I should've read the reviewsDownsizing was definitely not the movie I thought it was going to be. I was never quite sure what it was about the whole time. It was labeled as a comedy on Hulu, so I thought it was just going to be a nice little comedy. I spent a long time waiting for the comedy to start, but it never came.
I was pretty disappointed in Downsizing. It was a 2+ hour movie that moved really slow for the first 3 quarters and then really fast at the end. The entire first hour of the movie was spent explaining the reasoning behind going small and establishing that Matt Damon was an occupational therapist in financial trouble. It was really slow. There was a 15 minute scene showing the process of becoming small. It was mildly entertaining, but it definitely didn't need to be so long. I feel like the director chose to show realistically how life would be if people could miniaturize themselves instead of actually entertaining people. I had to take a break from this movie about halfway through. It was right after he got small. The movie took a total 180 after Matt Damon actually got small. His wife never showed up again, even though she spent a lot of time on screen in the first half. The narrative picked back up a year after he got small. It followed him through his normal life for a while. Eventually he found a famous war refugee and helped her with her prosthetic leg (he's an occupational therapist). Then, in a weird move, he tries to tell her he's going to Norway on an important trip (that's where the first small colony was). She said she's coming with him, so his plan goes to pieces. He didn't seem too upset though because he fell in love with her on the way there. They met the scientist who found out how to miniaturize people. He says they have a couple years until the earth gets overcome by global warming, so their colony is going to live underground for the next few thousand years. Matt Damon almost goes in with them, but chooses to stay with the refugee instead. This all happens in the final third of the movie. Why we needed all that exposition, I have no idea. It would have been a pretty good movie if they had started it at around the hour 15 mark. The fact that they were tiny didn't even play much of a role in the actual story after that point, so it really was like two movies. This really did have all the makings of a really good movie, but it didn't execute well at all. You can probably cut out at least a third of this movie and lose absolutely nothing substantial. Way too much time was spent building a conflict, only to throw it all in the garbage and start from scratch. The movie would have been so much better if they had added 40 minutes to the ending events and subtracted 40 minutes from the beginning. The beginning was not enjoyable to watch and it did not matter. There wasn't enough time after Damon became small to create and resolve a real conflict. It resulted in his character feeling disconnected. I think the writer realized at the end of the movie that he had to create an actual story, so he just through that in there. He tried to cover up his mistake by saying "it was all part of God's plan to bring me to Norway to help save humanity". That doesn't make up for the first hour and a half of aimless story. Downsizing had the opposite problems Turning Red had. Downsizing was a great idea, but the execution was not there. Turning Red was a terrible idea, but it was executed very well. 4/10
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THE Batman (Emphasis on THE) The Batman is the only Batman movie I've seen, so I can't judge it against other Batman movies. In my heart, this is the Batman movie. Why? Because it was good, that's why. Enough Said.
10/10 Anyways, I was originally not hyped for The Batman, but I heard from somebody that it was a murder mystery. I thought that might be cool. This is the greatest crime/detective movie I've ever seen. It has all the things necessary to make a great detective movie: a mastermind villain with an overcomplicated plan, a cool antihero detective, a loyal sidekick, and many layers of the mystery to peel back. I'm so glad this movie was three hours long because I couldn't get enough of it. If this were a six hour movie, I still think I'd be glued to the screen the entire time. John and Noah claimed that there was too much filler, but they don't understand. Where in this movie is there any filler? The entire movie is spent stopping the Riddler. He is a good villain, so it took a while. The Riddler in this movie is probably up there with my favorite villains of all time (that was a journal question from a while ago). Paul Dano did an amazing job being a crazy person for 3 hours. The scenes with him on the phone were so so good. You really feel scared or like your in a saw movie or something. The only thing I didn't like a whole lot was part of the soundtrack. There were points of the movie that were too sharp. I don't know whether I'd like it better or not without those noises. I just noticed it every time it was played. I think the opening scene was one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. The voice-over was epic. The Arkham scene near the end was also pretty good. If you like police and detective movie, this is the Ark of the Covenant. I highly recomend this movie. If you don't like it, you just don't get it. 10/10 Pixar somehow made a decent movie out of thisWhen I first saw the trailer for Turning Red, I was very doubtful that I was going to like this movie. It's about a teenage girl who turns into a giant red panda every time she gets emotional. There are only a few ways this scenario can be taken. After watching the movie, I do think Pixar went in the best way possible. Does that mean I enjoyed the movie? Not exactly.
