Such a boring, slow movie. I gave up at around the 45 minute mark. Its not as painfully slow as the movie "her" but its still painfully slow. Its just nothing the majority of the time. I get that its a "mystery" movie and the conflict is mostly supposed to stem from solving the clues and not from the action, but even that was slow, i cant really say much here because it would probably be considered spoilers, but by the time i turned it off the only thing they figured out was that there was a certain pattern with the killers victims and times of attack. Thats it. The characters were all bland and flat, they had NO personality whatsoever. One of the movies saving graces however is how theres some legitimately good cinematography, and i like it how they were able to keep the movies color pallet white overall to really give the feeling of what the winter outdoors feels like. Thats pretty much it though, it was painfully slow paced, boring, there was some tense and intimidating scenes, but they were all buried in a bland characters and boring story.
Reviews
69 Reviews
Kung Fu Panda 4
(2024)
just underwhelming
12 March 2024
You can REALLY feel the writers and actors strike with this one. It wasnt *terrible,* but it was just really lame and a major step down from all the previous KFP movies. Yes, even the third one. Not as much of a step down as megamind 2 mind you, but its definitely there. Firstly they ditched a lot of the voice actors from the original series, and so what they did was they either shoehorned them out of the story with some lame excuse, or just not gave them lines and just had them appear silent. The emotional depth is there, but again, its just a step down from what we've grown to expect from kung fu panda. The movie has a lot of filler and pointless subplots, po is reduced to a whiny baby in the first 10 minutes of the movie, the pacing is off, and the villain, OH MAN the villain was weak. Again, not the worst thing in the world, but her motives were purely contradictory from things that were established in the movies universe, shes never portrayed as a real threat. (remember back in KFP 2 when it was stated that lord shen literally killed a king fu master early on? The worst thing the chameleon does in this movie is push a guy down a flight of stairs. Oh no.)
the action was there i guess, it had some creative and somewhat exciting action scenes, the animation was pretty good overall, especially with the chameleons morphs (Probably just because there isnt an "animators strike" going on as well)
its definitely kung fu panda, but it just feels like they forgot a couple ingredients for the stew, so to speak. It just ended up being a step down from what we were expecting. Not terrible, just disappointing.
Imaginary
(2024)
well that was... something i guess...
11 March 2024
The movie itself is actually kind of decent for the first 2 acts. Its got some creative scary scenes, and some interesting twists in the story. Some of the things i dont like about the film though is how they kept forcing unnecessary conflict into the movie and cheap fake jumpscares of the movie saying "haha, that was just a person, got ya."
the third act however is where the movie really starts to fall apart, im not going to spoil it but they REALLY go off the rails here with the most random ideas they pulled out of their butts. Its just... what is this? Why are you making this? Its not scary its not interesting, the movie legitimately feels like the "weirdmageddon" from gravity falls at that point. I legitimately believe that the writers had no idea what they were going for with this movie.
Its dumb, its really, really dumb. I enjoyed watching it i guess, but it just felt like the second half of the movie was written by a completely different writer.
Its dumb, its really, really dumb. I enjoyed watching it i guess, but it just felt like the second half of the movie was written by a completely different writer.
unapologetic trash
2 March 2024
This is such a shameless and blatant cash grab on a mature, intelligent film, to make it into a cheap knockoff aimed purely at children. Nothing more that that.
Lets start with the obvious: they got rid of all the original voice actors and replaced them with cheap nobodys, and downgraded the animation. Now to be fair, the animation quality isnt *that bad,* but its also worse than the first movie that came out over a decade ago so theres no excuse for this movements are all stiff and unnatural, the character models all look like theyre for a ps2 game, nad theres animaton errors EVERYWHERE. Not as often as there were in the trailer, but still a lot.
The writing is also childish and immature. Even if we forgive the movie for not haviong the budget to look as good as the original, thats still no excuse as to why the writing couldnt be as good as the original. Theres no emotional depth, no trope subversion, no maturity, none of the humor was funny in the slightest, it had NONE of the sharp writing that the original movie did. There was this really annoying thing they did where they made an excuse as to why they have to call minion "chum" for some reason. I genuinely dont know why, it didnt seem like a joke so anything. I kept waiting for them to say "ok this is stupid lets stop saying that" but they never did. The movie tries to make a point as to how megamind cant face the doom syntacate head on, because theres 4 of them and only one of him. But what the writers seem to have forgotten is that he literally defeated an evil superman in the last movie, and the doom syndacate is just a bunch of generic villain rejects that real life police would have absolutely no probelem aprehending. Also didnt the movie make a whole point of how megamind never backs down from a fight, even if he has no chance of actually winning? In this movie hes reduced to a whiny baby.
