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How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

Okay, stop me if you heard this one: A Hollywood Studio that's a part of a HUGE corporation has signed off on a live action remake of a beloved ip!

Only difference is that it's not Disney! However, it's from the company of a man who hates the company more than anything on this planet... Dreamworks!

Which is hilarious, seeing how they are basically copying The Mouse's homework.

But I think it's only right to judge it fairly. So this is the live action remake of How to Train Your Dragon... Let's get into it.

HTTYD is set on the Island of Berk, a land of Dragon Slaying Vikings! And Hiccup (Mason Thames) wants to prove that he can be one of them, not just to himself but his father and Chief of Berk, Stoic (reprised by Gerard Butler). But in his quest for paternal acceptance, he forms an unlikely bond with one of the most feared dragons, and they discover that they are more alike than they both realize.

So I sat on this one for a bit, because I had mixed feelings.

I don't really have any problems with the casting choices, but they were all so mid!

Mason Thames is no Jay Bushnell, and while I don't think he's trying to be, his performance is just okay. And Nico Parker, who hurt her when she was channeling this character?! Astrid has a serious exterior in the original, but she wasn't this mean. This is a little ham-fisted with the strong female character archetype.

Gerard Butler looked like he was having a blast as Stoic. That was some mighty fine scenery chewing.

I love Nick Frost, even in this, he was so charming. Give him more roles already!

The set pieces were impressive, and the Viking aesthetic meshed well with the New Zealand backdrop.

Sound quality was nice as well. I saw it in IMAX, and in both sound direction and musically, it was enjoyable.

I don't really have a lot to say about HTTYD, It's better than most of the garbage that Disney has churned out recently, but that's not exactly a compliment.

Director Dean Deblois (try saying that five times fast!) said he didn't want to do another soulless remake, but this ain't it, chief. Universal was clearly not interested in that vision, and it shows in the final product.

I give How to Train Your Dragon (2025) a 3 out of 5.

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Ballerina

John Wick is one of those series that took the action film genre and turned it on its head. Creating complex heroes who are more than just bottles of machismo and testosterone. And even though Baba Yaga's story is over, it doesn't mean that there isn't more lore to unpack, such as the story that we will be discussing here, from the world of John Wick, Ballerina.

Director Len Wiseman carried on the tradition of stylish visuals that make these movies a feast for the eyes, and Romain Lacourbas' cinematography complements it so well.

Ballerina is the story of Eve(Ana DeArmas), a hitwoman trained from an early age in the art of killing. After 20 years of training, she discovers a connection to the man responsible for her father's death. This leads her on a quest for revenge and a journey of self-discovery.

Ana DeArmas is no stranger to action films, having been a part of Daniel Craig's send-off as James Bond. This is another one of those roles that is a departure from the standard female action set piece for her. She plays the role of Eve with a badass energy that still manages to humanize her. She doesn't try to be John Wick, and that is her greatest strength in this role.

Characters from the franchise make cameos throughout, but they are spread out so as not to steal the show. My biggest worry was that possibility, but I am so glad that I was wrong. This was Eve's story after all.

Gabriel Byrne was doing some mighty scenery chewing this time around. He was definitely enjoying being part of this movie, and he was a fun villain.

On the subject of casting, Norman Reedus was basically window dressing. For a new character in this franchise, he was little more than a plot device.

Which leads me to the film's biggest issue: too many characters not serving any substantial purpose. It was so bloated with actors.

Music and sound were definitely on point.

It's always nice to have more John Wick adjacent content and this could have jumped the shark very easily, but I pleased with what I got to see.

I give Ballerina a 3.5 out of 5.

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Karate Kid: Legends

Cobra Kai was the hit that nobody asked for, but what a ride it was; so imagine my surprise when I saw Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio in a YouTube ad promoting a new Karate Kid movie. I certainly didn't see it coming but as a fan of Cobra Kai, it piqued my interest. But does Karate Kid: Legends live up to the latter part of its name? Let's talk about it.

Karate Kid: Legends is the story of Li Fong (Ben Wang) who moves to New York City with his mother (Ming Na Wen). At his new school, he starts a new friendship with a classmate and her father. But he attracts unwanted attention from a formidable local karate champion. Driven by a desire to defend himself, Li embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition. Guided by the wisdom of his kung fu teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), and the legendary Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Li must combine their unique styles to prepare for an epic martial arts showdown.

I will say to start that was definitely a Karate Kid movie, and that absolutely not to its detriment.

I enjoyed the film's fight choreography, which was intricately done by film director and Co-writer, Jonathan Entwistle. I noticed hints of Jackie Chan's Bejing Opera School style in Wang's movements, which showed his love for martial arts cinema.

