bird box

POSITIVES…
- Sandra Bullock is great in this, with what was probably a deceivingly challenging role for an actress to tackle.
- Supporting cast from Trevante Rhodes, to John Malkovich, are good in this too.
- The premise is very fascinating, especially considering the vast amount of apocalyptic movies that are already out there, or the growing amount of sensory deprived stories.
- There are some clever things introduced into the plot, that only makes the world building better than it probably should be.
- Manages to successfully create tense suspenseful moments, especially one particular scene involving driving a vehicle without being able to see out the car windows.
- Narrative of this movie does a good job of keeping my attention throughout the whole thing.

NEGATIVES…
- Honestly, they probably could have made this 20 minutes shorter.
- I don’t think the narrative device of bouncing back between the present time and a flashback was necessary.
- Some of the other supporting characters were kinda useless, and served to just be there as typical archetypes.
- Stupid things and plot conveniences still happen.

P.S….
- Before you compare this to “A Quiet Place,” just know that this is actually adapting the 2014 book by Josh Malerman. While you’re at it, look up the 2015 novel “The Silence.”

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Watch It Now On Netflix

welcome to marwen

POSITIVES…
- Steve Carell is good in his role here, as expected of him. He really toes the line between the more dramatic and comedic aspects of his character. As it’s written, it shouldn’t work, but I think Carell pulled it off.
- The World War II fantasy sequences were frankly the most enjoyable parts of this movie. That aspect of the movie even managed to throw in some curveballs that I wasn’t expecting.
- I appreciated the general themes that this movie tries to convey to us.
- I appreciated how the movie tries to mix in the fantasy sequences with the real life parts. The parallel narrative is a solid idea for a premise.

NEGATIVES…
- By the end of the movie, I unfortunately just didn’t think the fantasy sequences and the real world plot really worked that well together in this.
- People will take issue with the many artistic liberties this movie took when compared to the true story.
- People will also probably take issue with how this movie handles PTSD.
- The subplot involving Leslie Mann’s character was just problematic overall. I get what this movie tries to do there, but I don’t think it hit the landing.

P.S….
- Marwencol - A Film About Being Beaten and Left For Art with Jeff Malmberg

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mary poppins returns

POSITIVES…
- Turn on your suspension of disbelief on full blast, and just enjoy the whimsical magic that only Mary Poppins is able to bring to you.  
- It’s not above being silly and a bit unbelievable, but that’s what you should expect from a movie like this. As Mary Poppins would say, "Some stuff and nonsense could be fun! Can you imagine that?" 
- Emily Blunt does a fantastic job as Mary Poppins, and is different enough to make it her own version when compared to Julie Andrews. Some would say Emily Blunt’s version was actually closer to what the character was in the books.
- The rest of the cast were great in it as well, from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Mortimer, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, and Pixie Davies. I have to give extra props to Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks, who arguably has the most complex character out of all of them.
- The plot seems to deal with more heavier topics in this one, which I suppose I appreciate them making the effort to push the story further than before.
- When I was a kid watching Mary Poppins, the animated sequence was one of my most favorite parts from that movie. It’s the same thing with this installment.
- Movie is charming overall, and should put a smile on your face. It does it’s best to recapture that magic of the 1964 original. Prepare for a huge nostalgia trip.
- The songs are perfectly fine and are catchy enough when watching the movie. I appreciated the cleverness of the lyrics and how the songs can be very intricate.

NEGATIVES…
- Simply put, the songs in this one just aren’t instant classics as with the 1964 original, and it’s likely because they are more complicated to sing along to.
- The story is somehow not as memorable as I hoped it would be, and this is even though this movie attempts to follow the same story beats as the previous one. Some would say that it’s a direct copy.
- There is also one particular tired plot trope that this movie uses, which only makes things more derivative than it needed to be.

P.S….
- After seeing the movie, listen to the soundtrack. What’s your favorite song? Mine involves balloons ;-)

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aquaman

POSITIVES…
- As he’s already proven in another movie, Jason Momoa is just charming as heck, in the role of Arthur Curry, AKA Aquaman. He is without a doubt the most entertaining character to watch here.
- The rest of the supporting cast are good too, from Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and more. Plus we get to see Nicole Kidman kick ass.
- The world building is good!
- In terms of spectacle, adventure, and action, this movie absolutely hits it’s marks.
- There’s a particular action set piece in Italy that is just a complete joy to watch.
- The fight choreography is also quite excellent here.
- Director James Wan does wonders with how certain scenes are shown on screen. Plus there are a lot of clever scene transitions too. Amazing work.

NEGATIVES…
- The CGI are hit or miss, especially when it came to some of those de-aging effects, or some of the location work.
- Stupid things still happen here and there.
- There’s one plot development that kinda just never developed, and seemed totally ignored.
- Follows some very derivative plot tropes.

P.S….
- This movie acknowledges and also ignores some of what was introduced during the Justice League film.

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the mule

POSITIVES…
- Clint Eastwood turns on the charm all the way up, to make us feel sympathy for Earl Stone, this old man with huge character flaws.
- This is a leisurely told movie that takes it’s time, which borders on the edge of feeling just right or feeling way too long.
- Although you probably have an idea on how this is going to end, you’re going to want to see it all the way through anyway.
- Part of the appeal of this story are the small little encounters that Earl runs into on his runs, as they add a form of levity to an otherwise dangerous occupation.

NEGATIVES…
- Those small little encounters also feel rather questionable if you consider all the subtext those scenes represent. Depending on that, those scenes might feel very distracting. In fact, I would argue that they really were distracting.
- Simply put, some people might find this movie too slow and too long.
- While some of the supporting cast are given some character development, the only one you’ll truly feel invested in is Earl Stone.