The movie was also super cringy and pandering. Theres a self-insert child character in it now (you know, for the kids.) and they constantlybring up social media and the internet in out-of-touch contexts. Also that doesnt make any sense because this movie is supposed to take place immediately after the first one, which came out in 2010. They also keep retconning stuff into the megamind universe that we know doesnt make any sense at all.
On its own merits, its decent at best. But when you compare it to the much superior first movie, its a major disappointment. This movie actually could have been good-ish if they expanded upon elements that they didnt fully explore in teh first movie, like megamind and roxxys relationship, or metro mans view of all of this. But unfortunately it was just a dumb kids movie.
Lets start with the obvious: they got rid of all the original voice actors and replaced them with cheap nobodys, and downgraded the animation. Now to be fair, the animation quality isnt *that bad,* but its also worse than the first movie that came out over a decade ago so theres no excuse for this movements are all stiff and unnatural, the character models all look like theyre for a ps2 game, nad theres animaton errors EVERYWHERE. Not as often as there were in the trailer, but still a lot.
The writing is also childish and immature. Even if we forgive the movie for not haviong the budget to look as good as the original, thats still no excuse as to why the writing couldnt be as good as the original. Theres no emotional depth, no trope subversion, no maturity, none of the humor was funny in the slightest, it had NONE of the sharp writing that the original movie did. There was this really annoying thing they did where they made an excuse as to why they have to call minion "chum" for some reason. I genuinely dont know why, it didnt seem like a joke so anything. I kept waiting for them to say "ok this is stupid lets stop saying that" but they never did. The movie tries to make a point as to how megamind cant face the doom syntacate head on, because theres 4 of them and only one of him. But what the writers seem to have forgotten is that he literally defeated an evil superman in the last movie, and the doom syndacate is just a bunch of generic villain rejects that real life police would have absolutely no probelem aprehending. Also didnt the movie make a whole point of how megamind never backs down from a fight, even if he has no chance of actually winning? In this movie hes reduced to a whiny baby.
The movie was also super cringy and pandering. Theres a self-insert child character in it now (you know, for the kids.) and they constantlybring up social media and the internet in out-of-touch contexts. Also that doesnt make any sense because this movie is supposed to take place immediately after the first one, which came out in 2010. They also keep retconning stuff into the megamind universe that we know doesnt make any sense at all.
On its own merits, its decent at best. But when you compare it to the much superior first movie, its a major disappointment. This movie actually could have been good-ish if they expanded upon elements that they didnt fully explore in teh first movie, like megamind and roxxys relationship, or metro mans view of all of this. But unfortunately it was just a dumb kids movie.
Wish
(II) (2023)
its... fine i guess
28 November 2023
Its ultimately an average movie. Terrible by disney standards, but by fine by standalone standards. The animation is pretty meh, even when disney tries it they still dont get how to make animated movies with stylized art styles. The 3d models look unfinished, theres several shots in the film where theres a noticable lack of shadows, and also the 3d character models just clash with the 2d backgrounds. They just dont look close enough to actually give the illusiong that theyre actually there. Also the story is pretty forced, a lot of the conflict doesnt have much to justify it, the villain just does things for little to no motivation. Theres hardly anything at stake here and you dont have much of a reason to care about what happens to the characters. Now the movie does have its upsides at least, most of the songs were well made with good ryhm to it, and since this movie exists to celibrate disneys 100th anniversary they added a bunch of little references to their pervious (and also better) works.
Overall its ok, if you want to see a movie just to have an excuse to have a fun time at the theater itll do the job. But its nothing too special.
Overall its ok, if you want to see a movie just to have an excuse to have a fun time at the theater itll do the job. But its nothing too special.
Slender Man
(I) (2018)
perfectly decent
4 November 2023
I dont know why people are all review bombing the movie like its the worst movie in the world. Sure its not great but its not terrible. Its a perfectly fine horror movie. Yes it is true that its based off an urban legend that stopped being relevant 7 years before the movie came out, if this moivie came out in 2013 though people would be eating it up. Yeah the characters do make some dumb decisions throughout the movie, but its a horror movie, is that really that out of the ordinary for this genre of film? Its at least more understandable during the second half where the characters are so frusturated and confused that they dont know what to do. One of the thing i genuinely do like about the movie is how even though the writing is flawed, the directing is at least good. Theres some interesting cinematography, and the movie does a good job of establishing a gloomy, bleak, almost surreal tone. The acting was all good, the effects were all well done. I dont know why people keep saying that the slender man himself looks the same as he did in the original slender game, thats a MAJOR exaggeration. Yeah it is true that in terms of design and how he stands sometimes he is very similar to the original source material (almost as if they want to become faithful to the source material, crazy right?) but he never looked cheaply made, the effects all looked real and not some computerized nonsense. I also like it how they used some photographs that the real slenderman creepypasta originated from.
