 It's probably plain to most people after my 'Lion King' ('19) review that the original '94 film, for yours truly, cannot be touched as far as quality goes, even if the new animation is admittedly breathtakingly beautiful. So, when I saw the trailer for this film, I was indifferent. On the one hand, it's digging up known and beloved characters for what seems to be an easy money grab. On the other hand, despite said beloved characters and familiarity, this IS an original story. While everyone else was wondering, "Who's asking for this?" I was in the minority saying, "Me?"
The film opens with a dedication to the memory of the late great James Earl Jones, who famously lent his voice to Mufasa in both the '94 and '19 versions of 'The Lion King. With that in mind, it moves on to some pretty familiar territory, as the animals of the African savanna all gather around Pride Rock, as Simba (Donald Glover) has an announcement to make; he and Nala (Beyoncé) are about to have their second cub, which means Simba has to take off to meet Nala at the birthing ground. This event leaves their first cub, Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), whom some may remember from 'Simba's Pride,' in the babysitting hands of Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), who are sadly irritating in this film whenever they're on screen. There's a laugh or two, but most of that is after Rafiki (John Kani) comes in to join them to tell the story, reacting to their stupidity. But hey, what can you do? Some of this annoyance is bound to happen, being a film aimed at kids. Moving on, Rafiki tells Kiara the story of her grandfather, Mufasa, and how he came to be King. Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins /Aaron Pierre) and his parents, Masego (Keith David) and Afia (Anika Noni Rose) live in a pretty barren African savanna in the middle of a drought. Mufasa's parents tell him of a lush land called Milele and that they will find it one day. Think of the Great Valley from 'The Land Before Time.' One day, a disastrous flood strikes at the watering hole, whisking Mufasa away from his parents, home, and everything he knows. Lost and floating down a river, he eventually meets up with another cub named Taka (Theo Somolu/Kelvin Harrison Jr.). As Mufasa and Taka grow up together, they become brothers, but Mufasa gets shunned by their King, Obasi (Lennie James), who sends Simba off with the females, where, guess what? He learns many valuable techniques from Queen Eshe (Thandiwe Newton) about tracking, hunting, etc. Meanwhile, Taka wants to join them, but Obasi tells him it's a waste, as one day he'll be King, and all he'll have to do is laze around all day. This negative attitude continues until, one day, the pride is met with some white lions, forcing Mufasa and Taka into exile. From here, the story turns into Mufasa and Taka searching for Milele (which translates to "forever"), eventually stumbling on the familiar characters of Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and Zazu (Preston Nyman - voiced by John Oliver last time, which I failed to mention). Ultimately, a love triangle occurs between the three lions, leading Taka to become Scar (not a spoiler, as evident from the get-go). Not much about the story ends up surprising, as Sarabi choosing Mufasa over Scar is mentioned in the 2019 'Lion King,' in one of the very few additional bits to the film. With so much "copy + paste" technique given to Disney's live-action remakes, I found this movie kinda refreshing. It reminds me of how I felt about 'Last Jedi' when it came out. It may not have been the best movie, but I have to give the filmmakers credit for attempting to step outside that comfort zone and try out some unfamiliarity for once. That said, I met this one with about the same reception I did the 2019 remake - it's beautiful to look at, but the effects aren't enough to make it great. I'll still stick to the 1994 classic, but kudos to this film for the attempt. 3/5
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 I'm gonna go ahead and begin this review by saying that if you're a reader who's unfamiliar with, or disinterested completely by any 'Lord of the Rings' books and/or films, nothing about this movie is gonna mean anything much to you. Despite the fact that it takes place 183 years before the events of 'Lord of the Rings,' and about 123 before 'The Hobbit,' the story here is a sidestep away from anything to really do with the One Ring, and delves into a story of events that once happened in Rohan; Rohan being most prominently remembered from 'Two Towers.'