There were some major problems with this movie. Most of them stem from the conflict. I don't know how they thought this movie would be a good idea. Pixar usually dominates the "family" genre because their movies are also enjoyable for adults. I don't think Turning Red hits every demographic nearly as well as Pixar's other movies. It seemed like one of those Sparkshorts, but as a full length movie. My biggest problem with this movie was only a couple lines long. The fact that they said that the more Meilin turns into a panda, the harder it will be to separate it from her. This is followed by a very long period of Meilin messing around as a panda. I'm assuming that part of the movie was supposed to be fun and show that Meilin is better off with her panda. I would have enjoyed that section of the movie if they just took that line out. I understand that they needed to have it to have something that would make Meilin hesitate to turn into a panda, but it took away my ability to enjoy the movie because I was worrying about her. The ending made me really mad because the old ladies were able to unleash their pandas, transform, and then immediately do the ritual again and get rid of them. Was that statement not even true then? Meilin's decision to keep her panda was an interesting one. The panda is supposed to be a manifestation of her strong emotions, so whenever she has a strong emotion, she transforms. This only plays a factor in a couple parts of the movie, because she "masters her emotions" pretty early on. I think the significance of the symbol is weakened when Meilin can just changed back and forth on a dime. I'm having trouble putting a finger on what exactly this movie is about. It's definitely a coming-of-age story, but it kind of jumps around between themes. I had some trouble writing this blog. Turning Red is by no means a bad movie. There are just lots of things that could have been better. Every time I try to argue against it, I think I end up leaning more towards liking it. Pixar knows what they are doing. I'd say this is probably a bottom 5 Pixar movie, but not a bottom 3. 7/10 Ryan Reynolds!!!!!Everybody loves Ryan Reynolds. Yes, this is way better than Deadpool. You can't change my mind.
First off, whoever was on the creative/writing side of this movie is a genius and needs a raise. A movie through the perspective of a self-conscious video game NPC is the best idea ever. And then to use it as a multi-layered rom-com! I want to meet the people who made this movie just to bask in their genius for a moment. To bring in Ryan Reynolds just puts another 10 pounds of icing on an already massive and dense cake. Fun Fact: This the second Disney movie to have Fortnite in it. Since Fortnite was released five years ago, it makes a cameo on average every 2.5 years. We can expect another one in the next Indiana Jones movie. I'm glad they didn't go for the "pathetic gamer makes a difference" b-plot most movies about video games have. Ready Player One does it. Pixels Does It. The good movies don't do that. This movie doesn't do that either, but that was implied by the last statement. I think Ryan Reynolds is a pretty funny guy. He has a lot of good lines in the movie that he delivers really well. He did a really good job of sticking to the tone of the movie, which brings me to my second point. I really enjoyed the ironically upbeat tone of the movie. We aren't in a video game world. We are in an NPC's world. It's a great way to keep the movie engaging for families and it gives an easy way to get laughs from random stuff that goes on behind the characters. Free Guy is not a perfect movie, but it will definitely do for a family night or just a by-yourself night if you're like me. 8.5/10 Very EnjoyableThis was my second time watching this movie, and I think I enjoyed it more on my second watch than my first one.
