Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again:

Well, what's not to love?  If you enjoyed the original movie a decade ago, you'll be perfectly happy with this one, both a sequel and a prequel, which reintroduces us to the characters that many know from the stage production, and then the movie ... and now, Here We Go Again.  Set five years after the events in the first film, we meet Donna's daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), preparing her Mom's business for a big re-opening after a major renovation.  Donna (played by Meryl Streep in the original movie) has passed away, and the mood is a mixture of excitement and sadness ... excitement for the big celebration planned to relaunch the inn and restaurant, and sadness because Donna is only a picture on the wall.  The story moves back and forth between the coming festivities, marred by the fact that only one of Sophie's three possible dad's will be there for the big event, that being Sam (Pierce Brosnan).   The surviving members of the Dynamos are coming, Tanya and Rosie (Christine Baranski, Julie Walters), and it's a very big deal ... what could go wrong?  Then we flashback to young Donna (Lilly James) at her college graduation, along with her friends and co-Dynamos, Tanya and Rosie, planning to set off on big adventures now that school is done.  We follow Donna to Europe, and eventually to Greece, and we see how she meets and beds Sam, Harry, and Bill, setting up the scenario that was the focus of the first film ... which one is her dad?  With an abundance of youthful good looks on the part of the guys, spectacular scenery in Greece (played here by Croatia), and that outstanding soundtrack of ABBA hits, some from the first movie, others new here, the film is high on romance, good feelings, and a more complex story than we saw the first time around.  Highlight of the musical numbers is Dancing Queen which has a cast of hundreds and makes for an exceptional scene.  When Cher shows up as Sophie's grandmother, Ruby Sheridan, a Las Vegas star - there's a stretch - we wonder just how many more surprises we can stand.  Meryl Steep has little more than a cameo, fine with me. Great fun!  Rated 14A.

I Am Vengeance:

A British action film that saw no distribution in Canada, this one is a standard revenge story with no surprises, and some relatively poor production values.  Stu Bennett, a WWE wrestler from England is the star here, a mercenary and one-time Special Forces operative named John Gold. When Gold learns that his best friend has been murdered, he goes on the offensive, setting everything in his life aside, in order to get those responsible, and not bring them to justice – just kill them.  Actor Bennett quit the WWE in 2016 to pursue an acting career, and this movie is his sole claim to fame as an actor post-wrestling, although he continues to get work as a colour commentator at WWE and other wrestling events.  Rated 18A.

Patient Zero:

If you haven’t had enough of zombies and the walking dead, here’s one more, with a little bit of a twist.  A secret government lab unleashes the usual contagion that turns the population into bloodthirsty zombies, and those who survive quickly learn what everyone who has ever been in a zombie story knows – far better to die with a bullet to the head than it is to get infected an have to deal with the consequences.  One scientist from the secret lab has the ability to communicate with the zombies, and that’s the twist, making this just a little different than your standard undead movie. Another group of scientists tries to figure out who in the government is responsible for what has happened, and works to stop the outbreak.  Despite a good cast, this one never made it into theatres and is strictly available on DVD and on demand. Stanley Tucci, Matt Smith, and Natalie Dormer star. Rated 18A for violence and mayhem. 

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Season 1:

Inspired by, but not based on Shirley Jackson's Gothic novel from 1959, this Netflix original series tells the story of a family that moves into Hill House 25 years ago.  Their plan is to renovate it and flip it, but something terrible happens, and the mom (Carla Gugino) dies, the result of something terrible int house, and the children a terrified by all that happens.  The story moves back and forth between the original events and the lives of the children, now adults, who are drawn back to Hill House where supernatural things await.  Timothy Hutton and Henry Thomas also star in a large cast that involves the characters at different ages in their lives.  Rated M for Mature audiences.

Inferno (2016):

Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon, the symbologist created by author Dan Brown in his series of novels.  This time, the mystery deepens as Langdon suffers from amnesia, but appears to be the very person that he has been tasked to investigate in the theft of a rare artifact, which seems to lead to the possibility that a villainous pandemic could sweep the earth, killing half the population.  Felicity Jones is Sienna Brooks, who is compelled to help Langdon solve the mystery, although it now appears that more than one party wants them both dead.  Directed by Ron Howard, shot in Italy.  Rated 14A.