So while there are no real direct ties to either trilogy, it's a bit of Middle Earth history between a couple of human races that the average 'LOTR' newcomer will probably be altogether unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good, if simple story that still captures the spirit of Peter Jackson's cinematic creativity, ties in nicely, and makes me kinda hope there are more of these animated "side quests" some time in our future. I love this world, and I'm always down to see more of it! Our narrator here is Éowyn (Miranda Otto) of the Rohirrim, whom fans will remember fondly as the undercover woman who rode out to battle a vast army of Orcs, and took down the Witch King of Angmar in 'Return of the King.' Coinciding with her badassery, she begins the tale of Héra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of King Helm (Brian Cox) of Rohan. Héra is a sort of "lone wolf" character, a great fighter, lover of nature, potential shieldmaiden, and has been arranged to marry a lord of Gondor, which would bring their powerful kingdoms together. One day, a Dunlending (a race of humans who live in the wild) lord, Freca (Shaun Dooley) shows up with his son, and childhood friend of Héra's, Wulf (Luca Pasqualino). Freca suggests Héra change her mind, and marry Wulf instead, but Helm sees right through his, and knows he intends to steal the throne. This soon results in Helm and Freca "taking it outside," where Helm gives Freca one good, swift punch to the face, killing him instantly, and earning himself the nickname "Helm Hammerhand" (which is admittedly pretty badass). Afterward, Wulf swears revenge on Rohan for murdering his father, and isn't heard from for several years. To cut it a bit short, this is basically what eventually leads to the titular War of the Rohirrim. As one can imagine, Héra is basically the unlikely hero here, almost fitting right into Éowyn's shoes. So, in many ways, one could see this as a sort of "girl power" film, but I have to say that it does things very organically, nothing is forced, and it really is just a cool and interesting side story in Middle Earth's history. I would encourage fans of 'LOTR' to check this film out for themselves and try to ignore some of the more critical reviews out there. The fact of the matter was that this was rushed out in order for New Line to keep the rights to Tolkein's books, and between that and 2D animation taking over six live-action epics, it might be easy for a critic to brush this one aside. It didn't do well at the Box Office, either, being surrounded by titles like 'Moana 2,' 'Mufasa,' 'Sonic 3,' and 'Wicked.' But honestly, if you get a chance, check this out! Even if its streaming by the time you get to it. I might credit this one as one of the most underrated movies of the year, all considered. For yours truly, even though the live-action wasn't there, and it may not have sucked me in as much as the average 'LOTR' flick, I was happy to see more untold tales of this world that I personally love to escape into from time to time. For some of my friends and I, to see a 'LOTR' movie in the beginning of winter is a bit of a tradition, and it's kinda nice to keep that tradition alive. So, if you like this world, definitely check this out. It's no 'Return of the King,' but stylistically, and story-wise, it certainly holds its own. 4/5  Although I can admit that this was a title that didn't entirely live up to its predecessor, I do think that as a sequel, it's perfectly fine. This is another one I feel gets a bit worse of a rap that it truly deserves, but it's not without its faults, either. The original 'Moana,' much like with 'Frozen 2' and its predecessor, is a lot to live up to, so one has to try to give it a bit of slack. That said, much like it is with many other Disney fans, I would really like to see some more new, new material from the studio, and not just another live-action remake, or sequel.
