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“Wicked” – Defies Gravitational Expectations. It’s Sure to be Popular!

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This musical film totally amazed me. Although it’s rather lengthy and there is a lot to take in, it was done fairly well. Director Jon M. Chu did a spectacular adaptation bringing the popular Broadway musical Wicked onto the big screen, which was inspired by the 2003 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.

Chu takes the audience on an exciting adventure to the wonderful Land of OZ with Wicked. There are many visual references (especially in the intro scene) to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, which many will find nostalgic. The film expands on the backstory of Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), focusing on her childhood and the non-existence relationship with her father Frexspar Thropp (Andy Nyman), yet is close and protective to her younger sister, Nessarose “Nessa” Thropp (Marissa Bode). Elphaba’s journey begins when she arrives at Shiz University where she meets Galinda “Glinda” Upland (Ariana Grande).

Elphaba (Erivo) is seen as the outcast, due to her green appearance and unable to harness her emotions – anger triggers her strong magical ability. While Glinda (Grande) is the privileged popular aristocrat that uses her beauty and charismatic ways to influence others. The students at the Shiz University are just smitten over her. However, Elphaba’s powers strike an interest with Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), which makes Glinda envious.

As the storyline moves along through the catchy musical numbers and dancing, we see how Glinda is the egocentric, pompous manipulator and bullies not just Elphaba but Doctor Dillamond (Peter Dinklage) – the talking goat professor. But, what’s a musical without a little drama? Jonathan Bailey is a remarkably good singer and shows off his vocal skills as the handsome, yet shallow Fiyero Tigelaar. Fiyero arrives at the university, you can only think he will be perfect for Galinda but ends up caught in a love triangle between Glinda and Elphaba. This takes Glinda’s jealousy to the extreme and sees an opportunity to belittle Elphaba by persuading her to wear the infamous black hat during a student night outing. When Elphaba shows up looking like…a witch, everyone laughs and ridicules her. It gets highly emotional when Elphaba pretends to dismiss their reactions and begins to do swaying dance to no music. Glinda finally realizes that she has gone too far with teasing Elphaba. This scene sets up for the transformation of both Glinda and Elphaba, especially for when they meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) master of illusion and exploitation. Not to give out any spoilers, there are so many other details and surpise appearences in this musical that ends in a powerful cliffhanger for Wicked Part II.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were the perfect pairing for this film. Both ladies have such powerhouse voices, which complement each other. Regardless that I was never an Ariana Grande fan, she was impressive taking on the role of Galinda – Glinda. She had that character down from the sweet voice, dancing, quirky gestures to the hair flipping. Cynthia Erivo gave an astounding flawless performance and dominated the screen with her incredible voice. I can definitely see her acting career taking off to the next level, “Defying Gravity”!

Wicked has it all – majestic cinematography, fabulous costumes, best soundtrack, great storyline with solid performances. It will surely be “Popular” at the box office.

Sabrina - Kiddo is the newest member of Countdown City Geeks and is a contributor of movie and television show reviews. Her passion for film derived from her college days where her rhetoric-writing professor focused on the aspects of screenwriting and music lyrics. She also has a knack for saying movie quotes.

Movie Reviews

Yadang – The Snitch: A Surprisingly Riveting Crime Action Movie (Review)

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When a swift street smart Lee Kang-soo (Kang Ha-neul) finds himself in jail for being unjustly accused as a meth dealer, he encounters an eager prosecutor, Goo Gwan-hee (Yoo Hai-jin), who offers to reduce Lee’s sentence by having him work as a snitch, “Ya-Dang”. However, when it comes to sting operations and using Ya-Dangs, narcotics officer Oh Sang-jae (Park Hae-joon ) becomes suspicious of Goo’s techniques, and it appears he might be involved in a convoluted criminal network.

This South Korean film, Yadang – The Snitch, has a well written storyline with many exiting and unsuspected plot twists, from betrayal, corruption, to settling the score revenge. Director Hwang Byeng-Gug exercised good judgement not implementing exaggerated CGI’s and kept the action scenes interesting and grounded.

The trio of main characters had great development, with outstanding cast members giving flawless performances.

