The Call Of The Wild

2020 20th Century Studios

Rated: PG

Length: 1 hr 40min

Adventure ~ Drama ~ Family

Starring: Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Whitford and……..BUCKLEY.

“Every summer when he comes down to the valley, he remembers kind hands and old Masters. Before he became his own Master, before he heard…….The Call Of The Wild.”

THE CALL OF THE WILD is a Classic Movie starring a Classic Movie Star based on a Classic Novel by Jack London . It reminds me of The Disney Movies I watched on Sunday Nights on The Wonderful World of Disney as a kid. It tells the story of Buck, a 140 pound St. Bernard – Scotch Shepherd dog, living the good life in Santa Clara, California with his owner Judge Miller and his family. It is 1897 and the Gold rush is in full swing in the Yukon region of Alaska. There is a growing need for strong dogs to pull the sleds and huge bounties are being paid for suitable dogs. Judge Miller’s Gardner notices how big a dog Buck is and sees a quick way to make some money. He tricks Buck with a treat, locks him in a wooden crate and sells him to a dog trader.

Buck ends up in the Yukon in Alaska and is sold to a Mail carrier and his wife. Buck has California feet and it is a rude awakening away from the life of luxury he was taken from. Turned into a sled dog seemingly overnight Buck must fight for his survival and grow into an amazing sled dog. Along the way he meets John Thornton (Harrison Ford) who Buck will eventually team up with for an adventure that will change both Buck and John Thornton’s lives. It is a great adventure that Buck has gone on. Starting as a domestic pet to full time sled dog in the Yukon, changing from slave to master of his own destiny, changing the very nature of Timber Wolves in the Yukon.

It is a great story. It is a great movie, I consider it classic. Harrison Ford does an outstanding job of acting with a CGI dog. I think of Buck as a real dog in the movie, he is CGI but I immediately grew fond of Buck. As the director Chris Sanders and his wife Jessica Steele-Sanders tells the story to Disney, I now know why. The real Buck was found by Jessica Steele-Sanders on the app Pet finder by accident. He was found on the street in Kansas, an exact duplicate of the breed in Jack London’s novel. Jessica drove two days from California to go get Buckley (The dog’s actual name believe it or not). Everyone immediately fell for Buckley and The CGI Buck is based on Buckley. Buckley now lives with Chris and Jessica.

All of the CGI dogs in the movie were based on real life counterparts. Watching the video about Buckley you can see that his character was realistically portrayed by the CGI Buck. I have to confess that I am a dog guy and fell for Buck. I am actually a little jealous of Buck. No, I have no desire to pull a dogsled, but I am envious of his journey. After all he went through, in the end, he finds true happiness and freedom.

I’ve probably seen this half a dozen times and would gladly watch it again.

Highly Recommended!

Two Thumbs Up!

In The Heart Of The Sea

2015 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 1min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Drama ~ True Story

Directed by: Ron Howard

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson.

“Since we have discovered that whale oil can light our cities, it has pushed man to venture deeper into the deep blue unknown. We know not it’s depths nor the creatures that live there.”

From the 17th to the early 20th century The Whaling Industry was a well organized worldwide business. Up to 80% of a whale’s weight is made up of oil, which was perfect for oil lamps and heat. It was also used for lubrication in machinery and making soaps. Whaling ships outfitted exclusively to hunt and harvest whales were plentiful, and being a Whaler was seen as an admirable occupation. They would head out to sea for a couple of years until their hold was filled with barrels of whale oil.

When the whaling ship would get close to a pod of Whales they would lower three smaller boats laden with men and harpoons with long ropes attached. They would maneuver the boats right up to the whales and then harpoon them. As the whale took off the men followed in the boat, being towed by the harpoon imbedded in the whale. They would ride it out until the whale bled out and died, then they would tow it back to the ship. There they would harvest it by cutting sections of the whale and boiling it down to oil, then storing it in barrels in the hold.

In 1820 in Nantucket Massachusetts, a whaling company outfitted The ESSEX for a whaling expedition. Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) is brought on due to his family’s deep ties to the whaling industry although he has little experience as a Captain or a whaler. Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) is hired on as First Mate and, having a rich history of being a whaler and a seaman, he and Captain Pollard clash from the start. The ESSEX has little luck in the first three months of their journey and at a stop in Ecuador a Spanish Captain tells them of a sweet spot 2000 miles to the west. He also warns them about a vengeful huge white sperm whale that destroyed his ship and killed six of his men.

