I bet you didn’t know that Summer starts in April. Well, at least it does for the movie season. Marvel studios moved Avengers: Infinity War up into April and that forced us all to get ready a little earlier than we had planned. For the second year in a row my friend Conrado and I have gotten together to share our predictions for this year’s Summer box office. You can listen to the podcast above or on itunes/youtube.
I must admit my list is kind of bland this year. Last year I had a few more odd ball/risky picks but nothing stood out to me as a real dark horse or wild card pick. There are a few that could possibly make it like Mamma Mia 2, Eighth Grade, Christopher Robin, Teen Titans Go or Uncle Drew but I don’t see them as big challenges. We will see.
My Top 10 Summer 2018 Box Office Predictions
Avengers: Infinity War
Incredibles 2
Jurassic World 2: Fallen Kingdom
Solo
Deadpool 2
Ant-Man and the wasp
Mission Impossible: Fall Out
Hotel Transylvania 3
Skyscraper
Oceans 8
You’ll have to listen to the podcast to learn why we picked what we picked and how our lists compare We would love your feedback. Thanks!
“The book is better…” is an oft hurled accusation thrown at the world of cinema. I have no doubt those that love movies over literature tire of being told their medium of choice is always a second class substitute. Normally I stay clear of this conversation and try to appreciate both endeavors on their own merit; however, in the case of Ready Player One the book has been so unfairly maligned by many who have often read mere pages I decided it was worth an entry in my blog. I enjoyed Ready Player One as a fun adventure mystery movie but it is a step down from the book, and the more I thought about it the more changes bothered me. So, here goes…
There are two huge differences between the book and movie Ready Player One. The first is the time spent in the real world. The first third of the book is spent mostly in the real world of the Columbus Ohio stacks. This allows you to get to know Wade as a character in a way that the movie doesn’t. Wade is your classic nerd and in the movie he is much more of a cool, confident character. This helps make his bond and admiration for Halliday feel more understandable in the book. He knows there is something Halliday has to teach him through this quest and that’s what makes him continue when others have long since given up.
The search for the first key is all done in the real world in the book. He puts together all the pieces from the different parts of Halliday’s life and tries to find what is special or memorable about them. This is a lot more interesting to me than a race. In the book there is a book called “Anorak’s Almanac’ which lists all of the things that Halliday enjoyed (something that has been very criticized but never bothered me… It’s all part of the story of Wade researching to figure out the clues). In the movie they have “Halliday’s Journals” and the process of the research there feels easy and so you see less growth from Wade as a person. This makes his end takeaway when he meets Halliday not as impactful as the book’s ending. Wade comes to understand Halliday in the novel as a full person, and even a reflection of himself in many ways
In the book, Wade struggles with the fame he achieves when he gets the key which is interesting for a person who is literally surrounded by pop culture and knows so much trivia (which isn’t really trivia in the Oasis but survival knowledge). Wade is a character I loved in the book and was rooting for where in the movie he is a standard cocky teen male lead.
The other big difference is the changes to all the side characters. In the movie Art3mis is a standard avatar that doesn’t stand out much from the other avatars aside from her telling Perzival that he would be disappointed by her. One of my favorite things about the book is the reason Art3mis stands out to Perzival in the game is she is so confident and real. She is one of the few characters in the Oasis who has a realistic avatar. She doesn’t go with the sexed up version of herself and Wade finds that very attractive. I wish they had worked this into the movie more. She’s a positive yet still kick-butt character and in the YA literature world where every woman has to be a warrior I really appreciated her.
Much has been made about the pop culture ‘nostalgia porn’ of the movie and book. I personally think this criticism is a very surface-level analysis and misses the point. It’s like criticizing a Western for having too many horses. The pop culture is just the setting which the mystery takes place in. It’s not the story but where the story lives. That’s why in the book setting up the Oasis and all of the parameters of Halliday’s quest makes so much sense. We are in the real world and see all the research that Wade has to do so when we see the cornucopia of images in the Oasis it’s not just fun visual candy but clues Wade is ingesting and processing.
