5/30/20 Jumanji: The Next Level (Movie Rental)

    I am not sure if this counts as a night out at the movies, but we just saw the newest Jumanji  movie last night.  It was so new, we paid $5.99 for the privilege to see it.  This is only the 2nd or third movie I have been willing to pay for, normally I am too cheap to consider the idea.  I remember being very apprehensive to watch the 2017 version because to me Jumanji was a Robin Williams vehicle and it coming out after he passed away just seemed disrespectful, but after viewing it a few months ago randomly for free, it had finally been out long enough, I have to say, I really enjoyed the new direction they went with.
    I have always liked Jack Black, but thought he was too goofy to play the hero.  He managed to find just the right fit in this movie where he can play dramatic without seeming outlandish, he is playing a girl.  The Rock is the perfect hero type, Kevin Hart, tiny by the Rock's side makes a good comedy sidekick.  The girl, Karen Gillan, may not have the fame of the other three, but she is very sexy as the kick-ass Ruby.  It would have been hard to get these four people to somehow sit down and play the video game in the real world, as game avatars, they make perfect sense.
    For the third installment, this 2019 version, Danny DeVito comes out as Spencer's (kid who turns into the Rock) grandpa.  He is mean and nasty and has a chip on his shoulder.  It turns out he has a grudge and most of his anger is towards the Danny Glover character.  Back in the day they had a café, and Devito loved it, but Glover convinced them to sell it as they got older.  Glover wanted more out of life, such as travel and not be a slave to the job.  DeVito was who he was because of his shop.  He lost his identity.
    This is sort of a Christmas movie, the 4 kids are back home for the holidays and Spencer is back to being an outcast on his own.  He doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin and tries to repair the Jumanji game they destroyed and it manages to suck them back in for another round, this time grandpa and his old friend get sucked in.  During the fighting and adventures, DeVito and Glover finally understand each other and they make up.  As far as the game, they are back to finding another stone, and working together, they save the world.
    Since more people get sucked into the game, there are more avatars to meet.  Danny DeVito turns into an Asian thief, played by Awkwafina, and Glover becomes a beautiful black horse.  There are a couple of intense situations, when they are being chased by ostrichs and then again on the maze of moving ladders when they are being chased by mandrills (oversized baboons).