Lamar Reviews - "The Roses" (Airdate 9/5/2025)
There was a 1989 movie called The War of the
Roses starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner
and Danny Devito. I thought this was a remake of
that movie, but technically it is a reimagining of the
same novel because a lot of the plot points are
different.
Both are about a happily married couple that have
problems, decide to divorce, and eventually wind
up fighting over the house.
The Roses stars the amazing Olivia Colman who
played the Queen in the TV series The Crown and
Queen Anne in the Favorite, which earned her an
Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA (British
Academy of Film and Television Arts). And
Benedict Cumberbatch, who has played
everything from Doctor Strange to Sherlock
Holmes, and has been great in everything I’ve
ever seen him do.
The movie opens with Theo, played by
Cumberbatch and Ivy, played by Colman, in the
middle of a couples-counseling session where
they make a list of things they like about each
other. Their lists are both savage and hilarious. It
sets the expectation of how the banter is going to
go. The movie then takes a quick time-travel back
to a meet-cute where Theo runs into Ivy in a UK
restaurant kitchen where she is a cook. 30
seconds after they meet, they are hooking up in a
meat locker. They wind up moving to America
where Theo is a very successful architect and Ivy
is a stay-at-home mom. Theo wants to see Ivy’s
dreams come true so he buys a closed down
restaurant she can re-open.
A crazy event happens that causes Theo to
become unemployed, and Ivy to become a famous
chef so they have a complete role reversal. She is
now the breadwinner, and he is Mr. Mom. A role
he is not really suited for. Theo is busy with his
stay-at-home-dad duty turning his son and
daughter into super athletes while Ivy has a
growing restaurant chain and drinking champagne
on private jets. He resents her success; she
resents him for that while hating herself for not
being there for her children. That is when the
fireworks really begin.
The movie is 1 hour 45 minutes, Rated-R for
language, sexual content, language, drug content,
and language. When I say language, I mean not
one letter of the alphabet is missed and a few are
repeated multiple times. Just so you know.
The banter between Theo and Ivy is lightning fast
and cuts like a Ginsu knife. There were times
when I could not catch my breath. Adding to all of
this is Andy Samberg, and Kate McKinnon as
Theo’s attorney and his wife. Allison Janey has a
cameo as Ivy’s attorney and for the few minutes
she is on the screen she owns the movie.
If you haven’t seen the 1989 War of the Roses you
really should, it’s great. That being said, The
Roses absolutely stands on its own. The dialog
was some of the best I’ve ever heard in a movie.
Everybody in the theater, including me, was
laughing out loud.
My Score: 5 cold frosty Buds
Lamar Reviews - "Nobody 2" (Airdate 8/22/2025)
I am a huge fan of Bob Odenkirk, loved him in Breaking Bad, loved him even more in Better Call Saul. He played a very different character in the first Nobody movie, and it was a ton of fun. He was the last guy I expected to be an action star, but he really pulled it off.
I admit I was a little worried when this was coming out because I was worried this would just be more of the same thing I had just seen a few years ago. You only get to meet the character the first time once. It is very rare for a sequel to be as good as the first. You have already been amazed once, hard for it to happen again.
All that being said, I was pleasantly surprised with what they did with it. It was better than I expected.
The movie opens with Hutch, played by Bob Odenkirk, owing for all of the money he had burned in the first movie. He is doing jobs for a mysterious man played by Colin Salmon calling the shots and giving Hutch assignments to pay off his debt.
He has no work/life balance and is neglecting his family. His wife Becca, played by connie Nielson has had enough and Hutch has no choice but to take the family on the vacation. As you might suspect the trip does not go as planned.
The movie is a quick 1 hour and 29 minutes, Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout.
The one thing the movie has plenty of is villains. John Ortiz plays Wyatt, a tough guy, Colin Hanks plays Corrupt Sheriff Abel, and Sharon Stone plays the only true believable one, a badass bloodthirsty Sociopath. I don’t know who cast Colin Hanks as a bad guy, but they missed by a mile. He don’t have a villain in him. He would have sucked as a villain if he had been the only one in the movie much less having Sharon Stone to be compared to. It could have really hurt the movie, but his performance was so forgettable it didn’t matter.
