 If you were born some time before the year 2000, then chances are (unless you were still a baby), you might remember the whole big stink about the Y2K virus. To keep it real simple, it was the concept that computers, worldwide, would cease to operate properly, because old dating code, using two digits, could only go up to "99." So, when "00" flipped back over, it might be mistaken for 1900, and thus, potentially, things might crash, in more ways than one. It was a big deal that most rational people overlooked, but caused panic in others.
However, when midnight hit here in Southern Ontario, Canada, nothing happened, and it was easy to know nothing would happen, if it didn't happen in Australia several hours earlier. It was one of time's biggest pranks on humanity, and pretty silly to look back on and think about. But 'Y2K' here tries to answer the "what-if" question, had the Y2K virus been real. It does so in a comedic fashion that doesn't take itself seriously, which is great and all, but the overall execution here was honestly pretty brutal. As the film gets going, it plays out a bit more like your average teen comedy of the era, all too complete with call-backs to things from the late 90s that may be off by a year or two. We're introduced to teen best friends, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) who discuss what they wanna do for New Years Eve. At a store, the pair watch as Eli's crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler), and her friends swipe some alcohol for a party they're going to at Laura's boyfriend, "Soccer" Chris' (The Kid Laroi) house. Deciding to crash said party, Eli and Danny go, in the hopes that not only Eli might get his chance to kiss Laura at midnight, and that Danny can gain some popularity, which he somehow manages by dancing and signing along to Sisquo's 'Thong Song,' and it's pretty damn cringey. But just as things are looking up (for Danny, at least), midnight hits, the power goes out, and things go off the rails - not in a cool, badass, horror way, but in a stupid, juvenile, high school project way. Somehow, basically immediately, computers around Chris' house start getting super intelligent and running around killing the party people, panic ensues, and the viewer is left with the question of "how is that supposed to happen?" The film suggests computerized objects latching onto potentially more dangerous objects and assimilating. Think of wires coming out of some place on your PC and grabbing a lighter and a can of hairspray - it's gonna use it as a weapon (and this happens). But I guess one must remember that this is a comedy, too. The problem with this being a comedy is that it kinda just... isn't one. It seems that every time the movie tries to be funny, with the exception of maybe a faint snicker because things get so ridiculous, things just fall flat. The teen comedy side of it is just too typical (It's essentially 'Superbad' in the beginning), the horror isn't at all freaky, and the special effects here feel so much more from the late 80s, they look that cheesy. Oh, and I forgot the best part - Fred Durst shows up to play himself as if to desperately ask us "I still matter, right?" I generally like a good horror comedy, but this just didn't hit at all for me. It may end up being a bit more fun for anyone watching who was born after the turn of the century, but even that's a stretch. It came and went from theatres in the blink of an eye, and it's very easy to see why. This one isn't even really "throw-your-brain-out-the-window" fun, and there's wasted potential here. There are a few competitors for this title, but this might be the worst movie I saw in 2024. 1/5
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 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  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  While not quite being of age to be able to appreciate the original cast of 'SNL,' I do still have fond memories of staying up late in the early 90s to catch it in my generations prime. This was when lost, but great comedic talents like Chris Farley, Norm MacDonald and Phil Hartman were involved, and, I daresay, where a lot of us got our idea of what adult humour is while still in our youths. But none of it would have ever been possible if the show never made it off the ground in the first place, and that's what this is about.
