8/5 Movie Trip

Paul McGuire Grimes, creator of Paul’s Trip to the Movies, gives us his take on Netflix’ new series, The Sandman, Not Okay streaming on Hulu, and AppleTV’s new animated show, Luck.

THE SANDMAN (Netflix)

Fans have eagerly been waiting decades for Neil Gaiman’s comics “The Sandman” to be turned into a movie or series. Tom Sturridge takes on the daunting task of playing The Sandman, who’s also referred to as Dream and Morpheus. He’s the Master of Dreams, and in the first episode, we see him imprisoned on Earth in an English estate thanks to Charles Dance’s character after his spell to bring back his dead son goes wrong. The result of Dream being stuck on Earth instead of his realm, Dreaming, is a sleeping sickness that affects thousands of people now stuck in a state of sleep. Decades pass before Dream manages to escape, and he finds a lot has changed since he last left Dreaming, which has since been practically wiped out. Dream sets out to restore order and rebuild Dreaming by visiting old friends and enemies collecting gifts along the way.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

 

NOT OKAY (Hulu)

It’s commonplace right now to hear the words “social media personality” “influencer” and “hashtag” There’s good money to be made that comes from that line of work. Not Okay is a satire looking at that very trend. Zoey Deutch stars as Danni Sanders who’s struggling to find her purpose and career. She works as a photo editor but would rather be a writer. She wants to be known, loved, and wants to matter. She meets Colin (Dylan O’Brien) who’s a social media influencer with all the connections and freebies, and she’s smitten in him and the work. Danni photoshops a fake writer’s retreat in Paris to gain attention but finds herself caught in a web of lies after claiming she survived a recent bomb explosion while on this fake retreat. She’s desperate to find what gives her the likes, comments, and attention she wants. The film also stars Mia Isaac as another influencer who’s actually trying to change the world for the better with her platform.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

 

LUCK (AppleTV+)

How often do you feel unlucky? You spill coffee, miss the bus, or are running late. For Sam, that seems to be every day where luck is not on her side. She grew up in the foster care system but has now aged out and is living on her own. After finding a penny on the ground, her luck starts to turn around almost like magic. This leads to running into a talking black cat named Bob. He’s from the Land of Luck, where there’s a whole operation in place of how luck is formed and sent to humans. Sam believes this is her chance to find some luck and bring it to her best friend, Hazel, who is in the foster care system. However, the humans are forbidden in the Land of Luck, so it becomes an undercover mission for Sam and Bob to harness enough luck to bring back for Hazel.

RATING: 3 out of 5 TICKET STUBS