For example, in the book the jade key requires Wade to figure out he needs to recite the movie War Games, play a text game Zork (to get the key), unlock a Voight-Kampff machine from Blade Runner and play a game of Black Tiger (to unlock the gate) and more. This was exciting to read because we knew what Wade had been studying and it was unpredictable what would be asked of him next. Thus making the pop culture part of the puzzle/mystery more so than in the movie.
The other thing that wasn’t nearly as effective in the movie as the book is the villain. In the movie they make Sorrento a former intern who is generally resentful of Halliday and the Oasis. In the book it is more the world as a whole that is against Wade with them being envious and trying to stop him from winning. Sorrento is in the book but not as cartoonishly bad as he is in the movie.
Halliday and Morrow’s friendship is a lot more developed in the book and so their separation is more profoundly felt. It’s one thing to fall out of favor with a business associate as shown in the movie. It’s another to lose your best friend from childhood who you played Dungeon and Dragons with (making the first challenge being playing DandD all the more meaningful). Halliday’s clues are about his life not just nostalgia porn IMO.
The book also treats Aech very differently than the movie. He/she is more of a nerd who builds things and has a chat room as opposed to a warehouse. In the book none of the High 5 meet until very late in the story but it’s just all more layered, with harder clues, and characters than the movie. Aside from Art3mis giving herself to the loyalty center in the movie nobody else does much to find the clues or beat Sorrento like in the book. You even get a whole sublot with Daito and Shoto being hunted down by Japanese authorities in the book that adds to their story.
The last line of the novel is “It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the Oasis.” This makes sense because Wade was only in the Oasis because of his connection with Halliday. Now that he has finished his quest he’s done. The mystery is solved. All the research, study, thought is done. That is the fun part of the novel and what makes Wade a great character. The movie ends with him as a moderate user of the Oasis and says that real life is important as well. That’s fine but not as satisfying as the ending of the book.
It might seem like I hate the movie Ready Player One but I don’t. I liked it quite a bit; although, it was not as satisfying on the second watch as the first but still good. Unfortunately, they changed a lot from the book and it makes the movie less special as a result. I enjoyed it and will defend it but probably won’t remember it like I remembered the book.
The reason I loved the book is it was finally a YA novel that felt positive and hopeful. Most of these novels are cynical and depressing but here we had Wade trying to make his life better and trying to understand another human being in Halliday. We had him seeing the beauty in Art3mis and she being confident in her own unique identity. All of these things were hopeful and positive. You had fun characters and a mystery that was fresh and new. Yes, there was the nostalgia but that was just the unique setting like the maze in Labyrinth or Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings. It was an imaginative, inventive narrative where good won over evil, and that is hard to find these days. Most YA novels have characters limping towards the finish line having sacrificed all that was important to them at the beginning (cough Hunger Games cough). Not Ready Player One and I loved the novel for it!
So in the end, my opinion on Ready Player One– the movie was good, fun ride that especially kids will love (although The Shining sequence may be over their heads)
But the book was great. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it
I feel like reviewing Wes Anderson’s latest film Isle of Dogs is almost an exercise in futility. Any filmgoer should know by watching the trailer if this film is your cup of tea or not. Anderson has his own unique style that does not appeal to everyone, but fortunately it appeals to yours truly and since animation is my thing I had to review it! (One of my friends from church asked me if I was going to see ‘that horrific looking dog film’ so that shows you how different the response can be to the trailer!).
Isle of Dogs is Wes Anderson’s second foray into the world of animation; his first being the 2009 animated film Fantastic Mr Fox. I recently did a collaboration with my friend Justin on his channel where I shared my thoughts on that film, so check that out:
While I enjoy Fantastic Mr Fox a great deal, I think I actually preferred Isle of Dogs. It’s weirder and more simplistic narratively but I laughed more and found it more charming to watch. I really thought Isle of Dogs was a great time at the movies.
Isle of Dogs tells the story of a dystopian futuristic Japan that has banished all dogs to a Trash Island. This is done out of fear over a dog flu which is hyped up by the tyrannical rule of Mayor Kobayashi. This was hilarious for me because the company I work for is called Kobayashi America, a branch of Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals in Japan,which is mentioned in the film! Luckily everyone I work with is completely lovely. No dictators present!