Again, its not spectacular or anything, but its at least decent. Overhated but not fantastic.
Again, its not spectacular or anything, but its at least decent. Overhated but not fantastic.
Five Nights at Freddy's
(2023)
it was definitely five nights at freddys...
28 October 2023
But it still wasnt anything too special, unfortunately. To be fair the game does have some good preformances (even from the child actor who played abby) and theres some interesting cinematography, but thats pretty much it. The characters seem to just accept the unusual nature of the events that happen to them without really questioning anything. They just kinda accept it and treat it as the most normal thing in the world. Theres also a completely pointless side plot about abbys aunt trying to take custody of her so that she can get free child support cheques or something that never really equates to anything. They could have just cut that part out and the movie would be mostly unaffected. At the very least i was kinda hoping that the movie would expand upon the FNAF lore and progress the story of it, but from what i can tell im pretty sure this movie wants to disconnect itself from the games and be its own story
it was difinitely a movie that FELT like fnaf, it had a lot of references and cameos and stuff, but overall the movie just fell a little flat in the end.
Nimona
(2023)
a good concept with flawed pacing
14 July 2023
Nimona was an interesting movie to say the least. A sci-fi/medieval kingdom walled off is a decent concept. The idea of a posh british knight who has to get along with an angsty teen girl with shape shifting powers is also a good concept.
The main problem with the movie though, is the pacing. From the opening scene the movies plot gets dialed up to eleven, and gets way too far way too fast. Now i know i may sound like a hypocrite saying that when ive trashed other movies for not getting started soon enough, but theres also such a thing as getting started too fast. It pretty much has the same problem that i had with "the mitchells vs the machines" but even worse. The movie has a lot of plot holes and forced moments throughout the script. Im trying really hard not to spoil anything here, but theres this one scene where the 2 main characters manage to gain a piece of evidence from another character, but its never explained why that character didnt just make it public themself, like why did they hold onto it and not tell anyone about it?
Also the 2 main characters bond just way too quickly. With a movie like this you know theyre going to go the route of "2 main characters hate eachother but eventually grow on eachother" but they again did that way too quickly. They literally go from resenting eachother to being the best of friends in just one scene.
The whole movie revolves around a mystery element where you wonder who killed the queen in the opening scene, but the problem is that its blatantly obvious who did it even from the beginning of the film.
Now to be fair, the movie does have its upsides. The animation is good and unique, im glad that studios are starting to explore more stylized animation styles these days. Although the animation and the way the characters moved looked a little stilted in some shots, it wasnt as noticable as it was throughout the whole movie but there were some moments where i was like "huh, that looks kinda fake". The action was fast paced and exciting, the voice acting was good, and thats pretty much it. Its a passable movie but just way too ADHD for me.
The main problem with the movie though, is the pacing. From the opening scene the movies plot gets dialed up to eleven, and gets way too far way too fast. Now i know i may sound like a hypocrite saying that when ive trashed other movies for not getting started soon enough, but theres also such a thing as getting started too fast. It pretty much has the same problem that i had with "the mitchells vs the machines" but even worse. The movie has a lot of plot holes and forced moments throughout the script. Im trying really hard not to spoil anything here, but theres this one scene where the 2 main characters manage to gain a piece of evidence from another character, but its never explained why that character didnt just make it public themself, like why did they hold onto it and not tell anyone about it?
Also the 2 main characters bond just way too quickly. With a movie like this you know theyre going to go the route of "2 main characters hate eachother but eventually grow on eachother" but they again did that way too quickly. They literally go from resenting eachother to being the best of friends in just one scene.
The whole movie revolves around a mystery element where you wonder who killed the queen in the opening scene, but the problem is that its blatantly obvious who did it even from the beginning of the film.
Now to be fair, the movie does have its upsides. The animation is good and unique, im glad that studios are starting to explore more stylized animation styles these days. Although the animation and the way the characters moved looked a little stilted in some shots, it wasnt as noticable as it was throughout the whole movie but there were some moments where i was like "huh, that looks kinda fake". The action was fast paced and exciting, the voice acting was good, and thats pretty much it. Its a passable movie but just way too ADHD for me.
