What to Watch This Weekend: July 10, 2020

Great New Take On Groundhog Day: Palm Springs (Hulu)
Palm Springs is a fresh take on the Groundhog Day formula, with a charismatic duo, plenty of ridiculous and laugh-out-loud moments, and a story that grows on you as it repeats!  For more information, check out our review!

Glitterfest For The Kids And Adults: Trolls World Tour (Redbox)
I know this has been in back to back recommendations, but my kids still love it and now it's available at Redbox!  Trolls World Tour keeps the same style and characters that made the first movie a surprise hit, and adds a bunch of new and interesting music trolls and locations to the band, while also providing an avenue to talk to your kids about diversity and tolerance.  For more information, check out our review!

The Complete Action Package: The Old Guard (Netflix)

The Old Guard is the complete action package with exciting and brutal fight sequences, a meaningful story, and some amazing special effects.  If there is one action movie you have to watch into eternity, this is a pretty great choice.  For more information, check out our review!

Tom Hanks Doing What He Does Best: Greyhound (AppleTV+)
Greyhound scores a direct hit with Tom Hanks's stellar performance, heart stopping naval action, convincing CG, and explosive sound.  For more information, check out our review!

For Anyone Interested In Creative Endeavors: Gamemaster (Digital)
Gamemaster is a comprehensive, entertaining documentary about the growing board game industry, with diverse viewpoints and a wonderful cast of characters who rolled the dice on the indie board game scene.  For more information, check out our review!

Suspenseful Family Horror Drama: Relic (Digital)
Relic has a fantastic cast, a wonderful commitment to traditional special effects, and a complicated, layered story that drips with suspense.  For more information, check out our review!

Lovingly Crafted Frontier Drama: First Cow (Digital)

First Cow is an udderly charming film; those hoping for something wonderfully different will enjoy the fantastic characters, writing, and setting, as well as how the film milks each and every shot.  For more information, check out our review!

Horror Remake Of Classic Kids Tales: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (Showtime)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark brings the classic horror short stories to life.  It’s a great with a long run time and relatively mild scares to keep you entertained at home!  For more information, check out our review!

Greyhound Review: Tom Hanks Scores A Direct Hit With This World War II Naval Adventure

Release date: July 10, 2020
Running time: 91 minutes
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Karl Glusman, Stephen Graham

Tom Hanks stars as Commander Ernest Krause, a longtime Navy veteran who, as a first-time captain, is tasked with protecting a convoy of 37 ships carrying thousands of soldiers and much-needed supplies across the Atlantic during World War II.  For five days with no air cover, the Greyhound and three escort ships must make their way through an area of the ocean known as “the Black Pit,” battling Nazi U-boats while protecting their invaluable ships and soldiers. Although not a strictly true story, “Greyhound" is inspired by events during the Battle of the Atlantic, which took place in the earliest months of America’s alliance with Great Britain and the Allied Forces. 

The main draw of this film is Tom Hanks and, as usual, he does not disappoint.  He is convincing as a Naval captain on his first voyage, providing a strong, confident exterior and uncertainty to his close confidants.  His demeanor is calm when it needs to be and his character, while strong, gets visibly exhausted during the long ordeal.  He also doesn't break his religious character, praying before ever meal despite the chaos going on around him.  There are a ton of little touches that Hanks does so well that make him a convincing captain, and he is the main draw of this film.  The rest of the cast are likewise good, but just play second fiddle to Hanks.  It was good to see Elisabeth Shue in a movie again, despite her limited screen time.  And Stephen Graham as Krause's second in command was another convincing naval addition.  The rest of the crew do a great job, they just do not get as much screen time as Hanks.  

Much of the film takes place on the destroyer that Hanks is captaining, and the sets are convincingly done.  The destroyer is perfectly recreated, despite you only visiting a few lcoations on it.  Much of the film takes place on the ship's bridge, with a few scenes in the cabin and a couple other locations.  Normally, this might make for a less than interesting film, but Hank's performance is enough to keep everything moving along.  The CG is generally very good, with convincing naval battles and heart stopping moments.  It looks a little off at first, with the ships not moving as well as I had expected and looking more drab than anticipated, but that goes away once you are firmly on the Greyhound.  And along with the CG, the sound is stellar, with the chaos of combat and of the ocean filling your ears.  This movie is a visual and auditory treat!  And another thing I absolutely loved was the attention to detail in the combat. A lot of the minutia of naval battles, such as calculating trajectory, changing speeds to avoid enemies, and waiting for sonar pings, were perfectly recreated in this movie.  And although other films might have removed those to keep the film exciting, i really loved this attention to detail.  The one negative is that the film is simply inspired by actual events, which makes you wonder how many creative liberties were taken.  I would have much rather seen the story of a real life captain and his crew defending ships, rather than a fictionalized retelling.  It made me question whether some of the scenes were real or just put in there for emotional purposes.  However, if you can get past this you will enjoy a heart pounding naval hunt. 

Greyhound scores a direct hit with Tom Hanks's stellar performance, heart stopping naval action, convincing CG, and explosive sound.

Watch it.

News: Tom Hanks WWII Film "Greyhound" to Premiere on Apple TV+

This is some surprising news!  The Tom Hanks written and starring in WWII naval drama that has changed course and will now drop anchor on Apple TV+.  The film was originally on the Sony Pictures calendar for Father's Day weekend, but apparently has changed now that the world is under quarantine.  This makes sense given that a lot of theaters won't be open by Father's Day and consumers might be hesitant to go to the movies even if they are open.  With this deal, Greyhound becomes the biggest feature film commitment made by Apple to premiere on Apple TV+.  It is a surprise move and a welcome surprise given that Apple TV+ has a lot of quality, but not a ton of quantity when compared to its streaming rivals.  Apple's seriousness about building its library is evident in the "$70 million" range that this deal was apparently executed for.