“Top Gun: Maverick” (Drama/Action: 2 hours, 11 minutes)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller and Jon Hamm

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rated: PG-13 (Sequences of intense action, violence and strong language)

Movie Review: Thirty-six years later, Tom Cruise replays his iconic role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. “Top Gun: Maverick,” like its prequel “Top Gun” (1986), is good entertainment. Plus, this movie is feel-good action adrenaline. If you feel the need for speed, Cruise and his team deliver at Mach speeds. 

Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell returns to Top Gun to teach the program’s best fighter pilots for a secret mission. Mitchell only has a short period to get the men and women ready for one of the most dangerous missions. His task will not be easy considering one of the Top Guns is Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Mitchell’s close deceased friend, Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.

Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise last worked together on “Oblivion” (2013). Their collaborations keep getting better, except for the romance portion of their movies. “Top Gun: Maverick” is a good movie with engaging characters and plenty of energetic thrills.

Cruise became a moviedom superstar with “Top Gun.” Decades later, he still makes Maverick a major box office draw. Like its prequel, this sequel has a good story, although it feels like the original “Star Wars” destruction of the first Death Star plot.

The one negative is unneeded. This screenplay could forgo the mediocre romance to focus more on better elements of this narrative. The mission of the fighter pilots is the pivotal part of the movie along with Maverick’s conflicting emotions about being back at Top Gun as an instructor, his tension with Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw and the ongoing training efforts of the pilots for their perilous mission. These matters are enough. The romance takes up time when the good drama between admiralty and Maverick and the ongoing interesting combat relationships of the pilots’ mission training is much more gratifying.

Otherwise, this movie is good enough that it rivals its predecessor. It is the type of screenplay that leaves one wanting more. 

Grade: B+ (Top-notch entertainment at fast speeds from ground to air.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Downton Abbey: A New Era” (Drama: 2 hours, 4 minutes)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter and Maggie Smith

Director: Simon Curtis

Rated: PG (Some suggestive references, language and thematic elements)

Movie Review: Simon Curtis previously directed “Woman in Gold” (2015) and “My Week with Marilyn” (2011). His dramas are a hit or miss. “Downtown Abbey: New Era” is somewhere in between. “New Era” resides on nostalgia for those who liked the television series (2010-15) while trying to pack five episodes into it.

This outing features the characters in multiple plots. The leading story follows Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. She inherits a villa in France, property given to her by a past love interest. 

As part of the family prepares for a visit to the beautiful seaside villa, a film crew arrives at Downton Abbey to film a silent film. Some members of the household are happy about the film being made there while others are appalled.

Compared to “Downtown Abbey” (2019), this one is jumpy at first, appearing more like a teleplay than a photoplay. This movie also boasts a large cast, which the 2019 movie smartly handled the ensemble. This screenplay tries to make each person in that large cast prominent. This is a blunder, as the focus is a scattered one.

As the movie settles, the scenes pace slows. The characters have a chance to act and not just provide social commentary. Even then, the movie has unexpected sub-stories that add little to its overall plot. These multiple subplots defuse emotive attachments to characters. When something unfortunate happens or emotive moments happen, the audience does not care as much as it should.

Scenes have plenty occurring. Boredom is something audiences will not experience. This is the good part of “A New Era.” The scenes move at a nice rate, often inputting humorous quips. All is fun even if not the best movie sequel.

Grade: B- (Entertaining, even though the old era was superbly better.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (Animation/Comedy: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman and Kristen Schaal

Directors: Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman

Rated: PG-13 (Suggestive/rude material, violence and language)

Movie Review: “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is based on the “Bob’s Burgers” primetime television series that began in 2011. The series is about the Belcher Family, a family of five living above their restaurant. It is a very funny series and this movie follows similarly with adventure and comedy.

Just like others in the United States now, the Belchers are facing financial difficulties. They face defaulting on a bank loan for restaurant equipment. Their efforts to keep their business afloat face several difficulties.

At first glance, this animated family appears a humdrum bunch for younger audiences. This movie is for mature audiences really, although the family has three children ages 9, 11 and 13. The humor is keen and geared toward teenagers and adults. Neither group will be disappointed.

It is a creative story, where the youngest Belcher, Louise, aptly voiced by Schaal, takes the lead. She often steals scenes from older characters. Louise with pink hooded ears atop her head and her family are part of several sub-stories that combine to form an overarching narrative that is an adventure. Mystery and comedy are present too with the Belchers’ venture to save their restaurant. 

“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” starts with an appealing musical scene and then continues to build on to themes observed in that opening scene. The Belchers are worth the ticket. This animated movie is all that and a side of fries.

Grade: B (Get your buns to a cinema.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Facing Nolan” (Documentary: 1 hour, 45 minutes)

Director: Bradley Jackson

Rated: NR (Language and violence)

Movie Review: Rather or not one appreciates Nolan Ryan and baseball is not important. “Facing Nolan” is one of the most entertaining, informative documentaries. It offers a straightforward glance at Nolan Ryan’s baseball career without getting off track with nonessential parts of his story.

The movie highlights Ryan’s multiple records, highlighting him as one of the sport’s legendary pitchers. The Texan legend shines in this candid look at his baseball career from rookie to being one of the first million-dollar players in sports. 

Nolan Ryan offers candid thoughts about his baseball career, especially his intimidation tactic of hitting batters with his over 100-mile-per-hour pitch. Along the way, director Bradley Jackson and his team interview players who faced Ryan. They also offer informative and often humorous insight about Ryan.

