therealmrrobinson

[therealmrrobinson]

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) Spoiler-Free Review

In March of 2010, DreamWorks Animation released How To Train Your Dragon, one of their best movies and arguably the most mature movie the studio has made. Also in March of 2010, Tim Burton directed his version of Alice In Wonderland, the billion dollar hit that started the trend of remaking animated movies into live-action. So it’s ironic that 15 years later, DreamWorks would finally throw their hat in the ring by doing a live-action remake of one of their best movies. Despite all of my fears about it being a pointless remake, this new How To Train Your Dragon manages to translate the animated classic into live-action without losing what made the original film so special.

PROS

One advantage this movie has, is that it’s helmed by the director of the animated films, Dean DeBlois. This movie marks his live-action debut and unlike a lot of other live-action remakes, you can see there was more love and passion put into this movie. Make no mistake, a good amount of it is a shot for shot remake; however that also means the movie doesn’t lose the themes and spark that made the original such a beloved classic! It’s still very much a movie about finding your purpose in the world, a father and son relationship and what brings them closer together, and how the younger generation is better fit to lead with new ideas rather than the old guard with their traditions.

Most of the actors do a really good job. Mason Thames makes for a good Hiccup. He manages to capture the mannerisms of the character at this point in the story despite the fact that he’s clearly older than Hiccup in the original. Nick Frost makes for a good Gobber, and one difference is that he isn’t a comical as the animated version. That honor goes to Gabriel Howell as Snotlout. More than Jonah Hill in the originals, this Snotlout gets a little more to do, especially when it comes to a subplot not featured in the animated film. He sticks out more this time around at gets most of the movies big laughs. The only returning actor from the animated films is Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast. There are a few moments where he growls his lines and acts a little too over the top. His performance in live-action isn’t as subtle as it was in the animated films, but he still brings a level of gravitas that this character needs, and his relationship with Mason Thames is very believable.

The movie also looks incredible. There are a lot of practical sets that help make this world feel truly alive! It doesn’t suffer from an over abundance of green screen sets like so many Disney live-action movies. The cinematography is stunning thanks to Bill Pope who shot films like The Matrix, Spider-Man 2, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. His work helps give the movie an amazing sense of scope. You really get to see how massive some of these dragons are compared to the real actors. Speaking of the dragons, the movie does an excellent job of translating the animated designs into live-action. Toothless is still the same design as the original, but the other dragons are modified to exist in a a photorealistic setting. A lot of the cartoonish elements from their original designs are gone, but you still feel for the dragons and you understand what they’re thinking the way you would with an animal in the real world. It’s about as good as a live-action translation can get.

CONS

One major issue that doomed this remake from the start was a lack of surprises. Even with some other remakes in the past, the best ones usually did something that made them stand out from the original. How To Train Your Dragon doesn’t really do anything that makes it stand out besides the fact that it’s live-action.

The only part of the film that I can point to as an actual criticism is Nico Parker as Astrid. While Mason Thames does a great job at capturing the nervous and awkward characteristics of Hiccup, Nico Parker is the opposite and does not carry the same charisma or strength that Astrid is supposed to have. Her line deliveries are flat, she has a blank expression for most of the movie, and she doesn’t react to certain scenarios in the way that people are supposed to react. Her overall performance is terrible and also hurts the chemistry that Hiccup and Astrid are supposed to have and makes me concerned for future sequels that develop their relationship further.

OVERALL

Considering how much I was against this movie existing, I was just as surprised to walk out of it with positive thoughts. It is undeniably a shot for shot remake and has elements that do not make this a masterpiece, but for what it is, it’s a faithful adaptation. The way the crew translates the world of the animated films into live-action is incredible, most of the cast does a good job, and I did find myself invested despite knowing exactly what would happen. Though my heart will always belong to the animated film, this remake didn’t feel lifeless like 2019’s The Lion King did. There was actual care and love put into this movie and even as someone who was against this remake to begin with, it won me over!

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS Spoiler-Free Review

The Predator series has had an interesting history. Though Predator 2 has gained more appreciation over the years, no sequel has ever made it to the heights of the 1987 classic! That was until 2022’s Prey from Dan Trachtenberg. Prey was the only film in the franchise that is not only as good as Predator, but it can be debated if it’s the better of the two. It brought a fresh new approach to this franchise while delivering on what fans of this series come to a Predator movie to see. Which is exactly what Predator: Killer of Killers does as well.

PROS

Given that this is the first animated film in the franchise, it has its own unique look. Like the best animated movies in the past seven years, it takes heavy inspiration from Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. While the quality of movement in the animation isn’t always perfect, the art style more than makes up for its shortcomings. Plus an animated format allows this franchise to do things that the previous films weren’t allowed to do. One of these elements is in the level of violence.

This movie is unapologetically violent with people dying in some of the most brutal ways imaginable, whether it be from other people or the Predators themselves, hence the films subtitle. Every time this movie violently kills someone I found myself shocked, but then kept telling myself that it wouldn’t be a proper Predator movie if the deaths were toned down. The violence is brutal, but is also fun to watch considering how over the top it gets at points. It wasn’t disturbing to watch in the way the kills of Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem were.

Another great thing about this being both an animated film and an anthology film, is that the scope is massive. The movie is set in three different time periods and four different locations. All of them feel grand and couldn’t have been allowed in a live-action Predator movie considering the franchise doesn’t bring in the same amount of money as something like Star Wars or Jurassic Park. This movie is essentially a Predator fans dream come true. Seeing the Yautja hunt down different warriors throughout Earth’s history is really cool. A great expansion on the idea of what Prey set up three years ago.

