The Wild Robot

My headcanon is Roz became the robot in Castle In The Sky. Somehow.

I kinda forgot about this film ain't gonna lie. I saw the poster, absolutely zero trailers, and only until about 2 days ago added it to the calendar. I didn't even know it was based on a book until end credits. So basically walking in blind as a bat, how was it? Pretty good actually! The premise does grab your attention from the start, this helper robot who without any memory of what transpired before finds itself on an isolated island with no humans as it tries to follow it's programming. That is a really cool premise! But then a thought occured to me, will the animal inhabitants talk? Depending on the person you are that could be a good or bad thing, but the answer is yes. I feel that would have been way too experimental to have a robot speak but nothing else does and this is a family film from Dreamworks after all so what can you do. So we follow the odyssey of this robot as she learns the language, adapts, and quickly finds a purpose in raising a baby goose. Honestly when the goose grows up it starts hitting more clichéd writing, and indeed some would even argue that the movie gets a little too kid friendly and leans hard in the sentimental department. I had no severe issue and did still find myself emotionally invested but it certainly was something to take note of. I feel I could counter that claim however with how much death is in the movie, there is a clear difference between a Kid's Movie and a Family Film, family films have casualties in them! But anyway, onto performances. I'm a bit of a mark for Lupita Nyong'o, and I'll be damned I have a big heart for robots but she dang near takes the cake putting a lot of cheer and humor into Roz nailing the emotional punch throughout the entire picture. I was all in on her and never have I seen a machine go through so much physical abuse, so I got a bit defensive of her. Pedro Pascal of all people plays a gluttonous fox named Fink who pretty much takes the patriarchal image of this oddball family unit, I honestly couldn't tell it was him and I'm just thrilled they didn't pull no liar revealed trope with his character. Kit Connor as the runt of the litter goose Brightbill is a character we have seen time and time again, the acting was just fine no strikes against him, I do just wish we had a better story for him to play in. But whatever shortcomings the story has the animation almost makes up for it entirely, infusing 3D animation with water color backgrounds and rich color, this is a cool looking movie. It has moments even of just pure art! Dreamworks you may have landed face first with The Bad Guys but you did strong work here! Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is it worth seeing? I would say yeah. It's been a good while since I saw a new animated movie so I'm happy. I give it 3 stars, 8/10, and you know what next month is but probably not what we're starting with.

In Retrospect: Detective Pikachu

I finally figured it out guys.

The thought occured to me while I was watching this movie, why is Detective Pikachu the absolute best video game movie? What makes this film have the secret ingredient that other video game movies have tried and failed to have for decades? Other movies have not entirely replicated their games, the Super Mario Bros. Movie took liberties with the story, Street Fighter The Movie didn't follow the plot perfectly, yet this one worked. Why? And it took me forever to find out but now I know, Pokemon has no story. It just doesn't. What is the plot of Pokemon Red and Blue? You journey out into the world, collect fantastical creatures, and challenge leaders of various gyms until in the end there can be only one. And that is why this movie works! You can do whatever you wish with the story and it would completely work. Pokemon is a crafted miracle, this series has existed for just as long if not longer than myself, so 25 years, and though it hasn't reached that Pokemania fever in the late 90s leading into the new millenium again, it is still popular, still beloved, still embedded in pop culture. Now I'm not saying Pokemon could be the one and only video game series that could eveeerrrr be made into a movie, with the right creative team you could make a Legend Of Zelda movie, you could make a Halo movie, You could make an Earthbound movie for crying out loud! It is all possible. Now let's be harshly true with ourselves, video game movies are nearly impossible to make and make well. But Pokemon is that golden child because it has just enough of reality mixed with the fantastical elements to make it work, it has always been a feasible movie to make. You take our normal everyday world, throw in some creative creatures, and bam you got a series you could do anything with. It's really quite amazing. Plus you add perfect timing with my generation having kids of their own and this was always going to be a surefire hit! But does the film work on repeat viewing when you know the solution to the mystery? Ehhhh....some things really work, I love what they did with Ditto, I love the fact they pull a 1989 Batman with the gas balloons, the stuff they subvert is well done, buuut seriously the kid just...forgot his dad's voice? Was it really that hard to defeat the villain? In fact the villains plan was a bit, huuuh?? So yeah, the ending is a bit mixed but when more than half the movie is a fun, enjoyable, colorful, and very entertaining movie you don't mind too much. Still needs more Snorlax though. I mean could you imagine if he got dosed with that gas and just blasted hyperbeams and pulled a Man Of Steel, just levelling skyscrapers? Tonally inconsistent, yes. Incredible joygasm, ohhhh yeeeeah. I know he's practically shaped like a friend, and honestly I can't praise the art direction with the pokemon enough, but come on! Give my boy some love! Still a 7/10 despite the slight issues, can't wait to see more.

