Movie Review - Tom and Jerry (2021 Film)

I was a huge fan of the classic MGM Hanna-Barbara Tom & Jerry cartoons and I even enjoyed the lesser follow ups. I would watch them over and over on afternoons after school. It doesn't get better than those. But I didn't have high hopes for a movie after seeing how poorly other cartoons I loved translated to the big screen (Smurfs, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, and The Flintstones to name just a few).

Tom and Jerry is a 2021 live-action and animated action, romance, comedy based on the classic MGM cartoons of the same name. It is rated PG and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Story and Content. This movie had so much more story and content than I was expecting. A lot of stuff happened with a lot of characters having fairly long stories with lots of moving pieces. This was like a real movie and not just a money grab.

Action. There was the right amount of classic Tom & Jerry chase scenes and physical violence, not too much, but enough that it felt like Tom & Jerry I also appreciated that most of it was new and original with only a few reenactments from the cartoons.

Art Direction. This film was really beautiful to look at. The animation was traditional and hand drawn but had a very modern feel while retaining all the greatness of classic animation. The sets and scenery was great to look at.

The Bad

Ken Jeong. Why does anyone hire this guy? He is so obnoxious. He was over the top in a bad way in this film and added nothing.

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

...

Overall

Tom and Jerry is a 2021 live-action and animated action, romance, comedy based on the classic MGM Hanna-Barbara Tom & Jerry cartoons. This movie had so much more story and content than I was expecting. A lot of stuff happened with a lot of characters having fairly long stories with lots of moving pieces. This was like a real movie and not just a money grab. There was the right amount of classic Tom & Jerry chase scenes and physical violence, not too much, but enough that it felt like Tom & Jerry I also appreciated that most of it was new and original with only a few reenactments from the cartoons. This film was really beautiful to look at. The animation was traditional and hand drawn but had a very modern feel while retaining all the greatness of classic animation. The sets and scenery was great to look at. The only negative was Ken Jeong. Why does anyone hire this guy? He is so obnoxious. He was over the top in a bad way in this film and added nothing. Otherwise this film was thoroughly entertaining. I highly recommend this film and give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

    

Blu-ray / DVD Review - Batman: Soul of the Dragon

I am a fan of Bronze Age comic books. So when I heard DC was planning and animated movie set in that era in the Bruce Timm style, I said to myself, "Self, you should watch that movie." And I did

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a 2021 animated martial arts film. It is rated R for violence and is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

Vibe. This movie has a great vibe from the visuals to the music to the action to the pacing that really evokes 70s martial art films and 70s TV.

Characters. This film has a great variety of characters form 1970s DC comics that either haven't appears before on the screen or have had very small appearances. The cast of characters had great chemistry together and worked together well.

Art Direction. The look and feel of the characters, backgrounds, vehicles, and action was very nostalgic while still feeling current and not retro. The look was unique while hearkening to a familiar era.

The Bad

Corner Cutting. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't explore this world as thoroughly as they could. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward which is perfect for lots of side trips to explore the world. And while there were a few along the way, they weren't as fully explored as I would have liked, and there weren't enough of them.

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

I wish the filmmakers had gotten a little more excited about this project and had put a little more energy and heart into it.

Overall

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a 2021 animated martial arts film. This movie has a great vibe from the visuals to the music to the action to the pacing that really evokes 70s martial art films and 70s TV. This film has a great variety of characters form 1970s DC comics that either haven't appears before on the screen or have had very small appearances. The cast of characters had great chemistry together and worked together well. My biggest complaint is the filmmakers didn't explore this world as thoroughly as they could. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward which is perfect for lots of side trips to explore the world. And while there were a few along the way, they weren't as fully explored as I would have liked, and there weren't enough of them. I wish the filmmakers had gotten a little more excited about this project and had put a little more energy and heart into it. Overall it's a very enjoyable film. I give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

 

TV Show Review - The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1

I'm a big Jonny Quest fan from his original series in the 60s to his latest exploits with Tom & Jerry. I even have most of his comics.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1 is a 1996 26-episode season of a 2-season series based on the 1964 series Jonny Quest. It is rated TV-PG and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good

The Darkest Fathoms. This is a pirate story with a supernatural feel. It's very intense for an afternoon cartoon.

In the Realm of the Condor. This is a lost city story that has a good idea and good scenes, but is ultimately slow and a little underwhelming.

Rage's Burning Wheel. This is a space mission story that needed to be two parts to fully develop. The story is exciting with real peril.

Manhattan Maneater. This is probably the strongest and most exciting story. It's a dangerous animal hunt story in New York that is very intense. 

