The Sea Beast

POSITIVES

  • The movie's imaginative world building about sea beasts and the hunters who hunt them is quite excellent. This is a very entertaining adventure at sea that you'll want to experience. 

  • Animation is stellar and those enormous sea beasts are quite magnificent to look at. Visual imagery to marvel at. Then there are those like "Blue" who are just so cute. 

  • Lively distinct characters wonderfully played by Karl Urban as Jacob Holland, Zaris-Angel Hator as Maisie Brumble, Jared Harris as Captain Crow, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sarah Sharpe, plus more. The banter between Jacob and Maisie in particular is pretty fun. 

  • Those grand exciting engaging set pieces and action choreography are spectacular to watch! 

  • What this movie decided to have as a thematic commentary is remarkable. Emphasized by a powerful moment during the last act. Take heed to what it has to say. 

NEGATIVES 

  • This isn't exactly a pirates movie if that's what you were hoping for. 

  • Some familiar plot tropes here and there. 

  • Plot conveniences? Highly illogical moments? Takes you out of the movie stuff? Sure. 

  • Felt like it could have shown me more, and could have been more ambitious in scale. 

  • You know some people are going to get annoyed by the kid. 

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The Sea Beast - watched it on NETFLIX

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

POSITIVES

  • The movie’s premise is about a documentary on a talking shell character that has an eyeball, a mouth, and little shoes! How adorable is that?! Never once did that conceit of a story wear itself out for me. 

  • It’s got very much a “kids say the darndest thing” vibe and I adored that so much. Some of the things Marcel says and does are just the best. 

  • Visually very simple due to the premise, but its ability to bring this little big world that in itself lives in our own big world is just an incredible thing. Plus the very rube goldberg machine aspects are so awesome. 

  • Jenny Slate as Marcel is fantastic! How she and Dean Fleischer-Camp brought Marcel; and Isabella Rossellini's Connie, to be fully developed three dimensional characters to life, that I genuinely cared for, and was unbelievably invested in, is just a work of cinema magic. 

  • I truly enjoyed the movie’s sense of humor, but wow did the dramatic aspects emotionally move me. 

NEGATIVES

  • If you’re not into the premise and this idea of a movie, I don’t know how it would win you over. 

  • It’s going to wreck your brain trying to figure out how the whole world presented in this movie is supposed to logically make sense in any realistic way. 

  • Some predictable plot developments that you might find too derivative. 

  • You’ve seen these kinds of thematic messages before, so it’s not exactly challenging material in that regard. 

  • There’s a segment with Lesley Stahl I was disappointed that I didn’t get more of. The movie’s not that long, so couldn’t we get more Lesley Stahl? 

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - watched in IN THEATERS

Thor: Love and Thunder

POSITIVES

  • If you watched Thor: Ragnarok, really enjoyed the comedic aspects of it, and wished that they would have leaned even more heavily into that, well you got your wish with this installment. Talk about embracing comedy. 

  • Looking past the comedic aspect, this movie’s also got heart, and it’s also got some solid action beats. That’s your Love and Thunder right there. 

  • Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Taika Waititi are excellent in their roles as expected, but wow did Christian Bale once again give 110% to his performance and to his character here; Gorr the God Butcher. Shout out to Russell Crowe too! 

  • Visually provides some nice location imageries, comic book splash page looking shots, plays around with color on black & white, plus those CG characters all look top notch. With all that said, the soundtrack and song choices are fantastic! 

  • While the things the movie talks about are generally simplistic, there are still some interesting thematic commentaries it brings up that are worth exploring. 

NEGATIVES

  • I’m sorry, but am I watching a parody of a Thor movie? Because it’s much too silly to be an actual legit Thor movie. I mean the character of Thor is practically a joke of himself. 

  • It’s not actually a parody? Okay, maybe this is another example of comedy being subjective? 

  • Oh wait, it got serious. Talk about a tonal switch. It’s like I’m watching two different movies. 

  • Also, how come for an MCU film with a big budget and a huge supporting cast, the movie itself looks like it’s showing the limits of its budget much more than expected (you’d think they shot some of those scenes in a Best Buy parking lot or something). Plus the huge supporting cast that doesn’t really seem to be doing a whole lot when clearly the plot would suggest that they should. 

  • Let’s just say that Director Taika Waititi was indulging himself way too much here and also at the same he wasn’t indulging himself enough in other aspects. 

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Thor: Love and Thunder - watched in IN THEATERS

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe

POSITIVES

  • Ridiculous premise, juvenile humor, and pop culture references. Fans of Beavis & Butthead will enjoy this. Plus there are some montage sequences that are pretty entertaining to see.

  • Part of the fun of the plot is seeing all the stupid situations these two idiots get themselves into. 

