gigitville

Tenet had a lot of the "new Christopher Nolan movie" hype, and the people who enjoy his movies were quite excited. There has always been, and always will be, that group of people of see Christopher Nolan movies as pretentious and bland, and while I've always enjoyed his movies, Tenet really felt worthy of that critique. The most widespread problem with the whole movie was that it felt like Nolan was leaning on the concept of "If I make the dialogue, exposition, and concept sound super complex and smart, no one will realize they don't know what's going on." An argument can be made that all of his films fall under this problem, but in movies like Inception and even Interstellar, the complicated plot and subject matter could still be deciphered by the audience. And, there was enough to readily latch onto to make the audience want to piece things together. Tenet was confusing and very fast paced from the get go, and never really gave the audience any time to breathe. Not to mention that 70% of the dialogue was exposition dumps, and due to the sound mixing drowning out the dialogue more often than not, the convoluted explanations of what was happening never actually made things easier to follow. And you can have a complicated plot and premise worthy of the most elite and pretentious audience without making things confusing. In fact, complicated shouldn't mean confusing.

The plot and pacing also didn't assist in the audience's ability to follow and be invested in what was happening. At least for me, it was pretty sporadic that I really cared about what was happening on screen, mostly due to that I often wasn't sure what the characters were working toward or trying to prevent. And I'd like to think I can follow movies pretty well, and if this were just a case of the plot and filmmaking being "too complex" and going over my head, that'd be fine. But it really seemed that the writing was problematic. Because things were not clear enough, soon enough. The rules of inverting were explained in a very dense exposition dump at the beginning, and around 2/3's into the movie after a shift in the plot, and for a premise as interesting as this one, the audience should know the rules concretely early on. And this isn't synonymous to the audience being babysat through the whole plot and needing their handheld through the whole film. Back to Inception, which is a reasonable comparison since it's another complicated thriller by the same director and writer, the rules of inception and dreaming were explained effectively and well early on. This could've been the same in Tenet, but we only had rushed exposition dumps. Not to mention, we have an action scene right off the bat and subsequent secret agency drama that is never really explained. Starting the audience with something chaotic and plunging them into the action isn't inherently a bad thing, but this was a confusing start. And The Protagonist being a part of the Tenet organization is just sort of thrown in there after he proves his loyalty to them? To his old team? Did he have an old organization or was it the same as the Tenet group? Anyway, he learns about the time inverting and then just...starts doing things to, prevent the impending war? Honestly, one of the other biggest problems is that the goals of the characters and of the story in general, aren't that clear until the end of the second act.

So the character and plot goals, the way the Tenet organization and rules of inverting works, and what our characters were actually working toward with the drawing/Andrei shenanigans, all needed to be clearer sooner. It was difficult to latch onto the plot, and therefore, become invested in the story. You don't necessarily need to be limited by a three of five part story arc, but there really didn't feel like any story arc, whatsoever. It felt like meandering and random plot points that were working toward something that wasn't clear, until the lights were turned on and we learned what the characters were trying to prevent, and what they needed to do to do so.

Now there are still pros along with these cons. They didn't outweigh them, but they were there. The performances, especially John David Washington and Kenneth Branagh, were amazing. JDW has this unique, reserved charisma that made watching him on screen very captivating. His chemistry with Robert Pattinson, who also had a great performance as Neil, made their scenes together the best of the movie. Elizabeth Debicki is criminally underrated as an actor in general, and she gave a great performance. It was a bit of a bummer that she was the only consistent female character in the movie and was also a victim of an abusive marriage, but she got a fulfilling arc where she defeated her husband when she couldn't in the past so, that's good at least. I guess. I wonder if Christopher Nolan will ever write more than 3 female characters in one movie, one of which not being a dead or victimized wife figure.

Anyway, there were also some really interesting action scenes. There were two early on that were pretty traditional but done very well and not gratuitous. And the premise of inverting time is a very interesting one, that fostered a handful of very interesting half backward action scenes. In all honesty {spoiler} the action scene where Neil and The Protagonist go back to the Oslo airport and end up being the two they were fighting against in the past, was really interesting and satisfying to watch.

Overall, the whole viewing experience was okay. There were enjoyable things, yes, but the movie was overwhelmingly just exposition dumps that didn't really explain things enough, some cool action scenes and music, decent cinematography, and great acting performances. It's not terribly memorable, and you certainly felt the long runtime a few times when the pacing lagged. Christopher Nolan is a name that comes with high expectations, and unfortunately, this didn't live up as much as it could've. 7/10.

The Last Jedi left me without expectations or that much excitement for Rise of Skywalker. In my own personal opinion, I always felt like Star Wars had turned into a way to make money, and the actual movies and characters weren't given much effort creatively. But this one was pretty alright.

There were a lot of good and great aspects or smaller plot points, but the way they were all structured was a bit convoluted. I'll list the good parts first. The last half was very good. The first was a bit messy and as I said, convoluted with many different names and McGuffins introduced in succession. Rey and Kylo Ren's arcs were done pretty well, together and separately, and the whole Rey having a potential for evil and Kylo having a potential for good was always an interesting dynamic. I'm glad that we got backstory for Poe, since he's the only one out of the four main characters that we didn't know much about for the past two movies. The whole force connection between Rey and Kylo was an interesting addition to the force in Last Jedi, and they only explored it more in this movie with the whole being able to pass objects between the two of them was interesting and had a good payoff. Hux being the spy inside the First Order was interesting, and I wish that had been explored more instead of him being killed the scene after he helped the rebels escape. Some of the sound design was really cool and memorable, like Palpatine using a massive amount of lightning on the rebels ships at the end. Also I liked that Kylo was redeemed, though it seemed like they weren't sure they were doing that until this movie, as Force Awakens and Last Jedi were steering Kylo pretty harshly towards being evil. And the little homages paid to the original characters and trilogy were comforting in a way. Rey with the twin suns at the end, Lando returning, etc.

