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Full disclaimer. I have never seen Twister, nor do I have any nostalgia for it. I was mainly interested in seeing this because of how boring the 2024 summer season was and the surprisingly decent scores I've seen. If I could describe this movie in a single sentence, it'd be "What you see is what you get.". It's a movie about tornadoes and the feelings people from all walks of life get from it, and not much more. It's a very serviceable narrative that does what you'd expect it to. But I believe the movie knows that's the case, and it has a lot of fun with its premise.

I think the acting is what really sells this movie. Not because it's exceptional, but because it feels real. Aside from a comically evil line near the end of the movie, the rest of the dialogue felt natural and fit well for each scene, even during the most horrifying parts. Nothing feels over the top or incredibly shallow. Each character feels distinct enough from one another and work well together, with no one feeling outshined. Glen Powell as Tyler Owens is easily the best one here as he plays up his wild nature without becoming comically obnoxious. He was absolutely wonderful here. The bits of comedy while not laugh out loud funny, weren't bad either. There was one joke I rolling my eyes at, but otherwise, nothing ever got in the way. You also do have to sit through the cliché of the main character letting go of their past only to be sucked back into it because someone told them to, but at the very least, it's very quick and painless. And they don't try to force in an obligatory love plot between the two leads and just have the focus be on the important task at hand, which is stopping the tornadoes. I appreciate that they can just have a man and a woman simply be friends. It sounds like a stupid thing to appreciate, but it really isn't all that common in the movies that I've seen at least.

The visual effects were also really good, especially on the tornadoes. Usually I can spot at least a couple of instances where something looks artificial or the actors are on a green screen, but not here. It's really well polished and looks like the events unfolding are actually happening. The music is also pretty dang solid. The orchestrated pieces and the songs that were made by famous country singers all work well here and help make the narrative flow really nicely, while also just being catchy songs in their own right. Ain't No Love in Oklahoma by Luke Combs in particular is a bop and has been on repeat for me for quite a bit now.

Twisters isn't exactly an incredible film by any means, but not every film needs to be. It's one that I'm likely to forget about in due time, but I'm glad I saw it all the same. It fills the void of the summer blockbuster while wearing its heart on its sleeve. It's a movie I've seen a ton of times before, and it's a little bit too long. But it's a fun time that I can recommend to those that want just a simple thrill ride with some storm chasers. And like I said, I'd never seen Twister. But I was still able to follow along with this movie just fine, so it's perfectly accessible for newcomers as well.

This is every granny's Mission Impossible. Talk about a movie I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did. I went into this with barely any idea of what to expect having not watched any trailers, and I think that was for the best. There's always something so heartwarming about seeing an older person, particularly a grandparent, taking action to do the right thing. And that's exactly what Thelma does.

I'm not particularly familiar with June Squibb outside of her small bits of voice work in recent Disney projects, and apparently this is her first film where she's the lead role. But man, she left an excellent first impression on me. She's a sweetheart with wisdom and innocence, but with a dash of sass and wit that just makes her really compelling. All the characters are likable, in fact. Fred Hechinger is delightful as Thelma's loving grandson, Danny. It's clear that he cares and worries about her so much, but it never goes overboard. The relationship feels organic. Richard Roundhouse works wonders as Ben being the voice of reason for Thelma, with both having some great back-and-forth conversations. And the rest of the ing cast serve their purposes well.

The comedic gags were very well done. I wouldn't say I was losing my mind with laughter outside of one moment during a dramatic bit later on where I had to do a double take. But I wasn't rolling my eyes at anything either. None of the jokes were ever bad, and they never went on for longer than they needed to. They do just enough to be memorable and funny. And the more fast paced action moments were solid, too, really adding to the tension of certain scenes while staying grounded in reality. I also just really love the messages in the movie, regarding how it's important to confront your age and realize what you're capable of at that point while also accepting that working with others leads to better relationships and results. That, and warning about how easy it is to fall for scams through phone calls, emails, and other sleazy methods. And it's not preachy either. These messages are shared in fun and engaging ways, fitting for the tone of the movie.

Thlema might just be the sleeper hit of 2024 for me. It's funny and action packed in a way you don't typically see from major films, while avoiding the pitfalls a lot of those films fall into. It shares good life lessons that, while they may seem obvious, are things that we could all be reminded of every once in a while. And overall, it's just a consistently enjoyable experience from front to back with barely anything dragging it down. And the fact that the director and writer, Josh Margolin, based this off of his own experiences with his grandma just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Go and show some love to your grandparents and get them in the theater to see this movie.

You've genuinely got to be kidding me! Like, I knew this was going to be bad, but THIS soul crushing? While Megamind is far from my favorite Dreamworks film, it's proven itself to be one of their better standalone productions. But it's like they saw the hype that movie's gotten over the past few years and wanted to capitalize on it but not to a point where it'd break the bank because it'd probably lose them money if they put effort in. And what we're left with is a genuine insult to the name that's a decade too late.

The animation is terrible. Anyone with eyes can see that. It actually looks worse than Toy Story. TOY STORY! The first computer animated film in history! That's impressive. It's super cheap, incredibly stiff, and is as uninspired as a children's film could be. The story is about as lazy as you could make a superhero flick, with all the clichés in the book upped tenfold. It's an 11 minute cartoon episode stretched out into an agonizing 80 minutes. And the villains have no reason to be bad other than to just do it. Sure, Jack Horner from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was that, but at least he owned it and was genuinely hilarious. These guys are as stale as white bread, and their traits and "jokes" get old before the first "joke" even happens. Even the heroes aren't thrilling. Megamind's lost all sense of intrigue as a character, The villain parody angle is gone, and in it's place is a generic hero that keeps up an act and is terrible at it. Minion (He doesn't deserve to go by his new name) has a subplot that goes nowhere and barely contributes to anything, Roxanne just exists to exist, and the social media influencer kid represented basically everything that I hate about modern media in one package. These are all stereotypes of stereotypes! The comedy in general just falls flat. There's like two bits max that are close to able, but 99% percent of the time, it's the oldest trick in the book, drags on for far too long, extremely condescending, or all of the above.

This'll very likely be the last time I act this unhinged over media I don't like in my life. I've made a genuine effort to clean up my act and not be destructive over things that aren't a big deal. But in this case, I feel like it's warranted. This has got to be the worst movie I've ever seen in my life! Sure, I've seen movies that are technically worse than this. But they've always been cases where they just exist in a vacuum, so I have no attachment to any type of source material. But in this case, it revives something beloved just to destroy it, all while the creators pretend that it's a big deal. And it's not even funny to make fun of either! At least my other most hated movies like Going Overboard and Birdemic 2, I can get a laugh out of the sheer incompetency of them. Heck, I think those movies deserve an apology by comparison. In the case of this movie, it's just flat-out depressing. The most insane part to me about all of this is that I literally just paused the movie halfway through to do my college math homework a week before it was due. I'd rather do homework than keep watching. That speaks volumes! Please save yourself the headache, watch the first movie, and pretend this doesn't exist. And now that it's out of my life, I can finally be at peace. It hasn't been an honor.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is really weird to talk about. We've known about its existence for a long time, and yet it never felt that monumental. Whether it be due to it being 8 years since Kung Fu Panda 3 or just the idea becoming shallow, I didn't feel like this was going to be too special, even after the trailers started coming out. And after seeing the movie in action, yeah my expectations were definitely met. No, Kung Fu Panda 4 isn't a bad movie, and I do think it still has heart put into it. But you will not see me trying to justify its existence other than "we need another Kung Fu Panda". This movie feels like what people who've never watched a Kung Fu Panda movie and hate it for the name alone say Kung Fu Panda is. It's a shallow and goofy story that doesn't stick with you after its over.

The performances I feel help carry this movie for the most part. Jack Black is still as charismatic as ever as Po, James Hong is still killing it as Mr. Ping despite him being 95, Bryan Cranston as Li still remains so delightful, and I'm just happy to see Ke Huy Quan in anything nowadays given his history with the industry. Most of the performances are still as solid as can be given the material they were able to work with. Awkwafina though... I've got nothing. She was fine in Crazy Rich Asians, and she was fine in Shang-Chi, but it just feels like every movie she's in nowadays, she plays the same comedic condescending character, and I can't separate her performance from the character, and that character is so uninteresting and feels like she's just there to say we have a new lead character without giving her anything that we can connect to.

And that's my biggest problem with the movie, a lack of purpose. The story doesn't have anything meaningful to offer, with its message of ing your knowledge down to the next generation being basically forgotten about. The villain, while really cool in concept and should be the biggest threat in the franchise, doesn't reach her potential in the slightest. When the final fight was over, I thinking... "that was it?". The action itself while fine, wasn't anything notable either. Basically, you can tell where the budget was cut. I would also complain about the lack of the Furious Five, but considering how I've talked about them just being kind of there in the past, I didn't really care about them just being written out entirely. I will say though, the best parts of the movie were when Mr. Ping and Li were hanging out and going on the adventure together. Seeing both dads just bonding and being silly with each other is just pure brotherly joy. They easily got the most laughs for me, of which the rest of the humor didn't land most of the time, though it's not as egregious as 3 was in this regard.

Overall, Kung Fu Panda 4 is the definition of just... fine. I'm not angry about it, but I definitely don't care for it. If this was a standalone film, then it's whatever. But because it's part of an acclaimed series of movies, it's no wonder others feel so strongly about it. Though I will thank this movie's existence for one thing, and that's that it gave Jack Black an excuse to cover a Britney Spears song. Does it fit within the movie? Absolutely not! But do I love it any less as a result? Absolutely not!

Given all of the red flags leading up to this movie's inevitable release, from how it would even work, to the studio making it, to the bizarre casting, the fact that I enjoyed The Super Mario Bros. Movie this much is a miracle. It works beautifully as a love letter to Mario fans around the world, and also just happens to be easily accessible towards outsiders. The further I got through it, the more it awoke the child within me for the better. It's a pure ride where you can just let loose and have fun.

