Movie Review - Lupin the 3rd: The First

Lupin the 3rd is an interesting manga and anime. It's been around for half a century and has had so many different interpretations for different age groups (everything from family friendly to mature adults only) and yet has not changed its essence or even style. And there have been so many adaptions from TV series to movies to live action movies to the most recent cgi film. The most modern and recent versions look very similar to the original. What other franchises can claim this?

Lupin the 3rd: The First is a 2019 cgi action adventure Japanese film. It is unrated, contains action and mild violence, and is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

Characters. The characters in this film are true to the versions we've been enjoying for the past half century, and they're still interesting.

Action. The movie had tons of action. It's really well done and all of it advances the story and is fun to watch.

Visuals. This film looks really nice. The characters look just how you would expect them to look, the scenery is well designed, and the cinematography is well done with a lot of movement and different angles to keep things interesting.

The Bad

Concept. This is another film about former Nazis looking for a superweapon to resurrect the Third Reich yada yada yada. It's a very tired concept that while well done in this film is still a tired concept.

What I Would Like To Have Seen

A more original concept.

Overall

Lupin the 3rd: The First is a 2019 cgi action adventure Japanese film. It is unrated, contains action and mild violence, and is appropriate for tweens and up. The characters are classic and are true to the versions fans have been enjoying for half a century. The movie had tons of action. It's really well done and all of it advances the story and is fun to watch. This film looks really nice. The characters look just how you would expect them to look, the scenery is well designed, and the cinematography is well done with a lot of movement and different angles to keep things interesting. The main negative is the concept. This is another film about former Nazis looking for a superweapon to resurrect the Third Reich yada yada yada. It's a very tired concept that while well done in this film is still a tired concept. I recommend this film give it 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 - The Addams Family (2019 film)

I first heard of the Addams Family when I watch reruns of the old black and white TV series. I really enjoyed the kookie dark nature of it, and it had a killer theme song. Later I discovered the original gag cartoons it was based on and really enjoyed the line work.

The Addams Family is a 2019 cgi comedy film featuring gag comic characters created by Charles Addams. It is rated PG and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Visuals. From the character designs to the production design, this film looks really nice. It's faithful to the original comics while being very contemporary.

Story. The story was pretty good and well paced. All of the twists were obvious as was the ending, but there was enough charm and cleverness that that was okay.

Cleverness. The filmmakers spent some time thinking up some clever gags and charming twists to put into the film that make it fun.

The Bad

Heavy Handedness. The message of this movie is so heavy handed. There is even a song in the middle that literally spells out the message. People are not that stupid, not even little children. The filmmakers need to give the audience some credit.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

More cleverness and less preaching.

Overall

The Addams Family (2019 film) is a clever and fun film. From the character designs to the production design, this film looks really nice. It's faithful to the original comics while being very contemporary. The story was pretty good and well paced. All of the twists were obvious as was the ending, but there was enough charm and cleverness that that was okay. What wasn't okay was the heavy-handed message that different is good. They literally have a song in the middle that spells it out multiple times. The audience is not that stupid--not even the 5 year olds. Have a little faith in your audience, filmmakers. I give this film 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

   

 

Movie Review - Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

I'm a huge Genndy Tartakovsky fan. I loved Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Sym Bionic Titan. His television work is as good as it comes. His movie work … not so much.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is a 2018 cgi animated film by Genndy Tartakovsky. It is rated PG and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Premise. This movie did a nice job mixing up the premise by taking the characters from a hotel and putting them in a hotel on the ocean, which was really clever, because it stayed true to the premise while providing something new for the characters to react to.

Closing Credits. The closing credits are traditionally animated in the classic Genndy Tartakovsky style, which was really wonderful to behold. I would love to see a series animated like this (the Disney XD series looks too computerized).

The Bad

Animation. The animation is fine, but really looks like cheap 2-D movement which doesn't translate well. Also the visuals are very plastic looking.

Cleverness. While the premise offers a nice twist to the classic formula, the film never rises to the level of brilliant, just mildly amusing.

Story. The story is nothing new, and it proceeds exactly how you expect it to with all the expected twists and turns and no surprises.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the movie had been more clever.

Overall

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation delivers exactly what the audience is expecting. If you enjoyed the first two and want to see more of the same, you'll be happy. If you were hoping for something different, something new, something more original or clever, you'll be disappointed. The premise of setting the film in a hotel on the ocean allows the movie to stay true to the series while offering something a little different. The movie is entertaining, but, like the first two, doesn't offer anything really special or wonderful. I give this film 3.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

   

Movie Review - Smurfs: The Lost Village

I've been a fan of The Smurfs for as long as I can remember. I loved reading books of their adventures and watching the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon in the 80s. I was very disappointed by their first movie, The Smurfs and The Magic Flute, and was equally disappointed by the next two movies that were live action and cgi hybrids. When I heard the latest film was more true to the comics and cartoons, I became very excited.

Smurfs: The Lost Village is a 2017 fantasy, cgi, family movie based on the classic comic by Peyo. It is rated PG and is appropriate for tall ages.

