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.

A Quiet Place Day One

Okay what the fuck, it was actually good??

In fact if I'm being completely honest with you, it's...kinda amazing. I'm almost stunned shitless writing that but it's true! Like every single aspect just about is exponentially improved over the last two films, now the only thing I truthfully want from this series is I wanna know where and how the aliens got here to Earth. Probably the only person who wants that but I'm curious damn it! But the story here and more importantly how that story is told, if you cut out the monsters this could be a hardcore heartfelt drama! I'm so not even kidding, this film sucker punched me right in the feels and I was so on board before even the first 5 minutes. We follow Sam a young woman who unfortunately is in Hospice care when the event occurs as she makes the decision to trek to Harlem for pizza, finally a goal and direction(!), and she eventually meets a young man named Eric who I think is pretty firmly on the spectrum as they sneak and avoid the creatures in the city that never sleeps. It may seem quite humorous that the endgame is New York pizza and it is a little funny but shit, that is something I can 1000% get behind and the character moments we get from point A to B almost at times make you forget you are watching A Quiet Place. I'm so not even kidding, this is an emotionally investing film and I tell you now without witness and without reward that this damn movie made me cry. The tears welled up in my eyes and a few rolled down my cheeks, I won't spoil it but it was ridiculously sweet and endearing. I can't remember the last time I saw horror movie characters I cared about so strongly, just the performances from Lupita (I love that girl to bits!) and Joseph (whoa dude you were good!) my God they were acting their hearts out here. Marvellous news everyone! The cat is fine, in fact this was one of the most intuitive cats I've ever seen in storytelling and knowing cats can't be trained at flippin' all, congrats to the film crew for making it happen! Shock of all shocks though, no stupid nonsense to behold in this movie it's pretty rock solid from start to finish. Either that or I was so emotionally invested and entertained that I didn't notice. Perhaps I've jumped dimensions once more because this is unbelievable. It was so damn good, no scratch that it was great! I'm still reeling from that fact but whoever it was that answered my prayer for a good movie, just know I said thanks and I'll buy you lunch! Pizza on me. No horseshit Jack. See it, just go see it. Maybe bring some earplugs though cause the theater I went to see it at every loud noise was like a fucking landmine going off, shockwave included, and the movie indulges in some jumpscare tactics so brace for impact if you go over the weekend! So yeah all time high for the week, two big thumbs up from me, 4 stars, 9/10! And we get to revisit and experience the end of one of the strangest yet grand horror trilogies next week.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

God I wish I could say I was in higher spirits.



Not only is this a sobering film to watch, today is also the day Kevin Conroy has passed away so I'm in a severe grieving state for the Batman and the Black Panther. And this was really the last movie I wanted to have nits to pick at, not at all that it's bad far from it. As a tribute, as a goodbye to Chadwick, it's done damn near perfect. I mean....fucking chilling, impactful, could hear a pin drop in that theater effect. Oh my God! And as a continuation of the MCU and seeing Shuri step up to the mantle, it's good! I have notes but I couldn't bash this movie, I feel it almost gets a pass from critics because of the tragic real world events that capsized whatever the original Black Panther 2 was going to be and it is a stirring good piece of drama when it deals with that. I just hate that it tries to be business as usual after some grieving, yeah I'm going there again and I feel I have even more of a case this time. I know it couldn't have been this mourning, drama filled, character piece for Shuri for the whole almost 3 hour runtime. And indeed there were moments when there were lines that brought levity, a smile, a chuckle, but I just wish Marvel would have just said screw it. No jokes for jokes sake, we're gonna tell an emotional gripping story about the death of a king and a kingdom trying to pick up the pieces with more an emotional debate on if Shuri will be the next guardian of Wakanda. They just can't man, I feel it's almost compulsive unconcious behavior, if you put a gun to their head and said write a movie with next to zero humor they would end up with a slug in their grey matter. I just really wish they pushed this to uncharted territory, cause the rest of the movie isn't half bad with this....okay, James Cameron could have a very possible case for theft of intellectual property cause, it really goddamn is the water dwelling cat people from the upcoming Avatar film clashing swords with Wakanda. They have neat elements to them with a very cool Mayan background, but that's what they are! Their leader does fall into that average Marvel villain trope, there be no Thanos or Vulture fascinating personalities to be found here. However, the acting from everybody down to the extras is rock solid. Super well done and able to convey what they need and sometimes even more. And I love how our leads are all the women we got to know from the last film! Angela Basset, that woman has my heart and my allegiance forever! I was so happy to see more of her this time around and she is glorious to behold in every aspect! Letitia Wright damn near carries the film by herself, I mean I don't think she had to do all that much acting and to see her journey to when she puts that suit on is great. Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o while more secondary characters had nothing but my attention and passionate want for them to succeed. Tenoch Huerta does admirable work and I do understand his reasons for why he does what he does but I feel there was just something missing from the writing. Also, major props to everyone who learned to speak these dialects and alright movie you get points for having substantial subtitles throughout. The visuals I must say are outsanding, from the cinematography, to the environments, to the flawless costume design and color palette, it's a feast to the eyes! The score, holy shit balls both the actual score and the soundtrack, wow man! I dig it. Unfortunately the above mentioned notes I have slip into spoilers so I can't divulge much, I can tell you however this movie upset me. Like, almost rage levels upset me. Not on any aspect of production, or they bullshit about with the source material, I was just out for the villain's blood. Thank Christ they didn't try some Romeo And Juliet horseshit with Shuri and Namor, I would have been far more aggravated. It's good, I do like the first movie more and feel it juggled serious and funny better, but the emotional crux is hard to brush off because they handle it so well and I do hope it won't be the last we see of Wakanda. I give it a solid 3 stars, 8/10, and I need a long lie down after today so until next time.