Anyway, Kobayashi is made a ward over a nephew named Atari who he then sends his beloved dog Spots to Trash Island. Atari, desperate for his dog, steals a plane and flies to Trash Island. Upon landing he meets 5 dogs: Rex, King, Duke, Boss and Chief. They are all eager to help find Spots except for Chief who is cynical and just trying to survive another day.
The rest of the story is pretty simple with the dogs and Atari traveling to find Spots and facing various challenges along the way. The joy of the film is the droll dialogue from the dogs and the sweet moments between boy and dogs. There is also a subplot with an exchange student named Tracy who investigates Kobayashi but the real fun is spending time with the dogs.
There are so many things to praise about Isle of Dogs. First, the animation is just tremendous. I honestly don’t know how they were able to do the fur and make it seem so lush and textured. These are not the clay figures of Rankin Bass or other old-school stop motion animated animals. It blew me away. I also loved the textures in all the backdrops and props. There are a lot of scenes behind walls of glass and the colors reminded me of a Chihuly art glass exhibit. Simply stunning! They could have used bare-bones backgrounds but they chose to go the extra mile and fill the screen with textured details and color. If the Academy wasn’t so closed minded I could see it getting nominated for best production design.
The voice cast is also fantastic with many Anderson regulars such as Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton and many more. It is narrated by Courtney B Vance and the music is superb by Alexandre Desplat.
I suppose if someone were to push me for flaws in Isle of Dogs I would admit that a white savior trope is applied to the story in an unnecessary way. Anderson makes the choice to have the Japanese characters speak Japanese with little to no subtitles, which I thought was really neat. However, it necessitated having an English character confront Kobayashi so that we would know what she was doing. I’m not sure how he could have gotten around that, but I can see why some would complain about it.
It’s also not supposed to be an accurate depiction of Japanese life. It reminded me of anime in that regard. Films like Akira or Ghost in the Shell also use Japan as a dystopian futuristic background to tell their stories, so any cultural appropriation should be taken with a massive grain of salt. Any culture should be allowed to have a wide variety of takes and stories set in it, so I don’t think it is a problem but I’m not Japanese. It will be interesting to see the response to this film over there. I could see them being offended or flattered. It was cool at least that Anderson took some risks with language and storytelling that made it unpredictable to watch.
Like I said in my intro, if you watched the trailer for Isle of Dogs and responded positively to it then you should definitely see it. I’m certainly glad I did, and I look forward to seeing it multiple times. Incredibles 2 has a tall order to top it in my best animated film of the year list. We will see!
Overall Grade A- Smile Worthy
Here is a podcast I did with my friend Conrado on the film
Normally I try to equally divide my time between my youtube channel and this blog. Well, my apologies because I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted on here since my Blind Spot review of The Seventh Seal on March 16th. I’m not sure how I let that happen, but I do have a bunch of reviews over on my channel so make sure you are subscribed over there.
Anyway, it is time to play catch up with one of my mini review posts. I should have a full review for Isle of Dogs on here this week so you will not be abandoned forever :).
Love Simon-
This proved to be a sweet coming of age story about a boy who is afraid to come out and admit he is gay to his family and friends. He ends up getting manipulated by a fellow classmate over an online relationship he has developed with a penpal from school. This bully classmate was the obvious villain of the film but he got on my nerves and was very irritating as well as being horrible (and in the movie a lot). Aside from that, it is a well acted, well written film that will help a lot of young people so I’m a fan.
Smile Worthy B+
I Can Only Imagine-
Anyone who is Mainstream Christian (or Mormon) knows the song I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me. It is a great song that transcended the Christian music charts to become a pop hit. This film tells the story of the writer of the song Bart Millard. Dennis Quaid is very good as the father who is a beast of a man that finds God. Trace Adkins is really good as a manager. The music is great. Overall, it’s an enjoyable and moving faith based film. Only flaw is the same actor, J Michael Finley, plays Bart in high school and he looks ridiculous. He looks like a 40 year old man in high school. Other than that, it’s a good inspirational story with good music
Smile Worthy B
Sherlock Gnomes-
I’m not a fan of the original Gnomeo and Juliet but at least it didn’t annoy me like this film did. Every character was grating and annoying especially the villain. There were a few sections of 2D animation that go into the mind of Sherlock that were fun but that’s about it. It wasn’t funny and the music was less fun than in the original and there are some scenes in an Asian toy market that were kind of culturally insensitive. However, the villain was the biggest problem and was super shrill and annoying. Nut Job 2 was way better in my opinion.