East of Zanzibar. This is a natural disaster story where Hadji and Jonny get lost in a big storm that has a great setup but not as much development as it needs.

Ezekiel Rage. This is an origin story of one of the major new villains and is very exciting and intense with a story in the past and one in the present.

Alien in Washington. This is a bit silly but really fun and clever. It involves real aliens and their involvement in the government.

Return of the Anasazi. This is an ancient alien story that has a great set up but needed more work to flesh out.

The Alchemist. This is a story about alchemy that again has a great idea and great set up but needed a little more development.

AMOK. This is a cryptid story that is pretty good but a little slow.

The Spectre of the Pine Barrens. This is  cryptid meets civilization lost in time story about the Declaration of Independence. The idea is really good. The execution a little slow.

Expedition to Khumbu. This is a story about the yeti that is fairly clever and well done. The surprise at the end isn't very surprising. 

Future Rage. This is a really interesting doomsday meets the supernatural story that is really entertaining.

Alligators and Okeechobee Vikings. This story easily ties for the best episode. Vikings live in the Everglades, dress as Alligators, and stop an evil businessman trying to destroy the Everglades.

The Bad

Escape to Questworld. This is a revenge story mixed with virtual reality. The story is weak as is the VR.

Ndovu's Last Journey. This is a story about a dying elephant that is just as boring as it sounds. There is a supernatural element that is a little interesting but predictable. 

Assault on Questworld. This is another revenge story in VR that is better than the first one but still needs more work.

Trouble on the Colorado. This is a sequel to Return of the Anasazi that should have been great,but didn't have enough meat to the story.

In the Wake of the Mary Celeste. This is a ghost ship story that should have been a lot better given the interesting premise.

Besieged in Paradises. This story concerns using whale songs to form and Internet and control them. It's as strange and disappointing as it sounds.   

Heroes. This is a Greek mythology in VR story. It's very boring.  

The Ballad of Belle Bonnet. This is a ghost story that is very predicable and prosaic.  

In the Darkness of the Moon. This a warewolf story that gets too preachy and needs more meat and originality. 

The Secret of the Moai. This is a clever ancient alien story that gets way too silly. 

Ice Will Burn. This is a lost civilization under the ice story that isn't very interesting.

To Bardo and Back. This is a miraculous cure to a paralyzing injury story that is boring and contrived.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I would like to see longer episodes, maybe having some of the stories take two episodes. Several of the stories felt rushed.

Overall

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Season 1 is a fun re-imagining of a classic cartoon. Many of the episodes are well thought out showing real danger, real peril, and realistic action and equipment. There are a lot of aliens, cryptids, and supernatural elements to keep it fun, but all are handled mostly in a believable manner. Several episodes are brilliant while most are entertaining but need work, and a few are real duds. I highly recommend this show and give it 4 out of 5 remotes.

    

  

 

Movie Review - Klaus (Netflix Original)

I'm a big fan of experimental animation, even though most of the time the experiment fails. But when it succeeds, oh how it succeeds!

Klaus is a 2019 animated Christmas film from Netflix. It is rated PG for rude humor but is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Animation. The animation was gorgeous. It was 2-D animation shaded to look 3-D, but because it was 2-D it was very fluid and nice to look at and looked painted instead of plastic.

Story/Concept. The story is basically where Santa Claus and writing to him came from. This was a clever approach and story that was fresh but classic.

The Bad

Main Character. The filmmakers made the main character such an exaggerated caricature of a spoiled rich kid that was really difficult to care about him until he changed significantly halfway thru the film.

Feud. The filmmakers played it too same making the characters very bland. No one could have a strong personality or any real conflict for fear of offending someone, so the characters came off as very bland and unremarkable.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the main character had been more likable and the feud had been dropped. There was enough conflict and drama without it. This also would have helped make the first third less slow and less painful to get thru.

Overall

Klaus is an entertaining family film once you get thru the boring and painful first third. The animation is gorgeous. The story of how Santa came to be and why kids started to write to him is clever. Once you pass the first third of the film, the characters are interesting and you care about them and what happens to them. The ending was really nice. I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Movie Review - Frozen II

The first Frozen film was pretty good, but I wasn't sure where they were going to go with that. Sequels tend to either be a repeat of the first film, or the next chapter in a bigger story. Frozen didn't seem to have a bigger story, so I was fearing a bad remake of the first film.

Frozen II is a 2019 cgi animated fantasy family film by Disney. It is rated PG but is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Story/Approach. The filmmakers were really smart to make this movie completely different than the first one. Where the first one was a romantic comedy that make fun of Disney Princess film troupes, this film was a fantasy adventure exploring the origin of Elsa's powers.

