Amsterdam (2022):

This movie is so loaded with talent, that it amazes me that I had such difficulty watching it. Written and directed by three-time Oscar nominee David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook," "American Hustle," "The Fighter,") who has amassed an amazing cast, I found myself staring at the screen for long moments wondering what all these talking heads were doing. Like much of Russell's work, it features dark characters with shadows of mental illness lurking about like Halloween goblins, and in the end, it turned out to be a serviceable story, but it took a long, long time to get there. Set in the 1930s, between World War I and WWII, it tells the story of a true event, with a lot of made-up characters. I can't tell you what the event was, because that would be a spoiler, but as the plot lurches and groans toward that outcome, we are given a peculiar character study that often falls into the category of "who cares?" The talent is enormous. We have Christian Bale, nominated four times for Oscars, and having one for "The Fighter," a David O. Russell project; two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie; Primetime Emmy nominee Anya Taylor-Joy (for "The Queen's Gambit"); three-time Primetime Emmy winner Chris Rock; Primetime Emmy winner Mike Meyers; Primetime Emmy and Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift; Oscar winner and Primetime Emmy winner Rami Malik; and two-time Oscar winner Robert DeNiro. With all those amazing performers involved, this should have been full of action, thrills, and high adventure, instead, for the first half-hour, with one brief exception for Taylor Swift's character, it's all just talk. There is a lot of bouncing back and forth between the 1930s present, and the war years that brought the main characters together, with a time spent in post-war Amsterdam that is the reason for the title. Much of what follows is the introduction of endless numbers of characters who come and go. What's lacking is a script that keeps us in the moment ... there was far too much character development of characters that did not need it, and when the final "secret" is revealed, this turns out to be an "art" film that may attract some Oscar nominations, but its entertainment value is marginal. Rated 14A.

Clerks III (2022):

In 1994 Kevin Smith wrote and directed a little film that developed a huge cult following, and later became even more widespread. It was about two guys, slackers at heart, who were clerks in a convenience store. Dante and Randal (Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson) spent most of their time annoying customers, talking about movies, and playing hockey on the roof of the store. 28 years later they are back, and writer/director Smith, who played the character Silent Bob in all the "Clerks" iterations has taken a slice of his own life, and written it into the script where a heart attack comes into play. Smith had a massive coronary in 2018, one from which 80% of those afflicted do not return. Since that time, luckily surviving the event, he has made major lifestyle changes, and has lost 75 pounds, evident when we see Silent Bob in this movie. The storyline here has the two guys, Randal and Dante, now in their 50s - they were in their 20s in the first movie - deciding to make a movie about the convenience store that started it all. That store still stands in New Jersey, and is still owned by the same family, who happily made it available as the location for this latest move. Rated 14A in BC, "R" in the US.

Medieval (2022):

Well, here's the problem with this historical tale about Czech national hero Jan Zizca who, in the 15th century was said to have never lost a battle: most of the players here talk far too much and say far too little. The battle scenes which capture us right off the top, are superb, if you like the flailing chains, swords, and pole-axes that were stock-in-trade on the battlefields of the day. Ben Foster plays Zizca as a wild man on the battlefield who has no concerns about anything except devastating his enemies. Unfortunately, to advance the plot, it takes a lot of talking heads to help us understand the politics of the age. There are two Popes at this time in Europe - one in Rome and one in France. Zizca, early in his career, is shown working as a mercenary for Lord Bores (an oddly-cast Michael Caine), and he clanks his way onto the battlefield to put to death anything that moves, as long as it is the enemy. Once the battle is done, there are lengthy explanations as to what is going on politically, what is motivating this battle, and which factions are next. When the fight is on, this is a gripping action-thriller ... but when the talk begins, it turns into a yawner. We have those who sit on the throne, those who want the throne, and those who want anyone on the throne put to death. Shot entirely in the Czech Republic, I think this is a far more meaningful story if one understands the history to which it speaks, but to go to an action film for a history lesson really didn't work for me. Rated 14A.

The Swimmers (2022):

Yusra and Sara Mardini are a pair of Syrian sisters who, in 2015, fled the civil war in their home country to find themselves on a rubber raft in the middle of the Aegean Sea with a number of other refugees who had fled to Lebanon, then to Turkey, and ultimately to Greece when the overloaded raft ran into trouble. The two sisters, along with another two people who could swim, were responsible for saving the lives of all on board. One year later, Yusra was competing in the Olympics in Rio as part of the 2016 Refugee team. This dramatic biography was shot on location in all the places that the girls had fled, hidden in, and looked for salvation in before becoming heroes. Rated 14A.

Slumberland (2022):

A good cast shows up for this adventure story that will appeal to children 8 or 10 and up. Based on the comic book series "Little Nemo in Slumberland '' by Winston McClay, we follow the adventures of a tweenage girl named Nemo and her eccentric companion Flip (Jason Mamoa) who come together after Nemo's father Peter (Kyle Chandler goes missing at sea. Set in the Pacific Northwest, but shot in Toronto, we follow Nemo as she is sent to live with relatives in the big city, a place foreign to her after the coastline life she had been living. While struggling in a new school with new people all around her, Nemo finds a secret map which hooks her up with Flip, and begins a challenging journey through lands of dreams and nightmares that she believes will help reunite her with her lost father. Rated PG.