To be more specific, it's about the tension and pressure of the show's air date on October 11, 1975, the chaos leading up to the 11:30 time slot, and the behind the scenes drama that occurred. At the heart of it is producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), who is simply trying to follow his vision through, dealing with all sorts of stress just hours before airtime, as he tries to pull it all together. And while that's the main story, it also deals with varying drama involving the actors and crew, most of which is exaggerated, or even partly made up for dramatic effect, so a lot of this is to be taken with a grain of salt. From what I've read about what did and did not actually happen that night, it seems clear that while liberties were taken, the purpose of it all was to relay to the viewer just how intense the spirit of everything felt. One may also take this as an example of not letting the facts get in the way of a good story, but I would strongly suggest not taking certain things here too seriously, and zero in on character personalities as opposed to sheer accuracy, as that seems to be more the point of the film. As far as said personalities go, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O'Brien) and John Belushi (Matt Wood) and Garrit Morris (Lamorne Morris) seem to be the main focuses. They respectively deal with inflated ego, Lorne's open-relationship with Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), a drug problem causing violent mood swings, and questioning why they're on set in the first place. In the meantime, the ladies, Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn) and Jane Curtin (Kim Matula) seem to just try to have fun. More big names pop up here, portraying a bit more of a cameo appearance, including host George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), big-shot Milton Berle (J.K. Simmons), and perhaps funniest throughout the movie, the one-two punch of Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson (both Nicholas Braun) who add a lot of lightheartedness to the otherwise stress-inducing night. Braun plays them both so innocently, one can't help but giggle whenever they pop up. Kaufman gets himself lost in the NBC building, and Henson has to deal with his Muppets getting made fun of. By the way, for as much as I laughed at most of what happens to Henson here, let it be known that the man is still a personal hero of mine, I love the Muppets, and it's wonderful to know that after all of this, he moved on to bigger and better things. But the way they make his character an equivalent to someone like Butters from 'South Park' makes for a lot of laughs, as he's a very PG-style man in a very R-rated atmosphere. Equally as funny is the censor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin), often mislead as to what certain phrases mean. When its put all together, it does make for some pretty good, if intense storytelling. But it will leave the viewer questioning its accuracy, and I would again stress not to take things too seriously here. There are various lists out there one can look up to answer their questions about what really happened that night. It's an interesting bit of film, nevertheless, and may very well encourage one to try to find that first episode to watch right after the movie, keeping all of that tension (which was very real, despite certain moments perhaps not being fully real) in mind. 3/5  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  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  Most who know me have understood that I had a certain connection with the first 'Inside Out'. It was one of Pixar's many movies that actually spoke to me in a deeper way about deeper things; in this case, one's emotions, using the base emotions of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. While I admired the film for having so many cool and original ideas as to how the brain worked by giving personality to these emotions, the big takeaway is that some of the more negative emotions are absolutely necessary for growth.
'Inside Out 2' brings all of your favourite emotions back, but this time with a couple of voice casting changes. While Joy, Sadness and Anger (Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black, respectively) are the same voices coming back to the stage, replacements were done with Fear (now Tony Hale) and Disgust (now Liza Lapira). The five core emotions are on a role with their girl Riley (Kensington Tallman) as she's living her best life, now at 13, doing well in school, playing hockey, making new friends, Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu) and still giving lots of love to her Mom (Diane Lane) and Dad (Kyle MacLachlan). Through all of her development in the past couple of years, Riley has developed her "sense of self", which is home to her select memories that become core beliefs. Joy even creates a mechanism that will fire Riley's negative memories to the back of her mind, thus filling her sense of self with positivity. Riley is soon brought to a hockey skills camp to train with her best friends, but is challenged when, not only do her friends fess up to going to a different school in the next year, but the "cool girls" take notice of her, namely the somewhat legendary Valentina (Lilimar). This is where the Puberty Alarm we say at the end of the previous film springs into action, and new emotions come into play, including Embarassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and last but certainly not least, Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Due to the clashing ideas on how to run things in Riley's brain, Anxiety takes things over, most regularly teamed up with Envy, and sends the five core emotions to the back of the brain, along with Riley's sense of self. So this time, Joy and the others have to try to find Riley's good sense of self and get it back to Headquarters, making the execution somewhat similar. Having said that, however, the way this is all executed is nothing short of brilliant in my mind. I gave the first one a lot of credit for how it did things, but being one of those people who has had to find a way to curb his own anxiety, there was so much relatability to this movie, even to the point where I admittedly shed a few tears here and there because this was a film that completely understood what anxiety was and how it worked. The idea that Anxiety replaces Joy is sort of key, and there's even a few bits of dialogue here that tap into things. I also like what they did with Riley here because, like I'm sure many have done, I have gone through that exact thing. That inner struggle of whether you want to try to remain lyal to your good friends despite you feeling they may hold you back, or going with the popular kids to try to fit in and be what you think might be better. All things I've learned the hard way over time, and my sincerest apologies to those of my friends I've hurt along the way, due to my social blindness. It should be said that in many ways, this one is more mature than the first one. But I see this one a lot like I see 'Soul' in that regard. It's a movie that doesn't dumb anything down for the kids, involves some fairly mature themes, and will tug at one's heartstrings no matter what the age. But if you suffer from anything like depression or anxiety, I HIGHLY encourage you to check both of these movies out, especially this one, as it understand what you're going through, and may even provide comfort in its understanding. It reminds us that we're nor alone, and that while Anxiety can be a real bitch, Joy can be found if you look hard enough. 5/5  Just to get it out of the way, no, I am not here to talk about that time Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, and that having an effect on how I saw him in this movie. Speaking personally, I just wanted to see this as I did the previous instalments of this franchise with these two buddy cops playing off each other - one, the smooth ladies man who gets shit done, the other, the comedy relief. Having said that, I have to say, Smith and Lawrence are still perfectly likeable in their respective roles as Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett.