Jackson spent his career directing short features and teleplays. He proves his skills as a documentarian are perfect for full-length movies. He masterfully takes a sports legend and makes him the everyday family man. Along the way, Ryan’s family, teammates, and his friends and foes on and off the baseball field tell their stories of playing against Ryan.

Audiences see Ryan meet presidents from Nixon to Clinton, and former President George W. Bush is one of the onscreen interviewees. And a clip of Ryan on the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope” (1975) is also a part of this documentary. Ryan’s granddaughter quickly notes Ryan is a much better baseball player than he is an actor. His family is very forthright, especially his very competitive wife, Ruth Holdorff, who Ryan married in 1967.

Jackson makes use of this movie’s runtime, leaving in unexpected moments. An interviewee’s phone rings during a scene. Jackson incorporates the unexpected call to transition to the next scene which involves the bullpen’s telephone. This is good moviemaking. These little gems, amusing stories and Nolan Ryan’s place within America’s favorite pastime cement Ryan’s status as a person to remember. 

Grade: A- (The face of a good documentary.)

“The Happening” (Drama: 1 hour, 36 minutes; French with subtitles)

Starring: Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein and Luàna Bajrami

Director: Audrey Diwan

Rated: R (Disturbing material/images, language, brief violence, sexual content and graphic nudity)

Movie Review: The debut of this 2021 adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s novel is timely, considering the pro-life versus pro-abortion debates in the United States. This movie is a throwback to yesteryear. It chronicles the experiences of Ernaux with her abortion while the practice was illegal in France during the 1960s.

Anne Duchesne (Vartolomei) is an intelligent college student majoring in literature in 1963. Her life is upended after she realizes a casual sexual encounter leaves her pregnant. Fearing a baby would end her studies and make her a housewife, she decides to terminate her pregnancy. 

Her dilemma is how will she seek help with her abortion when it is illegal and carries a major sentence if found guilty. Still, she is willing to face law enforcement, unsafe medical practices and sexism mainly from men regarding ending the emerging human life inside her.

Visually, “The Happening” is a very gritty movie. It is not for those with weak stomachs.

French moviemakers pull no punches in their ability to render realism that impacts moviegoers. Director Audrey Diwan (“Losing It,” 2019) and co-writer Marcia Romano put everything on the table. They want people to see abortion and all its goriness. They also want people to see the desperation of a young woman who feels her life will be forever different if she cannot exercise her reproductive rights.

Anamaria Vartolomei ably plays Anne Duchesne, a woman who believes she alone determines the future she wants. Her goal to complete an abortion is not an easy task. She encounters people who lie to her, men who try to take advantage of her health and women spreading rumors. She is depressed, alone and in pain mentally and from the attempts to abort her embryo.

This French production does not glamorize abortion. It makes the ordeal a punch to the existence of its audience. It does this while also promoting a woman’s autonomy versus government laws.

Vartolomei plays the part superbly. Her career should skyrocket after this. She becomes the role. 

Additionally, Vartolomei’s director, Audrey Diwan, is superior. “The Happening” is Diwan’s second full-length movie as a director. She and her team provide a solid drama, even if character interactions are sometimes lost in period cultural translation. It is easy to miss intentions if one’s mind wanders, yet audiences feel Anne’s despair and her uncertainty throughout.

Despite what side of the abortion issue one stands, “The Happening” supplies a solid drama. It creates a secretive glance into a woman’s life and her tribulations.

Grade: B (It happens to be an engaging cinematic moment.)

“Men” (Horror/Drama: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear and Paapa Essiedu

Director: Alex Garland

Rated: R (Disturbing and violent content, graphic nudity, grisly images and language)

Movie Review: “Men” is not your typical horror movie. Common horror tropes are present but it involves artistic imagery, albeit frequently gory. The result is something weird but ever-engaging.

Harper (Buckley) is a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside. She goes there still lamenting the recent death of her estranged husband, James (Essiedu). While vacationing in the large house, Harper encounters several similarly appearing men. 

Each guy manages to offend her in some manner, including Geoffrey, the gentleman who rents her the place. Often, the men try to fault her for their thoughts and actions. Soon, what is to be a relaxing venture turns into a nightmare for Harper.

Even when weird, “Men” manages to excel due to the talents of Jessie Buckley (“Wild Rose, 2018). She is a phenomenal actress. Here, she manages to be captivating while tormented by men.

Rory Kinnear plays the main antagonist. He plays Geoffrey and portrays others, too. He is creepy in his role as multiple men. Each of the characters represents a different type of misogyny.

“Men” is the third movie for director-writer Alex Garland, following his marvelous “Ex Machina” (2014) and the engaging “Annihilation” (2018). His movies have lasting impacts. They are memorable as they are eerie. “Men” is the latest movie to join his cinematic repertoire.

He creates artful entertainment. His movies are not for those who do not like to think. His arthouse photoplays are visual treats that shock or spook. “Men” fits into this category but the uncreative horror tropes are plentiful, too.

Another Caucasian woman goes to a creepy setting by herself. She wonders into potentially dangerous situations, yet she remains there despite foreshadowing of events to come. This formulaic theme of horrors is becoming too commonplace. “Men” wallows into clichéd elements but Garland artfully finds a way to exit those themes to produce affable yet sometimes puzzling and peculiar entertainment.

Grade: B- (Despite the title, it is good for women and men.)