The ESSEX and her crew head for the spot in the Pacific and find the spot full of whales. They also find the huge white scarred sperm whale the Spanish Captain had warned them about. What happened to the ESSEX and her crew after encountering the massive white whale became a worldwide story after what remained of the crew returned. Thirty years later it was this story that Herman Melville wanted, felt compelled, to write his next novel MOBY DICK about. As the movie opens we see Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) travelling to the home of Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), who was a 14 year old cabin boy on the ESSEX‘s doomed journey thirty years earlier, to get his firsthand account of the tragedy.

As Thomas Nickerson recounts the true tale of The ESSEX and the encounter with The Great White Whale, we watch it unfold on the big screen. It is a fantastic True Story told in 3-d directed by Ron Howard, beautifully filmed in The Canary Islands of Spain. The movie is based on the 2000 book by Nathaniel Philbrick titled In The Heart Of The Sea. I have seen this several times since it was first released, and I just watched it again on Netflix. I think it is a classic. Obviously a classic tale but I think Ron Howard did a great job at bringing the story to life. The lengths that Ron and the cast went to for realism was above and beyond, to the point of having the crew go on a strict diet to mimic the starving crew of the ESSEX.

It is a classic true story brought to life and I think it is well worth a watch.

Two Thumbs Up!

Red One

2024 MGM Amazon Studios

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 4min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Christmas ~ Comedy

Directed by: Jake Kasdan

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll and Kristofer Hivju.

“Last night, Red One, also known as Saint Nicholas of Myra, was abducted from the North Pole Complex. And you’re gonna help us find him.”

J. K. Simmons stars as Saint Nicholas of Myra, code-named Red One by his security detail who follow his every step in and out of the North Pole. It is Christmas Eve and Nick, as everyone around the North Pole Complex calls him, is getting ready for his yearly marathon of delivering Christmas Cheer and presents to everyone around the world. He’s doing some last minute working out, lifting weights and bulking up on carbs or should we call that Christmas cookies. The entire complex is a beehive of activity as they prepare for the yearly run, it’s crunch time.

Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) is the head of Nick’s Security team and has taken a moment for himself outside before the action starts. He is standing in front of Saint Nick and Mrs. Claus’ (Bonnie Hunt) original small cabin, the area roped off as a major landmark in the complex, when he notices lights going off in the new high rise building that houses Nick and Mrs. Claus (Code-named MC) and all operations. Callum checks with part of the security detail in the building and starts asking for Red One’s location. Frantic as no one can find Nick, Callum makes his way to Red One’s living quarters and finds the window open. He rushes to it and sees a Snow vehicle racing away and orders his team to lock the dome and complex down.

Whoever kidnapped Saint Nick gets away and Callum notifies Director Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) of M.O.R.A., The Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority, about the incident that now threatens to keep Christmas from happening around the world from. Zoe decides that they need to enlist the help of Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), better known as “The Wolf”, a world renowned cyber hacker infamous for being able to find anyone and anything worldwide. They bring him in and find out that he is unwittingly responsible for identifying and selling the secret hidden location of Saint Nick and the North pole. Director Zoe decides that Jack is going to help them locate Nick and his kidnapper, accompanied by Callum.

And what follows is the globe-trotting chase to find Saint Nick and bring him back before Christmas. It is a journey through Norse legend and folklore. There is the legend of Grýla, the shape-shifting Winter Witch with thirteen shape-shifting sons who chase evil children. And the legend of Krampus, Saint Nick’s adopted Evil Brother who developed The Naughty List against Nick’s better judgement and along with his ex-wife Grýla sought to punish the children on the naughty list. There are also hell hounds, Ogres, Trolls, evil snowmen, elves, Polar Bear security forces, giant Reindeer and a high tech sleigh the likes you couldn’t even dream of.

It is a hilarious Christmas Adventure through Christmas lore filled with action and one-liners like “I love the kids, it’s the grown-ups that are killing me.” It is a different take on the whole Santa Claus and the North Pole theme, the Nordic folklore tends to give it a darker feel. The North Pole, it’s operations and look are definitely more high tech than we are used to. J.K. Simmons being the Buff muscle-strapped Santa working up to the big night, complete with infinite Santa wisdom was a good choice. Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Bonnie Hunt and Lucy Liu were all good in this. The best part of the movie is the end. At the very end they show Santa, Callum and the Christmas team travelling all over the world doing their thing. It is a unique look and take on the whole operation.

So that’s a yes for me, something a little different in the Santa Movie category.

Two Thumbs Up!

That Christmas

2024 Netflix

Rated: PG

Length: 1 hr 31min

Adventure ~ Animation ~ Christmas ~ Comedy ~ Family

Directed by: Simon Otto

Starring: Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker and Bill Nighy.

“Down to one Reindeer and the worst snowstorm in history, and a town that needed a sack full of Christmas fixing….You’re about to hear the tale of one of the most challenging nights of my long career.”