The timing here is kinda brutal too, as this is also followed closely by the Disney prequel that is 'Mufasa: The Lion King.' In both cases, new ideas, sure, but still a part of something that already exists. And I'm mostly looking at Disney here, about this gripe, not so much Pixar, who released 'Inside Out 2' earlier this year, which I felt actually outdid the original. But I digress; the bottom line is that even though this was fine, it was something I felt didn't need to exist, because 'Moana' was such an instant classic as a stand-alone. The story here picks up three years after the events of the first film. Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) has since put her lessons about way-finding from Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to work, setting sail with animal companions Heihei (Alan Tudyk) and Pua, the adorable little piggy. She travels in search of other civilizations, connected to the ocean. One day, she manages to find a broken piece of pottery with a symbol of a couple of mountains on it, proving that somewhere out there, other civilizations exist. Her ancestor, Tautai Vasa (Gerald Faitala Ramsey) comes to her one day in a vision, during a brutal lightning storm, revealing why there's a lack of connection to other people of the ocean. This time, it's the fault of a storm God named Nalo, who sunk an island called Motufetu in an attempt to gain power over the mortals. Motufetu, itself, was once an island that connected the people of the ocean, and their islands, and since its sinking things have been stressful for those living the seaside life. If Moana can't travel to Motufetu's location and raise it, life on her home island of Motunui will slowly die out. Evidently, the whole first movie was just Moana's first step towards greatness. To accomplish this, she'll need a crew, consisting of a smart, if pretty annoying craftswoman named Loto (Rose Matafeo), a historian named Moni (Hualalai Chung), who's also obsessed with Maui, and a grouchy farmer and elder named Kele (David Fane). And yeah, as one can easily predict, Maui eventually joins the crew as well, because... how else are they gonna raise the island? Along the way, the encounter several obstacles, including another, rather different experience with the Kakamora tribe (a tribe of anthropomorphic coconuts), a vampire bat type being named Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), and a whole realm that takes place within a giant clam, where Gramma Tala (Rachel House) can't use the ocean to help Moana anymore. All in all, once the crew reaches the giant clam and has their encounter with the Kakamora, things get a little bit confusing, or perhaps even convenient for the crew to keep moving. My one real gripe with it is just that. It seemed that whenever the chips were down here, some kind of miraculous moment would happen that spares them. It all just feels too damn easy. After a while, there's no sense of dread or potential failure from this like you had with the first. It's still bright, flashy, beautifully animated, and the songs are mostly kinda catchy. But if you go into this thinking its gonna be the same, or better quality than the first, it's not. This one could have done the "straight-to-D+" thing, really. But still, it's decent for what it is, and I do think the youthful fans of the original will enjoy it just fine. 3/5  A full twenty-four years after the release of the grand-scale epic that was 'Gladiator,' its sequel has finally come along (if you were ever really wanting one). To be fair, a sequel has been in a sort of development Hell for quite some time now - as early as 2001. But, like so many movies that make call-backs to older films, I wasn't sure how to take this. Was this just chasing a paycheck with a popular title, or was this going to be just as awesome as the first one, trying new and different things? Upon viewing it, let's just say I have mixed emotions.
Director, Ridley Scott makes a return, resurrecting one of his biggest successes. He was always one of those directors who was kind of hit or miss, but when he hit, he hit hard. So there was no reason for me to believe he wouldn't take good care of his "baby". But, while it wasn't really a bad movie, it lacks so much of the heart and soul that was put into the first, and it just doesn't compare. So before I get into it, just know that it's my humble opinion that 'Gladiator' is still a perfectly fine stand-alone movie, and at the end of the day, this just wasn't really necessary. Sixteen years after the events of the first film, Rome is ruled by Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger); a couple of twin emperors who might remind one of a couple of little toned down Joffrey Baratheons. Their Roman army, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) one day invades the North African kingdom of Numidia, where a refugee named Hanno (Paul Mescal) resides. The Romans overtake them, and Hanno, along with several other survivors, are enslaved and taken to Ostia to undergo a gladiatorial challenge in an arena against a bunch of frankly demonic-looking baboons. During the fight, Hanno taps into his feral side and kills one baboon, impressing stable master Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Taking Hanno under his wing, Macrinus promises him a chance to kill Acacius through winning a number of fights in Rome. Throughout the film, secrets are revealed about Hanno's past that may complicate things for the viewer a bit, if they haven't seen the first film. Having said that, a lot of the big reveals aren't necessarily shocking either. It's a fine film, but all in all, we've kinda been here and done this. I think if I'm to look at this critically, I can find many more flaws in it than I could the first one, which has aged incredibly well. Part of that aging includes things