M3GAN
(2022)
actually better than i was expecting
31 January 2023
When i first saw the trailers i rolled my eyes and thought "oh boy, another doll horror movie that came out a few decades late" but to the films credit, it really wasnt that
to start off, all the preformances were fantastic, even the child actor for cady. They were all very well developed and had strong personalities, except for the stereotypical bully kid who appeared that one time, but that was fine. The way that m3gan looked was really good, i dont know if they used CGI or animatronic or a real human actor for her, but regardless she looked really convincing. I liked watching m3gan throughout the film and seeing how she would react to the environment around her. She genuinely felt like a real robot with her movements and body language. The movie also does a really good job of portraying a story of a kid whos parents just died and the grief assosiated with it, it was handled in a surprisingly good way, and they way they resolved it in the end was perfect.
Now to be fair the movie does have its goofy moments here and there with cheesy deaths, but i was fully expecting that coming in, and it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought it was. The movies comedy didnt really work at all throughout the entire movie, other than the toy commercial in the opening scene, that was funny.
Its actually not as bad as it could have been, in fact it was pretty good. Do i recommend watching this? Absolutely. It was a blast to watch and i would love to see a sequel in the future.
to start off, all the preformances were fantastic, even the child actor for cady. They were all very well developed and had strong personalities, except for the stereotypical bully kid who appeared that one time, but that was fine. The way that m3gan looked was really good, i dont know if they used CGI or animatronic or a real human actor for her, but regardless she looked really convincing. I liked watching m3gan throughout the film and seeing how she would react to the environment around her. She genuinely felt like a real robot with her movements and body language. The movie also does a really good job of portraying a story of a kid whos parents just died and the grief assosiated with it, it was handled in a surprisingly good way, and they way they resolved it in the end was perfect.
Now to be fair the movie does have its goofy moments here and there with cheesy deaths, but i was fully expecting that coming in, and it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought it was. The movies comedy didnt really work at all throughout the entire movie, other than the toy commercial in the opening scene, that was funny.
Its actually not as bad as it could have been, in fact it was pretty good. Do i recommend watching this? Absolutely. It was a blast to watch and i would love to see a sequel in the future.
Fall
(I) (2022)
average
12 September 2022
Overall, its a completely average trapped thriller movie. It had its high points, and its low points. Some of the high points are that they had some great thrilling scenes, the characters dont make any dumb desisions throughout the film, acting was good, and the set piece they used for the tower looked really convincing. Some of the low points however is that there are some TERRIBLE practical effects used throughout the movie, its clear that this movie didnt have the budget for any CGI, because my god some things looked terrible. Specifically the vultures whevener they were physically interacting with the actors on set, and also a particular shot in the movie where the drone "lands" but you can clearly tell that they just merged it with a take of it stationary.
The movie did have a plot but i skipped it entirely, i did the same thing i did with "red dot" where i didnt care about the movies setup or anything, i just wanted to get the movie started (read my review of that movie if you want my further reasoning) and what a surprise, i can tell that i missed pretty much nothing once again. I mean they did talk about someones husband on occasion that one of the girls slept with, but the movie didnt really go anywhere with it, they just brought it up a few times and never resolved it.
I will admit though that there was a really dark and shocking twist that the movie pulled towards the end that i genuinely wasnt expecting, it actually took me by surprise and greatly changed the rest of the movie
the ending was... admittedly pretty underwhelming, i think what happened was the writers were planning some kind of tense, thrilling scene to end the movie on, but then they realized that they dont actually have the budget for that and they were like "well darn it. I guess we'll just end the movie as is then" i mean like seriously that ending gave me major blue balls
like i said, its a fairly average trapped thriller movie, and i dont regret watching it. Give it a try if youre into this kind of genre, but definitely skip to the 15 minute mark if you do, you wont miss much.
The movie did have a plot but i skipped it entirely, i did the same thing i did with "red dot" where i didnt care about the movies setup or anything, i just wanted to get the movie started (read my review of that movie if you want my further reasoning) and what a surprise, i can tell that i missed pretty much nothing once again. I mean they did talk about someones husband on occasion that one of the girls slept with, but the movie didnt really go anywhere with it, they just brought it up a few times and never resolved it.
I will admit though that there was a really dark and shocking twist that the movie pulled towards the end that i genuinely wasnt expecting, it actually took me by surprise and greatly changed the rest of the movie
the ending was... admittedly pretty underwhelming, i think what happened was the writers were planning some kind of tense, thrilling scene to end the movie on, but then they realized that they dont actually have the budget for that and they were like "well darn it. I guess we'll just end the movie as is then" i mean like seriously that ending gave me major blue balls
like i said, its a fairly average trapped thriller movie, and i dont regret watching it. Give it a try if youre into this kind of genre, but definitely skip to the 15 minute mark if you do, you wont miss much.
