ckeppner

One of the most eye-opening films on protest I've seen. It shows how difficult peaceful protests are to pull off, and why all peaceful protests miss the mark to some extent. The writing, acting, and pacing are high-energy throughout. This film left me talking about it for long after the credits rolled.

The original Mulan (1998) is among my favorite films of all time. I love the story, and I was very exciting for this PG-13 remake. Like all of the great remakes, I hoped it would tell the story in a new way that elevated aspects of the story the original couldn't. Instead, Mulan (2020) strictly stays the same as the original, except it gets rid of everything that made the original exception. I disliked so much about this movie, I will break down each aspect, starting with the only two positive things I can say about the film. Representation: The fully Asian cast in this movie set in China is needed. The original, while a product of a different time and featuring many Asian voice actors, also commits the sin of appropriation. Good on Mulan (2020)!. Scenery: The scenery is breathtaking. One neutral aspect of the movie is the music. I really liked the re-imagining of the classic Mulan songs, but this was hard to mess up because the original music was that strong. Now for the bad stuff. Story/characters: With the exception of Mulan and her father, all other character arcs were written out of the movie. Mulan and her father are the only characters who grow at all. All other characters strictly serve as background. By comparison, the original had growth arcs for Mulan, Mulan's father, the commander, Mushu, and Mulan's three films. The original even acknowledges what happens when a character fails to grow and learn lessons in the form of the emperor's advisor. The lack of these secondary characters in Mulan (2020) HURT the film and story badly. There is barely any emotion in this film at all. Acting: Nearly every character in the original Mulan is played to perfection. The voice acting was incredible. I'm not sure what happened to the acting in Mulan (2020). Nearly everyone delivers every line wooden. Donnie Yen, who I love in his other films, is particularly guilty of this along with the emperor (Jet Li). It's almost like the actors were told not to show any emotion. Even the great Tzi Ma deadpans nearly every line. Action: I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of floaty martial arts, which is a lot of the action in Mulan. But even that style was done poorly. Very rarely would the camera show two full combatants in a fight, focusing instead on close ups of individual movement, which made the action hard to track. Very little of the action looked real, except for when the masterful Donnie Yen was on screen. The action was boring and not of a caliber befitting a PG-13 movie. Every emotional scene from the first film that was again on screen was notably worse than the original. Editing: As mentioned above, the editing was lazy and confusing. Shots flew by too fast and failed to add to the story. Directing: So many of these issues within the film should have been addressed by the director. Why not frame wider action sequences? Why not tell the actors to stop being so wooden (even worse if the director made the choice to have all the characters be emotionless on purpose). Comedy: There is little to no humor to speak of in this movie. This movie was painfully bad, and I had so much hope for it. Don't waste your time or your money; wait for it to come out on regular Disney+ if you absolutely have to see it.

This is the absolute must-see mystery of the year. It offers some of the best acting, suspense, and outright FUN of any movie this year. The plot never "hides" aspects of the story in order to pull of a big (unearned) reveal - it gives you everything you need to figure it out yourself, while still keeping you guessing. Laugh-out-loud funny and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, this is a complete joy.

Fans of The Shining will undoubtedly delight in this film. It pays homage to the original masterpiece yet forges its own path. Suspenseful all the way through, Doctor Sleep is a thriller you don't want to miss!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark faithfully brings the stories that terrified us as kids to the big screen. If you remember the books fondly, you will be delighted from start to end. While the overarching story tying its individual parts together is a little cheesy, the various stories throughout the film promise to scare and delight horror fans. As a huge fan of the original trilogy, I loved this film and hope there are more Scary Stories in our future!

It: Chapter Two doesn't quite live up to the scare factor of the the first, but it doubles the laughs. Bill Hader is hilarious (as always) and definitely adds to the entertainment value of the film. If you liked the first, you'll like this one too.

Joker is a compelling drama that is surprisingly sad. It's certainly not as graphic as the critics have suggested. However, the whole film is a pretty dreary look at mental health treatment in America. Overall, it's a really entertaining movie with great acting and well worth the watch.