In Retrospect: Inside Out

Alright, I'm back. Let's start this shit up.

Okay I am gonna try really hard not to be a jaded old bastard, but maaaan I haven't been to so many dark places in such a short amount of time. It's crazy to think it took almost 10 years for a sequel to Inside Out, however at the same time it makes a bit of sense cause look at it from the perspective of the kids who were anywhere between the ages of 5 to 10 who saw it the first time, they're in that hardcore teenage range or young adult age who can look back and chuckle at it all. Obviously I'm a bit beyond the time gap and indeed Inside Out made some existential and emotional crises pop up while watching but it's still enjoyable, it's beautifully animated, and it is funny at times but obviously people love this movie more on just the idea. How does your mind work? And how the film goes about explaining topics like how core memories are formed to how feelings on past events can change over time to even stupid little earworms popping up randomly is potrayed not only intelligently but charmingly. I mean I still have some serious shit to throw at Joy mainly just her bashing poor Sadness almost non-stop but it's a character arc, she betters before end credits but jeez. I mean I get it, I truly do. Oh how it is to be young and naive and not knowing how the world works! I still say the funniest part for me anyway is the red alert girl approaching joke, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at that. Plus you know I'm older now, still just as jaded and broken as always, yet time is if nothing but a great pool of reflection and I'm not quite the same as I was when first writing that review back in 2016, so rewatching it I actually got more out of it I think. It's emotional, I think it almost follows that Soul standpoint where it's more made for older grown up folk than kids which certainly is no bad thing. So I can easily urge people even if you haven't seen this movie in awhile to give it another go. 3 stars from me, 8/10! I have no real clue where the story goes from here so I'm fairly pumped to finally see part two of this story. I don't think they'll go very far with the ahem, hey hey aspects of teendom but to see how they characterize a much more tumultous period of everybody's lives will be fascinating and no doubt entertaining to watch. Which surprise! That review will be coming out later today, true double feature style! See you soon!

The Addams Family 2

Oh, we're here baby!!

This actually put me in a good mood for the season. Unfortunately no gloomy weather this time around, but I enjoyed the film. Again, not really that great a sequel but I knew for the most part what I was getting into so I could roll with it. Wednesday is full of woe leading the family to take a trip to bond closer together, which is almost derailed before they even get started due to the fact that speculation arises that Wednesday is not really an Addams but was swapped after birth. Couple of things about that. I very strongly voiced my approval and praise of Wednesday in the first film, so the fact we get a much more prominent focus on her is great. However. This plot point is beyond absurd and I do not like it. I could very easily be a complete ass and just say, well this movie only gives you nuggets of promise but swiftly delivers on nothing and amounts to the biggest piece of fluff in cinemas this year. But I did still have a bit of fun with it here and there. I took slight issue with how the Addams family was potrayed in the first film, but I liked it better here. Gomez wants to be a better father, Pugsley starts taking an interest in girls, Morticia is more calm headed and demure, we get more Cousin Itt which is always awesome and I am there for it, the movie even briefly turns into a journey with Lurch and Wednesday which I adored. Still could have lived without Lurch singing. You did it to me once shame on you, you did it to me twice and you're walking on thin ice. The animation I thought was very much improved though every other character besides the fam is still nightmare fuel beyond the capacity for human words. Just why? Their eyes....they're lifeless eyes, blank eyes, like a doll's eyes. When they're moving they don't seem to be living, until they talk and those blank eyes grow ever bigger. Oh then you hear that terrible high pitch screaming, the mind recoils in horror, in spite of all the eyes wide shut and hands covering them, they rip your psyche to pieces. Yet even in spite of that, the comedy though not as potent takes a lot of cues from the sight gags of Looney Tunes and are handled really well. It made me laugh quite a few times just from the visual situations, which I must commend. It's a mixed bag of things, and while I heavily applaud the very obvious murder, I can't entirely say it is well worth seeing in theaters. This seems like just the right kind of movie for Cartoon Network to show during October, it gives me slight Scary Godmother flashbacks. To just lay in bed in your room, hunker down for a few hours, watch some light spooky entertainment, and wrap up the evening however you please before the weekend starts. I'd give it about 2.5 stars though it had the capacity for 3 stars, 6.5/10, decent stuff and only the prologue for the most wonderful time of the year.

IT: Chapter Two

Okay, they did pretty good.

