“A Minecraft Movie”

(Adventure/Action/Fantasy: 1 hour, 41 minutes) 

Starring: Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers and Danielle Brooks

Director: Jared Hess

Rated: PG (Violence/action, language, suggestive/rude humor and scary images)

Movie Review:

“A Minecraft Movie” reunites Jack Black and Jared Hess 19 years after their collaboration “Nacho Libre (2006). This screenplay is entertaining, but the far-fetched narrative is mainly for the fans of the video game series. Black and Jason Momoa have more fun than non-fans in their audience. An animated movie may have been a better fit for cinemas.

Steve (Black) has always had a fascination with mines. As an adult, he one day stumbles upon a rare artifact in a mine, the Orb of Dominance. He activates it and is transported to the overworld, a place where everything appears to be made of blocks. Years later, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen) and his sister Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (television’s “Orange Is the New Black’s” Brooks), a woman with multiple professions, join Steve in the overworld. All is well until an evil force threatens the peaceful dimension.

Black and Momoa perform these goofy roles well. They make the best of them and have fun. Their eccentric chemistry makes the movie work when other parts are lacking. However, Momoa’s characters are becoming clichéd ones seen repetitively in this and in his previous movies.

One of the highlights of this movie is Henry, played by Sebastian Hansen. He appears to be an alternate version of Screech from “Saved by the Bell.” He brings more realism to this script than the adults around him.

Again, this movie is a family movie meant for fans of the Minecraft video game and other media versions. The material is goofy and has plenty of missed opportunities for something better. Otherwise, it is entertaining enough to make it doable.

Grade: C+ (Crafty but not always mindful.)

“The Friend”

(Drama: 1 hour, 59 minutes) 

Starring: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray and Sarah Pidgeon

Directors: Scott McGehee and David Siegel

Rated: R (Strong language including a sexual reference.)

Movie Review:

An adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s book, “The Friend” is not the type of movie one expects because of a lack of adequate promotion. It is an inviting movie that keeps one’s attention, although this narrative has poor character development for secondary characters.

Naomi Watts plays Iris, a college professor in mourning. She becomes the guardian of a Great Dane named Apollo (Bing). The pet belonged to her dear friend and mentor Walter (Murray), who committed suicide. Iris’s care of the large canine in her small New York City apartment, which does not allow pets, causes chaos. Apollo is depressed, just like Iris. As time passes, they both find a way to mourn Walter.

Bill Murray has very few scenes in this movie. We mainly get to know him through his three wives, his daughter and this movie’s lead, Watts. It is a good thing that such a notable actor like Murray plays Walter. Even when absent from scenes, Murray’s presence looms throughout the movie. Had a lesson now the actor played Walter, members of the audience would probably not care enough about Walter to understand why people who loved him grieve.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel are the directors and writers of this screenplay. They easily help one get to know Iris, whom Watts plays well. Audiences also have a chance to understand the dog Apollo. It is supporting characters, such as the diverse group of women once married to Walter, who need development.  

Grade: B- (Friendly enough.) 

“Hell of A Summer”

(Horror: 1 hour, 28 minutes) 

Starring: Fred Hechinger, Finn Wolfhard, Abby Quinn and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai

Directors: Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard

Rated: R (Horror violence, strong language throughout, and sexual references.)

Movie Review:

Summer is toasty if you live in the southern United States. Summer can last from March through October. “Hell of A Summer” is not hot. Label this just another teen movie. It puts formulaic 20-something-year-old characters in a very commonplace plot for horror movies.

Eleven camp counselors arrive at Camp Pineway to find the operators of the place not there. Like with any horror movie, the undeveloped characters of the first scene, the owners, were the first to die. Yet, viewers never have a chance to know them, so it is no biggie. Soon, the killer returns to finish off the rest of these camp counselors. They run, they scream, and people die.

“Hell of A Summer” is a formulaic screenplay by writers Billy Bryk (“When You Finish Saving the World,” 2022) and Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” 2016). They also star in and direct this wayward feature. Their writing is trite. Much of the scenes appear more like comedy than slasher horror. Bryk and Wolfhard create characters as if doing a portrait by painting by numbers. They have the nerds, the jock, megalomaniacal beauty queen, the gay theatre actor and several other stereotypical roles for younger audience members.

The one character that stands out is Jason Hochberg as senior counselor and the oldest of the eleven. “Gladiator II’s” Fred Hechinger plays the role of temporary camp leader intriguingly enough that he becomes the only notable focal point about which to care.

Comedy and scary moments exist. The problem is Bryk and Wolfhard do not know what they want their movie to be. They provide lukewarm comedy, and they appear too timid with violence and terror scenes typically associated with most slasher flicks.

Grade: C (Maybe next summer . . .)