So, the cons. I don't know that the force just being mainly telekinesis is a good addition? Not that is has to be exactly how it was in the original trilogy or anything, but in Empire, Luke struggled to get his lightsaber using the force and now Rey and Kylo are using it to low-key fly and pull a whole ship back and forth. The last half had a lot of great character moments and plot points that could've used some better set up in the beginning. The character arcs, for example, only had a pay off without much of a set up, aside from Rey maybe. Finn ended up meeting another ex-stormtrooper and went through this little arc of like, learning to use his Stormtrooper knowledge to help take them down and become a bit of a second in command, but there wasn't any indication of this until the end. And Poe had this whole thing at the end where he felt like he wasn't as good of a leader as he wanted to be, and he worked through it and led the Resistance after Leia died. We saw none of this worry in the first half of the movie. This was a lot of the character arcs. Similarly, the romance element of Rey and Kylo should've been established much more. They only really established the connection between the two, so their kiss at the end felt odd. Their force connection was already established in Last Jedi, so this movie would be the one to beef up the actual romance, and the kiss at the end would've been more satisfying.

There wasn't that much tension, due to things like Chewie "dying" and being brought back a scene later, and C-3PO losing his memory only to get it back at the end of the movie. Finn's force sensitive and can tell when Rey's in trouble but only at the end of the movie? He's been just a normal dude this whole time? Also Rey and Poe arguing at the beginning, seeming to set up that they're going to have to work through their differences and learn to work together, but them not arguing in any other scenes after that? What was the point? Along these lines, the main three didn't feel like friends, really. Finn and Poe felt like believable friends for the most part, but like, Finn and Rey? It was mainly Finn being concerned about Rey, her responding in a vague way, or them just talking about what they need to do for the plot. They really glossed over Kylo's death. I feel like it would've have a nice impact if Rey included something of Kylo's with Leia and Luke's lightsaber in Tatooine, or even have Kylo's ghost be with Luke and Leia since they literally showed Kylo turning into a ghost after he died. Also, not sure how to feel about the fact that Leia went through Jedi training, yet it wasn't shown or talked about at any point before now.

So, despite all the cons I listed, this was still a pretty good movie. A pretty good Star Wars movie too, it really felt like a Star Wars story, however that sounds. I think part of the reason there were so many aspects I listed, is because they did a lot of things in this movie. There were a lot of new characters, locations, and objects along with some of the older, nostalgic parts of Star Wars. It almost felt like JJ Abrams wanted to include some locations and plot points that would've been better established in the movie before this one. Establishing Palpatine as being alive would've been a good thing to have in the previous movie, if they had planned the whole trilogy a bit better. I dunno.

Anyway, enjoyable movie. Had some great individual aspects, could've used a bit more organization and clear storytelling. 7/10.

So, I don't want to complain about this too much because it's a literal kids movie, but I also think that just because something is meant for kids, doesn't mean it can't be smart or have depth. The first Frozen is ultimately better, in almost every aspect of the movie, but this isn't a horrible sequel. It does, however, have a lot of wasted potential.

The plot was a simple premise, though it was surprisingly convoluted with all the different revelations about the past. I was glad they didn't retcon their parents' death, but the whole thing with Anna and Elsa's mom's voice travelling through time or whatever that was, wasn't explained well at all. The first one at least had some character arcs, however simple, but they were there. The point of sequels is to build onto the existing world and characters, and there was hardly any of that when it came to the characters. Kristoff was literally just worried about proposing to Anna and added nothing to the plot, Anna sort of had an issue with being overprotective of Elsa and learning to tone that down and trust her, but there wasn't much focus on that throughout the story. And Elsa hardly had any motivations. They tried to give her an arc about not wanting to be a queen and doing things with her magic instead, but it was hardly set up. And Elsa finding out she's like, the bridge between humanity and magic was so glossed over, and this would've been a great resource for some inner conflict. The themes, along with the character arcs or lack thereof, were equally as blurry. The first one had such strong themes of sisterhood and accepting your "inner demons" so to speak, and that just made it all the more obvious that this one didn't really have any clear themes. They tried to have a theme about change, but there was only the after affect as opposed to a set up and pay off.

And as for some nit-picky comments, Olaf's whole self-aware/woke/attempt at teenage dark and existential humor was so very distracting and annoying. And while the whole idea of "I'll understand when I'm older" is a decent lesson to give the kids watching, but this is still a movie, and some subtlety in lessons like this would've been helpful. The songs were fine. Different, which is great, but just fine. Not really memorable, unfortunately. Unless it was intentional to avoid the oversaturation of the first Frozen's music.

But, there were some pros. The movie was enjoyable, I'm not saying it was totally miserable to watch. The animation was amazing, and there were a few sequences that felt very Fantasia 2000. Plus, they did a great job showing some new locations and magic so it didn't feel like a visual recycling of scenes from the first Frozen. Similarly, adding the other four elements felt natural for the sequel since it added onto Elsa's powers.

Again, it wasn't a totally miserable movie to watch. It was fine, there were some good aspect, as well as some bad. Understandably, I'm sure it'll make a ton of money, and there will be a ton of merchandise sold because of it. I just wish that hugely popular kids movies weren't considered an easy route to a ton of money just because they're meant for kids. Something like Inside Out is a pretty good example of a deeper, smarter kids blockbuster that has lessons for younger kids while also appeal to older audiences. 6.5/10.

I tried not to have high expectations for this movie, but the trailers made it seem so good. Luckily, it more or less delivered. It was pretty refreshing to see an origin story for a villain rather than a superhero, the story was pretty gripping, and Joaquin Phoenix's performance was a great take on the Joker that is relatively unique.

