Daddy Mojo at the Movies

Paddington 3: A Solid Follow-Up to a Perfect Movie

Return of the Jedi had this problem. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has this problem too. How do you follow up a perfect movie? Paddington 2 is a perfect movie. For a long time it had a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, received the ultimate pop culture shout out in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and remains one of our favorite films. However, as an intellectual property, Paddington has the potential to tell many stories and movie theaters still need quality programming, so Paddington 3 was an eventuality. This is where we need to be reminded of the phrase, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of (very) good”. Rest easy marmalade-loving people, Paddington 3: Lost in Peru is very good.

Paddington 3: Lost in Peru has the unenviable task of following up a perfect movie. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of very good, and this is very good.

It is a children’s movie, but it satisfies that description in the same way “Finally It’s Christmas” by Hanson is a Christmas song. In brief, The Christmas Song test is where said song reaches far beyond its intended time frame or audience to where it can be enjoyed regardless of when or who experiences it. As if to test this very unofficial theorem I just listened to that Christmas song by Hanson, as well as, others from that same album and was immensely entertained. If you haven’t heard that song before, stop reading for a moment and enjoy this sonic delicacy.

Paddington 3 is very good. In today’s hyperbolic quest for adjectives and review sites tripping over themselves for the perfect way to describe something for clicks and eyeballs, it can get overwhelming. Paddington 3 is beary good is a way to say it, but then some readers would think that the intention was to say ‘bearly good’, which is not what the title is meant to infer. And why say it’s very good? Isn’t great better than very good?

You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve been teaching high school ELA for the past two weeks. Their ability to make up excuses, feign ignorance or otherwise concoct a reason for not committing to something is infectious. So to them, in addition to anyone else who just needs to unplug-but still be entertained, and do so in a family-friendly manner that’s still able to hold the attention of surly middle and high school students, check out Paddington 3.

Hold on, high school students will enjoy Paddington 3? Caveat: our high school and middle school student enjoyed Paddington 3. It could be because they have fond memories of us going to see Paddington and Paddington 2, which we’ve told them umpteen million times is one of the best movies ever. Who knows. They left their cell phones in the car, went into the movie theater with mom and dad and said that they enjoyed it. Paddington 3 for the win.

The story revolves around Paddington’s aunt disappearing from the retired bear home in Peru. Paddington convinces the Brown family to go there and help him rescue her from the trouble that he knows she’s in. Along the way they meet up with Antonio Banderas, a riverboat captain who knows the location of this supposed place where Lucy had a clue, but is also rife with rumors about an ancient treasure.

See, it’s a children’s movie, but let’s channel it through the timeless memories of family vacations. The teens in the movie start out typical enough being sullen or seemingly too eager to leave the family house in order to go to university. They encounter a quirky, albeit more handsome and charismatic than-average-man, who helps make their vacation unforgettable. Their younger brother makes several mistakes, but doesn’t do so in a jerky or self-centered manner. The entire family bonds over their comical adventures and is stronger at the end of it. The end credit scenes also reward viewers with a snippet of the main heel from Paddington 2 that reminds us why the series is so beloved.

Paddington 3 is a family movie. It’s not a children’s movie because it’s smarter than what you expect when something is described as “a children’s movie.” It also doesn’t have the same crossover as one of the Pixar movies that you might think it’s in league with. This requires more patience and doesn’t have the same madcap humor traditional upper-elementary ages are accustomed to. That is a good thing. Again, it’s not a great thing, it’s a good thing.

Is it better to have a joke that resonates with a majority of the crowd, but isn’t that clever, or a very sublime joke that is very clever, but isn’t caught by a majority of the audience? In a way, this is an unfair and incorrect comparession to Paddington 3 because it will connect with audiences. It’s so well made that, as a parent you want people to take away the joy and the fun that the film provides. As the fake-out ending of the film was happening I thought to myself how many great stories Paddington could tell. To end the movies on a trilogy, just because that’s the way movies are done, would be unfortunate for younger audiences to come.

If you have children aged eight to 12, Paddington 3 is for you, see it in theaters. If you have a family that likes to have fun and doesn’t place bookmarks on its packaging, you’ll enjoy it. It’s unfair to compare it to its predecessor, and even when looked at as an individual movie, Paddington 3 is enjoyable and reminds us about how good a family can be.

Paddington 3 is rated PG for age-appropriate danger and thrills.

Red One falls between many cracks to the land of cinematic coal

Our wheelhouse has a litmus test called the Christmas Music (or Movie) test. In brief, people are more forgiving, and artists are more apt to create projects when they are centered around Christmas. The cynic says that it’s a built-in holiday audience that will create traditions around a song or a movie. The artists will say with a straight face that they’ve always loved the holiday and are out to entertain the kids. There are some songs or movies that are wonderful regardless of their Santa inclusion and those creations pass the Christmas Movie (or music) test. Red One is a Christmas movie, does it pass this test?