like practical effects with dabs of CG, 'Jurassic Park' style (also holds up). Here, we get things like these baboons, which look cool, but not real. More like something from a horror movie. Also, sharks, which the person I saw it with pointed out as ridiculous because... how? They filled the Coliseum with water to stage naval battles known as "Naumachiae" sometimes, but that's about it. The film has its good share of positives though, and they're not to be overlooked. Performances were great by everyone involved, be they classic perfection like Denzel, or newcomers like Mescal (new to me, anyway). But my favorutie character here was an ex-gladiator named Ravi (Alexander Karim) who basically helps Hanno with his injuries, and words of wisdom - a truly likeable character. It's also just a pretty good story, despite, at times, taking its cues from what worked with the original film. If I were to make some sort of a comparison to another movie and its sequel, its something like 'Night of the Living Dead'/'Dawn of the Dead' - the first is a classic in its own right, and possibly one of the best films ever made, and the sequel, while pretty strong, just isn't the classic, which can easily stand alone. I think it's safe to say that this is a good time on the big screen if you're looking for something epic that doesn't involve superheroes. But the first 'Gladiator' is just too damn good for any sequel to compare. 3/5  I'm always game for a good Christmas movie that uses childlike imagination to its advantage. Such releases like 'Elf,' 'Arthur Christmas,' and even darker movies like 'Violent Night' have all accomplished this, and I'd be willing to admit that 'Red One' can go on that list as well. It may be on the lower part of the list, but I'd still strongly consider it. It's family friendly fun, and even though it uses some big names to put butts in seats, I'd say as a Christmas movie, it doesn't necessarily need the names for the story to work - which is a good thing.
I will say, however, that even though this movie manages to capture a bit of Christmas magic for the 2024 season, there are bits and pieces about it that may have made me give an eye-roll or shake my head for either being too silly, or too dramatic for the film's own good. But once again, this may just be me being nitpicky about an otherwise fun film, and it'll probably end up being one of those movies where the more I watch it, the more it grows on me, and might find a better spot on that aforementioned "Christmas Magic" list of greats. We meet Santa, a.k.a. Nick, a.k.a. Red (J.K. Simmons) as he visits kids at a shopping mall, along with his muscle, Callum "Cal" Drift (Dwayne Johnson), head commander of the E.L.F. (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) whose job is to keep Santa protected. During their visit, Cal begins to get disillusioned with how bad the world has become, especially the teenagers and adults. He even uses the ever-growing Naughty List to prove his point, and he means to retire, but not after one final ride. On the night of Christmas Eve, a group of professionals infiltrates the North Pole and kidnaps Santa, on account of mercenary hacker, Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) accidentally hacks something that just so happens to interfere with the North Pole's hidden location, leading some sort of operation straight to Santa. One day, as Jack comes home, he's apprehended by members of M.O.R.A. (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority), led by Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu), and brought in for questioning. Being that they have the wrong guy, and Jack claims to be able to find anything or anyone, he reluctantly agrees to work with Cal (or perhaps more dragged by the ear) to find and rescue Santa Claus from his kidnapper, and hopefully save Christmas in time. This brings me back to my point about melodrama. When the threat of "no Christmas" pops its head up in this movie, the doom and gloom tone that follows this makes it feel like a nuke is about to be dropped nearby. Being that it's for kids, I can let it slide, but watching as an adult, it's a pretty silly moment. In the meantime, there's a B story going on in which Jack plays the role of deadbeat Dad to his son, Dylan (Wesley Kimmel) and the whole song and dance about how he needs to learn how much his son needs him etc. We've seen it many times before. But luckily, it doesn't take centre stage here, and the real focus is on the unlikely duo that is The Rock and Human Torch (I'd say Cap, but he's not that pure), which delivers its fair share of giggles and good times, but nothing necessarily laugh-out-loud either. I appreciated the film using things to its advantage like a non-horror version of Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) and the Christmas Witch, Grýla (Kiernan Shipka) from Icelandic folklore (given a much more child-friendly makeover). The ninja snowmen from the trailer are also pretty great, and I daresay original. I think where the film finds itself lacking, however, is the all-around heart that's usually put into these movies. There are moments, but predictable ones, and you don't necessarily leave with the "warm fuzzies." But still, the movie is fun, harmless, and something the whole family can appreciate for Christmas, 2024. 3/5  As far as this Sony-verse goes, it's no secret at this point that the only movies in the handful of life-action superhero/supervillain adaptations worth a damn are the 'Venom' movies. While perhaps not necessarily THE story of Venom we all know and love, they did okay with what they had to work with, made it their own concept, and the character of Eddie Brock/Venom is a hell of a lot closer than he was in 'Spidey 3.' So, surely, noted as being the final 'Venom' movie, this should be going out with a bang, right?