Us

Well shit, that was an ending.

Man! Jordan does it again for me, this movie takes more inspiration from other movies than being a purely original idea but that sure doesn't mean it isn't a fine film. I sorta knew the premise, kind of a Invasion Of The Body Snatchers type plot where duplicates of a family try to kill said family but boooy does it go off in it's own world and become something better. Immediately I was thrown off track when the film starts stating there are thousands of miles of underground passageways, and I was fully expecting this to be some parallel dimension crossing setup but the rug was pulled out from under me and my interest grew even more, it still creeped me out though. I will say the movie does, if you pay good attention, very simple yet effective set up and pay off and does a real good job getting you settled with this family. I mean do I need to say a friggin' word about Lupita Nyong'o? Do I really? No I don't think I do, my standing with her has never dwindled or changed for the worst. Winston Duke, my guy in this movie, could not catch a break and I almost dare say he was my favorite part of the movie, a total nerd but infinitely enjoyable to watch, he was class! Shahadi and Evan as the kids did good enough work, capturing that sibling friction and commited well to the acting. But the greatest part is, they play the opposite personas and seem to have way more fun with it, I mean it is utterly and completely fascinating to see these actors as this bizzaro/dark side mirror image/otherwordly cast cause it raises enough questions in your mind that you want to dig deeper into. Where do they come from? How were they created? What's the master plan? And while you don't get definitive answers to all those questions, you get enough to walk away still interested and satisfied but not like you got robbed due to lazy writing. A concept such as this and the way it plays out would be very easy to screw up, very easy to perplex the audience and lose them, very easy to do slap dash writing. But it doesn't, it walks that tight rope just right, and even while I admit I was throwing out ideas and I was right at the end I by no means called this movie. No way in hell. Cause I was thinking, alright we're gonna get build up, halfway through the doppel family shows up, and the rest of the movie is fight for survival, kill em' all or be killed. Naw. No, no, no, the doppels show up about 35 minutes into this almost 2 hour film and it goes bigger than you expect. Will not say a syllable more on that. Directing wise you can tell this is Jordan Peele really able to stretch those wings, giving a lot more unique visuals, interesting camera work, and good editing, it even gets a bit artsy at one or two points and I friggin' loved it. I do however fear for his career because I don't just want him to direct horror movies forever, I know he can do other stuff so I hope he doesn't burn himself out on these projects cause I know a lot of people love his horror stuff. I sure do, and it's unfair to compare his projects so I can't say oh Get Out was better, it's two seperate movies with different styles, so I'll just say it was great. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and I have no clue what Nope will have in store but I'm there for it either way.

The 355

Alright, I'm back and I wish it was on grander circumstances.