Monsters vs. Aliens
(2013–2014)
has a surprising lack of monsters VERSING aliens
26 August 2022
For a show thats literally called "monsters vs aliens" theres not a lot of monsters fighting aliens here. Its more like monsters LIVING with aliens and less-than-funny hijinks insue, but to be fair i guess that just doesnt roll off the tongue as good.
Also, what happened to insectosaurous?
Also, what happened to insectosaurous?
Lightyear
(2022)
a painfully average disappointment
20 June 2022
The bar was set pretty high for this movie, theres no denying that. Everyone was expecting a stellar, epic sci-fi adventure movie, and what we got was... not that.
The movie had a pretty promising start, but as it went on it incrementally kept sinking down. Now to be fair, the first 2 acts of the movie actually werent bad. It wasnt "excellent" by any means either, but i would say that it flew just a little below the line the trailers had set for itself.
Its the third act where everything started falling apart. The villain was terribly written and weak, i get that they wanted to really push the movies moral with him but they handled it poorly. Not spoiling anything but they really screwed the movie up with that part
the characters were a bit of a bixed bag as well, some were good, others were forgettable. Buzz, izzy, and sox were all fairly enjoyable characters, mo and darby were unbearlbly bland and could have just been written out of the movie entirely.
So yeah, painfully average at best. Not something i would recommend seeing in theaters. When it comes out on disney plus give it a try at home.
The movie had a pretty promising start, but as it went on it incrementally kept sinking down. Now to be fair, the first 2 acts of the movie actually werent bad. It wasnt "excellent" by any means either, but i would say that it flew just a little below the line the trailers had set for itself.
Its the third act where everything started falling apart. The villain was terribly written and weak, i get that they wanted to really push the movies moral with him but they handled it poorly. Not spoiling anything but they really screwed the movie up with that part
the characters were a bit of a bixed bag as well, some were good, others were forgettable. Buzz, izzy, and sox were all fairly enjoyable characters, mo and darby were unbearlbly bland and could have just been written out of the movie entirely.
So yeah, painfully average at best. Not something i would recommend seeing in theaters. When it comes out on disney plus give it a try at home.
Cool Cat Fights Coronavirus
(2021)
gives mixed messages
12 June 2022
Ok, so to the movies credit it actually does give some really genuinely good advice on how to avoid the coronavirus, such as how to wash your hands, wearing face masks, social distancing, ect.
The big issue however that im talking about here is the message they try to give at the very end saying "remember that people have different opinions on this coronavirus, so always respect them". The problem with that is that the movies delivery on that is pretty flawed. You see, the movies antagonist is this anthropomorphic dog character called "dirty dog" and hes a stereotypical anti-covid conspiracist. The movie paints him in a very negative light by showing him purposefully trying to infect people with the coronavirus (which he paradoxically doesnt think is real, but thats not important here) now, do you think the message of "respect other peoples opinions on the coronavirus" will sink in properly for the audience, when the only character in the movie who has exactly that is so stereotyped and vilified? I dont think so. Dont get me wrong, im not saying people who believe that the whole coronavirus is a hoax are actually valid, im judging this purely from a delivery standpoint. What they should have done is show us people with varying, but realistic opinions on the virus in an impartial way without labelling any as right or wrong.
So yeah, they kinda screwed up the lesson there at the last minute. They had some other good information, but they forgot to get their priorities in order.
The big issue however that im talking about here is the message they try to give at the very end saying "remember that people have different opinions on this coronavirus, so always respect them". The problem with that is that the movies delivery on that is pretty flawed. You see, the movies antagonist is this anthropomorphic dog character called "dirty dog" and hes a stereotypical anti-covid conspiracist. The movie paints him in a very negative light by showing him purposefully trying to infect people with the coronavirus (which he paradoxically doesnt think is real, but thats not important here) now, do you think the message of "respect other peoples opinions on the coronavirus" will sink in properly for the audience, when the only character in the movie who has exactly that is so stereotyped and vilified? I dont think so. Dont get me wrong, im not saying people who believe that the whole coronavirus is a hoax are actually valid, im judging this purely from a delivery standpoint. What they should have done is show us people with varying, but realistic opinions on the virus in an impartial way without labelling any as right or wrong.
So yeah, they kinda screwed up the lesson there at the last minute. They had some other good information, but they forgot to get their priorities in order.