The Bad

Pacing. This film was a little slow and dragged in places.

Character Development. The filmmakers played it too same making the characters very bland. No one could have a strong personality or any real conflict for fear of offending someone, so the characters came off as very bland and unremarkable.

Comedy/Age Range. This movie was made for small children with the humor being very silly and simple. The story and action were also geared for a younger audience so while the film had the potential to be great, it wasn't clever enough or smart enough.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the characters had been more developed and the comedy more sophisticated.

Overall

Frozen II is an entertaining fantasy adventure appropriate for the whole family. The filmmakers were really smart to make this movie completely different than the first one. Where the first one was a romantic comedy that make fun of Disney Princess film troupes, this film was a fantasy adventure exploring the origin of Elsa's powers. Unfortunately, the movie was made for a young audience,  with unsophisticated humor and a pretty obvious story and plot twists. The filmmakers played it too same making the characters very bland. No one could have a strong personality or any real conflict for fear of offending someone, so the characters came off as very bland and unremarkable. The music was good, but not nearly as classic as the original. I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Movie Review - Metropolis (2001 film)

Back in the day, Suncoast (and it's associated stores) had a membership program. A short-lived part of this program was a monthly magazine promoting the latest media. One month they featured a movie I had never heard of and knew nothing about, but I was intrigued.

Metropolis is a 2001 Japanese science fiction anime film based on the Fritz Lang film of the same name and the manga by Osamu Tezuka, the God of Manga. It is rated PG-13 and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

Visuals. This movie is so beautiful. Every frame is a masterpiece you could hang on your wall. It was an early experiment to mix traditionally hand-drawn characters with digital cgi backgrounds that worked better than any other attempt. The filmmakers actually went in and recolored the rendered 3D with traditional colors to give it such a natural look. And the Blu-ray really makes the visuals shine.

Music. This movie has great music that fits the unique modern/retro look and feel. It's jazzy and fun.

Characters. This movie has a lot of characters, many of them very flat and undeveloped. But the few main characters they do develop are fleshed out so well and their interactions are so natural and human. When they get it right, they really get it right.

Overall Story. Overall this film has a great story with several separate but connected plots going on that all connect and add to the message of the movie. Unfortunately, the actual telling of the story is a bit garbled.

World. This film creates a wondrous world filled with so many amazing buildings and people and conflict and intrigue. It is a lot of fun just to admire the world and explore it with the main characters.

The Bad

Story Development and Pacing. This movie has story problems with certain important plots underdeveloped and other less important ones labored over. The pacing is good in parts, too quick in others, and too slow in others.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish they had developed certain parts of the story more and ignored some of the stranger parts that felt like side trips.

Overall

Metropolis (2001 film) is a breath-taking visual feast with the perfect marriage between hand drawn animation and computer-generated backgrounds. Almost every frame is a masterpiece you could hang on your wall. The overall story is great with several separate but connected plots going on that all converge and add to the message of the movie. Unfortunately, the actual telling of the story is a bit garbled. When the character development is done right, it is masterfully done creating characters with such depth and humanity you can't help but love them. But many other important characters serve little purpose beyond being plot devices. The music is unique and fits the mood and vibe perfectly. I highly recommend this film and give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Blu-ray Review - Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I'm a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan, but the idea of them crossing over with DC or Marvel characters never seemed like a good idea. The first comic book mini-series this film is based on was pretty disappointing. But Amazon had the rental on sale, so I thought, "What the hay?"

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2019 direct-to-video action superhero film featuring the DC Comics hero Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird). It is rated PG-13 for language and violence and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

Story and Pacing. This movie had a solid story that made sense, wasn't contrived, and moved logically from one scene to the next. The pacing was deliberate and slow enough to develop the story but fast enough to never become boring.

Animation and Art Direction. While this wasn't my favorite look for the characters, it worked really well for the story and the movie.

Action. The fights were so fun and so well done showcasing so many characters and most of their abilities and unique traits. It was fun to see Batman and Shredder so evenly matched and such a long struggle to fight each other without a quick resolution.

Titles. The titles were gorgeous with black and white cityscapes and colored characters in front. The end credits with famous comic book covers recreated with Batman and the Turtles were also very clever.

Fan Nods. There were a lot of easter eggs and nods to the fans as well as references to previous incarnations both in film and print of the characters that really made the world rich.

Voice Acting. All the voice casting choices were new, but they felt classic.

The Bad

Violence and Swearing. I get this movie is meant to appeal to an older audience, but the action and sophistication of the story would have done that. The extreme violence and cussing actually detracted from the film.