CONS

The idea, the animation, and the action scenes are all exceptional. I just wish I felt more invested in the human characters. This is where being an anthology story hurts the film. Since the movie bounces around between three different stories that culminates into a pretty epic conclusion, you don’t really spend much time with the human characters. Some stories are compelling like The Sword segment that takes place in Japan, but the other two segments, The Shield and The Bullet don’t really give it’s human characters enough time for us to get to know them.

OVERALL

Fanboy films are often really hard to pull off. A lot of the time a movie of this type gives the fans something they’ve been clamoring for at the cost of a good story or they just regurgitate all the same beats from the original film. Predator: Killer of Killers however manages to successfully pull this off. The characters could’ve used a little more work, but this movie takes the Predator franchise to new heights. Not just with being an animated Predator movie, but by expanding the Yautja mythology and taking the idea that Trachtenberg did with Prey and building upon that. He truly has a good understanding of why this franchise works and it makes me all the more excited to see him bring the series back to theaters with Predator: Badlands later this year!

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

THUNDERBOLTS* Spoiler-Free Review

Another Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to a close. The films of Phase 5, or the second phase of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, has certainly been a rough one. The opening film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ended up being the first movie in the franchise that I actively disliked. Considering how many films the MCU has, it’s pretty impressive that it took 15 years to get a movie that I don’t like; however it took away any lasting enthusiasm I had for this long running cinematic universe. Which is why it brings me great joy that the final film in Phase 5, Thunderbolts* is the Marvel Cinematic Universe at its finest.

PROS

What has always drawn me to the MCU, are how relatable these larger than life characters can be. The characters take front and center stage in this film, and all of them have a major element in common; a sense of uselessness. The team consists of people who have done a lot wrong in their lives, and have been abandoned by or lost the people that gave their lives meaning. Leading this group of outcasts is Yelena Belova, once again played by Florence Pugh. Given how much this character has dealt with since her introduction in Black Widow, she’s the best choice to be the lead. Pugh continues to give Yelena a sense of innocence despite the fact that she’s essentially a trained assassin. She feels lost with losing her sister forever and not being in contact with her father Alexei/Red Guardian played again by David Harbour. So when she meets the other characters contracted by her boss Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), they end up feeling like a support group as the movie progresses. Both Florence Pugh and David Harbour have the most comedic moments like in Black Widow, but their relationship is further explored and results in one of the films most powerful sequences.

Another stand out is Bucky Barnes, once again played by Sebastian Stan. He’s the one character that has been through everything that the rest of the characters are going through. As an audience we saw him dealing with loss, doing a lot of terrible things as the Winter Soldier, and how he came out on the other side! He doesn’t get much in terms of new character development, but he ends up being more of an unofficial mentor character to the others.

As for the other two members of this team, Ava Starr/Ghost makes her big return since debuting in Ant-Man and the Wasp. She was certainly a sympathetic character in that film, but was more or less a really cool obstacle for the heroes to fight. In this film though, Hannah John-Kamen has more material to work with and gives this character more personality. John Walker/U.S. Agent was a character that I wasn’t quite ready to feel any sort of investment in. The way they ended his time on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, felt rushed and asked us to have some sort of sympathy towards him when none was warranted. This movie does a good job at making him more sympathetic and one of the films standouts.

Villain-wise you have Julia Louis-Dreyfus returning as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. This movie allows her to really have fun with the character after playing Valentina in small supporting roles. She is more of the films villain than the villain who has been marketed in the trailers, Bob/Sentry/Void played by Lewis Pullman. When comparing these two villains, Valentina is undeniably the main antagonist; very guilty and works behind the scenes to get her goals accomplished while trying to avoid criminal prosecution. Bob on the other hand is a victim. The film states that he has had a troubled past, has been abused by Valentina, and suffers from mental health issues. It’s a great contrast to the Thunderbolts themselves who are suffering from similar issues. Whenever Yelena and Bob share the screen together, their chemistry really works, and further proves that Yelena is the perfect candidate to lead this team.

CONS

There’s not a lot in terms of specific problems with Thunderbolts*.The movie does suffer from some terrible pacing issues. This mostly occurs when the movie quickly cuts back and forth between two different scenes and doesn’t give each scene enough time to fully play out. As a result, it was a bit difficult to get as emotionally invested as the movie wanted me to.

As for Taskmaster, she once again gets the short end of the stick. If you didn’t like how this character was handled in Black Widow, you’re most likely going to be even more disappointed with how Thunderbolts* handled her.

OVERALL

I’m not exactly sure what movie Marvel was marketing with the trailers, but what Thunderbolts* ended up being was one of the best films of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga. It’s the most heartfelt movie since the third Guardians of the Galaxy film, has some of the franchise’s best action since Shang-Chi, and feels like the Marvel Cinematic Universe at it’s prime. With movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World, I was starting to feel MCU burnout and didn’t find myself invested anymore. Thunderbolts* actually got me excited for the future to come, especially with The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicking off Phase Six this July.

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

Hey everyone,

It’s been awhile, and my next written review will be for “THUNDERBOLTS*”. However, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve started a new retro review series on YouTube. The next (and possibly last) “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie comes out at the end of May, so I’m reviewing the first four movies every Wednesday. Here’s my review for 1996’s “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE”.

