In Theaters: **** Moana (2026)

 Of all the disnay remakes, this movie most closely reflects the original animated version.  The story is pretty much exact but we now have live characters with the obvious exceptions.  Moana (Catherine Laga'aia) is chosen by the ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti.  Many years ago Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart to give to people so they would have the power of creation.  However instead of being a good thing, with out her heart Te Fiti is unable to bless the people and everything is starting to rot, which spreads further and further each year.  Moana lives on an island, and is expected to stay there and serve the people.  Her father, Chief Tui (John Tui) and his wife Sina (Frankie Adams).  Even though she is told to stay, Moana always feels pulled by the ocean.  Her grandmother Tala (Rena Owen) encourages her in this.  When things get worse on the island, she finally gets the courage to go on her journey, to seek out Maui and restore the heart.  I really enjoyed this show, as did all those who went with us.  Where it was the same story as the animated feature, Tony stayed home.

Movie Review: ***^ A Beautiful Mind (2001)

 Russel Crowe stars as John Nash, a mathematical genius who developed a genius idea about economics when he was in school.  He also suffers from a mental illness.  The journey is very intense.  He has to learn how to distinguish what is delusion or hallucination vs what is real; and then ignore the hallucination.  He says he chooses not to acknowledge them even though he still sees them.  John Nash received a Nobel Prize for economics and this movie portrays this and how he overcame his mental illness.  In addition to Russel Crowe, Jennifer Connelly plays his wife, Christopher Plummer plays the psychiatrist, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany and Vivien Cardone all play hallucinations. School companions include Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas and Anthony Rapp.  This is a film directed by Ron Howard.  He likes to direct movies based on true stories. 

 

Alfred Hitchcock Movie: ***^ Jamaican Inn (1939)

 This is the las Hitchcock film in which Hitchcock himself did not have a cameo role.  Mary Yellen (Maureen O'Hara) travels to live with her aunt after her mother's death.  She is left at the home of the local squire, justice of the peace, Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton).  The next day she walks to her aunts, Patience Merlyn (Marie Ney) home, and is not so warmly welcomed by her uncle, Josh Merlyn (Leslie Banks).  It doesn't take her long to figure that something is not right.  She discovers her uncle is the leader of a band of cutthroats who are causing shipping accidents and then stealing the goods.  They attempt to hang a member of their company, Robert Newton (Jem Trehearne).  They try to hang him and Yellen is successful in cutting the rope.  She and Newton make their way to Pengallan for protection.  Pengallan in truth is the leader of the gang, telling them what ships to attack based on information he gleams from his rich friends.  Pengallan goes along with Newton, who is a spy sent to stop the murder and theft of crewmen on the ships they have been sabotaging.  The group is doing another job, with Yellen captured and forced to go with.  They turn out the light warning of rocks, but while they are distracted, Yellen is able to restor the light and the ship escapes.  Everything goes to pot, with the men turning on Banks.  Banks and Yellen escape with Banks being shot.  When they get back to the Inn he dies, and Pangallan shooting his wife before she can divulge that Pengallan is the crime boss.  Pengallan leaves with Yellen, on their way to America.  He has an attraction to her.  Newton also has an attraction and follows with a group of officers.  They track him to the boat, where he jumps from a mast causing his own demise.

Lots of action and good acting.  Maurene O'Hara's firt major roll.  Alfred Hitchcock directs based on a book by Daphne Du Maurier.  Jamaican Inn is a real place in Cornwall, England and had problems with marauders.

In Theaters Movie Musical Review: ****^ Hadestown (2026)

 A telling of the Orpheus/Eurydice (Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada) love story.  I should have known things would not turn out happy.  Hermes (André De Shields) the narrator kept sing "it's a sad song."  The story also recounts the love of Hades and Persephone (Patrick Page and Amber Gray).  Hades had a boot on his leg and determined this was not part of the character but an actor playing the part with an injury.  Hades has a very deep voice, and Orpheus is a high tenor.  I really like his song, which he must sing to win his love's release.  I did not like the ending, but it was sealed by the fates make this a true Greek Romance.  So we start the story again hoping for a better ending.  The music is haunting and very effective.  Hades, Hermes, Orpheus, Eurydice and Persephone are all very strong musically. 

Only in theaters for a week, but I highly recommend this movie.  This is an on stage production.  The floor of the stage plays several different tricks to facilitate traveling.  It goes around and up and down.  

Movie Review: I Am Legend

 An apocalyptic New York with Doctor Robert Neville (Will Smith) trying to find a cure for a devastating virus that has killed most of the people, left others as man eating zombies and as far as he knows he is the only one with immunity.  He does have a dog, and mannequins he communicates with. We assume his wife and daughter (Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Willow Smith) do not get away, because in a flash back it appears they die in a helicopter crash. 

He keeps looking for a cure, and captures a zombie for a human test.  He feels he has failed in his studies, but the zombie does not die.

The zombies are allergic to sun light, so he is able to travel during the day at will, but at night it is zombie time.  Zombies have sharp teeth and big mouths, and are very gruesome.  His dog travels with him, but becomes infected when saving Neville from rabid dogs.  The dog becomes infected and he has to put him down.  Very emotional scene.  Turns out he wants to die and take as many zombies with him as he can.  However he is saved.  There is a woman, Anna (Alice Braga) and her son, Ethan (Charlie Tahan) who likewise are not infected, who save him.  They get him to his compound, but the zombies now know where he lives.  They attack with a vengeance, and they retreat to the basement, his lab.  The zombie he had experimented on is still breathing in the lab, and it looks like she has been cured.  Can the cure be given to people, or will the zombies kill everyone?  

Tom Clancy in the Movies

 ****^ The Hunt for Red October 1990. Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan and Sean Connery as Russian submarine commander

***^ Patriot Games 1992.  Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, saves British Royal, rated R for language and violence.

****^ Clear and Present Danger   1994. Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan

**** The Sum of all Fears 2002.  Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan

**** Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit 2014, Chris Pine as Jack Ryan

Tom Clancy/ Harrison Ford Movie Review: ****^ Clear and Present Danger (1994)

The president's (Donald Moffat) friend is killed in the Caribbean.  And the president wants to seek revenge.  He indirectly orders forces to Columbia.  In this movie the head of the CIA (James Earl Jones) is diagnosed with cancer.  Consequently Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) is shoved more into the spotlight.  The president wrangles him to go to Columbia.  They have discovered accounts in the name of the president's deceased friend where he was laundering drug money.  The Columbian drug lord is Ernesto Escobedo (Miguel Sandoval) and his henchman is Felix Cortez (Joaquim de Almeida).  Clark (Willem Dafoe) is tasked with putting together a team to go to Columbia.  These men are good at their job and cause Escobedo some headaches.  James Cutter (Harris Yulin) as security advisor and Robert Ritter (Henry Czerny) as his underling put the program together.  The even direct a plane dropping a bomb on a meeting of cartel leaders.  

Eventually Ryan, as the deputy director of the CIA, figures out what is happening.  Part of this is that a secretary (Ann Magnuson) of the US. government has inadvertently been feeding information to Cortez.  Cortez kills her.  Ryan's wife (Anne Archer) notices that her death coincides with other happenings, and they realize it is tied with the Columbian issue.  Cortez is tracked and a conversation intercepted he has with Cutter.  The President, Cutter and Ritter kill the programs with no extraction.  Ryan decides to go down to Columbia and get the U.S. service men out if he can.  He and Clark are to the rescue.