast. The basis for this movie is the stage musical of the same name by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who gave audiences acclaimed play and movie “Hamilton” and directed by Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”). 

They and the cast and crew provide audiences with sound entertainment.

Usnavi (Ramos) owns a street corner bodega called City Mart in New York City. He has big dreams, including a business in the Dominican Republic. He and others in the Washington Heights neighborhood struggle to survive during a heatwave just three days before a city blackout. Still, they all have big dreams.

Something uniquely real exists about this movie. It shows people in a city working to achieve a better life despite circumstances. They are resourceful and proud of their Latin heritage, yet they face obstacles.

Scenes exhibit this by showing people in Washington Heights talk about a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000. Although the amount is a small lottery win compared to the million-dollar prizes, the characters all dream of how the money could impact their lives. 

The ticket becomes the talk of the neighborhood. This shows the value of money for living a worry-free life, even if only a brief reverie. If one wants to know how great a country really is, ask the poorest of thee.

“In The Heights” is fun and offers good music. The cast led by an engaging Anthony Ramos is gratifying. They provide laughs, dancing and thought-provoking concepts about the plight of Latinx-Americans in The Big Apple. 

The songs are not catchy. This narrative contains many characters for which all are equally important. This waters down the plot some, but these are minor compared to the nice entertainment offered. This is a block party, and everyone has an invitation.

Grade: B (It rises to a good height.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (Comedy/Adventure: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: James Corden, Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne

Director: Will Gluck

Rated: PG (Violence and crude humor)

Movie Review: This sequel to “Peter Rabbit” (2018), also directed by Will Gluck, is another adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s characters. It is just as vibrant and adventurous as its prequel. While cramming more into one screenplay, Peter Rabbit and his friends do provide enough family-friendly laughs to make it worth visiting a cinema.

Shortly after the marriage of Bea (Byrne) and Thomas McGregor (Gleeson), Peter (voice of Corden) runs away from home, believing he has found a better group of friends who appreciate his uniqueness more than his blended human-rabbit family does. 

Peter joins a gang of thieves run by Barnabus (voice of Lennie James of the “Walking Dead”). Peter soon realizes his family is more important than he thinks.

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” is just enough of an adventure to make it an adequate sequel. The array of characters, although too plentiful throughout, provide nice comedic material.

Grade: B- (He is still hopping.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Queen Bees” (Romantic Drama: 1 hour, 41 minutes)

Starring: Ellen Burstyn, James Caan and Christopher Lloyd

Director: Michael Lembeck

Rated: PG-13 (Drug use, suggestive material, violence and strong language)

Movie Review: “Queen Bees” has a stellar cast of seasoned performers. Because of this, the movie is endearing. The cast is easy to like but this poorly executed script is not worth the buzz.

Helen Wilson (Burstyn) moves into a retirement community while construction workers renovate her house. She hates the place but quickly makes friends with a group called the Queen Bees of Janet (Jane Curtin), Sally (Loretta Devine) and Margot (Ann-Margret). They are the “it” group in the neighborhood. 

As Helen settles into her new surroundings, she finds a romantic relationship with Dan (Caan).

The cast is topnotch talents. Ellen Burstyn is a superb actress. She is also the lead actress here. Her character appears an interesting woman, but this script does not make her as interesting as it could. She and other characters have inconsistent personas. These characters have complete personality shifts, sometimes in one scene.

The last third of this movie has the tritest moments of this romantic drama. Characters easily forgive each other for grave offenses. These moments just appear highly unlikely and are resolved too quickly. The story is a hurried one.

These ladies are the new Golden Girls. Too bad, their script is commonplace material that does not measure up to the cast’s talents. 

Grade: C (The presentation is not a regal buzz.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (Action/Comedy: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman

Director: Patrick Hughes

Rated: R (Strong violence, pervasive language and sexual content)

Movie Review: A follow-up to “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” (2017), also directed by Patrick Hughes, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” maintains the tradition of potty-mouthed, gun-wielding people doing over-the-top actions. 

It also has comical moments but they often feel juvenile. A cast of well-known talents entertains but much of the material is repetitive humor. 

Bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds) continues his awkward relationship with hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson). This outing, Darius’ wife, Sonia (Hayek), joins the two men to save the world from the ruthless Aristotle Papadopolous (Banderas).

The movie’s title is misleading as it is slightly humorous. Hayek’s Sonia hardly needs a bodyguard. She is a tough woman, often saving her husband, Darius, played by Jackson, and Reynold’s Bryce.

Instead, this action-comedy plays more like a James Bond plot mixed with several other action-themed screenplays. Car chases, explosions and flying bullets are superfluous. The biggest being the bad guys must be Stormtroopers from “Star Wars” because they never hit their target.

It is difficult to take the movie seriously in any form. Some laughs are present, but many are sheer silliness and not because the moments are superior comedy.

This is a pure popcorn action flick. The characters are whimsical people, often never taking their mission seriously in a manner that appears tangible. Instead, one must just enjoy the wild ride they offer, even when the ride becomes a collision course.

Grade: C (The script needed a bodyguard to protect its hits from its misses.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2” (Comedy: 1 hour, 37 minutes)

Starring: Mike Epps, Katt Williams, Zulay Henao and Lil Duval

Director: Deon Taylor

Rated: R (Profanity, sexual content, violence and nudity)

Movie Review: “Meet The Blacks” debuted in 2016. It was a spoof on the “The Purge” movies. “The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2” is more farfetched. Moreover, it is worse than its prequel. 

Author Carl Black (Epps) moves his family back to his childhood home in Atlanta. There, he meets one of his new neighbors and the first person who raves about his book, Dr. Mamuwalde (Williams), who may be a vampire. The Blacks and their odd neighbors must work together to save their neighborhood.

The acting, visual effects, and the quality of this photoplay are terrible. All is bad to the point that the movie becomes one big joke. “The House Next Door” is a pitiful screenplay, an example of how not to make a movie.

Grade: F (The house next door drives down property values.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar has reviewed movies for The Valdosta Daily Times for more than 20 years.