Bob Odenkirk trained like crazy to get ready to shoot Nobody. Cardio, stunt conditioning, boxing pad work, pushups squats, and tons of other stuff. After Nobody he continued to work out and when Nobody 2 came up he was ready.
The fight scenes were good and plentiful, not quite as satisfying as the first one, but it would be almost impossible to match that much less exceed it. Again, I was not disappointed.
One of my favorite things that was in the first one that is also in this one is Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s dad. He was awesome in the first one and he is just as good in this one. The man will be 88 years old this year. He has 258 credits as an actor and is wonderful in every role he has played.
The big question, is it worth seeing? Yes, it is. As far as sequels go it works, and I really enjoyed it. I’m not saying this movie was necessary, but it certainly holds up. I don’t think there will be another one, that would be pushing it. I do hope Odenkirk does continue to do more action roles, he’s really good at it.
My Score is 4 Cold Buds
Lamar Reviews - "Weapons" (Airdate 8/15/2025)
Wow! Wow! Wow!.....This is a very smart mixture
of horror, suspense, and dark humor weaved
together very tightly with perfect proportions of
each. The suspense builds steadily at a perfect
pace, drawing you in and to the edge of your seat.
There are some definite jump scares moments,
and they get me every time. I feel like the guy
sitting behind me to the right must have thought
he was sitting behind a 12 year old girl. I’m that
way, I can see it coming and that makes it
worse…. I’m expecting it, and the longer it takes,
the more anxiety I have. The only way to avoid it is
to close my eyes, but then I’m mad that I missed
it. As soon as I jump like I’ve been shot, I realize
what I have done and now I’m embarrassed. I try
to play it cool like I’m stretching or looking around,
which only makes me look worse.
The movie opens with the incident that sets
everything in motion. At 2:17 am 17 elementary
students from the same class disappear by
walking out their front door and running into the
woods without leaving a trace. Only one student in
the class did not go missing. Alex, played by Cary
Christopher, has nothing to say about what
happened. The other person of major interest is
the teacher of the class, Justine, played by the
excellent Julia Garner. The parents want to blame
her for something she knows absolutely nothing
about. The school’s principal Andrew is played by
Marvel’s Benedict Wong. Archer, one of the
missing children’s fathers, is played by Josh
Brolin.
Can’t say anymore without ruining the movie.
The movie is 2 hours and 8 minutes, Rated-R for
strong bloody violence, grisly images, language,
some sexual content and drug use.
I can tell you this without spoiling anything, the
story is told in 6 different chapters. Every time it
arrives at a pivotal spot it goes back and shows
that person’s perspective and how they arrived at
that moment. It may sound confusing, it’s anything
but, and it fills in much needed information. It is an
interesting construct that works great in this
movie.
I’m not going to lie; I went into this movie with
excitement, zero research, and a lot of trepidation.
This movie does not follow any beaten path of
other horror movies; it makes an entire new road.
The word horror does not exactly describe this
movie, toward the end when things get going and
it’s heading to a climax, that word fits. But the
majority of the movie is pure suspense, along with
some pretty surprising twists. What really makes it
work is the dark, and at times, very dark, humor.
The dark humor starts off slowly, almost as if you
aren’t sure you should find it funny, then it picks up
and in the last few minutes you are slammed with
suspense, violence, and concern, but the
craziness will have you laughing out loud.
Trust me if you like what I have described, you
have a decent credit score and don’t mind making
payments on popcorn and a drink, you need to
see this at the theater.
My Score: 5 Delicious Ice Cold Budweisers
Lamar Reviews - "The Naked Gun" (Airdate 8/8/2025)
When I first heard they were making a remake of
Naked Gun I wasn’t sure. I loved the first one, the
second one was still good, and the third one
probably was not necessary. I was worried about
the remake until I found out that Liam Neesom
was going to be in it, he was the perfect pick for
Frank Drebin Jr.
