Universal Studios

THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND – Rated R – 2 hrs. 16 mins

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THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND – Rated R – 2 hrs. 16 mins.

DIRECTOR/WRITER:  Judd Apatow

WRITERS:  Pete Davidson, Dave Sirrus

STARRING:  Pete Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Maude Apatow, Bel Powley, Bill Burr, Ricky Velez, Lou Wilson, and Moses Arias

Venturing down the path of a semi-biographical tale about SNL Funny man Pete Davidson, we walk the mentally unstable path of Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson), who has been trying to get his life on track, since his father met his untimely death serving as a fireman.  Struggling in the relationships he’s cemented with all the women in his life, including his “friend with benefits” steady Kelsey (Bel Powley), his “smarter than she should be” younger sister Claire (Maude Apatow) and his hard working mother, Nurse Margie (Marisa Tomei), he’s shamefully crapping on all of him, and his future it seems as well.  As Scott focuses all of his energy on being the next great tattoo artist, his handy work manages to bring a new man into his mother’s life, Ray (Bill Burr), which is the last thing he needed or wanted for his life, or for his mother’s life either.

Now, between the new boyfriend, his sister’s excursion off to College, and the constant antics with his buddies, Scott finds himself faced with the harsh realities of life, that he has tried so desperately to avoid, for a really, really long time…

I give THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND a rating of MUST SEE ON ANY DIGITAL FORMAT YOU CAN! 

Apatow has done it again, making another funny, heartfelt, and masterfully orchestrated drama, thus giving Davidson the perfect venue to shine within!  He is perfectly cast in this semi-autobiographical storyline of his own life, as it shares some of Davidson’s own life struggles with mental illness, and the anguish of losing his father ~ who was a real-life firefighter who perished in the World Trade Center on 9/11. 

And as perfect as Davidson is, the rest of the casting throughout this film is absolutely superb too, as Apatow brought along his daughter Maude, Oscar winning actress Marisa Tomei, and the perfect stand-in father figure this time around, played by Bill Burr.  There is even the perfect Fire Captain role written into this script, which is acted out by none other than Steve Buscemi, as he once again shines in this small, but pivotal role within this film.  I really hope that come Awards season, which is going to be extremely difficult to predict this year, that those handing out accolades remember Davidson’s performance, because even though I don’t always give rave reviews for his comedy, or sketches on SNL, I was blown away by his performance this time around, and the way Apatow draws out such a perfect combination of his comedic timing, with his real-life innocence and struggles, allowing for Davidson to give the best performance of his career so far!  Take my word for it, THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND is one of those films that will stay and resonate with you, long after the credits have rolled off the screen, it’s just that good!

Check out the NEW TRAILER for UNIVERSAL STUDIO’s JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN – Hits Theaters 10/26

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In Theaters October 26th, 2018

Story:  Rowan Atkinson returns as the much-loved accidental secret agent in “Johnny English Strikes Again”.  When a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all active undercover agents in Britain, the country’s only hope is called out of retirement.  English’s new mission is his most critical to date: Dive head first into action to find the mastermind hacker.  A man with few skills and analogue methods, English must overcome the challenges of modern technology—or his newest mission will become the Secret Service’s last.

Director: David Kerr (“Inside No. 9”)

Writer: William Davies (“Johnny English,” “Johnny English Reborn”)

Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Chris Clark

Cast:  Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller, Jake Lacy, Emma Thompson

For more info, please follow the film on social:

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#JohnnyEnglish

THE MUMMY – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 50 mins

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mummy

THE MUMMY – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 50 mins

Starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson and Courtney B. Vance 

Serving in the armed forces ~ yet searching for treasure it seems~ we meet the suave and debonair Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and his sidekick in mayhem Chris Vail (Jake Johnson).

When by happenstance Morton and Vail uncover the mysterious tomb of Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), archeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) has a distinct feeling she too has hit the jackpot with the exquisite find…

As they retrieve the sarcophagus ~ all hell breaks loose ~ as this mysterious Princess from the past has her own agenda it seems – Total annihilation of our world…and total control of one Nick Morton too!

With Nick under mind control, and Vail having his own mysterious issues it seems, archeologist Halsey reaches out to her counterpart for his assistance, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe), to aid in corralling the Princess…

As Ahmanet’s power continues to be unleashed, and Dr. Jekyll’s own issues begin to surface, it seems that Morton and Vail better get their acts together, if they are going to save this world…and perhaps “the dark world” too…

I give THE MUMMY a rating of catch this film on DVD or NETFLIX: Yep, you just saw that rating ~ even from this Tom Cruise loving critic ~ as this MUMMY film was just nothing but “a big mess” for me. The many intertwining storylines of subjects and creatures throughout just didn’t appeal to me ~ as the way the lumped them all together, made no sense to me AT ALL! I wasn’t even enamored by this films 3D CGI, which is unusual, as the cinematography of a film usually always captures my attention. I was even hoping going in, since I loved Director Alex Kurtzman’s 2012 film PEOPLE LIKE US so much, that I could find an avenue within this film too that I would truly enjoy…but sadly, that wasn’t in the cards either. Even with all the positive attributes being discussed immediately following by my friends/fellow critics who seemed to really enjoy this film, I just wasn’t sold by their takes, or explanations of why I should feel differently than I do…leaving me to suggest that if you want a catch Cruise’s latest action-packed thriller this weekend on a big screen near you, then by all means, don’t let me stop you…but I would suggest you wait this one out ~ for many reasons in my book ~ and catch THE MUMMY on the smaller screen when it finally hits on DVD or NETFLIX!

Kathy Kaiser