Under the Bed
(I) (2012)
bit of a mixed bag
1 June 2022
It had some really good things going for it, and some not so good things. One of the good things is that the movie has a good way of setting up tension (even early on) and gradually building it more and more throughout the movie. The effects they used were all practical and fairly well done, and the acting was pretty good, even for the litte boy. It was even genuinely scary a lot of times.
Now some of the downsides of the movie is that it has its fair share of goofy moments, the most notable of which being the scene where the 2 boys are locked in the room with the monster under the bed, and theyre only very mildly concerned about it. The way they talk is so nonchilant for the situation theyre in, the monster is literally there roaring his head off at them and they dont seem too worried about it. I dont care if they have already been living with it for 2 years at that point, i would be scared s**tless if i was locked in a room with a monster that could come out at any moment. There were a couple other wierd moments like that throughout the movie but that was the biggest one for me.
Now to the movies credit, what i THINK the writers were going for here is to remind the audience of what it was like to have an irrational fear of imaginary monsters as a child, even if you know deep down that there really isnt anything there, and have the characters act like 2 real siblings talking about how they avoid their fears.
The movie never explains where the monster came from, and that itself is ok, but i would have preferred for them to at least address it, like maybe there could have been a line of dialogue where one of the boys say "i dont know where it came from, i just saw it one day" that would at least make the movie more grounded and "answer" a very big question it brings up.
So yeah, even though the movie has its weak points, its actually something i would recommend. It has its flaws, but also its shining moments. And those shining moments are worth it.
Now some of the downsides of the movie is that it has its fair share of goofy moments, the most notable of which being the scene where the 2 boys are locked in the room with the monster under the bed, and theyre only very mildly concerned about it. The way they talk is so nonchilant for the situation theyre in, the monster is literally there roaring his head off at them and they dont seem too worried about it. I dont care if they have already been living with it for 2 years at that point, i would be scared s**tless if i was locked in a room with a monster that could come out at any moment. There were a couple other wierd moments like that throughout the movie but that was the biggest one for me.
Now to the movies credit, what i THINK the writers were going for here is to remind the audience of what it was like to have an irrational fear of imaginary monsters as a child, even if you know deep down that there really isnt anything there, and have the characters act like 2 real siblings talking about how they avoid their fears.
The movie never explains where the monster came from, and that itself is ok, but i would have preferred for them to at least address it, like maybe there could have been a line of dialogue where one of the boys say "i dont know where it came from, i just saw it one day" that would at least make the movie more grounded and "answer" a very big question it brings up.
So yeah, even though the movie has its weak points, its actually something i would recommend. It has its flaws, but also its shining moments. And those shining moments are worth it.
had potential, but...
8 May 2022
It just felt like it was being held back from being the exceptional movie it could have been. Im not really sure where to start with this review. The biggest thing is that this is a PG rated movie, which is way too low for what this movie could have been, i mean theres plenty of violence and even death in this movie, but dont expect to see any blood or onscreen action, because they wouldnt have been able to get away with any of that for the rating they got. Which sucks because you can tell that this is a movie that WANTS to be mature and serious, but it just couldnt break out of its shell. Another thing is that this movie goes through a lot of the "action adventure" movie cleches, dont really want to spoil much but the plot had a couple elements that just felt convenient, or that they kept building up but didnt payoff to anything. Now to the films credit it did have its shining moments, the animation is absolutely stunning, especially for a 2010 movie, and it did have a pretty good adventure to it.
Moonfall
(2022)
turn off your brain and you'll have a blast
2 April 2022
Yes the plot in insanely off the walls, yes there are about 10 moments in the movie where the protagonists should very well die but just survive because movie, but it was an exciting ride none the less. At least the acting was ok, the production value was pretty good. The plot actually held together pretty well or me, ignoring how off the rails it is there werent any plot holes or simple solutions i could think of. The movie clearly wants you to take it seriously but just watch it as an action movie and youll love it.
Ron's Gone Wrong
(2021)
cringy, but otherwise good
26 December 2021
Honestly it was better than i was expecting it to be. My main concern coming into it was how they were going to be incredibly cringy with all their references to "selfies" and all those other attempts to be relevant with todays youth, and im not going to lie to you, the movie was exactly that.
Thankfully though, thats really the worst that the movie gets, so as long as you have some cringe tolerance, its not that bad. Now for the positives: the animation was pretty good (especially for a studios ifrst movie) i mean some of the character designs did look kinda weird and uncanny, but they werent too bad. One of the things i liked about this movie was how they based it around a fictional product, meaning they DIDNT have an excuse to make it a pandering 1 hour and 45 minute long ad for something (unlike a very similar movie released by sony a few years back).