I wanted John and Nick to see this movie so they could see what kind of twists Christie pulls. I was worried because we were getting caught up with singular people in Death On the Nile. I wanted them to realize that multiple people could be in on this and it could possibly be very planned out. I personally think that Murder on the Orient Express has one of the best endings ever. A usual mystery is difficult due to the lack of evidence and clues, but in this one Poirot is so overwhelmed by clues that he can't narrow it down to one person. With everyone working together, they can work together to lie about their alibis. The movie itself was pretty good, but not great. I haven't read the book, so I don't know what they left out. It's pretty easy to follow, which is a big thing for a murder mystery. The reveal does make sense at the end. One thing I thought was interesting about the movie was that every time Poirot interviewed someone, he was in a different place. There was always something to look at besides just the two characters. It was also interesting how the shots turned out inside a narrow train car. How did they do the cameras with so little room? The movie also started with the ending of another mystery in Jerusalem, so whichever book that was, I can't read because I know who did it. Overall, I think the movie did the book justice, but it didn't blow me away. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the whole movie. 7/10 Beautifully made, but that's about it- I had very high expectations for this movie. Apparently this is supposed to be one of the greatest anime films of all time. The first thing I noticed was that the girl's voice was pretty annoying. The second thing I noticed was that the movie was halfway over and nothing had really happened. I understand that this movie is more about the "world building" than it is about the plot. The animation did look really good.
Maybe I didn't like this movie because it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a good story. I was not expecting an entire movie of setting (though I realize that I probably should have, especially with the title of the movie being "Spirited Away"). If I were to watch this again, I think I'd enjoy it more because I'd know what to expect and appreciate. I spent the entire movie looking for something that wasn't there, which caused me to miss a lot of important elements. When I finished the movie, I was somewhat disappointed that Chihiro didn't develop much as a character other than gaining an increased appreciation for her parents and the knowledge of a spirit world. After thinking about it, I realized that Chihiro was only the avatar for the audience to experience this world through. I think this is why her name got changed and she forgot her real name. She was not significant. The actual main character was the spirit world itself. It bothers me when movies make the characters point everything that's significant out through dialogue. It gives me the same vibes as an RPG character talking to themselves, giving the player hints because they can't figure out a riddle on their own. It takes me out of the moment. I appreciate it when movies don't feel the need to do this. Spirited Away didn't do this. I heard that Miyazaki's motif is an anti-war message, but I think Spirited Away goes after capitalism and greed more so than war. There are a couple instances where this comes into play in the movie.
Great Play AdaptationI found this movie for free on Amazon and decided to watch it because it was on IMDB's top 250 movies list and I liked the play when I read it in 8th grade.
First off, I really do like this play. Its a cheap way to show off people's acting skills. The entire set is one room and a table. The plot advances completely by the characters interacting with each other and nothing else. The door is even locked to emphasize the fact that there are no outside influences. Henry Fonda was the 8th jury member (the main character). I had seen him previously in Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man. He plays a similar role in this one. He's a calm, reserved, and thoughtful character. The fact that the whole movie is shot in one room forces you to pay attention to the smaller things. It's movie like some kind of psychology experiment. 12 men locked in a room, required to come to a unanimous decision on a subjective topic. It's an interesting idea. I think the main moral of this story is not to assume anything. Instead, think everything through and don't let personal bias get in the way. Juror 1 and 10 were the longest to switch due to their personal bias, and they were coincidentally depicted as the unintelligent hotheads. This is pretty progressive for something written in 1954. I would recomend this movie to anyone who is interested in true crime, law, or mystery films. It's thought provoking. I can't grade this on the script because it wasn't written for this film, but I don't think I need it to justify giving this movie a perfect 10. The acting was phenomenal and it was very engaging. 10/10 It Keeps You ThinkingI had to watch this movie because John kept insisting on watching it with us. This was the first time I've seen an anime movie, and it was probably wasn't the greatest one to start with. It's about a pop singer who decides to transition to acting. The movie quickly descends into chaos as it Mima as she is stalked by two insane characters throughout the movie. Each character enables the other's descent into insanity in a chain of surreal events. By the end of the movie, I didn't know what actually happened and what was fake.
