Ticket Paradise” (Romance/Comedy: 1 hour, 43 minutes)

Starring: Julia Roberts, George Clooney and

Director: Ol Parker

Rated: PG-13 (Strong language and brief suggestive material)

Movie Review:

First-rate stars are in this second-rate romcom. This is not the ticket to paradise.

Despite the likes of two likable movie stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney, “Ticket to Paradise is a wandering feature. The two popular actors star as David and Georgia Cotton. They are a divorced couple. They despise and try to avoid each other. However, they reunite in Bali as their daughter Lily (Denver) is about to marry Gede (Bouttier). They feel she should not marry at this moment, so the divorcees devise a plan to stop the wedding.

The expected happens with this screenplay. The characters’ lives end just as expected but not in a worthwhile manner. One easily notices Roberts and Clooney’s characters belong together, more so than their daughter Lily and Gede’s marriage.

David and Georgia belong together. One sees that from the beginning. Their dislike of each appears more childish than good comedy. This is the problem. Their rekindled relationship is neither romantic, comical nor scenic enough to be an exotic location.

Grade: C- (Use the ticket to see Bali and avoid the wedding.)

“Till” (Historical Drama: 2 hours, 11 minutes)

Starring: Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg

Director: Chinonye Chukwu

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic content involving racism, strong disturbing images and racial slurs)

Movie Review:

Many variations have debuted about Emmett Louis Till’s murder on big and small screens. “Till” focuses exclusively on Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, played nicely by Danielle Deadwyler. The result is an engrossing historical drama.

In 1955, Emmett Till (Hall), a 14-year-old, whistles at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant (Bennett). Shortly after, a group of people led by Bryant’s husband takes Till from the home of an aunt and uncle. Till is later found, murdered. The lynching quickly gains national attention. Emmett Till’s mother declares she will expose the racism that led to the brutal attack on her son while demanding justice.

As viewers of this tragedy know, Till’s murderers remain free until their deaths despite later acknowledging they killed a young Till for a “Look” magazine article. The laws of a Jim Crow South protected the men. Mamie Till-Mobley was never afraid to call for justice. Her campaign was a major force behind the Civil Rights Movement

Till’s mother is the focus. Deadwyler plays her admirably, considering her character is grieving for most of this movie. The story is gripping, and Deadwyler makes it more so, holding one’s attention.

After Till’s murder in this screenplay, his mother decides to have an open-cast funeral. This was controversial as the body was beaten beyond recognition. Chinonye Chukwu has characters talk about the state of the body, while not showing it at first. This creates a sense of anxiousness, waiting to see the young man in the casket. Chukwu is smart to do that, yet the visual of the body happens too quickly. Till’s body in the casket would have been a powerful way to end the movie. This could have coincided with Deadwyler as Till-Mobley speaking at a Civil Rights event.

Still, the movie is a moving reminder of racism in the United States. Till’s death was just 65 years ago. “Till” is a good way to remember a brutal lynching and the injustice that followed.

Grade: B+ (Until the time, the call for justice continues.)

“Prey for the Devil” (Horror: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: Virginia Madsen, Jacqueline Byers and Colin Salmon

Director: Daniel Stamm

Rated: PG-13 (Violence, disturbing content, terror, thematic elements and language)

Movie Review:

Immediately upon reading the title of this movie, thoughts of this Mark Twain quote emerged. “But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most . . .”

This movie talks about prey for the Devil, meaning someone on which Satan stalks. That person is Sister Ann (Byers). The nun has a calling, so Father Quinn (Salmon), a professor, recognizes Sister Ann’s gift and agrees to train her as the first female exorcist. Satan also recognizes Ann’s gift and wants her sole.

“The Exorcist” (1973) made exorcisms a horror/thriller staple in cinemas. The problem is the frights in these types of movies have a lesser effect now. They rarely introduce anything new. They just further trivialize the Christian religion by turning religious concepts into mythology.

This introduces a feminist concept, but the other tropes are still present. Even more, Catholicism’s leadership is a male-dominated institution. A woman getting elevated to a position that ordains only men should ruffle the Vatican in this photoplay. It does not. No worry, the lack of response will be similar for audiences too.

Grade: C- (Audiences become the prey by falling for this formulaic misfire.)