[therealmrrobinson]

Hello everyone! I don’t publish retro movie reviews on Tumblr, but will share any retro reviews I upload from YouTube. I just uploaded a review for “MRS. DOUBTFIRE”! I have never seen this movie before, and this movie was nominated by my YouTube Membership and voted on by everyone else. Enjoy!

[therealmrrobinson]

SINNERS (2025) Movie Review

The last two years have certainly seen a sudden boom in vampire movies. In 2023, we had Renfield and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Then 2024 gave us Abigail from Radio Silence and Nosferatu from Robert Eggers. All four of those movies were released by the same studio and all were some sort of Dracula adaptation. So when it comes to Sinners, this movie is not only released by a different studio, but is also a breath of fresh air for vampire movies. The result is undeniably one of the best films of the year!

THE GOOD

Though I have yet to see Ryan Coogler’s first film, Fruitvale Station, this movie without a doubt continues to prove that he is one of the best directors working today. His direction is solid, especially when it comes to taking a familiar genre and elevating it to a higher level. This movie has a lot of the familiar tropes of vampire movies, but the movie is smart enough to not present these moments with a meta sensibility. The characters are smart and know all the things that are expected from vampires, but don’t feel the need to mention it to the audience. It’s also a pretty frightening movie as well. There isn’t a single point in the movie where the vampires come across as silly or corny. These vampires are scary, clever, and not easy to take out. How refreshing is it to see one of these movies that doesn’t feel a need to make a wink and nudge to the audience?

The cast is stellar. Obviously you have Ryan Coogler’s main on screen collaborator, Michael B. Jordan, who is playing identical twins Smoke and Stack. Jordan does an excellent job at making both characters completely different from one another. Smoke is depicted as the more serious twin who’s in charge of setting up the juke joint, and Stack is the more carefree of the two. There’s never a point where you think these characters are portrayed by the same actor. The rest of the cast give stand out performances. Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo are all excellent, and their characters have fantastic arcs that once again elevate this film above recent vampire movies.

The best part of the film however is the music. Ludwig Göransson once again delivers another amazing score. Given the time period, he creates a very distinct blues sound, while mixing it with a horror score that sounds like it could be heard at Halloween Horror Nights. Since he manages to deliver two different sound scapes in this one movie, I will declare that it’s his best score. Throughout his career, Göransson has created many amazing scores that all sound different from one another. His score for Oppenheimer does not sound like his score for The Mandalorian, which is different from his work on the Black Panther movies, which also has a very different sound than his music for Community.

OVERALL

The only issue I had with the movie is the same issue I had with Abigail in that you go into the movie expecting a vampire film. It takes awhile for Sinners to get to the vampire scenes and there’s nothing in the first act that indicates there will be vampires. However like with Abigail it’s not the fault of the movie, but more a fault in the marketing. Everything the movie does is cinematic perfection. It has inspirations of Night of the Living Dead and From Dusk Till Dawn, but thanks to solid direction, an impeccable cast, and a distinct style, Sinners ends up having its own identity. It’s an excellent film and another win for both Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan! I truly envy anyone who’s able to see this movie without seeing a single trailer for it!

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

DROP Movie Review

It was literally two weeks ago when I saw the worst movie of 2025, The Woman In The Yard. Courtesy of Blumhouse, that movie featured terrible acting, horrible characters, zero scares, and an ending that was not only unsatisfactory, but was also a straight up insult to the audience. Two weeks later we get another Blumhouse movie, Drop. Thankfully this movie is the complete opposite of everything The Woman In The Yard was!

THE GOOD

Drop isn’t a horror movie, but rather a thriller in the style of the best Alfred Hitchcock films. I try to avoid comparing modern day thrillers to those of Hitchcock considering he’s known as the master of suspense, but if there’s any movie in this decade that deserves comparison, it’s this. The entire movie takes place in the restaurant where the main characters are on a date, but the woman, Violet, starts getting threatening airdrops from an anonymous person from inside the restaurant. It’s very reminiscent of both Rear Window and Rope, two Hitchcock movies that take place in a single location and only ever leave that location when absolutely necessary. In Drop’s case, only the beginning and end take place in a location that isn’t the restaurant. 

Christopher Landon’s direction is spectacular, and this is such a departure from the tone of Happy Death Day and Freaky, his other outings with Blumhouse. It’s nice to see him depart from the horror comedy scene and prove that he has more range as a director. He obviously went to great lengths to capture the way Hitchcock made his thrillers, without straight out ripping off his style. Nothing is set up without feeding back into the story and considering it’s also a whodunnit, the movie does an excellent job at making everyone look suspicious. You’re introduced to many different side characters that you’ll be guessing for a long time who the suspect is. The movie will drop a few red herrings throughout, which might be annoying for some, but it works in building up the paranoia.

He also gets some really great performances from the two leads Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar. Meghann Fahy gives a performance where she has to balance two types of anxiety. Her character Violet is a single mother out on a date for the first time since the birth of her son and she has a lot of trepidation towards dating again. On top of that, she has the pressure of trying to act normal in front of her date when a stranger suddenly starts sending her anonymous messages to kill him. Fahy does an excellent job dealing with the pressure of both situations and you feel like you’re in her shoes! She also has good chemistry with Brandon Sklenar, who plays Violets date Henry. What works about this character is that he doesn’t write off Violet as crazy when she starts getting the threatening messages. He went into the date knowing that she’s had a rough past and it’s clear that he’s willing to stick around and make it all work.