I was very worried that I wouldn't believe in Mario given the bizarre choice to cast Chris Pratt over the man who's voiced the guy for decades now and earned the spot. However, while I still would've preferred it if Charles Martinet got to play his part, I actually didn't mind Chris Pratt's performance here. It worked given the script and style at play here, and I quickly stopped seeing Chris Pratt in a Mario bodysuit and just saw... Mario, which was great. And that applies to the rest of the characters, too... most of the time, anyway.

Is the story light and barebones? Yes, I'll fully it that. I feel like the movie could've been around 20 minutes longer to let the characters breathe more. And Luigi sadly doesn't do much for most of the runtime. But it really doesn't bother me that much, because Mario games always prioritized action over narrative, and the action and adventure stuff was nailed down to a tee. They know that the structure is very simple, and they have fun with it. And because of that, no part of the film is boring.

It's also chockful of references old and new that were placed out of pure love for the fans, and not in a forceful way either. They're awesome when you get them, but if you don't, they're never distracting. It's not ashamed to be a movie based on a video game, which is a trap a lot of adaptations fall into. You can still watch this movie without knowing a thing about Mario and still have fun with the right mindset. But it also beautifully tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who has a connection with this series. And given the fact I've been with it for two decades now, it pulled at them in just the right ways, and has made this movie my favorite video game film of all time.

I imagine some people will look at that statement and automatically assume that I only love this movie the way I do because my nostalgia runs deep. And to that I say... "Yeah, so be it." The movie is still perfectly enjoyable disregarding my attachment to the IP. I enjoy films that push the boundaries of art and storytelling as much as the next guy. But there's nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy something for the simple pleasure of seeing a character you grew up with in a shining new way. And at the end of the day, if you're judging this film harshly because it's not some innovative landmark title that changes the landscape of animation, let alone cinema... that's a YOU problem.

Check out my YouTube video about the movie for more of my thoughts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6TDJUXzAs

Soft reboots tend to get a bad rap for many reasons, whether it's retelling an old story and making it worse, or completely dishonoring what made the original films so impactful to begin with. But, Creed is a different story entirely. It captures the same sort of message and progression that the classic Rocky did, but it does so with a fresh perspective that stands up on its own merits. It unites longtime Rocky fans and people who've never seen a single one of those films, and brings them a great continuation of the story, not just a retelling.

Having already watched Black Panther and really respecting Michael B. Jordan's performance as Killmonger, I was beyond impressed with how well he did here considering this came out 3 years beforehand. He has a strong will and tons of respect towards his peers, and his journey feels earned amongst all the struggles he has to face, especially in the wake of dealing with his reception as the son of Apollo Creed. Sylvester Stallone doesn't miss a beat here either, despite his age. And while his character definitely has a lot of burdens to bare in his own life, he doesn't let it drag him down forever and sees the potential that Adison Creed has. There's so much mutual respect between these two that you wanna root for them no matter what they're going through.

The whole "American Dream" message I took away from Rocky still applies here as well, but in a different context. Fighting to make your dreams come true is the key message, but it also touches on themes of family legacy and if that's worth embracing, and finding a reason to keep going when you're past your prime. The fight scenes are excellently choreographed and shocking too; arguably even more impressive than in the OG franchise. The fact that a lot of them are done with only a single camera shot is beyond impressive and kept me glued to the screen so that I didn't miss a beat.

Is this movie as good as the original Rocky? I wouldn't go that far. You do have to sit through some tired clichés that can be found in many sports dramas, some obligatory love scenes were a bit distracting, and there were times I could tell exactly how a scene was gonna go and just have to deal with the motions. But otherwise, in a world where we see sequels and reboots left and right that no one asked for, Creed is a rare example of one done right, respecting the legacy of the beloved old franchise, but also pushing it forward in a healthy way for a new generation.

If I could describe Rocky in one sentence, it's that it's the perfect representation of the American dream. It shows us how being around the right people at the right time can push us to become the best version of ourselves, and inspire us to achieve our goals through hard work and determination. It shows us that trying our best and loving what you do in and outside of your profession matters much more than success or failure.

This movie is much less about boxing, as much as it is a character study. Rocky Balboa is a wonderfully engaging character played perfectly by Sylvester Stallone. He does rough things and goes with the flow, but only because of the situation he's stuck in. We spend a long time with this character before the world changes for him, which I think is for the best as it allows us to step into his shoes and relate to him and his struggles in a fulfilling way. It's when he gets his golden opprotunity to shine that we see his journey for glory come into fruition, which, yeah, isn't always sunshine and rainbows, but nothing is. There's a lot of pain and hardship to get to where you wanna be, and this movie knows that. But it also knows that it's all worth it in the end.

If there was something I wasn't that fond of when I initially watched it, it's that I felt Rocky was being a bit too forceful to get Adrian to embrace him. I don't know, maybe I've just heard too many horror stories of women embracing submission for their safety over the years, and the interaction in the film kind of gave me that vibe. Upon giving the scene a second viewing, while he may come off as forceful, it doesn't seem like he has ill intent. He sees the best in this woman and wants her to embrace that, but she's too shy to because of the way her brother treats her. Getting more comfortable with that and knowing the direction of the film better will probably be enough to bump it up to 5 stars for me in due time.

I got to watch this movie with my dad in the theaters for a special Tuesday Night Classics showing, and I'll be honest. If I watched it as a kid, I would've hated the film and thought it was a bore fest. But watching it now as an adult, I really appreciate the nuance of the overarching narrative in a way I never would've as a child. As they always say, it's all about the journey, not the destination. And it's now become a life goal of mine to climb the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Arts steps.

Pinocchio, one of the most famous stories in all of fiction. It kind of feels surreal to know that I've yet to watch the original film in full until now considering just how much the iconic moments are burned into my memory. And while it may not be the greatest tale in the world, it's still pretty dang good. And for an animated flick in 1940, it's exceptional.

It never truly hit me just how dark this film can be, but I think it's warranted as it teaches a very important lesson. Yeah, the "dreams can come true" mantra is here in full force, but it also shows how lost you can get when you take the wrong path in life. If anything, I think the idea of scaring children is warranted here, as sometimes if you want them to learn a lesson, you have to do it in a way they'll never forget. And you don't forget about the iconic moments here.

While none of the characters are anything to write home about considering they're pretty run-of-the-mill for the most part, I was surprised by how much I liked Jiminy Cricket. Considering my years of Kingdom Hearts brain rot and how I didn't care for him in those games, he was genuinely likable here with witty dialogue, clumsy fails, and a good heart that despite being a conscience, could still make mistakes just like anyone else.

Ultimately, what keeps this movie from being a full-on masterpiece for me is the pacing. It takes a while for the plot to actually get going, and while there's creative imagery throughout that time, it could've been cut down a little bit. The same can be said about the mystery of the final act which goes through the same point about 3 to 4 times before things start to move along.

The songs are decent, but aside from Give a Little Whistle and of course When You Wish Upon a Star, they aren't gonna be stuck in my head for days. Speaking of the latter, I can see why it became the trademark song for the Disney brand. People have debated if its message is good or not, and while I can see the detractors, I see it as something to grasp onto as a sense of comfort, especially in the religious sense. Yeah, the world can be scary and bruiting, but sometimes good things CAN happen amongst it all, even when you least expect it. And I think that's a perfect way to describe this film. A star in a sea of darkness.

What better way to ring in the holidays than by dumping your life away into the bargain bin of Christmas films? Yeah, I've finally dipped my foot into the world of Hallmark Christmas, because dang it, that puppy was too cute to resist. It turns out I've been sold a lie! The puppy barely does anything in the movie and isn't even relevant to the plot until the very end involving one line from the stock handsome white guy. I wanted a puppy for Christmas, and instead I got the Hallmark standard. I don't know what I expected more.

Other than that, this is pretty much your run-of-the-mill stock Christmas story. Girl leaves her dead-end job and her factory-made chad, and stays with a hunk in the countryside to discover the true meaning of Christmas. Everything you expect to happen does happen. It's not a good movie, but can I really be mad at it? It's exactly what it says it is, and it's completely harmless at the end of the day. The only thing this did for me is convince me that I should probably get a toy poodle for myself someday.

Happy Holidays!

Killing myself would've been better than this!

I'm not even gonna bother writing a review for this one, because it doesn't deserve it. The ONLY things this movie has going for it over the original is that Simba has a more compelling reason to be in the canyon before the stampede and Timon and Pumbaa have some clever jokes. Otherwise, this movie wears its intentions on its sleeve. It's a soulless corpse disguised as something you cherish and hold dear. It takes away bits and pieces you loved about the original and turns it into something so lifeless yet Disney feels so unashamed of. This is what people who hate animation, and The Lion King specifically, say The Lion King is. Since it's basically just a classic but worse in every way, it quite frankly doesn't deserve to be acknowledged. Watch The Real Lion King. End of story.

Watch this movie, you cowards!

It's quite frankly a miracle just how decent the first Sonic movie turned out given its circumstances and the state of video game movies as a whole, and the sequel proves to be a worthy follow-up and unsurprisingly even better than the original. I still think Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is the best video game adaptation I've seen, but it ain't THAT much better. This movie still holds up well on its own merits, though, and earns its high moments.

Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey still do just as well as Sonic and Robotnik respectively, and neither one outshines the other. I'm glad that Robotnik used his time wisely while he was stranded to be a radio host for The Weeknd's Dawn FM album. Idris Elba provides one of my favorite interpretations of Knuckles since he's hardheaded and a little out of touch, but still serious and respectful. And I'm so glad they got Tails' current voice actress from the games, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, to still voice him here. Tails has been my favorite Sonic character since day one, and Colleen's voice is easily my preferred one for the role.