Detective Pikachu

You win this round Ryan...

Thankfully Detective Pikachu didn't suck. I could even tell it was going to be a good movie before the title, not only did they have a great japanese calligraphy titles, though still in english but Legendary and my boy Toho worked on this movie! Awwww yeah! And it was good, it's a fun little movie to take your kids too, I was shocked to see a lot of older people there and I ain't talking 2 to 5 years older than me, I mean I saw a couple with no kiddos and they looked in their late 30s. That's friggin' awesome, that is love and dedication! But I also saw the people of my generation bring their kids to see it and I thought that was so cool. They even gave me a pack of Pokemon cards at the theater for being there opening day, can you even get more rad than that?? No. So the movie follows a young man named Tim who is given the unfortunate news of his father's supposed death but is swayed to help a Pikachu who can actually speak english and be understood only by Tim. So they team up and try to discover what happened to his pop, and adventure and hi-jinx ensue! I like our main character, he's a reluctant main character but not annoyingly so, he has a lot of family baggage and is just trying his best to uncover the truth. I didn't hate Ryan Reynolds surprisingly, he wasn't annoying and brought some heart to the role, and was even a teensy bit cute but I blame that on the design. If there was one little bugging me problem, there's this character who's been following the crime of Tim's dad and helps out with the investigation, and....she wasn't that great a character. And I know what they were trying to do, they were trying to do a Misty, a no nonsense, emotionally charged, talkative, and kinda bossy girl that tags along with our main character who has some Ash qualities about him. But it didn't work, there was no firm grip on this character and what they wanted to do with her, and it isn't the actresses fault she plays it well, her character was just all over the place. But what very small grievance I take with that gets washed away with the world building, I love this world! The designs are great, these are real sets, they got great lighting with the bright signs yet still look fully set in the real world. The Pokemon designs are great, they look as if they existed, not so much the graphics but the physicality of them, Pikachu is this ball of fuzz and electricity, Charizard is this scaly lizard that breathes fire, Snorlax looks like the most comfy bed in the existence of ever, and I think the CG is not supposed to look real and that it is supposed to look otherworldly and different, they did such a good job! I also like how they integrate the world of Pokemon into the realism, there's no identical looking Nurse Joy's or over the top beloved Team Rocket plans, people have Pokemon companions and work together, the police force has Growlithe's as police dogs, the firefighters have a squad of Squirttle, just little touches like that help the immersion of this world. I also like how the movie has twists and misdirects, you're not just seeing a longer version of the trailer, that was what I was worried about most. But it was avoided and you get a fun movie for the family to go see and rent or buy in the future, and I swear the ending credits are almost worth the price of admission with glorious music and stylized illustrations. It's just good stuff all around, and I just remembered one more little nitpick I had, they could have had better voices for certain Pokemon. They got the same voice actress who's done Pikachu's boice since the beginning Ikue Otani in the movie, but Psyduck isn't the same and Mewtwo didn't have that deep great voice like in the first movie. Why? It's such a shame we couldn't hear them again but like I said it's a nitpick. Good movie, needs more Snorlax, 7/10!

Phantom Of The Opera (1989)

I'm actually happy this was the last Phantom movie I did for this week. Not only is it fully deserving of the horror genre but honestly, the Charles Dance and 2004 version don't qualify as horror so we ended on an incredible high note.