I think there's a lot to this that fans will appreciate, but I also think that of the three, this was probably the weakest, when it should have been the strongest. It picks up from the stinger of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' in which Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) finds himself in the MCU, chatting with a bartender, only to be sent back to the Sony-verse, leaving behind a trace of Symbiote material (which is in the MCU's hands now). Back home, the pair are on the run after the events of the previous film, which killed off Det. Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham), leaves them the primary suspect. In an attempt to start a new life, however, Eddie and Venom decide to head to New York City. On the way, however, the pair are attacked by an alien creature known as a Xenophage, sent by Symbiote creator, Knull (Andy Serkis). Long ago, his Symbiotes overthrew him, and trapped him in a prison to prevent him from taking over the universe with his power. In order to get free of said prison, Knull sends these Xenophages to Earth to retrieve a Codex, which will be able to free him, and allow him to carry out his plans. The Codex is formed is a Symbiote's host dies, and the Symbiote is able to resurrect him, which we saw happen in the first film. As long as Venom is in full form over Eddie, the Codex acts like a beacon for the Xenophages, so throughout the film, Venom does a lot of hiding away. So now, they're not only on the run from a deadly alien creature, but the law as well. It gets even better, when Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) enters the picture, overseeing an operation called "Imperium", at (where else?) Area 51, in which the Symbiotes who have fallen to Earth get studied. While Strickland is very much of the mind that these Symbiotes have landed for some sort of alien invasion, researchers Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple) and Sadie "Christmas" (Clark Backo) have different opinions, and resort to a whole "don't judge a book by its cover" side-plot when it comes to the Symbiotes. And I'm gonna go ahead and suggest that the B story here sort of takes a front seat to things. Everything going on in this lab is far more fascinating than Eddie/Venom just... running and hiding for the most part. Eddie/Venom still delivers when we see them together, although at times it gets a bit too silly. I mean, for the first time since 2007, I feel like we have a Symbiote who literally dances himself into humiliation, and it's pretty cringe-worthy. That said, there are a few just as solid scenes to this, like the Symbiote horse, and the pair finally saying "we are Venom!" before devouring a bunch of thugs like the "Lethal Protector" we all know and love. But it really does feel like they're on the run from a non-threat. While the Xenophages provide some stiff competition, Knull, himself, is one of the laziest-written villains I've eve seen in my life. If you've come to see Knull in all his glory, I'm afraid you're SOL, because he's barely here, and when he is, he's just sitting there with his head down, looking gothic. So just to be clear, first threat, Riot, second threat, Carnage, third threat (though admittedly tough), Xenophage, NOT Knull. Anyway, it's fine for a third film, but I'd say easily the weakest of the three, trying to do too much, and amounting to too little. And what's super curious about this being a supposed "finale" - there's a stinger! 2/5  Let me start this one off by putting my cards on the table and fully admitting that I know basically nothing about this series. I've never once picked up one of these games, and my peers have often wondered how that was possible, as it's a franchise that seems right up my alley. Regardless, this means that while watching the movie, I wasn't trying to point out everything wrong about the adaptation. As far as I'm concerned, this could be a carbon copy of the game's story - I have no clue. Having said all that, however... this movie is still pretty bad.