The story felt like 2 separate movies, as seems to be the case with most of these nostalgia bait, I mean legacy films (looking at you Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). The parts written, Rob Lieber and Entwistle are painfully obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.

The sets absolutely conveyed the majesty of the greatest city in the world (fight me!)

The cinematography was a mixed bag, it was shot competently but ease up on the graphics! Is this Karate Kid or Scott Pilgrim?

The acting on display was solid, but there were no stand out performances. Some talent was severely underutilized, such as Ming Na Wen.

Music was there, but again nothing memorable.

Legends was a fun time, I left the theater feeling good and honestly I couldn't ask for more out of this franchise.

I give Karate Kid: Legends a 3 out of 5.

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Snow White

You know what would be awesome? If the Walt Disney Company would stop being so transparent about their creative bankruptcy, but after seeing how far they are willing to go to protect the red shorts wearing rodent god, I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Anyway, here's another uninspired remake; Snow White!

In this retelling, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) loses both of her parents (on screen! what a tweest!) and is placed in the "care" of her evil stepmother, who as the current queen and rules *insert kingdom here* with an iron fist. She joins forces Seven Dwarves and a noble bandit named Jonathan to free her people.

I remember watching the trailer for this one and laughing uncomfortably, and saying "this looks terrible!" And oh my Nana was I ever right!

But let's point out the positives first! few as there maybe.

It's visually impressive, but it doesn't look remotely believable. Not every film can be Wicked. The towns and forest scenes (to both its credit and detriment) look like they would work really well in a Disney Park. And the animals show what The Lion King should have been!

Despite the discourse over some of her "stronger" opinions, Rachel Zegler was easily the best part of this film. In a better film, she would have been able to shine brightly as the fresh winter snow her character is named after. She's such an amazing talent.

Andrew Burnap and Zegler worked really well off of each other, despite the age difference, while I didn't feel anything even remotely romantic, I could easily believe they're very good friends.

But this is where the praises end because there was a lot for me to hate.

The original film is not remembered fondly for its narrative, so there must have been an incessant amount of mental gymnastics to adapt this.

The desire to create new songs has not worked for any of these remakes, but like all of these movies, they are simply squeezing blood from a stone. I have particular hatred for "Where the good things grew".

I'm surprised that Gal Gadot didn't break her teeth from all the scenery chewing!

Then there's the dwarves! This was so disrespectful to great number of dwarven actors in Hollywood, they decided to call in a bunch of cg dwarves from the "Uncanny Valley". There's no excuse, but I'm sure this was simply Disney trying to cut cost by not have to pay for extra actors.

Speaking of cost cutting, the quality of costumes look like they bought out Party City's costume inventory, which might explain why they're going out of business.

I'm glad that I don't pay to go to these screenings, because they are soulless to their core and I can feel my faith in Hollywood slowly eroding because of them. It's better than Dumbo or Pinocchio, but that bar sinks into the earth's crust.

So on behalf of all Disney Adults, please stop!

I give Snow White a 2 out of 5.

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Death of a Unicorn

Lately A24 reputation has become synonymous with Oscar bait, making uninspired projects that require at least 5 cans of Celsius to get through. I went to see Death of a Unicorn, hoping that this wasn't more of the same, and I was considerately optimistic after watching the trailer. Let's talk about the film and you can tell me if it lives up to my expectations.

According to A24's site, "A father (Paul Rudd) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant) seeks to exploit the creature's miraculous curative properties."

I did not know what to expect with this one, but that's okay because this flick is my kind of weird. The trailer barely scratches the service of this movie's absurdity.

This was director Alex Scharfman first major theatrical project (outside of streaming exclusive films) with his production Secret Engine.

One of this film's many strengths is its sound direction, The increasing approach of the various threats matched flawlessly with the film's soundtrack.

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies definitely deserve their flowers for the film's musical composition.

The locales and set pieces added some nice rustic charm to the film, I love the forest scenery and I can't sing its praises enough.

A film is only as good as its cast, and I was entertained by this one.

Rudd and Ortega had amazing chemistry, Rudd's everyman charm bounced off really well off of Ortega's snarkiness.

Will Poulter exuded himbo energy in every seen.

Richard E. Grant also understood his assignment, playing a scumbag billionaire (which I'm certain he had no real world motivations to borrow from.)

I love Teà Leoni, she is as talented as she is beautiful. And this is no exception in Death of a Unicorn.

I would say that the only real complaint is how predictable some plot points are, but that's fine because I loved this film and I definitely see it again.

While wearing its homages to the alien franchise on its sleeve, I don't see this fact as a bad thing.