A lot of listeners might not remember police
Squad, the TV show the movie was based on. The
show was created by the Zuker Brothers, and it
lampooned police dramas. The show was hilarious
from the opening scene all the way through. ABC
canceled it after airing four of the six episodes.
The final two episodes were shown during the
summer. The president of ABC, Tony
Thomopoulos canceled the show because “the
viewer had to watch it too close in order to
appreciate it.” TV guide magazine called the
explanation for the cancellation “the most stupid
reason a network ever gave for ending a series.” I
agree. That show was hilarious, and the Naked
Gun series is a direct reflection of it.
What made Leslie Nielsen the perfect Frank
Drebin is exactly what makes Liam Neeson the
perfect Frank Drebin Jr. They both play this role
completely straight, as serious as they can be, no
matter how crazy everything around them was
going. Neeson looks just as serious doing
slapstick in this as he did killing the men that
kidnapped his daughter in the Taken movies.
Yes, there is a storyline, but nobody really cares,
this is about constant corny puns, and banana
peel type physical comedy. It works because of
the relentless amount that is delivered, with
perfect timing, which forces you to pay close
attention. And I mean it about the attention, if you
are not watching you will find yourself realizing
why something is actually hilarious, while missing
the next joke. If you are not careful you will fall
behind.
The movie is a perfect 85 minutes, Rated PG-13
for crude/sexual material, cartoon violence/bloody
images and brief partial nudity.
We can all stop wondering if there is anything
really going on between Liam Neeson and Pamela
Anderson, it is. There is chemistry between actors,
and that is important. Then there is real chemistry
you can cut with a knife that is between “more”
than just actors. That is what is between Liam and
Pamela.
There are a lot of things that make this movie
work. The fact that the original was so long ago
helps this new one stand on its own. This is not a
rehash of old material. To compare this to the
original is not fair to either one.
I am fortunate enough to remember the Police
Squad TV show and the original 3 Naked Gun
movies, and they took police satire to a level of
silliness that was way funnier than it should have
been.
This movie took a big chance because it had a lot
to live up to, and it pulled it off. I hope they are
happy with it and leave it where it is at. A sequel
would be asking too much,
My Score: 5 Budweisers
Fantastic Four: First Steps
I’ve been watching the trailers for a while, and I couldn’t wait to see the movie. It has a distinct
look that felt like reading a comic book. I read Fantastic Four comics when I was a kid and this
took me back. The movie is set in a 1960’s version of New York City. We don’t have to sit through an origin story, it does a quick recap of how they left Earth as astronauts and came back as superheroes. The crime-fighting team consists of Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards, played by Pedro Pascal; his wife, Sue “Invisible Woman” Storm, played by Fanessa Kirby; her brother, Johnny “Human Torch” Storm, played by Joseph Quinn; and Reed’s best friend, Ben “The Thing” Grimm, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. They have a sidekick robot named H.E.R.B.I.E butler/maid that runs around and is voiced by Matthew Wood They have been protecting Earth for 4 years, and Sue is pregnant.
In the middle of this happy news, Earth is attacked by an enemy they may not be able to defeat. Galactus the World Devourer who consumes planets to sustain himself. He is preceded by the Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner who warns every one of their imminent destruction. The movie is a few minutes shy of 2 hours, Rated- PG13 for action/violence and some language. The previous versions of The Fantastic Four were not successful at all. They tried, but the casting was wrong, and the stories were weak in all of them. It is the complete opposite in this movie, this cast is perfect, and this might be the start of a very successful franchise. If you are not familiar with The Fantastic Four, then this will tell you all you need to know and get you started. If you suffered through the other terrible Fantastic Four movies, then you will really appreciate this one, and be looking forward to the next one.
