Will Ferrell used to be such a sure fired guarantee comedy go-to. There was a stretch where it seemed he could do no wrong.

That stretch is long behind him now, and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, continues his recent streak of lousy-to-mediocre films. This one falls somewhere in the realm of mediocre.

On the eve of the infamous Eurovision contest, the song competition that birthed the career of ABBA, Lars (Ferrell), and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), lifelong friends and members of the duo rock group Fire Saga, are taking one last bid at fame. They are terrible and are most hated by their Icelandic hometown, including Lars’s father (Pierce Brosnan). A tragic boating accident thrusts them into the competition where they represent their country, and many unfunny musical sequences ensue.

Ferrell’s wigged schtick grows tired early on, and at two-plus hours, we are talking a lot of unwanted shtick. McAdams (who can lip-sync with the best of them) is actually quite good here, nearly saving the film with a warm, funny, earnest performance. Her character’s obsession with magical elves is a potential funny subplot that isn’t adequately explored.

Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), this movie would’ve benefited from a much shorter running time. It’s hard watching Ferrell flounder in stuff like this, and his career is in need of some major adjustments. He’s too funny to be goofing around with subpar material.

Streaming now on Netflix. 

I didn’t like Hamilton the first time I watched it. The music felt unoriginal, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s face and voice were annoying me, and I didn’t follow the plot.

But…I loved the ending and really liked the women in the show, especially Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton. I liked them so much it made me ponder whether or not I had made some sort of mistake. So, I waited a couple of days and watched it again.

Upon second viewing, I loved Hamilton from start to finish, and Miranda grew on me to the point that I found him adorable. Not sure what happened the first time; perhaps I was distracted, perhaps I was just grouchy. This sort of thing has happened only once or twice in 25 years of film reviewing (Most notably, my about-face on Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas).

During the second viewing, my brain clicked on to the Hamilton frequency. I heard all of the lyrics, the melodies jumped out at me, and the choreography was stunning. It’s deserving of all the hype, and boasts a boldly original concept; the founding fathers played by multiple ethnicities, often rapping. The cast is superb, including Miranda as the title character, Leslie Odom, Jr. as friend-turned-enemy Aaron Burr, and a host of performers sometimes playing two parts.

MVP winner for the best comedic turn in the show goes to Jonathan Groff as the sassy King George, so assured the American colonies will be back under his reign and, yes, gloriously spitting while singing in vivid HD.

As good as everybody is, Soo steals her every scene and gives the musical major heart. She’s the reason I took a breath, took the time, watched the show again, and realized my near mistake. Hamilton is the gem it was rumored to be.

It seemed as if we were getting a little gift when Disney announced it was sending Artemis Fowl directly to its streaming service: A big-budget, Kenneth Branagh-directed adventure was coming directly into living rooms, because most theaters are closed. What a treat, right?

No. As it turns out, the film is awful.

You’ll realize within five minutes of viewing that this thing stood zero chance of captivating folks in movie theaters. It would’ve just pissed them off and sent them home grouchy. So this was actually a blessing for Disney: It’s better to just let people be grouchy in the comfort of their own homes, saving them gas and concessions money.

The movie, about the titular child protégé (Ferdia Shaw) trying to solve a mystery surrounding his dad (Colin Farrell), makes zero sense from beginning to end. You know Branagh has a mess on his hands when he employs the narrator angle—having a character (a raspy-voiced Josh Gad, with his part filmed in black and white) staring into the camera and explaining everything as the movie plays out. It comes off as a lame attempt to fix a crap movie with re-shoots.

Not only is the storytelling poorly handled; the movie doesn’t even look good. The special effects are bad, and the costuming is strange—there are fairies in this movie that look sort of like Willem DaFoe’s Green Goblin from Spider-Man. The editing is haphazard, too.

Judi Dench plays some sort of boss of the fairies, and she also employs a raspy delivery. Dench seems to be a harbinger of bad things now: This is her cinematic follow up to Cats, meaning she has the distinction of being in one of the year’s worst movies for two years in a row.

Branagh usually puts together a good film, and his chance to do big-budget fantasy seemed like it would lead to great things. Instead, this fiasco leaves a big, nasty mark on Disney+ and Branagh. It’s easily the worst thing he’s ever done behind the camera, and there’s no chance for a franchise here—this is a one-and-done affair.

Artemis Fowl is now streaming on Disney+.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, after a four-year absence from starring roles in order to become a new daddy, returns with the pretty standard, sometimes tense airplane thriller, 7500.

Levitt does competent work as Tobias, a nebbish co-pilot on a night flight that includes his girlfriend (Aylin Tezel) on the crew. They aren't in the air long before a band of hijackers take hostages and demand entry into the cockpit, banging relentlessly on his door.

Director and co-writer Patrick Vollrath does very well with the film's first half. Actually, the film is quite good when the plane is in the air. Tobias communicates with the hijackers banging on his door via black and white video, and it's scary to watch. The film most certainly recalls the tense final moments of Paul Greengrass' United 93, when a similar, real-life situation occurred on 9/11.

Once the plane lands, Tobias ends up in the cockpit with one of the hijackers (Omid Memar), and this is where the movie sputters. The two actors give it their all, but the script calls for paint-by-numbers "hijacked plane on the tarmac" conversations, and this simply doesn't deliver on the promise of the film's first half.

Still, it's good to see Gordon-Levitt here. It's a demanding role for him, and he gets to shake the rust off in mostly fine fashion. Too bad the entirety of the movie doesn't match the quality of his performance.

7500 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video

The almighty Loft Cinema continues its series of streaming films this week with 6 new offerings starting July 3: three documentaries, the directorial debut of actor Bill Duke, a raving comedy and an award winning film from South Korea.