This is definitely much more of a Sonic movie than the last one. There's a lot more focus put on the main characters this time, and their interactions are believable and fun. There's a ton more visual variety, too, and it provides a ton of good fan service to the more old school Genesis to Adventure era players like myself without being too on the nose. And the final battle is immensely satisfying to watch, even if it's clear that they couldn't go too overboard with the budget. There are some cliché moments and story beats you have to sit through, but it's a movie targeted towards kids, so that's to be expected.

There are still scenes with the humans by themselves, though, and they're easily the least interesting parts of the movie. I don't feel emotionally invested in these characters or their sub plots, and it makes getting through their scenes a bit of a slog. That said, there's one human-only scene near the end of act two that's so ludicrous that it was unironically the funniest part of the movie for me, so I can forgive it. It was certainly needed, too, since I didn't find much of the movie to be that funny otherwise. Though just like the first movie, none of the jokes were downright awful aside from the obligatory fart humor.

There is one scene that reeks of Hollywood-esque filler, though, and I'd argue the worst part of the movie. Without spoiling anything, it leads nowhere, has some of the lamest jokes, and includes a forced dance number with one of the most overused pop songs in recent history, and if you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Despite all of that, however, THIS is the Sonic movie that earned its name. I'm really glad that both movies exist and are giving the franchise some positive attention in the mainstream after way too long. And I'm sure the third movie is going to make it even better. If you love the franchise, you've probably already seen it and love it to bits. To everyone else, though, if you want a fun action movie, especially one to watch with your kids, this is your best bet.

If I could describe Thor with a single word, it would be "boring". When you're showing me a superhero movie, I'm hoping to get one of two things out of it. I want to see either a fun thrill ride that takes full advantage of the otherworldly concepts of superheroes, or a grounded and serious story with strong emotions and high stakes. The best Marvel films do a great job at balancing both, but the problem with Thor is that it has no idea it's even supposed to be a superhero movie and doesn't know what it wants to be as a result of that.

It's a standard fish out of water story where Thor is sent to live with regular humans on Earth because of his reckless behavior in Asgard. It's a solid concept, and there's nothing inherently wrong with how it's handled. The problem is that Thor himself is such a bland and uninteresting character. He starts out fine enough in Asgard, but on Earth, his dialogue comes off so stoic and robotic, that you end up just not caring for him at all. Around the end of the second act, he starts acting more like a regular human being, and he does become a better character during that time as a result, but for the most part, I felt nothing watching him on the screen when he wasn't wielding his hammer.

His brother, Loki, is actually really engaging, though. His backstory is well thought out, and the pain he goes through and how he expresses it makes him a much more interesting character compared to the one we're supposed to be rooting for. If Thor himself wasn't so mundane as a character, I think him and Loki could've had an amazing dynamic with their different worldviews. But as is, Loki is still a good character in his own right.

What kills this movie for me is the pacing. There are many times where you think a scene is going to last longer, but it just ends out of nowhere without letting you take in the full weight of the scene. The movie is almost two hours long, and yet it feels like a T.V. special with how abrupt some of the scenes are. It also doesn't help that there's barely any action in the movie. There's one fight at the beginning of the movie, which was ittedly well done, one fight near the end that's extremely short and anti-climatic, and a weirdly shot military base break-in scene. Otherwise, you'll just spend most of your time watching nothing happen in this generic town that feels like it was plastered into a random game sandbox.

The movie also has a strange obsession with tilted camera angles and bizarre camera shots in general. Any weight that a scene could carry is ruined by the unnecessary way they position the camera. It makes things unreasonably edgy for no reason. And then the way they move the camera during an emotional moment between Thor and Loki completely takes me out of the scene, which is a shame since it's an otherwise poignant moment.

Thor is by no means a terrible movie. I never felt offended watching it, and objectively speaking, you could do a lot worse. It's structurally sound and works fine as a concept. But as mentioned at the beginning, everything surrounding the movie is just boring. And whether you're going for something comedic or serious, the last thing a superhero movie should be is boring. I liked this movie as a kid, but looking back on it now, it definitely isn't the brightest spot in the MCU, especially compared to what would come later on.

This was my first time watching a movie on HBO Max and... eh? I'm not familiar with the monsterverse, having only seen Kong: Skull Island back in theaters and ing nothing about it. But I've always known about Godzilla and King Kong, and seeing them fight each other with such a high budget was really enticing. And I technically got that, but not in the way that I was hoping.

Most of the movie is spent with the human characters, and they are some of the most bland and boring cookie cutter characters I've seen in a motion picture. They're only there to service the plot, which even then is uninteresting and feels like filler. There's this interdimensional simulation stuff which I felt was confusing, out of place, and just took away from the goal this movie was trying to accomplish. For a film called Godzilla VS Kong, there's also a surprising amount of time given to Kong compared to Godzilla, the former being the central part of the "story" and the latter only showing up for the fights. A more accurate name would be Kong: Skull Island 2 featuring Godzilla.

At the end of the day, you're watching a movie like this to watch giant monsters fighting each other. And when most of that time is filled with characters you don't care about, it drags down that experience tenfold. When you actually DO get to see the fights in action though, it's genuinely great. Seeing both monsters take advantage of their different abilities to come out on top was thrilling to witness, and there were points where I was really getting tense. You don't even care about how much destruction they're doing to the city, because the fight is just too fun to care, which I know sounds pretty morbid. I also like the look of the city, too. The neon aesthetics really make the place look stunning at night. Unfortunately, there's only two VS fights in the whole movie, with a solo fight for Kong somewhere in the middle, and an introduction for Godzilla as the cold open. I was really hoping we'd get at least three big ones throughout the short runtime.

If this movie was any longer than it was, I'd definitely be more harsh towards it. But the fact that it's less than two hours is kind of its saving grace. You do end up getting what you come for, but the creative decisions made makes it a bit of a tedious trek to get there. If you want my advice, just watch the third act by itself and pretend it's a short film.

This was written as an essay for my college English class, which I ended up getting a 100% grade on. Because of that, this review is a lot more formal and in-depth than most of my other ones are, so keep that in mind as you read along.

As the art of cinema has evolved over the decades, there has been a constant push to and represent people of marginalized and degraded groups. Some of the most popular examples include women, people of color, and LGBTQ citizens. But there is a specific group of people that’s also trying to get their names out there that isn’t talked about nearly as much. These are people with autism and down syndrome, two different kinds of brain disabilities.

These people have been misunderstood for as long as the human race has existed. They think very differently compared to the average human and function in all kinds of ways, whether it be sporadically or quietly. It’s always a case-by-case basis, making it complicated for people who don’t have brain issues to fully understand them. This has made representation in media tricky, and major studios typically don’t want to take a risk with people that aren’t their own.

This is where The Peanut Butter Falcon steps in. Released in the United States on August‌ 9, 2019 and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, The Peanut Butter Falcon is a comedy-drama indie film that’s notable for starring Zack Gottensagen, an actor with down syndrome. The film explores friendship, family, and overcoming challenges, while also breaking the stereotypes of brain disabilities and treats people with autism and down syndrome with love and respect without downplaying how general society treats these people as a whole. It’s one of the most realistic portrayals of people on the spectrum out there and serves as a critical turning point for actors with disabilities.

The story is about a man with down syndrome named Zak, who’s played by Zack himself. He dreams of becoming a professional wrestler and escapes from his home at a care facility to pursue that dream. Eventually, he runs into Tyler, a fisherman played by Shia LeBeouf, who goes on the run after burning his rival's gear after getting fired. The two then set out on a journey to meet Zak’s hero, the Saltwater Redneck, and the pair form an unlikely friendship along the way.

The story is told in such a remarkable way and shows that sometimes the greatest friendships come from the most unlikely of people. Zak is a ionate, yet doubtful man just trying to accomplish his dream and live his own life while Tyler is a stubborn, impatient worker just trying to get out of the situation he’s stuck in. Eventually though, Zak’s behavior causes Tyler to soften up and he becomes much more comionate as a result. With each challenge they come across, the two learn much more about each other and it impacts their lives in positive and realistic ways.

One scene in particular from the middle of the movie where Zak and Tyler are camping out for the night sends the message home and acts as a huge boost of inspiration for people with disabilities. Zak talks about how he’s a bad guy because his family left him and that he can’t be a hero because he has down syndrome. Tyler then tells him that has nothing to do with his heart and that he shouldn’t let aspects of his life that aren’t his fault tell him who he is. He reassures Zak that he’s a very strong individual and outside influences don’t matter. Zak then asks Tyler if he thinks he’s a good person, to which Tyler says he doesn’t know because of his past experiences, causing Zak to tell him he’s a good guy despite that. This is a beautiful exchange that’s a reminder that people are represented not by what society deems them as, but by the strength of their character.

There’s one character though that strongly believes that Zak belongs at the nursing home to receive proper care. Eleanor, Zak’s caretaker played by Dakota Johnson, searches for him after she finds out he went missing and eventually runs into him and Tyler. She demands for Zak to go back to the facility, but Tyler refuses to let him go. Eventually though, the duo becomes a trio as Eleanor reluctantly s them on their journey. Along the way, she and Tyler start to be more caring towards each other, which is really the only major issue with the movie. When they first meet, they’re very stern and critical and it takes a while to earn one’s trust. They can’t just start to form a loving relationship in a single day’s time. Their focus should’ve been solely on Zak’s adventure and nothing more. It doesn’t take away from the experience too much, but it’s such a sudden shift that it is worth noting. There’s other strange decisions within the movie too like when Tyler and Zak encounter a blind religious man that doesn’t end up going anywhere, but they’re much less common.

The film makes up for these issues though by completely subverting the viewer’s expectations. On the surface, it seems like all is going well for the crew and Zak’s dream is going to come true. But without going into spoilers, this movie paints a perfect picture as to why the world isn’t black or white. People aren’t always going to get what they want, and when they do, it might not have been as joyful as they were expecting. There are real consequences based on the actions of these characters, and the film never talks down to its audience by shying away from said consequences. There’s a lot of hidden layers to uncover, and it makes the film something much more than just a time-waster on Hulu.