THE BAD

There are points in the final act where you do have to suspend your disbelief with how certain scenarios play out. It sometimes gets to the point where it is straight up silly. I can see how some of these moments might take some people out of the movie, but considering how good the first two acts were at building suspense, a little goofiness in a movie like this can go along way.

OVERALL

This is undeniably Blumhouse’s best movie since 2020s The Invisible Man, which might not be saying a lot considering their questionable track record for the past two years. It’s clear that this movie was made by people who studied the best Alfred Hitchcock films. It’ll keep you guessing who the suspect is, you’re on the edge of your seat throughout, the two leads have great chemistry, and the ending is incredibly rewarding. This isn’t best of the year material, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

A MINECRAFT MOVIE Movie Review

Similar to how the 2000s was the beginning of a new era of comic book movies, the 2020s are starting to establish a new era for video game adaptations. These projects always had the distinction of being utterly terrible and were often made with zero understanding of the source material. Nowadays, things are starting to change with shows like The Last Of Us and movies like Sonic The Hedgehog 3, which I will continue to declare as the best video game movie that we have! That doesn’t mean bad adaptations aren’t still being made. Five Nights At Freddy’s might have worked for fans of those games (that are too young to be playing them to begin with), but as a movie it is quite terrible, and unfortunately the same thing applies to Minecraft.

THE GOOD

It’s hard to really explain what works with this movie considering that the negatives far outweigh the positives. One thing that can be said is that it certainly captures the look of the games. The VFX and design team does a great job at taking a bunch of characters made out of blocks and translating them into a live-action esthetic. The quality of the visual effects is often questionable, but it’s more excusable since a majority of the movie takes place in the Overworld.

This leads into another positive about the film. It doesn’t pull a Masters of the Universe where it takes the characters out of the Overworld and puts them into the real world. The only time spent in the real world is to establish the movie, its main characters, and occasionally to focus on a pointless and cringeworthy subplot involving Jennifer Coolidge.

THE BAD

Sadly the rest of the movie ranges from uninspired (ironic for a movie about a game that inspires creativity) to downright irritating. Jack Black’s performance as Steve is basically him playing the crazy, rock n’ roll Jack Black that he’s been playing his entire career. Every single line he delivers is without an ounce of subtlety, which isn’t aways a bad thing, but again Jack Black has done this in almost every movie since School of Rock and it gets really old, really quickly. The actor who gets top billing in this film is actually Jason Momoa as Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison. Like with Jack Black, he’s basically playing the same character he plays in every movie, and both he and Steve have a rivalry throughout the entire film. It’s the same tired rivalry where both character try to one up each other and prove who’s the bigger man that we’ve seen done better in so many other films. It’s just as tiring as ever, though it is a bit refreshing to see Jack Black play the more competent one of the group and not the straight up comic relief.

The rest of the characters are very vague and have nothing to offer. Danielle Brooks and Emma Myers are perhaps the two best characters because they have the most appropriate reactions to being in this world. Emma Myers’ acting however is very flat as is Sebastian Hansen as her brother. Their relationship is meant to be the main anchor of the film, but has no weight due to a combination of terrible performances, an unfocused script, and some very choppy editing. The editing in this movie is so bad that major events will happen that affect the characters, only for the movie to pretend like it never happened.

The biggest sin that this movie commits is that it’s categorized as an adventure comedy, but it’s not funny. The jokes are lazy, but the movie is convinced that it’s funnier than it actually is. That’s ultimately what pushes the movie to the brink of irritation. Nothing is worse than a comedy that tries to make you laugh and fails. After a while, you just want it to end.

OVERALL

Is this among the worst video game adaptations? No, it isn’t. This isn’t as appalling as Borderlands was from last year. It does have decent production value and captures the look of the source material. It’s just the end result is terrible. It’s boring, irritating, and does not help the reputation of video game adaptations. Based on the audience I saw it with, this was a movie made for the Minecraft fans, but I can’t imagine it will be enjoyable for anyone who hasn’t played the games.

RATING

DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY

[therealmrrobinson]

This past weekend, a lot of the theme park vloggers on YouTube got to experience media day at Epic Universe. Since I didn’t get invited, I decided to put together a list of my favorite attractions from Universal Orlando’s first two theme parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure!

TOP 10 FAVORITE UNIVERSAL ORLANDO Rides & Attractions (Before EPIC UNIVERSE Officially Opens)

[therealmrrobinson]

My video review for “DEATH OF A UNICORN” is now up on YouTube.

[therealmrrobinson]

DEATH OF A UNICORN Movie Review

It’s funny that the weekend of March 28, 2025, saw the release of two radically different horror movies from two studios who have become prominent names in the world of horror. The Woman In The Yard from Blumhouse attempted to be a psychological horror movie that dealt with themes of grief and how to move on from a horrific tragedy. Sad to say the end result of that movie was not only terrible, but a straight up middle finger to the audience when it came to its ending. Death Of A Unicorn from A24 has its own piece of social commentary to talk about, but also ends up being a wildly entertaining movie with the quirky weirdness you’ve come to expect from A24 horror films.

THE GOOD

This is a good old fashioned monster movie, and it delivers when it comes to seeing people getting killed by unicorns. There is a lot in this movie that can be compared to the Jurassic Park series, and that’s especially the case with the way the Unicorns are portrayed. There are two unicorn parents that are essentially the Buck and Doe T-Rex’s from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Whenever they are on screen, there is genuine tension and those scenes are pretty atmospheric. However the movie doesn’t forget to deliver on some very gruesome and often over the top kills. The kills in this movie are pretty brutal and it’s done in a very silly manner without taking away from the movies more tense sequences.