Having said that, however, the guys have reached an age where they ought to be ready to retire. Maybe squeeze one more film out, but if so, make it a finale at this point. This was a series that was successfully resurrected, and we don't wanna drive it into the ground. In fact, the whole thing starts with a nod at their age, when Mike ends up getting married to his physical therapist, Christine (Melanie Liburd), and Marcus ends up having himself a heart attack on the dance floor, thanks to eating too much greasy food. In his brief coma, Marcus has a vision of the now deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) who tells him it isn't his time. After this, Marcus starts to run on the assumption that he cannot be killed, and has a bit of a mental break. It does get pretty funny, even if at times it feels forced and you get about as frustrated with him as Mike does. I have to say, he can hold his own here, but I do prefer Lawrence's performance in the first two films. That said, he sort of remains the heart of the film. Soon, a news report accuses Captain Howard of having ties to drug cartels, thus making him a corrupt cop. Mike and Marcus become determined to prove their former captain's innocence, which includes working with Howard's killer (spoiler alert for those who haven't seen 'BB4L' yet), Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio) who happens to be... actually, y'know, maybe I'll just leave that part out. But it does become interesting in this film when the filmmakers decided to have him work on the side of good. As more is revealed about the corruption in their own police department, Mike, Marcus and Armando have to pretty much become fugitives from the crooked law, just to prove their captain's innocence and someone else's guilt. In the meantime, hellbent on revenge for her father's death, is U.S. Marshal, Judy Howard (Rhea Seehorn), whose primary target is Armando. There's definitely more to the plot here, but that's pretty well the gist of it: the Bad Boys find themselves as fugitives after their captain is found to be corrupt, and they try to clear his name against a crooked police force. As far as the action goes, it really hasn't died out yet, and it's about as faithful as ever. Even the series creator Michael Bay shows up for a brief cameo, and potentially to make sure his creation is being done justice. You're not gonna get the sheer fun of 'BBII' here, but it's definitely a good follow-up to 'BB4L', as we're getting into these guys' later years, and some real-life shit is finally starting to come to light for these guys. I must also mention Reggie's (Dennis Greene) character development and his stand-alone, show-stealing scene here. No spoilers, but holy shit, is it ever awesome! It's my opinion that as far as the 'Bad Boys' series goes, 'BBII' will always be the definitive one, and that's going totally against the grain of other critics, but somehow I feel flowing with audiences who remember the fun days of action movies. This is a little closer to the last instalment in that while it's fine, it may prove to be a little more forgettable over time than the first two, which were both instant action classics. But it is safe to say the heart is still there, and Michael Bay's baby is being well taken care by the directorial team of Adil & Blall. 4/5  Now here's a movie that provides a good opportunity to remind people that just because Ryan Reynolds is Ryan Reynolds, his name is much more than the raunchy comedies, horror flicks (yes, I said horror) and the character we all recognize him as probably best at this point, Deadpool. While I have to admit this wasn't anything great, it was kinda nice to see Reynolds take on that family-friendly tone again here, showing more range with his work, much like with 'The Adam Project.'