This might be my absolute favorite Robert Englund role ever, blasphemous though it may be to others. It's a pretty out there version of the story starting off in 1980s Manhattan where we meet Christine who discovers a manuscript titled Don Juan Triumphant who uses it for an audition. Unfortunately she gets whacked in the head with a sandbag and then it becomes a very, very different movie. She time warps to England in the 1880s. It's not a dream, she legit time warps. Hwhat?? My previous statement about how each version keeps the story interesting and different has reached new heights of truth. Then it kinda follows the story set in the book, young singer coached by a mysterious figure, love triangle ensues, masquerade ball, a graveyard scene not once recreated since the 1925 movie, etc. but there are either completely idiotic or completely brilliant story changes. The character of Erik has been completely built from the ground up, here he's an aspiring composer who makes a Faust deal with the devil that causes his disfigurement leading to him actually having to skin people alive and stitch their flesh onto his face. Whoa. Oh, and he's immortal which they actually had a reason for, believe it or not. This was actually supposed to be the first part of a two picture deal, they made The Phantom immortal so they had a film that could focus on the 1880s and then a film that would pick up in the modern day of then 1989 or perhaps 1990. And I for one greatly want to see that second movie, they were working on the script and Robert Englund was very excited to do the next part. And I can't blame him, this is a fun character! It's such a shame he got typecasted as Freddy because he genuinely has great presence and charm, able to be suave and bloodthirsty without making it stupid. They did great with Robert's version making The Phantom more creepy and disturbing, with some great lines throughout. So story is out there but great, but it doesn't stop there! The cinematography is gorgeous, the music by Misha Segal is beautiful particularly with Don Juan Triumphant, the gore effects are grisly and get under your skin (full pun intended), Jill Schoelen is a gorgeous and lovely Christine, there's so much to love in this movie! It's easily top 3 in my Phantom films and it put me in such a good mood after finishing it. An excellent, excellent way to end the week.

Well this was coming since my first yearly trip down Halloweentown, join me in Haddonfield next week.

Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End

This was a long ass movie.

Just because you're the third part of a movie franchise does not mean you get a Lord Of The Rings run time. This movie goes on for 3 hours, and I can recap the plot in about 2 minutes. So it's all out war now between the pirate lords of the seven seas, and the british navy, and the Flying Dutchman with our usual cast of pirates smack dab in the middle. Bam, done! An easy story to tell, and it's done quite well. Although, the whole movie is about 2 hours of buildup to the final ship battle, 20 minutes of good action, and 10 minutes of resolution. But, the 2 hours is fine. Kinda. It starts off pretty damn grim though, if I put this opening scene on you would seriously not guess it to be Pirates Of The Carribean. More like Schindler's List mixed with Les Miserables. Yeah. But the movie is fine after that, it has a great size and scale to it, really giving the impression that this is the big finale to the story of the past 2 movies. And it....kinda delivers. Revelations are told, battles commence, people die. You know what, screw it the opening is just the beginning of this movie's darkness. I mean you see people get shot dead square between the eyes, have spikes shoved through people's skulls, the epitomy of a skull f*** if I have ever seen one, and several impalements. Guys, are you dead sucking ferious? This is supposed to be a movie for you know, kids, families, not really adults. You just had to get that PG-13 rating didn't you? Christ. I don't hate this movie, but I got problems with it. A lot of people do, people really did not like this movie. I can kinda see why. My main gripe though is it should have been the end. That should tell you something about the next movie, eh? Everyone's story comes to an end, it should have just ended with Will and Elizabeth together, Barbossa having his crew and ship back, and Jack wandering off to go on more marvellous misadventures. But no! Tune in tomorrow for Jack Sparrow to find the Fountain Of Youth!! I swear it's true! Oh boy, here we go....

Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest

Sequel time!

Okay second film in the Pirates series, which I actually quite like even though it was quite literally written as it was being filmed. Oops. But anywho, story time! Jack has a debt to pay to the infamous Davy Jones, and in order to get out of it Jack as well as several other parties search for the eponymous dead man's chest. Not as hard to describe the plot as the last movie is it? Plot's pretty straightforward all things considered. Acting is still just as fine as ever, although Bill Nighy is quite engaging as the captain of The Flying Dutchman, in fact Davy Jones is my favorite part of the movie. His character beyond superstitous talk and legend of him and what power he wields in the seas, is actually a mystery. And I love the design of him and his crew, cursed men which have morphed with various sea life, for example a man has a normal body but has the head of a hammerhead shark, Davy Jones is a man with tentacles for a beard and a crab leg and arm attached to a human body. Sounds pretty great and it looks outstanding too. Surprisingly there's not much action wise, but when you look back at the first movie we had, a town raided, a ship chase, and the final fight between Jack and Barbossa. In this movie we have this very bizzare escape from an island filled with cannibals (Don't look at me, I didn't write it!), two attacks by the Kraken, one long ass swordfight which I have no doubt goes on for about 15 or 20 minutes which is the only swordfight by the way, and a brief ship chase. Yeah....not quite the action masterpieces our memories had of these movies. But action isn't everything if the story is good, and we like the characters. The story isn't that great, but I still like it just for the villain. Jack and company are still fun to be around so I can't say the film has truly flopped. But tomorrow, we talk about the film most people consider to be the absolute worst and I have not seen that movie for years so it will be interesting to say the least. So tune in tomorrow where we meet our cast At World's End.

