The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Posted on July 22, 2025 at 12:19 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for action/violence and some language
Profanity:	Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, some graphic images
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	July 25, 2025

Four seems to be the magic number. After three unsatisfactory tries at getting Marvel’s cosmic ray-enhanced superheroes on screen, Marvel Studios got it right, gorgeously produced, well cast, gracefully relegating the origin story to a few “archival” clips, and putting our quartet and us right in the middle of the action.

It is set in a fantasy version of the 1960s, inspired by the visual style, not the history or pop culture. In the first scene, Reed is looking for iodine, the painful antiseptic used for minor cuts in the 50s, and Sue Storm uses something that was not invented in our reality until the 1980s. There is a Calder mobile in their headquarters living room and the men we see in the outdoor scenes all wear hats, so handsome this movie just might bring back the fedora. The production design from “Loki’s” Kasra Farahani is dazzling and endlessly inviting, a heightened version of a mid-century concept of the future. The cerulean blue and white accents of the retro F4 uniforms designed by Alexandra Byrne (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) place us in a time and a world that is like but not the same as ours.

The Four are Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), a brilliant scientist whose body stretches, his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby) who has the power of invisibility, including creating invisible shields, Sue’s impetuous and very single brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), who can burst into flames and fly, and Ben Grimm, known as The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who looks like he is made from mountain rock and is very, very strong.

As the movie begins, the world is celebrating them as heroes and protectors. It has been four years since the space expedition exposed them to the cosmic rays, they have defeated or, in the case of the subterranean Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), negotiated a peace agreement, and established a United Nations-type organization called the Future Foundation.

The superheroes and the people they protect believe F4 and their adorable robot, Herbie, will always keep them safe. And then they face their biggest and most terrifying challenge. Sue is pregnant. While Reed and Sue know that the molecular changes from the cosmic rays may affect the baby, they believe, with some reassurance from Sue’s ability to make her abdomen invisible so they can see the fetus, the baby will be fine.

Big and terrifying challenge #2: the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to announce that Earth is about to be consumed by Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a planet devourer. F4 tracks the Silver Surfer to find Galactus, confident they can defeat him. And this leads to the first Marvel action sequence that features a very pregnant superhero. Galactus offers them a terrible choice, and when they refuse, the people on earth quickly go from fans to haters.

The film moves briskly, with one of the shortest run times in the MCU, under two hours. But it creates a fully-realized world, with small details like the Mole Man’s dad jokes, Ben Grimm’s “beard” and copy of 50s classic child care bible Dr. Spock, and a sweet brief appearance by Natasha Lyonne as the teacher of students who are big fans of The Thing. Fans will enjoy some glimpses of popular villains from the comic books. Director Matt Shakman (the similarly retro fantasies “Game of Thrones” and “Wandavision” and “The Great”) understands that the action scenes and the family dynamic are central to the storyline and he has fun with scale when Galactus arrives. While the stakes are dire, he stays away from gratuitous carnage. The film has good-natured humor, impressive special effects, some tender moments, and even a light gloss of commentary on what we expect from our heroes, and how we approach moral dilemmas and life-threatening challenges. I’m iffy about one twist, but overall, this is a film that respects comic book characters and what we love about them.

Parents should know that this movie features extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, with some scary creatures and disturbing and graphic images. There are mild references to reproductive biology and a woman goes into labor (discreetly filmed). Characters use some mild language.

Family discussion: Philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that all decisions should be based on the greatest good for the largest number of people. How does that idea appear in this film and do you agree? What do you think will happen to Franklin? What is the law of levers and how do you see it around you?

If you like this, try: “Superman,” The Fantastic Four comics, and maybe just for fun watch the earlier films so you can compare them.

NOTE: Stay through the credits for one extra scene indicating where the story is going and, at the very end, a nostalgic moment.

KPop Demon Hunters

Posted on July 3, 2025 at 10:19 am

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grade
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended fantasy-style violence, sad death
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	July 3, 2025

Let me be the first to suggest that “Golden” be nominated for a Best Song Oscar. This animated story of a Korean pop trio who battle demons to save humanity has a bunch of bangers, but “Golden” is not only the best on the soundtrack but better than several recent Oscar winners.