Overall, The Peanut Butter Falcon does a wonderful job of representing people with disabilities in a positive, yet realistic light. The story is uplifting, yet uncomfortable, the character relationships are believable for the most part, and the messages it portrays are the ones only the best films can offer to the audience. 2019 was one of the biggest years in film history, and while The Peanut Butter Falcon went under the radar when compared to other phenomenal films from that year, it still stands out as a commendable achievement, and cinema deserves more movies like it instead of films where the directors and actors don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to disabilities.

Hoo boy! Where do I begin with this? Let me start off by saying that I love SpongeBob SquarePants. That was MY T.V. show as a kid and I watched it all the time not even caring about the later seasons' dip in quality. I did stop watching the show after I stopped caring about cable and thus haven't seen the newer seasons. But the show still really helped shape the kind of person I am today.

That being said, this movie blows.

It starts fine enough within the first act but really starts going downhill during the second and especially the third act. The plot is supposed to be about SpongeBob and Patrick going on a road trip to rescue the kidnapped Gary from King Poseidon, but it's done so aimlessly that I struggle to even call it a plot. These guys get distracted by the littlest of random things that it's easily predictable and don't even work well within the context of the world. Now sure, they were distracted quite a lot in the first movie, but those moments at least made sense and either offered consequences for their actions or were amusing in their own right. Here though, each distraction and set piece feels forced in just to pad out the runtime. You could've cut out the filler and made this a 45 minute T.V. special and nothing would change.

The reason King Poseidon steals Gary is also really lame. It's all because he has a single unnoticeable wrinkle and that snail juice helps cure that. It's such a nothing reason and the fact that THAT'S what kickstarts the movie is sad to say the least. Plankton's subplot is also extremely forced in. He tries to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula again, and while I won't spoil the outcome of the situation, his motivations change so quickly that I started to wonder what the point of this subplot was at all.

The worst aspects of this movie though are its marketing and forced messages. There's so many licensed songs here, most of them only playing for about ten seconds and don't fit within the setting at all, although the Livin' La Viva Loca segment was ittedly pretty cute. There's also quite a few flashback sequences to SpongeBob's time at Kamp Koral and meeting his friends there. They have no reason to exist since we already know everyone's established relationships and are clearly only here to promote the prequel show of the same name. They even contradict early episodes where the characters ACTUALLY meet for the first time. It gets especially bad during the aforementioned third act when the forced messages come in, going for the generic "you can be anything you want and no one can tell you otherwise" approach which is so overdone and completely shoe-horned in. It got to the point where I questioned if these characters, Poseidon included, had ANY sort of actual motivation. It makes me wonder who this movie is even for.

There are a few things I'll give the movie credit for though. The animation is stellar for one and I think the stylized CGI approach works wonders for the world of SpongeBob. Seeing Keanu Reeves as a tumbleweed was also pretty amusing, even if the advice he gives out is kind of null in void in the end. It also pokes fun at a couple of buddy movie clichés which was nice and I did get a couple of laughs every now and then, mostly from Patrick. On top of all of this, anything with Kenny G.'s saxophone playing definitely has a little bit of value.

Overall, Sponge on the Run was a huge disappointment and a spit in the face to Stephen Hillenburg's legacy. That said, it's not a disaster of a film. It's still SpongeBob, it's harmless enough, and kids will most likely get more out of this than I did. If you ask me though, you're much better off watching the first movie or even the second one.

Rest in peace, Stephen Hillenburg. Thank you for bringing so much joy to my and millions of other children's lives.

Eh? Kung Fu Panda 3 is a weird installment to talk about. It's still enjoyable and delivers on what I love about the first two movies, but I don't think I can think of a single thing that 3 does better than 1 & 2. It's definitely a good sequel, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.

The story is alright and I think that Po reuniting with his panda family after so long is a great setup and makes for some nice bonding, especially between his real father and adoptive father. My problems with the plot come in two forms. For one, there's a whole arc about Po finding "himself" and while that's fine in theory, the way it's explained is so cliche and doesn't make for interesting dialogue. One of the plot twists near the end also feels like a very forced exchange since you know that everything will turn out fine in the end. My other problem is the villain, Kai. While I like the attitude of this guy and some of the lines he's given are great, to me he's just an off-brand Tai Lung. His reason for being bad is weak in comparison to Tai Lung and even Lord Shen, and the way he fights isn't really that menacing or interesting.

The action is also the weakest in the series. The amount of fights there are is pretty slim and aside from the final one, none of them really stick out as memorable or engaging to watch. The comedy also loses some points as while I don't think it causes as many tonal problems as the weak stuff did in 2, the humor when Po gets to the panda village just feels like filler. The fat jokes were dialed up a lot here to the point of annoyance and there's one moment in particular that was just straight-up uncomfortable to watch. There's still a good amount of laugh out loud moments here, but those mainly occur within the first half of the movie. The message portrayed here, while I still think it's a good one, I don't think is quite as powerful as the ones from the first two films. Lastly, once again, the Furious Five, Tigress aside, don't get enough non-action screen time to feel like proper characters and I'd argue this movie is the worst at doing this due to a spoiler later on. It makes me wonder why they would even add these characters to the franchise at all aside from doing TV specials with them and selling merchandise.

I know I came off really negative with this review, but that's because Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 are wonderful movies and 3 while still good on its own, doesn't quite live up to the expectations that were set for it. Still, it does deliver on what I want from this franchise and makes for a solid send-off to the trilogy. While each movie is weaker than the last, Kung Fu Panda still stands strong as one of Dreamwork's finest achievements in animated storytelling.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is an interesting sequel, because while it does improve on the issues I had with the first movie, it created some more substantial issues that ultimately make it a weaker film in my eyes. Despite that though, it still manages to be one of the best sequels out there when it comes to progressing the story and evolving the characters into something greater.

The story has a much grander scope with everyone travelling to Gongmen City to stop the villain from taking over all of China. While I do prefer the more simplistic nature of the first film's story, this is a great follow-up since it raises the stakes in a really believable way. The new villain, Lord Shen, really helps in this regard too since he is extremely cunning, an very talented warrior, and leads a pretty scary army. He's definitely one of Dreamwork's best villains out there, although I still prefer Tai Lung for his more ruthless and stern attitude.

The emotional beats have also been taken up a notch and they all work really well. Since the Furious Five are all friends with Po now, this makes for a more interesting dynamic between everybody and you end up buying every emotion and doubt they have. Elevating this is the fact that we learn more about Po's backstory and why he ended up the way he did, and good lord it is sad. Although I'll never understand why he was shocked when he learned the goose that raised him isn't his actual father. Wouldn't that be blatantly obvious? That being said, watching him learn more about his tragic past and overcoming the fears that came from it is extremely satisfying and earned.

The third act of the movie is also downright magical. From Po overcoming his doubts to the insanely cool choreography and action that I'd say tops the original movie to the powerful messages it provides, as well as the simple things like the dialogue, music, and humor, it is a spectacle to behold and may just be one of Dreamwork's top three best things they've ever created. Anybody who's seen this movie knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Now what keeps this from being on par with the first movie for me? Well aside from the aforementioned slightly weaker villain, the first act felt a bit too slow for my liking and only really picked up for me when everyone gets knee deep into Gongmen City. The humor is also a bit weaker too since there's less jokes compared to last time, there's a smaller gap between good and weak jokes, and the weak jokes that are there tend to clash more with the themes they're going for. I will say though that I am happy the fat jokes got dialed back a bit and the humor that worked still worked wonders. Lastly, just like the first film, the Furious Five aside from Tigress just feel lacking in personality and don't get enough non-action screen time to shine, although I do think it's slightly more well-done here.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is wonderful and does exactly what a good sequel should do. It's another shining example of not always judging a book by its cover, because I'm genuinely amazed that a movie like "Kung Fu Panda 2 starring Jack Black" can leave such an un-ironic emotional impact. I still prefer the first movie overall, but 2 is still super strong on its own that I can easily understand why many people say it's their favorite of the trilogy.

HOW?! How does a movie starring Jack Black as a fat panda training to become the "dragon warrior" end up becoming one of the best animated action flicks ever made? I will never understand it, but I'm so glad that's the case. Kung Fu Panda is a masterclass at blending thrilling action, gut-busting comedy, and a strong emotional impact into one big dumpling of a package.

Just to quickly get what I didn't like out of the way, the Furious Five don't get nearly enough non-action oriented screen-time as they should. They all sort of blended together for me and ended up being very forgettable aside from Tigress, which is a shame considering the voice cast they got for these guys. I also felt there were a bit more fat jokes than I would've liked. Some of them were clever, but others made me wanna roll my eyes and it would've been better to (pun entirely intended) trim the fat. That's it. Everything else is done so well that it's really hard to complain.

The dynamic between Po (Jack Black) and Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is wonderful. Watching their relationship grow throughout the movie with each action scene and conversation is magical and super believable... well as believable as a panda going from zero to hero in three days to fight a deadly warrior is concerned anyway. Each and every interaction they have either moves the plot along in a satisfying way, makes for great comedy, or both, and none of it feels like filler. Every scene here matters and missing out on any of it will leave you confused.

The growth Po goes through is worth it too considering the fact that Tai Lung (Ian McShane) is such an awesome villain. He's ruthless, menacing, and genuinely terrifying with how skilled he is at martial arts. His completely serious demeanor is pulled off surprisingly well, never once feeling over-dramatic and forced nor does it ever feel like a joke. His backstory is also fascinating and make his motivations understandable.

The fight scenes are what really steal the show though. From the prison escape to the bridge battle to the final fight, not a single scene feels out of place or bloated and it's honestly insane to see how impressive it's all done with 2008 CGI. Every battle is engaging and will keep your eyes glued to the screen trying to sink in every little movement and detail. I'm not gonna pretend I know a single thing about kung fu moves, but I think I know great choreography when I see it and this is the peak of that. It's genuinely the best action I've ever seen in an animated feature.

