I LOVE the national parks. I have been to 51 of them and they are my favorite places in the world. I went into this expecting jaw-dropping camerawork and scenery along with some interesting history lessons. Unfortunately, these aspects are in short supply. The main focus is these three adventure junkies singing in their car and doing little of interest. A whole scene is dedicated to them failing to tightrope walk. I also hate how they try to make Sarah a character. She whines and has a tragic backstory and constantly hurts herself. I also feel that there was no direction here. The people jump from park to park at random and spend 2 minutes of screen time at each. The order of parks in clunky, the history parts are short and mostly not very interesting or informative. I also found some of the cinematography to be really bad. You could tell when a 360 camera was used and sometimes the aspect ratio was off. The graphics were not great either. That said, some of the scenery is beautiful. I love some of the places the people go to and wish more time was spent seeing them explore the deep and rich scenery and history instead of melodrama and humor. Imagine being a nature lover who wants to learn about Yellowstone and the first you see is people in a car singing. There are some benefits. Some history and scenery are great, their choice of parks is pretty good, and the ending felt very down-to-earth with guests visiting parks and many classic sites. If the whole thing was events like these that focus on parks more than adventure, it would have been good. I love documentaries, but they tend to have a normal, cohesive story or at least a certain goal to teach viewers in a sequence. This is not a movie or a story. It is a person telling a friend about their trip if they got the places mixed up in the wrong order. I don't recommend this. Watch any National Geographic documentary or the Ken Burns one instead,.
Reviews
6 Reviews
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
(1966 TV Movie)
I Watch This Every Halloween
22 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
For 10 years, I have watched this every Halloween night because it is so good. The animation is obviously cheap, but a lot is done with it given the low budget and the style is very nice. The characters are all likable. Even Lucy, the mean one of the group, has a really nice scene where she retrieves Linus as he is freezing in the night. Linus's belief in the great pumpkin is an excellent representation of the things we believe in as young kids and perfectly captures the youthful spirit. Charlie Brown has a bad time on Halloween as you would expect, but it is funny and never feels too harsh. The humor really lands. Every joke made me laugh as a kid and I still enjoy them today. Then, of course, there is Snoopy's Red Baron scene. It is the equivalent of the bubble scene in Dumbo, where it is crazy but it is super fun, entertaining, and visually interesting. Overall, there's a reason this is cherished by so many. This is the best Peanuts media (over Christmas and the movie) and everything about it will entertain both children and adults.
Genuinely Amazing
22 October 2020
I laughed more in this 4 minute short than probably the entirety of the Ember Island Players, and I love that episode. The animation is even better and more detailed than the other chibi shorts. Characters like Jet, Haru, Azula, and Ty Lee are added in. Side note: chibi Ty Lee is the most adorable thing ever. The humor is top-notch, with tons of subtle references to the original show. My favorite joke SPOILERS: was a handicap sign with Teo's glider in front of it. The ending is actually shocking and the use of the main theme is pretty awesome. Overall, this is a must-watch for anybody who enjoys animation and humor. It is on the Avatar YouTube channel.
Hilarious and Adorable
22 October 2020
I saw this on YouTube and was surprised at how good it was. The animation is excellent and the chibi designs, particularly Zuko and Iroh, are super cute. The first half is a little slow with less good humor, but once the firebenders enter the picture things get good. The action scene at the end is cool, I laughed many times, and the ending is simply perfect. Check it out on the Avatar YouTube channel.
Decent as a Standalone Film
8 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Many say this ruins the franchise, but I think the franchise was already ruined. Therefore, I choose to review this film based on my personal enjoyment and the elements of how it functions as a film. The opening scene had me hooked with Palpatine's plan being introduced. The film also had some interesting concepts that kept me engaged. Things like the force-connect fight scene and Rey's visions are really great. However, the story itself is not great. Most of it is characters looking for a MacGuffin that ends up being destroyed is the whole story. Also, it is predictable as given that this is the end of the new trilogy, you know the heroes will prevail. There was some mild fan service that worked at times but also failed at others. The final battle, besides space horses, was really good and entertaining. I thought Palpatine's demise was stupid and the scene where Kylo revives Rey and they kiss ruined their whole journey. It made little sense and reaffirmed the notion that Rey is a Mary Sue. The ending was decent, but should not have had Rey say "Skywalker" Granted, I like the last shot. Overall, some fight scenes, characters, locations, and a great emotional scene with Han Solo make the film worthwhile. There is way too much humor and the story is not great, but I did have an overall good time with the movie. As far as the 11 Star Wars films go, this would rank at 9th or 8th for me, but I really like most Star Wars films. Overall, you will probably not like it much, but there are some good elements that make me glad I finished the saga. Now all we need is a Yoda movie.
Alma
(I) (2009)
Haunting Story, but Visually Bland
8 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is a somewhat frightening short film. Though the story is somewhat predictable, it still hits hard at the end. SPOILERS AHEAD: This is about a girl named Alma (which means "soul" in Spanish) who sees a doll in a store and enters to get or buy it. At a point. A doll on a bike moves toward the exit which obviously implies that he is a trapped person. When Alma ends up with the same fate, it is scary. The very end shows another doll being made for the next unsuspecting child. The story does follow many cliches, but it is still decently effective with good music. My issue, however, is the animation. It obviously has very little budget, but the cheap vibe still somewhat undermines the creepy tone. To add to this, the design of the girl is actually scarier than the doll. She looks a bit off and that is my biggest issue. Granted, this is only 5 minutes and is definitely something that won't waste too much of your time. You should check it out.
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