“KPop Demon Hunters” is an unexpectedly entertaining mash-up of two seemingly unrelated genres. It works because it is colorful, funny, imaginative, and above all heartfelt and sincere.

Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zooey (Ji-young Yoo) are the pop trio Huntrix. They are not only musical superstars and demon hunters; they are the best of friends. They are the inheritors of the skills and responsibilities of demon hunters through the ages, protecting the world with mad fighting skills and the magic of music and its connection to the fans, which spreads a protective shield called the Honmoon over the earth, woven from their music. (There is a charming glimpse of their forebears, trios through the decades.) If they can eradicate the demons completely, the Honmoon will turn gold.

This has a personal importance for Rumi. She has not told Mira and Zooey that she is half demon, as revealed by the “patterns,” markings on her arms and neck. Turning the Honmoon golden will make her fully human.

The demons are ruled by Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun). When he becomes angry at the failures of his demons to defeat Huntrix, a centuries-old demon named Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) makes a proposal. If Gwi-Ma will erase the memories that haunt him, he will fight Huntrix on their own turf: he will form a boy band, the Saja Boys. Their first song, “Soda Pop,” is an instant hit. The battle is on — musically and with weapons. A devastating diss track is as important as the swords. But so is the the power of telling hidden truths.

The voice talent includes Ken Jeong as Huntrix’s manager Bobby, and Joel Kim Booster and Daniel Dae Kim as multiple characters. There is some silly humor but there are also are intense fight scenes and a sad death as a character who sacrifices himself to save others. There’s also a six-eyed bird wearing a hat and pajama pants with teddy bears and “choo-choo trains.” And, as noted, some excellent songs.

Parents should know that this film includes a lot of fantasy-style violence and a sad death. There are references to despotism and evil.

Family discussion: Why did Rumi think she could not tell Zoey and Mira the truth? Why did she trust Juni? Why did he trust her?

If you like this, try: the music and videos of BTS

How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

Posted on June 15, 2025 at 9:32 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grade
Date Released to Theaters:	June 13, 2025
Date Released to DVD:	August 13, 2025

It may be completely unnecessary but this live action version of the terrific 2010 animated “How to Train Your Dragon” is still a great story. The story is heartwarming, the visuals are exciting, and the themes of courage used for a deeper understanding are still worthy.

I object to the idea that an animated film is just a lesser version until technology develops to create a “live action” remake (the dragons are CGI). Animation has its own artistry, vibrance, and expressiveness. This version is almost a shot-for-shot remake, emphasizing the original’s unsurpassability, yet somehow it is nearly half an hour longer. The original – and its sequels and spin-offs – are so memorable that this remake is like enjoying a cover band version of a classic song more for the memories it evokes of the original than for its own merits.

Our young hero is Hiccup (Mason Thames), the son of single dad and chief Stoick (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the original). They live in Berk, a craggy, stark, unforgiving, and remote Scandinavian community beset by dragons who steal their food. Status is based on killing dragons and many people in the community proudly sport scars and prosthetics to demonstrate their courage in these battles. Stoick, disappointed by his son’s lack of warrior spirit, reminds Hiccup that his mother was killed by a dragon (though those of us who have seen the animated sequels know that she is still alive). Hiccup is apprenticed to Stoick’s best friend Gobber (Nick Frost), whose prosthetic hand and foot are the result of fighting dragons, and who now provides weapons and teaches those teenagers who, unlike Hiccup, are going to be trained to be dragonslayers.

As in the original, the dragons here are wonderfully imagined, with many fascinating species. Each looks different and poses different kinds of threats. While Stoick has taken all of the warriors in search of the dragons’ nest, Hiccup finds and befriends a wounded Night Fury he names Toothless, hiding their relationship from everyone else until they are discovered by Astrid (Nico Parker), the best young warrior trainee. He takes her for a ride on Toothless and she is convinced that dragons are worthy of respect and affection.

Very little has changed in the storyline, as noted. But perhaps 15 years distance has brought some changes in our atmosphere and understanding. For me at least, Stoick’s harsh judgment of Hiccup as weak and fearful because he does not want to cut the heads off of dragons felt like a slightly broader statement about masculinity, hierarchies based on community standards, and fear of the unknown than a father’s distorted but genuine wish to protect his son from creatures that were responsible for so much loss. Perhaps that was just because I know the story so well and thought the padding dragged a little.

