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Thursday, January 19, 2023
Friday, January 13, 2023
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Review
I'll be honest. The last thing I've seen of Shrek was when the third movie hit cable around 2008 or 09. I thought it was okay. Did not see the fourth one, nor did I see the first Puss in Boots film. The Last Wish was something I was going to see while being somewhat green. Given some of Dreamworks' stuff in recent years, it does an amazing job of being funny and emotional. It doesn't rely on specific Shrek type humor. This plays out like a fairy tale and sticks to it. Definitely will help keep it from feeling dated even with my love for the first two Shreks.
Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is still at the top of his game. That is until he loses a life. A doctor tells him he is on his last of the nine lives cats have. Despite efforts to fight it, he retires to the home of a cat lady. In other parts of the fairy tale land, Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears are on a quest to find the shooting star that can grant a person their wish. A map is needed from the home of Jack Horner (John Mulaney). With teaming up with Kitty Southpaw (Salma Hayek) and a dog (Harvey Guillen), Puss is on a quest to hopefully get his lives back.
As I said, it sticks to being a fairy tale. It's not filled with parodies, pop culture references. Shrek type humor that may not land the same like it did back in 01. A lot has changed since 2011 and Dreamworks has worked on its game of being fantasy kids films that can be funny and heartwarming. You feel for Puss and the development of his character is given a ton of care. He brings out the strong emotion and the action that make you root for him. I like the twist of Goldilocks working with the Bears. They get some time to shine and provide their share of humor and tugging of heartstrings. Jack makes a great villain and gives reason to despise him along with the comedy of his backstory.
The animations is on par with what The Bad Guys had. Beautiful CGI for its settings and characters. Some interesting 2D type moments for effects and camera shots. It's a hybrid I hope continues with more Dreamworks films. Same with the vivid colors and special effects splashed throughout. I enjoyed the music score and didn't go overboard on songs. Some of the callbacks were cute. The voice work is phenomenal. A couple spots do get too dramatic, but The Last Wish is a strong film. Go check it out in theaters. Fun for both kids and adults. It stands high on its own two feet and on par with Shrek and Shrek 2.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Friday, January 6, 2023
Friday, December 30, 2022
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Violent Night Review
There aren't many holiday films out in theaters right now. It's very slim pickings compared to an article I saw about a combo of 60 plus films across two networks. Violent Night fills that void a bit and is surprisingly good. We do need more adult Christmas films. It's more humorous than you think and the action is given some thought. How you view the violent nature will vary.
David Harbour plays Santa. In this world, he loved doing his job of delivering gifts, but has become a drunk due to the amount of greed many adults and children have gotten. On his usual duties, he finds himself in Connecticut. A wealthy family is enjoying their festivities led by old matriarch Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D'Angelo) when a group of mercenaries invade their home for 300 million dollars. The head man (John Leguizamo) will do whatever he can, but Santa is at the same house. With help from little girl Trudy, he preps for a battle he'll never forget.
It definitely is its own movie in some aspects. However, it feels as if it did its own take of Die Hard 1 and 2, along with Home Alone 1 and 2. The action aspect shows Santa kicking some serious ass in some scenes and getting beaten to a pulp in others. There is a human element to it and he makes a healthy John McClane look even healthier. Those scenes are choreographed well and the violence at points is goofy or pretty serious. The comedy is sprinkled all around. Santa's drunken attitude early on. Hearing Gertrude curse like a sailor and her family members trying to paint a good picture of the family.
It does get a bit sentimental with what Trudy wants and what Santa wants. With it being Christmas, they want things to be better from where they came from. Trudy has a bit of a Kevin McCallister vibe to her, which they do reference Home Alone a couple times. Traps do make Kevin seem a little more innocent compared to her. I expected violence, though it wasn't as dark as I thought. But you might. A couple cringe moments, but they may or may not for the viewer. The bad guys are a little over the top. You get a score that shows its Michael Kamen side, a bit of John Williams, and some of its own. The cinematography works well to its advantage and it's amazing how all this was done on a 20 million dollar budget.
The film does go at a decent pace. Like I said, the cringe aspects will vary on the viewer, which is the only major complaint I could see being a problem. But otherwise, Violent was surprisingly good. Get a chance to see it in theaters. We need more of these holiday movies that aren't strictly for kids.
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Spirited Review
Before I get into this review, if Spirited is in theaters, I'd check it out. Otherwise, this is available via Apple TV+. Anyway, this is something that caught my eye a little bit and is something that feels out of left field. Better than I thought it would be and it is well done with its choreography and attempt of a modern day version of A Christmas Carol.
Every year, there are ghosts that will try to change a person for better and redeem themselves. Led by Marley (Patrick Page), they go all out to scare the person straight and improve their life. His plan for the following Christmas is a hotel manager, but ghost of Christmas present (Will Ferrell) sees someone that is way worse. Reluctantly, Marley goes with the idea of redeeming Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), an A-grade piece of trash. What ensues is pure insanity.
The only other film that has a modern day take that I can think of with A Christmas Carol is Scrooged from 1988, and even that is referenced by Clint. This is a musical for the most part and it saves its moments for when to sing and when to be comedic. It is an interesting duo with Reynolds and Ferrell. Reynolds is great as that slimy deceitful manipulative person and it clashes with the other side of the comedy. It's nice to see Ferrell play the straight laced character a bit, which is refreshing though he is more than just that as Christmas present.
It's few other characters who are important play vital parts. Sunita Mani and the voice of Tracy Morgan are hilarious as the other two ghosts Past and Yet to Come and their attempts to scare Clint. Octavia Spencer serves as a love interest for Present and also is a moral ground type of person that doesn't like the antics of Clint. But all these characters get their chances to sing songs surrounding their situations and the musical score is beautiful with well done dance and choreography if it needs to. Of course, the holiday look to it. Nothing more special than going to see the lights and everything in New York.
This is a bit lengthy. However the balance of comedy and musical and the energy keeps it going without a stale moment. I'm not sure how some will view the ending and some of the more darker moments of the film. Some development of a couple characters could have been better. But otherwise, Spirited is a funny film to go see. Check it in theaters if it's playing near you. As said at the beginning of this review, this is also on Apple TV+
Thursday, December 1, 2022
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