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In this reboot of the franchise, the Men in Black expand to cover the globe, but so have the villains. The original cast of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is gone and has been replaced by the next generation of the franchise: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson.

2019 has already been swept by long thought very dead franchises, MIB International emerges as yet another disappointing reboot that should have been left alone. The elaborate scenes on locations like London or Marrakesh, worthy of a James Bond movie, didn’t really take this movie beyond what the industry would consider a studio pitch gone very wrong. And if I may say as a side note, in times when immigration is all the time in the headlines that the writers of the movie decided to omit even the tiniest bit of social criticism in a movie about a government agency that handles the immigration of aliens is truly beyond me.

Director Gary F. Gray, unfortunately, is no Barry Sonnenfeld’s. His visual effects skills are lacking here too, which makes the whole thing seem awkward and a bit of a mess. Grey tried to add some modern tweaks to the premise, taking a risk in putting a greater emphasis on the chemistry of his leads rather than on the special effects and gadgetry. Yet can the magical chemistry of Smith and Jones really be recreated???

MIB International is set for people who know the premise of the franchise but weren’t actually old enough to have seen the movies when they were originally released, that by itself is an oxymoron.

It is sad to say but you won’t even need one of those neutralizers from the MIB to forget this movie. Lightning rarely strikes twice, let alone four times, it is totally OK to skip this one, a very deserving Thumbs Down from me.

Just when you thought the X-Men franchise is dead, here comes a new and unexpected chapter in Dark Phoenix, the twelfth installment in the X-Men franchise, and maybe the re-birth of a whole new generation of the beloved characters.

Phoenix (aka Jean Grey) lives in 1992, where she interacts with younger versions of the better-known X-Men characters like Mystique, Cyclops and Storm. Then comes a freak accident that makes her into Dark Phoenix, the most powerful and unstoppable X-Men, to the point that (the younger) Charles Xavier proclaims her to be “too powerful”.

And like the original series, this movie too features an all-star cast of who’s who, that potentially can venture into their own movies. From our heroin portrayed by Sophie Turner (from the Game of Thrones fame) through Oscar winner, Jennifer Lawrence, Golden Globe nominee, James McAvoy, Oscar nominee, Michael Fassbender, Oscar nominee, Jessica Chastain and Critics Choice nominee, Tye Sheridan.

Simon Kinberg, wrote and directed this movie that either will stand as a beginning of something new or the end of something beloved. And (as we now have come to expect from Marvel movies) this movie is also two-hours-long. Dark Phoenix has caught me completely off guard and I actually really liked it, which gives me a pleasure to give it a Thumbs Up!

Whereas the successful The Secret Live of Pets gave us an inside look of what our pets do when we are not around, the sequel goes a step forward to show us what our pets do when we take them with us on a vacation to an out of town trip.

Even though a few years have past in the story, the narrative is as heart trickily, tugged, cuddly and energetic as the first Illumination Studios flick was in 2016, plus a great add for the sequel, the very authoritative voice of Harrison Ford as “Rooster”.

The plot is funny and gives you plenty of heartwarming “ahh” moments with a more insight into the uncharted life of pets. Yet when you exit the theater there truly is not been a single moment that stays with you, and I want to clearly state here that I am a sucker for talking dogs movies! The script feels, at times, a bit rushed to get to the screen before the young audience that made the original such a big hit just before they will graduate into superheroes genre.

Let’s say this was not what I would have had in mind for the much anticipated sequel to the The Secret Life of Pets, yet it is still a great lovable and bubbly movie for an outing with the kids. All in all its still is deserving of a Thumbs Ups!

When Octavia Spencer, one of only 11 actresses in the history to win the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, BAFTA Awards, and the Academy Awards, decides to do the most unlikely move and act in a formula horror flick, that means there must be more to the movie then beats the eye.

Of course, there is the one little thing that the director of The Help, Tate Taylor, who helped her win an Oscar, also directed this flick.

Ma can be seen as a teen-flick variation of many horror greats, put one Glen Close in “Fatal Attraction,” add a Sissy Spacek in “Carrie” with some Cathy Bates in “Misery” stir well with some other revenge-of-the-nerd stalker thrillers and viola… you get a Ma.

What makes Spencer so much creepier in Ma is that at so many stages in the movie she comes across as reliable and humane that you have to ask yourself: really? Her friendly on the outside yet insane on the inside chill you to your bone. Her crazy mode swings just emphasize what an amazing chameleon of an actress she is. This is an Octavia Spencer vehicle from the beginning to the end, the rest of the cast are there just to support her narrative.

Octavia Spencer is the only reason to go see this flick and it’s a damn good reason. Undoubtedly a Thumbs Up from me.

Rocketman markets itself as the Elton John biopic, yet if you are looking for a docu-like reenactment of the superstars life, this is not that movie. It has taken way too many liberties to change life events to fit the narrative of the movie. None the less, this bigger than life musical production includes Elton John’s timeless tunes to help tell the story of one Reginald Dwight who with all the tormented childhood suffering from his ruthless mom, grows up to become one of the worlds most loved singer-songwriter.

The flick was scribed by genius Billie Elliot screenwriter, Lee Hall, who created a perfect framework for the movie around the singers’ group therapy sessions, which allows John to become the narrator of his own story. Another Billie Elliott connection in Rocketman is Billie Elliot himself, Jamie Bell, who portrays Elton’s partner, Bernie Taupin, the angel to Elton John’s devil.

The movie’s director, Dexter Fletcher, who was the savior of Bohemian Rhapsody, after director, Bryan Singer, was fired over the alleged sexual misconduct allegations, made Rocketman into a near-masterpiece in its genre. Now everyone compares between the two flicks although they really are very different from each other. The only thing that both have in common, is a great casting of a lead to portray the title character. Just like (the now Oscar winner), Rami Malik nailed it in his portrayal of Freddy Mercury, so does Matthew Illesley, with Elton John, interestingly enough both actors are not really a spitting image of the real-life person they portray.

This movie will move you in many ways, both in your heart and your…. seat… defiantly a Thumbs Up!