There were still cons, though. About halfway through, there was a lull in the story after Arthur killed the men on the subway. It was poised as him finally snapping after so much crap being thrown at him from the world, but it was like he snapped, then found some more motivations in his mother not telling him he was adopted, then snapping again and then becoming the Joker we expect. Though I like the idea of Arthur holding himself back because of societal norms, and abandoning that obstacle by killing the men on the subway, but still holding himself together for more personal reasons like his mom or therapy, only to lose those too, I think these motivations could have been paced more smoothly. Some scenes were a bit too long and sort of hit you over the head with the point, which made the film feel slow sometimes. I know it's an origin movie and motives are important, and I'm glad they spent time to actually build them up, but it seemed to just keeping building and building, almost past the point of sympathy and believability. It was interesting how they made the love story all in his head because I thought it was way underdeveloped until they made that reveal, but it kind of only tells the audience that he's lonely and crazy, which we already know. So that's a bit of a dead end. Personally, I kind of wanted to see more of the big bad Joker that we're familiar with, but again, I know it's an origin story, and this version of the character is a bit more reserved so it does make sense.

Now for the pros. I'm very glad they didn't have the "love interest" be like, the only crutch for his sanity and only when he lost her could he be the Joker. Similarly, I like that they have a ton of different kinds of motives and reasons for Arthur to become the Joker instead of just one thing or event being the cause. And I liked that they gave Arthur reasoning behind the things he was doing, but they made it clear that he went off the rails in terms of retribution. I slightly worry, however, about some misguided people taking his joke towards the end (the whole "What do you get when you cross a cruel society etc. etc."), while great as a piece of dialogue, as a reason to think they can also lash out? Or see themselves as the Joker and follow in his footsteps? I'm not sure, but it's a fine line to walk.

Anyway, there were also some great moments of set up and pay off, which isn't as common in blockbuster or superhero type movies nowadays, but it comes across as more sophisticated and thorough. One plot thread that they did very well, and set up very well, was the connection to the Wayne family. It started subtly with the letters his mother writes to Wayne, and gradually builds up in a natural way. I'm glad they didn't have Joker kill Bruce's parents, but I'm glad that the whole chaotic uprising that the Joker directly caused, caused Bruce's parents to be killed. You can't really have a Joker movie without mentioning Batman, but I think they had the right amount where it made an impact on the story while also setting up the Batman origin, without distracting from the Joker. Similarly, I like that they have Gotham at a boiling point so it made sense that his "statement" on the subway would spark a descent into chaos. They did a good job humanizing Arthur to an extent where you can sympathize for him, he wants to makes kids smile, he's pretty down on his luck in the world, but they still make the audience know that his methods are what makes him a villain. Ang again, I like that they had several different motives, internal and external, for him to become the Joker. His mother not telling him he's adopted, the world continuing to beat him up, literally getting beat up, even losing his therapy and medication. All the pillars of his life fell like dominos, and it made sense.

Overall, I really did enjoy the movie. I thought it was well done, it had the overall tragic, uneasy, yet twistedly comical vibe that you would expect with the Joker. There was a fair amount of imagery that seems fine at first glance but the longer the camera holds on it, the more uneasy you feel. It wasn't perfect, but it was very good.

I wish this movie was better. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. There are pros and cons to every movie, and in the case of It: Chapter two, the cons are more prevalent, yet they don't necessarily outweigh the pros. It's a strange phenomenon that results in an okay, messy movie.

So, the cons. Something that unfortunately continues from the first one are the clanging jump scares. There are way too many of them, and they would be scarier without the super loud ramping music and the clanging sound effect. There were way too many Dutch angles and it got distracting after a while. You definitely felt the length of it, but it didn't exactly overstay its welcome. It certainly felt like a 2 hour 50 minute movie, but it was entertaining enough to hold attention. The movie felt pretty messy, and honestly, didn't have much actual plot. This was especially true in the middle where it was 90% scare sequences while the Losers found their tokens. The middle should have been where they each found motivation to face Pennywise again, and the things they remember when finding their tokens were supposed to convey that, but it just felt like they jumped on board defeating Pennywise.

More on the actual story elements, the whole element where they have to remember everything wasn't executed that well. About halfway through the film, it didn't really matter anymore but it also didn't come across that they remembered all they needed to. Plus, 90% of what they needed to remember, we've already seen in the first one. The love triangle between Bill, Bev, and Ben really wasn't earned and it didn't feel any more developed than in the first one. They had the same realization and emotional beats as the first movie. Plus, it was all Ben really had to do in the movie. He could have been the one to kill Henry Bowers so his arc was more about him finally overcoming his childhood trauma by defeating his bully. Honestly, all their arcs should have been about overcoming their specific childhood trauma. The only ones who really had complete arcs were Bill and Eddie. It would've been interesting to see a contrast between them as kids dealing with Pennywise and them dealing with it as adults, with maybe some fake out scare sequences where it's not actually Pennywise scaring them but it's their own paranoia and inability to know what's real making them feel like maybe it's not real. That would be an interesting obstacle.

On the other hand, the pros. The transitions between the scenes were absolutely creative and had some great cinematography and special effects. There were some pretty interesting and new horror sequences and imagery, like the drowning sequence at the beginning seeing Pennywise while bobbing in the water, or Pennywise looking like a carnie Bill Skarsgard in Bev's old apartment. In the middle third, there were a bit too many long horror sequences in a row and gave a messy feel. I really enjoyed Bill's arc with him realizing it wasn't actually his fault that Georgie died, though his whole arc with the other kid in Derry dying at the fair felt removed from the rest of the plot. Eddie's arc becoming less scared and believing he could be strong and defeat Pennywise was also really great. It's unfortunate everyone else didn't really have an arc. Despite the CG on some of the kids and the pitching up of their voices (which is pretty weird for them to do), the flashbacks with the younger kids were all enjoyable and added a nice nostalgic feeling. The casting for the adult versions of the characters was great and everyone really felt like the characters from the first one all grown up.

I didn't hate this movie. I just wish it was better. It could have been more streamline and better executed, with more thought put into the actual plot and character arcs than just the scares, but most of the horror was done well, and everyone's performances were great.

I didn't have many expectations for this movie, the trailer mainly just made it seem like something original, which is always a plus nowadays. But this movie was heartwarming, funny, and certainly original. The chemistry between Shia LeBeouf, Dakota Johnson, and Zack Gottsagen felt very genuine and natural, not to mention likable.