D Frown Worthy
Off the Menu-
A very sweet romcom that I thoroughly enjoyed. It stars Santino Fontana from Frozen fame as an heir to a fast food chain that goes to find new recipes and meets fiery Dania Ramirez. They had great chemistry and it was filmed nicely. Just a pleasant romantic movie that I think you should check out. They even get Santino to sing a little bit which is the best!
A- Smile Worthy
Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies-
This animated film reminded me a lot of the Living Scriptures films we used to watch on Sundays growing up. It is for a Christian Evangelical audience although it never mentions Christ. Just the style of the music and the way the morals are taught are very audience-specific. If you are in the audience you might enjoy it. It has a few scary moments but it should be fine for little kids. The songs are very Christian pop rock but were fine. I can’t say that it is good but I think it has it’s audience that will like it.
C Smile Worthy for its audience
Ready Player One-
Anyone who follows me on twitter knows I loved the book Ready Player One and it irritates me how much hate it has gotten. It’s a positive absorbing mystery when most YA fiction is cynical and depressing. Now it has been made into a movie by Steven Spielberg and I loved it. They changed a lot from the book but I had a great time. I loved following all the clues and seeing Wade learn from Halliday’s mistakes. The world-building is amazing and I liked all the performances. See it on the big screen if you can. It has a big heart and a lot more laughs than is in the book. Not every change from the book worked but I enjoyed it!
A- Smile Worthy
7 Days in Entebbe-
I must admit before seeing this film I didn’t know anything about this hostage crisis and I think the movie did a good job informing me and it makes some unusual choices I admire. First of all, the film is told from the perspective of the hostage takers and they try to help you feel sympathy for them. They also tell the story of the hostages and there’s a lot of good stuff in there. However, it can seriously drag and a choice to involve interpretative dance did not work at all. Mixed bag for me.
C Smile Worthy barely
Journey’s End-
I always feel bad disliking a war film because I do not mean any disrespect to the heroes who died or fought in the conflict. Such is the case with Journey’s End. It’s a WW1 film with good performances and one intense battle scene. Unfortunately for most of it the movie was super dull. I couldn’t believe how much time was spent debating eating military rations. They have a whole debate over the fact that canned pineapple is actually canned apricots. Multiple scenes are spent on this. They talk forever about what the mysterious ‘cutlets’ are in their meals. It was very boring.
C- Frown Worthy
So there you have it. Let me know if you have seen any of these movies and what you thought of them. Thanks!
After the disaster that was Warcraft you can imagine my hesitation in going to see another action video game-based film but I wanted to support a female-led action film so I went to see the latest Tomb Raider movie. This is directed by Roar Uthaug who undeniably has the coolest name in movies today, and overall its an ok film.
I must admit that I struggled with Tomb Raider for the first act. There was a ton of set up before she gets to the island and aside from a fun bicycle chase it was not engaging me. I even fell asleep and my friend had to elbow me to wake me up…Yikes.
But when she got to the island things got much better, and I particularly enjoyed when they actually got into a tomb and did some raiding! There were some horror elements, and I liked the various booby traps and puzzles. There is a sequence with a key to a door that is particularly entertaining. These scenes are the kind of fun B movie material I expect in a movie called Tomb Raider.
On the other hand, a lot of the movie could have used more silliness. It is way more violent than it needs to be with people getting shot at close range and other pretty brutal moments. All the characters are taking the movie very seriously even down to nobody questioning the validity of a cursed tomb. You think there would be one person saying ‘you are all nuts to believe this hokum’?
Even the bad Indiana Jones movies are pretty sarcastic and funny, and I wish there had been more of that spirit in Tomb Raider. I realize not everything can be Indiana Jones but even more of National Treasure I would have appreciated. I guess that is more my style for this kind of movie.