With a title like Death Of A Unicorn, there is certainly an expectation that it’s going to be somewhat comedic, and the cast definitely understands that assignment. The characters react the way anyone would react if they found out Unicorns were real. Paul Rudd is doing his usual routine and is naturally charming as always, and Jenna Ortega has some great moments as well. However the two actors that deliver the biggest laughs are Téa Leoni and Will Poulter. Téa Leoni is that incredibly dry and snooty wife that probably got married because her husband (Richard E. Grant) was a very rich man. Will Poulter is also hilarious as their entitled son who pretends to be the smartest man in the room.

THE BAD

One of the major themes of the movie is how billionaires are trying to advance science for profit without thinking of the negative consequences of their actions. It’s one of the other elements borrowed from the Jurassic Park franchise, and this aspect is as subtle as getting kicked in the head by an actual unicorn. Given the current state of the world where cartoonish billionaires have a habit of ruining things, it ends up being the least interesting aspect of the film.

It spends so much time on this plot, that the movie doesn’t focus on the heart of the film, which is the relationship that Paul Rudd’s character has with his daughter played by Jenna Ortega. Another key theme in this movie is how far a parent will go to protect their child. The unicorns definitely represent this theme in the most literal sense, but there’s not enough attention given to Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega’s chemistry. When the movie begins, their relationship is rather rocky and opens the door to explore why things between them are the way they are. The movie never seems to be as interested in this relationship as it is with killer unicorns and billionaires that are preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

OVERALL

While Death Of A Unicorn does suffer from similar issues that plagued Mickey 17, mainly with it being very on the nose with its social commentary, it makes up for it with being a fun creature feature. The kills are fantastic, it builds good tension, and the cast takes their roles seriously enough to be invested, but not too seriously given that it’s a killer unicorn movie. It’s not my favorite horror movie that A24 has put out, but considering what opened up the same weekend, this movie speaks more to what I like to see in horror films!

RATING

GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT

[therealmrrobinson]

THE WOMAN IN THE YARD Movie Review (Spoiler-Free)

Blumhouse is one of those horror production companies where they can either make something really creative and amazing such as Get Out, Happy Death Day, Halloween, or something truly terrible like Truth or Dare, The Exorcist: Believer, Five Nights At Freddy’s. Lately I haven’t been all that impressed with all of their movies since 2023’s M3GAN. Even Wolf Man from earlier this year was a downgrade from their previous remake of a Universal Monster, The Invisible Man. So when it came to the trailers for their latest horror film, The Woman In The Yard, I couldn’t help but think back to the trailers for Get Out. The trailers depicted both films as incredibly corny and one of those horror movies you rent on a Friday night and roast with your friends because of how bad it is. While Get Out managed to overcome those terrible trailers and ended up being an Academy Award winning masterpiece, the same cannot be said for The Woman In The Yard.

THE GOOD

The best thing that can be said about this film is that for most of the runtime, it isn’t the so bad it’s hilarious horror movie I was expecting. In terms of the technical aspects, The Woman In The Yard is well made in terms of the cinematography and the music. There are several points in Lorne Balfe’s score that reminded me of the score of Blade Runner. Given the nature of the film of being a little more psychological than one would expect, it fits. It’s also very well shot when it comes to framing the film. Unfortunately, there’s no atmosphere to build off of, and it doesn’t help to have the movie set in broad daylight.

The only other bright spot in the movie is Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona. Her performance is full of anxiety, whether dealing with her prick of a son or being afraid of what the woman in black represents. She’s also struggling with a terrible tragedy involving her late husband, and she handles all of the psychological elements of this film better than what the material asks for to begin with.

THE BAD

Sadly, the rest of the movie is hot garbage. In the same way Danielle Deadwyler is one of the best aspects of the movie, Peyton Jackson who plays her son is one of the worst elements. His performance is so wooden and there’s no real reason for him to behave like the little shit that he is. This is unfortunately a result of the way the story is told.

The story telling in this movie is a flat out mess. The first half is very boring and is basically a single mother and her two kids trying to kill time because the power in their farm house is out. All the while trying to ignore this mysterious woman sitting in the front yard. It doesn’t feel all that scary even when it’s revealed the woman has supernatural powers. In fact, it comes across as unintentionally funny in points. The pace starts to pick up in the second half when the movie tells us what it’s about; which is also where the film commits its biggest sin.

The movie ends up being about how to move on from a terrible tragedy. What can you do to cope with a horrific life changing event, and how this event can affect those around you? It’s an important issue to talk about, but without getting into spoilers, the way this movie chooses to handle this topic will undoubtedly upset a lot of viewers. The problem with the film is that it presents this choice as a twist in the final act. There’s no build up to this conclusion, it feels rushed, and the actual ending of the movie ends up being nothing but insulting toward people who this might speak to. It tries to save itself from this ending during the credits, but unfortunately it’s too little too late.

OVERALL

After having a few days to think about this movie, I wish The Woman In The Yard was the “so bad it’s hilarious” horror movie I was expecting it to be. The first half is just boring and features no scares whatsoever. Even when the movie starts to pick up, it ends up becoming a poorly constructed mess, resulting in one of the most despicable endings I’ve seen in a film all decade. Even with the elements that are good, it ultimately doesn’t matter. It might be possible to enjoy this movie if you aren’t as sensitive towards the films subject matter, and I fully admit that what the movie addresses in the end is something I’m sensitive towards. However I truly believe there are other ways for the film to handle this element, and the way they chose to handle it was nothing but a spit in the face.