A24 seems to have treated Death of a Unicorn as a course correction, and I hope they keeping going in this direction.

I give Death of a Unicorn a 4.5 out of 5

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Captain America: Brave New World

I'm sick of the MCU, I just had to get this out of my system; not the I.P.'s themselves, but as a concept. Every project that has come out since Endgame feels more like a homework assignment, If I miss one show or film then I'm going to miss one narrative crumb. It's stupid and I sincerely hope this content course correction rumor is actually going to happen.

So how does Captain America: Brave New World look when considering this? Let's talk about it.

The story takes place over six months after the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has adjusted to being the symbol of Liberty and Justice for all, and even has his own sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) the new Falcon. The film's central conflict puts them and former Captain America, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) at odds with President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford) and his aide Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas).

Let's talk about this cast, Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, leader of the Serpent Society was true to form with his criminal mastermind schtick, he looked like he was having a blast in every scene.

Harrison Ford also played to type as the grumpy old, I mean stoic former soldier turned elected official.

I'm not familiar with Shira Haas' work prior to this film, but I thought she was fine.

Danny Ramirez really impressed me with his performance as the second Falcon. Upbeat and capable of being Cap's guy in the chair as well as a competent partner on the battlefield.

He and Mackie have amazing on-screen chemistry and I'm here for it.

Anthony Mackie understood the assignment, Cap is supposed to be an anchor for a world that needs hope, and we saw him wrestling with that responsibility on Disney Plus. There are moments where his resolve is shaken, but he plays the character in such a way that you believe that he has made his own Captain America, in and out of character. And I can't wait to see his career flourish even more.

Visually, I see that this film's 180 million dollar budget was well spent, the fights are well shot and choreographed relying less on wire-fu, which makes perfect sense narratively.

When the CGI hits, it does so like a freight train, I don't have an opinion on the Red Hulk, because well he's a red hulk; but he looks good just being there.

But man those green screen moments aren't fooling anyone, they stick out like a sore thumb.

Director Julius Onah has adamantly expressed the fact that this Captain isn't Steve Rogers, without beating it over the head of the viewer. The overall message is overcoming our circumstances despite whatever ideas the world might have of us, that anyone can change the world, without serums, power, influence, or whatever advantage the world might grant someone.

He gets the idea of Captain America, he gets the character, and why so many people love him, regardless of who's holding the shield.

This movie is fun and while it's no Winter Soldier, I think it's on par with Civil War.

Does it change my mind about the MCU? Absolutely not! But the damage is done, and I'm just going try to watch this stuff at my own pace, hell I'm going to keep skipping things that don't interest me.

But we need this film now more than ever to show what the American people can and should be.

I give Captain America: Brave New World a 3 out of 5.

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Sonic The Hedgehog 3

One of the biggest surprises of the preceding decade was the fact Sonic The Hedgehog (The Movie) was a success. It was a divisive film to say the least, but it made die hard fans (myself included) extremely happy. Part 2 upped the ante and felt far more like the Sonic film that fans really wanted, with a greater focus on the characters from the games and just sprinkles of the ensemble cast. And now Sonic 3 is here, so let's see how it measures up.

Sonic and his friends much team up with Dr. Ivo ("Eggman") Robotnik to thwart the scheme of Shadow the Hedgehog and (Eggman's granddad) Professor Gerald Robotnik.

Well this was quite the movie, I am a bit conflicted as a fan and a critic.

One of this film's biggest strengths is the CG, it hasn't disappointed in previous films and of course it goes without saying that this had to go as hard or better to succeed. The designs strongly resemble their in game counterparts but look just different enough to fit into the real world.

Voiceover work was as solid as ever, veteran talent was in spades from both Ben Schwartz and Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Sonic and Tails respectively. Idris Elba returns as Knuckles the Echidna clearly having the time of his life.

Treasure to humanity, Keanu Reeves was pitch perfect casting for Sonic's red and black rival, Shadow. Being my favorite character, I had my reservations until I discovered he was being casted; in fact he was the number one choice for most fans, I was definitely in those ranks. Since Shadow is basically child friendly version of John Wick.

Jim Carrey was pulling double duty as both Dr. and Professor Robotnik, doing his Jim Carrey thing while still managing to play them both as their own persons.

As the Eggman, Carrey brought the same goofball energy from the last 2 films.

As the Professor, Carrey's zaniness was matched only by the character's psychopathic nature. His Professor Robotnik felt like an actual threat.

Casting was a mixed bag, because was there so little interaction between the human characters which is unfortunate wasting talent Krysten Ritter, but it's most likely a mix of contractual obligations and the animation budget, and if post credit details are any indication we're gonna see them less and less. This is going to be an interesting long game.