My apologies, however, this isn't a Ryan Reynolds biography. I just wanted to mention it because I feel like a lot of people will flock to this movie because of Ryan Reynolds without fully realizing how much of a children's film it really is. And because of that, I can't help but give it a bit of leeway on my criticisms. I left the film thinking that it could have been much better, and expecting a "family film" more than the "kid's film" it turned out to be. But honestly, that's fine. It wasn't made for us adults in mind, and these types of movies are few and far between these days. Let the kids have it. The general synopsis involves Bea (Cailey Fleming) who's going through a bit of an 'Up'-like opening credit sequence, and it ends with her moving into her grandmother Margaret's (Fiona Shaw) apartment, while she waits for her father (John Krasinski - who also directs this far cry from 'A Quiet Place') to undergo heart surgery. She's 12 years old, and at that age where childhood starts slipping away, the more serious side of life starts being shown to her, and things start getting tough. That is until she encounters a strange creature, accompanying a strange man, whom she follows into her grandmother's apartment complex one day. Eventually the man is revealed to be a former clown named Cal (Reynolds) who heads a failing base of operations in which he finds homes for "IFs" (Imaginary Friends) by attempting to pair them up with kids who may need them, as their original kids have grown up and forgotten about them. The main two are the poster creature for this film, a giant, fluffy, purple guy named Blue (Steve Carell), and an old black & white cartoon-style butterfly named Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). The rest is pretty much just about Bea helping Cal with his operation. Along the way, Bea is introduced to several IFs, including a teddy bear named Lewis (Louis Gossett Jr.), who helps them both out and inspires Bea to use her imagination more, and the friendliest little kid named Benjamin (Alan Kim) who, if I'm perfectly honest, really does play a ray of sunshine in this movie. The kid is found with broken limbs in the hospital, and he just kinda jokes about falling a lot, perpetually seeing the bright side of life. He's basically where they start with trying to pair off IFs, and is very much a side character, but he'll leave you with a smile. If I have any real criticisms about the film, its that a lot of the jokes kinda fall flat. I can honestly say that nothing here gave me a good, genuine laugh. Aside from that, there's a scene or two that seemingly comes out of the blue and feels nonsensical despite the fact that there IS a reason for the scene. This is heaviest in a scene in which Bea uses her imagination to rebuild a facility for the IFs. It kinda just turns into a music video for a while, and took me out of the movie despite how creative it got. It was a scene I had no idea how to react to. Despite a few nitpicks and criticisms though, one must be reminded again that this IS a kid's film, depicting much more innocence than your average family film, which generally have a lesson or moral to in them. I think largely of Pixar films as an example. To me, this wasn't much more that a simple take on "don't grow up too fast" and "there's always room for imagination." It's all well and good for kids, but us adults won't get much more out of it than just being a sweet movie. It reminded me quite a bit of 'My Neighbour Totoro,' but Americanized. So take the kids and enjoy a bit of innocence. Just don't expect anything mind-blowing. 3/5  Where do I start when it comes to how much I actually loved this movie? I guess I'll go with my all-out opinion on its director, David Leitch. With such solid titles as 'Bullet Train,' 'Deadpool 2,' 'Atomic Blonde' (which more people really need to check out), and the perhaps less appreciated, but super fun, 'Hobbs & Shaw.' I love this guy's style as an action director, and when he works with the right people, he can create something that takes you back to what blockbuster entertainment value used to be about.
For this movie in particular, Leitch reconnects with writer Drew Pearce ('Hobbs & Shaw') and brings in co-writer Glen A. Larson, who's best known for his television writing on resurrected shows like 'Battlestar Galactica,' 'Magnum PI,' and 'Hawaii 5-0.' I wanna give this trio a lot of credit here, because it feels like they've delivered something here that just about anyone can enjoy. It's funny, it's action-packed, it's charming, and it's unique in that it's an underdog hero film about that unsung hero of film that is the stuntman. Said stuntman here is Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) who works in Hollywood as a stunt double for action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). He has an off-screen romance with a camerawoman named Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), loves his work and is living the dream. That is until one day, a stunt goes terribly wrong, Colt injures himself severely, and he abandons his career, leaving Jodi behind. He takes a job as a valet, in the meantime, parking cars with style for the rich and snobby. One day, Colt gets a call from producer, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) with the news that Jody is directing her first film, wanting Colt to join the production in Sydney, Australia. Colt jumps at the opportunity, despite being hesitant, but soon finds out why he was really brought in - to use his stuntman skills to find Tom Ryder, who has disappeared. His absence marks the film's cancellation, and he's needed back on set for it to go on. Not wanting Jody's film to fall through the cracks, Colt agrees, and the film picks up from there. When considering the film as a whole, there's so much I admire about its execution. One of the biggest details for me is that you have the ex-couple here throughout the movie, but their dialogue isn't just a bunch of bickering back and forth because for some reason people think that's funny. The few times they do get into any kind of fight, it's nothing overboard or stupid, and it's generally padded with real humour. For anyone who has seen this, the bullhorn scene is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. All that aside, it's always admirable to see some action with less CG and more genuine stunt work, and this movie is full of that. Some of the stunts end up being pretty unique, as well, my favourite being a bit of street surfing, which one can also catch a bit of in the trailer. There's even a long credit sequence here where they take you behind the scenes to see the real stuntmen at work on the film, which is admirable, as that's what the film is all about. I have to further credit it for being directed by a stunt coordinator. It's a great, unique idea. I can admit that at the end of the day, the film as a whole may end up somewhat predictable for some, and we've definitely seen the general plot of the famous person going missing and the unlikely hero(es) having to find them. But it's the execution of things I really admire here. It sort of stands as proof that in all honesty, a PG-13-rated action movie can still be a whole lot of fun. On a persoal level, I really loved what they came up with here, and it's bound to be on my "favourites" list of 2024. This is one I can recommend to the masses, so go have fun with this one if you haven't yet! 5/5  Like with many 'Ghostbusters' fans who were looking forward to this movie, I read and watched a few critic reviews for it before going in. It wasn't doing well, and my only reaction to it was as simple as "wait for the fans' reaction". Thankfully, almost across the board, fans came out of this thinking it was pretty great, but also really drilling into critics for having their opinions. And when it comes to such a divide as that, that's when I really enjoy writing my reviews, as I can easily see the argument from both sides.