That said, my friend did say that it emulated the game very well so I’m sure fans will appreciate those details. And it is an overall entertaining film. It will probably have a low rottentomatoes score, but I bet if you read the reviews they will be on the edge of fresh. It felt similar to last year’s Power Rangers Movie in that regard (I prefer Power Rangers because it had a lot of heart but I think review-wise they will be similar). I would find it hard to believe anyone saying it is Warcraft level bad. It’s solid, watchable adventure movie. I just would have made it a little more fun but that’s me.
The cast also helps elevate it. I really enjoyed Alicia Vikander as Lara. She is a kick butt character but she is also vulnerable and gets beat a lot. I also liked that she has a moment of shock when she realizes she killed a man. It’s in self defense of course, but still I appreciated they had her acknowledge what she had done. You don’t see that in many action movies. Walton Goggins is scary as the bad guy (like I said. He’s pretty brutal) and Daniel Wu is great as Lara’s friend. If they had thrown in one character for comic relief or to be the skeptic (ala Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible) that would have been perfect but it was still good.
Overall, if you saw the trailer for Tomb Raider and it looked like a good time I think you will enjoy it. It’s not perfect but there is enough entertainment there to justify a matinee ticket price. I hope it does decently because now they have set up the world and her skills, I think Lara’s next adventure will be much better.
For years I have heard the novel Wrinkle in Time is ‘unfilmable’, and I always wondered if this was true. The book is very special and not something that I fell in love with until I was an adult. It was too out there for me as a child but I read it about 5 years ago and was deeply moved by its story and the journey of forgiveness that Meg goes on.
I have read so many YA novels that have felt cold and cynical (cough Hunger Games cough) but Wrinkle in Time is the opposite. In many ways it is like The Giver, a story infused with hope and a character that comes to see their divine potential. Unfortunately like The Giver, the introspection that makes A Wrinkle in Time work as a novel is difficult to translate to the big screen. I was very hopeful that Ava DuVernay would be able to make it all work but sadly the new film from Disney is a frustrating experience.
A Wrinkle in Time tells the story of a girl named Meg (Storm Reid) who’s father has left on a scientific quest and has been gone for 4 years. She has a younger brother Charles Wallace, who is a genius, and a boy named Calvin whom she has a crush on (Calvin is so great in the book but just kind of there in this film). Unfortunately with the loss of her father, Meg struggles to connect with other students, and is angry with her life situation. One day she is surprised by 3 magical visitors, Mrs Witch, Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Who, and she is led by them to help rescue her father.
This is all in the movie but it isn’t executed in a compelling way. In the book Meg is forced to make choices that cause her to grow and most importantly forgive. Here she is more told she is great and a warrior but without having to make the hard choices. The ending of the book is much more convincing because it is her choice to confront the evil (even against the advice of others). In this film, it is more like she is presented with images, speeches and emotional things but never grows as a person. She feels the same at the end as at the beginning just more tired.
I said on twitter that it kind of reminded me of a Terrence Malick film but with a scifi story wedged in. I suppose one could go and enjoy A Wrinkle in Time on a visual level like a Malick film but at least his films have consistent characters who you follow throughout the art piece. Here we are introduced to characters that are then given very little to do besides present options to Meg and give speeches.It all becomes kind of tedious and frustrating.
A movie with a similar goal that works way better is 2009’s Where the Wild Things Are. This is based off of the Maurice Sendak children’s book and sends its child on an existential fantasy. However, Max is forced as king to make real choices and his character grows so that he’s ready to forgive his Mother at the end of the movie. All the characters in Where the Wild Things Are give speeches but they also are well developed with conflict and personality traits that they struggle with. It makes the existential stuff work because we love the characters so much where A Wrinkle in Time let’s us down in that department.
I might also compare A Wrinkle in Time to 1981’s Time Bandits. Both films are messy and try to offer existential lessons (with similar villains) to kids. However, at least to me, Time Bandits is actually funny which makes it more enjoyable. Kevin has to face off against Evil but that is only after he has proven himself to be the smartest person in several time periods. He actively doesn’t take the advice of those around him but has to figure things out himself, which is very empowering to little kids. By the end, he has become an independent character that is able to see past the greed that blinds so many others and defeat Evil. Time Bandits is also written by the Monty Python folks so it is at least has some humor in its favor.
