Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Queen Charlotte” (Netflix)

Royals rule this week…so Shonda Rhimes has created a new Netflix series you’re gonna want to binge. Spinning off “Bridgerton,” there’s “Queen Charlotte.”

Part of a political pact, 17 year-old Charlotte (India Amarteifio) is dispatched from Germany to England to marry King George III (Corey MyIchreest). Since Charlotte has no idea if he’s “a troll or a beast,” she’s understandably reluctant.

Conveniently, they ‘meet cute’ as she’s trying to climb a wall to escape, so the lavish nuptials go as planned. But instead of consummating their union on their wedding night, George departs for his observatory to watch the night sky.

Persistently followed by her aide Brimsley (Sam Clemmett) – who’s dawdling with the King’s aide Reynolds (Freddie Dennis) – bewildered young Queen Charlotte’s only confidante is conniving Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas).

“I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation, and consequently must often act contrary to my passions,” George fumes. (That evokes a contemporary connection to King Charles’ contrived marriage to naive Diana to produce an heir and a spare, while he canoodled with his long-time mistress Camilla.)

Interspersed are glimpses of the mature, Regency-era Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), familiar from “Bridgerton,” coping with the King’s debilitating illness as she poignantly prods her 13 progeny to preserve the dynasty.

Narrated by gossiping Lady Whistledown (Julie Andrews), the romantic plot is filled with clever gamesmanship, as many of the characters are deliciously duplicitous. (Even my action-oriented husband was intrigued.)

Shonda Rhimes has perceptively dedicated this historical prequel “In Memory of Jacqueline Avant.” Mrs. Avant, mother of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ wife Nicole, was shot and killed in a home invasion in 2021.

Renown as an activist/philanthropist in Los Angeles, Jacqueline was married to music executive Clarence Avant, called “the Godfather of Black music”…and she was fascinated by historical Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1774-1818),

According to historian Mario de Valdes y Cocom on PBS Frontline, Queen Charlotte was directly descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a Black branch of the Portuguese royal house. Even in varying accounts, her African roots are apparently verifiable, which brings us back to King Charles III coronation.

If Queen Charlotte had Black ancestry, that would affect the entire lineage of her granddaughter, Queen Victoria, whose offspring occupied many European thrones.

Another contemporary connection is the fanciful ‘Great Experiment’ in which titles and land were bestowed on people of color to equalize interracial marriages – evoking thoughts of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Queen Charlotte” is a tantalizing 10 – with all six episodes now streaming on Netflix.

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Inside” (Focus Features)

“Inside” features a high-end art thief who is trapped in an extravagant New York City penthouse …it’s a Master Class in acting but agony to watch.

When Nemo (Willem Dafoe) inadvertently sets off the alarm system as he’s searching for a particular painting, he’s imprisoned in the huge, high-tech apartment he was burglarizing. Without food or water, his desperation grows.

The apartment belongs to a Pritzker-prize-winning architect who is working in Kazakhstan on a project called the Tulip Tower. He never appears except in Nemo’s dreams and hallucinations.

According to press releases, after viewing the many Manhattan glass-clad high-rises, writer/director Vaslis Katsoupis was impressed with their height, which made him wonder what would happen if someone was stuck on the top floor.

So Katsoupis and writer Ben Hopkins developed the idea of an urban Robinson Crusoe, marooned high above the busy streets, unable to escape. He can see people below, but they can’t see him; he can scream, but no one can hear him.

Since the plumbing is turned off, he collects water from an automated plant irrigation system. While caviar, pate, foie gras and vodka are delicacies, they don’t supply the nourishment Nemo needs since the pantry is practically bare except for a few cans of dog food.

But Nemo is certainly resourceful in his isolation as the room temperature fluctuates between extreme heat and chilling air conditioning.

While desperately trying to devise an exit strategy, Nemo goes on his own creative drawing/painting binge since, as a child, his sketchbooks were his prize possession.

For wiry, wry Willem Dafoe, it’s obviously meditative performance art. But for the yawning viewer, not so much. Bottom line: as a psychological thriller, it’s really, really boring.

FYI: In Latin, Nemo is Nobody.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Inside” is an inconclusive 3, streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV and Vudu.

Susan Granger’s review of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”:

Just be thankful you didn’t squander your money at the box-office for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” one of the most worthless entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Paul Rudd’s third Ant-Man escapade is basically a family vacation gone wrong. His ex-con alter-ego Scott Lang, who was once fired from Baskin Robbins, is living it up in San Francisco as a minor celebrity who now has a best-selling memoir “Look Out for the Little Guy!” about his Avengers adventure.