Science of Ooze/Mutagen. The fact that the ooze works instantaneously and can only be cured within a short window makes absolutely no sense. Everything else was well thought out and well considered. The major McGuffin of the story not being well considered was kind of strange.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the Batmobile had been a cooler design.

Overall

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the best animated films I've ever scene. The story is solid and well considered, the action is fast and fierce and showcases each character's unique abilities, the voice casting sounded classic, and the titles were gorgeous. Even though this film was targeted to an older audience, the amount of violence and harsh language detracted feeling contrived and forced. I give this film 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

Movie Review - The Death of Superman (DC Universe Animated Original Movie)

After the disappointment of Superman: Doomsday, I really had no desire to see this remake. But then I subscribed to the DC Universe app and this was included, so I decided to watch it. I am so glad I did.

The Death of Superman is a 2018 action superhero DC Universe Animated Original Movie based on characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. It is rated PG-13 for language, violence, and unnecessary gore and is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

Faithfulness to the Source Material. This movie was surprisingly faithful to the 90s comic books from including major characters and plot lines to even capturing some of the look and feel. I appreciated how they snuck in a nod to the red-headed, red-bearded Lex Luthor II.

Action. The movie featured some nice action that was paced well and was the right amount for the story. I didn't feel like it was over too quickly nor like it got boring because there was so much of it. Doomsday was shown as a real threat by the way he tore thru the Justice League with so little effort. I also like the additions including the bridge scene and the fight in the sky.

Story. The film had a really good story. From the Lois & Clark love story arc to the Lex looking for a way to destroy Superman arc to Doomsday arriving and attacking, everything made sense, fit together, and was sufficiently explored.

The Bad

Lois. Lois had a really important role in this film, but it was really hard to care about her or feel anything for her. She seemed so indifferent and dispassionate, like she was just going thru the motions with no real spirit behind anything.

Animation. I'm not sure who came up with the New 52 look or why they've stuck with it for so long, because it doesn't look great, nor does it animate well. The movements are jerky and awkward. There is so little emotion communicated.

Voices. The voice casting was awful. Everyone sounded strange. After the great work from Andrea Romano and her amazing voice casting, fans have come to expect a certain level of quality that just wasn't matched here.

Music. The music was pretty generic. DC has had some really great Superman themes and music, and it is a shame they didn't use any of it here or try to reach the same level of quality.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the art direction had matched the style of the comics. Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummet both draw great classic Superman that would both animate well.

Overall

The Death of Superman (DC Universe Animated Original Movie) was a surprisingly enjoyable movie. It had a solid story, great action, and was fairly faithful to the original comics. I couldn't understand why they needed to tell this story for a third time in a decade, but this time they got it right. I'm excited for Reign of the Supermen. I give this film 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

    

Movie Review - Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

Unlike a lot of comic book fans, I actually like the idea of Teen Titans Go! even if I don't think all the jokes are that funny or all the things they try are that successful. I'm impressed how they've managed to have a new episode every week for years. I was curious what they would do for a major motion picture, whether they'd step up the game in all areas, especially the story and cleverness.

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a 2018 animated superhero film based on the tv show based on the DC Comics characters. It's rated PG, but is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Art Direction. The film looked really nice. The animators definitely stepped up their game on the backgrounds and animation. The fight scenes also were bumped up a notch.

Inclusion of the DC Universe. I really like how many characters were included, even obscure ones like the Challengers of the Unknown. I wasn't a fan of the voices they used (sorry, Nick Cage, but you are no Superman), but I did like the roles they played.

Story. The story was really fun and filled with a lot of stuff that held my interest, provided a lot of variety, and covered a lot of different ideas to keep the action from getting stale.

Jokes. There were a lot of bad jokes, but there were also several good jokes, references, and commentary. I liked the Stan Lee cameo parody,the inclusion of Marvel and Mirage comic characters, and the references to other movies.

The Bad

Aimed at Young Ages. This movie was definitely aimed at a very young audience with a lot of low level jokes and uncomplicated plot. I with they had included a little more for the adult viewers.

Not Super Clever. They had some clever ideas, but none of the ideas reached the level of brilliant, which I've come to expect in kids' movies.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish this movie had been more clever like The Lego Batman Movie, Marvel movies, Dreamworks films, and other films aimed at the whole family.

Overall

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was better than I thought it would be. There were some great jokes, clever ideas, nice nods to other movies, good looking animation, and a story filled with a lot of variety to keep things interesting. This film is aimed at a young audience and isn't as satisfying for older viewers as other family films, but it's still very entertaining and fun. I give it 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.