Iconic songs are here and they were lovely little pieces of fan services, they couldn't play the full songs but you will know what they are. And just as many iconic sound effect, because is it really Sonic without them?

Well that's Sonic 3, A beautiful mess by fans for fans. And that's this film's greatest strength and weakness, fanservice. Fans will love it, so will kids and that's what is going to keep the lights on for this franchise, giving people member berries by the truckload.

I give Sonic the Hedgehog 3, a 3.5 out of 5.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

In an alternate reality, WB would have a better idea of what to do with their intellectual properties like not cancelling projects that are 95% finished! Not that they are the only company guilty of this but I'm not here for them, Warner Bros. has been attempting to follow the modern Star Wars doctrine of oversaturation. But is War of the Rohirrim a "The Last Jedi" or a "Rise of Skywalker"?

Set nearly 2 centuries before the events of the books/movie trilogy, War of the Rohirrim tells the tale of the House of Helm Hammerhand, King of Rohan facing a sudden attack by Wulf, a Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father at the hands of Helm. With the Kingdom in dire straits Héra, daughter of Helm must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.

Man, why is this movie? Like I watched it and know what I watch, but why does it exist?

I went in knowing very little about the story, or even the caliber of the production team, but the latter and the final product couldn't be less different.

Director Kenji Kamiyama, known for his work in various Ghost in The Shell projects also Blood: The Last Vampire and Eden of the East did not live up to his pedigree in this one.

The Sakuga (a moment in a show or movie when the animation quality is noticeably improved) was solid and well choreographed.

I also was pleased by the voice talent, Brian Cox as King Hammerhand did not disappoint with his gift for vocal delivery and ability sink his teeth into whatever character he is portrays.

Gaia Wise (“A Walk in the Woods”) as his daughter Héra; and Luke Pasqualino (“Snowpiercer”) as Wulf were adequate.

But I don't think the is much nice left to say.

The panning shot would have been amazing if those backgrounds weren't pngs that had animated characters super imposed on them.

And then there's the script, Hera did next to nothing in this story of merit, at nothing that I can recall (I nodded off several times out of boredom.)

And the story was basically, We have Game of Thrones at home.

But worse offender was Wulf, who is the patron saint of Incels. Whoever decided to have a villain's motivation be because he got friendzoned, has never read a single book from greater lore of Middle Earth. Like it wasn't paced in a believable way!

This film was a huge disappointment, technically, and writing wise; between this, Rings of Power, Search for Gollum and the Gollum game it's not looking good for the future of this franchise in WB's hands.

I give The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim, 2 out of 5.

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Kraven the Hunter

So Sony, may I call you Sony? What is wrong with you? You have all these intellectual properties from Marvel’s library and you follow the “Gotham” method, that is to say that you are attempting a franchise based off of a Superhero that you can’t use because of licensing. 

I am baffled and almost impressed by the level of stubbornness it takes to stay aboard this cinematic universe equivalent of the Titanic.

But here we are, and like many of these movies, it has consistently proven how meaningless each attempt has been, so let’s dig into this dish known as Kraven the Hunter.

Sergei Kravenoff is a vigilante who hunts down the most insidious criminals in the Russian underworld, going by the titular pseudonym Kraven the Hunter. After spending the better part of a decade making himself impossible to find, one of his many enemies makes him their prey. 

A brief summary, I know but there’s not much to decipher with dictating the entire film, which is to say there isn’t much of a film to spoil. 

Casting is one of the few strengths here, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is one of the few actors in it who does a consistently decent accent. I’m just glad he steered clear of another attempt at a pan-european accent ala Age of Ultron. Russell Crowe really should never do a russian accent ever again, Alessandro Nivola was there, as was Christopher Abbott but man were they forgettable. Taylor-Johnson and Ariana Debose had ZERO chemistry, their interactions felt forced and joyless, and honestly had no idea that she was even in the film; and this is a shame.

I personally enjoyed the sound direction, but that’s only because I saw the movie in IMAX, which did little for the overall experience.

The CGI was lame, you knew what was real and what was fake right away.

The story is awful, tonal whiplash was so rampant that it made parts of the film feel like it didn’t belong at all. And if there was a plot, I couldn’t tell you what it was; this is never a good sign. 

And it was just boring, which is one of the worst kinds of bad.

On top of that I nearly got tetanus, from all the edge; we get it you have an R-rating!

If I had paid money to see this joyless mess, I would have wanted a refund; Kraven is everything wrong with this relentless push to hold on to the rights of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery but this seems to (thankfully) be the final nail in the coffin.

