Mostly Musical Theatre

Lyle Lyle Crocodile, and Amsterdam October 7, 2022

Lyle Lyle Crocodile (4/5 stars) is a terrific, tuneful, and fun family movie that all ages will enjoy. They sort of hide the fact that it is a musical in its trailers. The songs (sung by Shawn Mendes) are by Pasek and Paul and they are catchy and you’ll find yourself buying the album after the movie. I really enjoyed Lyle. (note: no crocodiles or cats were harmed in this movie, because no real crocodiles or cats appear — the CGI is remarkable). It’s not a great film, but it’s a good one, and its just the kind of thing I wish we had more of right now.

Amsterdam (4/5 stars) is a love-it-or-hate-it star studded murder mystery from director David O Russell, who loves broken people and you get lots of that here. It takes place between the world wars, and I loved this film, which plays out like a novel – alternating voices from character to character, and introducing a huge variety of actors (everyone wants to work with O Russell). If you are not a fan of slow-moving, character driven stories, this won’t be for you, and critics overall are divided. I loved it. It looks magnificent in IMAX and everything feels larger than life. Christian Bale is magnificent. If you are a fan of Taylor Swift she appears in the film. If you are not a fan of Taylor Swift, you’ll enjoy the scene about 10 minutes in. This is a great movie weekend! Go out, see something, and have fun at the movies!