The Good

Animation. The animation was beautiful. The characters all looked like they should, the scenery was gorgeous to look at, and the movements were all perfect.

Story. The story was strong, well paced, had lots of good action, comedy, drama, and emotion, and was very linear and focused.

Focus on a Few Characters. This movie included many of the Smurfs, but wisely chose to focus on only a handful so they could be fleshed out and the story remained solid and focused.

Brainy's Smartphone Bug. The inclusion of Brainy's bug that can take dictations, take pictures, print, and more was really clever, fun, appropriate, and made this show feel very contemporary.

The Bad

Voice Acting. I just do not like most of the voices Sony chose for the characters, especially Papa Smurf and Gargamel. Granted, I am very bias towards the Hanna-Barbera voices, but the voices in this film aren't just different--they just don't fit. 

Female Smurfs. A lot of people don't understand what a strong woman is. They confuse that with witch (but with a "b") and think it's the same thing. But it's not. The female Smurfs were portrayed a lot more witchy than they needed to, and then they became weak flower children. They were unlikeable.

Gargamel's Incompetence. In the comic and cartoon, Gargamel is actually pretty competent and a real threat. He loses more because of the Smurfs' virtue, their teamwork, and his own bad luck. In this film, he was such an idiot that I had a hard time taking his threat seriously, and when he does manage to capture the Smurfs, it is so out of character and you know he's going to blow it quickly.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish this film had been a little more clever for the adults. It was a cute, fun, entertaining cartoon, but it really only had stuff for kids and those nostalgic for the classic Smurfs, which I enjoyed and was glad about, but there may not be more films like this because it didn't get better ratings and wasn't more popular.

Overall

Smurfs: The Lost Village is a fun family flick that reminds me of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and the comics by Peyo. It has a solid story that focuses on a handful of characters, is beautifully animated, and has fun adventures and a clever smartphone bug gimmick. I give this film 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

     

Movie Review - Incredibles 2

I am not a fan of Pixar films. They've made a few good ones (Cars, Cars 2, Monster's University, and Ratatouille), but most of them feel like they came from the same cookie cutter or were just well done derivatives of other films and genres. The first Incredibles movie felt like this: a fan fiction version of the Fantastic Four.

Incredibles 2 is a 2018 cgi, science fiction, superhero adventure film from Pixar. It is rated PG for violence, killings, and inappropriate language and is appropriate for older children and up.

The Good

Not Derivative. Most superhero films feel like a fan fiction version of some previous film, a parody, or homage. This film was fresh and original. It was its own thing. If I were describing it to a friend, I can't think of another superhero film that I could compare it to.

Dark and Serious. This movie has a much more serious and dark tone. I see you murder on the screen, death, much stronger violence than previous film, and inappropriate language. This helped to set this film apart from the first and made it more exciting to watch.

Characterization. The main characters all had a lot of development and felt very fleshed out.

Action & Pacing. This movie had a lot of well constructed action and was excellently paced. It never dragged or seemed to move too quickly.

The Bad

Dark and Serious. I know I said this was a strength, and it was, but it's also a real departure for Pizar away form the all-ages appropriate family film. I think this has to happen to keep the movies from getting stale, but it could also mean the magical era is over and future films won't have the appeal as older films. Only time will tell.

Supporting Characters. While the main characters were really interesting and well fleshed out, the supporting characters were little more than one-dimensional plot devices. I think the filmmakers could have developed them a little bit more.

Surprise Twist wasn't a Surprise. I'm not sure if the filmmakers meant the reveal of the real villain and their motives to be a surprise for anyone over 8, but it was hinted at so strongly from the beginning that I was waiting for it to happen. It wasn't a surprise, and so the shocking reveal was blah.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the villain had been stronger. It wasn't a bad villain, but it wasn't much of a challenge and the least interesting conflict of the movie.

Overall

Incredibles 2 was much better than I thought it would be. It was its own, unique creature and not a cheap rip off, parody, or homage to an early superhero film. It was also very different from the first while still retaining all the qualities of the first that made it so endearing. The villain was the weakest conflict of the film and could have been more interesting. The pacing, action, and animation were all very well done and held my attention from start to finish. I give this film a solid 4.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

    

Movie Review: Ready Player One

I rarely watch romantic movies. They tend to be too melodramatic for me. But I saw the trailer for this movie and was really interested in watching it. There just seemed to be a good story and good chemistry.

Ready Player One is a 2018 science fiction action film based on the book of the same title. It is rated PG-13 and is appropriate for tweens and up.

The Good

Action. The action in this movie is great! It's exciting, it's fast paced, and there is the right amount of it.

Pacing. This movie has a great pace. I never found myself getting bored nor getting lost. It moved quick enough to hold my interest but slowly enough I understood what was going on.

Visuals. This movie is beautifully shot with eye-popping visuals. Both the real world and the fantasy world are a treat to behold.

Story. While the movie isn't as fleshed out as the book and the stories aren't as well developed, it is still a solid story that introduces interesting characters and you get caught up in the quest.

The Bad

Puzzles are too easy. There were two really fun aspects of the book. The first was the puzzles the characters had to solve. They took a lot of thought and obscure knowledge of early video games and 80s nostalgia. The puzzles in this movie are completely different and very simple to solve.