Now, I'm not gonna sit here at my desk ripping something to pieces, but if I'm brutally honest with myself, I left the theatre liking it more than I probably actually did overall, as my fandom was kind of cranked to eleven for this. But don't worry, I'll get into everything I liked about it just as much, and at the end of the day, I'm still a huge fan of all of this, and would love to see more. But I should say that when I want to see more, I want to see this new crew move on with their new missions after this because as far as I'm concerned, the torch has officially been passed. We hit the ground running with the new Ghostbuster crew/family, consisting of the Spenglers, Callie (Carrie Coon) and her kids, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Callie's now intimate partner, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) as they drive Ecto-1 through the streets of Manhattan, giving chase to a ghost, and showing us how their skills have evolved over the past few years. Presumably, the old firehouse was handed to them by Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) after the torch was sort of passed to this family at the end of the last film, and they are the new Ghostbusters. In the aftermath of this destructive mission, the Spenglers are brought in front of Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton), who has been looking for an excuse to shut down the Ghostbusters for ages. As leverage, the now somewhat rebelious 15-year-old Phoebe is taken out of the field, and the story turns largely more about her being upset about things and needing to "grow up", show more responsibility, listen to her mother, etc. She evntually meets and befriends a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) and everything between them feels very much inspired by 'Casper the Friendly Ghost' concepts. Meanwhile, our side characters Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) work for Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston, respectively, studying haunted and possessed objects and testing new equipment, some of which has the ability to extract a spirit from an object and trap it, indefinitely. One day, a guy named Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani) brings Ray a mysterious orb that has been in his family for ages, and inside said orb lies the big baddie threat of this movie, a master of ice a snow, a demon-like creature named Garraka who, if freed, will wreak frozen havok on the world. Critically, we have the return of these mini marshmallow men who, despite how cute they are, are basically here to be 'Despicable Me'. They seem to still be attached to Podcast in some way from the last movie, where they're also not explained very well. The best I can do is that they are meant to be leftover spiritual residue from the first fight with Gozer, which is where the 100-foot Marshmallow Man came into play. Besides that, we also already had out big nostalgic hit with 'Afterlife', so I don't see a whole lot of reason to throw so much of it at us at this point. Although the old toy commercials were a pretty great flashback. But for as much as I understand where critics are coming from with this, I have to admit that I still had fun with this for the most part. But it's a bit more about developing Phoebe and pretty much only Phoebe while giving us a bit of the old crew, namely Ray (who almost carries this movie) and Winston while Peter (Billy Murray), Janine (Annie Potts) and even Slimer are really only there for nostalgic purposes. Bottom line, If you're a long-time fan, check it out. If nothing else, it'll be a fun ride. If you're a critic, you're just doing your job, and even as a die hard fan of all this, I can't deny that it could have been much better than it was. 3/5  To this series credit, I can say with all honesty that I find it to be altogether pretty solid. And right off the bat, I'll tell you that this instalment may have been, altogether, my least favourite of the bunch. But it's still a lot of fun, and carries on Po's (Jack Black) story even further, just when we thought '3' might very well be about as far as Po could get, becoming a full-fledged "Dragon Warrior" and Grand Master of Kung Fu, becoming Master Oogway's successor. It's a "happily ever after" ending to things, and I didn't entirely expect much more from it.