Arthur Christmas

Now we start December proper.

The growing Christmas cult film that I have heard so much about and have finally watched. How was it? Pretty darn good. Arthur Christmas is a wonderful animated film done by the same folks who gave us Hotel Transylvania, follows the family of Claus as they soon discover after another flawless night of delivering presents that a child has been missed. This springs letter counter Arthur to travel across the globe to deliver the final present with the help of his grandad. Where do I start? So much to talk about. First off, the animation is great, it is fast paced, fluid, and works beautifully with the film. Sony Pictures Animation knows how to make animated movies so well! Second, I just love the idea behind it all, that there has been generation after generation of Claus delivering presents to all the children from Saint Nicholas onward, and we get three generations of Santa's. We have Grandsanta voiced by Bill Nighy as the more traditional and old fashioned Santa of them all, red suit and hat, sleigh and reindeer, the thing you think of first when it comes to Santa Claus. Then we have the current Santa voiced by Jim Broadbent, in charge who is one of the best Santa potrayals ever done in film, he is sweet, loves his job, but sadly has memory problems which is forcing him to retire, and that is truly sad because you see how much this job means to him, he tries his hardest to do good. And lastly, we have the current generation, Steve and Arthur, Steve voiced by the outstanding Hugh Laurie is more technology orientated, and militarized catapulting the elf's into becoming more like special force operatives than the elf's who just make toys. While Arthur voiced by James McAvoy, is a bit of a clutz but you can see in his eyes that Christmas is life, he answers all the children's letters to Santa, has nothing but a heart of gold, and is willing to do anything to make sure children have a perfect Christmas. This creates dynamics that mix and collide in the movie, that make it that more great. And I have to commend the fact that there is no bad guy in this movie, true you may not fully agree with people's perception of how Christmas should be done, but there is no wrong way to do it. They all state how Christmas should be done, and you can see it either way. Whether it's delivering presents in a sleigh led by reindeer, down a chimney and placed under a tree, or by a spaceship with elf's covertly placing every present in the world. I just love this movie for that kind of premise alone, not even counting the humor, the characters, and the love of Christmas present. This is a Christmas classic in my eyes, right up there with It's A Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story. If you want a truly different yet familiar Christmas movie, you couldn't choose a better one than this. It's a lot of fun, and might make you look at the big guy in the red suit a little bit different.

Love Actually

Bloody hell this was good...

So Love Actually is not only a damn good romance movie, it's a good Christmas movie. So we got to talk about that! Love Actually is really a story following 10 different people and all their paths are intertwined, think Valentine's Day or New Years Eve but good. Like really good. I'm honestly not sure where to start with this movie, cause there are lots of characters and lots of ground to cover. The cast itself is amazing, I mean we got people like Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, and the list goes on. I have to be honest here, I could not pick a favorite character in this movie cause they are all awesome! It was like every new scene that popped up I said there's my favorite character, and that happened every time we saw a different character. You might think the movie gets a bit confusing with it's vast cast of characters but thankfully it does not. Hell I can't even call them characters because they are as real as you or me. And that is what I loved about the movie, it centers around relationships. Almost any relationship that you can think of is potrayed in this movie and it is 120% accurate! This is what happens in the world that involves relationships, there are good moments, bad moments, love is won, and love is lost. If there has ever been a movie with the sole theme of love it IS this movie! And I can't believe I have never seen it before. So please for the love of all things good and wholesome in this world, I implore you to go see this movie. The time is right to view it, and the movie really has a strong point that Christmas is a time to spend with people that you love. In my personal opinion that is with any holiday but Christmas especially. This movie makes you want to spend time with the people that you love more than anything in this world. It's almost necessary to see this movie if you haven't already. I promise you will love Love Actually.