No Nostalgia. The other fun part of the book is the 80s and early video game nostalgia. This movie instead uses random, unconnected pop culture references that while fun to see don't make any sense together or evoke any era of nostalgia.

Weak Villain. I'm not sure what the filmmakers were thinking. The main villain is a laughable, bumbling, cartoon character who would never become the head of any major corporation or present any real menace or threat. It took away from the conflict and made the quest seem too easy.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish there had been more video game references and more 80s nostalgia like the book.

Overall

Ready Player One is an exciting science fiction action flick with great action and great visuals. The filmmakers did an excellent job squeezing the essential elements of the book into a film without making it feel rushed or incomplete. The challenges are solved fairly easily and the villain was a laughably incompetent cartoon character which made the stakes seem low and the threat not very threatening. And the film lacks the nostalgia of the book. What pop culture references they do make appear too briefly and too randomly to really enjoy. I give this film 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

   

Movie Review: Big Hero 6

One of the fun things about watching TV shows and cartoons from Japan is to see their unique take on Western culture. They are experts in taking very common Western ideas such as superheroes, Christianity, and science fiction and giving them an incredibly fresh and fun spin. While Big Hero 6 is an American production, it is based on an idea by Man of Action (creators of Ben 10) who have a healthy dose of Japanese influence in their work.

Big Hero 6 is a computer-generated, action, adventure, comedy, science fiction, family film produced by Walt Disney Animation inspired by an obscure Marvel Comic created by Man of Action. It is rated PG and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Approach. Superheroes are big, and so you see a lot of people jumping on that bandwagon. Unfortunately, most of those attempts end up little more than love letters to the Silver Age of comics or a bad pastiche of the 1966 Adam West Batman (such as the Disney Pixar film The Incredibles). Big Hero 6 avoids the overused cliches and goes the route of a Japanese reimagining of superheroes like the anime Tiger & Bunny or Science Team Gatchaman. While it isn't the most original idea, it is a refreshing change with many more possibilities. The characters have new powers such as the magnetic discs, laser blades, a medical droid, and a fire breathing mascot suit instead of the usual stretching, flying, super strong, and freezing powers.

Production Design. The designers cleverly merged Tokyo with San Francisco creating a new world called San Fransokyo with the best of both worlds seamlessly combined into a world that is both familiar and fantastical. And the robot designs were a nice change from the usual mecha or homage to the 30s and 40s. The visuals were probably the strongest aspect of the film.

Characters. While the characters begin as usual cardboard stereotypes that regularly appear in this type of show (a White kid, a Black kid, an Asian girl, a mexican girl, a super capable protagonist who is living below his potential, a silly girl, and an angry girl who can fight). Fortunately they leave their "types" behind and become much more likable and unique. While none of them are groundbreaking in their characterizations, they stay far enough away from stereotype representations of their respective cultures and instead act like a group of normal friends would.

Action. The action was fun and really good for a family film. The super powers were ones we don't see often, and the robots acted in ways we don't usually see robots act which was nice.

The Bad

Story. The story followed the usual pattern and character arcs you see in every cgi film these days. While it wasn't boring, so much more could have been done.

Ending. I saw the ending coming from pretty early on. There were several twists, none of which were shocking or unexpected. Even the cameo by Stan Lee after the credits was so strongly foreshadowed by his portrait that it lost a lot of the punch it could have had.

Jokes. The little children in the theater were laughing hysterically for large parts of the movie, but for those of us over twelve, the jokes weren't as clever or as funny as they could have been. For such a fresh approach and brilliant production design, the jokes were a major letdown.

The Villain. The villain had a really cool visual look and a great power. Unfortunately they do so little with him that you're left shaking your head at yet another squandered bit of greatness. And the "twist" of who is and why he became a villain are so cliched and overdone.

Animated Short. One thing I love about Jonh Lasseter being in charge of Disney Animation is his love for animation and its rich history. So many wonderful shorts have been created under his guidance breaking new ground and trying out new ideas. From an artistic and technical standpoint, the animated short about a man's life and relationships as seen thru the eyes of a dog was successful. From an entertainment point of view, I could have done without it. I've never been a fan of computer-generated 3-D animation rendered in a flat cell style, and this short did nothing to change my mind. Another lost opportunity.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I would have liked to see more creativity. While there were some funny jokes, the plot followed a pretty typical pattern with the expected emotional arcs and reveals we see in almost every animated family movie. Guardians of the Galaxy showed us you can deviate from the usual script, do something completely different and original, and still have a major hit. I wish others would take the risk. And the villain had such a strong visual look and such a cool superpower that made for a few cool action scenes, but so much more could have been done. And the redemption at the end was kind of weak.

Overall

Overall, Big Hero 6 was a thoroughly entertaining movie that will delight young and old. It is a refreshing take on the superhero genre. While the story was nothing special and the "twists" at the end predictable from pretty early on, the production design was a visual treat, the action pretty fun, and the characters likable. I give it a solid 4 boxes of popcorn out of 5.