The first half of the film was mainly a road movie with Shia LeBeouf and Zack Gottsagen's characters, and it was enjoyable and funny as all get out. There were some moments of character development and flashbacks that were very tastefully done that utilized subtlety to show Shia LeBeouf character's background. And Zack Gottsagen's character felt very natural and likeable, with layers to his performance and connection with wrestling that showed a lot of characterization.

Not to mention, the cinematography and music was very captivating and gave the film some subtle and charming personality. The only real issue I had with it was that the pacing lagged a bit about ¾ of the way through. But it quickly found its way again and became pretty unpredictable as to where the story was going. Overall, this movie was so enjoyable, heartwarming and it was a great character movie and road movie that truly felt like a breath of fresh air.

Not only was it entertaining, but it actually had some plot points that were set up and paid off, the friendship between Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth was believable and natural, and there were some genuine moments of humor.

I was expecting for this MIB to just be a stock modern action movie with nothing really setting it apart despite the Men in Black name. But that wasn't the case, honestly. There was character development with Agent H learning he doesn't have to work alone, and Agent M learning to trust her gut. There was a lot of avoided cliché moments that could've come with two people of the opposite sex working together, like needless jealousy and undeserved flirting. Agent H and Agent M actually had motivations for how they interacted with each other. Not to mention their characters weren't that cliché or stereotypical either. Like Agent H wasn't just reckless and arrogant, he was actually caring and passionate. Plus the two main characters didn't fall in love! Which is refreshing because it wasn't necessary!

The cons were that while the pacing of the story was fine, the pacing within the scenes was a bit too slow which gave the feeling that it was overstaying its welcome a bit. If most of the scenes were a bit faster paced, then it would feel like a sleeker and smoother movie. And the villains were a bit one note and could've been established better.

But overall, it was a really enjoyable movie. The acting was great, the characters were likable, and the little alien dude Pawney was actually pretty funny. 8/10.

It was okay. Personally I really love X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past, and I liked a few parts of Apocalypse. And given the trailers, I thought this one would be pretty good. But it was really just okay.

The alien race that were sort of antagonists weren't nearly fleshed out enough. Personally, I think if it was just Jessica Chastain trying to like prove herself to her race by getting the phoenix power from Jean or something to make the antagonist have actual stakes in the story, that would've been better. Actually, I think it would've been even more interesting if Jean was dealing with the dark phoenix power just on her own against the X-Men. Also, Jean and Scott had no chemistry. And the fact that Quicksilver was in less than half of the movie was a crime.

There were some glimpses of things that made an interesting story. Like Charles learning that he doesn't always know best and the whole helping humans to stay on the world's good side is an interesting dynamic. Plus, Erik not being the villain was refreshing but then there was that fight in New York where Charles and a few of the X-Men were fighting against him anyway, so. The whole fight sequence on the train towards the end was great and by far the most entertaining part of the movie.

From the trailers, I was expecting sort of a Captain America: Civil War vibe with half of the team wanting to kill Jean after she killed Raven, and half wanting to save her. And there was a few scenes where this was the case, but it really wasn't that much. The scenes were mostly just really, bland. Bums me out.

All I want from my X-Men movies is mutants doing mutant things with some heart and wit. There were a few aspects of this in Dark Phoenix, but overall, it really just felt like a first draft of the script.

I wasn't expecting this movie to be anything all that special, since decent modern comedies are few and far between. But this was actually a really funny, accurate depiction of high school that had heart and style to top it off. Not to mention it avoided a lot of the cliché tropes from other high school based comedies. This was Olivia Wilde's directorial debut and she did a great job. There was some great cinematography, the casting was great, and I honestly thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, there was some social commentary and progressive messages that were handled in a respectful way, which I hope results in people actually listening to said messages.

The performances by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein were great and they had a very convincing friendship. That was the kind of thing that could make or break the film, since it revolves around their friendship, but it definitely made it.

If I had a critique, I'd say the pacing sagged a bit in the middle. One of the reasons this stands out though is because the pacing in the rest of the movie is so spot on.

I definitely recommend this film since it's the first modern comedy that's actually made me laugh and was smart, heartfelt, and felt like the person making it was actually passionate about what they were making. 9/10.

The only criticism I have for this movie is that I wish they spent a little more time strengthening the villain. Even then, King Pin was stronger than a lot of other supervillains out there. The reason I'm starting with the negative is because I love this movie so much and want to focus on the positives.

A few things I loved in particular were the balance of humor and emotional moments, the depth of the characters, the animation style?! Oh my God. It was visually my favorite animated movie of all time. It was a perfect blend of comic book art and cinematic storytelling instead of pure comic book style like The Walking Dead game, for example. But also, the voice acting was incredible, there was subtle aspects of story-telling that subconsciously strengthened the story. For example, Miles starting out by passing through his old school that's familiar to him, then getting into the new school that was a difficult but doable challenge, with his dad's support. Exactly how he went through his familiar life of school and spray painting to being Spider-Man, with the support of his dad. Well, his dad could represent his family as a whole because Miles felt like he was disappointing everyone but learned he needed to communicate and didn't have to do everything on his own. Character development, ugh I love it. And that's just one thing!

Peter B. Parker learning to be a little bit more vulnerable and taking a risk by mentoring Miles. And it made sense that Peter would let Miles help him, because he quickly realized he was stuck with Miles, and knew they'd both be better off if Miles knew what he was doing.

Things just made sense, which shouldn't be a landmark for good movies, but hey, it's the world we're living in.

But like, it makes sense that the spider people from the other universes would glitch while they were in the wrong universe, and that when shutting down the machine, someone would need to stay behind to shut it down. The story beats and emotional beats fit so well because the filmmakers knew what they were doing and took a thorough approach to their movie. God, I loved it.

There are a fair amount of both pros and cons in the live action Aladdin remake, but honestly, I wasn't expecting really any pros at all.