Hey, if you want to get that extra Lofty feeling while watching these movies at home, The Loft is offering their happy movie snacks with Curbside Concessions on Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. . It's preorder only, so visit their website for details.

Here's a quick summary of the latest Loft streamers:

2040: Director Damon Gameau takes a hypothetical look at what the world might look like in the year 2040. That is, what the world would like if we bothered to implement many of the existing solutions that could help make the planet a better place for our future and our children.

The Killing Floor: Actor/Director Bill Duke (the guy who memorably whispered "Anytime..." in Predator) looks back at Chicago during WWI, and the racial tensions dividing fellow members of the city's slaughterhouse union. Filmed in 1984 as an episode of America's Playhouse, and starring Damien Leake, Alfre Woodard and Dennis Farina.

Beats: Two Scotland teens attend a rave in the UK, where raves have been banned due to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994. The comedy stars Cristian Ortega, Lorn Macdonald and a killer soundtrack.

John Lewis-Good Trouble: A documentary on the legendary social activist John Lewis, who fought for civil rights, voting rights, gun control and health care reform for over 60 years.

House of Hummingbird: A coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a tumultuous 1994 Seoul.

Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly (Starts July 8): An artist transforms Alcatraz into a 2014 art exhibit in this documentary from co-directors Cheryl Haines and Gina Leibrecht.

Trailers for all films after the jump.

Spike Lee follows up BlacKkKlansman, one of his best movies, with another great one, Da 5 Bloods, now out on Netflix. Delroy Lindo and Chadwick Boseman lead a strong cast as Lee examines the lives of five Black veterans before and after Vietnam.

Lee and his co-writers send the five characters back to Vietnam to search for the remains of their former platoon leader (Boseman) and a bunch of gold bars they stashed during battle. Boseman appears via flashback; the older actors appear as the same age (with no de-aging makeup or technology) in both time periods—and it’s a style choice that works amazingly well. There’s something deep and moving about seeing these characters at their present age in the war they fought a half-century ago.

Lindo does career-best work as Paul, a man who is fraying a bit at the edges and is looking for redemption in the jungle. His son, David (Jonathan Majors), provides a twist when he unexpectedly tags along, forcing David to deal with a lot of demons. Lindo has delivered one of the year’s best performances so far.

The movie is shot beautifully—and is perhaps the most violent film Lee has ever made. It’s also one of the more adventurous, and best-timed, films in his repertoire.

Lee has made two stellar films in a row, indicating he is back in full creative force.

Da 5 Bloods is now streaming on Netflix.

For more information, visit casavideo.com

Since we can't go to the Loft Cinema, the Loft brings the cinema to us!

Besides the classy arthouse offerings that the Loft is streaming on the regular, the nonprofit theater is presenting a free live stream of Ed Wood's classic Plan 9 From Outer Space' tonight.

Is there a better way to celebrate April Fool's Day while obeying our governor's Stay-at-Home order? I have fond memories of first seeing this epic flick on actual celluloid way back in the early ’80s at one of the first Tus-Con sci-fi conventions I attended. It was undoubtedly the best possible audience for my introduction to what was then dubbed the worst film ever made. (Let's face it, there are plenty of contenders since those days.)

If you haven't seen it, here's what The Loft says:

If you’re already getting bored sitting around the house and you miss the temporarily closed Loft Cinema, then you’re in luck. Tucson’s arthouse cinema just announced the launch of a new streaming service.

Now you can watch independent, hard-to-find films from the comfort of your couch.
The new service is the result of a collaboration between The Loft and several independent film distributors, including Oscilloscope Films, Kino Lorber Films and Film Movement.

The virtual experience begins Friday, March 20, with the release of four new films: “Bacurau,” an action thriller from Brazil starring Udo Kier and Sonia Braga; the Polish drama, “Corpus Christi,” a 2020 Academy Award nominee for Best International Film; “Saint Frances,” an acclaimed American comedy/drama; and a new restoration of the popular 1976 Brazilian comedy, “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,” starring Sonia Braga.

Opening next Friday are “The Wild Goose Lake,” a twisty Chinese noir, and a new restoration of the 1976 Italian classic “L’innocente,” the final film from legendary filmmaker Luchino Visconte.

The Loft will virtually release four new films each week. To get a ticket, head over to loftcinema.org. A $12 e-ticket will grant access to watch the film online at your convenience during a window of time specified by each distributor.

Revenue from each e-ticket sold will be split between The Loft and its distributor partners. The Loft’s proceeds will go directly to employees and essential operational costs during the nonprofit theater’s closure.

The Loft is also working on launching viewing parties, staff favorites with filmed intros and live Q&As in the future.

BBC America's new documentary mini-series Seven Worlds, One Planet examines each of Earth's seven continents and how each area shapes animal behavior and biodiversity. The series, featuring obligatory narration from Sir David Attenborough, marks the first time the BBC Studio’s Natural History Unit has explored all seven continents for a single series.  The new episode, "North America"  which premieres this Saturday, Jan. 25, features animals in Florida, Canada and right here in Tucson. The Tucson segment, filmed between May and June of 2017 and 2018, focuses on the greater roadrunner, only found in the deserts of North America.

According to Chadden Hunter, producer for the North America episode, the documentary crew filmed roadrunners in Saguaro National Park and on private ranch land around Tucson.

Also on the North America episode, camera crews achieved a first in their filming, using "low light technology and cable dollies with a motion control tracking time-lapse camera" to glide cameras through the forests of Mississippi and Ohio for slow-mo firefly shots.

Each episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet focuses on a different continent. The next airing episode is "North America" which premieres Saturday, Jan. 25 on BBC AMERICA, AMC, IFC and SundanceTV.

Watch the trailer here: