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This movie is an adaptation of the HP Lovecraft cosmic horror story of the same name. It premiered at TIFF last year but had a brief wide release this year. Lovecraft movies are very hit or miss. Aside from the films of Stuart Gordon, like Re-Animator and From Beyond, no one has really succeeded in making a really good one. His stuff is hard to adapt because a lot of it is short, not easy to adapt into a feature. Also, a lot of the imagery in his stories is intentionally impossible to visualize. That, and his stuff has tons of casual racism in it, even for the time it was written. Color Out of Space is one of the better Lovecraft adaptations out there. It updates the story to a modern setting and it adapts one of his least racist stories, like Stuart Gordon did with Re-Animator. However, unlike Re-Animator, I don’t think this movie will be remembered as a classic. The acting isn’t that great, with the exception **** old crazy performance from Nicolas Cage. The effects are well-done, it’s bloody and intense and of course it’s very colourful, but overall there just isn’t really much that’s memorable or stand-out about it. It’s a solid horror movie, but that’s about it. I hear the director wants to do other Lovecraft adaptations like The Dunwich Horror and I think that’s great. The movie actually kind of sets up a possible Lovecraft cinematic universe that could be worth exploring and I will gladly watch out for, but I still don’t think this movie is the masterpiece that Lovecraft fans have been waiting for. While I don’t think it’s great and I don’t think people will be watching this movie over and over again like Re-Animator, I think this is still worth checking out for horror and sci-fi fans, especially Lovecraft fans.

When I first heard about this movie, I was really excited. It’s the first movie in Pixar’s new initiative to focus only on original films once again. That, and I like the idea behind the movie. What if a Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy world progressed into the modern era with technology? I know there was that Netflix movie Bright with the same idea, but that movie ****. I expected that Pixar would do something a lot more interesting with the idea and tell a better story with it. However, and it pains me to say this, but this movie is not very good. It’s not a terrible movie by any means, but by Pixar standards this is definitely on the bottom half of their filmography. First of all, the universe this movie takes place in it not very interesting. It’s literally just a modern setting that just happens to be inhabited by fantasy creatures. There were some interesting ideas, like fantasy RPGs being based on history, but there weren’t really any interesting design choices and it doesn’t feel very well thought-out. I can’t help but compare Onward to Zootopia, another animated film that takes place in an alternate universe, in which animals evolved and became civilized. In that movie, every detail of the world was fleshed out. There was real thought and attention to detail given to this world and how it would function with its different-sized inhabitants. There’s nothing like that in Onward. The comedy did not work for me at all. I never laughed once. The writing and dialogue just isn’t that great. Also, one of the main characters is a disembodied pair of legs. It was an interesting idea, but I don’t feel like the character was expressive enough and I don’t feel like he had enough of a connection with the other two main characters when he really should, he’s their resurrected dead father. He’s treated like a prop half the time. The story felt very repetitive and way too familiar. I feel like I’ve seen something like it in a million other movies. As for the animation, it’s fine. It’s appealing and colourful and energetic, but nothing about it stood out or felt like it was pushing the boundaries of technology. Personally, I thought Toy Story 4 looked a lot better. Even some of the Pixar SparkShorts on Disney+ look more impressive. Releasing the trailer for Pixar’s next movie Soul before this movie was a big mistake. The animation in that looks a million times better and more interesting. The voice acting was also fine, but I have to say I’m getting pretty sick of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland. They’re in everything! Give some other actors a try! Not every movie needs to have a Marvel actor in it! Give it a rest! Now, believe it or not, there actually is one thing that I really enjoyed about this movie and think is very well-done, the third act. Without giving anything away, all the creativity, emotion and heart that you would expect out of a Pixar movie can be found in the third act. It has a really great climax, some great character moments and a great message. If the whole movie were more like act three, I would have liked it a lot more than I did. However, I can’t really give the movie any extra credit if it only starts getting really good at the end. As for my recommendation, well, if you’re a Pixar fan you’ve probably already seen it. I actually highly recommend that you show it to your kids. I don’t think the unoriginal story or worldbuilding issues would bother them and it does have a really good moral. There’s a lot in it for kids to like. As for older audiences, if you’re a fan of Tolkien or D&D you might get some enjoyment out of it. Otherwise, you could watch it if you’re curious, it’s on Disney+, but I say skip it and wait for Soul. It really doesn’t appeal to adults in the same way that most of Pixar’s other movies do. Man, what is up with Disney lately? It seems ever since Ralph Breaks the Internet, they haven’t been able to make many good non-Marvel movies. All those remakes, Frozen II, The Rise of Skywalker and now Onward, among others, have not been up to Disney’s usual quality. But who cares about quality when you have all the money? Damn shame.

Before I get to my thoughts on this sequel, let me briefly go over my thoughts on the first movie. My journey with Frozen is similar to many others. I saw it and enjoyed it in the theatre, I then hated it after all the hype and overexposure but I eventually came around to it again when I rewatched it last year. Do I think it has issues? For sure! Do I think it’s overrated? Yeah, kinda! Do I not like it? Of course not! It has good songs, great animation, great characters, some good comedy and a nice story with a good message. It feels like a classic Disney movie from the 90s, I can see why it’s so popular! As for my thoughts on the sequel, while I didn’t have a terrible time watching it, it was not as good as the first movie when it had the potential to be so much better. I was hyped when I saw the trailers, it looked really epic, but unfortunately I don’t think it really came together in the end. For starters, the story is WAY too complicated! It’s super exposition-heavy and I actually had a hard time following it at times! I have no idea how kids are supposed to follow it! It throws a lot of lore and history and mystery and conspiracy at you and it was just too much. It’s a fairy tale, not Avatar: The Last Airbender! It doesn’t need to be this complicated! The story is also WAY too fast-paced! It reminded me of The Rise of Skywalker. Yes. It’s that bad. It barely gives you any time to breathe and doesn’t give the characters a lot of time to interact. Most of the time, the main characters from the last movie are separated on their own little adventures. The only two characters that actually stay together through the whole movie are Anna and Olaf! This movie also introduces some new characters that are barely in it, but they’re set up like they’re supposed to be major characters! I don’t know why they would do that, it feels like a waste of time. Oh yeah, the movie’s, like, 100 minutes long! I feel like some of it could’ve been cut down. Like Olaf. He’s really annoying in this. I do have one more major issue with this movie and that’s the ending. Without giving anything away, I thought it was awful. It makes little sense, it feels rushed, it kinda makes the whole movie pointless and it turns the movie into a borderline white saviour story. Wasn’t a fan. You’ll see what I mean if you see the movie. I also predicted the plot twist pertaining to the closest thing this movie has to a villain, but it is a kids movie so I think I can forgive that. It just seems a little odd that that was one of the only predictable parts while everything else was so convoluted. Overall, while there were a lot of things that I did enjoy, like the songs, the voice acting, some of the comedy and the breathtakingly gorgeous animation, the story is just such a mess that I really can’t say this is a good movie. It’s not a terrible movie by any means, despite how I make it sound, but it’s certainly not very good. It’s okay. The story of the first movie was so simple, with an overarching theme and message of familial love. This movie is too overly complicated and I couldn’t tell you what the message or the theme even is. Is it about colonialism? Chosen Ones? Man vs. Nature? Familial love again? It has a lot of ideas but none of them are really fleshed out very well. I don’t know what we as an audience are supposed to learn or what the characters learned. Like I said, the whole movie feels kinda pointless. I feel like this could’ve been an hour-long Disney+ special or something, not the sequel to the former highest-grossing animated film of all-time! Overall, if you’re a die-hard Disney fan or your kids REALLY want to see it, give it a watch. It’s on Disney+. Otherwise, just rewatch the first movie. Very disappointing.

They did it. Son ****, they actually did it. Universal finally made a GOOD remake of one of their classic monster movies!! (Celebration by Kool and the Gang plays) Not only is it a good remake, I’d say it’s the best Universal Monster movie since Creature from the Black Lagoon! This remake is very different from the original 1933 film as well as the HG Wells novella it was loosely based on so purists may still be unhappy with this movie, but I’m all for updates to the classics (that’s pretty much what the original films were, they’re almost nothing like the original books) so it didn’t bother me at all. The Invisible Man updates the story in very clever ways that I won’t spoil here and it gives a sci-fi horror twist to a relevant story about an abusive relationship. Nobody sees it happening and nobody believes the main character when she tells people about it. Huh. The lead performance from Elisabeth Moss (yes, I’m spelling her name correctly this time) is fantastic, and this movie is SCARY! The original 1933 film was very effects-heavy with a lot of comedy. In this, there is no comedy to be found and the effects are very minimal, but even if the movie is showing you nothing it makes you feel the presence of an evil figure lurking around using only framing, sound design and Elisabeth Moss’ performance. There are tons of tense and creative sequences (very similar to the director’s last film, Upgrade) and a ton of suspense. You never know when the titular character is going to show up next and it keeps you on the edge of your seat! I think the movie was a little too fast-paced, the buildup to what’s really going on could’ve been slower and more effective, and the score can be loud and overbearing at times, but overall I thought this movie was excellent. This is a must-see for any horror fan or fan of the classics! I’m so happy this movie is a hit and we’ll be getting more movies like it! I can’t wait, this is going to be awesome. The Universal Monsters are back and I couldn’t be more happy. The director of this wants to do a remake of Dracula and James Wan is producing a Frankenstein remake, among a ton of other projects in development. Yes. All the yes. Give them to me. I want them.

Now, I haven’t done this since Batman v Superman, but I’ve been such a big fan of the recent DC movies that I actually went out of my way to see Birds of Prey in the first-run theatre, even though it’s a sequel to Suicide Squad, which I hated. How was it? It was good! However, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other recent DC movies. It’s not as campy or creative as Aquaman, it’s not as funny or heartfelt as Shazam! and it’s not as mature or gritty as Joker. It has all of those elements, but I didn’t think they were as strong. I enjoyed it about as much as Wonder Woman. It’s quite good, but I think it could’ve been better. I wasn’t really into the story structure of the film. It was really weird, the first half of the movie or so is told in a nonlinear way with Harley Quinn narrating over everything. It jumped around a little too much for my liking. I also think the narration is overused, it got a little old after a while. There were also some weird editing choices, but it wasn’t NEARLY as bad as Suicide Squad! There were also too many characters, it’s both a Harley Quinn solo movie and a Birds of Prey origin story. I’m not really sure why they did that. Just Harley would’ve been enough to carry the film, the other characters weren’t as interesting and the movie kinda drags whenever it focuses on them. If it were up to me, I would’ve retooled the story a bit to include Catwoman and Poison Ivy instead of the Birds of Prey and make it a Gotham City Sirens movie. Though, again, the ensemble cast of the movie is handled way better than Suicide Squad. Finally, this movie did not need to be an R. There’s just some violence that could easily be toned down and some swearing that could easily be cut. It feels like a movie that would appeal most to teenagers, but (in the States at least) they can’t see it. It’s not like Joker, which really earned the R-rating with its subject matter. I don’t feel like Birds of Prey really did. This movie would reach a wider audience if it were rated PG-13. Also, I don’t like the title. It’s too long and doesn’t sound good or interesting to a casual audience member. However, with all that said, this movie is a lot of fun. It’s very colourful and good-looking and it takes place in a very cool version of Gotham City. You actually get to see people being nice to each other on a beautiful sunny day, as well as the darkness and violence that you would expect from a Batman movie. This movie has some laughs, is well-acted and the action is well-done. When the real story actually gets going, it’s engaging and entertaining. Harley Quinn is a great lead character and the movie has a good soundtrack. The villains are also very enjoyable! Oh yeah, and I LOVED the opening with the hand-drawn animation! Also, even though this is a sequel to Suicide Squad, it does stand on its own and no Jared Leto Joker is to be found! The Joker is in this movie, but they use the comic/animated series design. That was funny. I also think it’s funny to imagine this movie as a sequel to Joker. Just a fun thought experiment. Overall, I do think the movie is holding itself back. I was expecting something more along the lines of Scott Pilgrim or Baby Driver, something with really creative and over-the-top action with great characters and comedy. However, I can’t fault the movie for what it isn’t and, for what it is, this is a good movie. I recommend giving it a watch, especially if you’re a Harley Quinn fan.

This movie is fantastic! It’s a really weird idea, it’s a cutesy Wes Anderson/Calvin & Hobbes-style comedy about a little boy, his imaginary friend and his adventures growing up. It just so happens that that little boy is a **** Youth, his imaginary friend is Adolf **** and he’s growing up in **** Germany during WWII. This movie is very funny. It has a ton of comedy both light and very dark! Don’t be fooled, though. This is less The Producers or Look Who’s Back and more Life is Beautiful. There are some seriously heavy and tragic parts in this movie that I don’t dare spoil here. While it is a commentary about how childish the whole idea of **** is, it is also about the horrors of indoctrination and intolerance and the damages they can inflict. Great performances, beautiful costumes and cinematography and with a brilliant script, this is a must-see! One of my favourites of 2019!

This movie was pretty great! This movie is like two movies in one. Part of it is a documentary about the Angolan Civil War. The other part is an animated film about the same subject, following Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski reporting on the war in the 1970s. The first thing that I need to talk about is the animation. It is animated in that rotoscoped cell-shaded CGI style similar to A Scanner Darkly or the Love, Death & Robots short Fish Night. Normally, I hate animation that is trying to look realistic, but I didn’t mind it here. There are many sequences of animation in this movie that just couldn’t possibly work as well in live-action. The colours are really nice and it is intense! It actually feels like you’re in the middle of a war! The story I found very interesting and the intercut documentary footage of people who actually knew the main character in real life and are characters in the movie themselves was really cool and helped with my understanding of the story and the history behind the film. The acting was really good as well and I really cared about the characters. Overall, if you like animation or historical war movies, you should watch this movie. It’s very short, but very good!

I’m gonna be honest with you guys. For the first half hour or so of this movie, I was not enjoying it at all. It was kinda boring and derivative (just a basic murder mystery/home invasion horror plot) and I was really close to just shutting it off. However, after that first 30 minutes or so, something happens that completely changes the whole movie that I don’t dare spoil. It made me so glad that I stuck with it. I still feel like I’ve seen stuff like it before, there are elements of Don’t Breathe, Summer of 84, The Perfection and even The Simpsons, but I still enjoyed it in the end. That’s all I can say without spoiling anything. Check it out if you’re a horror fan.

This is a very cute and funny Australian horror-comedy about a kindergarten class caught in a zombie apocalypse. It’s actually a Hulu original, but it showed up on Hoopla a little while ago so I could actually watch it. The main dad character starts out SUPER unlikeable, but he gets better as the film goes on. I’m a believer that a protagonist does not have to be likeable, relatable or a good role model. They must be understandable and interesting, and this movie checked all those boxes for me. Josh Gad is also in this movie. He’s really annoying. He plays kind of a Pee Wee Herman-style kids entertainer, but he’s really a big jerk. I feel like I’ve seen that before in other movies, Death to Smoochy comes to mind. The story is also a pretty basic zombie horror-comedy setup and execution, not that different from Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland. Nothing too original going on. However, the best part of this movie that makes it worth watching is Lupita Nyong’o as the kindergarten teacher and her class. They bring the laughs and they bring the heart! She is really excellent in the role, and she’s a damn good singer too! The child acting I thought was quite good as well! As someone who is interested in becoming a teacher myself, I really got into this movie and enjoyed it a lot! I’d say it is worth a watch if you like horror-comedies or like working with kids. It’s fun.

This is a good Disney+ original drama about the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska, the same subject as the 1995 animated cult classic, Balto, although Togo is much more accurate to the true story than that film was. This movie features some really solid performances, with Willem Dafoe being the standout, as is usually the case. If you like dogs, definitely watch this movie! It has cute dogs everywhere, and I think they are mostly real with minimal CGI. I’m always amazed at how expressive these animals can be and what they can be trained to do. The subject matter of the movie was very interesting, I feel like I learned something about history from watching it. It also features some really intense and thrilling action sequences that had me on the edge of my seat! I wasn’t that into the structure of the film, it was told in a nonlinear way that kinda took me out of the experience sometimes. That, and I didn’t think the cinematography or the editing were anything to write home about, but other than that this is a good movie that gives you a good old-fashioned triumphant feeling. It’s worth a watch if you have Disney+.

I did it! I watched all the live-action Disney remakes of 2019! Well, except for that Maleficent sequel. I guess I’m not quite done yet. Darn. Anyway, Lady and the Tramp! Before watching the remake, I rewatched the original for the first time since I was a kid. I have to say, it might be one of my favourite Disney films! It’s way better than I remember! For a movie about something so simple, it’s pretty much just about dogs being dogs, they put in a lot of artistry, great writing and great voice acting! As for the remake, well, first of all, let me address the elephant in the room. You guys may have never heard of this remake. That’s because they released it straight to Disney+. It never had a theatrical run. However, this movie does not have Disney Channel Original Movie-level production value like you might expect. It actually looks like something that could’ve been in theatres, I was impressed! It accurately captures the look of the original with a lot of colour and the CGI is decent. It’s not as technically impressive as The Lion King, but I thought the animal characters in this were a lot more expressive than in that movie. It still looks weird sometimes and it can’t hold a candle to the original animation, but it helps that dogs are just naturally very expressive animals. Also, they sometimes swap them out for real dogs. The voice acting I thought was quite good and the songs, though few there are, are good. They don’t get butchered like in the other remakes, even though it suffers from the Lion King problem of sometime recycling the exact same recordings and cutting out one of the most memorable songs. However, with all that said, this movie ****. It still suffers from the same problems as the other remakes, it’s the exact same movie just in live-action. It adds some stuff here and there and it changes stuff here and there, but it’s still beat-for-beat the exact same movie. Again, what is the point of watching this when the original is up on the exact same damn streaming service, right there, ready to watch? It’s not like you get the experience of seeing the story and songs on the big screen, like with the other remakes. This movie was never in theatres! It has even less of a reason to exist! While the voice acting is good, the human acting just felt odd. They act modern and say modern things while in an early-20th century setting, but they also keep some of the original dialogue. It doesn’t really mix well. Speaking of, this movie does try to make the story more “woke” and politically correct by diversifying the cast and taking out some of the more problematic and dated elements from the original, like the gender roles and racial stereotypes. While that’s all well and good, they didn’t update the setting. Lady and the Tramp is a timeless story. It could be set in any time period, but they chose to set it in the same time as the original but with a modern-day lens, which, again, feels weird. It’s not like diversifying a fantasy setting, or even Dumbo, which took place in a circus. Lady and the Tramp was set in a very specific period in recent American history, a time period that wasn’t so great for women, minorities and people of colour. I don’t know, isn’t it kind of more problematic to pretend that everything was good for everyone and everyone got along just fine? I know it’s a Disney movie, looking at the past through rose-coloured glasses is kind of their thing, but it’s 2020. I don’t think sugarcoating history is really acceptable anymore. It definitely should’ve been set in modern-day. This movie also doesn’t seem to understand the stylistic choices of the original. The original was shot from a dog’s eye view, you rarely saw any human faces. It was also written from a dog’s perspective and from their understanding of the world around them. There are WAY too many scenes with just humans in this movie, and the dogs understand humans just a little too well in this. It loses a lot of what made the original so unique and special. Overall, while not quite as bad as Aladdin or The Lion King, or even Beauty and the Beast (which I haven’t seen but can guess that it **** too), it’s still a complete and utter waste of time. Don’t bother with this one. Just watch the original, which is shorter and better.

Another very popular and “controversial” film. And by controversial, what I mean is it made a bunch of nerdbro jackasses on the internet mad for some reason. I don’t know, some **** about Brie Larson hating white men or something, even though she literally has nothing to do with the writing or production of the movie? I don’t get it. Anyway, how is it? It’s fine! It’s like every single other middle-of-the-road Marvel solo movie ever made. It takes no risks. It’s safe, unchallenging popcorn entertainment. There are one or two things I thought this movie did really well, the de-ageing effects are fantastic, the ‘90s setting was fun and I kinda liked the Star Wars-ish vibe it had at times, but other than that this is just a serviceable, cookie-cutter, nothing-special-about-it superhero movie. How are the characters? They’re fine. The story? It’s fine. The action? It’s fine. The effects? They’re fine. The acting? It’s fine. The music? It’s fine. The comedy? It’s fine. The connections with the other movies? They’re fine. It’s fine. It’s not as good as Guardians of the Galaxy, but it’s not as bad as Ant-Man and The Wasp. It’s okay. There were some kinda bad moments, the writing and social commentary is extremely obvious and on-the-nose and there is an absolutely baffling music choice in one of the final battles that I feel is trying to be like an Edgar Wright movie or GotG but it just sticks out like a sore thumb, but that’s about it as far as actual issues I have with it. There just isn’t a lot about it that I think is especially good either. I know this movie means a lot to a lot of people and I think that’s great. I don’t really agree, Wonder Woman did it first and did it better, but I’m glad it did so well financially. Hopefully we’ll get bigger and better movies like this out of it. If you haven’t seen it already, check it out if you like Marvel movies, skip it if you’re like me and you don’t really care.

This is the long-awaited (for me) follow-up to Joe Cornish’s directorial debut, the cult-classic sci-fi/horror British comedy, Attack the Block, which I really love and not enough people have seen. It was a big flop when it came out, but it’s growing more and more of a following with time. Check it out, it has John Boyega, Nick Frost and Jodie Whittaker. It’s good. Now, The Kid Who Would Be King isn’t as subversive or original as Attack the Block. That movie was a social commentary about inner-city communities. The Kid Who Would Be King is a kids movie, inspired by the Arthurian legends. It’s a damn good kids movie though, and probably the best King Arthur movie since Excalibur. It’s about a kid who finds Excalibur and discovers that he is of a royal bloodline, destined to defeat Morgana once and for all. The child acting is excellent. It’s like Stranger Things, there are so many talented young performers here that I hope go places! The story is fairly simple, but engaging and full of twists. This is going to sound kind of weird, but this movie, to me, feels like what the Star Wars sequel trilogy should’ve been, or at least what it seemed to be building up to until Rise of Skywalker came in and ruined everything. I can’t really go into detail without giving things away, but you’ll see what I mean if you see the movie. The lead character is very similar to Rey. The effects and action are solid too, and it’s very funny! Overall, this is a super solid and fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. I’m super bummed that this was a box office flop too. Come on, Hollywood! Give this guy a Marvel movie or something! He’s such a talented filmmaker! Give him a movie that will actually make money to get his name out! Anyway, it’s good. Check it out.

This is a pretty good but very weird punk rock indie drama that had its wider release last year. The movie is almost like 5 short films in one, or like a play, even. It’s about a washed-up all-girl punk band and the lead singer’s relationship with her bandmates and her family. This movie can be really over-the-top and crazy, the main character kinda feels like Harley Quinn at times, but it can also be really down-to-earth and quiet. I really loved the look of this movie, it goes from being really dark and colourful and dirty to more well-lit and clean as the main character develops. I found her performance a little bit too much and one-note at times, but Elizabeth Moss really shows her range by the end of the movie. The rest of the actors are good too! The story moves a little slowly and the movie is a little too long, but overall, this is a solid film. Check it out if you like music, dramas, and punk grrrrrrrrrls yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, at least Adam Driver was in one good movie in 2019. This is a really solid Netflix Original drama. It’s really well-acted, the writing is excellent and the story is engaging. It deals with some pretty tough subject matter, it’s about a couple going through a divorce, but it also has light moments of comedy. It feels very realistic. It’s also really well-shot and well-edited. This is one of those rare movies where there really isn’t anything bad about it at all. Well, maybe the score is a little weird and distracting sometimes. It’s composed by Randy Newman and sounds right out of a Pixar movie. Wallace Shawn of The Incredibles and Toy Story fame is even in it. It seems out-of-place sometimes, but the rest of the movie is so good I think I can overlook it. Overall, this movie is a must-see and I hope it wins some Oscars!

A beautiful and tragic drama from Vietnam. Again, this movie premiered in 2018 at TIFF but had its wider release in 2019. This movie is slow, but it’s gorgeous and very well-acted. There are so many striking visuals and tons of symbolism. This movie is also very sad and very disturbing. It’s about a young teenage girl in 1800s Vietnam becoming the third wife of an older man in hopes to give him a son, and it just gets worse from there. This movie deals with some very heavy subject matter and it certainly isn’t for everyone, it can be pretty uncomfortable, but I thought it was great and think it’s worth a watch. It’s depressing, but very good.

Hey, it’s Pedro Pascal in space! Wait, this isn’t The Mandalorian. No, it’s Prospect, an indie sci-fi film that had its wide release in 2019. Well, it looks like a sci-fi, it has spacesuits and spaceships and an alien planet with a ton of sci-fi nonsense in the dialogue, but don’t be fooled. This movie is a western, another Mandalorian similarity. It has prospectors, settlers, outlaws, rivals and untamed wilderness! Using a 50s and 60s retro sci-fi aesthetic to tell a western story was really interesting and fun to watch. This movie is on the slower side, it has a lot of long shots of just pretty scenery, but the action is definitely worth sitting through the movie for. It’s bloody and brutal! The effects are really damn good for having such a low budget. It uses a lot of practical effects with minimal CGI. You get the sense that they really are on an alien world when it’s really just a forest. The performances were great and the character dynamics were interesting. The story is simple, but it works. Overall, this is a good movie. Check it out if you like westerns or retro sci-fi!

When I first heard about this movie, I was afraid it was a remake of the 1932 classic of the same name, one of my all-time favourite movies. Thankfully, it isn’t that at all. This movie is more of an X-Men or Stranger Things or Miss Peregrine’s type deal about people with superpowers who are persecuted by normal people who fear them and want to kill them. We’ve seen this kind of thing before, but the way this movie tells its story was actually really interesting. It throws you into this world and slowly gives you information about what’s really going on, like an unfolding mystery. This made for a very engaging and entertaining film. I actually see real franchise potential, there are all sorts of stories that could be told that take place in this world that I would love to see explored, like a low-budget MCU. The performances in this movie are all really good, even the child acting was tolerable! The effects were decent and this movie has a lot of genuinely suspenseful, scary and shocking moments! Definitely check this movie out if you’re a fan of stuff like X-Men and want to see a lower-budget, more mature take on it. It’s very good!

Speaking of wildly popular and controversial, I watched the long-awaited follow up to the 2004 documentary hit, Super Size Me. Now, the sequel, subtitled “Holy Chicken!”, was supposed to come out all the way back in 2017 exclusively on YouTube, of all places. However, because of some controversy surrounding director and star of the film, Morgan Spurlock, it didn’t end up coming out until 2019. I’m not going to get into the controversy here since it isn’t relevant to the film, but I will briefly go over my thoughts on the first movie. While it is a well-made and entertaining film that raises some good points, the whole “eat nothing but McDonald’s” experiment portion of the film is deeply flawed at best and possibly outright fraudulent at worst. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was. The sequel is not about eating nothing but, say, KFC for a month. It’s actually about Spurlock opening his own fast-food franchise that sells “grilled crispy chicken sandwiches” using all the same tactics that other fast-food restaurants use to trick people into thinking their food is healthy. He doesn’t try to hide any of it from his customers, in hopes to educate them about fast-food marketing tricks. He also becomes a chicken farmer in this documentary and exposes corruption within the chicken farming industry. He shines a light on how poorly the farmers are treated and how they really grow chickens for meat. I thought this documentary was very interesting and well-made. I’d actually argue that it’s better than the original since it doesn’t have the whole experiment aspect to it which has since been proven to be likely exaggerated or influenced by other factors. I’d recommend checking this out, it’s very educational and a fun watch. Now, after the controversy that came out recently some might feel uncomfortable with supporting Spurlock’s work, which I understand. Personally, I feel like I can separate the artist from the art on a case-by-case basis. This is a case in which I think I can. Spurlock personally came forward completely unprompted and confessed to what he did rather than getting called-out by someone else and denying it like so many others, which I do respect. Also, this documentary has nothing to do with his personal life, which is also a big factor. Anyway, I’m rambling and getting off-topic. This is a good movie. Check it out.

Man, 2019 was a good year for slow, messed-up, abstract, artsy horror movies! The Lighthouse is a masterpiece. It feels timeless, like a lost classic. It feels like something that could’ve been made in the ‘30s with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. It is made to look and feel like a classic horror film, it’s shot in black and white with a 4:3 aspect ratio. It feels very intense and claustrophobic, and the edges of the screen sometimes blend in with the black space so you can focus on the centre of the frame. The performances are unreal. Robert Pattinson is fantastic and Willem Dafoe is absolutely unbelievable! You know the Sea Captain from The Simpsons? That’s basically him in this movie. So awesome! The story is slow, vague and doesn’t make much sense. It leaves a lot to the imagination and your own personal interpretation. Is all this crazy horrific stuff really going on, or are the characters just going insane? It really **** you in and makes you think. This, along with Midsommar, are my favourite movies of the year. This is a must-see! Turn all the lights off and get lost in this beautiful, haunting film. I gotta tell you, if that Blumhouse Universal Monsters reboot doesn’t do well, they NEED to give the rights to A24! Seeing some of the most classic horror characters reimagined by the most brilliant modern horror directors would be freaking awesome!! Make it happen, Universal!

Well, I FINALLY got around to seeing the controversial and wildly popular film, Joker: the most profitable comic book movie and the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. Now, I intentionally avoided seeing this movie when it came out. Not because I wasn’t interested in seeing it or because I thought I wouldn’t like it, but because of the hype and the controversy. Seemingly, all the reactions were either “If you like this movie, you’re an incel and a school shooter!” or “If you don’t like this movie, you’re an SJW and a shill!” and I just hate that black-and-white mentality when it comes to movies, or anything really. I find it really obnoxious. I was sick of hearing about it everywhere so I just stayed away. However, months later, the hype has died down, no one has gotten shot or killed because of this movie and it’s finishing its theatrical run. I paid $5 and saw it at the second-run theatre. What did I think of it? I loved it, but this movie is not perfect. I’ll get the negatives out of the way first since there aren’t a lot of them. I thought the writing was way too unsubtle, obvious and on-the-nose. This film is very clear about what it is saying and it hits you on the head with it, almost like they’re dumbing it down for audiences who aren’t used to watching introspective dramas like this and otherwise wouldn’t if it weren’t based on a famous comic book supervillain. It can make you roll your eyes sometimes. There weren’t too many of those moments for me, but your mileage my vary. Also, there really was no point in setting this in the late 70s/early 80s. I know it’s paying homage to famous Joker stories from the 80s like The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns, as well as Martin Scorsese movies from the 70s and 80s like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, but you can do an homage without making a period piece. You could set the story in modern-day and it wouldn’t change at all. In fact, some things would make more sense if it were set in a world of social media and mobile phones. You’ll see what I mean if you see the movie. I also think some aspects of this movie would’ve been stronger if they showed rather than told. This movie needed more flashbacks, it would’ve been way more powerful. However, with all that said, I still loved it. I thought it was great. This movie is not fast. It’s not fun. There isn’t much action or comedy. It’s darker and more serious than The Dark Knight. Just know that going in. This is not your typical comic book movie. It’s more A History of Violence than The Dark Knight. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the titular character is INCREDIBLE. He’s both sympathetic and scary and adds so many little nuances and special touches to his performance to make it completely his own. This Joker is very much unlike any other Joker we’ve gotten in other movies. It was refreshing, especially after the Suicide Squad fiasco. A lot of the other performers aren’t half bad either, it was cool to see Robert DeNiro in a comic book movie. This movie is beautiful. It’s shot really well and I loved the setdressing. Everything is dirty and grimy and disgusting with garbage everywhere, we’re a long way from the Gotham City of Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies! The score was also haunting and beautiful, with some great music choices for the soundtrack. No Twenty One Pilots here! I also thought this movie was really thematically rich and relevant. It has tons of social commentary about mental health, class, bullying, abuse, trauma, social isolation, gun violence, the media and more. Some might say this film bites off more than it can chew, it does try to juggle a lot of different themes at once, but I think it worked. This movie also connects with the larger mythology of Batman in very clever ways, leaving the door open to possible sequels and spinoffs. I don’t want that, personally, but it’s cool that this movie is also a Batman origin story, in a way. Joker and Batman are still two parts of a whole, even in Joker’s own movie. Overall, Joker is a flawed but great movie. It’s not for everyone and I definitely understand where a lot of the criticism of the film itself is coming from, but I still loved it and recommend it to any fan of psychological character studies or crime dramas, not just superhero movies. I hope it wins some Oscars!

I guess I’ll start this review off with my thoughts on the first 47 Meters Down. While it had a stupid story with dumb characters, I actually enjoyed it a lot. The whole Gravity meets Jaws with some elements taken from 127 Hours or Gerald’s Game was a great concept that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! It wasn’t nearly as good as any of the before mentioned films, but as far as schlocky horror movies go you could do a lot worse. That being said, I did not enjoy the sequel very much at all. First of all, it has NOTHING to do with the first movie! No returning characters and no continuing plot threads are to be found. It may as well be a remake with how much it rehashes the plot of the first movie, only much dumber. The first movie, for the most part, kept itself grounded in reality. You could see something like it happening in real life. In Uncaged, it leans a little too hard into sci-fi territory for me to take it seriously. While the first movie had genuine suspense and thrills, this movie just throws a bunch of jumpscares at you, which don’t really make any sense. While the first movie actually looked pretty good, this movie looks like crap. It’s so dark you can’t see anything and the CGI mutant sharks look terrible. Also, despite taking place in an enclosed environment, I didn’t feel any tension or claustrophobia. The first movie felt way more tense and claustrophobic even though it took place in the open ocean. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something just felt off in Uncaged. There were some cool moments, but overall it was inferior to the first movie in every way. Do not watch this movie! It’s a waste of time. Just watch the first one or, better yet, Gravity or Jaws.

This is a very clever time travel story with a modern-day twist. Two tech genius kids from a black community in New York City invent time travel and deal with bullies, gang violence, police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. Think Back to the Future meets Do the Right Thing. At first, I thought this was a kids movie. Then the characters dropped the F bomb and started throwing around the N word. Yeah, for something that has the production value of a Disney Channel Original Movie, it deals with some pretty mature subject matter. However, despite all that, this film is a very easy and fun watch. The characters are great and the writing is smart, you can really feel the connection they have with one another and the emotional impact of what they’re going through. I was impressed. However, there is one BIG thing that I have a huge issue with. The ending. While I’m not going to give it away, it was really unsatisfying and makes the movie feel unfinished. I’m all for open endings that leave things open to interpretation, but this is NOT the way to do it! Anyway, that aside, I enjoyed the movie a lot. This movie is actually getting pretty bad reactions from audiences and I’m really not sure why. It could be the cheap effects or the ending, or maybe people are just racist. A movie about Black Lives Matter doesn’t seem like something the internet hate mob would take too kindly to. Well, whatever the reason, I enjoyed it and I’d recommend checking it out, it’s on Netflix.

This is another film that technically came out in 2018 but only got a wide release on Netflix in 2019. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this movie, but I’m not sure I can defend it as a good movie. Technically, it’s pretty well-made. The actors do a good job, it’s well-shot, the effects are decent and it’s intense. However, the script is really stupid. It relies on WAY too many coincidences to be believable. Without giving anything away, we are supposed to believe that every detail was carefully planned out and I just don’t buy it. It’s also pretty tonally inconsistent. Sometimes it’s a horror movie, sometimes it’s an action-thriller and sometimes it feels like a comedy. I’m not exactly sure what this movie is even going for sometimes. Still, this movie is fast and engaging. I have mixed feelings about it, but that’s because it’s a very mixed film. I’d say give it a watch yourself and draw your own conclusion.

Why did beautiful, original animated films like this all get released straight-to-Netflix last year while crap like Playmobil and Arctic Dogs got to play in theatres? Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad that movies like these are more accessible than ever nowadays, even if they don’t get a wide theatrical release. This is a very interesting and artistic animated film from France about a severed hand trying to find the rest of his body, as well as the story of a young man growing up and falling in love. This film is very slow, moody and atmospheric. It **** you into the world of being a sentient severed hand. The human storyline is well-done too! Lots of heart and tragedy. The animation is hand-drawn, but it’s somewhat limited. It runs as a low frame rate, similar to anime. It almost looks like a less flashy and less stylized Into the Spider-verse. It doesn’t push the limits of the medium or do new things with it like Klaus or Spider-verse, but it’s still a very visually appealing film. The ending is a little weird and some may find the film slow, but I say this is definitely worth a watch. It’s another one of the year’s best animated films. Don’t watch it with the kids though, this ain’t a kids movie! Show them Spider-verse again instead.

From the director of The Last Jedi comes another great movie! Yes, I said that. Screw you guys. Knives Out is a wildly creative, fun and, yes, subversive whodunnit murder mystery! Knives Out features and excellent ensemble cast and a compelling narrative filled with twists and turns! One of the most entertaining, politically/socially relevant and original films I saw this year. It’s nice to have a mystery movie not based on a book so everyone doesn’t already know who did it going in. I actually don’t know how much I want to say about this movie, there’s not much I can really say about it without giving away major spoilers. I’d say just go out and see it for yourself. It’s really good, you’ll have a TON of fun! Get to the theatre early, it’s still selling out over a month after releasing! I’m so happy it’s doing so well, it’s a real crowd pleaser. I guess it really was Star Wars fans that were the problem after all. Good to know.

This is a very enjoyable and interesting drama about Pope Benedict meeting the future Pope Francis before his resignation. I think movies based on historical events that I actually remember happening in my lifetime, like this and Zero Dark Thirty, are really neat. I learned a lot about how the Catholic Church operates and how they choose a new Pope. The performances are very strong and the film is well-made and well-written, however I really wasn’t that into the flashback sequences. I thought they were very inconsistent in how they were made, some were in black & white and some were in colour and some were in a different aspect ratio. I thought it was confusing why the director made those choices. Other than that, this film is pretty solid. Give it a watch on Netflix, it’s good!

This is a very fun and enjoyable movie about an interesting person. This is a biopic about Rudy Ray Moore, a black comedian from the 70s best known for playing the profane, rhyming pimp character, Dolemite. Now, I went into this movie not knowing much about it. I watched the original movie of Dolemite before watching the biopic so from that I was expecting something along the lines of Black Dynamite or Grindhouse. What I actually got was more similar to Ed Wood or The Disaster Artist, a movie about making a movie, which I really liked! It was cool to see all the recreations of actual scenes from the movie Dolemite and all the trouble they had to go through to get it made. It gives me a new appreciation for the original film, even if it’s technically not very good. The filmmaking on display here isn’t really anything special, but the lead performance from Eddie Murphy is pretty great! I totally believed he was the real Rudy Ray Moore, he totally looked and sounded the part. The supporting cast all did a great job too! Overall, if you just want a solid, fun, feel-good, easy-to-watch movie that also has some history behind it, this is definitely worth a watch! It’s a Netflix original, but I’d actually recommend watching the original Dolemite first like I did. It is available on TubiTV, a free ad-supported streaming platform. It will give you a little more context for what this movie is about and what it’s going for. It makes for a great double-feature. Stay home and learn all about the man named Dolemite!

Speaking of Netflix, they also put out an epic crime drama masterpiece by Martin Scorsese. This movie is pretty great! The performances are all excellent, the story is never slow or boring despite the 3.5 hour runtime and the effects are incredible! The ageing and de-ageing effects make Prometheus and TRON Legacy look worse than they already did! It’s barely noticeable, way more convincing than Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One. This movie has a very classic feel with its actors and setting and subject matter, but at the same time is original and brings the genre to the next level. It’s not just about nostalgia. Other movies should take notes. While I did find it kinda complicated and hard to follow at times, this is a must-see. It’s on Netflix, so it’s very accessible. Put an afternoon aside and give it a watch. It definitely takes you on a journey.

Only Netflix would have the guts to put out a hand-drawn animated film in 2019. This Santa Claus origin movie is awesome! It’s heartwarming, original (for the most part, there were some elements that reminded me a little of The Emperor’s New Groove or Megamind), funny and the animation is amazing! If I could describe it, well, do you remember the Disney short Paperman? You know, the one where they shaded CGI animation to make it look hand-drawn? Well, Klaus is the opposite. It’s hand-drawn animation that is shaded to look like CGI. I’ve never seen this style before and it looks great! It’s so colourful and well-designed. The voice acting and the writing is really damn good too! Honestly, there are only a couple issues I have. Some of the music choices and what little CGI this movie does use seem out-of-place, but other than that this might be the best Christmas movie since Arthur Christmas. It’s certainly the year’s best animated movie, and the best animated movie in general since Into the Spider-verse. Give it a watch with the family, it’s really delightful!

Probably the most disappointing Star Wars movie since The Phantom Menace. Now, I actually don’t have a lot of issues with this film. Only 3 issues really stand out to me, but they are 3 very major issues. The first is the pacing. Was The Last Jedi too slow for you? Well, this movie moves along so fast it gives you no time to breathe! For those who just want to go on a fun ride, this might be a good thing. For me though, slowing down and letting the characters just talk to each other is really important. This movie barely does that. There is always something going on or a plot twist being dropped. It went so fast, I didn’t even have time to comprehend a lot of it! This movie feels very rushed. It does slow down a little later on, but it’s still a major issue with a good chunk of the film. There are also WAY too many new characters introduced! You have a large enough cast as it is, just work with what you already have! My second issue is Palpatine. It’s no spoiler that Emperor Palpatine returns in this movie. His voice can be heard in every trailer and he’s on the teaser poster. You’re supposed to know this going in. Palpatine’s return is handled horribly. He’s supposed to be the main villain even though he’s been completely absent from the last two movies. It’s completely anti-climactic. None of the characters know who he is or have any real connection with him. We’re supposed to accept that he’s somehow still alive even though we saw him die! He fell down a pit and EXPLODED!!! They tell you he came back to life in the opening crawl and then go on to hand-wave it away with a prequel meme. That’s it. I’m not kidding. It’s embarrassing how poorly-written he is. They never explain where he’s been all this time, what he’s been up to, why he’s been doing it, how he’s been doing it, why he’s waited so long, or how he was resurrected. Did someone fish his body out of the Death Star? Is he some kind of clone, like in the old Dark Empire comics? Is he a ghost? I have no idea, and I bet the filmmakers don’t either. It’s insulting. The third issue I have with this film is the lack of continuity with the other movies, The Last Jedi especially. A lot of that movie is either ignored or undone by this movie. Rose is replaced with a giant slug monster and relegated to a background role, they bring in an Emperor figure when the last movie made a point to get rid of that and have Kylo Ren be the main villain, and let’s just say that Rey isn’t exactly a nobody. Could you imagine if Richard Marquand got rid of Lando and made Luke not actually Vader’s son in Return of the Jedi? It’s so frustrating. JJ Abrams sacrificed a flowing narrative for this trilogy for his own original vision. It’s selfish and it’s childish. Again, this may be a positive if you hated The Last Jedi. I really like The Last Jedi, so this really bothered me. It’s clear that there was no plan for this trilogy from the beginning and the filmmakers didn’t have enough communication with one another. It’s not only TLJ that this movie retcons. Bringing Palpatine back really diminishes Anakin’s sacrifice at the end of Return of the Jedi and kind of rewrites the entire Star Wars mythos. He was the chosen one, prophesied to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. He did that by killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. Only he didn’t, Palpatine survived. I had the same issue with the old Expanded Universe. I thought the reason they got rid of the EU was so that they could improve on the post-Jedi storyline, not repeat the same mistakes it made, only somehow worse. Who’s the chosen one now? What’s the point of the prophecy? What did Anakin die for? I have no idea! This movie also contradicts some of the newer books and comics, but I'd have to get too nerdy and off-topic to properly explain that here. Now, from how much I’m trashing this movie, you might think that I hate it. I don’t. I still had fun watching it and there was quite a bit that I enjoyed. Rey and Kylo Ren are still great, the effects are excellent as always (The integration of the Carrie Fisher footage is pretty seamless.), the action is thrilling, there’s good comedy, the acting is good and there are many surprises that got me genuinely excited. I also liked how it didn’t retcon the Luke storyline from TLJ, they just made it more clear for those in the audience who didn’t fully understand the point of it in the last movie. This movie also explains why Hyperspace ramming isn’t a common tactic in warfare in the Star Wars universe, after it was shown to be so deadly in The Last Jedi. Overall, this movie is an absolute mess and a major disappointment, but it makes for a fun time out at the movies. Just don’t think too hard about how it connects with the other Star Wars movies and you’ll be fine. I can see why people like it, it’s just not for me.

This is a fascinating documentary about the mammoth ivory trade and the field of genetic engineering and cloning. It technically came out in 2018 but there was no way for me to see it until this year. The film follows both genetic scientists and a group of mammoth hunters who look for frozen remains in northern Siberia. This film covers many topics including survival, the resurrection of extinct species and even eugenics. The two sides of the film, the hunters and the scientists, don’t always mix well and the film can kinda drag sometimes as a result, but there were so many amazing moments in this movie that excited me more than any blockbuster I saw this year that I don’t dare reveal here. It is also very scary and raises many ethical questions. It’s like a real-life Jurassic Park. Should we look more into this kind of technology or should we not open Pandora’s Box? It makes you think. I recommend checking this one out if you like science or survival stories. I think you’ll enjoy it. I sure did, and I can’t wait to own a pet mammoth some day!

Look, I’m going to be honest with you guys, I didn’t even really pay attention to this one. It was just kind of on in the background and I glanced at it from time to time. From what I could gather, this movie is better than Aladdin and The Lion King. That’s not saying much though. It is still way too long, it’s filled with bad writing and acting, all the colour is washed-out and it doesn’t seem to understand what made people like the original so much. Some of the designs were kinda interesting, the CGI was decent, some parts were so bad they were actually pretty funny and Danny DeVito is unironically a national f*cking treasure, but that’s about all the good I have to say about this movie. It is more original than some of the other Disney remakes, it’s kind of like Evil Dead 2 because it’s part remake but mostly a sequel, but the original plot they came up with was just stupid and it’s been done better in a million other movies. After that Alice in Wonderland remake/sequel thing, can we all agree to keep Tim Burton away from classic Disney movies? His macabre but whimsical style just doesn’t work for them. Can we just get another stop-motion movie from him already? Thanks. Anyway, this movie is not as bad as some others I’ve seen, but it is not good. I’d say just skip it and watch the original Dumbo or Big Fish instead.

