TOM & JERRY

The live action debut for the duo who have been around for decades. The film follows Tom & Jerry who are up to their old antics in one of New York's oldest and most prestigious hotels, the Royal Gate. The film is supposed to be an origin story, but doesn't really seem like one as the back-and-forth between the characters picks up right from the start, leading the audience to believe these two are already familiar with each other. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as Kayla, a part-time worker at the hotel, who's made it her mission to rid the hotel of Jerry by employing Tom. I like Moretz as an actress, and while this is a safe film for her, she's so much better than this. She's better as the bad ass, with a chip on her shoulder kinda girl. I appreciate her attempt to expand her range, but not in a PG Tom & Jerry movie. Most of the film she tugs at her uniform that becomes quite distracting as the film progresses. Michael Pena also co-stars as Terence, her immediate supervisor at the hotel who's against her hiring from the beginning. Again, Pena's better than this too and as the runtime continues, it's almost painful at times seeing both actors subjected to this type of film. If you have young ones, this is a film for them. Anyone who enjoyed the characters from their youth and are over the age of 10, this is a hard pass. 4/10