Taking place on Planet Pandora (not to be confused with the one from 'Avatar'), the film opens as a rogue merc soldier named Roland (Kevin Hart) takes a teen known as "Tiny Tina" (Ariana Greenblatt) out of a holding cell with the help of Krieg (Florian Munteanu), a "Psycho," which are mostly here to be "bad guys" with little to no explanation behind them. According to the games, they have gone insane with obsession over "The Vault," where the secrets of Pandora's lost civilization's advanced technology are kept. It turns out that Tina may be the key to opening said vault, and Roland's motivation is for her protection. On some other planet, bounty hunter, Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is contacted by a powerful corporate magnate named Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), who convinces her to go to Pandora and seek out Tina, who happens to be his daughter, not as a bounty hunt but a rescue attempt. Once Lilith reaches Pandora, she gets a bit of help from a robot named Claptrap (Jack Black), who is far, far more irritating than we all want Jack Black to be. He's meant to be the comic relief here, and just about everything falls flat. The jokes are more for kids here. Anyway, eventually Lilith and Claptrap meet up with Tina, who won't go quietly, under the assumption Lilith is bringing her in for a bounty. It's not long before Roland and Krieg come into play, we find out Atlas is crooked (as if it wasn't predictable), and they all end up working as a team that is trying far too hard to be the 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. Eventually they also get help from Lilith's estranged foster mother, Dr. Patricia Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and even she feels kinda tacked on, just so they could complete a character list. The film essentially becomes one big escort mission, as the unlikely team forms around Tina's protection so she can't be used for all the wrong reasons. As if it's not already stealing a lot of atmosphere from 'Guardians', and again, not knowing anything about the underlying plots of these games, the whole "protecting the chosen one" plot line is ripped right out of 'The Last of Us'. To be 100% fair, even then it wasn't an entirely original concept, but it does feel like Eli Roth looked at the TV series, said "that idea works," and rolled with it. One of the most criminal things about this movie is its rating. This thing is a PG-13 title (PG up here in the Great White North) and it's based on a solid M-rated series, thus taking a gigantic step backwards for video game adaptations, be it theatrical or streaming. It's a genre that was finally beginning to see some light, and then this thing came along and knocks it all onto its ass. For God's sake, 'Deadpool' set this R-rated bar for adaptations ages ago! Eli Roth, a master of gory, torture porn horror directed this M-rated movie with NO R-rating, which also gives adaptations in general a gigantic step backwards. Usually, if I get to see something everyone else is panning that I'm unfamiliar with, I tend to give it a little leeway. But with everything I mentioned before, along with a star-studded cast of disappointing, non-fleshed out characters, bad writing, pacing that moves way too fast, action sequences that seem almost thrown in just because "action is cool" (Michael Bay style) and a lot of telling as opposed to showing, with Blachett's narration, it's hard to give this any kind of pass. Honestly, it just left me happy that I wasn't more disappointed in it as a game adaptation with my unfamiliarity. These game adaptations can do better! 1/5  It's kinda crazy to think of myself as a guy who appreciates imagination after having grown up with a LOT of imaginative and creative material, yet never hearing of 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' until this movie came along. Not only is it a famous kids book, but it was also adapted into a series of shorts over the years, featured on 'Captain Kangaroo' (not that I really watched it), and even featured as a short-run animated series in 2001, narrated by Sharon Stone. You'd think just word of mouth would have gotten to me, eventually.