Sort of breaking the rules this year reviewing a movie not on opening day but I think the game is changing this year for reviews. I really thought nothing of The 355 before seeing it, it looked like harmless action movie fluff and I can appreciate that, but it just was a bunch of average. Credit where credit is due the cast commits to this, all our leading ladies do decent work with the action and bits of espionage, even the big moments of emotion work well! It's a bit of a no brainer plot that essentially boils down to, this device could start World War 3, agents from all around the world join to retrieve it, bang bang you're dead, we won, okay bye. However. The movie has moments, it has little glimmers and shinies, that make it a bit better than average. I like how all our agents aren't besties off the bat, they fight each other and get in the way of the other's mission before they all join in, which I am also pleased to say happens early on so you don't have to wait until the end or even the halfway point it seemed. Each operative has little touches of backstory, some stated and some not, and while they are not full three dimensional characters it all works. I like how the movie actually took me for a twist or two and did stuff I fully was not thinking it would do, I will give props to it for that. The action is....average without bashing it too hard, I blame more the editing than the actual choreography why it didn't work so good for me, you get a decent amount and each is different from the last. The location shoots are nice, again adding variety here and there and it does give some nice visuals. Nothing really popped out at me though besides the cast who even still, kinda deserved a better written story to work with. Action movies are very difficult to do and to add some variety and spice to a very tired, very easily halfassed genre. You're gonna forget this movie in about 3 days and I repeat, I did not expect anything from it if anything I was hoping in the back of my head it would throw me for a loop and have a kind of cult action hit vibe to it. I really didn't want to hate it and I suppose I don't, it's just so middle of the road nothing. A lot of people gave shit to The Protege and said it was very much in the same vein of action movie as this, I strongly disagree, you should go rent that movie it is better than you think, you can easily skip this one. 2 stars, 5.5/10, and because I have nothing else to do The King's Man is coming up next time.

Second Viewing: Black Panther

Yeah yeah, I still haven't found a better name but it's all I could think of.

It was great going back to this, and yet another good example of a standalone movie. I literally had no idea we were going to see Andy Serkis and Black Panther in Age Of Ultron, because this movie did such a good job being a self contained movie. I never once had a question of who these people were, where are we, or when are we, which is good storytelling. I was just like, oh snap Black Panther's father was killed in an embassay bombing, oh he knows Martin Freeman because of his reputation in the CIA, oh Andy Serkis is a weapons dealer with stolen tech from Wakanda. It's another great beginner's movie for this series, and I do genuinely love the story. T'Challa is kind of a modern King Arthur, very strong moral compass, might for right, has difficulty accepting his role as a king, violence is not strength and compassion is not weakness, all that good jazz. So Black Panther is waaay up there as one of my favorite Marvel characters, and Chadwick Boseman is really damn good. In fact, all the cast is good! Michael B. Jordan though great as a hero can play a villain with conviction and presence, fuelled by rage and contempt for centuries of horrible actions that harmed his ancestors and the dilemma given that if he goes through with his plan he is no better than the people who subjugated his ancestors is a strong one. It's a great dynamic between hero and villain, not just on physical prowess but their own sense of morality and mindsets. Lupita Nyong'o is great, Danai Guira is a lot of fun, Angela Bassett is astonishing as always, and Martin Freeman proves himself as an ally even though he was kind of a dick before. So cast is still very strong in my eyes, the visuals are amazing, the tech I honestly don't have a problem with at all because this is a culture that has been refining their technology for thousands if not tens of thousands of years so I can buy how their city and machinery works, the spiritual aspect I appreciate with the ancestral plane, and the action is pretty good but it's kinda more of a drama because the action is spread out. But I'm okay with that because I really do like the characters, I'd probably go so far as to say this is the best ensemble cast of the entire Marvel series, now I know the Avengers are good but even I have slight issue with them. But with Wakanda? I like all the main characters, I like their personality, I like their design, I like their roles in the movie, it all just works incredibly well for me. Truth be told the issues I would have for this movie are nitpicks at best, I think we got another great Marvel movie....even though it took almost the whole damn series to get to this point, with a lot of bumps in the road, and I'm still wondering why people fell so hard for this series, but we got here. Doctor Strange and Black Panther are not only the two Marvel movies I've seen in theaters, but also the only two I own on video. They are the ones I would like to watch every so often, even with the praise I gave for The Winter Soldier and Civil War I don't honestly think I would buy them. I'm happy I saw them, but I'm in no rush to watch them again. Hell the only one I might buy after all this so far, is The Incredible Hulk. But tomorrow we talk about Infinity War, the birthday present I didn't ask for and never did see, until now. No seriously, it came out on my birthday so I slightly take pride in the day of my birth also being the day where millions of Marvel fans were crushed and broken emotionally and left the cinemas severely depressed. I'm a heartless bastard I know, but sometimes it feels so good being evil. 4 stars, 8/10!

And I say to you now what I said to you in 2018 when this movie was released, he is the best king I have seen in cinema and I would have followed him to the end and beyond. Long live the King.

In Retrospect: Black Panther

I hope you all enjoyed Infinity War. I didn't see it obviously, but the news of the passing of my two favorite Marvel movie heroes is distressing.