This movie was freaking awesome! It’s interesting, it’s beautiful, it’s intense, it’s really well-made and it is super gory! I really liked all the characters, the tone and pace of the movie is really enjoyable, it has some really creative cinematography with many long takes, and a very messed up story about a happy and peaceful Swedish commune. There isn’t much that I can say about this movie without giving things away, so just give this movie a watch if you like slow, messed-up, artsy horror movies. It’s soooooooooooooo good!!!

This movie was amazing!!! This is the latest movie from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, director of The Host, Okja, Snowpiercer and more. This is only the second movie of his that I have seen and it really makes me want to watch more! This movie is about a poor family who all get jobs working for a rich family as part of a scheme, and it just gets crazier from there. The performances are excellent, the story is interesting, it looks beautiful, it has comedy, it has suspense, it has horror, it has romance, it has everything! My only complaints are that the movie is a little slow in the first act and that sometimes the dialogue went by too fast for me to read the subtitles. This is good writing, and I feel like I missed some of it. I’m a pretty slow reader though, so your experience may differ. And yeah, the movie is presented in its original language and subtitled. If that’s an issue for you, don’t see it. You won’t enjoy it. Otherwise, if you want an exciting and well-made movie that is completely original, go see this movie! It’s one of the best of the year!

You’ve heard of a Sharknado, now get ready for a Hurrigator! This movie was stupid. Why did the critics like this? It’s a movie about killer CGI alligators! Doesn’t seem like the kind of movie that would get high critical praise, but here we are. What did I think of it? While this movie is very stupid with some very cheesy and unrealistic moments and a ton of stuff that doesn’t make sense, I enjoyed it. Much like Brightburn, this movie has a big director attached to it as a producer, Sam Raimi. This movie does feel kind of Evil Dead-ish, it’s about people in an isolated location with a creepy basement trying to survive, but it’s not nearly as good. Honestly, I really don’t have much to say about this movie. This movie doesn’t overstay its welcome and it succeeds at precisely what it sets out to do, just be entertaining. It doesn’t really try to be anything more. I can’t really fault the movie for that. As for my recommendation, does a killer alligator movie sound appealing to you? If yes, give it a watch. It’s really short. It’s under 90 minutes. You don’t have much to lose. Just turn off your brain and have fun. If not, you are not going to enjoy this movie.

This is the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 horror-comedy favourite, Zombieland. As for my thoughts on the original, it’s pretty good. It’s an entertaining movie with good characters and some good comedy. The ending is stupid, but aside from that I like the movie and I will rewatch it from time to time. Shaun of the Dead is better, though. As for my thoughts on the sequel, it was okay. It wasn’t as good as the original, but it wasn’t bad. I do think that it lost a lot of the simplicity that the original had. The original just focussed on 4 characters going on a road trip across a post-apocalyptic wasteland and seeing what they find along the way. The sequel has WAY too many characters! I also feel like the story didn’t have as much **** as the first movie and there are a lot more stupid jokes that go on for way too long. It also feels kind of outdated. A lot of these jokes just don’t seem like jokes that you should find in a movie from 2019. It kind of makes sense in the story since the world ended in 2009, but I don’t know, it was a little distracting sometimes. Still, this is still recognizable as the same world with the same characters as the original. If that’s all you’re looking for, you’ll have a good time. However, if you’re looking for a great sequel that improves on the original, you’re not going to find that here.

This movie was entertaining but overall I don’t think it was as good as the premise should’ve allowed it to be. Before I get into the review, I just want to get a couple things out of the way. First of all, James Gunn did not direct this movie. However, he did produce it and the film was written by two of his brothers. Second of all, this is a movie that asks the question, “What if Superman used his powers for evil instead of good?” This idea has been done many times before, like in Batman v Superman, Injustice, Megamind and more. However, this is a horror movie starring a young superpowered child. Think something along the lines of The Omen or The Shining but with a superhero theme. That’s a great idea, but I don’t think it was fleshed out very well. The movie is way too short. It’s only 90 minutes long and I feel like it rushed through a lot of important details that would’ve made the film stronger if they had been developed and established better. It really needed to be 2 hours. As it is right now, the movie feels kind of empty and underwhelming. However, it does have some very creative and nasty kills, it has good effects, it is well-acted and it is well-shot. All the pieces of a potentially great movie are there, they just didn’t quite fit together. I’d love to see a sequel that expands the world of the film and improves on the ideas of the story. This movie is worth a watch if you’re curious, but I didn’t think it was great. That is kind of inexcusable for a movie with a premise this creative.

Ah. My arch-nemesis in the form of a movie. We meet at last. This movie is a travesty. Don’t watch it. I would just like to leave it at that, but I guess I’ll elaborate. I guess first I will address the photo-realistic CGI elephant in the room, the animation. Not live-action, there’s only one live-action shot in the entire movie. This is an animated film. And the animation is technically some of the most impressive ever put to screen. Seriously, this makes Life of Pi look like Madagascar by comparison. It was absolutely mesmerizing to watch...when the animals weren’t talking. Whenever they were talking, it was awkward and laughably bad at times. What everyone has been saying is true, realistic animals cannot convey the emotions necessary for a story like this on their faces. In some scenes, I actually had trouble telling the characters apart or even understanding what was going on in the scene because of the lack of emotion on the characters’ faces. That’s a huge problem. I think Zazu got it the worst. Seriously, the animatronic birds in the Enchanted Tiki Room are more expressive than he is in this film! His face is frozen in a permanent frown, just like the real bird he’s based on. The design does not fit the personality of the character at all. Same goes for most of the other characters. They were just off-putting. Speaking of the characters, how is the voice acting? While the film does feature a (mostly) talented cast, the dialogue in this movie is beyond awkward and the line delivery is just awful. I don’t know how they possibly messed that up, but they found a way! It’s very stilted and unnatural. The line delivery coupled with the characters’ faces made me laugh out loud during Mufasa’s death scene. Funniest **** I’ve seen in a movie all year. It’s so bad, it’s good! Look up the scene on YouTube, you’ll be in for a laugh! As for the story, it’s exactly the same as the original except they really nerfed the hyenas. They weren’t funny and they weren’t scary. They were boring. Eric André and Keegan-Michael Key are absolutely wasted in this movie. They also cut out the best song, Be Prepared, and cut most of Rafiki’s interaction with Simba, the best scene! As for the comedy, it was just boring at best and absolutely obnoxious at worst. I’m not the biggest fan of Timon and Pumbaa, but I’ll take the originals over these guys any day! Literally all of their jokes are self-referential. Sometimes the jokes don’t even make sense unless you’ve seen the original, which you really should not do in a remake! As for the music, the score is just as amazing as the original but the songs are pretty bad, honestly. I already did a whole post about it months ago so I’ll try not to repeat myself, but they are either butchered, cut, shoehorned in, copied or copy-pasted! The new Beyoncé song especially sticks out like a sore thumb. Many of the most memorable scenes from the original are dumbed-down and heavily simplified to make them more realistic, I guess, but it just goes to show how traditional animation is the only medium this film can work in. In the 1940s, Disney was experimenting with giving the characters in Bambi a more realistic look. They decided against it and made them more stylized because the characters were not expressive enough to convey the emotions of the story. They knew doing something like this was a bad idea in the 40s! This movie is a mistake! I think that’s all I have to say about this movie. It’s just bad. Nothing about it works as a film. Just look up the opening scene on YouTube. That will give you just as much enjoyment as you would get from watching the whole movie. But yet again, just like Aladdin, it seems like most people disagree with me and love this movie. It’s actually now the highest-grossing animated film of all-time. I can’t even get angry at this movie anymore. It just makes me sad. Is this what Disney has become? What was once the company that defined the industry with their creative new takes on classic stories is now just regurgitating their old movies for profit? That just depresses me, honestly. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Oh well. At least Mulan looks kind of cool. Anyway, that’s all I have to say about this POS. Don’t bother, just watch the original. That’s what I’m going to do, and I’m never going to think about this movie again.