  • Solid addition of Andrea Savage, Nat Faxon, Gary Cole, and Chi McBride for the movie. 

  • Gotta appreciate the simple traditional animation style. 

  • The way this movie does satirical commentary of the time is quite amusing. 

NEGATIVES 

  • If you're not into the ridiculous premise and the juvenile humor, then this is absolutely not for you. 

  • It is infinitely nonsensical and illogical and pretty stupid. You have been warned. 

  • I mean there is one dumb running joke that is repeated over and over and over again. It’s a very simple minded movie. 

  • So many plot conveniences just to keep the story going. 

  • Gotta say. Wished it was more outrageous than it really is. Plus not enough fan service? 

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe - watched it on PARAMOUNT+

Minions: The Rise of Gru

POSITIVES

  • This is an incredibly nonsensical silly movie that has bouts of humorous cleverness, and that’s what you want from this installment of this popular animated movie franchise. 

  • From the visual gags, the action sequences, to the detailed stylish designs, the animation quality is a delight to see on screen. 

  • The minions never fail in their wackiness and all the random situations they find themselves in are just such a fun time. Plus I really liked that whole subplot involving Michelle Yeoh's Master Chow character. 

  • Plotwise, the whole thing with Steve Carrell’s Gru, Alan Arkin's Wild Knuckles, Taraji P Henson's Belle Bottom, and the rest of the Vicious 6, is enjoyable enough to drive the overall story. 

  • Adults watching this will probably be entertained by the pop culture, the 1970s era references, and the soundtrack. 

NEGATIVES

  • Admittedly there will be those who go into this and say that it’s stupid and idiotic and doesn’t make much sense. 

  • Needless to say, comedy is subjective, and the jokes found in this movie might not work for everybody. 

  • Felt like they could have showcased more interesting personalities to the Vicious 6.

  • I don’t know about you all, but can we just stick with only having the Minions in their own movie. I can live without human characters in a Minions movie. 

  • The fact that a lot of the words in Minionese are starting to sound like real world dialects kinda ruins the fun of listening to this fictitious language. 

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Minions: The Rise Of Gru - watched in IN THEATERS

The Princess

POSITIVES

  • Premise and narrative is a bit self-aware of what it is, enjoyably simple, kinda cheesy, and may as well be straight out of a video game or a 1980s action film. You go into watching this for the many fight scenes, with a dash of exposition and background details via some effectively used flashbacks. 

  • Provides some fun entertainment by practically having an action sequence every five minutes that showcases some solid fight choreography. 

  • Joey King is fantastic as the title character and even does a significant amount of her own stunt work in the fights. Action star Veronica Ngo is also a welcome presence in this cast, plus I got to appreciate Dominic Cooper and Olga Kurylenko hamming it up as the villains of this story. 

  • Makes great use of having this movie take place in one location, but still manages to provide some variety in the sets shown, that helps progress the plot forward. 

  • The political commentary and themes are a little bit on the blunt obvious side, but considering today’s modern social climate, I’m all for it. 

NEGATIVES 

  • Premise is just a bit on the silly, exaggerated, and unbelievable variety, that’s regretfully a rather forgetful movie. 

  • Plot isn’t exactly deep, or anything you haven’t seen before, so expect some very predictable moments. 

  • The bloody violence might be too surprising for those thinking that this is just a fun action-adventure movie for teens. 

  • Some will claim that this is just another man-hating feminist leaning movie. 

  • There's a fat joke in this that seems unnecessary.  

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Princess - watched it on HULU

Fire Island

POSITIVES

  • Let’s be honest. For a lot of you, this is not the usual conventional romantic dramatic comedy that you normally would see. Even with that fact however, let me just say that this dramedy is worth checking out. 

  • Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove are real places, and it’s a cliché thing for me to say, but the Island itself is really like its own character that this movie brings to life. 

  • Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang are excellent as Noah and Howie respectively, but it's their plot threads involving Conrad Ricamora and James Scully as Will and Charlie respectively that is the main driving point of this story that will keep you engaged. 

  • The perspectives, opinions, and commentaries made by Noah is one of the best and most fascinating aspects of this film. Love all the little factoids being shared. 

  • While it’s not exactly filled to the brim with comedy, it does have good humor and some nice running jokes. 

NEGATIVES 

  • I hate to have to say it here, but the premise is unfortunately not going to be for everybody. 

  • All that explicit language and all that sex stuff is also very much not going to be for everybody. 

  • What’s also not going to be for everybody are movies with voice over narration, and this one very much uses that story telling technique. 

  • Gotta say, the friends can be pretty annoying. 