The story (which is also the opening to the movie) involves four-year-old Harold, who has the power to create his own world, simply by drawing it with his purple crayon. He creates, and creates, but eventually gets tired and wants to go home to bed, so has to search for his bedroom window. Soon enough, he remembers where his bedroom window is, and makes himself a bed to dose off in, "the end." But the opening of the film continues Harold's (Zachary Levi) adventures, as he grows up and creates his two best friends, Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds). As the opening shows you all of this in animation, it's being narrated by Alfred Molina; someone Harold can actually communicate with as he tells Harold's stories. One day, Harold tries calling out to the narrator, and realizes he seems to have gone missing. Knowing that the narrator lives in the real world, however, Harold comes up with a simple solution by drawing a door to the "Real World" and opening it up, providing him a portal to Earth as we know it. You wanna roll your eyes at the simplicity of it, but at the same time, I admire that they just went with it, because if they didn't, we'd be asking "why doesn't he just?" Harold enters the real world with Moose, who turns into a human, but Porcupine gets left behind. They immediately get into an accident with a lady named Terry (Zooey Deschanel) and her son, (*cringe*) Melvin (Benjamin Bottani), ultimately giving them a place to stay, once Harold uses his purple crayon to fix Terry's tire. By the way, Mel sees this, Terry doesn't, and that's something that gets repeated time and time again throughout the film to a fault. But anyway, Harold and Mel become friends, which may or may not be creepy depending on who you are, but it is at least addressed by Terry more than once. Eventually, Mel offers to help Harold find his "Dad" (the narrator), and that's essentially what the movie is all about, while on the side, Zooey Deschanel is basically reprising her role from 'Elf' as a somewhat bitter lady who needs to cheer up through the help of a colourful main character. Meanwhile, Porcupine does end up entering the real world, but her story is a bit more fun, as she basically becomes a criminal through her actions, but really, she's just doing what porcupines do. It's a bit like watching 'Smurfs' where live-action Gargamel is the best part of an otherwise typical fish-out-of-water story. A lot of logic really irked me with this one. So many moments involve Terry dismissing the purple crayon magic as nonsense, and somewhat shunning her own kid for his overactive imagination. But either Harold OR Mel (who gets his own piece of the crayon) could show her how it all works, and for some dumb reason don't, even when the climax his happening, involving our villain; a failed author named Gary (Jemaine Clement), whose motivation through the movie involves using the purple crayon to bring his imaginary world to life, and hopefully getting with Terry. But I must say, for as stupid as things like that come across, there's a particular innocence about the movie that can't be overlooked. As far as truly family-friendly movies go, despite an irksome moment or two, it's fine. It's generally harmless, kinda fun in a kid's movie kind of way, and it's a solid reminder of how well our imaginations can serve us in a time of need. 'IF' was very similar in tone and morality; this too is very much a kid's movie, and needs to be seen as such. For as irksome as some of the more obvious things can be, I can say with all honesty that I'd have eaten this movie up when I was a kid. 3/5  Every once in a while, a movie (remake/sequel, or re-imagining) will come along, shows me a trailer, and I'll wonder why the hell I should care. A lot of the time, my hunches about it are correct, and the film ends up being nothing but an easy cash-in for its respective studio. However, while pretty much all such titles are guilty of their cash-in methods, sometimes its done right. Sometimes the film will deliver good and memorable characters, a decent story, and in cases like 'Twisters', a huge leap forward in special effects.
I have always been one to defend 1996's 'Twister' as a fun popcorn action/adventure movie for a time when that kind of thing was what ran the box office - not superheroes. Even though by today's standards 'Twister' may not hold up for some, it was still something I thought didn't need any sort of sequel, as it stood on its own as a disaster classic (that's the genre, not the actual quality of the movie, though some will disagree). The trailer for this had me saying things like "so, they're just making the same movie?" To some degree I was kinda, sorta right about that, but upon seeing this, I decided I liked this chapter just a touch better than the classic disaster movie I had been defending so hard. This takes all the fun of 'Twister' and cranks it to eleven by offering up much, much better twister/storm scenes; most of which I understand were shot by technical consultants, including real-life storm chaser, Sean Casey (who seems to somehow go uncredited here, but his resume speaks for itself). Much like with the original, the opening of the film involves our lead, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) losing people important to her due to a tornado's brutal force. In this case, its during an attempt to launch a Dorothy V doppler (as seen in the original). While in the original it was done to study a tornado and its patterns in an attempt to predict them earlier, this time it involves using sodium polyacrylate beads meant to try to shrink the