Promising actor Kang Ha-neul, best known for Squid Game 2, knows how to deliver a combination of dynamic action with humor. Kang was well-suited to portray the sharp dressed, charismatic Lee Kang-soo.

Yoo Hai-jin was impressive transforming his role and building the underlying forces, while Park Hae-joon maintained a well balanced role that rises to the occasion.

Besides the entertaining action, the traditional South Korean food culture was incorporated throughout many of the scenes giving it a delicious element – It left me craving those noodles! Also, the post credits were a nice dessert of laughter.

With absolute certainty this movie is fantastic, and I am hopeful for a sequel.

Yadang – The Snitch will be in theaters April 25, 2025, in the US and Canada.

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Movie Reviews

‘Good Boy’: An exceptional haunting film from a dog’s perception. – Review

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Have you ever wondered why your furry companion stares at the wall or barks when there is nothing around? In this independent horror film, it presents a possible explanation to why your dog behaves in a peculiar manner. Good Boy is a unique take on creating a horror film where the main character is Indy, an adorable loyal dog that will do what it takes to protect his human friend and not leave his side.

Indy made his grand entrance at the 2025 SXSW in Austin, Texas and captivated the audience with his handsome furry coat and charming face. Indy was trained by his owners Kari Fischer and Ben Leonberg, along with the help of a professional trainer. It took more than 400 days (over the course of a couple of years) to complete filming due to the specific commands and desired behaviors that Indy had to learn, but most importantly ensuring his comfort and safety.

You can watch the video here of Indy showing off his impressive skills during the Q&A with Ben Leonberg and Kari Fischer (aka dog parents).

The screenplay was written by Alex Cannon and Ben Leonberg, who also directed the film. They created a unique perspective of a horror film by developing the storyline from a dog’s point of view.

The film begins with Todd in his apartment looking catatonic with indications that he might be suffering from an illness. Indy is by his side and appears to be uncomfortable and restless witnessing Todd being lethargic. Todd decides to move out of the city to the family’s countryside home and takes his loyal dog, Indy, with him. It is here where the supernatural forces lurk in the shadows and Indy feels its strange presence.

The scenes have all those spooky elements a horror, suspense film should have – the dark rooms, chilling sounds, creepy shadows, and thunderous storms. There is even a mysterious cemetery that is part of the property. It is said that dogs have a sixth sense, and this film depicts the fear and concern from Indy that death may be lurking around.

If you are a dog owner or an avid dog lover, Good Boy will touch your emotions as you observe Indy’s faithfulness and courage to save his owner, Todd, from whatever entity haunting them.

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Movie Reviews

Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story – Review

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This documentary film shines light on the sport of pickleball and the competition against leagues to cash in on the now popular sport. Two wealthy Texas entrepreneurs form rivals in professional pickleball leagues and feud over obtaining contracts on the world’s top players.

Austin billionaire Steve Kuhn, a hedge fund manager turned philanthropist, and sports mogul built Dreamland, an outdoor entertainment and arts venue in Dripping Springs, Texas located in the Hill Country. The site features 16 dedicated pickleball courses, miniature golf courses, and one state of the art music stage.

In 2021, Kuhn co-founded Major League Pickleball (MLP) and held tournaments in Dreamland. I was surprised to learn how this sport evolved into a franchise and attracted investors like Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and elite athletes like LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and even Drew Brees.

Like in all investments and in sports there is always a competitor – here is where Connor Pardoe steps onto the court. Pardoe formed the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) back in 2018, which required the players to sign a one year exclusive contract and transformed the industry from a recreational activity to a burgeoning sports powerhouse. The PPA then gets a new player, investor Thomas Dundon a chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, Texas. Dundon extended the exclusivity contracts to 3 years.

This sporty film has the tournament founders going head to head, evolving the sport into social media influencers, and chasing the gold. It also stars John McEnroe, no stranger to sport action drama.

Pickleball fanatics and those curious about the sport will find this documentary interesting, maybe even have more people interested in participating in playing pickleball or as a spectator.

The documentary is produced and directed by Ashley Underwood and written and produced by Craig Coyne is set to premiere Friday, April 11 on truTV and also will be streaming afterwards on the Max platform.

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