Hopefully they will finally stop trying to make “fetch” happen.

I give Kraven a 1 out of 5.

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Moana 2

Late last year Disney decided to shadow drop a teaser for a sequel that no one (myself especially) was expecting; Disney had been planning something big for the franchise but more on that later. For now here’s Moana 2.

Taking place 3 years after the first movie, Moana’s legend has grown exponentially and she is now known as a wayfinder, a leader of her people tasked with connecting the island of Motanui with the rest of Oceania. She discovers a clue of another island called Motufetu, which due to machinations of the storm god Nalo and his (unwilling) accomplice, Matangi has disappeared from the rest of the ocean. And after receiving a vision from her ancestors, learns that she has to find it as its fate is connected to Motanui.

As far as sequels go this was fine, there were a few noticeable changes but nothing that disrupted the DNA of either film, thankfully; they managed to get most of the band back together.

The big exception being Lin Manuel-Miranda as songwriter, whose absence was quite noticeable; in his stead was the duo of Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow or as I referred to them, “We have Lin Manuel at home!” Most of the songs were extremely derivative and ever rap lyric made me cringe. The soundtrack’s only saving grace was “What lies beyond”, which I found more inspired than “How far I’ll go” I will die on this hill. 

The returning cast didn’t miss a beat, Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson were just as entertaining as in their previous outing, Temuera Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger return as Moana’s parents as well; with Morrison doing his own singing this time. Rachel House is back as Tala, Moana’s late grandmother. And of course voice acting legend, Alan Tudyk returns as Hei Hei.

Newcomers were plenty; Awhimai Fraser voices the duplicitous Matangi, David Fane plays curmudgeon farmer Kele, Gerald Ramsey is Tautai Vasa, the previous wayfinder and ancestor of Moana, Hualālai Chung voices Moni storyteller and Maui fanboy, and Rose Matefeo is the voice of Loto the socially inept engineer. However I would be remiss to ignore Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda voicing Moana’s little sister, Simea; one of the better child characters I have seen in cinema.

The bright vibrant colors, and use of Pacific Islander imagery was outstanding.

This is a story about leadership, as Moana navigates through Oceania and her role as chief and wayfinder, she is tested relentlessly by the gods, her position, and herself. 

That said I feel like it didn’t stick the landing, because it was built initially to be the beginning of a show on Disney plus (WHICH I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TOO BTW!) This felt like a truncated backdoor pilot and I find that disappointing because there were a lot of good ideas and amazing bits of worldbuilding that just like in the previous film were underutilized. This felt like a bloated combination of Return of Jafar mixed with the pacing of the first Frozen movie.

Moana 2 should have stayed a series, because the story needed more time in the oven, it’s mid at best; and I’m mad about it, just disappointed.

I give Moana 2 a 3 out of 5.

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Wicked part one

So here we go again, another Broadway to Hollywood adaptation. If you have been following the blog long enough, you know that I have some strong opinions and that goes double for anything theatre related. It’s a special interest of mine and one I take very seriously as there is no shortage of misfires in this subgenre of movie musicals; however, that doesn’t mean every single was a faceplant, look no further than the works Lin Manuel Miranda with the adaptation of his first show In The Heights, and his directorial debut with Tick Tick Boom. It is possible to do the source material justice, which is why I was trepidatious about Wicked, so let me spin you a yarn about my experience with part 1.

For the uninitiated, Wicked is an adaptation of author Gregory MacGuire’s first novel in a 4-book series that reimagines the lore of the Wicked witch of the west (who given the name Elphaba, a nod to Oz creator L. Frank Baum). The musical itself reimagines the book significantly as well, focusing on the relationship Elphaba and Glinda the good witch of the North, who are both college roommates and eventually best friends.

So if you’re familiar with the source material, then you’re going to nitpick quite a bit, I mean with a nearly 3 hour run time how could you not? A handful of scenes ran long in the tooth and the padding was painfully obvious, but it didn’t really hurt the end product.

And allow me to put my fan boy goggles on, and what a product it was! I was mesmerized by stunning visuals that made each and every scene come alive! Even that darkest forests felt alive, which is fitting for the wonderful land of Oz. Many of the set pieces felt like they cast members and they felt like they had their own stories to tell, much like how a theatre actor has to make the characters which they play their own.

From the costumes to the props, they all excel at visual storytelling.

Casting was filled with obvious choices such as Cynthia Erivo, Arianna Grande and Jeff Goldblum, and unexpected casting such as Michelle Yeoh… who I had no idea could sing.

Yeoh’s gift for playing both graceful and stoic characters, really shine as the intimidatingly strict Madam Morribel.