tornado, and make it less disastrous, and I'm sure this is not scientifically sound, but I'll come back to that. Kate and her friend, Javi (Anthony Ramos) survive the incident, but the experiment was ultimately unsuccessful, and Kate ends up blaming herself for the deaths of her colleagues, seemingly over nothing. She quits storm chasing, but Javi continues, and soon enough comes back into her life to get the plot moving. Now working for a company called Storm Par, Javi invites Kate to join them and try a new tornado scanning system. Of course, she eventually agrees based on the idea that they could be saving lives, especially with her keen senses. The team comes across "The Tornado Wrangler", Tyler Owens (Glen Powell); a wild cowboy type who chases these storms for kicks, and throws them onto YouTube. It's actually with this that the movie starts getting interesting, not only because it gets more fun, but it also dabbles with the concept of different companies and how they profit after a tornado has touched down. It's a good look at both sides of the equation, who's crooked, who's charitable, etc. I have to hand it to the film for giving us a generous combination of both a cash-in with its nostalgic-poking title, and actually delivering a product that was worked on as opposed to just being pushed out, hoping a name will put butts in seats. Much like its predecessor, it's a far from perfect movie, but it is a friendly reminder that sometimes we don't need to take movies like this so seriously. With great lines like "you don't face your fears, you ride 'em," one's clearly meant to have fun with this. 4/5  Even though we all know that this is just another chapter in a series that can make some serious bank off those Minions, it's nice to see that despite a couple of rough entries into the series, it hasn't entirely lost its heart. If I were to compare this to one of the chapters in the series as far as quality goes, I would probably put it up against 'DM2', as it offers more growth to Gru's family (without his annoying brother), balances the cute moments between the girls and the Minions well, and offers more genuine laughs while still being a warmhearted story.
We're at a point in the game now where audiences are going to be split about a few things concerning the film. Most obviously, the Minions have been running amok in the public eye for years now, and it's understandable that many will just be tired enough by now to avoid seeing this. But beyond that, it has been going as a series since 2010, so by now, some people who enjoyed it as kids are also starting to really outgrow the cutesy stuff this series is so well-known for. I get that some people are just plain done with it. That said, I plan to review this as more of a hanger-on to the series, as I'm still a fan, so non-fans need not continue. As the film opens, Gru (Steve Carell) heads to a villain reunion at his old villain school Lycée Pas Bon (which translates quite literally to "Not Good High School"). Undercover, and still working for the Anti-Villain League, he's there to stop his old rival, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) before he uses his newly applied cockroach powers to take over the world. Gru is successful in his arrest, but it doesn't last when Maxime is busted out of prison with the help of his girlfriend, Valentina (Sofía Vergara). Maxime has been holding onto a grudge against Gru for ages now, as Gru stole his act for the school talent show when they were kids. Now this grudge becomes tenfold, and Maxime intends on using a machine he's developed to turn people into human/cockroach hybrids directly on Gru and Lucy's newborn son, Gru Jr. With this, head of AVL, Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) forces Gru and his family into the witness protection program in order to protect Gru's growing family. With that, the family all take on new identities, even though Agnes (Madison Skyy Polan) has trouble with lying being "wrong," and five Minions who have been taken in by the AVL are subjected to a super serum that gives them each super powers. This may very well be the best part of the movie, as it eventually provides commentary on how destructive superheroes can be, even though they're trying to do what's right. Quite frankly, I found the Minions to funnier there than they've been in a while - especially the poor guy who gets caught in a vending machine that no one seems to care about. Something else I appreciated about this story was that the B story to it mostly involved Gru as well, instead of the movie playing on the cuteness of the girls/minions for it. While in witness protection, Gru meets a young neighbour girl named Poppy Prescott (Joey King) who knows who he is, and wants to learn from him on how to become a villain. I won't get into spoiler territory concerning what it all leads up to, but altogether, I appreciated seeing something that lent itself to a bit of character development as opposed to... y'know, looking for unicorns. I think as long as you're anything like me and still have that soft spot for these characters, it's a perfectly enjoyable film, and a huge step forward from 'DM3'. It is nice to see the series seemingly finding its footing again. I don't know how much more life this series has in it, but as long as it continues down this kind of path, I'll keep coming to these movies just for that breath of innocent and fun fresh air we all need once in a while. As long as we keep the Minions and the girls as cute side characters and not main focuses, I'm here for it. 3/5 |
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