Groovy Movies: Summer recap

The conclusion of the Jurassic World franchise has finally arrived — a dissatisfying end to a classic story.  Overall “Dominion” was a good movie. It covered all the bases that it technically needed to. It brought back old characters, closed out the ongoing story, and attempted to create a satisfying end to a classic movie franchise. All of these things are good, but I wish that the end of th...

“Old” was released in early 2022, but I never got around to watching it until this summer. Honestly I hadn’t heard very good things about this movie, and I have to say that most of those criticisms were true.  “Old” is a completely unclear and hard to follow mess. The plot is barely introduced properly, and even after the nearly two hour run time was up, I still felt completely lost. I h...

The third installment in the Harry Potter prequels came out in April of this year. The movie didn’t have the most buzz surrounding it, especially after Universal Studios decision to cut Johnny Depp from the franchize and recast his character.  “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Secrets of Dumbledore” not only has an obnoxiously long title, but the contents of the film was lacklu...

Though this film came out at the beginning of the summer, it set a precedent for other movies and shows to follow. “Multiverse of Madness” was a bit mad to say the least. The movie felt a little scattered, with the introduction of America Chavez, a deep dive into The Scarlet Witches mind, and Dr. Steven Strange’s mid-life crisis, this movie felt like a scattered mess. But it’s the messines...

Released exactly a year after its predecessor “Inside,” Bo Burnham's new comedy special is full of silly outtakes from his solo project that was released during the pandemic in 2021.  Burnham puts a tremendous amount of effort into the songs that he writes; it may not seem that way on the surface of his goofy songs, but each song has a deeper meaning that viewers can connect with. Burnham ...

I know that “Stranger Things” is not technically a movie, but in its fourth season, each episode is over an hour long each, adding up to a total run time of about 13 hours. Not only that, but “Stranger Things” was just about the biggest title of the summer.  This new addition to the “Stranger Things” story has helped to continue the world building and characterization of Hawkins, Indian...

The fourth installment of the Thor series, “Thor: Love and Thunder, ” is a wonderful picture of family and trust, in more ways than one. Thor is struggling with the introduction of a new hero, his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster. We see Jane after years of her missing from the MCU, and she is in a very vulnerable state. When given the opportunity, Jane takes up the mantle as the new Thor.  All in...

Directed by Wes Anderson and released way back in 2014, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a silly, bright film that covers deep betrayal and hurt. Wes Anderson's general aesthetic in film is one of my favorites among Hollywood's most famous directors. His use of warm yellow tones is carried out throughout this film, which helps to make this movie feel cozy and inviting, even in its most intense mo...