I won't go into very great detail on Po's development here, and the lessons and takeaways the three previous films give. For more on that, head over to my "Gearing Up" page for reviews on all three. Back to the point, however, it seems as though that "happily ever after" ending followed through, as we pick things up with Po being a hero to the Valley of Peace and bathing a little bit in his celebrty status which he also uses to help his adoptive goose Dad, Mr. Ping (James Hong), and his biological Dad, Li (Bryan Cranston) open a new and improved noodle restaurant. Soon, however, Po's sensei, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) comes in, as usual, to drive the plot forward. Even though we may have thought Po's development couldn't go much further, it seems there's just one more thing he has to do, and that's to name a successor, as Oogway did, seemingly not to long ago with him. This will also mean passing down the mantle of "Dragon Warrior" to whoever it might be, and that's not something Po is entirely ready to do, illustrating quite plainly that for as much as Po has gone, he still has a bit of growing up to do. But this time, he will not have the Furious Five to help out, as they are each off on missions or just living their respective lives in different ways. Auditions are held, and the fighters are impressive, but Po's attention goes to a thief fox he catches in the act named Zhen (Awkwafina), instead. And with word of Tai Lung (Ian McShane) returning (the villain from the original film) demands Po to check it out, he uses the opportunity to bring Zhen along and teach her a thing or two along the way, generally having to do with attitude as opposed to fighting skills, which she shows she has. We soon find out that the actual culprit is a Chameleon named... the Chameleon (Viola Davis) who has the ability to shapeshift and use the abilities of Kung Fu masters she has bested. The Chameleon's motivation in all of this is to get her hands on Po's staff (which he received from Ooogway in the Spirit Realm in the previous film) which will giver her the ability to open the Spirit Realm and steal even more Chi (again, refer to 'Kung Fu Panda 3') from the deceased masters. Now it's up to Po to stop her with the help of his unlikely apprentice. In the meantime, there's a sidequest involving Mr. Ping and Li going after Po because they worry he might not be able to pull his mission off, and to that degree, it's a little more of the same. Ping has always been a it of an annoyand with that, and now Li's doing the same thing. I have a few other little nitpicks here and there, but they are nitpicks. For example, this is another animated movie that does the thing where we see a group of adorable, puppydog-eyed kids who ultimately become little terrors, which is something I tend to find fairly cliche at this point. But at the same time, it is one of those cliches I can put up with for a chuckle. I also missed the Furious Five in this, but of course, I do understand their absense. They weren't necessarily needed, and to be fair, it is quite a cast, just between those five characters. Again, these are minor nitpicks. I think the biggest takeaway from this is that at this point, 'Kung Fu Panda' should probably finally come to an end with this. It may be my least favourite of the bunch, but it's still surprisingly enjoyable if maybe a little, tiny bit stale after a 16-year run. Thankfully, the films have been spread far enough apart, however, which adds to the enjoyablity of it all. Don't flood us with things, make us want things. All in all, this is a super solid series of animated movies that provide themes on growth, acceptence, being an all-around good person, and even finding one's path in life. I can highly recommend it for anyone with some growing to do, and that includes some adults! 3/5  This was one of those titles this year that sort of hovered in existence amid other titles that might put butts in seats. Admittedly, the advertising for this one wasn't entirely effective, and I was only really drawn in by Ethan Coen's name behind the film along with the stylistic look of it. The thing is, the trailer is altogether pretty misleading, offering up a fun road-trip looking 'Thelma & Louise' style adventure with a few solid names attached to it. The reality is that this is more of a story about two contrasting lesbian characters than anything else.