Despite that, I still do enjoy Black Panther immensely. If memory served I said I liked it better than Doctor Strange, and....I don't know. I'm still torn on favorites, I love Doctor Strange and I love Black Panther so I believe there is no superior film. And now that time has passed and multiple viewings have been taken into account, I am still glad I went to see this movie and bought this movie. But why did this movie grab me when really, no other Marvel movie did? Was it because it took on a more serious story with a low emphasis on comedy? Absolutely. Because of the characters and the unique world it created? Certainly, the characters are all great and the world is absolutely stunning to behold. But the truth is, and this is as snobbish as I am ever going to get, nobody unless you were a hardcore Marvel comic fan wanted or knew about Black Panther. So it had that mystery, that allure of something no one knew about. It was like Guardians Of The Galaxy, no one unless you read the comics knew who Rocket Raccoon or Groot was and yet they still took the time to make a movie about them. I mean really when you get right down to it, nobody really knew the extent of Marvel characters. If you asked me in say, 2005 who did Marvel had I would tell you Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, and Thor. That's it. And I'm sure it was like that for countless other people. So when I heard of this Black Panther guy, despite me not seeing Civil War, I wanted to know more about him and was intrigued when his own movie was getting made. Pretty much same for Doctor Strange, except they had Ben and Mads to make me obligated to see it. But Black Panther had nothing beyond intrigue so the movie paid off for me in aces. I love the characters, and while Chadwick Boseman is a fantastic actor and held this movie to something beyond your regular popcorn flick, Danai Gurira steals the show for me! I love her character, she's a badass but has deeper motivation and identity beyond that, my eyes were glued to her everytime she was on screen. And yet another good thing it did, it gave ample screen time to characters that are more off to the side. If this was another studio all the time and screen presence would be dominated by Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and maybe Martin Freeman, with very brief scenes of Letitia Wright or of Lupita Nyong'o but they expanded upon them which helped the film greatly. Yeah it does suck that Andy didn't get much screen time but hey it looked like he had fun doing it! But what really sold me on this being a good if not great film were the visuals. There is such deep rich color in costumes, set design, and effects. When a movie makes you stick around at the credits to appreciate the visuals, they did something right. And just a sidenote, I am so happy I did not sit until the after credits scene cause I just watched it and my reaction was pretty much this, "Who the f*** are you? Who's White Wolf? Is that the, what's his name, the Winter Soldier? I'm so confused...." and that's it. That would have kind of pissed me off royaly in the theater. At least in Doctor Strange I could be like, "Oh hi Thor. This sounds interesting, I wonder what the next movie will be.", there's none of that here. It was so bad they had to put, Black Panther will return in Infinity War. Must have been a slow writing day over at Marvel. Oh well, we know how it ends. Have fun crying kids over characters you have probably grown up all your life watching! Say hi to Thanos for me! But yeah, Black Panther is a good movie.

It's a slow week here, I only got one more movie for the week. But for the sake of interest, tomorrow we will be looking at Batman Ninja.

Black Panther

Good way to end the week wouldn't you say?

Black Panther is a very good movie, it's not my new favorite Marvel movie for that honor is still held by Doctor Strange but it is in my top 3 which is hilarious because all the Marvel movies I've seen could probably be counted on two hands. But regardless I enjoyed the movie quite a lot. It did do everything I wanted it to, telling a story about a man who is both a king, a hero, and a warrior. Chadwick Boseman is excellent and could really carry the film on just him alone but the supporting cast is just as good, with Lupita Nyong'o and Martin Freeman being two of my favorites. The story is very admirable, telling the story of how the Black Panther, T'Challa was crowned king of Wakanda and must protect his people from outside and even inside forces. In fact there was much to be admired, I loved the style and culture that was heavily present in Wakanda and felt fully accesible, there was nothing that I could not find intrigue and enjoyment in. The action is very well done and never once did the thought occur that is was choreographed, they did it that well! Tremendous love must go to the art direction and choice of colors, this is a gorgeous film at times, filled with so much to see and appreciate. Now I have no problems saying I am a dumb white boy, I am uncultured but always try to learn and see new things, and I was greatly impressed by just the look and feel of such a technological society that never has shuned away from it's history. T'Challa and his kingdom is noble and of resounding character, he's just trying to be the best king he can and I'll be damned if I said I would not follow him into battle. In fact...he's the best king I have seen on film. Sorry Aragorn, but you need to do more than swing a sword and make speeches to be king. Actually now that I think about it there were a lot of Lord Of The Rings moments, beyond seeing Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman in a room together. It's a really great film and most importantly it made me want to read the source material, to read the comics, and I mean like from first appearance to now. Same thing for Doctor Strange, it made me interested to read and learn about these characters so obviously Marvel is doing a great job with these two lesser known but still important characters that have been around for decades. And hell, they got one more movie I want to see this year and I am very excited to see one of my favorite Marvel villains get his own movie. But that will come in time. For now though, I will look forward to seeing you next week.