This movie is awesome!! Now, for years I’ve said that I loved Spider-Man Homecoming. I’ve said it’s one of the few Marvel movies that I actually enjoyed all the way through. While that much is still true, upon a second viewing I don’t think I love it anymore. I like it, it’s solid and it’s still one of the best Marvel movies, but it wasn’t as good on a repeat viewing. With the original fresh in my mind going into the sequel, I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t think that it was as good as I remembered the first one being either. However, I think Far From Home might be better than Homecoming. That’s still my first impression, it may change with time, but as it is right now this is right up there with Homecoming as one of my favourite Marvel movies. Far From Home acts as both a sequel to Homecoming and an epilogue to Avengers Endgame. What is the world like after *spoiler*? What is the world like without *spoiler*? How has *spoiler’s* *spoiler* affected the world and Peter Parker? This film explores that. The comedy is hilarious, the characters are all loveable with great performances, the story is engaging and this movie probably has the most creative and thrilling action and effects out of any of the Marvel movies since Doctor Strange. The story of this movie has a lot of twists and turns and I don’t want to give anything away, but if you’ve seen the trailers or even read the title, you know it’s about Peter Parker going on a school trip to Europe. It’s so great to finally see Spider-Man get out of New York in his own standalone movie and see all the cool stuff he can do in other cities. It was great. The big twist near the end was pretty predictable if you know anything about the comics, but the post-credits scenes are amazing and make me beyond excited to see what becomes of them in future movies! Overall, this is a must-see for any Marvel fans, but even if you aren’t one this is a solid action-comedy with a lot of humour and a lot of heart for the whole family. Highly recommended.

This is an amazing documentary film about the moon landing. There’s no narration, no interviews, nothing. Just the footage, as well as a musical score. It speaks for itself. It just tells the story of the moon landing using footage of the mission. The editing is fantastic. It actually manages to construct a compelling narrative with nothing but old footage. Speaking of the footage, it’s all in colour and in HD. It’s actually pretty incredible. It looks like footage that was shot recently, not over 50 years ago. I don’t know if most of the footage is new (as in unreleased until now) or not, but it was fascinating to watch. If you love space travel and astronomy, this is a must-watch. Even if you aren’t that into space exploration, I think this might be the definitive documentation of one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century. Go watch it. It’s excellent. It’s not very long either, it’s a very easy watch. Just do it.

Am I the only one who hates this movie? Because I really do and I feel very alone on this.

Oops! Didn't mean to leave that rating! I haven't seen this movie so I'm going to give it a 0 for now, which I do not consider to be a real rating.

This movie was awesome! This is a Netflix Original sci-fi film. It is in the “two or three people in an isolated environment with a robot and insidious stuff going on” subgenre of sci-fi. Other films in this subgenre include Ex Machina and Moon. I loved those movies, and I loved this too! In the future, some kind of apocalyptic disaster has taken place and one robot named Mother is tasked with growing and raising humans to repopulate the planet. The film follows Mother’s only child, Daughter, and her desire to know what lies beyond the walls of the facility she was born and raised in. It kind of sounds like a The Little Mermaid or Hotel Transylvania setup, but it gets really crazy from there. This film is very moody and atmospheric. It’s cold, claustrophobic and tense, but also cozy, warm and inviting. It makes you feel so many different things. The story is very engaging. The performances are all great except for Daughter’s child actor at the very beginning, and the effects are excellent! The CGI and sets look great, but the best part of this movie is Mother. She is not CGI. She is an animatronic suit. She’s awesome! She looks better than any of the robots out of the recent Star Wars movies! I’d say this movie is worth seeing for her alone, but the rest of the movie around her is so good that I think that would be doing the film a disservice. Honestly, there’s not much I can say about this movie without giving things away so I think I’ll just leave things there. If you want a solid and easily accessible sci-fi movie to watch, this is a good choice! Check it out!

I really enjoyed this one. I haven’t seen the original in forever (I know, I’m a bad Pixar fan), so I can’t really compare it to the first movie, but from what I remember of it, this seemed to get across the same spirit. It had great comedy, great animation, great action, and a good story with good characters! It’s very well-written and well-done overall, and I recommend it to anyone!

While this isn’t the worst movie I saw this year, it is by far the most disappointing. I’m not even comparing it to the original Jurassic Park, no Jurassic sequel could be as awesome as that! No, this movie absolutely pales in comparison to the last movie, Jurassic World! While that movie had a pretty weak story and characters, the action was absolutely thrilling and I regularly rewatch it for that alone. It’s tied with Star Wars: The Force Awakens for my favourite movie of 2015. Fallen Kingdom didn’t have any of that. What little character the first movie had was gone, replaced with cartoon characters with exaggerated and over-the-top personalities, and it was much tamer in comparison. Most of the movie is set in a house and there’s only one dinosaur on the loose! What kind of Jurassic movie is that? That’s like something someone would make up as a joke, making fun of movie series that have clearly run out of ideas! Also, out of all the subplots in Jurassic World to follow up on, why did they choose the weaponized dinosaurs? That was by far the weakest aspect of Jurassic World! It’s stupid and makes absolutely no sense! There’s a lot of that in this movie, it feels like a Saturday morning cartoon! I have to say though, the ending was pretty awesome. I wish I didn’t see literally all of it in the trailers. I’m looking forward to Jurassic World 3, it has a very interesting setup that really makes me wonder why they didn’t just make that movie instead. They could’ve easily skipped over this movie and made the next movie this movie! Anyway, as you can tell, I really didn’t like this one. I don’t recommend it, even if you do like the other Jurassic movies.

Initially, I quite enjoyed this movie. However, on a second viewing, I noticed a serious problem. It is the inverse of the problem I have with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While that movie’s first two acts are a slog to get through, the third act is excellent and it ends off on a very high note. With Solo, the first two acts are great, but it really falls apart in the third. The pacing slows down to a crawl and you’re just waiting for the movie to end at that point. They really should’ve found a way to streamline the last act to keep up the energy of the rest of the movie. That probably wasn’t possible because of the extremely extensive reshoots, though. Honestly, I’m surprised this movie is as good as it is and not a Suicide Squad-level disaster. Overall, I’m sure this movie will be in my regular Star Wars rewatch rotation, but it’s one of my least favourites. I like most of the movie, but the ending kills it for me. Which is worse? A boring movie with a great ending or an exciting movie with a boring ending? I really don’t know. I have to say, I definitely prefer the Star Wars sequel trilogy to the spinoffs, and I’m very happy to hear that Lucasfilm will be slowing down with the spinoffs in the future. That’s a good move on their part, I think.

This movie was freaking AWESOME!!!!! It might just be my favourite Marvel movie. It cuts out all the boring stuff I don’t like from the other movies and only keeps in the stuff I like, which makes this the quintessential Marvel movie for me. However, I feel like this movie may have been a little too good. I like this one so much, that I honestly don’t have much reason to go back to any of the other Marvel movies. Infinity War has all my favourite elements from all of them and none of my least favourite. Why sit through the others when I can just watch this and get my fix? Anyway, this movie was great and I can’t wait for Avengers: Endgame!!

I don’t even remember most of what happened in this movie. I forgot it even came out in 2018. It’s that forgettable. As far as video game adaptations go, this is fine. One of the better video game movies ever made, actually, but that’s not saying very much. I’d say just skip this one and stick with the games and the Angelina Jolie movies. They are technically worse films, but they are more fun and memorable.

This is a very original concept for a horror film. The movie is suspenseful, brutal, and very effective. I was afraid to eat my Skittles while watching this in the theatre because I didn’t want to make any noise! However, I do have some problems with it. I think you see the monsters way too much for them to be very scary, and there are some things that happen in the movie that just don’t make any sense. The design of the monsters I also found to be quite unoriginal. I feel like I’ve seen elements of these monsters in a million other movies. I don’t think this film will hold up very well on repeat viewings, but it was a great theatre experience, possibly my favourite of the year.