The good aspects are the movie were in fact, pretty solid. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin felt believable and the two actors had chemistry, and Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were really good. There were a few new tweaks or additions to the main story that felt natural, and made it feel different enough from the original that it wasn't just a carbon copy. Jasmine wanting to become the sultan, Jafar coming from poverty and having to steal like Aladdin, and Aladdin feeling very out of place in a royal setting were all great additions that provided a little depth and character motivations. The music was pretty good, for the most part.

Now, Will Smith as the Genie wasn't that great. He had some huge shoes to fill considering the character was originally written for Robin Williams, and while Will Smith was charming most of the time in the roll, it fell flat for me. It lacked the same depth and genuine heart that Williams' did. This also made Genie's and Aladdin's friendship not believable, which is the foundation of the movie and gives purpose to the ending and the Genie's freedom. Also the whole romantic subplot with him and Jasmine's handmaiden felt like an afterthought and made for a weaker motivation. The fact that the movie's excuse for people not recognizing Aladdin as Prince Ali because of "Genie magic" was pretty lazy. Also the new Jasmine songs, while empowering, weren't in keeping with tone and style of the other songs, so they felt really out of place.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie. It was entertaining enough to watch, though it had it's problems like any movie. I wish Disney wasn't only rehashing their ideas and also make new films as well, but whatever.

This movie didn't have the right to be this good. I didn't have many expectations going into this movie, despite a curiosity to see Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, but that was about it. I wasn't even that into Pokémon when I was a kid, but I really like this movie. It's fun, heartfelt, funny, and has likable characters that actually have arcs. Plus the world building is great, the world feels very realistic and thought through. And the little romantic subplot between the main guy and girl doesn't feel forced and wasn't shoehorned into the plot. There is a few problems but really, they don't take away from the movie that much at all. There's a decent amount of exposition dumps through dialogue, which is understandable. And there's a bit too much revealed in the third act, one right after the other, and it feels a bit rushed. All in all, the pokémons are adorable and seamlessly fit into the look of the movie, the pacing is great, the movie didn't jam in anything and everything related to Pokémon for the sake of the brand and name. It's just a really nice, fun movie that's certainly worth seeing. 9/10.

It was a solid movie, but it had its problems. I was moderately excited for it because it's the first female led Marvel movie, it was set in the 90's, I like Brie Larson...It looked solid, but I was sure to not get my hopes too high. So, now I've seen it, and there were definitely good parts. The whole dynamic between young Nick Fury and Carol was great and felt natural, as was the friendship between Carol and Maria, all the performances were good, the special effects were good, the smaller scale fights were refreshing from the faceless armies, I liked Carol and her finding herself storyline was pretty good, and the twist that the skrulls were actually refugees seeking their own home was a mature and subtle way to bring a topical issue into a mainstream movie.

However, there were five writers, and it was very, very evident. The majority of the movie felt like a car driving on ice and it would often skid and swerve to try to find its way back to a cohesive feeling story. The beginning feels like you were dropped into a movie that started ten minutes before you got there. With a story that relies on a lot of flashbacks, things need to be clear, and the movie felt very muddled with character motivations and who was involved in what, when. Also, Ronan was totally shoehorned and could've been used in a much more effective way. It could have been clear that Ronan had a hand in manipulating the Kree to wipe out the Skrulls because he knows they're a very serious threat to his plan of (whatever he wanted to do in Guardians of the Galaxy). He's just sort of there occasionally and talks to Jude Law about...what exactly? Everything happening on earth and everything happening in space seemed very separate and not in a good way.

Overall, 7/10. Could've been polished and trimmed, and they certainly could've lost a few of the screenwriters to streamline the story so it's easier to follow and get sucked into. It's not that everything should be spelled out for the audience like they're preschoolers, but make the story feel cohesive and polished.

This is the first movie I walked out of. Believe me, I didn't want to have to, but my god. I didn't care about anything that was going on, it felt so sloppy and lazy with countless short cuts plot wise, and they ignored every opportunity to be creative with the interesting source material. Again, I had to leave about an hour and twenty minutes in, so I can't speak for that last fifty minutes, but the movie up until that point was just so lazy and ordinary. The opening scene could've been done so well with the chase scene in a lightning storm, instead it was just borderline epilepsy inducing. The plot was aimless and had countless tangents that barely had anything to do with the main plot. The movie avoided interesting character moments at all cost, playing into the capitalization of the Harry Potter brand and not caring about much else. Every possible conflict within the film was easily fixed: The bowtruckle can easily get Tina, Newt, and Jacob out of the sewer they were trapped minutes after being trapped, Newt has some dust stuff that shows exactly the interaction between Tina and Yusef that he needed to see. That brings me to another thing that made me upset; the magic aspect. There's so much potential to have creative and cool uses of magic in this universe, but this film is satisfied with just zapping from place to place and projecting a smoky image. And there are still limitations and rules regarding magic from the Harry Potter movies that are ignored! And don't get me started on the ill-treatment of characters in this. Queenie's character was so different than the first movie, in a bad way. And for Newt and Jacob, it seemed they just took what people liked about them in the first movie and amped it up to the point of annoyance. There were some things I liked, kind of. Newt's huge basement of worlds and creatures in his apartment was great, too bad it was only used in two scenes. There was a scene where Grindelwald killed two people and took their apartment (for no real reason besides showing he's the bad guy) but it was filmed as a tracking shot from outside the windows. That was a pretty inventive way to film. Um...Eddie Redmayne is great. That's about it. Ugh. This universe has so much potential, and it upsets me that the filmmakers were just fine with skating by, doing the bare minimum. Details didn't matter, it seemed. It makes it worse for me personally that the director of this also directed my favorite Harry Potter movie; Order of the Phoenix. How did he go from that to this?