Jeff Goldblum was a pique as the Wizard.

Fiyero is one of my dream roles, and Jonathan Bailey of Bridgerton fame, encapsulates why I love the character with his natural charm and swagger. He had many in his numbers questioning their sexuality (and maybe a few audience members...)

Ethan Slater was a lovable simp as the pathetically lovestruck yet kindhearted munchkin Boq.

Marissa Bode was delightful as the tragically beautiful Nessarose, and as I applaud Universal for casting an actual disabled actress for the role as many know how I am a huge champion for representation.

And of our leading ladies own these roles; the outspoken and at times controversial Cynthia Erivo put every ounce of talent into the role of Elphaba, being Broadway Royalty I would expect no less. Grande, who I think is an amazing comedic actress channel her Cat from Victorious/Sam & Cat into the role of Galinda/Glinda, however there were instances where it felt like she was trying to impersonate the original actress to play Galinda, Kristin Chenoweth. But they worked brilliantly as a duo and their chemistry bled over into real life as they became thick as thieves after filming.

And what’s a musical without dancing? Because OH MY GOD was that dance choreography legendary! I was in love and if I had paid for the screening it would more than make up for the abhorrent prices of movie tickets! And besides, this is the filmmakers’ style.

And of course, the most important ingredient being the music, every song is here with little extra, and I am delighted by this fact because adaptations tend to cut songs, characters, etc. To get the full affect I highly recommend watching in IMAX or whatever equivalent your theater has.

This shouldn’t have worked, but Director Jon M. Chu a man who has dance coursing through his veins was determined to bring the modern legend of theatre to life, and this goes for the set pieces, performances and so on. I love his work and if part two is anything like this, it could be his magnum opus.

It won't change anyone's minds about musicals, but for people like me who had to fight the urge to sing out loud, you are going to have a Wicked good time! (I'm sorry)

I give Wicked (part one a 4 out of 5)

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Venom: The Last Dance

Another Day, another superhero movie; I do wish that wasn't such a relatable statement. And the Venom franchise has absolutely added to the pile, I would be lying if I said I had high expectations but I've been wrong before so let's see if my luck holds out.

Venom: The Last Dance starts after Tom Hardy's cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and once he's transported back to his own earth, we pick up on Eddie and the Venom symbiote on the lam and the events of Let There Be Carnage. And aside from the US government chasing them, The exiled king of Symbiotes known as Knull is hunting the pair down.

Now that was definitely a movie, and it was on brand with the last 2 movies, and I am not remotely surprised.

Lighting set design was pretty good, the visuals such as animation were decent, I think in a better film it would have made things a lot more enjoyable.

The film's strengths are all technical based.

There was something that resembles a plot here, it was a loosely connect flick about Venom being a MacGuffin and I honestly couldn't care less about. It was messy and that's all that needs to be said.

You can't convince me that anyone in this cast was having fun. Talented actors like Tom Hardy and Chiwetel Ejiofor phoned in their performances. And Juno Temple was just not great. They were all here for a paycheck.

Tom Hardy and Director Kelly Marcel made a film that was joyless and cynical. They intended to make it a trilogy, and one can that the film's direction (or lack there of) was due to studio meddling. And the audience will yet again have to suffer for corporate greed.

I give Venom the Last Dance a 2 out of 5.

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Joker la Foile a Deux

Okay, I have a confession... I've never seen the first Joker movie, I am not a fan of the joker having a backstory, it just doesn't set right with me.

But a lot of folks LOVED IT! which made WB see dollar signs, and somehow convince Director/Writer Todd Philips to comeback for a sequel.

And here is the result of Joker Folie a Deux.

We reunite with Arthur Fleck, the titular Joker played by Joaquin Phoenix as he awaits trial for his actions from the first movie. He meets Lee Quinzel, an obsessive and very disturbed fangirl.

Positives first, visually the film is dripping with style, from costuming to set design. The light during the performance were nothing short of stunning and even though it was clearly for a pay day, it came in a pretty package.

The dance choreography mimics legendary performances like Sonny and Cher, as well Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers & Gene Kelly.

Sound Design was what you would expect from a film using IMAX dolby surround sound, and compliments the musical numbers so well.

Now for the mid parts, The music while sounding amazing has one glaring aspect, and this is the broadway fan in me peaking out. It's a jukebox musical, the laziest form of musical. Yeah the performances sound great, but they were songs written by other artist and as the movie went on the songs overstayed their welcome.

The cast does fine with what they were given, Joaquin Phoenix while clearly bored with this performance, he does give still play the part well enough to appease fans of the previous film. Lady Gaga showing off her acting skills is nothing new because we all know she can. Brendon Gleeson, Steven Coogan, and Catherine Kenner were clearly there for a paycheck, because they add nothing to the film.

And now for the bad, there was no story, there were hints of a narrative, but clearly the lack of investment permeated through the film.

And if substituting dialogue for music is your plan, at least spread it thin or write original songs, it didn't work for Moulin Rouge and it certainly didn't work here.

The Joker is one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture, even if you don't read comics or like superhero media in general. The fact that he constantly reused in almost every form of media shows his impact.

But man this ain't it chief, I have to say I will check out the first film at some point but I will not even consider reference this film when I watch it.

Joker: Folie à Deux gets a 2 out of 5.

[bdzonthareel]

The Wild Robot

Animation is a special interest of mine, I love anime a lot but as I got older I have fallen more and more in love with the medium. And DreamWorks has always been one of those studios in my life that has helped cultivate my taste, for better or for ill. Their cgi work is nothing to sneeze at, check out Puss in Boots The Last Wish if you doubt me! After you go see this movie of course. 

The Wild Robot is the story of Roz, a shipwrecked robot who ends up becoming one with the native animals and forging a familial bond with an orphaned Gosling.

I fell in love with this movie long before its release. It's artfully and lovingly made by Director Chris Sanders, who has a very strong resume in the animation industry. The use of CGI combined with cel-shading makes the fluid movement in the film a feast for the eyes. 

Cinematographer Chris Stover provided pique visual storytelling. Without spoiling anything, there were plenty of “show don’t tell moments” and in animation especially it is so important.

I enjoyed the music, the musical backdrops seamlessly compliment the film’s visuals

I have never been a huge fan of casting screen actors doing voiceover work, because most of them don’t pick up on the nuance of the performances in the same way (looking at you Awkwafina). But in all seriousness, the performances of Lupita Nyong’o and Pedro Pascal showcase they’re gifts for working with ADR as Roz and Fink respectively. With the exception of Kit Connor as Bright Bill, Stephanie Hsu as Vontra, Bill Nighy as Longneck and The GOAT himself Mark Hamill as Thorn the Grizzly Bear, everyone else just sounded like themselves.

What a wholesome experience The Wild Robot was, It’s a tale of found family, Defining your own identity no matter how much others will go against it, with a touch of environmentalism peppered in.

Well written, animated brilliantly and slightly imperfect, just like Roz and that's beautiful.

I give The Wild Robot a 4 out of 5.

[bdzonthareel]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Ladies, Gentleman, Zems, and Thems! IIIIIIIIT’S SHOWTIME! Now that I have that out of my system, we’ve waited roughly 30 years for a proper sequel and the question is was it worth the wait? Let’s answer that question.

Lydia Deetz (Winnona Ryder) has become estranged from her teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) as she has made a career from her ability to see the dead. And on top of that, she’s started to see visions of “The Ghost with The Most” himself Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) who is also (pardon the pun) being haunted by a ghost from his past… literally. So it will take an uneasy alliance to help solve each other’s problems.

Like many other studios have been doing for 20 years or so, WB (which is guilty of multiple offenses of this) is relying heavily on nostalgia. And while there are multiple instances of good or bad examples, there are some that toe the line and this is one such case.

Michael Keaton slips back into the role of the titular character like an old pair of shoes. He's still got it.

It was great seeing most of the original cast return, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder had such amazing chemistry on screen, the years have not eroded that.

Justin Theroux was delightfully scummy as Rory, he was doing some damn fine scenery chewing.

As Tim Burton tends to do, he has added yet another of his favorite collaborators to the cast, Jenna Ortega fresh from her run as Wednesday Addams. She clearly had fun in this performance and I have no complaints with her performance.

Willem Dafoe showcases his comedic talents as he tends to in roles like that.

Monica Bellucci was there.

The vfx took a different route from the predecessor, Burton decided to use CGI for the more fantasy based elements. Such as the Sandworm, but there were sometimes when I couldn’t tell for certain if it was CGI or stop motion, either way I was impressed.

The Danny Elfman score is what you would expect from the longtime collaborator of Tim Burton.

The movie’s biggest issue is that it’s bloated, 2 of the 4 plot points could have been removed and it would have been a more cohesive film. Monica Bellucci was wasted here, and that was kind of disappointing.

But I had a lovely time, I wholeheartedly was satisfied with the final product, and think it’s worth at least a second watch.

I give Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 3.5 out of 5.

[bdzonthareel]

Deadpool and Wolverine

Marvel finally got him, our merc with the mouth is officially a part of the MCU.

Given Ryan Reynolds’ penchant for playing the long game there is a small part of me that wouldn’t be surprised if this was his plot all along.

You know what you came here for though, so let’s talk about Deadpool and Wolverine.

We start with Wade Wilson having hung up his tights and committed to a life of mediocrity and a lack of purpose. Until the Time Variant Authority comes to him with an offer that could turn his life upside down, and it will take Wolverine’s help to figure out what exactly is going on and how to fix it.

If you’re a comic nerd, (and if you’re here there is a 99% certainty that you are) this is your movie!

Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool and Hugh Jackman is Wolverine! There are cameos galore and more that was revealed in the trailers, so I will not reveal any of them or name names.

I can’t praise the audio in this movie enough, a great soundtrack with phenomenal sound direction. Props to Rob Simonsen.

The fights were well choreographed and were helped greatly by Cinematographer George Richmond, those one shot battles looked exquisite.

Director Shawn Levy has worked with both stars previously so he brought the best out of both leads. Comedy is his bread and butter and for his first cinematic action comedy he didn’t do half bad.

It’s a pretty movie too, Levy definitely leaned into the fact that this is a Superhero movie. And given aspects such as costuming, it shows.

If you like fan service, you get it in spades but at the cost of a narrative. I love that aspect of comic book movies personally, but there are many who want something leaning more towards the latter and I get that perspective.

But I digress, this movie feels like the counter-Avengers Endgame, bloated with member berries, and completely lacking direction, and if it wasn’t done with intent this would feel like a Zack Snyder joint, and nobody wants that.

All that to say that Deadpool and Wolverine, knows what kind of film it is, it’s not the best superhero movie, nor is it the best marvel movie, hell it’s not even the best Deadpool movie, but it’s a fun distraction and with reality being as hard to process as it is, is that really so bad?

I give Deadpool and Wolverine a 4 out of 5.

[bdzonthareel]

Inside Out 2

Disney has made a lot of questionable decisions in recent years, some which have implicated Pixar in their misadventures, and with some of the recent releases it would seem like that they have caught a case of whatever has afflicted they’re parent company has.

Moving on, with the series of subpar sequels that have been churning out of the house of mouse, I was curious how the sequel to my favorite Pixar film would fair.

Allow me to share my thoughts on Inside Out 2.

We are reintroduced to Riley, she’s in her last year of Middle School and is looking to join her favorite High School’s Hockey team. As this is taking place, inside her mind the original emotional crew is encounter hitting puberty, and with that new emotions arrive to shake things (literally and figuratively,) We are introduced to, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Anxiety.

That was fun, I definitely enjoyed the experience overall, and was going to make some sort of emotional spectrum, but this movie has more than enough of them.

So much comedic cringe in one piece of cinema, the one that made me groan the most was the “Sar-chasm”, like someone was paid to write that. They are not a good person.

But the voice cast brought the funny, though there were a few changes under the hood, such as Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling not returning because of pay disputes (only sad about the former.)

But their replacements are pretty good, Tony Hale of Arrested Development fame steps in for Hader as Fear. Hale is an experienced voice actor who shows up most of the male cast easily, and

Liz Lapira sounded so much like Kaling, that I could almost not tell the difference.

Louis Black plays Louis Black, I mean Anger, Phyllis Smith was a little cinnamon bun returning as sadness, I love her and will protect her.

Amy Pohler is lovely in everything performs in, in fact I think she was typecast because of how upbeat she is.

Newcomers Ade’le Exarchopoluos (not writing that last name again) was impressive as the eternally bored Ennui (who I swear sounded like a man!), Ado Edebiri as Envy had me in stitches with everything she did, she reminded me of Nitzy from Hazbin Hotel, only less… demonic. Paul Walter Hauser was okay as Embarrassment, I believe this is his most subdued, and nuanced performance of his career.

And who knew Maya Hawke, great Caesar’s ghost she’s one heck of a voice actor, but I guess she was really leaning into the role of Anxiety.

I love how everyone was so well written, the original emotion crew felt like they were a true-blue team, influenced by one another but still remain true to themselves. And you see the newer less experienced emotions being very individualistic, and it all culminates into them films lesson of being and understanding yourself, all of it.

This is Pixar, do I really need to gush over the music, sound, and visuals?

In many ways this movie was a Hail Mary, taking a beloved ip and garnish it with member berries!

But I loved it! Is it perfect? Nope, but what is? It’s not a bad movie, but parts of it felt like points being retreaded, and that can be a pitfall with sequels.

But I still believe that this worth watching, because these points are always worth discussing.

I give Inside Out 2, a 3.5 out of 5.

If you want to see my first impressions follow me on TikTok