My Score: 5 Budweisers
Happy Gilmore 2
The 1996 Happy Gilmore is considered a modern comedy classic that people are still quoting lines from. It is also the movie that turned Adam Sandler into a movie star. 29 years later we get a sequel. Since we last saw Happy life has been great, he won 6 tour championships, tons of endorsement deals, gold jackets, and a family that consists of four rowdy hockey playing sons, who act just like their dad, and one daughter who is a promising ballerina. And his beautiful wife, pro-tour PR director Virginia Venit, played Julie Bowen. Things took a turn, and he lost everything, and for the last 10 years he’s been working at a grocery store and is constantly drinking. His daughter Vienna, played by his actual daughter Sunny Sandler, has a chance to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, but it costs $75,000 a year. The only chance to make that kind of money is to do what he’s best at, play golf. That is one part of the story, the other part of the story is about a rich energy drink manufacturer named Frank Manatee, played by Benny Safdie, who has come up with a rival renegade golf league. Can Happy make a comeback and play golf again?
The movie is an hour 54 minutes, Rated PG-13 for strong language, crude/sexual material, partial nudity and some thematic material. Sandler had planned a big part for Carl Weathers, they had talked a lot about it and Carl was excited, then he passed away. They had to rewrite a lot of the movie. There are a lot of nice references to how great Chubbs, the character Carl played was in the movie. This movie is dedicated in memoriam to the following people, Bob Barker, Carl Weathers, Frances Bay that played Grandma, Richard Kiel who played Mr. Larson, and Joe Flaherty, who played Donald, all who appeared in the first Happy Gilmore.
The entire Sandler family makes appearances in this film. His daughter Sunny, her older sister Sadie, and Adam’s wife Jackie. There are clips that appear as flashbacks, which show all of the actors that were in the movie that have passed away. Also, their names are written on tombstones in cemetery where Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin, played by Christopher McDonald meet up. The cameos are endless Travis Kelce, Bad Bunny, golfers-Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, John Daley, actor Steve Buscemi, and more, a total of 60.
Happy Gilmore 2 plays the right homage to the 96 original, and all the people who were in it. The plot is just as silly as the first one, but different enough to feel fresh. If you like the first one, you won’t be disappointed with this one.
My Score: 4 Budweisers
Lamar Reviews - "Eddington" (Airdate 7/25/2025)
If you have had a good nights rest, and you are
feeling great, with everything going your way, the
birds are chirping, you are glad to be alive and you
know for sure nothing can bring you down,…..I
promise you the movie Eddington can! The first
warning sign should have been the 5 to 7 minute
standing ovation it got at the Cannes Film Festival.
After all the last Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie a
Deux, got 11 minutes for that one. How did that
work out? Them people love sucky movies.
This is no lightweight cast. Joaquin Phoenix,
Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, to
name a few. These are heavy hitters, I know
Phoenix will do anything, Irrational Man,
Napoleon, that interview in 2009 with David
Letterman. Austin Butler is pretty new, probably
didn’t know any better, but Emma Stone, and
Pedro Pascal, come on!!
This is supposed to be, according to director Ari
Aster, a comic contemporary Western. City
Slickers and Blazing Saddles are comic Westerns,
and Eddington ain’t nothing like that. The only
laughs are the extremely uncomfortable ones, and
they are few and far between.
This is not a movie you see to get away from
reality, this is a movie that forces you to relive the
worst parts of the 2020 pandemic. There is no fun
here, only bad memories.
The movie opens with a homeless man aimlessly
walking towards town mumbling to himself. That is
how I left the movie when it was over.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe Cross the Sheriff of a
small desert town in New Mexico called
Eddington. He is a very soft-spoken guy that is
married to Louise, played by Emma Stone. Louise
has more problems than she can handle, and her
mother Dawn, played by Deirdre O’Connell, who is
living with her and Joe, is not helping at all.
Sheriff Cross is at odds with Mayor Ted Garcia,
played by Pedro Pascal, over dealing with the
pandemic. They basically hate each other’s guts.
Garcia is up for re-election and Sheriff Cross
decides to throw his hat in the ring.
The movie is 2 and a half long, Rated R for one
scene of graphic nudity.