  • The conclusion to this story may or may not work for you. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Fire Island - watched it on HULU

ELVIS

POSITIVES

  • As a celebration of the man, the legend, the King Of Rock Elvis Presley, this is a very solid and entertaining film that fans should appreciate. 

  • Highlights some of the most significant chapters in his life, from the whole controversy regarding his leg movements, his TV comeback special, to his Vegas residency era, plus more. There’s a lot to grab your attention here. 

  • The visual narrative is super energetic and kinetic to watch, with an edit that forces you to keep your eyes glued on the screen at all times. It’s almost like a long form montage, and that’s actually not a bad thing. 

  • Austin Butler is phenomenal as Elvis Presley, and Tom Hanks really creates quite the character as Colonel Tom Parker. The two parallel stories surrounding them, and their partnership is really the cornerstone of this movie, and will keep you constantly engaged with this musical biopic. 

  • Needless to say, the soundtrack is fantastic. Elvis’ songs are presented well here, and might just make you want to get up and dance! Austin Butler even sang several of them as well with aplomb. 

NEGATIVES

  • It’s still a musical biopic and does typical musical biopic stuff. 

  • This musical biopic does take liberties. Some would say that they are an unnecessary misrepresentation of the facts, that will make some people ask “did that really happen?!” The movie doesn’t even really cover every aspect of Elvis’ history. 

  • Visual narrative just does not stop moving! It can feel a little too overwhelming to keep up at times. It’s a decently long movie too, and there’s a point when you might just feel exhausted watching it, just wanting to catch your breath for a bit. 

  • Some of the songs in the soundtrack are of the more “modern” variety, and I felt like they shouldn’t have bothered including them, as I myself wanted more even Elvis songs featured than what we got. 

  • Could this be just for Elvis fans or Baz Luhrmann fans? I’m not sure how well this would actually play for non-fans. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Elvis - watched in IN THEATERS

The Black Phone

POSITIVES

  • Solid intriguing fascinating premise that will make you wonder how the plot is going to progress (unless you were spoiled by the official trailers). 

  • Ethan Hawke is good at being creepy, even with the fact he is wearing a mask a lot. Mason Thames gives us a finely nuanced character as Finney, who will be easy to root for. Madeleine McGraw is spectacular in giving her character Gwen such personality, and is such a scene stealer because of that. 

  • The suspenseful tense scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the plot developments with Gwen Shaw’s story thread will keep you excited. 

  • With these types of films, the final act and conclusion can make or break it. Thankfully I thought it was very satisfying. 

  • A great example of a film that excels at making the most visually out of single setting. Some nice cinematic moments, and some ghastly imagery as well. 

NEGATIVES

  • It’s not a hard horror film (not cruel enough?), nor is it super scary (I think there were only about 2-3 jump scares). Some will probably be disappointed with these facts. 

  • Pacing could move just a tad bit faster, as I can imagine some people might get impatient with it. 

  • The crude language and physical violence might be too surprising to find here. 

  • One particular plot reveal might be too hard (or stupid) to believe. 

  • Actually, this is the kind of movie that will be easy to nitpick, and that could be a problem for some movie goers. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Black Phone - watched in IN THEATERS

Lightyear

POSITIVES

  • This is the Buzz Lightyear story you may not have been interested in, but turns out to be a very entertainingly charming movie. Multiple fun scenes, montages, action beats, and set pieces to enjoy seeing play out. 

  • If there’s one thing I’m most surprised about this movie is how funny it is. The comedy and visual gags really won me over. 

  • Give it up to characters like Buzz, Alisha, and Izzy, but wow is SOX such a scene stealer here. The character relationships and dynamics are stellar and all, but I Loved Loved Loved that robot cat! 

  • It’s Pixar, so we know the visuals look great. The cinematography is spectacular. I particularly like the designs of the tech gadgets and what they can do. I should also mention that I was lucky to watch this with a 1:43 IMAX aspect ratio and the many scenes that took advantage of it looked marvelously immersive. 

  • Didn’t expect much from what a movie like this has to say, but I really appreciated the themes and lessons presented here. 

NEGATIVES

  • Yes, it doesn’t exactly have the most original plot direction, so expect some derivative factors. 

  • All that character growth and development in such a short period of time? Typical. Tired narrative trick. You could have just given us another montage to depict more time passing! 

  • I’m just going to say it. Mo Morrison is an annoying character and unfortunately is used almost solely just to drive the plot forward. 

  • The execution of a major plot reveal arguably might feel a little too forced, maybe even too cynical. Not everybody is going to be satisfied with it. 

  • How often can you survive a close contact explosion and survive? For that matter, there are a lot of incredible feats displayed in the movie that seem way too illogical and unbelievable. 

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Lightyear - watched in IN THEATERS