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A bit more slow going at times than what I expected going in, but still an incredibly thoughtful film and an overall entertaining watch. I actually grew to appreciate what it was up to a lot more while discussing it post-screening rather than in the theater. Some of the pieces don’t quite add up immediately, but the threads are all there and if nothing else it does have quite a bit to say if you’re looking for those connections. Also, Keke Palmer rules.

This was so cute! ittedly my partner wanted to see this movie SOOO much more than I did as she is a much large fan of the show than me (I’ve only really seen the first season and then bits and pieces after that), but this was such a nice time. A couple scenes were PARTICULARLY hilarious and, though I feel like the musical aspect of the film was fumbled quite a bit, any structural shortcomings or plots that were undercooked (pun entirely intended) are so easy to forgive. This is basically exactly what it says on the tin and you can’t go wrong with a predictably good comedy. Also, it’s imperative that I say: every time traditional animation makes it onto the theater screen my heart soars and we NEED MORE OF IT.

My very good friend Chase showed this to me, and I can not overstate how much I appreciate the experience I had watching this with him and with my partner Joy. Honestly, we had so much of our own discussion not even a couple hours ago that I feel like all of my more detailed thoughts are spent for now, but in summary: Never has a piece of media placed me right back into the mindset of one or a few of the most traumatic moments of my life only for me to come out the other side feeling more at peace with it than before. There is a scene in the penultimate episode that shook me to my core more than anything I have watched or otherwise consumed in a very, very long time. But the heart, and the nuance, and the message of this series is so worth that journey. 

Unfortunately, it came out the same week as Squid Game.

there is literally no way you can convince me it was okay for twilight to have a crush on a Human Boy

edit: okay so i’ll it i cheated a bit on this one and rated/reviewed this movie three stars before i actually finished watching it because i thought i generally ed my opinions on it well enough. i have learned my lesson because i was pretty wrong. the movie basically falls apart the longer it goes on, yes even considering what its goals are and why it was made. not to go all cinemasins on my little pony but the climax of this movie has like 3 glaring plot developments that make absolutely no sense if you care even the slightest bit about what’s happening. 

i love applejack.

this has been one of my favorite movies for a while and I really couldn’t give you any reason why other than everything about it from a presentational and structural perspective clicks with me. i rewatch this thing a LOT and I never get tired of it. the dialogue is so good, the editing is fantastic, and the performances are incredible. my presentation-appreciating brain that loves the craft of this movie is constantly in a battle at the back of my mind with the part of my brain that normally hates the “brilliant asshole” narrative as it often feeds into the all-too-common stereotype that intelligence and disregard for empathy are a package deal. not to mention i basically hold zero reverence in my heart for steve jobs as a person, and in fact all this movie does for me is reinforce the fact that i do not consider him very fondly. but like, somehow this movie adapts his persona into an EXTREMELY compelling fiction. main reason being: i think it pretty responsibly dips into using that toxic pedestal of brilliance in order to create conflict, but never so irresponsibly as to go without criticizing it. hell a side character later in the movie basically says as much point blank, "it's not binary, you can be decent and gifted at the same time". that's basically the thematic tint of the main character arc. i think if it were more of an endorsement of that narrative, it'd be basically unbearable for me. i just don't get that reading from it, personally, which just makes it all the easier to immerse myself in, again, the style and the craft here. i basically do not consider this a biopic, because i really feel like it has no interest in telling history as much as it's interested in using heightened figureheads as a character study.

cool!

movies that make you cry until you’re dehydrated and then go “i should call my mom”

bad

They actually DID IT.

I have EXACTLY THREE major qualms with this movie 

1. There’s an extended sequence of maybe 10 minutes or so right smack in the middle of the movie that HEAVVVILLYYY features a majority of the human characters from the first movie and the longer it goes on the more it sucks the momentum away from the fun Sonic stuff happening off screen. It’s really not my cup of tea but also I do understand why it’s there in part, they kinda made their bed by having the first movie focus so much on the human characters you can’t really just get rid of all that in one fell swoop. However, again, this time it’s only just a few minutes rather than the whole thing!

2. This is a smaller one but I wish that they wouldn’t rely so much on licensed music to back certain scenes. I have no problem with licensed music if it’s done tactfully but this movie kinda goes overboard with it. I hope in future movies they consider opting into more original songs to accent the action like in the games! (GET CRUSH 40 IN THERE WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WAITING FOR?)

3. Please for the love of god cool it with the fart jokes 😭 One was bad enough in the first film but this one contains like THREE ENTIRE FART JOKES it was starting to get really weird! I get it’s for the kiddies but like… come on y’all they deserve a little better than that.

Otherwise? Yeah this movie fucking rules. It is NEARLY beat for beat exactly what I hoped it would be based on the trailers, but in a way that was more vindicating rather than predictable. This movie was finally unafraid to BE a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, with promise to go even further in the future ones. Y’all don’t know how much of a relief it is to say that I am officially on board with these movies now. They stuck the landing here.

AND HEY SHOUT OUT TO COLLEEN O’SHAUGHNESSEY FOR ABSOLUTELY KILLING IT!! TAILS WAS AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT IN THIS AND SHE BETTER GET THE RESPECT SHE DESERVES FOR IT ❤️❤️❤️

Now let’s keep getting weirder with it y’all!!! Sonic 3 better be insane!!!

Decades later, in spite of all the other films that have tried it with budgets and technology expanded to insane proportions compared to what was possible here, nothing has come close to matching the craft on display in this one. So much of the staging and prop work in this movie feels like it’s flexing on movies that didn’t even exist yet and it STILL feels totally earned.

darth vader in this movie is like youtu.be/iJSaD6sIyBQ

“Peer pressure. I’m far too sensitive-“

Not even Tim Allen can drag this movie down.

Man this one was odd.

I just got back from seeing this and I gotta say it wasn’t nearly as good as I had hoped it would be. I’d been pretty excited about it for a while.

I get the sense that for the most part this movie’s heart is in the right place and I will absolutely rave over these visuals forever. This movie is BEAUTIFUL from an art and animation perspective. The music was great too! I don’t really regret seeing it, and there were even a few standout scenes that read to me as clearly THE reason the film was made. But unfortunately those scenes are few, far between, and immensely undercut by the stories happening around them.

This film feels like it wants to be 4 different kinds of movie all at once and it really, REALLY does not come together elegantly. There’s also a shockingly large number of subplots that legitimately amount to nothing in the strangest way.

I also don’t really feel like expanding into spoiler territory at the moment but, in vague , wow the ending felt almost exploitative with how little closure a very VERY imperative storyline gets and how the events of the ending are used seemingly JUST to make the protagonist feel good about herself without actually showing how her actions made the situation any better, tangibly. It’s a really weird and glaring omission of resolution that left a sour taste in my mouth.

I feel like this movie would have been so much better if it were either MORE of a direct Beauty and the Beast adaptation, or not an adaptation at all.

maclunkey

dude they gotta make more ones like this though

This review may contain spoilers.

Funnie movie :)

I hadn’t seen this one in a few years but I’m happy to report it generally holds up exactly as delightfully as I ed it. It’s EXTREMELY simple but man is it fun. 

This movie manages to contain like, two of my favorite comedy film bits ever. The joke w/ the cop and the phrase “we have had a doozy of a day” hits me just as hard as it ever has, the execution of its setup and payoff is perfect.
 
I will say nowadays I find the twist at the end involving Chad and his relation to a case of sexual assault just like… Fully unnecessary and kind of a weird choice that doesn’t communicate its intentions well enough. It somewhat feels like you’re supposed to find it funny but it’s not really delivered with a punchline of any kind? So it just ends up feeling like a weirdly brief and weirdly flippant take on the subject matter. Thankfully it’s not gratuitous and it goes by so quick it’s hard for it to be particularly offensive but it definitely could have without question been easily cut out and written around. It’s not like the plot of this movie is rock solid in the first place, this movie FULLY exists to create comedy out of pure contrivance and disastrous miscommunication. So yeah, kinda odd choice on that one. 

All in all very fun watch. Definitely worth checking out if you wanna turn your brain off to something stupid and bloody but with a surprising amount of pathos even in that formula!

(Finished it as of this 2nd review)

All of my previous review + good LORD how did they make chess so horny.

Also one of the piano motifs that keeps showing up in the score sounds so similar to the primary melody from The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s theme music.

(ONLY SEEN EPISODES 1-3 THUS FAR)

Starting off the year with the first half here! Honestly I could barely shut this one off, I’m THOROUGHLY enjoying it. What really is sticking with me most is just the astonishing quality of the cinematography and all of the actual presentational craft here. It didn’t strike me until late in my watch tonight that I was somehow completely, utterly gripped during every single chess scene. Despite having, I kid you not, ZERO clue what was actually happening on the board. The performances and editing so deftly and clearly communicate everything you need to know to be just entirely absorbed with what’s going on because, despite the action itself happening on the board, all of the appeal is with Beth and how she psychologically interacts with the world she continues to earn her keep in. Fantastic stuff so far.

This is for stuff I watched and rated in 2022! New releases! Rediscoveries! Anything in between! Wow!

• The Queen's Gambit
• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
• Logan
• Star Wars
• Belle
• Galaxy Quest
• Scream
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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