I still feel the best adaptation of IT was the first half of this story, the 90s mini-series is decent but the first chapter I guess we call it was the best. Now that's not to say this second chapter is bad, I really enjoyed the cast and did feel like those would be the grown ups of our young actors, they did good! I infinitely enjoyed and appreciated the way they handled the second half and more importantly the ending than the mini-series, but more on that later. So our story is much of the same, kids keep disappearing in the town hardly anyone leaves Derry which leads Mike to phone up the Loser's Club to come back and tie up some loose ends, as our cast reconnects and in a clever but underplayed way have to reach back into the past and uncover more than they remember. I absolutely love how they handled the flashbacks though brief they are, they show additional scenes with the young actors after important events have happened in the previous movie and thus you see more of their character and dilemmas as an audience along with the characters. Plus it all ties in the end, where our heroes face Pennywise more on almost metaphysical plane with some straight up Doctor Strange camera movements, editing, and action, it gets a little trippy but it's wonderfully put together! Obviously they have to attack Pennywise but I love the fact they have to gather actual physical pieces of their past in order to defeat him, I know everybody is going to throw McGuffin at this but I see a bit deeper into it. They reach back into their memories of the past, creating feelings of nostalgia but because the last movie was so much more the nostalgia dripped throwback film with references everywhere it's more underplayed and it's there for story purposes than, ooohhhh 80s stuff!!! That's something I appreciate. But something I appreciate more is Mr. Skarsgard himself, we see Pennywise a lot more in this movie, more scenes, more dialogue, a lot of him in broad daylight to show he's more confident than ever to claim victims, and of course he is a joy to watch. However! He was so damn enjoyable he kinda hurt the film for me, we all know he can shapeshift and change into various things, but I just didn't care that much for the various scary imagery in this movie. Do you know why? It's a super secret secret but I'll tell you anyway. Are you listening? Are you listening? Listen good. Because the majority of scares are godforsaken jumpscares!! Jesus fish, there is so many jumpscares that if I had a dollar for everyone I would have enough money to see every last new movie coming out this year. It gets old and it gets old quick. The only effective scares I got where with the flip flappin' dancing clown! Probably because Bill is an awesome actor and can make you feel uneasy and genuinely creeped out. I don't care about the stripping granny, I don't care about the leper, I do not care about the giant lumberjack statue. Send in the clowns! When I can make a joke about the reason this movie is 3 hours long is because you pad it with so many jumpscares, maybe you put too many in. It's the sad state of affairs for horror movies in this day and age, why do you think I praised It Follows so much? Because while the movie does have jumpscares it rarely used them, it didn't need to use them because the concept itself is actually scary and there was a constand mood of dread and helplessness. That just isn't here with the horror. And I regret to report that much like the first movie it has a hard time juggling comedy and horror, and it's actually funny! The writing is good! But right after suffering another jumpscare you throw a joke out there, it doesn't help relieve the burst of tension it just sort of falls flat. That was the one bad thing about the first movie, it couldn't juggle horror and comedy well together, now on seperate scenes with just the main characters the comedy shines, and when it's one on one with the kids the horror also works. It is so difficult to mix two such elements, many people can't get it so I won't ever hold it against the filmmaker. I genuinely liked the final confrontation, it was something different than the first movie and the finale of the mini-series, they really played their cards right and the conclusion actually made total sense. Yes even with the weird spider thing it worked like a charm! If you genuinely hated the finale of the original you have got to check out this movie, I really think you will appreciate and enjoy it. The movie was good do not get me wrong, I just had issues of my own but I know other people can look past it and enjoy this movie as much as the first. I mean for God's sake you kinda already have to see the damn movie if you sat through the first, so I know I'm preaching to the choir here but this is for mainly sharing opinions on the film than a question of rather you should see it or not. You shouldn't watch The Room or Troll 2 but sweet Christmas is it a blast to talk about with friends. So yes, you are no doubt going to see it if you haven't already but for those who might need some reassurance, definitely check it out. 3 stars, 7/10, thumbs up from me! But now the question is who will be the clown of the year? Well check back with me in about a month and we shall find out.

Next week....who knows? I'm still planning it. Bye!

Inside Out

At long last another review and of a particularly good movie.

Inside Out is an excellent film with a clever idea that brought hundreds of questions to my mind. The story follows the five main emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear as they try to acclimate a young girl into her new life in San Francisco. It's just a clever idea to have personifications of raw human emotion controlling your actions. It's also slightly dark and creepy but mostly just fun. I mean they touch base on so many things everyone has experienced in their life it would take days to write it all out, so to make it short think back as early as you can remember, think of how much you have grown. Think of the people you know, think of your home, think of days long since gone yet can still be remembered. Inside Out talks about and deals with things like that and it has a very interesting message. That emotions both good and bad can mix, and moments in your life you can't take for granted. We all change, when you think about it, everything you once were gone in a flash. But that's okay, that's good, you need to keep moving so long as you remember all the people that you were. I believe that life is a pile of good things and bad things, the good things don't soften the blow of the bad things, but the bad things don't ruin the good things. You can find solace in sadness, enlightenment in fear, nostalgic memories in happiness. I will not forget one day of this. Not one moment, I swear. I will always remember when the Dude was me.