When Lang, a divorced dad, and his girl-friend Hope Van Dyne, known as the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), are enjoying family time with his feisty teenage daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) – a young radical who was arrested for civil disobedience – and Hope’s parents, Janet and Hank (Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas) – they are suddenly sucked down into a mutating Quantum Realm – located outside our space/time continuum.

Delving into MCU history, retired physicist Hank Pym was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, while Janet Van Dyne was the original Wasp. She was previously confined in that subatomic sphere for 30 years, so she reunites with old acquaintances, including smarmy Lord Krylar (Bill Murray) with whom she apparently had some kind of a romantic relationship.

Janet also has a history with scowling, manipulative Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), whom she previously prevented from escaping from the Realm. But the real villain is Kang’s MODOK (Carey Stoll’s Darren Cross) – a.k.a.: Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing. It’s a huge malevolent Helmeted Head with Glowing Eyes of Doom and insect-like limbs.

The concept – devised by screenwriter Jeff Loveness and director Peyton Reed and loaded with far too many distracting, computer-generated characters – couldn’t be more confusing. It’s obvious that the filmmakers concentrated primarily on building the Quantum fantasy world using FX.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is an atrocious 3, streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV and Vudu – and, yes, there are mid-and-post-credits scenes, teasing “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” (2025).

Susan Granger’s review of “Star Trek: Picard – Season Three” (Paramount+)

Confession: I have been an ardent “Star Trek” fan ever since Gene Roddenberry’s epic sci-fi  classic began in 1966, continuing through “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager.”

Each original episode began with: “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise….Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Now – after two middling but gradually improving seasons – “Star Trek Picard” –  under showrunner Terry Matalas – is back with its third and farewell season, starring Sir Patrick Stewart as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, who was trying to enjoy retirement on his French vineyard when he was called back into Starfleet action on the USS Titan-A.

This new season finds Picard joined by his old cohorts William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), empathic Deanna Troi (Marina Sirkis), Geordi  La Forge  (LeVar Burton),  Worf (Michael Dorn), and Seven-of-Nine (Jeri Ryan). Plus there’s Picard’s old flame Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), the synthetic lifeform Lore (Brent Spiner,  (the android Data), and always-annoying Raffi (Michelle Hurd).

Causing concern, there’s creepy, revenge-obsessed Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) on the Shrike (FYI: Amanda’s father, Christopher Plummer, was the villain in “Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country”).

There’s great camaraderie as Picard and his team face a splinter faction of the Changelings, who have already launched an attack on Starfleet ‘s recruitment center.  Previously, benevolent Odo (Rene Auberjonois) was the only one of these Gamma Quadrant aliens who surfaced. Now these shapeshifters abound and they’ve taken possession of Dr. Crusher’s grown son Jack (Ed Speelers).

What’s particularly remarkable is how this season utilizes James Horner & Jerry Goldsmith’s previous “Star Trek” musical cues to once again evoke awe and wonder.

Since its inception, the “Star Trek” franchise has encompassed 11 television series, 13 feature films and numerous books, toys and games. It’s generally considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Star Trek Picard” is a nostalgic, satisfying 8, streaming on Paramount+.

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate)

It’s taken 53 years for trailblazing Judy Blume’s beloved, life-changing novel – “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” – to make it to the big screen but writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig’s delightful adaptation is well worth the wait.

Set in 1970, the story revolves around pre-teen Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) whose family moves from Manhattan to suburban New Jersey just as she’s navigating that tenuous time between childhood and adolescence.

Sweet, guileless Margaret is quickly befriended by bossy Nancy (Elle Graham), an outspoken neighbor, and her sixth-grade chums who are acutely aware of the coming physical changes in their bodies. They’re obsessed with their budding breasts and the onset of menstruation, along with their growing interest in boys.

Plus, Margaret has become curious about her cultural identity. While her father (Benny Safdie) and adored grandmother (Kathy Bates) are Jewish, her mother (Rachel McAdams) is a lapsed Christian whose devout Midwestern parents (Mia Dillon & Gary Houston) disowned her when she married out of their faith.

As a result, Margaret doesn’t identify with any religion, despite yearning to ‘belong’ somewhere. During her angst-filled struggles with spirituality, she holds her own private conversations with God. Eventually, her confusion results in a crisis, triggering an unexpected, wretchedly uncomfortable family reunion.

Superbly cast and saturated with whimsical warmth and poignant, lighthearted humor, it’s all about the timeless complexity of puberty, a relevant subject that still evokes conjecture as school districts around the country make new attempts at censorship.