Thames portrayal of Hiccup is sincere and he allows us to see the teenager sort through his feelings as he allows curiosity to triumph over tradition. Parker, the daughter of Thandiwe Newton and Ol Parker, is excellent, showing us Astrid’s fierceness and, like Hiccup, the curiosity that leads her to question her community’s assumptions, even though by the standards she was raised with, she is at the top.

Production designer Dominic Watkins skillfully translates the animated world with intricate, textured, settings filled with intriguing details. The ships, the landscape, the workshop, even the doors in the arena that open up to allow dragons to enter for the training sessions area are all gorgeously imagined to bring us into the world. Lindsay Pugh’s costumes and the hair designs by a talented group of artists help define the characters, who dress for battle but show a lot of personality and intention in the way they present themselves. The flying scenes are dynamic, fun to watch, and I’m sure a glimpse at what the new ride at Universal Studios will be like.

Parents should know that this movie has extended peril and violence, though human and dragon deaths are off-screen. We hear about injuries and deaths, including the death of Hiccup’s mother. It also includes a very positive portrayal of people (and a dragon) with disabilities.

Family discussion: Why was Hiccup the first to see that the dragons could be friendly? Why was it hard for his father to accept that?

If you like this try: the animated movies, the books, and the television series

A Minecraft Movie

Posted on April 2, 2025 at 4:11 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for violence/action, language, suggestive/rude humor and some scary images
Profanity:	Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Fantasy peril and violence, some scary creatures
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 4, 2025

“A Minecraft Movie” is a lot of fun. Fans of the game will enjoy a lot of touchstones and to its dedication to giving players “where anything you imagine you can create.” Those who don’t know anything about the game will appreciate its good spirits, off-beat humor, and appealing characters.

“Napoleon Dynamite” directors Jared Hess and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess (working together under his name) brings their love for off-beat small-town America and the “Velvet Mischief” signature scent. They reunite with his “Nacho Libre” star Jack Black. There’s also an appearance by their “Gentlemen Broncos” star Jemaine Clement and tater tots, reminiscent of the “tots” in “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Black plays Steve, whose dream as a child was to be a miner. When he grew up, he left his humdrum job selling doorknobs and was transported vis “this thingy and that cool thingy” into the world of the game, where he met his beloved wolf, Dennis. The chance to create and explore with his devoted companion was everything he ever wanted until he entered the Nether and was captured by its witchy evil queen Malgosha (Rachel House) and put in prison by her pig-soldiers.

Back in the real world, more specifically the small town of Chaglass, Idaho, the Potato Chip Capital, we meet some characters who are struggling. One-time world video game champion Garrett Garrison (Jason Momoa, also a producer and clearly having a blast) is having a hard time accepting that he is no longer successful. His business, Game Over World, is failing and no one is impressed by the high scores he had in the 90s that inspired his GAMR 89 license plates. Natalie (Emma Myers) and her younger brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen) have just moved to Idaho after the death of their mother. Their warm-hearted realtor, Dawn (Danielle Brooks) welcomes them, but explains that she has had to take on several other jobs, including a traveling zoo. Natalie takes a job doing social media for the local potato chip company while Henry is bullied on the first day at his new school.

Then they find themselves transported into Minecraft where they meet up with Steve. Like Dorothy in Oz and Alice in Wonderland, Garrett, Natalie, Henry, and Dawn spend the rest of the story trying to get back home but learning some lessons and developing some friendships along the way.

There are a lot of adventures along the way, too, as the group travels throughout the world of Minecraft to get to the MacGuffin, which in this case is the glowing thingy and the cool thingy that will allow the humans to return to their world. By the way, in this square-ified voxel-built world, a glowing cube thingy is referred to as an orb.

It’s a looser, lower-key, goofier version of “Jumanji,” with Momoa substituting for Dwayne Johnson, with Iron Golems, a chicken jockey, some great eyebrow action, zombie skeletons riding giant spiders and shooting flaming arrows, a talent show, a tot launcher, and surprise! instead of an English accent, the villain has a New Zealand accent! Plus Jennifer Coolidge as the school principal who has her own adventure with a Minecraft creature, briefly but hilariously voiced by Matt Berry.