Brian Cox stars as The Handsome Fellow in the Red Onesie, and narrates as he tells the tale of one of the most challenging nights of his long career. Wrap up and get warm as he tells the Tale of That Christmas. At the end of his Christmas Eve journey and down to one reindeer, Santa Claus and Dasher have to make one last stop to Wellington-On-Sea. It has just shown up on his radar as having nothing but Christmas trouble all over town. He believes he can pinpoint the start of all the trouble to the School Christmas Play December 22, 4 PM.

And that’s where the story begins, at the school play and follows the trials, tribulations and troubles the townspeople face as they hurry to pull Christmas together over the next two days. The next day December 23 turns into a snow day as the town wakes up under feet of snow. Which hampers and changes everyone’s plans. To make matters worse, a huge unexpected snowstorm is headed right for the little seaside town later that evening.

The animation is outstanding in this movie. The story is great, full of adventurous twists and turns as the families try to deal with the many obstacles thrown in their way. The characters are all very loveable, and there is something very familiar and comforting about Brian Cox’s voice as Santa. It makes you want to nestle up all comfy with a nice big cup of Hot Chocolate. I really like Sam’s Christmas wish of a metal body Resonator Guitar, one of my personal favorites. I love the Blue Volkswagen bus, it is too cute.

Heck, I love everything about this movie. It takes me back to the standards from when I was a kid. There were certain movies you couldn’t wait to see every year….Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Frosty The Snowman, The year without a Santa Claus……I think this belongs in that category. It should be the next new Christmas classic you want to watch every year.

With that being said about this Family/Kids Animated Christmas Adventure Comedy, I highly Recommend it as part of your Christmas season and viewing. Better hurry, there’s only 2 days left…….

Two Thumbs Up!

April 6, 2025

I just discovered that this movie is based on the Trilogy of Children’s books by Richard Curtis: Snow Day, The Empty Stocking and That Christmas.

There is a special edition with all three books coming out August 5, 2025: You can pre-order it here: That Christmas And Other Stories.

The Lost City

2022 Paramount Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 52min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Comedy ~ Romance

Directed by: Aaron and Adam Nee

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Brad Pitt.

“Dulcius Ex Asperis……..Sweeter after difficulty.”

Sandra Bullock stars as Loretta Sage, a widowed Adventure Romance Novelist whose life and career has been very negatively affected by her husband’s death five years ago. Her Publisher Beth Hatten (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) has been trying desperately to save her career from going down the tubes and with it her livelihood. She has hired a younger woman to run her social media campaigns and has arranged a highly publicized book tour for Loretta. As Loretta and her publisher arrive at the first stop and public appearance on the tour, Loretta is dressed in a purple sequin sparkly jumpsuit against her better judgement. Beth tells her how important this is and that she also booked……..

Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum), the cover model who portrays the hero Dash in her Romance Novels. Loretta is horrified and wants nothing to do with it but is convinced by Beth to “Go On with the show.” The appearance ends in disaster when Loretta accidentally gets Alan’s wig caught in her watch as she tries to rip off Dash’s shirt to satisfy the female crowd yelling for Dash to do so. Alan falls off the stage and Loretta is left onstage with his wig dangling from her watch. She rushes off stage and heads outside. The doorman calls a car for her, but before it comes she is forced into a car and taken to meet……….

Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), a billionaire who has discovered a lost city on a remote island he believes might be where the lost treasure, The Crown Of Fire is located. He believes that Loretta and her late husband had done extensive research on this subject and will be able to help him decipher the scrolls that reveal the exact location. He explains that he has kidnapped her and they are flying to the island he now owns. As they arrive and Abigail persuades Loretta to cipher the information he needs, Beth and Alan are busy trying to figure out what happened to Loretta. Alan thinks he knows someone who can help find her and calls……..

Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt), a former Navy Seal and a CIA operative. Together Alan and Jack fly to the island to free her. Jack turns out to be a complete bad-ass, a one man army. Kind of like Denzel Washington in The Equalizer Movies, using everything in the room as a weapon to quickly decimate the enemy. From here on out it is a hilarious action-filled adventure as they free Loretta and traipse through the jungle running from the billionaire and his henchmen. There is one last scene in the movie with Brad, Sandra and Channing that appears halfway through the end credits. If you’re not paying attention to the credits you might miss it, it changes what you think is the end of the movie before the credits.

I have seen it three times and still enjoyed it. It is goofy, funny, full of silly one-liners, a rom-com in the end and a great action adventure comedy. I really liked Brad Pitt as Jack Trainer, Channing Tatum is laughable and loveable as “Dash”, and you gotta love anything Sandra Bullock is in.

Two Thumbs up!