Three years later after returning the heart to Te Fiti, Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) is seen exploring a deserted island and discovers an artifact indicating the island was inhabited. She sails back to Motunui to share her findings with her family and island community. At the celebration, she gets a calling from her wayfinding ancestors and learns that she must go on a quest to find the hidden island of Motufetu, which is believed to be the connection to other communities across the Oceania. This is the only option that will help preserve and continue their bloodline, otherwise their tribe will fade into nonexistence.

We see new characters that have particular useful skills and become part of Moana’s crew. Together, they prepare for the dangerous voyage in search for Motufetu. Yes, HeiHei (Alan Tudyk) and this time Pua join in on the excitement. The adventure gets hysterical when Moana and crew encounter the Kakamora – the coconut pirates. I love these guys, the minions of the sea! With the help of Moni (a storyteller), he was able to translate the Kakamora’s banging chest and tribal drums language. They come to understand the Kakamora have been sailing the ocean longing to find their homeland. It was thrilling to see Kotu unite with Moana in search for the lost mysterious island. Finally, Maui (Dwayne Johnson) makes an appearance in his mischievous ways, stuck in a bind with a mysterious “bat lady”, Matangi (Awhimai Fraser). Not much is revealed about Matangi – Goddess of Wind, just that she’s an enslaved demigod under Nalo, and has a connection to bats. She also has a threatening demeanor. Matangi sends Moana, Maui and crew through the portal to face Nalo, the powerful God of Storms, who deliberately keeps humans divided for he fears their powers when they are united. Moana realizes the best way to defeat Nalo, and to lift up the lost island Motufetu, is with strong teamwork, creative thinking, sacrifice, and with a little help from her spiritual ancestors.

Moana 2 has a good storyline with some exciting action and stunning animation. However, it went overboard with the flatulence humor and projectile regurgitation. The songs were fun and rhythmic – Maui (Johnson) performing “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?!” sounded a bit like Busta Rhymes with a similar saxophonist dance move scene from 1987 vampire movie The Lost Boys. I wonder if that was a connection to the “bat lady” Matangi.

Moana 2 did not have a strong enough wave impact as the first movie, but I do believe it will be used to bridge over a connection to a potential Moana 3. Stay for the post credits. More is revealed about Matangi who is still enslaved under Nalo’s control, and is in talks with him to perhaps assist in his revenge on Moana. Meanwhile, a familiar devious crustacean happens to be eavesdropping.

It was refreshing to see Ben Stiller in a different role outside of his typical silly, goofy, comical characters. Stiller portrays a Chicago real estate executive who is called upon by Social Worker Gretchen (Linda Cardellini) to take temporary guardianship of his four nephews after the passing of his estranged sister who died in a tragic car accident along with her husband. Despite the upsetting incident, the lighthearted comedy comes from the four Kicklighter boys – played by Homer, Arlo, Atlas and Ulysses Janson, who are also brothers in real life.

Nutcrackers takes place in the countryside of Ohio, and challenges city man Michael “Mike” Maxwell (Stiller) to look after his nephews until they are placed with a foster family. The Kicklighter boys are seen behaving like feral animals in their farmhouse. When their uncle arrives, the boys immediately shutdown and size him up as if he were a stranger. Mike seems distant himself and gives minimal effort in comforting them. Mike is obviously not the father figure. He’s conceded and heavily focused on his real estate ventures. Nevertheless, the Kicklighter boys give Mike a run for his money with typical boyish pranks and country bumpkin lifestyle.

The oldest Kicklighter Justice (Homer Janson) asks Mike, “When I wake up tomorrow, are you still gonna be here?”, and further questions his uncle by telling him that his mom (Mike’s sister) believed that he was not capable of love. Mike learns that his sister owned a dance studio, and his nephews are surprisingly good ballet dancers. He sees this as an opportunity to host a recital with the Kicklighter boys performing their version of “The Nutcracker” with the participation of the other local children. Mike invests his time planning and overseeing the rehearsals, which leads the boys to gradually bond with him. Mike does care for his nephews, but doesn’t see himself capable of taking on the responsibility of raising them. Instead, he intends to use the recital to make the boys more appealing for a family to foster or adopt them.

Will there be tensions surfacing between Mike and his nephews on the night of their recital in front of a pack house? Or will Mike have an epiphany? Not to give out any spoilers, but the boy’s rendition of “The Nutcracker” does have an emotional heartwarming impact. I see Homer Janson having a promising future career in acting.  

Be sure not to miss out on Nutcrackers, available November 29 on Hulu.

I enjoyed watching the nostalgic flashbacks from Gladiator in the intro scene. It built up my expectations for the next chapter in the Roman Empire saga, which takes place 16 years after the epic battle between Maximus and Commodus.

Ridley Scott marginally captivated my attention with Gladiator II. The film had great potential, but the action scenes took away from the storyline. The headliners appeared to have missed the mark and did not connect with their character. There were also unnecessary comical scenes – the type of humor that is unsuitable for a corrupt Roman Empire theme.

I believe the highlight of the movie was the reveal of Hanno as Lucius Farris Verus (Paul Mescal), the heir to the Roman Empire and son of Maximus Decimus Meridius and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Nielsen’s performance was great and contributed in linking the storyline. As for Mescal, it took him about half of the movie to finally enliven Lucius and gain momentum. Mescal took on a huge role but demonstrated that he is able to illustrate his character and bring action to the screen.

It was interesting to see Denzel Washington in the role of Macrinus, a former slave turned gladiator, to now an arms dealer. Macrinus is a wild character. Denzel gave out too much of the New York gangster vibes, which seemed odd for the Common Era. However, his sword fight scene with Lucius (Mescal) had some intensity but was short-lived.

As for Pedro Pascal’s character Marcus Acacius, he wasn’t given enough depth. It felt more like a special appearance, there for reference. Same goes for Joseph Quinn’s character Emperor Geta. There is something about Geta that is intriguing and left me with wanting to know more about his background and his mentioned illness from “his loin to his head”.

Throughout the film there were several Gladiator flashbacks, which was exciting, but it was more of a filler to retain the audience attention. Screenwriter David Scarpa, who also wrote the screenplay for Gladiator, presented a strong storyline for the sequel, but was clouded by the cast of characters and exaggerated low-quality special effects. Specifically, the naval battle scene where the Colosseum is flooded to accommodate huge boats and some sharks for added entertainment. Yes, there are historical theories that the Colosseum was flooded by Titus and Domitian for naval battles, but the water would be approximately 5 feet deep, and they used flat bottom boats (more like canoes).

Spolier Alert!

Gladiator II was rather entertaining, but it left me with these dubious questions: If Geta named his pet monkey Dundus as successor, why is he not Caesar? If Lucius succeeded in reigning the power as Caesar and Rome is being given back to the people, why does he grab a fist full of dirt in the arena and asks for the spirit of his father to talk to him? Are we going to see a Gladiator III?