I was very excited for this movie for a while. I work at a movie theater, and I never got sick of seeing trailers for it. And fortunately, the movie delivered awesomely. There were a few things I didn't care for, but no movie's perfect. Starting with the cons. T'Challa's mom didn't really do anything? She should've had some more things to do in the story. Some of the exposition and beginning could've been shortened. I liked that they took their time, but it's almost like they did it too much in the beginning and too little at the end so they could've balanced it out. The "what are those?!" comment was just... unnecessary. Come on Marvel. And I wish Michael B. Jordan had more screen time because he was fantastic, the best Marvel villain overall in my opinion, and did an amazing performance. Some of the technology seemed a little far-fetched, and since they didn't expand on how most of it really worked, it makes the characters seem pretty invulnerable at times. Though they counteract it well at some points, like taking away Black Panther's superhuman qualities when he fights for the throne. The majority of the movie was the pros. All the performances were great, I don't think there was one character that was acted poorly. Micheal B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman are both stars that deserve more positive attention, because they're fantastic in everything I've seen them in. This is no exception. Adding onto this, pretty much everyone also wen through character development to some degree, which is unfortunately a rarity in most blockbusters. However, Ryan Coogler is definitely a director that cares about that sort of thing. I certainly want to start a petition for Marvel to hire more directors with visions of their own. Taika Watiti and now Ryan Coogler, very good calls. All the characters were just so well-written, it made me so happy. Especially all the strong and well-written female characters. See Hollywood? It's not hard to do it. It felt so natural and made so much sense, they were all treated with so much respect and I'm over the moon. We need more strong and well-written female role-models in movies, especially those of color. And not all of the, were just "hot girl who kicks ass and that's it" either! Yay! I actually found myself wanting more close quarters action, since the stunts and fight choreography were both amazing. The way the love story with T'Challa and Nakia was approached and written was refreshing. It wasn't like literally almost every other Marvel movie where the characters meet in the movie and fall in love within the events of the movie. T'Challa and Nakia had a history, a believable one, and we were rooting for them to get back together. And when they did, it wasn't one of them making a sacrifice for the other. T'Challa offered Nakia a way to fulfill what she wanted while still being close by. One thing I was worried about was they wouldn't blend the traditional African culture with futuristic imagery that well, and that it'd be clunky and unnatural. But this was something that was actually done pretty well, and in a believable way. Overall, fantastic movie.

So, I had clear expectations going into this movie. While I loved the first one, and the book series when I was younger, I knew that since the second film deviated from the book, the third one would too, and it would be decent. Not that great, not totally unbearable. Honestly though, most likely because my expectations were low, I enjoyed the film. The cons were it was too long and some parts could've been trimmed. Also, I wish they stuck to the books throughout Scorch Trials and Death Cure, including how the Cranks act. I know it's more theatrical to have them essentially zombies, but it was more interesting in the book as just people who had gone insane but could still sort of live for a while. In my opinion, anyway. I also wanted to see them truly go back to the maze instead of just Minho gong back in his nightmares, but Ki Hong Lee did a fantastic job in those scenes. The acting was great, the set design and effects were pretty great, and there were some genuinely good parts. Some genuinely tense and emotional parts, surprisingly. And up until the last twenty minutes, I liked it. However, the reason I didn't like the last twenty minutes was because of a different reason that gets me to cry every time because I love Newt and Thomas Brodie Sangster and having to see him act out page 250 and narrate his note for Thomas is totally brutal.

Okay...This one's a doozy. I'm gonna make this one brief, because the movie upsets me. There were definitely strengths in the film, performances, visual effects, that one lightsaber team up, and the relationship between Rey and Kylo to name, well, all of them. The Rey and Kylo relationship is actually the only real thing this movie accomplishes, now that I think about it. Everything else was pretty much just filler. Now, the cons. The whole thing was bloated and sporadic, and should've ended a half hour sooner. Right after Rey leaves Kylo after fighting alongside him, and he decides to remain evil. Sidebar, I wish the director and writer were brave enough to actually have an impactful storyline, like Rey becoming evil and Kylo becoming good, or them teaming up in anyway. But no, we're robbed of that, and no real character development happens. Anyway, there were a lot of plotlines happening with a different pace per plotline. The Finn and Rose plot was unnecessary and again, robbed us of an interesting storyline for a beloved character. Plus, the scenes where they're in the casino place were totally out of place. The other thing that pisses me off about the movie is that it destroys all the great possibilities set up in Force Awakens, for no real reason. My beloved pilot Poe had a strangely written arc that wasn't really an arc? I guess it was just showing him becoming more responsible and less reckless, but it was just underwhelming and cheesily written. Also, Luke Skywalker was just a totally different character than the original trilogy Luke. Which isn't a bad thing in theory, but when it's not logical aging and character development and just lazy writing, that's upsetting. And I'm just gonna bring up the obvious; Leia using the force to fly through space was maddening. Yes, she's been established as force sensitive, but never enough to pull herself through space when she should've died instantly. What the heck. The tone of the movie was also all over the place, volleying back and forth between serious and funny. Just pick one, god damn it. It just didn't feel like a Star Wars movie. It needed to be trimmed way down, and focus on building off what was established in Force Awakens. That one had a clear story, which is what this one should've had. It was just a mess most of the time.

Okay, DC is at it again, and unfortunately, they've fallen into their old habits. Justice League falls closer to Batman v Superman than Wonder Woman. I knew better than to get my hopes up too high for this one, though I was a bit hopeful. I loved the trailer's cover of Come Together, and Wonder Woman was great. Maybe Justice League could keep along the same pattern. Well, no such luck. The biggest problem was that the entire thing felt rushed. I know Zach Snyder was trying to avoid another long winded and bloated movie, but the fact that DC was getting antsy due to Marvel's success was obvious. The reshoots were also obvious, as well as the clashing tones of Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon. Also, there were some shots or sequences that were taken directly from Avengers, which was sort of funny because it wasn't in a parodying way. In the same vein, the humor (which was most likely Whedon's doing) felt forced most of the time. I liked the Flash occasionally, and I love Ezra Miller, but he was mainly annoying. Which made me sad. Along the lines of tone, which was pretty unidentifiable, the action would often come out of nowhere. This made it feel choppy as well as rushed. The CGI was either okay or terrible, there was no in between. It didn't feel like the movie was building up to anything, it was just...shallow. It felt like it skimmed the surface of what it really wanted to accomplish. There wasn't much chemistry between the members of the team, and no real reason that they should be a team. They just started doing things together and working together, and not questioning it. Unfortunately like Avengers, the one female character had a murky relationship with all the male team members, seeming like the creators of the movie are trying to broaden the possibility of a romantic storyline for future movies based on fan reaction. There were also too many sexualizing shots of Wonder Woman. Overall, it was an okay movie. There were some enjoyable moments like the lasso scene with Aquaman. I actually really liked Cyborg and Aquaman, which I didn't really expect to.