To be perfectly clear, I don't have a problem with what the film turned out to be, it's just that it didn't turn out to be what I expected. It should also be noted that the other big names we see in the trailer like Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal are barely a part of things, and show up just to say "look who's here!" And while the film isn't without a bit of casually dark humour as Ethan Coen is known for, in order to enjoy this one to any degree, one will have to let go of some of the greater expectations they have from the name. In other words, this could be considered another 'Burn After Reading' for some. Taking place in 1999, Philadelphia, we meet Jamie (Margaret Qualley), a lady living her life in the fast lane, cheating enough on her lover, Sukie (Beanie Feldstein) that it leads her to getting kicked out of their apartment. While she's figuring out what to do about her situation, she learns that her friend, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) is planning to head out to Tallahassee, FL to visit family, so she requests to come along for the road trip. To do so, they go to a drive-away car service in which someone drives a car from one place to another for another client. The pair ask about a car destined to Tallahassee, which confuses the shop owner, Curlie (Bill Camp) a bit, but he shrugs it off and gives the girls the keys. It turns out his confusion was warranted, however, as someone else had already booked a car for Tallahassee; three criminals, Arliss (Joey Slotnick), Flint (C.J. Wilson) and Chief (Colman Domingo), who seemingly leads the team. Here, we find out that Jamie and Marian are, by no fault of their own, carrying something very sensitive in a mysterious briefcase. From there, Arliss and Flint begin the chase, questioning everyone the "Dolls" have been in contact with along the way. That's pretty much the plot, and it doesn't sound as misleading as I might have mentioned, but that plot does take a back seat to the other story here. What the film is really about is two friends; Jamie, who's wild and free, and Marian, who's far more conservative and a bit uptight, and Jamie trying to get Marian to loosen up and enjoy life more. All the while the pair share some sexual tension within their friendship as well, so things do indeed get a bit spicy with this one as one, again, might not take away from the trailer. I think the worst thing about this one is that before seeing the movie, I joked about what the precious contents of the briefcase might be, and it turned out I actually called it. Despite having a good laugh about accidentally calling it with a joke, that's also the problem - It really was a joke, and to some degree, that makes things kind of disappointing. Between that, a total tease of star power and things being pretty misleading, I definitely have my criticisms. I don't have any hate towards it, really, but I have to say I was disappointed on the whole, and when it comes to the Coen name, there are much better titles out there. To put it another way, I could see this getting something of a cult following over time, considering its overall subject matter, and the fact that it was a box office flop, so not a whole hell of a lot of people went to check it out upon its release. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, it's misleading and pretty silly overall, but it's also not really without its moments. I think as long as one can go in with their minds open and know that this is more of a movie about a lesbian relationship than anything else it can be a decent time. But again, not the top of the Coen list of great movies. 3/5  Well, this was an interesting experiment, to say the least. The thing is, I can't imagine upon seeing this that it was ever gonna really pull people in. The only audience this could really be aimed at is the same audience that liked the '93 film 'My Boyfriend's Back' and are aiming to find a little nostalgia from the era. Even though this is a film that plays more on 80's nostalgia, let's not forget that for a while there, the 80s bled over into the 90s, and 'My Boyfriend's Back' is a good indicator of that. Regardless, it's no surprise at all to me that this bombed.
Another potential draw to the film would be writer Diablo Cody, who certainly has her own cult audience in the palm of her hand (just like I'm in Edgar Wright's hand, to be perfectly fair), but I'd argue that they will be the ones to really take something away from this as opposed to someone like me, who's admittedly indifferent to Cody. I think this was a weird route to take in order to create something fresh for our nostalgia, much like 'Stranger Things' has managed to do, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me remember some of those oddball one-off dark comedy films from the late 80s/early 90s. The film centres on introverted "weirdo", Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) whose mother was violently murdered some time prior to the film's events, and she's still got it on her mind. Her father, Dale (Joe Chrest) remarries a "wicked stepmother" type named Janet (Carla Gugino) who's terrible towards Lisa, but she brings her daughter, Taffy (Liza Soberano) into the mix who befriends Lisa as her new stepsister, and makes attempts to get her out of the house, including going to a house party where everything sort of kicks off involving, fair warning, a scene of her drink being spiked with something pretty heavy. In the process of tripping balls, Lisa heads to a cemetery that she frequently visits in her own time, speaking one-on-one with the grave of a young Victorian era man whose name we never get. In her depressed and drugged state, she wishes she "was with him" (as in dead), but the magic wish comes true in a different way, in which the young man comes back in a zombie state (Cole Sprouse) and seeks Lisa out, eventually resulting in the classic scenario of hiding a person or thing from the rest of the family and society, which has been done time and time again, but I will say this does a few different things with it. Bearing in mind that this is, in part, a horror movie, a lot of that comes from this idea that other