Hey friends! Just wanted to update you real quick on my thoughts on some recent films at the cinema. Some I have done full posts for and others I have reviewed on my youtube channel, so definitely subscribe to the channel to stay fully up to date. Let’s start with the newest release and go back:

WONDER PARK

If you have been following this blog for any time you know I like finding animated films to root for and tell everyone about. Last year it was Sgt Stubby: An American Hero. The year before it was Son of Bigfoot. People are too quick to shrug off this level of independent cgi animated film and I think it’s a shame.

Well, I was hoping Wonder Park would be such a film but unfortunately I walked away from it with very mixed feelings. What it does right it does really right. I really liked the lead girl June as a child protagonist. She’s flawed and allowed to be angry/bratty/sad. She reminded me of Lilo in Lilo and Stitch in a lot of ways. The script is pretty subtle in ‘teaching’ her things and it had nice heart. The problem is I hated the animation. It felt like it was made for 3D but in 2D with faces constantly coming towards the screen and trying to pop out at me. Also the screenshot selection was weird and I constantly wanted to tell the director to step back so I could see the complete face and body. It was very hard to get invested in a film where I hated almost every choice they made animation-wise.

I’m not going to say don’t see it because it clearly had a lot of effort put into it but I can’t really recommend it either. It’s a bummer and I’m sad.

4/10 grade

Frown Worthy

FIVE FEET APART

My friend Larry from LCScreenTalk mentioned in his review that 5 Feet Apart is the latest in this very strange trend of teenagers get chronic/terminal illness that keeps them apart and usually the romance ends in tragedy. Most of these are not for me (I’m one of few who didn’t like The Fault in Our Stars and I hated Me Before You). I asked my niece why her generation liked these films so much and she said she didn’t know and personally didn’t like them so it’s anybody’s guess!

Anyway, I’d say 5 Feet Apart is one of the better ones in this sick kids in love genre. It’s not perfect but I thought it had some solid acting from Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse with a nice chemistry between them. I also liked that the illness was portrayed pretty realistically. They look disheveled and you see the scars on their bodies from ports and procedures. It definitely made me tear up on more than one occasion.

Where it falters is in some big dramatic gestures that are put together very quickly and stuff the hospital would never allow including a slightly bizarre ending trip to see the stars that ends up with the sick girl in ice cold water. It was all a little much but overall I still enjoyed it. If it sounds like your thing you’ll probably like it!

I also liked this trailer reaction done by a patient with CF and he points out the many things the production is doing right.

6/10 Grade

Smile Worthy

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY

I have zero interest in the WWE or wrestling of any kind, so on the surface Fighting with My Family should be a skip from me. However, I do love underdog sports movies and it doesn’t really matter what sport it is. Whether chess, swimming or ice hockey I love rooting for our scrappy players and then seeing them succeed. Fighting with My Family provides that in spades and ends up being a really sweet pleasant surprise.

Fighting with My Family is set in England and tells the story of professional wrestler Paige Knight. The Rock is heavily featured in the advertising but he is basically a cameo. The story is about Paige and her family who are all obsessed with wrestling and run a gym to train young kids in England. Paige gets a chance to train to be a star and faces all kinds of challenges but her victory is also the cause to cheer of her entire family, which was great to see. The cast is all very strong including Florence Pugh as Paige.

If you have a family or ever dreamed big this is a good movie to check out.

8/10

Smile Worthy

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U

I already reviewed Happy Death Day 2U on my channel but I will summarize my thoughts for all of you. I was skeptical about this film from the trailers. Although I enjoyed the first one the idea of going back to the same time loop seemed like a mistake. However, they managed to pull it off. It was creative. It was funny. Jessica Rothe did a great job in the lead and there was some surprising heart to the film where she must decide what to do about a dear one who comes back into her life in the loop. I was surprised to see this got a divisive reaction because I think if you liked the original you will enjoy this. I certainly did!

7/10

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. Only a few this week but check out my full length reviews on other posts and let me know what you thought of these movies. Thanks!