At its core, its a fairly average kids movie, although it does have its shining moments. Like the moral at the end of how your digital status isnt everything and you should socialize with real people sometimes. Like i was expecting this message to be complete anti-technology propaganda, but the movie really knew how to balance their message right. They did it by portraying real human sociality in a positive light, but not putting digital sociality in a negative light, more of a neutral opinion. We see the movie show both the positives and negatives assosiated with the digital world, but they dont strawman or try to be one sided. Every example they give us is very real things (albeit sometimes exaggerated a bit) that really happens in the real world.
There was also this one thing the movie did towards the end that i was not ecpecting at all, not gonna spoil it but they actually had the guts to put a twist on one of the animated movie cleches and do something unexpected with it, again im not going to spoil it but you will know what im talking about when you watch it so yeah, actually not that bad of a movie, or at least significantly better than i was expecting it to be. I would suggest that you check it out if youre into this kind of stuff, its not outstanding or anything, but its defenitely worth the watch.
Thankfully though, thats really the worst that the movie gets, so as long as you have some cringe tolerance, its not that bad. Now for the positives: the animation was pretty good (especially for a studios ifrst movie) i mean some of the character designs did look kinda weird and uncanny, but they werent too bad. One of the things i liked about this movie was how they based it around a fictional product, meaning they DIDNT have an excuse to make it a pandering 1 hour and 45 minute long ad for something (unlike a very similar movie released by sony a few years back).
At its core, its a fairly average kids movie, although it does have its shining moments. Like the moral at the end of how your digital status isnt everything and you should socialize with real people sometimes. Like i was expecting this message to be complete anti-technology propaganda, but the movie really knew how to balance their message right. They did it by portraying real human sociality in a positive light, but not putting digital sociality in a negative light, more of a neutral opinion. We see the movie show both the positives and negatives assosiated with the digital world, but they dont strawman or try to be one sided. Every example they give us is very real things (albeit sometimes exaggerated a bit) that really happens in the real world.
There was also this one thing the movie did towards the end that i was not ecpecting at all, not gonna spoil it but they actually had the guts to put a twist on one of the animated movie cleches and do something unexpected with it, again im not going to spoil it but you will know what im talking about when you watch it so yeah, actually not that bad of a movie, or at least significantly better than i was expecting it to be. I would suggest that you check it out if youre into this kind of stuff, its not outstanding or anything, but its defenitely worth the watch.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
(2021)
best spider man movie ever
25 December 2021
My god this was a fantastic movie. The reason why i was so excited about it was because of how they brought back all the actors who played the heros and villains in the previous spider man movies, and of course that aspect was awesome, but even that was just the icing on the cake. Even without the returning actors this movie would still be fantastic. One of the things i liked about this movie was that unlike the previous MCU spider man movies it actually had a more serious tone to it, not gonna spoil anything but it does have some genuinely powerful moments in terms of emotion and narratine. I also liked it how they had a couple scenes where we saw the 3 spider men interacting with eachother in interesting and funny ways, like that scene where tobey maguire showed them that he can shoow webs out of his hands unlike the other 2 who need web cartridges. Yes some of those scenes did drag on for a bit too long but i really didnt mind because it was still entertaining. There was also a lot of references to the other spider man film series, both serious and comedic ones. Now one of the things i was worried about going in was the movies 2 and a half hour runtime, i was worried the wovie would drag on like avengers endgame did, but thankfully the movie never felt like it was padding itself out and the plot was always moving at a steady pace. Now to be fair this movie isnt perfect, the plot has a couple minor contribences, some of the jokes fell flat on their face, and tobey maguire looked way too old in this one, to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. I mean i get that its been over a decade since his last spider man movie so of course he would have aged a bit since then, but i still think they could have solved that with a bit of makeup like they did with samuel l jackson in captain marvel. Thankfully though the movies strengths well outweighed their flaws so im still giving it a perfect 10. The ending was very strong and conclusive, im just hoping that marvel finally puts the tom holland spider man franchise to rest after this because honestly, there couldnt be a better way to conclude the trilogy than with this.
The Cabin in the Woods
(2011)
i... actually liked it?