So, this movie completely revamped the Thor series, which was direly needed. The first two Thor films were decent in certain ways, but fell flat compared to stand alone films like Iron Man or Captain America. But Ragnarok was so good. It took an entirely comedic approach which surprisingly didn't feel out of place, probably because it was done by someone who had a confidence in their vision. Taika Watiti is a fantastic director. Starting with some of the cons, since this was more of a comedy, and since it was done well, some of the jokes actually felt a little cheap in comparison to others. For example, in the first scene when Thor is talking to Surtur and spins in the chains during the discussion. The first time viewing, it was pretty funny. But it wasn't the type of humor that aged well with multiple viewings. This was sprinkled throughout the film, but luckily not the main sense of humor. The main sense of humor was cleverer, i.e. Korg who was one of the best parts of the movie with his oddly chipper New Zealander voice, played by Taika Watiti. Speaking of, I wish he had complete creative control, because you could see at times where the studios were whispering in his ear of what the movie "should" have. I really wish they developed Cate Blanchett and her character more. The way she played the character varied a bit scene to scene, which could be chalked up to the studios interfering with the directing and writing. And the villain itself should've been given some more depth. Come on, Marvel. I know you can't go back into previous Marvel movies and change things, but it would've been nice to see Thor actually use lightning earlier in the Cinematic Universe. Though, one could argue that his abilities change as he discovers more about himself. There should've been more of the story taking place on Sakaar, since it was such an interesting world that was actually well developed. It was where the movie really embraced itself was where it was most successful. The weird and funny moments were its strongest supporters of the story. The color was also great, and just the whimsical tone actually felt more Thor. His character is a stubborn and arrogant prince in the first film, and in Dark World, an argument can be made that that was where he was dealing with some internal conflict, and now, after spending time with the Avengers on earth, the more fun tone is fitting since he's loosened up. It surprisingly fit well with the timeline of Thor. And it was refreshing that Thor was trying to save his world, but had to change his game plan, and Asgard ended up destroyed. The way they used color in the film with Loki makes me hopeful. He wasn't in his usual green and black, the colors he always reverted back to when he would betray Thor, but he's in teal. This could represent that he's truly changed for good, and hopefully won't betray Thor again in Infinity War. Overall, fantastically enjoyable movie that was made extremely well by a director who had a vision. The clever sense of humor and 80's-esque music was awesome, as well as the completely badass second use of Immigrant Song with Thor using lightning.

So, I really love the first one and was extremely excited for this one. However, there were some moments that fell flat in comparison to the first one. That's definitely not to say that this one wasn't entertaining, silly, fun because it was. There were just some parts that were a little too silly. For example, just right off the bat, the partial sex scene. It felt unnecessary and played purely for the shock/entertainment of the audience. It didn't need to happen, even if they had to do that scene "for the sake of the mission," they could've done it in a more tasteful way. Second, the story itself was a little cluttered and the exposition could've been shortened. Also, Merlin didn't have to die. It was definitely unnecessary, they already had a motive to be there and there was already an emotional death with Roxy and JB (which could've been done a bit better.) And Julianne Moore really fell flat. Lastly, the trailers set up a fun almost buddy agent type movie with the Kingsman and Statesman with some arguments here and there, maybe a betrayal, but ultimately working together. Yeah that's been done before, but it would've been better than not really having the Statesman in it that much. I wanted more banter between Merlin and Ginger, bonding over their nerdiness. I wanted to see Taron and Channing's chemistry, I wanted more Jeff Bridges damn it. And on that note, Channing Tatum needed to be in it more. They could've kept his storyline, but maybe had him go with Eggsy to the English music festival and show some witty banter there. Don't get me wrong, I really did like this movie. It was a decent sequel, though it was pretty beat for beat the first one, although it wasn't glaring. It was still fun as hell, it had wit and heart, and the performances (aside from Julianne Moore) were all pretty great. I love that Eggsy and the Swedish princess he hooked up with in the first movie were together in this one, because it's not only a great callback to the first one, it doesn't feel forced because Secret Service established Eggsy as a good guy, so getting feelings for Tilde makes sense. And surprisingly enough, Harry's return was done pretty well. Taron did a great job, as well as Mark Strong, and the bits where it was just them together were really great. And the little amount he was in it, Channing Tatum was fantastic. All the Statesman were good actually. Overall, it was an enjoyable and entertaining movie that was a little too silly at some points, but that's sort of what you expect from Kingsman; silly, witty, and entertaining. And it pretty much delivered.