Sadly A Wrinkle in Time wasn’t able to make Meg’s journey a compelling one. I struggled to stay interested as she was presented with advice and speeches but never asked to make choices. It’s frustrating because I love the source material and it had so much potential with a great cast and production values. Unfortunately, the script just couldn’t get there.
My advice is watch Time Bandits or Where the Wild Things Are instead or even better read A Wrinkle in Time!
Overall Grade- C-
I should add that the diversity in the cast is amazing and should be encouraged in future films.
I haven’t done one of these mini reviews posts since the end of December so I have a lot of catching up to do. Make sure you are subscribed to my youtube channel because sometimes I review films on there that I don’t talk about on this blog (and vice versa).
The Shape of Water
I finally decided to see The Shape of Water, which I had been reticent to see because of the content, which is pretty strong. In the end, it is a good movie that felt like a fairy tale for men. It has most of the beats of a classic fairy tale but there is a masculine energy to it that was very interesting. Sally Hawkins is fantastic as the lead girl who cannot speak but grows an attachment with a fish creature. Some of the other characters were a bit one note but if you think of them as fairy tale archetypes they make sense.
Overall Grade- B+ 63/147 for 2017 releases
Smile Worthy
Peter Rabbit-
I went into this movie dreading it as the trailers made it look like an assault on my childhood. Going out of it I was pretty neutral. It’s fine and has some marginal entertainment value for kids but it felt very random to me. The characters are inconsistent and go from hero to antagonist and then back again. The jokes are hit and miss. The animation is sometimes impressive and sometimes awful. The music is all over the place like the story. Some parents were upset about an allergy joke, which is understandable but probably blown a bit out of proportion.
Overall Grade- C 18/25 for 2018 releases
Frown worthy barely
Forever My Girl-
I love a good or even silly romantic movie. I have a podcast with my friend Amber where we review all the Hallmark movies and other content each week and it has really taken off. As a bonus I reviewed Forever My Girl for that channel and it’s not a movie I can recommend but I’ve seen worse. Jessica Rothe is a star in the making and shines as the lead girl but the boy played by Alex Roe is too unlikable for too long. He also could use a shower. He didn’t look very attractive for most of the movie which takes away some of the fun of a silly movie like this.
Overall Grade- C 20/25 for 2018 releases
Frown worthy
Phantom Thread-
A very well made movie by Paul Thomas Anderson with good performances; however, I didn’t connect with it. The characters, especially the girl played by Vicky Krieps, were inconsistently written. Sometimes they were loyal and soft-spoken and then other times they were erratic, cruel and boisterous. The music and costumes are superb. I wish the Dressmaker had gotten the attention this got last year because that movie was way more fun with equally amazing fashion.
Overall Grade- C+ 69/147 for 2017 releases
Smile Worthy for performances and style
Faces Places-
Such an adorable documentary that follows an installation artist JR and veteran actress Agnes Varda around France setting up art. I loved the two of them and you learn a lot about Agnes’ life and get little pictures into the people they are doing the art for. I also really liked the art. It was a joy to watch. My only flaw is we don’t learn much about JR which might have been nice to know.
Overall Grade- A 18/147 for 2017 releases
Smile Worthy!
Annihilation-
I walked out of Alex Garland’s film Annihilation very frustrated. It was pretty but kind of a grueling experience and for what? I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was trying to teach me. As Natalie Portman and a group of female scientists go into a mysterious area called ‘the shimmer’ they encounter a lot of pretty lifeforms and horrible life forms. At times it seemed to be commenting on female sexuality. At other times it was about evolution (especially the ending) and how lifeforms mutate. At other times it was about loneliness and the isolation of modern life. All of those things are paid homage to but not explored in a satisfying way. It becomes a creature horror movie but to long and drawn out to be enjoyed on that level. Even if movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival were a little bit obtuse and boring I still had a handle on what the movies were trying to say. Not here. Unfortunately Alex Garland has made a self-indulgent scifi film that is muddled, empty and a bit of a slog.