6 December 2021
I gotta say, this was a surprisingly good movie. 9 out of 10 times whenever someone makes a movie in this formula it ends up being terrible, but they somehow managed to get it right here. I think the main thing that made this movie work was how the writers had a clear idea of how to execute this formula right and they did it all without any mistakes. I kept waiting and waiting for this movie to start being terrible but it never did. The digital effects were all very well done (especially for a 2012 movie) and that also helped this movie to not be terrible. On the downside the movies comedy wasnt really very good, it bordered on *almost* funny but not actually good enough to get a chuckle. I feel like the movie would have been better if they just cut out the jokes altogether, the movie still could have worked. Also when i watched this movie i did the same thing i did with "red dot" (read my review of it for full details) where i skipped ahead to the 15 minute mark where they actually got into the cabin just to get the movie started, and what a big surprise i still missed nothing important from what i can tell, so the beginning of the movie was pointless.
So yeah, it was actually not terrible for what it was worth. I mean dont get me wrong its still not anything i would consider award winningly great or anything, but they finally did a formula right that most studios fail at. I would definitely recommend checking this one out if youre into these kinds of movies.
So yeah, it was actually not terrible for what it was worth. I mean dont get me wrong its still not anything i would consider award winningly great or anything, but they finally did a formula right that most studios fail at. I would definitely recommend checking this one out if youre into these kinds of movies.
Little Ellen
(2021–2022)
actually not bad...
26 September 2021
Ok, so before i went into this show i was expecting it to be some. Narcissistic display of arrogance from ellen just to brag about how "nice" she is for the thousanth time, but it turned out the actual show really isnt that bad. At its core its a fairly compitent slice-of-life show about growing up in a large city, its almost nostalgic in a way. Ellens character isnt some gigantic mary sue like i was expecting, but instead she acted like any other 7 year old girl. The art style is cute and colorful (although the animation leaves a bit to be desired) and the humor is pretty sub par for the most part, but overall id say its a solid OK. Its pretty average for the most part, but there is still SOMETHING of substance here, not much but there is something.
Not something i would actually recommend watching, but i would still say it turned out miles better than i was anticipating it to be. As long as you can forget all the horrible things ellen herself did for 11 minutes, this show is probably at least watchable.
Not something i would actually recommend watching, but i would still say it turned out miles better than i was anticipating it to be. As long as you can forget all the horrible things ellen herself did for 11 minutes, this show is probably at least watchable.
The Island of Giant Insects
(2020)
it sucked
17 September 2021
Almost every single character was annoying, the cussing and nudity was way too excessive, the 3Dcg they used for the bugs looked awful, and the plot hardly accomplished anything by the ending. The only positives i can think of is that the movie did have some genuinely disturbing moments here and there, but they were few and far between. For some reason the movie seemed more interested in using its R rating for dropping f-bombs and showing boobs instead of actually showing gore or blood.
Don't Breathe 2
(2021)
actually lives up to the original, if not better!
13 September 2021
This movie was a really great sequel, it really stuck true to the tone that the original movie captured. There were a lot of great action sequences, tense moments, shocking twists, and some great acting preformances, even from the little girl. The ending was satisfying and conclusive, and there were even a few scenes in this movie that were callbacks to scenes in the first movie. Had me on the edge of my seat the entire time whilst also making me go "oh snap!" during the action scenes. Very well made sequel, i would defenitely recommend checking this one out if you liked the original, because this one will not disappoint.
Spirited Away
(2001)
a truly magical movie
9 September 2021
This movie was a great experience to watch. It really felt like pure magical bliss the entire time i watched it. Now to be fair the plot wasnt very heavily focused on throughout the movie, but that was ok, because its clear that the movie was intended to focus mostly on the worldbuilding and developing the fantasy world the movie takes place, and the movie did this fantastically well. Theres a lot of creative and beautiful concepts, imagery, settings, ect. But its also a movie that doesnt talk down to its audience wither, since theres a couple moments in it that could be considered "scary." it was a great experience from beginning to end and i cant recommend this enough, go give it a watch if youre looking for some good classic anime to watch, because this one was truly magical.
When Marnie Was There
(2014)
beyond what my expectations were
5 September 2021
I came into this movie not really expecting much, studio ghibli movies that ive seen have been kinda above average so far, i tried movies like ponyo and my neighbor totoro, and i thought they were just "fine." this one however blew my expectations out of the water. The movie had a good, mostly consistent flow with its plot throughout the entire movie, its characters were all great and relateable, but all that stuff is just surface level perks to the movie. The main draw to this movie was its emotional content, and by golly it delivered on it, i havent felt this much emotion in an anime movie since wolf children, i honestly cant decide if i like wolf children more than this movie right now (and believe me, thats saying something) it was somewhat sad in a way, but it was also uplifting and beautiful. I dont really want to spoil much but believe me, this movie will tug on the heartstrings in more ways than one
absolutely recommended, check this one out if you like anime, or even just emotional stories in general, because this one is fantastic.
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