people's body parts can be sewn onto the zombie guy, then, by way of a broken tanning bed, the body part in question merges with him making him more and more fully human every time. It's a cool idea, but as one can imagine, some of it manages to get kinda low-brow and is likely to make one's eyes roll. With that said, and without spoilers, I'll offer fair warning right now that the film gets incredibly weird and creepy, and one will have to look past some things to appreciate the ending. My thoughts on the film as a whole are a bit convoluted. On the negative end of things, I can't imagine who was asking for such a project, the film gets suggestively weird, even for me, who generally embraces weird, and in all honesty, this isn't gonna be something I remember much of by the end of the year. But some positives include some humorous dialogue and performances, a touch of renewed nostalgia, and the acting makes it feel like a film lost in time. If this was shown back in the early 90s, it would probably fit in pretty well. I would say to a general audience that one is gonna have to accept what the film is trying to call back to in order to fully appreciate it. You're also gonna have to be able to open your mind quite a bit to accept a few things here and there. I came out of this with a certain appreciation for what it did, but at the same time, it's really nothing special. At best, it's a decent call-back to an era. At worst, it's something predictable we've seen again and again. It's nothing I'd say is terrible, or even that bad, but it's pretty out there, so proceed with an open mind if you wanna enjoy it at all. 3/5  I'll just come out and say it, the original 'Mean Girls' is a pretty great movie. While on the surface it seems like a movie that only speaks to high school girls who are struggling with popularity, the truth of the matter is that it's a movie that further reaches out to anyone who has ever fallen under the "unpopular" category in their school years, complete with being bullied, manipulated, outcast, whatever the case may be. So, yeah, it's something that speaks to pretty much everyone - even the popular kids who went too far at some point or another.
The film has since been deemed a comedy classic by many, and it's well known for bringing a few young stars into the spotlight like Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, and to a lesser extent, Lacey Chabert (already pretty well-known from 'Party of Five' at the time). And while this is basically the exact same story, but covered in some pretty solid musical numbers, I might suggest this could do the same thing with a whole new crew of actors I'm altogether unfamiliar with. It's a very faithful remake, but I have to say, it's also a bit of a carbon copy, and they don't do a whole lot of "new" here apart from the musical numbers. For those who may be a little unfamiliar with the story, we meet Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), who moves to America from Kenya with her Mother (Jenna Fischer), and changes from being homeschooled to attending high school. Her first day is a bit rough, but she befriends a girl named Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and her gay best friend, Damian (Jaquel Spivey), replacing Ian; my favourite character in both the original AND this one, so not much change in characters here aside from making them more diverse, which I have to credit the film for. As it was before, the pair show Cady around and introduce her to the different cliques to see where she might fit in. The most popular clique, dubbed the "Plastics", consists of three of the most popular girls in school; Karen Shetty (Avantika) who replaces the airhead, Karen Smith of the original, a new version of Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and a new version of the queen bee, herself, Regina George (Reneé Rapp), who probably carries the most impressive musical numbers throughout the film, although everyone is still quite good. One day the Plastics have Cady sit with them, and "allow" her into their group essentially based on the fact that she's pretty and "could" be a part of their clique. Janis and Damian then put their heads together with Cady to use her as a sort of mole to spy on the Plastics, essentially for a laugh and to maybe get some info on these "perfect" girls to knock them down a peg. In the meantime, Cady falls for a young man in her class named Aaron (Christopher Briney), Regina's ex, which also becomes the start of Cady's real problems. Eventually, just like the original, the whole thing becomes a message about a combination of bullying, scheming, and just being an asshole and how in the end, it's never really worth it. You don't want to become something you don't like. At least that's my main takeaway. Truth be told, if you've seen the original, you've basically seen this already, so it's not something I can just immediately recommend to anyone who likes the original and may be stuck on it being the "only" 'Mean Girls'. Having said that, one should also at least see that this version is a little more diverse, some of the musical numbers are rather good, and I'd probably say that it's a solid watch for a new generation of high-schoolers whose parents grew up with the original. There's even a few solid cameos here from old stars like Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Busy Phillips of 'Freaks & Geeks' fame (who fits in here very well as Regina's mother) and even Lindsay Lohan, herself, who originally played cady. I suppose at the end of the day it all boils down to which one you'd prefer. I might suggest that the original places a better focus on the overall story and characters, and less on the sex appeal which, if I'm honest, runs pretty rampant throughout the film, especially with Karen's character who may feel a bit more insulting here than Seyfried's Karen in the original, who was far funnier. This is one of thsoe cases where the film is perfectly fine for what it is, and newcomers to the story may prefer it. But it's my humble opinion that the original is actually quite a bit better. To each their own, though. 3/5 |
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