Overall Grade- C- 16/25 for ranking 2018 releases
Frown worthy
Winchester-
The premise for Winchester has potential and could have made for a creepy haunted house movie but instead it is bland in the extreme. Helen Mirren isn’t even in the movie that much like the poster would make you believe. It’s really boring and not scary in the slightest.
Overall Grade- D- 22/25 for 2018 releases
Frown Worthy
Game Night-
Game Night is a very silly movie but in all the right ways. It’s a very simple comedy about a game night for adults that gets out of hand. With movies like this I have a very simple criteria- did it make me laugh? That’s a comedy’s job, to make me laugh and this did in spades. There is a scene where Jason Bateman tries to clean blood off a dog that had me in stitches. The cast has great chemistry and if you grew up in a competitive family you will be able to relate to it like I did.
Overall Grade- A- 7/25 for 2018 releases
Smile Worthy
The Post-
I was honestly kind of dreading this movie as it looked like it would be super preachy but Steven Spielberg manages to put entertainment value ahead of message to make a fun film. Streep and Hanks are great but the supporting actors are also great and it builds tension well and you really feel for all the characters involved. It perhaps feels a little forgettable but especially compared to the hugely overrated Bridge of Spies The Post is a fun time at the movies. However, it does not hold a candle to the film Spotlight.
Overall Grade- A- 17/147 for 2017 releases
Smile Worthy
Paddington 2-
Anyone who knows me knows how much I adored the first Paddington film and so it is with great joy that I tell you the sequel, Paddington 2, is as good if not better. Both Paddington movies may be the perfect family films. They are warm, funny, sweet, and extremely warm-hearted. I really can’t imagine disliking Paddington 2. No wonder it has a 100% on Rottentomatoes. I loved Hugh Grant as the villain and all the scenes in the prison with Brendan Gleason. I swear they could screen Paddington 2 as cures for depression. It just makes you feel good about the world.
Overall Grade- A+ 1/25 for 2018 releases (US releases that is)
Smile Worthy
The Commuter
I’m not sure if it is just I haven’t seen a lot of these Liam Neeson action movies but I felt way more positive about this than the general consensus. The Commuter is a tightly edited, engaging thriller. It was well shot and clipped along quite nicely. Neeson is great in the role and it never got too silly. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall Grade- B+ 6/25 for 2018 releases
Smile Worthy
Have a Nice Day-
I reviewed this film for rotoscopers.com and it is a visually inventive animated film. Director Liu Jian brings a comic book sensibility to a crime movie with mixed results. There are creative moments but the characters are thin and the story is cliched. Also crime movies just aren’t my cup of tea. However, if you like crime movies than you might enjoy this because it is different and unique.
Overall Grade- C+ 105/146 for 2017 releases
Personally Frown Worthy but if you like the genre give it a shot
Moomins and the Winter Wonderland-
I reviewed this for rotoscopers.com. An adorable animated film out of Scandanavia about the Moomins fixing things to get ready for Christmas. They used old stop motion animation and created a new story in a very clever way. I love the vintage style and the vocal performances all are sweet. It’s probably best for small kids who like Winnie the Pooh and characters like that. Very innocent and sweet.
Overall Grade- B+ 61/147 for 2017 releases
Smile Worthy
So there you have it! Follow me on the Stardust app at smilingldsgirl and on letterboxd to get more small reviews right after I see films.
What did you guys think of these films? Let me know in the comments section.
Black Panther is the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it is taking the world by storm! It has already made more in its first 4 day weekend than Justice League made in its entire run! Holy cow! It is also one of the most highly praised superhero film ever with a 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
So is it worthy of such results?
Yes, for the most part I would say that it is. With Black Panther you have a thoughtful, extremely well cast comic book movie that feels different and fresh. In much the same way director Ryan Coogler injected energy into the Rocky franchise with Creed, he has done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Black Panther. It isn’t as funny as Thor Ragnarok, which I prefer but it feels unique and engaging.
The best part about Black Panther is the characters. We were introduced to T’Challa (Black Panther) in Captain America Civil War but here we see him as a young, insecure ruler who is just discovering the burden and secrets his father had to shoulder as king. His father has chosen to protect the beautifully realized kingdom of Wakanda from the rest of the world. They have an asset called vibranium (which if we remember in Age of Ultron Ulysses Klaue was after and we see him again played by Andy Serkis) If this vibranium gets into the wrong hands will cause great destruction, so it makes sense why they want to hide it away from the world.