It’s called “A Minecraft Movie” instead of “The Minecraft Movie” to pay tribute to the game’s possibilities, with every player creating a unique experience. The movie does not have that luxury; it is the same for every viewer. But its appreciation for the endless potential of imagination should be more likely to inspire viewers to try to play the game or even create their own.

NOTE: Stay all the way through the credits for a mid-credit scene AND a post-credit scene.

Parents should know that there are some scary monster and characters are in extended peril, but there are no serious injuries, mostly slapstick including a crotch hit and a scene of two men tightly strapped together. Characters use some schoolyard language.

Family discussion: How does Garrett change and why? If you play Minecraft, what makes it different from other games? What’s your favorite place in the Minecraft world and your favorite way to play?

If you like this, try the “Jumanji” movies, also with Jack Black

Death of a Unicorn

Posted on March 26, 2025 at 12:30 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for strong violent content, gore, language and some drug use
Profanity:	Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol and drug use
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended and very gory peril and violence, many characters injured and killed, graphic and disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	Class and economic diversity themes
Date Released to Theaters:	March 28, 2025

Elliot (Paul Rudd), a nervous lawyer who is late to a very important meeting with a vastly wealthy client and constantly sneezing from his allergy to pollen. He is driving much too fast on a precarious mountain road and he hits…a unicorn. He and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) get out of the car. She touches the unicorn’s glowing horn and makes some kind of connection to the animal and its wisdom about the universe. He, seeing that the animal is suffering and again, frantic about getting to the compound on top of the mountain to meet with the client, hits the unicorn with a tire iron to, well, you saw the title.

They shove the unicorn’s body into the rental car and proceed up the mountain to the compound of the client, Odell (Richard E. Grant), critically ill and on oxygen, his wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) and their son, Shepard (Will Poulter). This visit will determine whether Odell will bring Elliot on as a partner of the pharmaceutical company, and Elliot has brought Ridley along to demonstrate his value as a family man. He does not pay attention to Ridley’s unhappiness with him and with the client as a representative of the oppressive oligarchy. She has grudgingly agreed to pretend to close to him. And he keeps assuring her that all of the compromises he is making are because he wants to take care of her.

This conflict is acutely shown in the first scene, when they are stuck on a plane that has been delayed. Ridley has fallen asleep on her father’s shoulder. He looks at her tenderly. But then the papers he was working on fall into the aisle, and, after some brief efforts to reach them without disturbing her, he stretches out and lets her head fall to the armrest with a thunk.

Odell, Belinda, and Shepard do not exemplify Ridley’s view of the oligarchy; they are even more selfish, fatuous, and predatory than she imagined. Grant and Leoni are right on point in conveying the superficial congeniality and underlying combination of carelessness and ruthlessness that comes from a complete disconnection to any adverse consequences. Why shouldn’t the entire world exist for no purpose other than their comfort and, perhaps, immortality?

Their reaction to the unicorn is to follow the Native American “every part of the buffalo” theory, not out of economy or respect but out of greed. This is amplified when an infusion of unicorn blood brings Odell back from the brink of death to vibrant health. It might even cure cancer. Poulter is also terrific as the spoiled bro heir.” That’s the biggest one!” Shepard shouts joyfully. There’s a recurring joke about the way the family yells “Griff” for the servant (Anthony Carrigan) any time one of them needs something, thinks they need something, or just has a whim.

The dead unicorn is a baby and the other unicorns want it back. Ridley does some research into the legend behind the famous unicorn tapestries now in New York’s Cloisters Museum. The connection she made when she touched the horn helps her understand that it will not go well for anyone who hurts or captures. The movie gets very grisly.

We are in the midst of a prevalent “eat the rich” theme in television series from “Squid Games” to “White Lotus” and “Severance” and movies like “The Menu,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Mickey 17.” Some of them are more effective than others. I’d put this somewhere in the middle. The extended bloodbath at the end and the slight nod at one character’s redemption are not as well-executed as the satiric first half. But its audacity and imagination are impressive and the skill and commitment of the cast makes it very watchable.

Parents should know that this movie has extended and very graphic violence with most characters injured or killed and very disturbing images. Characters use strong language.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for Elliot to see that he was not helping Ridley? What do you think will happen after the ending of the movie?

If you like this, try: “Glass Onion,” “Dumb Money,” and “Mickey 17”