Red One is in a North Pole-sized ditch and fails as an action movie, Christmas movie and feel-good flick, falling short in each metric.

Come sleigh away, come sleigh away,

Despicable Me 4, rote minion and baby hijinks for ages 8-13

Adding a baby to the cast of characters in a sequel is the canary of intellectual property death. The most obvious offender for us is Muppet Babies, but there have been many others. Angel, Murphy Brown, Friends are the first ones that rip off of the top of my head. And while casual fans of those shows or the movies that have hit that creative dearth might struggle to remember the specifics, they can vaguely recall that entry as the one with the baby. Despicable Me 4 is the one with the baby and lest there be anyone who didn’t suspect that’s a major plot point, there’s a baby on Gru’s back on the DVD’s cover. One of the minions is beside him, channeling its best yellow-Men-In-Black impersonation with a ray gun of sort in its gloved-yellow hand.

Despicable Me 4 adds a baby and exposes Gru and co. to a higher standard that doesn’t measure up to previous films.

The sweet spot for 8-11 YO minions, but not past that

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel that measures up to high expectations

Prequels are the sort of lazy storytelling that beget Muppet Babies. That statement can still be true, however, I’ve been watching Young Sheldon on Netflix and love that show. A movie is a different kind of beast though, and making a sequel to one of the best action films ever shouldn’t be trifled with. Mad Max: Fury Road is the movie in question and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the prequel that was holding the place card for an apocalyptic, gasoline-centered Muppet Babies. Our worst-case scenario of young Kermit may be the exception, rather than the rule. That’s because Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is possibly the best action movie since 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is great fun, it’s independent enough to stand alone and wields the action of Fury Road with a deeper story.

Muppet babies in the wasteland get run over

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is solid and shows no sign of letting up

The first three Planet of the Apes movies, in this revamped series were all remarkably consistent in their quality. They were films that I personally enjoyed, in addition to achieving great commercial success. Because of that, I was concerned about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The negative headlines to reviews of the potentially subpar film wrote themselves in my head, An Ape Too Far, Forescore and No Apes More, There’s Nothing to Ape About This Film, and other erstwhile clickable titles that would be glib and hinted at my disappointment in the movie.

However, not since the Harry Potter movie series has a franchise produced so many films consistently, with roughly the same characters, and has continued a high level of quality and entertainment. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth film in this series, the tenth movie overall, and stretches every conceivable positive metric forward, or doesn’t back off from its previous highs, for the most part.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes delivers the epic, enthralling story that you wanted, with the effects that make you believe in a world controlled by simians.

You’ll believe an ape can fly, or talk

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it’s exactly what you want it to be

The thing about monster, horror or Fast & Furious movies is that you don’t expect them to be great, you just don’t want them to be bad. A bad mixture for each of them depends on what thing isn’t added. Monster movies, like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire need to have monsters smashing lots of things, numerous objects or scenery that illustrates their massive size and not have too many humans, or at least too many annoying humans. Using that criteria, and the guidance of our son, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire checks off all of those boxes and is the sort of film where middle school ages and non-critics will enjoy it.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is monster fun, monster big and monster expectations. It won’t change minds, but it’ll entertain fans of the genre.

Godzill and Kong sitting in a tree……

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire builds on the quality and fun of Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a very good movie. It’s a film that’s better than its predecessor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Frozen Empire starts with action and very rarely lets its foot off of the entertainment gas. These are important things to state from the get-go because the high hopes for Afterlife were, for the most part, met by audiences and critics. Thus, it’s surprising that Frozen Empire doesn’t fumble the franchise and manages to be a very entertaining film that will exceed the expectations of fans of the first and fourth entries. Moreover, even if you’ve never seen a Ghostbusters film, Frozen Empire is a solid film that delivers popcorn, and escapist fun that people go to the cinema for.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a very good film that’s the popcorn sort of fun you want at the cinema with enough nostalgia for the ‘classic’ fans. — Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire poster, courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Who ya gonna call, Paul rudd to the rescue

There’s Something in the Barn, horror fare that serves two masters

The line between peanut butter and chocolate mixture is a fine one, isn’t it? I try to make chocolate, and peanut butter pretzels every December, and while edible, they always fall short of how perfect they should taste. Christmas horror films are like my erstwhile Reese’s concoction too; if there’s too much horror and gore then it will limit its audience, but if it aims for the funnier route then the jokes have to hit. There’s Something in the Barn has a great premise and nails the first hour; but then, akin to the cake that’s risen well up until the end, it falls just a bit flat.

There’s Something in the Barn has a great premise and will satiate holiday horror fans at a base level, but leave them wanting more.

It’s enjoyable, but we wanted more