After more than almost an hour and a half of paint
drying and snail races, I’m hoping to have to go to
the bathroom. I totally understand what happens
in a bathroom, I got no idea of what is going on in
that boring movie! Something finally happens and
everything goes crazy and violent, and then it
ends, fades to black, then comes back to what
must be a few months later, and it makes even
less sense. This is one of those movies that
people see in their own way and decide from
themselves what it means.
Here is what it means for me. Joaquin Phoenix
poured his heart and soul into this role, just like he
does every role he plays. The fact that I was
confused and felt worse when I left the movie
wasn’t his fault, he did a great job of acting out
what the script said. It is writer/director Ari Aster
fault, he wrote it.
My Score: 2 Buds, an actor can’t make KerryGold
butter out of what’s in a litterbox.
Lamar Reviews - "Superman" (Airdate 7/18/2025)
For my generation there is only one Superman,
and that’s Christopher Reeve. And it turns out he
was more of a Superman in his real life than he
was in the movies. After being paralyzed from the
neck down by a horse-riding accident, he became
a prominent advocate for spinal cord injury
research and disability rights. He and his wife
founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve
Foundation.
His first two movies were outstanding, but just like
all franchises, they didn’t quit while they were
ahead, they kept going until they weren’t very
good. Reeve is still the gold standard for
Superman.
That being said, David Corenswet makes an
excellent Superman/Clark Kent. He is charming,
and wrestles with self-doubt as to whether he is
successful in his mission to do good and protect
humanity.
Raychel Brosnahan is the perfect Lois Lane and
looks like a younger Margot Kidder.
The chemistry between them is excellent, If I have
one complaint about the movie is there is not
enough interaction between them on the screen.
For a Superman movie to be really good it has to
have a great Lex Luthor. Just like Reeve is the
standard for Superman, Gene Hackman is the Lex
Luthor above all others. Nicholas Hoult really
leans into the evil genius, brains vs brawn, while it
is evident that he is driven by jealousy over
Superman’s popularity among the people.
Lex’s plan is to use AI, trained monkeys, and
social media to turn the world against Superman.
Director James Gunn has a lot going on in this
movie, possibly a little too much. But it is still a ton
of fun!
The movie is 2 hours and 9 minutes long, Rated
PG-13 for violence, action and language.
This movie is the most comic book like Superman
movie I’ve ever seen. This Superman is so
earnest in protecting life you see him actually
rescue squirrel from a collapsing building, and in
the middle of a fight against someone doing their
best to kill him, Superman points out they could
and should do more with their life.
At Superman’s lowest point he heads to the farm
of the human couple who adopted him, played by
Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince. It is just one
of quite a few truly heartwarming moments in the
movie.
Another stand out, especially for us dog lovers is
Krypto, the super dog that is a CGI copy of
Director James Gunn’s actual rescue dog Ozu.
Gunn got Ozu just after he had started writing the
script for Superman and he was destroying the
house, shoes, and furniture. Gunn said he even
ate his laptop. One day Gunn thought, what if Ozu
had superpowers? He would be a handful. That is
exactly what Krypto is, a flying, ridiculously strong
dog that will not mind. Don’t worry, this is not
Disney, so the dog does not die!
This was so fun, a win for DC Universe. I’m
looking forward to the next one.
My Score: 5 Buds
Lamar Reviews - "Poop Cruise" (Airdate 7/3/2025)
Every time I click on Netflix to find a movie or series to watch I wind up clicking on Documentaries and gong down a rabbit hole. I find myself clicking on something that seems like unbelievable fiction that turns out to be dramatic, or horrifying, maybe inspirational, or it could be informative. But the craziest thing is it is true, and I can’t help but look at it. This time was no different.
The Trainwreck series on Netflix is a collection of documentary films that explore the dark side of various events. This includes Woodstock 99, The Astroworld Tragedy, The Balloon Boy, and many others. The Poop Cruise caught my eye because it happened 12 years ago, and I vaguely remember hearing about it.
I’ve been on a couple of cruises many years ago, and my wife Carla has done the same, but we have never done one together. I enjoyed it, I like the idea of it, and we have friends that go on cruises every year. We just seem to find other things that we wind of choosing. This documentary does not encourage me to head down to the dock and run onto the gang plank.