I don't want to give away too much be over-explaining the plot. If you've ever seen the movie Black Swan, its basically the same concept, but with extra levels of insanity. I don't know what to think about this movie. I think its a movie I need to see twice to form an opinion on. While I didn't enjoy watching this movie a whole lot while watching it, I have to admit I spent a couple days thinking about it. It deserves some credit for that, right? Writing this review makes me want to watch the movie again. The twist ending is so far out there, I never could have seen it coming. It was probably one of, if not the best reveal I've ever seen in film. It's so far out, it didn't even make sense at first. A good twist is one you don't see coming, but is obvious once its revealed to you. A great twist is Perfect Blue. I could go pretty deep into theories about this film. The ending explains a lot, but it also leaves some parts unexplained. Again, I don't want to spoil anything. It's hard to recommend this movie because it takes a certain person and a certain mindset to enjoy this movie. I've never seen anything even remotely similar to it, so it's difficult to rate it as well. All I can say is if you want a movie that really messes with your head, this is your Holy Grail. 10/10 A Deadly ComboThe concept of a self-conscious super hero movie was a good thought. Sadly, the execution wasn't there. It's disappointing.
It was a good thought to make an adult-themed Marvel movie, but I think they went too aggressive with it. There were some good aspects, but it doesn't make up for the amount of aggressively bad moments of the movie. This was trying to be a comedy but it wasn't funny most of the time. When you have a comedy that isn't funny, most of the time you are left with next to nothing of substance. This is the case with Deadpool. If I wanted to watch a funny superhero movie I'd go with Guardians of The Galaxy, Ant-Man, or better yet, Thor: Ragnarok. I think Marvel was trying to hide the fact that this was a Marvel movie because they thought it would draw in the people who don't care about superhero movies. Well, this is still a superhero movie. Another problem I had with Deadpool was the lack of a fully fleshed out villain. Deadpool spends the entire movie searching for this guy who can make him look normal (this is the same person who saved his life and gave him super powers). It just turned the movie into a dude with questionable moral values chasing after a scientist who also had questionable morals. I see what they were trying to do with this, but I don't think it works well when building an engaging story. I can only imagine what went through the minds of the writers of the script. "Maybe we should make a superhero movie, but instead of writing likeable characters that at least make an attempt at doing the right thing, we just make the protagonist crack a joke every 5 seconds while he hunts down a plastic surgeon. As an added bonus, we can just write a bunch of static characters who change in no way throughout the movie." I don't like this movie. This is Guardians of the Galaxy done wrong. 3/10 Surprisingly ProfoundUp until I actually started watching this movie, my rusty Spanish read this as "I sing". I kept hearing about the good music in this movie, so I was expecting a movie centered around music like Coco or something. About five minutes into the movie, I had the realization that Encanto means "Enchanted" and not "I sing". I immediately became more interested because I saw more potential for an actual story instead of Disney just trying to pump out a bunch of hit songs.
As I watched the movie, I began to feel like it was setting up for the predictable ending of the outcast fitting in when she finds her "true gift". I'm super glad my expectations were subverted. I loved the entire second half of the movie. Mirabel tries to dig into her family's secrets and finds out that they were tearing themselves up on the inside in more ways than one. The movie explores several popular insecurities. I think it teaches a great lesson to children. You don't have to be who everyone says you are and its okay to open up about your emotions. It does it so well because it delivers the message without being too direct. I never felt like saying "OK we get it already". The ending was also pretty great. The fact that there was no villain for the entire movie is very different for Disney. I like how it ended up as well. There wasn't a stupid ending like the Madrigals losing their powers and being normal or Mirabel getting a power. Nothing changed from the beginning of the movie other than the family's mental health, which is perfect. The soundtrack was pretty good. I don't think I could put it over Moana or either Frozen movie, but it was still a Disney soundtrack. It was bound to be good. My biggest problem with this movie isn't actually about the movie itself. I'm really annoyed that the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is so popular. In my opinion, its barely a top 5 song in this movie alone. I don't think it even comes close to being a top 5 Disney song of all time. I'd put it top 40 at best. It's so overrated! It's not even my favorite song in a lower tier Disney soundtrack. I knew this song was popular before I watched this movie, so I was waiting for it the whole time. Maybe my expectations were too high, because I was extremely disappointed. Even though this song doesn't have a banger soundtrack, it definitely makes up for it with the impressive and deep plot and moral. This will go up there with my favorite animated Disney films. I'm glad they got back on track after Raya. Encanto is definitely worth a watch. 9/10 |
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