The Sisters are Back in HOCUS POCUS 2

 

 Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on Disney+ from director Anne Fletcher and Walt Disney Pictures is the return of three iconic sisters that are just a little bit magical with HOCUS POCUS 2.

It has been twenty-nine years since the Sanderson sisters, Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy) was around because of the Black Flame Candle. Now in Salem, Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Becca (Whitney Peak) are getting ready to throw a combination 16th birthday and Halloween party.

Going to the local magic shop, owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson) gives Becca a candle for her birthday ritual and when the girls light it, they discover it is a Black Flame Candle. Well, two virgins and a full moon can mean only one thing – the Sanderson sisters are back!

Not hip to the ways of the modern world, the sisters go on a journey with the two young girls and when things start to turn, Gilbert steps in. He is so excited to see the sisters telling them he saw what happened on Halloween in 1993 and that he has the candle and book.

Well, when they see a flyer with the name Mayor Traske (Tony Hale) on it, Winifred decides its time to even the score with the Traske family and make Salem pay as well but, they need a little Traske blood. Gilbert is more than pleased to help the sisters, while Izzy and Becca spend a little basement time alone.

Winifred is so determined to wreak havoc that she doesn’t listen to the Izzy and Becca when they try to warn her of the consequences of her spell. But sometimes you have to let a witch do what a witch is going to do.

Midler as Winifred is back to her old tricks but, it is missing something and I’m not sure what that something is. Winnie is such a grand character and the matriarch of the three that, besides her wanting revenge, and I was happy to see her back in her buck teeth again.

Najimy as Mary is still the go-along-to-get-along sister and looks fabulous. Watching her character grow a little bolder is always a good thing. Parker as Sarah is still the sweet voiced sister that continues to drive Winnie crazy but that’s what sisters are for.

Escobedo and Peak as the teen girls who did not expect to be dealing with the Sanderson sisters are pretty clever until they aren’t and then they are again. Let’s face it, the Sanderson sisters are as about as easy to deal with than two-year-old triplets so they had their work cut out for them. They are sweet in their roles and even funny.

Richardson as Gilbert is a bit of comic relief to the story as he is obsessed with the sisters and knowing their history. He is basically the historian of their lives and proud of it.

Other cast include Lilia Buckingham as Cassie Traske, Froy Gutierrez as Mike, and Hannah Waddingham as Mother Witch. Shout out to Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jete and Kahmora Hall who give us Winifred, Mary and Sarah in drag!

Walt Disney Studios continues to bring quality programming to kids and kids at heart. Home of the most beloved animated features including SNOW WHITE, PINOCCHIO and SLEEPING BEAUTY to name a few is what keeps families coming back for more.

Disney+ is the subscription home streaming entertainment with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. There are exclusive originals with new feature films, shows, short form content, documentaries, and actions series such as THE MANDALORIAN. For more information, please visit www.disneyplus.com.

I suppose the studios was put under a lot of pressure by pretty much everyone in the world wanting a HOCUS POCUS 2. Mainly we wanted it because of the garbage that has been coming out of Hollywood for a while now has made us all nostalgic for fun films that took us away from the world’s issues.

The thing is, if you are going to make something like HOCUS POCUS 2, writers, directors and such need to ask themselves ‘how do we get that feeling back?’. This missed the mark for me and I have no problem saying so. I’m glad to see the actresses coming back and reprising their roles but dang girls, if you are going to do that – perhaps you should have watched the original about ten times to find that mojo we were all looking for.

Truth of it is this, you can wait too long to bring characters back and that might be the Sanderson sister’s case. Even though there could potentially be room for another, once again the question the studio should asked is – should we?  Of course, my answer would be ‘nope’, you did it now let it go.

HOCUS POCUS is the film my family waits for every year. Kind of like THE WIZARD OF OZ coming to the home screen every spring – it becomes tradition. The Sanderson sisters are iconic, beloved and will always be part of the lives of those who came to know and love them in 1993!

In the end – it is a wickedly glorious return!

HBO Series DIVORCE: The Complete First Season is an Event on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from HBO from creator Sharon Horgan and director Jesse Peretz is the fantastic first season of the HBO series DIVORCE: The Complete First Season.

Frances (Sarah Jessica Parker) and husband Robert (Thomas Haden Church) are silently heading to the birthday party of friend Diane (Molly Shannon). A speech by Diane’s husband Nick (Tracy Letts) makes it clear that their marriage isn’t a happy one either. A gun goes off, Robert is freaked out, Frances calls an ambulance and Nick is on the floor.

When Robert discovers that Frances has been having an affair and gal pal Dallas (Talia Balsam) knew as well, he isn’t going to make her life easy. Their kids Lila (Sterling Jerins) and Tom (Charlie Kilgore) are oblivious to what’s going on. But a dog always manages to pave the way into a conversation that needs to be had.

