I first saw the room when I was a kid in around 2010-ish, at night. I'm gonna break character for this review. It is a so bad it's good movie that is absolutely beautiful in what a disaster-piece bad film it is out of no where.
This film has a lot of good ideas, and I want to say something very quickly... **** the critics. This film is visually stunning, and it's one of the most Incredible looking films I've seen in a long time. But it's not helped by the fact it's got very little action between scenes of human drama scenes. And the action that is there is pact mostly at the end of the movie. Remember the sequences of the monsters shown in trailers? That was literally all the scenes we got of the monsters. There were no other scenes of the monsters in the film after that. I wish there was more instances in the film where Godzilla was fighting other monsters. Maybe have an arc where he is recruiting other monsters to fight alongside him in the climax, and not just Mothra. But yeah, overall this film fell slightly below average for me. That doesn't mean it's a bad film! Feel like I always need to say that. It just means it has a lot to be desired, more so than other films that do the same things it does better and in more spades.
I HATE this film at times, and then I LOVE this at times... THEN I HATE IT AGAIN, THEN I LOVE IT AGAIN! The film flip flops between being good and bad for me so much it's jarring. This is one of the most mixed feelings I've had for any recent movie. I can tell there was clearly passion put into the making of this film, and the art direction and camera work is good and really professional. But then the voice over work is shawty; where characters sound like they're in a bubble and then sound perfectly normal. If it was a story decision, then moments like the rooftop scene wouldn't sound like they were recorded in a house room. The biggest problem I have with this movie, and I'll get this out of the way now, is that for all the amount of times the characters SAY they're the "most dysfunctional family ever", the Mitchells are probably the most functional, understanding, and communicative family I have ever seen put on screen... The mother cares for everybody in the family, the son is supportive of his sister, the dog gets along with everyone, and the father, for all his flaws, literally wants nothing more than to connect with his family through nature and family bonding. I think the one who I like out of all the Mitchells is the dad, he catches a lot of heat from his family but literally just wants to do the right thing by them. But, for all this seem good on the surface, it's bad for establishing character conflict. We are only ever told that their's conflict between Katie and her father, Rick, but the closest we ever get to seeing it are several very mild instances of arguments that, quite honestly, felt so minuscule to get worked up over, they didn't even feel like character conflicts. Katie tries to show him something cool, and Rick tries to show her something cool about nature, and she walks away miserably. Another time, Rick gets gives his opinion on Katie's future and how he feels that she needs a backup plan if things go south, which he APOLOGIZES FOR IMMEDIATELY, he knows what he's saying is stupid, but no, instead of trying to understand him, Katie takes this as a sign of aggression. All this leads to an accident, where in the heat of the moment, Rick tries to take Katies laptop to see her full video, and he accidentally breaks it. Notice that I said "ACCIDENTALLY", because he meant well but caused an accident. If the accident was caused by, lets say - for instance - Rick being more of an a-hole, and then arguing with his daughter about how she spends way too much time on her phone and calls her selfish, and she fires back calling him a deadbeat father who doesn't understand her. Then it evolves into an even more serious argument - her being lgbt - she tells him she's never understood him, and he tells her he doesn't want her to change. Then, he takes the laptop because he says he thinks it'll be good for her to not have it, then the tug of war between the two of them happens... and then... like before, the laptop gets broken. To me, this is a much more interesting way of establishing conflict in the characters. She want's to be herself, but he wants her to be who she was before, then the tug of war with the laptop symbolizes their broken bond as father and daughter. With the previous scene, all we have is a father and daughter not agreeing on the OPINIONS about what life direction she should take, and the father is a blubbering idiot. And that's all establishes in this scene, that the father is an idiot. But with this new scene, it adds more weight to the film, bringing up some serious topics that are relatable and, when done right, makes the audience more engaged than ever before. The reason I wanted to bring her being lgbt to the forefront is because it was such an insignificant thing to the movie. And what I mean by that is that having that be basically/kinda/sort of revealed at the end of the movie (with obvious hints at the beginning) does little to effect the plot, which I feel is missed potential. It's much more relatable to have that aspect of her be a plot point the dad needs to get over in addition to the already established "Katie needs to get along with her dad" plot point. Wish I could say more, but can't because of Metacritic's max word limit. I'll say that I hated the tone flip flopping from comedy to seriousness rapidly in scenes, the serious and comic parts need to be cut, and need room to breathe. But the serious moments that land, land very very well. I love the dynamics between the family on the road trip, even if it feels forced that Katie is just "fine" with the road trip, and still uses her phone. The product placement is jarring, cut most of it out. And cut down compilation score, use more classic score and keep some pop music. This film is a huge mixed bag(5), almost a 4 actually, a lot of missed potential and a lot to be desired. But their is clearly passion put into this, and that is admirable.
It's not really that bad, but I think it should only be taken on it's own merit. Cruella is NOT a prequel or a prelude to 101 Dalmatians. It is 100% a reboot/reimagining/retelling of the origins of the series as a whole starting with the origins of the character Cruella. But certain implications at the end of the movie make people believe this is setting up things that will happen in 101 Dalmations, but that's not the case. For one, that could never happen because this movie takes place in 1970, at the done of punk rock, where as the original 101 Dalmatians is set in 1958. Secondly, the origins of the dogs implies (Spoiler alert) that Cruella is the whole reason that Anita and Roger get their pups and they eventually meet each other. Overall, it's a decent film, but I'd fail to call it of average quality, more so below that metric. The pop score got annoying and at times even took me out of the time period of 1970's with songs like "Should I stay or should I go?" The costume designs are fantastic, but is probably the best thing about this movie. The comedy can land at times, but more so after the second half of the film starts I was just kind of bored. The length of this film is over 2 hours... I should not have to say this, but I do. It is very slow. Their are things you could've cut out in this movie or redone to speed it up and the movie would not suffer for it. It's a little mediocre honestly, but there are enough elements of this film that make it worth one watch if you're really feeling up to it.
The Emoji Movie is not as terrible as I was led to believe, I can't believe I'm actually saying that.... It's still bad, don't get me wrong, just because trash is good looking doesn't change the fact that it's trash. There are good elements of the film, but for the love of god there are just too many negatives to give it a 5. The Story is so one note, and the characters are very one dimensional. I get that they're emoji's, but wish their was more to ALL of these characters than their outward appearances. Instead, everybody besides Gene is a cardboard cutout. you don't have to do much, just give them better characterization. The product placement is distracting, you could've renamed all the apps to work with the context of the films. But for the love of god, why did you change the way apps work to fit in the context of the film, if the audience KNOWS there is no such thing as a trash bin for apps. The ending with the emojis dancing felt like it could be thrown out. And things like the use of twitter, youtube, and Spotify were very immersion breaking. Just make up your own apps and songs and maybe keep the one pop song in the end. In any case, this movie felt in poor taste. It's strange, because I could actually see this working in any other context, but - and I get that your audience is a bunch of children, but please try to treat them with some semblance of agency and maturity - when you talk down to your audience like they're a bunch of toddlers in the very beginning of the film, with Gene saying "who has time to text "WORDS" anymore?" that's when you've lost me. It's a movie for babies, and it knows it, but even babies could find better entertainment than this. This premise could've been used for a movie about robots with emerging sense of self, and THAT would've made this film more tolerable. Like I said, the idea of the story is not bad, but problems arise because it's starring a part of the worlds culture literally no one cares about - emojis. Meh. I will say now, the art direction is good, and the soundtracks they made for this film are actually not half bad, but the use of Pop score is very overdone in my opinion and only enhances my annoyance with this film. This movie is bad, you could do so much better with other films, but if you're a film student or want to learn how to NOT make movies, then this movie may prove as a means of what not to do. Do not buy this movie, I would say don't use money at all on this... I wouldn't normally recommend that you just set the sails and become captain Jack Sparrow... but if you're feeling adventurous enough and have nothing better to do, then you'll probably do so. But overall, this film is a meh.
Lady bird is a pretty funny and heartfelt movie, I like the themes of coming of age and a woman growing up through her own mistakes and interactions with others. She is not a person that does the right things, her conflicts are often self made, but at the end she learns the faults of her character and begins to reconcile with her mother and no longer hide behind what she now views as a facade, her "new name" Ladybird. It definetly wasn't the film I thought it was going to be, but it's definitely a good film regardless.
As it's own thing, this movie is a mixed bag, as a recreation of the novel, I still feel this movie is a mixed bag. The Art Direction and soundtrack is incredible, and I think, visually, this film stands on it's own merits. But everything else is trite at best and annoyingly cliche at worst. The symbolism in some scenes is so one the nose at times, I rolled my eyes whenever that happens. Mulan's conflict isn't protecting her family by taking her father's place in the army, now it's "I need to accept myself as I am, and not hide behind the Identity of a man to be viewed as strong." I found it jarring to constantly see how she has constant power over others, and not having any weakness other than her own lack of confidence being the only obstacle in her way in the film. I will say now, It's really NOT a terrible movie, but the lack of conflict and reliance on western belief systems feel less like Mulan from the book or the Movie.
Black Panther is a good movie, it's not my favorite, but yes it's a good film. Funnily enough, everyone says this is the first black marvel superhero movie, which my cousin of all people pointed down. Saying the first one was actually Blade, and I found that very interesting. I wonder if the reason not more people pointed that out like he did is because Blade may have failed to resonate with a wider audience like Black Panther did, and so people assume Black Panther has been the first. Be that as it may, I'll keep this brief. The story, characters, art direction and soundtrack are pretty good! I thought the cheesy jokes may have done the movie a disservice and the movie at large failed to engage me all that much tbh. I like it for what it is regardless.
A very decent movie! I liked it as a kid and it was very fun to watch. It has been an annual event to watch this movie every Halloween. I do want to ask though.... about the ending (SPOILERS)... WHY DOES NO ONE SEE THE GIANT MONSTER HOUSE STOMPING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD?! Seriously!
Corpse Bride was pretty good, not exactly something I would go back to today, but the animation was well done. I didn't really like the musical numbers that well though, but I do remember hating musical's as a kid so maybe I'm a little biased that way. But now a days I don't mind musicals at all and actually really like them, and yet I still thought the musical numbers in this movie were bland. But it's a good time.
A captivating story about a group of friends setting off on a journey that confronts them with situations that force them into the harsh realities of growing. A wonderful coming of age story.
Every night in my dreams...
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on...
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near...
Far...
Wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more...
You open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near!!
Far!!!
Wherever you are!!!
I believe that
The heart does go on!!!
Once more...
You open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
You're here
There's nothing I fear
And I know that
My heart will go on
We'll stay
Forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on 10/10 Masterpiece
Well... Well, well, well... I have found it! The movie I watched as a small kid with absolutely no ones permission because it popped up on tv one night. I didn't know what I was expecting, probably a horror movie because of the scary visuals. But what I actually saw was pretty profound for an adult movie. It was not the first R Rated movie I ever saw, I believe that award goes to Damien: Omen II, but it's definitely the first one to have taught me that not all Rated R films are slasher horror films. It taught me it could use adult themes to tell a dramatic story about a psychic who helps solve the mystery behind a murder of a woman who visited her days beforehand, and of her friend who committed suicide who later saves her from beyond the grave (supposedly). I was around 13 or 14 when I saw this movie, And I thought of it as "That's So Raven but more mature" but it really wasn't. One thing I can say about this movie is that it definitely forges it's own identity. It never talks down to you, or assumes you're below intelligence by just telling you the answers immediately, but it does make you feel for the characters on screen. As a side note, I'd like to say that this is the first movie that I ever saw that went out of it's way to explain to a small child (in a scene) what the meaning of the F word is, which I found hilarious and endearing as a kid. Go ahead and watch it, it's not the most amazing masterpiece, but it is definitely a quality movie with an early 2000's vibe and charm.
I don’t care what anyone says. I love... love love LOVE this movie! The story about a boy who pushes a girl away because his friends are like “EW, GIRRRLS!”. It isn’t blatant bullying as much as it is Bryce, as a kid, doesn’t know how to feel about Juli, who is head over heels for him growing up, so he pushes her away and does mean things. And unfortunately when he begins to fully understands his feelings as a teenager, it’s seemingly too late. This is more relatable as a movie than other movies I watched as a young boy, and to this day I have a soft spot for this slice of life.
This movie was very nice! I liked the choreography and singing a lot! It feels like a movie with the potential to be very iconic! There are some segments that don’t stick as well as I’d like, but I was going through a cruddy period in my life and honestly couldn't complain too much. I love that the film subverts an expectation of a happily ever after, but goes for a more realistic ending for our beloved characters rather than the fantastical ending so many older movies were famous and loved for. I’d say this is average to above average (an 8). A very good slice of life rom com.
It was ok, slice of life movies are usually pretty good. But I wasn’t expecting the movie to be a story about the struggles of coming out. It’s fine for what it is, but I do wish there was more clear character development around this movie. I will say the movies soundtrack and art direction is fantastic, and the lighting is very nice!
This movie was actually a refreshing surprise coming out of the new movies! I like what Ryan Johnson did hear, it gave more flavor to the new films coming out, while also having reverence to the old films. The characters are great, and I didn't mind Rose as much as other people did, not a wonderful character, but she still tries to be helpful, even if she is very annoying in her decision to save Phinn in the end. But yeah, overall a good movie. It's not trying to be another A New Hope or Return Of The Jedi, but it is trying to make its own identity which is great and I really appreciate. I wish the newer Star Wars films would also try this.
This is, without a doubt, one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. I don't like being harsh, but I went into this film with low expectations, and still came out of it disappointed. But even more than that, this is one of the only films that actually made me feel sick while watching it. The action is so disorienting and hard to look at most times, because so much is going on on screen and the camera reacts so quickly to it. The Character are so one-dimensional. The main villain especially is so cookie cutter generic that he felt like he came out of a .25 cent candy machine for super villains, and has no identity of his own. Eddy Brock gets fired... for doing his job? I'm still a little confused by that. I think I would've liked a better character arc for him honestly. But the absolute apex of this disaster of a film comes at the climax, where the two Venoms face off against each other. The entire sequence feels like an amalgamation of black and grey blobs hitting each other on screen and spinning around in different positions so fast... I literally thought I was having an epilepsy attack. I literally felt like I was gonna vomit. And when the whole scene was over and Brock fell into the water, I literally just wanted it to be over. If there is any redeeming features of this film, I will say now that I really loved the design of Venom, he is terrifying and really incredible. The voice acting for his character is also fantastic, and horrific! The soundtrack is okay, I guess, but it's honestly pretty forgettable, which isn't much of an improvement over the rest of the film. The lighting could be cool at times, but could also be so dim that you can't tell what's happening on screen. And lastly, I liked the serious tone.... When it actually got serious. This film flip flops between comedy and serious moments so much, I was confused as to what tone the director was going for. Overall, the tone was less good and more mixed. But that sums my thoughts on the "positives" This film is terrible, I was so disappointed because under all the poor scriptwriting, lighting, action and camera work, I could really see the potential this movie wasted. It hurts that I hated it this much, and urks me more that I agree with the critics.
I remember being incredibly underwhelmed by this movie upon release. My dad and I were a part of the many people who went to the premiere of Star Wars The Force Awakens. I was cautiously optimistic I was going to like it, surely it was in good hands. And yeah, we finished the movie and it... was okay... But surprisingly felt very stale compared the the first six movies. Apparently they're calling it the Skywalker trilogy now, which doesn't make much sense to me, because Star Wars revolved around th Skywalkers, it should've ended after the other 6... but I'm getting ahead of myself. The Force Awakens was very dissapointing to me, I knew I should like this, and everyone else at my highschool had nothing but good things to say about it. What was this feeling I was getting? For the first time in my life, my beliefs were being challenged as I was the only one of my class that didn't like the new Star Wars movie. People say it was a return to form, but to me, it just felt like a rehash of the old movies. An amalgamation of "Star Wars greatest hits." Particularly A New Hope. I was baffled. It was like when in the anime bleach, where the characters RESET the story, characters and development every arc, and redo the same arc over again, just with different villains. It feels trite, and overdone. It doesn't feel new to me. I also don't know if it was just me, but I feel like the story beats went by extremely fast, I don't know, but it felt really jarring. I should like this, I should be glad I see Chewbacca and Han Solo after many years. But everything in the movie felt contrived, including the new stormtrooper splinter group that emerged post Star Wars Return of the Jedi. These guys felt like lesser versions of their superior, now defunct, empirical counter-parts. And the man leading them is such a one dimensional, mustache twirling villain. So when he used a planet canon to obliterate 5 other planets ala Death Star style, I felt so numb, I just didn't care. Why would you blow up FIVE, habitable, conquerable planets? If your'e ultimate goal is to subjugate the galaxy and it's subjects, then whats the point if their are no subjects to subjugate?... That was a mouthful... There are decisions that make no sense in this story that I swear only occurred because "It happened in A New Hope." On a different note, I was hoping we'd get more characterization from the main characters, but I guess that's too much to ask for. Rey is as one dimensional as they come, she wants to do things for others because "It's the right thing to do" and never shows any sign of nuance. Like, what has the galaxy ever given her? It would make more sense if she was a more synical woman who fends for herself because that is how she grew up her entire life, and her character arc would be to learn to fight for others the more she gets close to them. Because the closer she gets to her new friends, the more likely she'll be to fight for them as they break down her barriers from over the years and make her care for others. THAT would be better characterization of her in my opinion. And then there's Finn... He's a stormtrooper who deserted the evil stormtrooper group because he no longer wanted to do these evil things. On the surface, that's good character development. REALLY GOOD! And you can do A LOT with that. It would've been interesting to explore his character more. But instead he's rellogated to the role of Rey's body guard. Seriously, everytime he yells "REY! REY! REY!" anytime she gets kidnapped, I want to blow out my ear drums. He is so annoying at times it is laughably bad how much he depends on Rey. But no because "I can't do anything without my master Rey" (a joke quote) So the characters are poorly written, and don't even get me started on Poe because he felt almost insignificant to the entire movie, he'd be better off left out entirely and instead used in the sequels, like how the OG MC's met new characters in the original movies with every new episode. I will say now that I think visually the film is great eye candy, and John Williams score is fantastic! I was just so let down by every other aspect of this movie.
This movie is no wear NEAR as bad as people say... Not great, not amazing, but perfectly below average (okay). I saw it with my dad day one it came out. As it's own thing, it is a decent movie and at times, it is even of above average quality. It's an okay movie with a serviceable story and well developed characters in Will Smith and the Suicide squad. I really enjoyed the dynamic between characters. I think DC fans were expecting something else out of this movie, and those expectations led them to conclude it is a "trash fire". But it really isn't as bad as many people say, and I think the general movie goer isn't going to find this movie boring. At the least, it is worth one watch to challenge your expectations, so If you feel like doing so about something people say is bad, but is... perfectly below average (a 6 as appose to a 2), I would say give this one a shot. As I said, it's not great, not amazing, but perfectly below average, certainly not a trash fire.
Gosh dang it I love this movie! It's the first act **** story, but it's still very good. I hope they make a sequel. Here's my review from 2019: I really enjoyed this film, the visual effects were great! And the action sequences were amazing. What we have here, Ladies and Gentlemen, is yet another divisive film. Where - like Top Gun - the critics are extremely mixed while the fans enjoy the over loving h*** out of it. It’s a bit cliche, the romance between Alita and Hugo, but it really never bothered me. I think Hugo genuinely cared about Alita, and she is too naive of how dangerous the world really is which I found both frustrating at times as well as endearing. Go see it if you haven’t already, I guarantee it doesn’t deserve the heavy bouts of criticisms it’s receiving by critics. Also... there’s a culture war between this film and another marvel film [Captain Marvel] - pay no attention to that. Let this film speak on its own merit, you’ll know If you like it or not when you see it.
One name. Bernard Herrmann. The music adds to the mystique and mystery of this incredible movie to a degree that transcends even the greatest movies of today. A story of a man whose love for a woman turns into an obsession and drives him into a rabbit hole. An incredible story, and something you have to experience.
The movie is very aesthetically pleasing to look at. There are a lot of great visual set pieces here. But as far as that, the movie never really transforms into anything more than a slice of life. Yes, the woman knows what'll happen in the next few years by the end of the movie, but what does she say to the guy that would happen to? The moral of the story is to live life even if it means going through heartbreak, but if feels hollow as it all felt avoidable to a degree and yet also in some ways makes the inevitability of the situation even worse. It's hard to say without spoiling, but it's decent to below average (a 6 rather than a 7). The soundtrack is probably the only other above average thing about this movie, though, very etherial and melancholy. God rest the soul of the composer.
