Things we watch in the cinema or on tape, DVD, and streaming
Again, I forget to write up a post that I had watched The Wild Robot in theaters sometime this month. Maybe it could’ve been in September? It’s quite late to write it up, and I don’t remember what I wanted to say.
It was okay. I guess.
3 of 5 stars.
Pixar is in trouble with sequelitis and Inside Out 2 is another example of that terribleness. It lacks the emotion of its predecessor. Funny, that, considering that there were additional emotions added to the four from the first film. Every new one was funnier than the new emotional antagonist. Ennui and embarrassment were fun. Anxiety not so much. The additions were not enough to make me like the film.
2 of 5 stars.
Why did they ever make a sequel to Beetlejuice? Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a mess. It had five or more plot lines. If one or two were focused on, then it would’ve made a better movie. There was the mother-daughter reconciliation plot, the daughter evil boyfriend plot, the father funeral plot, the “Ghost House” plot, the wedding plot, the other wedding plot, and then we get to Beetlejuice. So many things going on. They all made no sense mashed into one film.
I guess nostalgia has kicked in for me is why I watched the movie. It wasn’t good. It was disappointing. Never trust nostalgia.
2 of 5 stars.
Deadpool & Wolverine should be the end of the Deadpool franchise. You can not go more meta than this film, the first serious foray of Fox’s mutants into the MCU. It has tons of cameos and many self-referential bits. If you are comic nerd, this is for you. Yet in order to top it, the fourth will have to be a remake of the first with a decidedly aware Deadpool knowing he’s in a remake/reboot.
Where will the fun be in that?
Actually, I enjoyed it because of all the cameos. Channing Tatum’s Gambit was outlandish and perfect. Wesley Snipe’s back together with Ryan Renolds? Witness! Jennifer Garner? Like that’s nuts that Marvel went and spent money to get these actors to reprise their super hero roles. Well done.
3 of 5 stars.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga did not do so well at the box office. It fell short of projections and contributed to the worst Memorial Day weekend box office in a long while. That’s the story you’ve been hearing about the movie, but you never hear about if it was good or not. I’m here to tell you that it was okay. I say that about all movies, so this is how that goes.
I guess if you follow up one of the most exciting movie going experiences in this century with an conceptual film about anger then you’ll definitely fall short. Most likely it wasn’t what we were expecting, but it was also somewhat mediocre in telling its story. Chris Hemsworth and Anna Taylor-Joy certainly gave decent performances. The action was pretty well down too. It was just not as fun this time around. A bit of fun, but not like the last time.
3 of 5 stars.
It’s getting to be summer movie season, isn’t it? I haven’t been doing movies in quite a while. Nothing is pulling me back into the movie theater, but I am craving buttered movie popcorn. I’ve got to get my fix of buttery oil so I went to watch Ryan Gosling in Fall Guy.
I went in hoping not knowing a thing about it just that it is the film version of the television show from the 80s. It’s a bit tongue in cheek in its retelling. At least by the end, I got that feeling.
Ryan Gosling is the fall guy, a stuntman who experiences an on the job injury. He’s out of commission for a few months, but it scares him that he removes himself from life disappearing from his work and the life with his girlfriend, an ambitious camera operator looking to become an action director. A year passed and Gosling is called back in to do stunt work for his ex on her for directing duty. Sparks rise again.
It seemed as that was where the film was going to spend its time trying to get these two back together. The first half was, but then the film makers lost the script. The back half of the film was solving a murder and avoiding being accused and sent to jail. It was like they didn’t know how to end the film Out of know where everyone became the villain.
Did the popcorn still taste good? Yes. It was fine for such a movie.
3 of 5 stars.
While I went to see Wicked Little Letters in the theater, I was just wanting to watch a movie. It was a movie to watch. That’s what I can say for it. I was the youngest person in the audience. I guess that was what happens when you pick a film that isn’t a superhero film or horror film, which seems to be only things coming out nowadays.
Hollywood is missing these type of smaller films. Something that has low stakes and a good story. Something that will make people come back to the theater to watch. I was just wanting to watch a movie and eat popcorn, so I ended up with this film.
It’s supposedly a true story from England at the turn of the last century. About some letters that riled up the countryside. Small stakes even though it was a national sensation at the time. I guess it satisfied that urge to just be in a darkened theater.
3 of 5 stars.
I watched Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire so long ago. This post is supposed to be a review or my thoughts on that film. I can’t. I forgot anything about the movie.
Wait. I vaguely remember something about freezing to death. Or was it being scared to death? Yeah something about that.
It turns out that even though I don’t remember anything. I’ll still give it a mediocre score.
3 of 5 stars.
I guess I should post a blog post sometime this year. Considering that this year’s Academy Awards were announced this morning, my first post this year will be that list of best films from the past year. Like always, it’s a list of the films I thought were the best and achieved a rating of 4 or more stars. Unlike previous years during the pandemic, I did see a few more films this year, and it seems that I’ve seen more good ones than bad.
These are all 4 of 5 stars.
I enjoyed all these films. I did enjoy going to the theater. I want to try going to more movies this year.
With his return from retirement and with retirement seemingly forever suspended, Hayao Miyazaki brings about his latest film, The Boy and the Heron, ten years from his last. It is with a lot of anticipation that I went to the theater to watch. Is he still as great as story teller? Is he still one of the best anime directors, even film directors? Yes and yes. But.
The film is okay. It rehashes a lot of Miyazaki tropes. It felt like a mash up of Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Castle in the Sky. It was just fine. Glad he’s doing films, but sometimes I wonder if maybe he should retire for good. Let’s hope his next film, if there is one, may not be in another ten years.
3 of 5 stars.