Legendary, truth-telling author Judy Blume summed up my reaction, noting: “No one who likes the book will be disappointed. It’s so much more than the book.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is an endearing, empathetic 8, a coming-of-age classic that’s playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Renfield” (Universal Pictures)

For many years, Nicolas Cage refused to play Dracula, turning down major studio films but – now – he’s the legendary, bloodthirsty Count in “Renfield.”

He doesn’t star in this thriller/horror comedy. Instead, the grisly story revolves around Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Count Dracula’s long-suffering servant – a.k.a. “familiar” – whose job is to bring the infamous Transylvanian vampire fresh victims while he keeps up his super-strength by eating insects.

Renfield first appears at a church group therapy session in present-day New Orleans. Coaxed by the support group’s leader (Brandon Scott Jones), he confesses, “I am in a destructive relationship.”

That’s followed by clips of Ted Browning’s black-and-white, 1931 iconic “Dracula,” starring Dwight Frye and Bela Lugosi, with Hoult and Cage recreating their respective roles.

As he builds up confidence to break away from his dysfunctional co-dependence, mumbling Renfield falls in love with vengeance-seeking Police Officer Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), who is determined to bring down the matriarchal Lobo crime family, bossed by Bellafrancesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo), whose tattooed ‘enforcer’ son is dubbed ‘Tedward’ (Ben Schwartz).

Convolutedly scripted by Ryan Ridley from an original idea by Robert Kirkman (creator of “The Walking Dead”), it’s directed with a plethora of gruesome, graphic dismemberment by Chris McKay (“The Tomorrow War”).

Not surprisingly, since he produced and edited “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000) about Max Schreck who starred in Murnau’s classic 1922 “Nosferatu,” wild-eyed Cage delivers an over-the-top, campy performance.  But the R-rated result is abysmal.

FYI: In 1988’s low-budget “Vampire’s Kiss,” Cage was a New York literary agent who thought he was a vampire; this is the first time he’s played the real-deal.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Renfield” is an ultra-violent, frightful 4, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Ghosted” (Apple TV+/Skydance)

 

First, let’s define the term “Ghosted.” In social media terms, “ghosting’ is deliberately ignoring someone and “ghosted” is being ignored – meaning that whatever relationship you had – or think you had – is over.

So when Cole (Chris Evans) and Sadie (Ana de Armas) ‘meet cute’ at a suburban Washington D.C. Farmer’s Market, they decide to spend the day – and night – together, causing him to think they’ve clicked as a couple. But then – when she doesn’t respond to his fervent texts and emojis, his sister (Lizze Broadway) tells him he’s been ghosted.

Unwilling to accept that, Cole figures out that she’s in London, since he left his trackable asthma inhaler in her backpack. So he impulsively flies there in hot, romantic pursuit, only to discover she’s a ruthless CIA operative on the trail of an unscrupulous French arms dealer (Adrien Brody) about to sell a top-secret biomedical weapon known as Aztec.

Working from a bland ‘role reversal’ script by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (“Deadpool”), Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (“Spider-Man”), director Dexter Fletcher (“Rocketman”) tries to combines comedy with globe-hopping adventure as Sadie the Spy repeatedly rescues bumbling, bewildered Cole, the farmer/agricultural historian, whom his dad (Tate Donovan) calls “Slaw.”

A classic Hollywood screwball comedy features couples who squabble before they realize they really adore one another. But – here – much of the bickering & bantering falls flat, despite surprise cameos from Ryan Reynolds & Sebastian Stan.

There’s simply too little chemistry between Marvel’s hunky “Captain America” Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, who proved she can pack a punch in “No Time to Die” and “The Gray Man.” Even the climactic fight scene atop Atlanta’s rotating Polaris restaurant seems more confusing than compelling.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ghosted” is a starry-eyed, spirited 6, streaming on Apple TV+.

Susan Granger’s review of “65” (Sony Entertainment/Columbia Pictures)

 

“Before the advent of time – in the infinity of space – a visitor crash landed on Earth.”  That’s the introduction to the sci-fi action adventure “65,” named because dinosaurs roamed the Earth 65 million years ago.

The story begins as Mills (Adam Driver), an astronaut, bids farewell to his wife and very sick daughter. To pay for her medical care, he has agreed to a two-year mission which goes awry when an asteroid shower damages his spaceship, forcing him to crash-land on a mysterious planet inhabited by prehistoric creatures.

Mills roams around for a while, averting ravenous predators, but – before he’s reduced to talking to a Wilson volley ball – like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” – he finds another survivor, a little girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), who was a passenger on his ship and doesn’t speak English. Obviously, she reminds him of the daughter he left behind.