RATING

BURN IN HELL MOVIE!!!

[therealmrrobinson]

In case there are some who aren’t aware that make movie & theme park videos on YouTube, I think it’ll be a good idea to also share my videos here, especially after my written review for “THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP” got so much attention! So here’s my video review for 2025’s “SNOW WHITE”, containing a few spoiler elements I didn’t mention in my written review!

[therealmrrobinson]

SNOW WHITE (2025) Movie Review (Spoiler-Free)

It’s been fifteen years since Disney decided that remaking their classic and most beloved animated films into live-action would be a billion dollar trend. Though Disney did remake The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians in the mid-90s, it wasn’t until Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland where this trend really caught on. So it was only a matter of time before the very first animated feature film got the Disney live-action treatment. This movie has been plagued by nothing but controversy from Rachel Zegler’s comments about the original film, to Gal Gadot playing the Evil Queen, and the look of the Dwarfs. In the end all the controversies were for nothing considering that the film is another soulless Disney remake that will be forgotten over time.

THE GOOD

Despite the internets best intentions, this movie is not the disaster that people were predicting it would be. One thing I do give Snow White credit for, is that it does attempt to do something different. There was clearly no intention to do a straight up remake of the 1937 movie. This is good, because as much as the original is a cherished classic, it’s also a very simple movie. It works for the way movies were made back in the 1930s, especially since it’s the first of its kind; however it’s not a movie that could be remade in 2025. It’s best to view this new version as an extension of the animated film. The second act is basically the entirety of the original animated film, and the first and final acts are original. Not every new decision and change works, (I’ll elaborate when I talk about the bad) but I would easily take any attempt to try something new than doing a shot for shot remake like with 2019s The Lion King, or what we might see with the upcoming Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon remakes.

In regard to Rachel Zegler, she is good as Snow White for the majority of the movie. She is at her best when the movie is following the animated film. She captures the same level of kindness that the original Snow White had but without some of the traits that could be considered outdated. In the animated film, Snow White was often very timid, doesn’t really do much, beyond acting kind and basically becomes the mother/house wife figure when she meets the Dwarfs. That movie belonged to them and the Evil Queen, not Snow White. This remake belongs to the character of Snow White and Zegler’s portrayal is more independent and has less tolerance for cruelty. Her best scene is the Whistle While You Work sequence. This musical number is reworked into something that you’d see from the Disney Renaissance and combined with Rachel Zegler’s incredible singing skills, I found myself moving my feet to the song.

THE BAD

Sadly, not even Rachel Zegler’s Snow White can save the rest of the movie from its faults. To immediately address the elephant in the room, the Dwarfs are just as horrifying as you imagined they would be. They look like characters that you’d find in the Robert Zemeckis motion capture movies he was making back in the 2000s. They are creepy, unsettling to look at, and you simply have to ask yourselves, why? Why are they entirely CGI instead of being played by real actors with dwarfism? It would obviously be cheaper and cause less controversy. Since the Dwarfs aren’t a major focus in this movie like in the original, half of them are interchangeable from one another. They don’t leave a lasting impression on you except in how frightening their designs are. Every time they are on screen, they are a distraction, even during the Whistle While You Work musical number.

Speaking of musical numbers, one change that this movie attempts is to make it feel like a full blown Broadway musical. I mentioned the Disney Renaissance reworking of Whistle While You Work, but the only two other songs from the original film appear in this new version. Heigh-Ho is of course in the film and is given more lyrics and The Silly Song is briefly featured to the point where you might miss it. Every other song in this movie is original and sadly forgettable. Once again I give the team credit for trying something new, but with he exception of the classic songs, this movie would have probably been improved without those original songs.

The Evil Queen is also another major blunder of the film. Gal Gadot has never been that strong of an actress to begin with, but her performance as the Evil Queen may be her worst one yet. She carries no menace and her original song “All Is Fair” highlights her inability as a singer. It’s like listening to Russell Crowes singing in Les Miserable. Not much else can be said about her acting in this movie, except that it made me think back to the first Wonder Woman and realized that Patty Jenkins deserved more credit for Gadot’s performance in that film.

In place of the nameless prince from the original we have Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, who plays the leader of the bandits determined to take down the Evil Queen. He is another change for this version, but I’d honestly take the nameless prince with two scenes from the original. Andrew Burnap is so dull, doesn’t carry a lot of charisma and has no chemistry with Rachel Zegler. She acts circles around him, but at the same time it demonstrates that Zegler’s acting is not all that good when it comes to the original material. When she’s not singing or acting in scenes that are from the original animated film, Rachel Zegler comes across as dead pan, dull, and the dialogue she has to say at times is laughably bad, especially in the film’s “finale”. However this is more a criticism with they way Marc Webb directs the actors. If it was one or two actors that were giving a bad performance, then that’s one thing, but when its the entire cast, that blame falls on the director.