This movie should not work based on the concept alone, but somehow Kung Fu Panda managed to create one of the greatest examples of action-based storytelling out there. From the comedy, to the pacing, to the fights, to some surprisingly deep and meaningful messages, this movie is something special. If you ask me, this is one of Dreamwork's crowning achievements and they should be proud of what they created here.

What a wild ride it's been from this movie's preview teasers to the official release. From the first god-awful trailer even disregarding "THAT" design to the actually decent trailer that came afterwards, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie pleasantly surprised me by how enjoyable it was. I've never been the biggest Sonic fan, but I do enjoy a good amount of the games and watching this movie for the first time, I imagine would make you proud of being a Sonic fan.

ittedly, the premise is nothing we've never seen before. A wacky cartoon animal goes to the real world, interacts with real people, and a mission to keep them safe ensues with a bunch of weird humor and dancing thrown into the mix. This concept is nothing special, but I think the team did the best they could with it when we're dealing with Sonic. The stakes were high enough and the shenanigans that ensue are pretty fun to watch play out, especially the bar scene which is easily the best part of the whole movie.

Ben Schwartz fits the role of Sonic perfectly and is one of my favorite interpretations of the character. He's still the same wisecracking good hearted character we all know, but is given a bit of emotional depth when it comes to his loneliness, which is understandable given the situation he's been put in. Jim Carrey is also pretty great as Dr. Robotnik. I did ittedly see him more as him just doing his standard Jim Carrey shtick more than I saw him as the actual character, but I think that's a part of the charm and his mannerisms I could definitely believe in the role of Robotnik. I thought he was gonna be the big highlight of the whole movie, as I'm sure many did, but I was happy to see that both him and Sonic got really good character development. As for James Marsden... I mean, he's okay, but he's about as standard as "generic white guy needed to guide the story along" as possible.

There are some other noteworthy problems I should mention. The movie has a pretty slow start ironically enough and it doesn't really become all that exciting until Robotnik shows up. Also, while I think Sonic and Robotnik played off each other really well, those interactions are few and far between and I would have liked to see a little bit more of that. Then comes the comedy. Since this movie is more aimed towards children, you can expect the typical easy jokes that are usually just thrown in for them to latch onto and nothing else. Now I did laugh a few times and I wouldn't consider any of the jokes awful aside from a single typical fart joke, but it's still worth noting. The movie also gets kind of obnoxious with product placement and pop culture references that were clearly only added so the team would have more of a budget. And yeah... I would have liked to see a bit more of Sonic's world instead of being whisked away from it right at the beginning, as it feels like a huge tease for a better sequel in the future.

Overall, the fact that this movie is good at all is a miracle, especially considering the position it was in at the beginning. I'm glad this is the case, as I really like seeing Sonic be successful and well respected. Hopefully the inevitable sequel takes things to the next level and makes something truly special for hardcore Sonic fans. We didn't really get much of that here, but it makes a good entry point for newcomers to be introduced to the series, so there's that.

Dreamworks has never had the best track record when it comes to their standalone CGI movies, but Megamind is kind of a special case where they actually knocked it out of the park. With such a silly premise and an all-star cast, this movie should not work at all, but it surprisingly ends up being a really funny and thought-provoking movie about achieving goals in life and what comes afterwards.

If I could only use one word to describe Megamind, it would be "fun". This movie is just straight-up fun from start to finish, never once losing its touch. It's just the right amount of over-the-top so that it doesn't leave you wanting more nor does it overstay its welcome. Megamind is a hilariously enjoyable villain who's just a joy to watch whenever he plays up the villain role he's been given and Metro Man and the other "hero" that appears later in the movie have some brilliant chemistry with Megamind. Quite frankly, the first exchange that Megamind and Metro Man have at the beginning of the movie is one of the funniest things I've seen in an animated film. The other characters even though they aren't that memorable, are still quite a joy to watch.

For being a superhero parody, it actually gets pretty deep and has you questioning what a hero and villain's true goals are. It's not to the point of overdramatic or anything, as the movie keeps its focus on the wacky high jinks, but its clear that these aren't just one-note characters and maybe their goals aren't what they truly want in life. The message is really well handled and how these characters go through the motions of learning it keeps me interested the entire runtime.

If there's anything I could complain about, I'd say that the final fight scene could have been a bit longer with even higher stakes beyond just the city. I also would have liked to see a bit more development with Tina Fey's character, as I find it really hard to her personality after the end of the movie. Lastly, I think they could have dialed down the amount of pop culture songs used as it was a bit distracting, especially considering there were two AC/DC songs in there. Nevertheless, this is a surprisingly really strong Dreamworks movie that holds up very well today. If you're in the mood to go on a thrill ride with hilarious comedy, silly characters with great casting, and an interesting perspective on the concepts of superheroes and supervillains, Megamind is the movie for you!

Onward was a movie I was really worried about from the trailers and what it meant for the future of Pixar. I was glad they were focusing on original movies again instead of endless sequels that don't live up to the classics, but I struggled to believe they would capture what made their previous films so special again, as I felt the 2010's was a pretty rough decade for the company. Factor that in with the all-star duo and the fact that the director of this movie also directed Monsters University which is one of their most forgettable films, and I didn't have high expectations for Onward. But since it dropped on Disney+ super early because of well... you know, I gave it a watch. Thankfully this movie managed to pleasantly surprise me. I wouldn't call it great, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the company.

Let's start with the good. For starters, I surprisingly ended up really liking our duo of main characters. I was really worried that Chris Pratt's character would get on my nerves fast, but I actually ended up enjoying him a lot and bought into his personality and arc easily. I was definitely more invested in Tom Holland's character and his stronger desire to bring his father back though. Both brothers work off each other fairly well and they seemed dedicated to their journey in different yet believable ways. Said journey is also pretty fun. There’s nothing absolutely crazy in of exciting scenery, but for a dumb fun buddy road trip movie, it gets the job done. The twists and turns I didn’t see coming and they all felt believable and worked well in the context of the movie. Also while I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, the message in it was really strong and one of Pixar’s better ones at that. It was nothing that made me cry, but I respected what they were going for immensely.

What holds this movie back though is the fact that they didn’t really use the concept of an all fairytale creature world much… at all really. I know that the world is supposed to have its magic lost, but I was expecting there to be much more visual variety and well… a reason for everybody to even be these creatures at all. You could have made everybody standard humans with wizard powers, and 95 percent of the movie would have remained the same. I also didn’t laugh a single time which is kind of mind blowing given this is Pixar we’re talking about. There were a couple of cute little gags, but even their weaker movies had more memorable humor than this. Lastly, the manticore character just didn’t serve a good purpose. The reason they give her for actually getting the spirit of adventure is so phoned in and not interesting at all and having a slower buildup throughout the duration of the movie I think would’ve helped things greatly.

Onward is a forgettable but decent enough movie. I definitely think it'll hit harder for kids who only grew up with one of their parents, but for me, this was a fun enough movie that has me resting easy knowing that Pixar is probably gonna be okay. I just wish it could have went farther with its idea. This movie is honestly the perfect bridge towards a new era of Pixar and if they continue to find new ways to innovate and make their worlds serve a good purpose like they used to, I could see the 2020’s as a renaissance for the company. Here's hoping that Soul turns out good.

If you read my review of The Lion King, you might that I said it's my favorite Disney movie of all time... Well, that was a half lie. Because while The Lion King is my favorite movie made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, if we add Pixar into the picture of the company, Toy Story 2 absolutely takes the crown for me. This does absolutely everything a good sequel should do. It takes the world and the characters we already know and love from the first movie and expands on it tenfold with a bigger story, a bigger scope, believable motives of old characters, new characters that fit in super well and have their own stories to tell, and just all-around being better made.

Instead of the movie being about the dynamic around Woody & Buzz, this time it centers around two different dynamics. Woody and his introduction to the roundup gang of Jessie, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete and how he feels about staying with them and Buzz and the rest of the toys on their own mission to rescue him. While I do ittedly miss the back-and-forth between Woody & Buzz and the comedy that came from it, the deeper narrative and the whole scope of the adventure makes this movie feel a bit richer than the original.

The first movie focused on having a new toy on the block and taking the spot of number one favorite from someone else. It’s a story about jealousy and how to overcome it and accept the circumstances of the present. Toy Story 2, on the other hand, tackles the fear of the future. What will happen when Andy grows up and is it worth going through that? This is the big question Woody has to face. Should he go back to stay with his kid, even if it means it won’t last forever? Or should he go to Japan and live in a museum where he can be adored by children for generations? This is a narrative that works wonders, because these two sides balance each other out and makes it really hard to choose one path, and you end up understanding both points of view easily. This conflict REALLY starts to become more powerful when the Prospector and eventually Buzz chime in on Woody’s thoughts.

The new characters are classic. Jessie is a vibrant and super fun character to have around, but also has a dark past that makes her extremely scared and worried about the final outcome. Bullseye and the Prospector are also enjoyable to have and help flesh out the roundup gang even more. Having another Buzz Lightyear that goes through nearly the same story arc the original Buzz had in the first movie is just brilliant and makes for great comedic effect and having Zurg there too is the icing on the cake. Oh, and Al is just the bee’s knees. Just like Sid from the first movie, it’s hard to classify Al as a villain, since realistically what he’s doing is just a simple act to help boost his business in a way that makes it understandable. It’s just the way he actually does it that makes him look like a bad guy. Plus, nearly every line that comes out of him is pure gold. Any time there’s a scene that involves Al, he steals the show.

As far as old characters go, I already talked about Woody and his story arc. As for the others, unlike the first movie which just centered around Woody and Buzz and everyone else was just put on the sidelines at Andy’s house, since Buzz invites Hamm, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and Slinky to tag along on the rescue mission, this leads to much more fleshed out side characters. Everyone gets enough time to show their distinct personalities without it getting tiring.

While the expertly crafted comedy between Woody and Buzz is mostly gone, the comedy that IS here still works wonders moreso on Buzz’s side. The animation is also a definite upgrade from the last outing. Sure, the humans still don’t really look, you know… human, but at least they’re not alien-like like in the first movie. While I’d argue Randy Newman’s score isn’t as iconic as it was in the first movie, it’s still really strong here, especially when “When Somebody Loved Me” starts playing. That is when I almost forget I’m even watching a movie and just feel really bad for a person, even if they aren’t real. I also gotta give a special shout-out to the “blooper” reel. While this short-lived credits gag started in A Bug’s Life, I’d argue it hit its peak here. They came up with some great unexpected jokes that make the characters feel like real actors, which is surprising given that they’re supposed to be toys. Pixar didn’t have to do this and the movie would still be great. But the fact that they did truly shows that this was a project made out of ion and love for the characters and the world they reside in.

I’ll be honest when I say the gap between my preference of Toy Story 2 over 1 has shrunk a little bit, but I believe that’s because both movies are masterpieces for different reasons. While the first movie I consider to be a better comedy with the dynamic between our two lovable main characters, Toy Story 2 is a much grander tale that will keep adults thinking long after its over, but still has enough fun and charm to keep kids entertained. It reminds me about the joy and magic of life and imagination and it will most likely always be my favorite animated movie of all time. Please give it a watch if you haven’t already as I guarantee you will be blown away by the amount of heart and soul that was put into this perfect sequel! I don’t throw the word perfect around willy nilly, so that’s saying something.

As a kid, A Bug's Life was always that one Pixar movie that eluded me, aside from Ratatouille. I always knew about it and I watched bits and pieces of it in various scenarios, but I never watched it in its entirety until 2018 when I borrowed a DVD of it from a public library. And man, what a great experience it was to finally watch this mysterious Pixar movie that I thought was just kind of okay. I’d probably enjoy it more if I did grow up with it like other Pixar movies, but even then as a follow-up to Toy Story and compared to most Pixar movies that came after it, A Bug’s Life doesn’t have that much to offer. As a standalone movie though, it gets the job done.

I think the setup for the movie is fine. Ants standing up against a colony of grasshoppers to protect their people and their land is a good concept and it’s executed pretty well. Said grasshoppers, despite how one-note they may be, are some of the best characters in the movie. The main villain, Hopper, is especially a treat. He knows he’s intimidating and owns it. The circus bugs are also pretty fun. Even though they aren’t as memorable as the side characters in Toy Story, each one gets just the right amount of screen time so that they never get annoying, aside from maybe the pillbugs. Also, Heimlich is a precious bean and he needs to be protected at all costs. Of course, Randy Newman’s score is great as per usual, though I do think they overplay the main theme a little bit. The animation is also a definite step up from Toy Story and it’s a lot harder to tell its age, especially considering there are no humans in the movie which they still wouldn’t get quite right until years later. The last thing I’ll say is that the ending, while predictable, is great stuff. It gives a good message, the action is satisfying, and it all wraps up in a nice little bow.

My main issue with the movie though are the main characters, the ant colony. You know, the group you’re supposed to be rooting for. Flik is kind of unlikable for me. He’s not outright bad, but he’s very clumsy, a bit too in-your-face towards the other ants, and has a bit of an attitude that’s not needed. He’s obviously trying to do the right thing in the end, but I never felt like he cared that much about saving the colony. He also jumps to conclusions super quickly and it doesn’t feel that believable. Is he not going to question the circus bugs at all after the “fight” they had that made them look like warriors? The whole love aspect with the princess wasn’t needed at all either. You could take the romance out and nothing would change. There’s also a number of things that were clearly done for the sake of plot convenience. Various things just happen out of nowhere to give a bit of shock value and most of the time, they don’t feel like proper moments that would realistically happen. They just happen because “Oh, we gotta move the plot along.” and it ends up getting a little predictable and lame because of that. The movie also isn’t that funny either. There were definitely some good laugh out loud moments here, but those are more few and far between compared to Pixar’s other movies.

A Bug’s Life is absolutely not a bad movie and it is a very important part of Pixar’s history. It’s still well made, it tells a good story, and its got enough charm for kids and even some adults to enjoy. I’d even argue it’s better than a decent chunk of the movies Pixar released in the 2010s. It was also the start of a short period where Pixar would make fake animated bloopers of their movies, so I gotta give it some good credit for that. If you’re a huge Disney fan, you should definitely watch this at least once if you haven’t already. But I can’t guarantee you’ll wanna revisit it the same way you would with other Disney movies. I am surprised that this never got a sequel though like most of Pixar's other early movies since the concept I think still has some potential. One idea I had recently was what if the ant island was completely flooded? Who would escape and how would they manage with their home gone? How would they react to the outside world? I think that could be a really interesting concept for A Bug's Life 2 if that ever happens.

Hmm... well if there's anything about this movie that works, it's that the title doesn't lie. It's just that I don't know if this is the good kind of goofy movie or the well... goofy kind of goofy movie. I do think there's more to like about it than to not, but this just ended up being more of a mess than I was hoping it would be.

My biggest problem with this movie is Max. He is a selfish unlikable brat for a majority of the film. I get that's the point of his character and he deserves to feel the way he does about going on an unexpected road trip, but not to the ridiculously obnoxious extent he went in the first half of the movie. We're supposed to empathize with this guy and feel bad that he can't go to the big summer party and hang out with his crush, but when you come off as an immense tool, teenage angst or not, it's hard to feel anything for him at all.

As far as other issues I have are concerned, a lot of the high school kids just come off as extremely stereotypical for my liking. I get it's a 90's movie, but I think they could've dialed it back to make these characters feel more natural. Also various conversations and resolutions happen very quickly and don't feel like they're built-up properly. I feel like making the movie roughly 10-15 minutes longer would've helped out greatly.

There are definite highlights throughout the run time though. The best thing about this movie is the comedy. There isn't too much of it and for a movie called "A Goofy Movie", that's a little strange, but what's there is great stuff. Goofy is just as lovable as ever and the ridiculous antics and the facial expressions he does had me laughing most of the time. I also like the setup a lot and the locales are fun to see, especially during the montage. I appreciated how Goofy tried his hardest to make his son happy in the middle of the movie, which is where things picked up for me. I think the message they told about the importance of father-son relationships was sweet and very important these days. Most of the songs are surprisingly really good, Eye to Eye especially. And I thought the last twelve minutes were super strong and heartwarming.

Overall, I can kinda see why this is considered a cult classic, but I don't agree with the sentiment that this is one of Disney's best movies. If you've had a rocky relationship with your father or you ARE a father trying your best to connect with your kid, I think this movie will strike a cord with you a lot more. But for me, it's a movie I'm glad I saw, but nothing I'm itching to see again anytime soon.

So I have access to Disney+ now and since they have nearly every Pixar movie available on the service, I've made it my mission to re-watch all of them so I can form a proper opinion on them. Some of these movies I haven't even seen since their theatrical release, so this should be a fun ride all around. I'm starting off with the film that marked the true start for full length computer generated animated features and my #1 childhood movie, Toy Story.

I tried my best to go into this movie with a critical eye and not let my childhood bias get the better of me, emphasis on the word "tried". I couldn't help myself. This film is just as great as I , if not even better as an adult. I could complain about the animation (especially on the humans) not aging well. I could complain about the immense creepiness of Sid's house. I could complain about how some of the toys can go a bit too far off the deep end. But quite frankly, these are all VERY minor nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. Everything else is executed so well, that it's kind of pointless to complain.

What made Pixar so great during its first fifteen years making full length CGI movies was their ability to craft stories that had enough depth, emotion, nuance, and cleverness to be appreciated by adults but were still simple and fun enough for kids to enjoy them too. I believe that Toy Story is one of the greatest examples of this philosophy, mainly because of the dynamic between Woody and Buzz. Buzz thinks he's an actual space ranger and is too in over his head and Woody hates his guts for stealing his spot as Andy's favorite toy. This creates a hilarious rivalry with back-and-forth conversations and actions that still have me laughing to this day. It's all played off so naturally and every moment of character growth feels earned because of it, even if that really doesn't start going anywhere until the third act.

Even if they're not main characters, nearly every other toy has a distant personality and everyone is bound to connect and relate to at least one of them. That said, Rex is surprisingly better than I . Everything that comes out of his mouth is so silly and kinda sad in a pathetically charming kinda way. Everyone plays off each other very well and just bring more life to the world. Although even though I didn't think about it as a kid, I don't think I'll ever understand how an Etch A Sketch can come to life, but whatever.

Another thing that's great about Pixar is how they avoid typical Disney tropes and pull off their own original ideas super well. There's no musical numbers where the toys burst into song. All you get is an orchestra and Randy Newman's catchy vocal tracks that tell the story way better than singing toys ever would. You've Got A Friend In Me, Strange Things, and I Will Go Sailing No More are still absolute classics. There's also no core villain in the movie unless you wanna count Sid and even then I'd argue he's just your standard bully you'd probably see in real life in grade school. Again, Woody and Buzz work so well off of each other that it's practically impossible to pick a side. Neither of their goals are evil by any means, It's just a form of jealously that's understandable. I mean, if you were the star of this club and everyone ired you and then this new person shows up and all of the long-term attention went towards them, I'm sure you would be a little peeved too.

Originally I gave Toy Story 4.5 stars out of 5 because of my attempts to really think critically about movies and the fact that I like Toy Story 2 a little bit more. But after re-watching it for this Disney+ Pixar binge, I couldn't justify that. Call me nostalgia blind all you want, but I gave my reasons and I'm sticking with them. Toy Story always has been and always will be a timeless classic. One that parents will still be showing their children for generations to come. And I'm proud to call this my childhood movie. I wouldn't want things any other way.

Well I can now say there's a new oldest movie I've ever watched in its entirety after the longest time. After getting my hands on Disney+ and needing something short to watch to kill time, I decided to finally give Dumbo a shot. And it gave me an interesting perspective on how different yet familiar Disney was before they become what they are today, for better or for worse. And it was pretty fun and cute to watch to boot.

I thought Dumbo was really cute and I genuinely felt bad when all the other animals ostracized him for his differences. It really put into perspective how even the smallest (or I guess in this case biggest) of differences could make you look like a huge mistake at the time and even today. I didn't know how to feel about the mouse when he was introduced, but over the course of the movie, I grew to really like him and thought he was a good role model for Dumbo.

Now the big point of contention in this movie is the crows and how they're depicted. I'm obviously not a black person, but I think I can point out stereotypes when I see them. That said, I typically only see that kind of thing as bad if they're being shown in a negative light. And I found the crows to be anything but that. I thought they were really cool. I could be missing something, but I really don't think it's a big deal like some people make it out to be.

The best quality this movie has going for it is the animation and how expressive it is. It's all wacky and stretchy and full of life. Even inanimate objects like trains feel like actual characters. Nothing shows this style of animation off better than the pink elephant scene. While it is a completely pointless scene in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't matter to me because it's so insane, weird, and creative that I was mesmerized when I first saw it.

I can see why this movie is considered a classic. It is a little aimless at times and there are a couple of scenes I felt dragged on for a bit too long, which is ironic since the movie is barely over an hour in length. But I really enjoyed my time with Dumbo and I'm curious to see what else Disney has made around this time period.

As I'm writing this, I'm currently out-of-state for personal reasons and the movie theater that's closest to us does 5 dollar Tuesdays and my family wanted to go see a movie to take advantage of that. That's how I ended up seeing Rocketman. My mother and grandmother went to see something unrelated and since there was nothing out that interested me that fit into their time slot, I decided to take a chance with this movie despite the negative review scores. And when the credits started playing, I was left completely in the middle of the road about it.

John Harrison, played by the film's director, Alex Kendrick, is a high school basketball coach who's down on his luck and is required to now coach the cross country team. But the problem is only one student is willing to participate. That student is Hannah Scott, played by newbie actress, Aryn Wright-Thompson, a quiet and young girl who suffers from asthma and lives with her grandmother. During a time where he has extreme doubts that he can continue ing his family from this job, John accidentally goes into a hospital room that hosts the patient Thomas Hill, played by Cameron Arnett, a former cross country runner who's lost his sight from diabetes. Throughout the movie, all three of these people learn more about themselves and their faith and how they can apply that to their lives to achieve their goals.

ittedly, I see a lot of heart in this film. I didn't go into this movie thinking that is was gonna be a Christian film, but for what they aimed for, the Kendrick brothers pulled it off really well. The movie talks about finding your identity, more specifically finding your identity in Jesus Christ. This is more so hammered in around the second half of the movie while being relatively tame about it in the first half. As a Christian myself, albeit not a super religious one, I found the way they handled this idea to be pretty touching. It reminds you that there is someone out there beyond this world who loves you, will be there for you, and can truly define you as a person.

The third act is just really satisfying to watch when all of the puzzle pieces come together. I can't really go into detail without spoiling anything, but when everything starts falling into place and things start to get much more heartfelt and inspiring, it really is something special. You can really feel the connection these people have with each other and with God. I could hear a lot of tissues being blown in my theater room around that time, so that should tell you something. If you're looking for a feel-good movie that will lift you up and make you wanna achieve what you think is impossible, this movie is for you.

The only thing though is that you have to spend a lot of the time watching it dealing with some of the strangest and most awkward writing and pacing I've seen on the big screen yet. There are several moments where scenes just end without a proper buildup. You think one of the characters is going to speak up about the situation, but it just moves on to the next scene as if that whole thing was unimportant. The writing is very hit or miss. Sometimes it's believable, other times you wonder if the writers looked over the screenplay more than once. We're supposed to be able to step into Hannah's shoes and feel bad for her, but she barely gets any screen time until the second half, which is kinda ridiculous considering she's one big half of the story. Their attempts at comedy really fell flat too, usually coming off as forced and unnatural. And on top of all of that, there are a couple of story arcs that are brought up once, maybe twice, and then never resolved, making you question why they were even there in the first place.

As of this review, I haven't seen any of the other films the Kendrick brothers have made. But if they're anything like Overcomer, they've got a long road ahead of them before they can be considered genius storytellers. On one hand I see a beautiful story about two different families trying to achieve hard-to-reach goals and become more in touch with God. But on the other hand I see an incompetently put together script that just carries the whole thing down. If you want an uplifting story and don't care much about the finer details, then you'll probably like this movie. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking for much better options. I hope whatever these guys make next can truly touch everyone who gives it a shot.

I'm brand new to the world of musical biopics. And for my first romp with the genre, I think I picked a really solid one. I'm relatively new to Elton John's music, and considering how much I adore The Lion King, that's kind of embarrassing. I had no idea he made hits like Don't Go Breaking My Heart and Daniel. And I ended up discovering and loving a lot of his tunes that I didn't know I needed in my life like Crocodile Rock, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, and I'm Still Standing. And I still consider his versions of Circle of Life and Can You Feel the Love Tonight to be more than worthy alternatives to the versions found in the Disney classic. Luckily, Rocketman was still in the theaters by the time I started appreciating his work. So I went in and gave it a shot. And for what it is, they did a stellar job!

The movie goes through Elton's life from childhood to the early 1980's. And most of the important scenes are told with Elton's music, which is a brilliant concept in my opinion. Most of his greatest hits are here and each song perfectly fits the scene they're in, whether it be the uplifting or low-key moments. On top of that, Taron Egerton nails young Elton's voice almost perfectly, making the songs feel super authentic to the originals, while still providing fun and unique twists on them. The structure was great too, showing you the end of the movie first, then going back to the beginning of Elton's life, followed by his rise and fall, and having it all come full circle in a really satisfying way.

I felt the drama was really solid. You can easily tell how Elton feels in every scene he's in. From the feeling of being on top of the world performing his music to nearly wanting to kill himself from the stress and depression he's built up throughout his neglectful life. I also love how unapologetic he is when he states "Hey! I'm gay and I'm an alcoholic. Deal with it!", which was still a pretty big deal at the time. I do think that the people who hated him were a little bit too harsh towards him (granted I don't know if this is a trope for biopics or that's how they actually were in real life), but the drama was still mostly well done.

Another problem I have is the pacing, even if it's kinda the whole point of the movie. Songs just keep coming left and right occasionally out of nowhere, giving you very little room to breathe. I get that it's done to try and fit in as many tracks as possible, but the buildup to these amazing tunes could have been spaced out a lot better so we could let the more dramatic moments be a little longer and better to gulp down.

But for the most part, I really enjoyed Rocketman. It was a fun and interesting look into the life of one of the world's greatest musicians. And it makes me upset that I didn't ire Elton John's work a lot earlier in my life. If you like his music even just a little bit, you owe it to yourself to check this movie out. He truly is the one and only Rocketman!

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is one of those rare instances where a video game movie is actually good. Instead of trying to shill out a product to sell more copies of the games and merchandise, this feels like a genuine ion project from start to finish. The bond between Pikachu and Tim is really strong, the CGI never feels out of place, and the comedic and heartfelt moments blend together really well. I think it could of used a couple of rewrites to improve the pacing, the twists are easy to see coming, and Tim and Lucy's relationship felt very forced, but if you like Pokémon, you'll probably like this movie.

I know this is a really short review compared to my previous ones, but a simple text based review wouldn't do my thoughts justice. So I did a video review on my YouTube channel, so check that out to hear my full thoughts on the movie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwCR-HAa5kQ

Let me preface this review by saying that I haven't watched every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I've seen every movie from Phase 3 but only half of the movies from Phase 1 and only one from Phase 2. I jumped on the Marvel bandwagon in 2017 with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 then fell out with Spider-Man: Homecoming only to be won back with Thor: Ragnarok. So I obviously don't have all the context of what happened over the years, but I still think I was able to follow along pretty well here. With that said, let's get into this.

I am honestly amazed that for over a decade Marvel Studios has made over 20 huge interconnected superhero movies without a single one being a cinematic disaster. They've managed to create the Star Wars of my generation by giving us this exciting and realistic world that anybody can form an emotional attachment to, even if they've never picked up a comic book in their lives, like myself. And Avengers: Endgame managed to conclude the Infinity Saga in such a brilliant way that anybody whether they've been watching since the original Iron Man or are jumping into the MCU for the first time can feel satisfied with it. Obviously it'll pay off better if you've watched the previous movies as there are several references to them, but Endgame still manages to be a very welcoming package that stands up on its own.

After Thanos used the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War, the remaining Avengers have to come together and set aside their differences to reverse all of the damage and save the billions of people that were lost. The problem is that everyone is facing their own personal dilemmas after that catastrophic event and getting them all to work together and hatch a solid plan is a challenge in and of itself. Alongside Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, War Machine, Rocket, and Nebula from Infinity War, we also see Hawkeye and Ant-Man return as well as Captain Marvel.

They pull absolutely zero punches with this movie. Every character acts exactly how they should in this situation. Depressed, scared, yet still hopeful. All of these guys have grown so much over the course of several movies and the way they deal with their pain is so natural because of it. Major shout-outs to Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth in particular. Tony Stark tries his hardest to put all of this behind him as he reunites with Pepper Potts and tries to move on with her. Despite this, he eventually tries to find a resolution after he re the bigger picture and it's done in a way that feels so genuine and true to his character. And while I won't say what happens to Thor... let's just say he is not the same man that you used to know, not by a long shot.

The movie also pulled pretty much every single emotion it could out of my body. I was expecting there to be a lot less humor this time around considering the problem at hand, but I was surprised to find out that it has around as many gags as a typical MCU film does. And I was even more surprised by the fact that... it actually works! There are a couple of forced jokes, but most of the time the humor just comes super naturally and each joke sounds like something the character would actually say, especially given the situations they come across. And it rarely ever downplays the importance of the goal. Beyond just the humor, I felt shock, sadness, happiness, anger, and mind blown on so many occasions. I'm not one who gets super attached to movies, but I think this was the closest I ever got to crying during one. It's that powerful.

I will say that I was a little bit disappointed by the heroes that appeared in Endgame that weren't in Infinity War. Except for Hawkeye, I thought he was awesome here. But Captain Marvel and Ant-Man don't contribute nearly as much as I would of hoped and considering they were built up as a big deal in the trailers, that kinda blows. And as I mentioned before, a few of the jokes seemed a little unnecessary. I get that Marvel movies love to have comedy in them, but some of it goes a bit too far and doesn't seem genuine in my opinion. And for being one of, if not the last cameo he'll ever do, Stan Lee's appearance was a little bit underwhelming. But compared to everything else that this movie gets right, these are really minor nitpicks in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, Avengers: Endgame is something special. It's the conclusion to so many arcs in the MCU and I think the Russo brothers and everyone involved pulled this off spectacularly. From the very beginning up until the final fight with Thanos, never once does it feel like filler. Which is incredible for a movie that's three hours long. Whether you're a fan of Marvel or not, you should absolutely give this movie a look. But try your very best to avoid any spoilers like I did. The movie becomes so much better for it. Excelsior!

So I'm just going to make it clear right off the bat. The Lion King is my favorite Disney movie of all time! When it comes to the characters, the story, the writing, the music, the animation, and the pacing, all of these things come together to create an untouchable masterpiece that hasn't and will probably never be topped! But I'm getting way too ahead of myself, so let's go through this movie in more detail.

The film stars Simba, a lion cub who learns from his father, Mufasa, that one day he will be king of the Pride Lands. Scar, Mufasa's brother, is jealous of Simba and wants to be king himself. So he and his pack of hyenas set up a plan to rid both of them from the Pride Lands. From that point forward, Simba has to learn lessons about himself in order to step up and do the right thing, even if it means confronting his fears.

The reason this movie works so well is because the story is believable and relatable from start to finish. When Simba learns about how he will be the future king, he naturally gets really excited about that prospect that he starts growing a bit of an ego to the point where he'll disobey his family's orders and do something bigger than himself, only for him to learn how foolish that is very quickly. I'm sure that many children out there had a similar experience where they try to do something monumental, but realize that they just don't have the capacity to do that yet. And by the end of the movie when he's a fully grown adult and has a couple of confrontations, he eventually steps up to face his fears after everything he's learned about himself and the world over the years. There are several moments like this, but that's diving into deep spoiler territory. I'll just say that you'll find lots of things about this movie that you can connect with whether it be an experience you had in the past or something that you're dealing with now. Not many Disney movies can give you that feeling and I believe that's because most of them from the past and even today have lots of fantasy and magic where as this movie simply deals with real creatures and nothing more, resulting in a much more grounded experience.

Every character in this movie fits their roles perfectly. Like I mentioned, Simba is a very relatable character as a child and an adult. He strikes the perfect balance between loving his place in the world and dealing with his inner demons. Mufasa is an excellent father figure who's only looking for the best out of his son. Scar is a great villain who's not afraid to flaunt himself and will do anything to get what he wants, and his pack of hyenas are very entertaining sidekicks. Nala is a very ive friend to Simba and I'm really glad the writers didn't make her a love interest for the majority of the movie. Timon & Pumbaa are wonderful comic relief that never once got annoying. They get just the right amount of screen time for you to appreciate them without overstaying their welcome. And Rafiki is a crazy old baboon who's actually wiser than you make think. None of these characters feel fake. They actually feel like well fleshed out and real characters that you could find in the real world... I mean if anthropomorphic animals were an actual thing anyway.

The soundtrack is absolutely iconic! It's right up there with Tarzan for my favorite soundtrack in a Disney movie. There are no low points throughout the entire film... well aside from Morning Report, but that was in a deleted scene anyway, so it's no big deal. Circle of Life opens the movie brilliantly and gives you a great idea as to how big the Pride Lands are. It truly helps to create the best opening scene in any Disney film. I Just Can't Wait to be King is a little cheesy, but I get its existence. When you're a kid and you're told that you'll be something more one day, you'd probably be excited for it ahead of time too. Be Prepared is easily the best Disney villain song... well okay, second after Hellfire. Hakuna Matata is just a catchy and infectious track that I'm sure people who haven't watched the movie in years would know word for word. And Can You Feel The Love Tonight is a classic love song that doesn't feel pushy with its theme. Not to mention, the songs that aren't musical numbers are just a pure masterclass in composing! Hans Zimmer knows exactly how to set the mood for each scene, whether it be soft tracks that just let you take in the atmosphere or loud tracks made specifically for action and heroic scenes. Each song knows just when to play and tells you exactly how to feel without ever becoming over-dramatic, especially during the ending.

Honestly, I could go on and on! But I really don't need to. Everybody else has already sung this movie's praises to the highest degree and rightfully so. There's a good reason it's still talked about today as one of if not THE greatest thing Disney has ever made. It's funny, it's heartwarming, it's smart, it's relatable, it's timeless, and it also teaches a really important lesson about learning from your past instead of running away from it, which is one of the most powerful messages in any film period. Not just Disney. Film. I don't need to say anything more. See this movie if you haven't already!

So help me, if the live action remake isn't good!

Penguins was my first experience watching a Disneynature film in nearly a decade. I watched Earth and Oceans back when they came out, but I never bothered to watch any of the movies about specific animals. This movie caught my eye in particular, because penguins are my favorite animal in the world alongside elephants. So to see a movie being fully dedicated to them was a nice treat for me. So I figured why not and went to see this for my Easter Sunday and I came out of the theater happy with my experience overall.

The film stars an Adélie penguin named Steve who has come of age and is trying to fit in with the pack and find a loving partner to start a family with. And he must do everything he can to protect his chicks and fatten them up to prepare for winter and the changes that come with it in Antarctica. It's a very simple premise, but it gives you a good idea on what these kinds of penguins do on a yearly basis, especially considering this is a true story. If you're expecting a tale that goes deep into science, biology, and history, I can guarantee you that you'll be disappointed. You have to go into this movie knowing that it's targeted towards a younger audience and just enjoy the ride. With that said, I did learn a few things when it comes to this species' daily and yearly lives and the predators they face along the way, so there is still some good educational value here.

The charm levels are through the roof. Penguins, especially the babies, are already really cute to begin with. But when I saw them slipping around, bumping into other penguins, or falling on their bellies, I couldn't help but laugh and smile almost every time. I'm a sucker towards that kind of thing. The cinematography helps with that too, as the shots the filmmakers take are gorgeous and really make you feel like you're in Antarctica with these penguins.

Things also get pretty emotional at times as I found myself getting attached to Steve and his family and was starting to worry for their safety. There are some times where they would get into serious danger to the point where I was concerned if they would make it out alive. It never gets extreme or anything, I mean this is a G-rated Disney film after all. So you won't see blood or dead bodies or anything like that. But there will be some things that will probably make younger viewers feel uneasy.

Ed Helms does the narration in the English version of the movie, and I think he does a really good job telling the story in an interesting and exciting way. He also does inner monologues for Steve at times, and for the most part I found it to be cute, charming, and funny. I say for the most part, because sometimes he sprinkles in commentary during moments that would of been better in a "show, don't tell" kinda way. And there's also some jokes where he references things that while are commonplace to humans, I highly doubt any penguin would know they exist. I think it would of been better if he cut back on the monologues a bit and only say things that an actual penguin would be thinking of. But those moments are few and far between.

There's also quite a number of songs that play during the movie. The soundtrack made specifically for the movie is good stuff and does add to the mood of each scene. The licensed songs are good too, but there's this one song that plays at the very end of the movie that is incredibly cheesy, and if you watched the movie you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The last scene would of been so much better if they just made one more original song instead to close out on a more satisfying note.

Personally, I really enjoyed my time with Penguins. It's a documentary that provides enough laughs and education for the kids and enough charm and feels for everyone else. It reaffirmed why penguins are my favorite animal and why I main King Dedede in the Super Smash Bros. video game series... for better or for worse anyway. This movie won't blow any minds for sure, but if you love penguins like me or are at the very least curious about them and/or you're looking for a more laid-back film to watch, then I'd highly recommend you check this one out. Now I'm interested in going back to see what Disneynature has made in the past so... nice work, Steve. You did a good.

This list is in order of when I got them. If a series of movies is grouped together, it's probably because I got them in a collection.

• The Lion King
• Aladdin
• Mulan
• Mulan II
• The Greatest Showman
• Toy Story
• Kung Fu Panda
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Kung Fu Panda 3
• Avengers: Endgame

...plus 32 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I've seen more Dreamworks movies than this, but I'm only including the ones I've watched since opening this to have the most accurate feelings possible.

1. The Prince of Egypt
2. Kung Fu Panda
3. Shrek
4. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
5. The Wild Robot
6. Kung Fu Panda 2
7. Shrek 2
8. Megamind
9. The Road to El Dorado
10. Kung Fu Panda 3

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

   It was technically first released in 2021, but only at a film festival. It got its public release in the United States in 2022.

2. Top Gun: Maverick
3. Everything Everywhere All at Once
4. The Weeknd x The Dawn FM Experience
5. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
6. Nope
7. Jackass Forever
8. Blue's Big City Adventure
9. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

This only includes movies from the primary Disney studio, so no Pixar. That's another list. I haven't seen most Disney movies in a long time, so this list is gonna remain pretty empty for a while.

• The Lion King
• Dumbo
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Pinocchio
• Encanto
• A Goofy Movie
• Ralph Breaks the Internet

1. Toy Story 2
2. Toy Story
3. Monsters, Inc.
4. Soul
5. Turning Red
6. Onward
7. A Bug's Life
8. Luca
9. Lightyear

1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
2. The Peanut Butter Falcon
3. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
4. Rocketman
5. Parasite
6. Promare
7. Toy Story 4
8. Penguins
9. Avengers: Endgame
10. Knives Out

...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.