I'm not a usual horror movie viewer, but upon seeing the trailers for the It remake, I knew I was going to see it. It looked like a genuinely good movie that used horror in a supportive and smart way aside from jump scares with no plot. And once I saw it, it more or less confirmed my thoughts. Though there are pros and cons to every movie. So, the pros. It was extremely well made. The setting was warm in an 80's way, though vibrant when dealing with Pennywise which played in the fact that he was, you know, a clown. The acting was surprisingly great on all accounts, which is always a tedious expectation with large child casts. The effects were amazing and all the utterly skin crawling fear sequences looked so realistic, which added to the creep factor. There was plenty of memorable cinematography, so many shots will stick with me, like Georgie's arm scene, Ben being chased by a headless boy, and the kids jumping off the cliff into the water are some that come to mind. And the suspense was masterfully presented which had me not at the edge of my seat in anticipation, but curled into a ball trying (and failing) to hide my face in fear. As for the cons, they weren't so glaring that it added up to a bad experience, they were more or less just some parts that were a bit obvious in comparison to the greatness of the rest of the movie. One was the fact that some kids were one note, which could have been the writing in the book. It was like this for most of the group that weren't Bill and Beverly. I also wished they balanced the responsibilities between the group so all of the members of the Losers Club really felt needed. This includes having a different member of the Losers Club being taken by Pennywise to bring them together in the third act because Beverly definitely wasn't the damsel in distress type. I wish the kids' fear sequences were shown in a different way than one right after the other. I don't know if it was my expectations of the movie going in, but I felt they could've been presented more creatively. Some of the CGI with Pennywise was unnecessary, and I would've liked to see Bill Skarsgard do his thing with the character more, because he was the best part. I wish they showed the kids maybe spit firing some ideas on how Pennywise came to be, but I bet they'll touch up on his origin in part two. And lastly, the clanging jump scares. I thought the movie was above them, and would've been truly special if it also expanded its horizons with some silent or creepy quiet moments. Also, Bev was most certainly not a damsel in distress so having her as one the boys had to band together to save was out of character. Overall, great movie that I'm so glad I saw, and will see again, despite it being extremely and awesomely freaky.

So, DC hasn't had a great track record for their cinematic universe so far. Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad haven't exactly been great, or anywhere close, so I had reservations about Wonder Woman. I was excited to finally see a female protagonist in a superhero movie, but overall, I was worried. However, I actually enjoyed it. It was entertaining, the relationship between Diana and Steve was convincing and pretty well developed, and the action was so awesome I could watch Wonder Woman kick guys' asses all day. And Diana actually had some depth, being a young princess who wants to prove herself and doesn't take war as seriously at first but comes to see how serious and devastating it is. Though they could've highlighted a bit more on the first part though to add even more depth to her character. I also love all the badass female characters that were actually strong characters; you had Diana who was physically badass as well as kind hearted, then you had her mother who was a fierce ass leader, and even the Germans' main "weapon" was a female super smart chemist. The movie was even directed by a woman. I love all the feminism. Okay, so the flaws. I think the beginning should've went right into her backstory instead of showing her in the present then going back to her past. I think they should've shortened the beginning part a bit with Wayne Enterprises dropping off that picture at the end, and still have her read that note about her telling her story someday. I also didn't really like that she was "the chosen one" essentially, just because it's a played out trope, but you can't change her comic backstory so. Anyway, I also wish we got to know more about Steve Trevor and his past, but his character wasn't flat and he had good chemistry with Diana. Like I said, their relationship was well developed since she saved his life, so he saved hers, then they had a curiosity towards each other and a start of a relationship then went from there, as it should go. Anyway, I also didn't like how the rouse villain was chemically doping up, for no reason? I guess it was so his fight with Diana would seem fair, but he could've just been using chemical weapons against her. It didn't end up mattering anyway, and it seemed forced and out of place. If they maybe developed it a bit better, maybe having him dying from an illness or something and needing it to stay alive, that's why he sought out the chemist in the first place or something like that. And some of the slow-mo dramatic shots, because there were a lot, were a bit much. But overall, very good movie. Good story, good superhero movie, and it had a well written female protagonist.

I was never all that excited for this movie, in all honesty. Upon first seeing the trailers, the main character reminded me of the "badass" characters I tried to write in middle school. The time it's set in (literally right before Episode Four) appealed to me, but that was about it. And working at Galaxy, the trailers got old. So, when it came out, I wasn't thrilled, I wasn't angry, I was just passive towards it. Once it came out, some of my coworkers said it was actually great so I had slightly higher hopes. And then I saw it. There were many more negatives than positives, and it kind of sucks. It's a Star Wars movie, I wanted it to be good. Throughout the movie but especially in the beginning, the pacing and tone was really scattered and unclear. It introduced all these characters, and never let you get to know them. I barely knew anything about any of the characters except their occupation and a bland view of their personality type. This also made me not care about the characters or events until the end of the movie. Like with Jyn, yeah okay she's a rebel but why? Is it because of her father? Was she angry that her father was working with the empire? Was she just pissed she was on her own? It didn't even show us her committing some crime like stealing food and giving some to a starving kid, then getting arrested. Since they (I think) were going for a "rogue with a heart of silver" archetype, this would've given us some insight into her character. Or maybe, once she's been arrested, have her trying to charm or fight her way out of it to show us what kind of person she is. But no, we just get her roots, then her in a cell, then going to a work camp. Why was she going to the camp anyway? We don't even know what she did to get arrested until she's at the rebel base. Forest Whitaker's character was completely unnecessary. It felt really shoehorned and flat. And once Jyn is with the rebels, they suddenly trust each other? And care about each other? Why, why I ask you?? There was no characterization like at all, so I didn't believe the character's relationships. A lot of it didn't even feel like a Star Wars movie; adventurous, fun, emotional. I'm not saying it had to have the exact same formula, but it could've fit in a bit more with the rest of the Star Wars movies. It was different, which is good in theory, but it was different in an off-center way. Like it almost hit a homerun, but just missed in an unclear way. The whole thing didn't feel like a beginning, which it is because it essentially sparks the rest of the movies going right into New Hope. But it didn't feel like a beginning, it didn't even feel like it was passing the torch, it felt like an end. Which is this case, it felt like a stand-alone movie that was made after the originals, which it was, but it should've been an unspoken thing where it should've been made in a way that if someone were to watch the Star Wars movies chronologically, it would flow well. However, the positives. I like that the end glided right into the beginning of New Hope. It felt nostalgic and gave a nice handshake to the originals. Despite the horrible CGI Carrie Fischer. But I digress. It sounds surprising, but I actually liked that everyone died in the end because it was refreshing and realistic, since it's a rebellion and not everyone would always survive. I also like that none of the main characters were a Skywalker or a Jedi. Same with the fact that they have a rebel character that's not totally good and pure, and they have an Empire character that wasn't totally evil. I also loved the lightsaber scene with Darth Vader. The robot K-2SO was also amazing, and surprisingly the character with the most heart.