Together, they’re determined to find the escape pod that’s somewhere in the spaceship’s strewn wreckage, and Koa is savvy enough to save Mills from certain death when he’s trapped in quicksand.

Created and directed by the screenwriting team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (“A Quiet Place”), it strives for suspense but utilizes too many jump scares, playing like the kind of grade B-creature feature that used to be drive-in theater fare. But – since it reportedly cost $91 million – it’s not a cheapo production.

Cinematographer Salvatore Totino takes full advantage of location filming in Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana and several forests in Oregon.  But all too often it evokes memories of far-better “Jurassic Park” scenes, like spying a gigantic footprint in the mud and having a ferocious Tyrannosaurs Rex in hot pursuit as a massive meteor hurtles toward Earth.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “65” is a dreary, under-developed 4, streaming on Prime Video, Vudu, iTunes, and Google Play.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Studios/Illumination)

 

There’s no doubt that the new box-office champ is “The Super Mario Bros. Mo vie,” a computer-animated comedy adventure. Based on the popular video game, this family-friendly film has redeemed the Nintendo franchise’s reputation after its catastrophic 1993 live-action movie adaptation.

Scripted by Matthew Fogel and directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, it’s the hectic origin story for mustached Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and his younger brother Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day).  They’re New York plumbers who decide to start their own business, even as they’re mocked by their former boss, Spike (voiced by Sebastian Maniscalco).

At first. they’re ridiculed for making a television commercial in which they speak with fake Italian accents, but then they descend into the sewer in an attempt fix a broken water main beneath the streets of Brooklyn.

Suddenly, timid Luigi tumbles down a mysterious pipe and disappears. Immediately, Mario dives in after him, only to discover he’s arrived in the magical Mushroom Kingdom.

Befriended by Toad (voiced by Keegan Michael-Kay), Mario is determined to rescue Luigi from the Dark Lands, where he’s in the clutches of evil, fire-breathing Bowser (voiced by Jack Black), the ferocious, gap-toothed  turtle leader of the Koopas, who plan to conquer the entire Mushroom Kingdom.

So Mario teams up with the Kingdom’s Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) – which infuriates lovesick Bowser who is utterly infatuated with her – and then Mario must face off against Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogen), cheered on by his dad, Cranky Kong (voiced by Fred Armisen).

It all adds up to 90 minutes of spirited fun, particularly for gamers who can spot the Nintendo-referencing Easter eggs placed for their psychedelic enjoyment.  As Mario says, “Let’s-a-go!”

FYI: Universal Studios’ theme parks’ ‘Super Nintendo World’ is a whopping triumph with early entry tickets sold out every day since it opened on Feb. 17. And the telephone number blasted in Mario & Luigi’s TV commercial is (917) 555-0185; ‘917’ is the area code for New York City’s five boroughs, while ‘555’ is a famous fictional number used for many TV commercials.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a obviously successful  7, currently playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)

 

Confession: I’ve never played “Dungeons & Dragons,” so I had to learn a bit about the classic fantasy role-playing game before watching the movie. If you’re also a newbie, I’d advise you do the same.

Set on the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms, the comedic action/adventure revolves around a silver-tongued bard/rogue/thief, Edgin Davis (Chris Pine), whose wife was killed, leaving him to raise their young daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), with the help of his BFF Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), a gruff, tattooed barbarian.

But when he and Holga are arrested and thrown in the cliff-side, ice prison of Revel’s End for a couple of years, Kira’s care fell to con-man Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), who rules over a walled city and is under the spell of the evil Red Wizard Sofina (Daisy Head).

In the interim, Forge has persuaded Kira that her father abandoned her. Desperate to reunite his family, Edgin is convinced that if he can acquire the Tablet of Reawakening, he’ll be able to revive his wife and restore all that was lost.

Problem is: the Tablet is locked in a tall stone catacomb, so Edgin must find the Helmet of Disjunction, which can stop time, in order to accomplish this daring feat.

So he joins up with a righteous-albeit-humorless warrior, the debonair paladin Xenk Yemdar (Rege-Jean Page), along with second-tier sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith,) and the shape-shifting Tiefling Druid, Doric (Sophia Lillis). It’s a lot more complicated than that but I’m striving for simplicity here.

Scripted by co-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, along with Michael Gilio, it’s based on the complex, immersive game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, popularly known as D&D which – in turn – has influenced subsequent game systems involving ‘let’s pretend’ and improvisation.  

Bradley Cooper does a cameo as Marlamin and regular players will ‘get’ the ‘insider’ references and jokes that I missed during the 2 hours 14 minutes..

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is a silly, swaggering, swashbuckling 7, playing in theaters.