Movie Reviews: “A Minecraft Movie,” and “The Friend”

“A Minecraft Movie”

Official Synopsis:  From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures and starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, “A Minecraft Movie,” directed by Jared Hess, is the first-ever big screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

The film also stars Emma Myers (“Wednesday”), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Sebastian Hansen (“Just Mercy, “Lisey’s Story”), with Jennifer Coolidge.

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative…the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.

Oscar nominee Hess (“Ninety-Five Senses,” “Nacho Libre”) directed from a screenplay by Chris Bowman & Hubbel Palmer and Neil Widener & Gavin James and Chris Galletta, story by Allison Schroeder and Chris Bowman & Hubbel Palmer, based on the Minecraft video game. Roy Lee, Jon Berg, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Jason Momoa, Jill Messick, Torfi Frans Ólafsson and Vu Bui produced, and Todd Hallowell, Jay Ashenfelter, Kayleen Walters, Brian Mendoza and Jon Spaihts executive produced.

The director’s creative team behind the camera includes BAFTA-nominated director of photography Enrique Chediak (“127 Hours,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”), Oscar-winning production designer Grant Major (“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “The Meg”), editor James Thomas (“Pokémon: Detective Pikachu”, the “Borat” films), Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon (“The Jungle Book,” “The Batman”), and costume designer Amanda Neale (“The Meg,” “What We Do in the Shadows”). Casting is by Rachel Tenner. The music supervisors are Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman, and the music is by Mark Mothersbaugh (“Thor: Ragnarok,” the “LEGO®” movies).

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Present A Vertigo Entertainment/On The Roam/Mojang Studios Production, A Jared Hess Film, “A Minecraft Movie.” The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures worldwide and by Legendary East in China, and released only in theaters and IMAX in North America on April 4, 2025, and internationally beginning 2 April 2025.

“The Friend”

Official Synopsis:  Based on the bestselling novel, writer and teacher Iris (Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Murray) bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb. Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with Apollo, she begins to come to terms with her past, and her own creative inner life in this story of healing, love, and friendship.