Robert is starting to annoy everyone from his workers to the bed ridden Nick who has finally woken up. Being told to shut up, Robert can not understand why Diane and Nick would ever want to stay together.

With divorce seeming a better idea than marriage counseling, Frances and Robert are being told it’s time to tell the kids. They both also are putting together their finances and Robert realizes he is in the financial outs as well! Now that Nick is lucid, Robert wants to find an investor for a project to get him back on track.

Frances finds out Robert has gotten himself a lawyer and decides to lawyer up with Max Brodkin (Jeffrey DeMunn). During the initial meeting, Frances unloads to make sure there are no secrets that can be used against her. Finally signing on the dotted to get her gallery space, Frances finally gets the chance to do what she’s only dreamed of.

Robert and Nick meet up to talk about the Fun Space but instead Nick tells his friend that its time to think about saving his marriage. Learning who her lawyer is, Robert decides to lawyer up – up with Tony Silvercreek (Dean Winters)! Frances, Dallas and Diane take a night out visiting another gallery meeting Carson Hodges (Frank Whaley).

Agreeing to keep things normal for the kids comes to a screeching argument when the Christmas schedule brings tradition into question. Going to Frances’ parents for Christmas means trying to find a way to avoid the problems with telling the truth about their marriage.

Robert meets up with Kathy, a woman from his past who clearly doesn’t see things as he does. While trying to find his way Robert meets a woman who he feels will somewhat even up the affair-score. Frances gets the shock of her life that Robert has been ruining their financial lives for quite some time.

It is down to the lawyers getting together in a room with Robert and Frances to point fingers. Frances feels as if she is being portrayed as an absentee mother while Robert gets all the props. Noticing her lawyer isn’t cutting it, she changes lawyers while trying to work with Robert on being fair.

Being served in public sets Robert on a destructive path while trying to start his new business Fun Space USA. An accident sends the parents into a nicer state but it is hanging on by a thread with Robert holding the scissors. Frances finally opens her gallery with the support of her friends and family.

When a lawyer move pushes Robert, he pushes back – in the worst way one ever could!

Parker as Frances is brilliant in her role trying to keep it together and stay the doting Mom to the kids. Dodging all the verbal bullets hubby Robert is firing keeps this character on her toes. Knowing that it will take time to decide what is best for their marriage; Parker’s character takes the hits and keeps on believing.

Church as Robert is brutal with his one liners and “purse in the trash” with perhaps a banana retorts. Living under the same roof his tantrums are that of a teenager to my mind yet I get it but still – a teenager. Even their therapy sessions I’m in a bit of shock when he goes off the verbal rails.

Shannon as Diane is hilarious, dangerous and hilarious as that one friend who just has no filter when it comes to anything about her life. Balsam as Dallas wants what’s best for her friend Frances and doesn’t believe its Robert.

Jerins as Lila is such a sweet girl one minute and a pre-teen with all that entails the next minute. Kilgore as Tom isn’t sure exactly what’s happening around him but has other things to do so let’s his parents hash it out on their own.  Jemaine Clement is Julian Renaut loves the fun of an affair but not the commitment.

HBO Home Entertainment has an extensive array of critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking programs found on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD. They have provided viewers with some of the most amazing programs with huge fan bases that include the shows True Blood, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, True Detectives, The Wire, Entourage and Game of Thrones. Launched in 1984, HBO is world wide in viewed entertainment in more than 70 territories around the world! For more of what they have to offer please visit www.hbo.com.

DIVORCE is the perfect series for Parker and Church to show off why they are outstanding at their craft. I have to say the scenes in the therapist office between Parker and Church are stunning and I can not remember a pair more matched than these two.

There isn’t anything about this series that I don’t like. It is a whirlwind of two people trying to cope with what it means to be an adult and be married. Anyone who has gone through a divorce will understand the swamp that a husband and wife go through to come out the other side relatively sane.

Mixed into the harshness between this once loving couple is a twisted comedy that I can’t help but laugh at. With each move they make toward divorce, Frances and Robert are clearly and totally discombobulated with where this is all going to lead them. The finishing line isn’t visible to them at all because of the unresolved issues between them with a final episode that will shock!

Parker was nominated for the Golden Globe Aware for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. The soundtrack of music is completely wonderful and it is definitely one I’d like to own. A mixture of memories that fits

The Bluray includes the episodes Pilot, Next Day, Counseling, Mediation, Gustav, Christmas, Weekend Plans, Church, Another Party and Détente. The Exclusive Special Features are Audio Commentaries with star Sarah Jessica Parker, Executive Producer/Writer Paul Simms and writers Tom Scharpling and Adam Resnick.

In the end – it is for better or worse, or worse!

For your chance to win a copy of the HBO Original Series DIVORCE: The Complete First Season on bluray please visit http://moviemaven.homestead.com to find out how!