P.S….
- If I was to simply use this movie as a basis, then Clint Eastwood must really hate smartphones.

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bumblebee

POSITIVES…
- Finally we have a live-action Transformers movie that is directly targeting those of us who are big fans of the “Generation 1” animated series. The opening scene alone is quite the huge treat.
- The fact that they manage to get Bumblebee to show different emotions just from his voiceless face is still a marvel to me.
- Hailee Steinfeld continues to prove to us what a great actress she is, and her chemistry with Bumblebee is at the heart of what makes this movie absolutely worth watching.
- John Cena is so very entertaining in this as well.
- Has some excellent set pieces that ranges from scenes involving Hailee Steinfeld interacting with Bumblebee, to full on action sequences. There are some good chase sequences here too.
- This is essentially a fish out of water premise, mixed in with Spielberg’s “E.T.”
- Story and Characters versus just some mindless action sequences. Yes, Director Travis Knight and screenwriter Christina Hodson understands what it takes to make us care about and be invested with what happens in a Transformers movie.
- You will believe a girl can have a robot friend who can transfer to a volkswagen beetle, and it might just provoke some positive emotions from you.
- Easily the best live-action Transformers movie, especially compared to the Michael Bay directed installments that are filled to the brim with stupid things happening.

NEGATIVES…
- Some silly and stupid things still happen in this movie that will test your suspension of disbelief.
- There’s a recurring plot device that is used on Bumblebee far too many times to the point of being almost a parody.

P.S….
- Seriously, can we please be done with the whole “Bumblebee talks via clips from pop songs” gimmick?

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ben is back

POSITIVES…
- This is a heartbreaking and emotional story about how drug addiction affects more people than just the drug addict.
- From the very first scene, all the way until the end, this movie just grabs you and doesn’t let go. The pacing is fantastic.
- Amazing storytelling here, that contains very excellent ways of giving exposition in the most efficient ways.
- The plot goes places, some predictable, but still capable of giving us surprises.
- If you needed a reminder about how good of an actress Julia Roberts is, then see this movie.
- If you needed another introduction to how good an actor Lucas Hedges is, here is yet another movie to showcase his incredible talents.
- The chemistry between the two primary leads are so palpable, it’s hard not to feel invested with them.

NEGATIVES…
- Some of the emotional moments might seem melodramatic for some people.
- Some of the plot developments might seem to go too far depending on your suspension of disbelief.

P.S….
- Learned something new in this movie. Naltrexone.

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mortal engines

POSITIVES…
- I really liked the world building for the premise.
- Very creative visual designs.
- The visuals themselves are generally really nice to look at.
- Story moves at a good pace, and kept my attention enough to see it through until the end.
- Shrike, as played by Stephen Lang, is easily the most interesting character in the movie.

NEGATIVES…
- Shrike is unfortunately the only character that’s truly interesting in this movie.
- Katherine Valentine was arguably the worst written character of all of them.
- The nameless citizens of London were also cringe-worthy in how they were portrayed in this.
- A lot of the derivative young-adult-novel plot tropes are present in this one.
- Don’t get too distracted by the obvious green screen scenes, for there were a lot of them.

P.S….
- Cities-on-wheels is a nice creative idea, but physics-wise, how could they possibly move any faster than a turtle?

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once upon a deadpool

POSITIVES…
- $1 of every ticket goes to Fudge Cancer.
- The Princess Bride framing device with Fred Savage is hilarious.
- Some of the deleted scenes from the original cut were inserted back in for this version.
- kudos to adding that new after credits clip.
- This is still Deadpool 2 as it’s core. So if you liked that movie, then that helps with your enjoyment of this version.

NEGATIVES…
- This is still Deadpool 2 at its core. If you’re looking for a vastly different version of the movie that accommodates the more family friendly rating, then you’re going to be disappointed with the lack of effort in how they changed things up.
- There were probably only a handful of clever changes, but that’s about it.
- They still show people getting shot or stabbed, except with a quicker cut, and without the CGI blood. Now it just looks stupid when people get shot or stabbed.
- I simply wanted more of the Fred Savage framing device, and the amount we got was just satisfactory.
- That Nickelback related promotional trailer embedded here on this blog post? Not even in the movie!

P.S….
- 'Deadpool' Can Stay R-Rated at Disney, Says Bob Iger

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spider-man into the spider-verse

POSITIVES…
- Proves that a well produced animated feature is still the best way to translate comic books to the big screen.
- Love this unique looking animation style that perfectly emulates comic book pages. It’s cel-shaded 3D CGI done right!
- Plot moves and moves at a fast pace, managing to cram so much amazing content into this 117 minutes movie. Spectacular storytelling here.
- Multiple great set pieces here, whether it be a simple dialogue scene, to big action adventure beats.
- The kinetic, energetic, and action sequences were just so much fun to watch.
- Excellent in balancing out being funny, clever, exciting, and emotional too.
- Got to love the meta self-aware humor, and visual gags.
- Amazing voice cast overall, from Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Liev Schreiber, Kathryn Hahn, John Mulaney, to Nicolas Cage, and more!
- The main three leads here, Miles Morales, Peter B. Parker, and Gwen Stacy, were simply awesome! Seeing their personalities and their character arcs play out in their own ways, only increased my investment with the story.
- Probably has the best after-credits scene I’ve ever seen in a comic book movie.
- Could this be the best Spider-Man movie so far? Makes a very strong case for that distinction.

NEGATIVES…
- Some people might complain about the liberties and changes made; and there’s a lot, when compared to the original comic books it’s based on
- I’m not a huge fan of the character design for Kingpin

P.S….
- Did Sony just completely steal Marvel Studios’ thunder in introducing Miles Morales to the world on the big screen? Yeah, they totally did.

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