However, the Wakandans are still using the vibranium to develop new and powerful technology. This is mostly led by T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright who is adorable in the role).There is also a powerful flower that grants strength to whomever earns the mantle of leadership.
Unfortunately for T’Challa conflict comes into Wakanda in the form of Michael B Jordan’s N’Jadaka or Erik ‘Kilmonger’ Stevens. He has a different philosophy of leadership. He believes that Wakanda is a disgrace for hiding from the world and failing to help those who are suffering with their wealth, technology and vibranium. It’s a totally valid point of view that makes the conflict between the two interesting. It kind of reminded me of the conflict between Koba and Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Kilmonger has a point of view. The problem is he takes it to a hateful place of wanting to conquer others and not just help the despondent. This always makes for an interesting villain when the kernel of their motives is true but they take it to a dark place. It then becomes interesting to see how the various members of Wakanda respond to Kilmonger’s leadership and philosophy. Some remain loyal to country and some loyal to T’Challa. That to me was fascinating.
Like I said earlier, the casting for this film was amazing. I loved Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Michael B Jordan as Kilmonger (so hot), and Daniel Kaluuya (from Get Out) as W’Kabi who has an interesting character arc. The women were all awesome. Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia is the love interest, Letitia Wright as brainack Shuri, Angela Basset as T’Challa’s mother Ramonda and many more. I would love to see a whole movie about the main 3 ladies of Wakanda!
Some people have complained about the cgi and the action. Honestly, just like with Wonder Woman, I could care less. If the characters are good that’s what matters to me. I was absorbed and entertained so much that it didn’t bother me.
My only real problem with the film is there is a section in the middle where Black Panther is gone and that’s where things began to drag a bit. I really missed T’Challa and his interactions with the women, Kilmonger and others. It began to feel a little exposition heavy in those moments.
If they had tightened things up a little bit and added a touch more humor than I would have it in my top 5 Marvel movies. As it is, I have it solidly in my top 10.
Black Panther is on the violent side for a Marvel movie so I would not recommend it for kids under 8. But for older kids go and then talk to them about the themes of the movie and what they think good leadership does. Do you hide away and protect your people or do you open yourself up to others in order to serve? It’s an interesting question from a darn good comic book movie!
One could easily make the argument that Aardman animation is the most consistently great studio working today. Even more so than Pixar, their films have an amazing track record for being smart, funny and visually delightful. It is with this reputation that I was eagerly anticipating their latest release Early Man and it is also part of the reason why I left feeling disappointed. It’s not a terrible movie but it is probably my least favorite of their films.
The trailers for Early Man make it seem like the film is going to focus on Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his group of cave dwellers as they come to interact with more civilized people led by Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston). Unfortunately that is not entirely the case. After a brief introduction to the cave dwellers, Dug and Lord Nooth meet and challenge each other to a soccer (or football as the Brits say) match. Almost the entire movie is then this game.
If you are super into soccer you might find the jokes funnier and the game more interesting, but I really didn’t. I hardly laughed at all. It’s also really hard to have dialogue or develop meaningful characters within the confines of a soccer game. I honestly started to yawn at a point and grew restless in the theater- something shocking to say about an Aardman film. If I didn’t look up the information I couldn’t tell you a single character name or what was important about them. That is definitely not the case with Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep or Arthur Christmas that had such memorable characters. Some don’t like the Aardman film Pirates: Band of Misfits but the jokes with the monkey alone in that film stand out way more than anything in Early Man.
There are some cute moments between the characters and the animation is adorable so it’s enjoyable on that level. The theme of teamwork is nice to see and you can root for the underdog like any sports movie. The voice acting is all good and if you like soccer you will probably get a lot of jokes that went over my head (there are jokes about DC United and teams like that which Brits will get).
In the week since I saw it I have kept looking for excuses for Early Man because I love Aardman so much. However, if I am going to be tough on studios like DreamWorks and Sony Animation I have to be tough here to:
They made a boring movie that I didn’t think was funny (Sorry Aardman!)