This incident occurred in 2013 on the Carnival Triumph cruise ship. They were halfway across the Gulf of Mexico when the engine room caught fire. The ship’s power was cut off with 4,200 people on board.
This ship was over 892 feet long, that is basically 3 football fields. Everything regarding that ship runs on electricity, without it nothing works. No lights, no air conditioning, no cooking, and no flushing toilets. Out of all of these inconveniences, the toilets turned out to be the worst.
This documentary is about the experiences told from the point of view of passengers and crew. Larry and his daughter Rebekah, Devin, on board with his fiancée and his future in-laws, cruise director Jen, Bartender Hannah, chef Abhi, and a bride along wither her two bachelorettes.
This documentary is a quick 55 minutes long, and as you would expect there is some language using four letter words.
If you are a regular listener to the show, you know bathroom subjects are not my favorite thing to talk about, so I’m not going to delve too deep into the biology, but these people had been cruising for a few days before the fire. That means all you can eat buffets, and fabulous dinners, so the fire didn’t happen on empty stomachs and digestive tracts. 4,200 people were given instructions to do number one in the showers of the ship, and number two in red biohazard bags, tie them up and put them in the provided receptacles. Like what you do when you walk your dog, but it’s you, not the dog.
These conditions lasted 5 days. You can’t stay in your room because without AC it is stifling. You have to find a place to sleep, the majority of the food is spoiled and what is left becomes every person for themselves. And the smell.
Needless to say, it was a “crappy” time, which was way more fun to watch, than to experience.
My Score: 5 Buds
Lamar Reviews - How to Train Your Dragon (Airdate 6.27.25)
This may be the least risky movie of the year. How to train your dragon has been made multiple times since 2010, and every one of them has been well received. The big difference here is that this one is live action.
Gerard Butler was the voice of Stoick the Vast in the animated ones and he playing him on screen this one, and he has the physicality to pull it off.
Hiccup is played by Mason Thames, Astrid is played by Nico Parker, and Nick Frost plays Gobber.
This one runs longer than the animated films but the movie didn’t drag, and I was never bored.
Hiccup is of course the son of Stoick, the chief of the tribe. Stoick is a bigger than life Viking that fights fire breathing dragons with his fists. These dragons constantly attack the tribe and carry off their sheep. All dragons must die. He of course is the toughest man in the tribe and expects his son to follow in his footsteps and be chief someday. Hiccup is small thin young man who is smart, and a genius at designing things.
In the beginning of the movie all Hiccup can talk about is killing dragons. If he is able to kill one his life will be complete. He will immediately get the respect of his dad and the entire tribe, plus his crush Astrid will not only notice him but might be interested in him. Astrid is tougher and smarter than any boy in the tribe.
When the opportunity to kill a dragon finally presents itself Hiccup can’t bring himself to kill it. Not only that, he makes friends with the wounded dragon and nurses it back to health. Hiccup realizes that the dragons are not their enemy and can actually be trusted.
The movie is 2 hours and 5 minutes, Rated PG.
You do not need to have seen any of the original animated versions of the movie to understand and enjoy this. It absolutely stands alone.
The visuals in this movie are fantastic, and the CGI was seamless when matched with the live actors.
The message of the story is great and meaningful without beating you over the head with it. It shows that we should recognize our differences, celebrate them, and use them to work together to accomplish things.
On a separate note, it really dives deep into the parent/child relationship, and all of the pressure that can bring. For the audience this will register whether you are looking at it from the child side or the parent side, and tug at your heart. Expect some big feelings, and damp eyes as the ending comes together, unless you are the youngest ones in the room. And that age group is busy enjoying all the action that is taking place on the screen.
If this is your first Dragon Training experience you will not be disappointed. If you’ve seen the earlier films, this will all be familiar, but you will still be glad to watch it all take place again.
My Score: 5 Buds or 5 Juice Boxes, which ever applies to your I.D.