OVERALL

Is the 2025 remake of Snow White a bad movie? Yes, it is. Is it the worst live-action remake that Disney has made? I don’t believe so. I walked out of Snow White expecting much worse, but I was surprised by the things I authentically liked. I still believe a movie like the 2022 Pinocchio is the worst live-action Disney remake. That film is terrible to the point where it’s an insult to the original animated film. I also believe that The Lion King from 2019 is a worse movie for of the fact that it’s a shot for shot remake that doesn’t attempt anything new. There was at least an attempt with Snow White, but unfortunately it was a terribly misguided one. The 1937 original will remain a timeless classic, and will be the one that Disney will continue to market and preserve the legacy of. This new version however, will stay a product of 2025 and be forgotten before the year is done.

RATING

DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY

[therealmrrobinson]

THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE Movie Review

Let’s be honest, when it comes to movies, the Looney Tunes brand has not had a very good run this decade. In 2021 there was Space Jam: A New Legacy, which turned out to be nothing but a shameless commercial for all things Warner Bros., and then there was the infamous tale of the shelved Coyote vs. Acme movie that may never see the light of day. So it’s with all of these tragedies that it’s a miracle that this movie, The Day The Earth Blew Up, even got released. (Granted through Ketchup Entertainment and not WB. themselves.) Not only that, but it’s also incredible that the end result is undeniably the best Looney Tunes ever made.

THE GOOD

What separates this movie from something like the Space Jam sequel, is that it is made by people who clearly love Looney Tunes. Despite the fact that we only have three characters, this movie stays true to who they are. Daffy Duck is more reflective of how his was when he was first introduced and before he started being paired up with Bugs Bunny. He’s a complete lunatic, he’s overly confident, and has a tendency to cause more trouble than what they have to deal with in the moment! Meanwhile, Porky Pig is the more sensible of the two, complete with his famous stutter. Eric Bauza does a fantastic job voicing both characters and much like Mel Blanc long before, it’s incredible how many of the Looney Tunes characters he’s able to voice to perfection. Petunia Pig is also a fun character. She manages to be the most sensible of the group, while also being crazy and…dare I say looney in her own way!

The animation is spectacular. It’s great to not only see classic 2D animation, but also 2D animation that was made for a big screen experience. The last two animated movies that I can think of that look like they were hand drawn are The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim or Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. In both instances, you watch those movies and question the reason to release them in theaters. The animation in The Day The Earth Blew Up is not only smooth and well detailed, but it also amplifies the insanity and comedy. One of my favorite gags is with Farmer Jim, the adopted father of both Daffy and Porky. While our two main characters are fully animated, Farmer Jim is mostly a static drawing played for full comic effect.

The movie is not just hilarious in how it captures the spirit of Looney Tunes, but also how it works as a parody of the alien invasion movies of the 1950s. From mind control, alien goo, 50s style flying saucers, and the title of the film itself, this movie is a perfect homage to those old school science fiction movies. However it’s mixed with that very chaotic tone that you expect from Looney Tunes and features enough twists that make the movie feel fresh and funny! The big masterplan of the alien invader is ridiculous but makes sense within the nature of the film!

OVERALL

This is about as good as a Looney Tunes movie can get and the flaws it has, aren't worth mentioning! I never got the appeal of Space Jam, and this is coming from a kid of the 90s. That movie should’ve been my childhood, but it just doesn’t work for me. As for Looney Tunes: Back in Action, I have a soft spot for that movie, but even then I can’t deny that The Day The Earth Blew Up blows that one out of the water. It’s got spectacular animation, it’s fateful to the source material, the characters are fun, and it’s jam-packed with jokes that made me laugh hard! Not to mention it has a lot of heart when it comes to Daffy and Porky’s friendship. It’s a reminder of what made Looney Tunes work in the first place and why they will endure until the end of time despite David Zaslav’s hatred for them!

RATING

GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO SEE IT NOW!!!

[therealmrrobinson]

NOVOCAINE (2025) Movie Review

Stop me if you’ve experienced this before. Every year, there’s one trailer that plays in front of literally every movie that you see. It looks really good and you’re excited to see it. However once the movie comes out, you end up walking out disappointed because it didn’t deliver on what you expected from that trailer. That happened to me last year with Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, and I was nervous the same thing would happen with Novocaine. Thankfully, Novocaine not only lived up to the trailer, but ended up being better than I could’ve imagined!

THE GOOD

One thing that truly surprised me about this movie is that it wasn’t a full blown comedy with an outlandish premise. The trailers tell you that the plot is about an average guy who is on a mission to save his girlfriend, but he has a condition where he can’t feel pain. It’s marketed as an action comedy, and the set up is ripe to be nothing beyond that. In a way, it shares some similarities with the Crank movies starring Jason Statham. It has plenty of outrageously hilarious moments, however what separates Novocaine from Crank is that the former has plenty of genuine thrills that aren’t played for laughs at all. A perfect example of this is what happens after the sequence where one of the bank robbers is twisting the arrow in Nate’s leg and he has to pretend to feel pain. That moment is just as funny as it was in the trailer, but then it is followed up by something that is sure to make most audience members squirm. I had to look away a few times during this scene, which I don’t normally do in even the goriest of horror movies. However the movie is clever to not have these two scenes feel out of place from one another; it strikes the perfect balance of being an action comedy and an intense action thriller.

Another element that puts Novocaine above Crank is that it’s sincere. The movie is straight forward and doesn’t come across like a parody in the way Crank can often feel like. The two leads Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder, help with the film’s earnestness. Their first meeting is an adorable meet cute and both actors have great chemistry with each other. Jack Quaid is incredibly charming and it’s also refreshing to see him in a major role where he isn’t a total creep. His character is very relatable for anyone who is an introvert and doesn’t have a lot of real human connections. This is all despite the fact that he finds himself in many absurd scenarios. Amber Midthunder is great as well. She has just as much charisma as Jack Quaid does and there’s more to her character than what the trailers lead you to believe. It makes her more important to the story than simply the girlfriend that needs to be rescued. It’s because of her role where the movie can be somewhat unpredictable in how it plays out. There’s a twist that I honestly didn’t see coming, but it makes sense and keeps you invested in where the movie is going. 

THE BAD

For the kind of movie that this is, there’s very few issues that I had. The biggest element of the film that I wasn’t a fan of would have to be Jacob Batalon. His character doesn’t appear until the end of the second act. When he does, he ends up being the hero’s best friend who seems to talk nonstop. Thematically his character does serve a purpose and is important to Nate’s character, but the way he’s used in the film left a lot to be desired. The movie also has a few predicable tropes, particularly with the two detectives (Betty Gabriel & Matt Walsh) who assume that Nate is working with the bank robbers.

OVERALL

2025 has already been a great year for genre films, and Novocaine was the most fun I’ve had in a movie theater in months. It’s an original action film that features some great action, two charismatic leads, many hilarious scenarios, and enough sincerity to keep you invested in the story. It feels like a movie that came out in the 90s where it relied on the charisma of its actors. The best advice I can give for this movie is to see it with a group of your friends. It’s the kind of movie that is best viewed in a theater and with a large group of people; I highly recommend it!

RATING

WORTH SEEING IN YOUR LIFETIME

[therealmrrobinson]

MICKEY 17 Movie Review

Five years after winning Best Director for Parasite, the first foreign film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Bong Joon-ho’s next movie is finally here. I first heard of his work through the 2006 monster movie The Host, which I regrettably haven’t watched myself. However I’m a massive fan of both Snowpiercer and Parasite. Based on my love for those two movies and some really great trailers for Mickey 17, this easily topped my list for my most anticipated movies of 2025. The result is a strange, on the nose, but very entertaining science fiction film!

THE GOOD

Even though this is based off Edward Ashton’s 2022 book Mickey7, Mickey 17 manages to come across as a refreshing science fiction story. It shares a lot of similarities with Snowpiercer, a sci-fi story set in the future that has a lot to say about the upper class and their suppression of the lower class. What separates the two movies however is how tongue-in-cheek Mickey 17 tells its story. The story of Mickey 17 is told in a comedic manner and make no mistake, this movie is a full blown comedy. Sometimes to the point where it’s not subtle when conveying it’s themes and social commentary. This is especially reflected with the actors and how they portray their characters.

Robert Pattinson is basically playing two characters, both of them with a ridiculous voice. While Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are clones, Pattinson does an excellent job at making them feel like two different characters, 17 is more cowardly and unsure of himself at points and 18 is the tough guy who won’t hesitate to kill someone. However both Mickeys share something more than just a funny voice. They both have a very nonchalant attitude about death, knowing that they’ll be cloned again as if nothing happened. This can be related to the unfortunate attitude a lot of people have about working hard, often thankless jobs for very little in return. This mostly plays out before the two clones meet each other and the comedy in seeing Mickey die and revived many times over works. When the clones do meet, the movie shifts gears into the standard commentary about the morality of clones and if they deserve to be treated like regular humans.

The only people who could overact more than Robert Pattinson in this movie are Mark Ruffalo as the self absorbed politician Kenneth Marshall and Toni Collette as his wife. The best way to describe Toni Collette is a cross between her role in Knives Out and Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer. As for Mark Ruffalo, he is basically hamming it up as much as he can. Since he’s playing a failed politician with an inflated ego, it’s clear from his introduction which real life politician Ruffalo is channeling. Thankfully the person he is acting like (and his supporters) will be too stupid to even notice.

The cast is also made up of a great group of supporting characters including Naomi Ackie as Nasha, Mickey’s girlfriend, Steven Yeun as Mickey’s friend (and something more as the movie progresses), Cameron Britton as the head of Marshall’s science team who also happens to be a slimy little yes man, and Patsy Ferran as one of the other main scientists. All of these actors understand what kind of movie they’re in and each get their moment to shine.

THE BAD

The worst that can be said about Mickey 17, is that it didn’t impress me the same way Bong Joon-ho’s other movies have. I’m not sure if it’s because this was backed by a major film studio, Warner Bros, but it doesn’t have the same charm or originality that his other movies before had. The film does suffer through some serious pacing issues. There are points where the movie basically stops to explain how something is happening or how one character relates to another. It works in the first act because they need to set up the world and Mickey’s decision to become an expendable, but it drags the movie down a bit when they do this in the second and third acts. The film can also get too silly at points, especially with its social commentary that it was often hard to care about the story and its characters. I was more entertained by the movie than invested by the time it ended. The ending itself also drags on and has a sequence that you think is a set up, but ultimately results to nothing. 

OVERALL

While Mickey 17 isn’t Bong Joon-ho’s best movie, it’s still another entertaining film in his filmography. The cast is superb and everyone gives a good performance. Bong Joon-ho’s direction is great and all the technical aspects are impressive! While the movie can get too over the top at points with its themes, it’s still told in a very entertaining manner. I don’t see anyone coming out of this movie thinking otherwise. I enjoyed it more than Okja but it falls short compared to Snowpiercer and Parasite, which really isn’t saying much to begin with!

RATING

GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT