The Gray Man

POSITIVES

  • If you’re in the mood for a watchable action-spy movie, then this would help pass the time. 

  • Big action set-pieces to keep you invested to see what they are going to do next. 

  • There are some clever cool moments within an action beat that’ll grab your attention. I liked the movie for those things. 

  • Actors are generally solid in the roles given to them, and they all looked great. So shout out to Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Julia Butters, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, and Regé-Jean Page. 

  • Can’t forget to acknowledge the visuals in the location settings department. Makes it worth having them travel all over the place. 

NEGATIVES 

  • Despite the obvious comparisons to a popular spy book/movie franchise, this is a derivative film that simply relies on replicating the greatest hits of the genre without adding much new to it. 

  • Kinda wished the action scenes were more exciting and compelling than what was actually shown on screen. 

  • The final battle was honestly a bit of a let down, and that was the one I was most looking forward to. 

  • I get that they want to have a globe-trotting feel to the whole story, but it starts being unintentionally funny once you see the umpteenth location title card pop up on screen. 

  • Warning for those who care. Huge Gary Stu character right here. Hope that doesn’t ruin any sort of potential tension. 

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

The Gray Man - watched it on NETFLIX

NOPE

POSITIVES

  • Really liked the premise of this movie. It’s simpler than it lets on, but provides some solid excitement, humor, tension, and horror. What’s in the sky, and what are they going to do about it? 

  • There are some good plot reveals that really take the story in all kinds of different and probably unexpected directions. Heck, the opening scenes took me for a loop in wondering what I was watching. 

  • It was easy to get invested in wanting to see where the plot is going, and what may or may not happen to our characters, excellently played by Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Steven Yeun, and Michael Wincott. Who lives? Who dies? Who gets to be heroic. 

  • Despite the limited locations and sights, the cinematography is fantastic, and offers some amazing unforgettable imagery that really wowed me. I suppose it also helped that I was lucky enough to watch this movie on an IMAX screen that actually offered the immersively grand 1:43 aspect ratio. 

  • Looking past the plot’s surface, there are some interesting themes and commentaries that are definitely worth exploring. 

NEGATIVES

  • The movie tries for a little more stylistically nuanced structure for the narrative, that may not be quite as effective as it thinks it is. 

  • Pacing could be tighter. 

  • Ending may not satisfy everybody. 

  • Characters can be considered a little superficial with their personalities and relationships. 

  • Those depictions of harm towards animals are unfortunate. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

NOPE - watched in IN THEATERS

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

POSITIVES

  • It’s a more kids friendly version of 1974’s Blazing Saddles, but features Cats and Dogs? I like this idea for a premise. 

  • So many attempts at jokes here. From puns, to meta humor, to pop culture references, to 4th wall breaking stuff, to physical comedy, to visual gags, and of course all those Cats & Dogs jokes. 

  • I was entertained by the technology shown in the movie, which is pretty much just an animal that is acting like an instrument, and felt very much like the Flintstones. 

  • There are some fun montages (especially the training kind) and several genre-infused flashbacks. 

  • Even with all the general silliness found here, there are underlying themes and an overall moral message that is worth teaching a younger audience. 

NEGATIVES

  • Cultural appropriation much? 

  • Most of the actors felt like they were just phoning in their performances. 

  • The general plot felt dumb, tired, boring, and derivative. 

  • Despite the fact that this movie kept churning out jokes after jokes after jokes, I didn’t laugh much at all. I know comedy is subjective, but still… 

  • Hate to say it, but the simplistic animation really isn’t all that great. 

loveditenjoyeditlikedititsokay IT’S MEH itsterrible

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank - watched in IN THEATERS

Where the Crawdads Sing

POSITIVES

  • This has an interesting story of a mysterious death that will encourage you to want to see the conclusion. It also has a sweet and tragic romantic plot thread that keeps you engaged in seeing where that goes. All within the premise of one of the more fascinating heroines from a novel to come around. 

  • Between the compelling flashback narrative and the charming small moments made big, this story should constantly grab your attention. 

  • Daisy Edgar-Jones is phenomenal as Kya Clark. Everything good about this film is mostly because of Daisy Edgar-Jones. Jojo Regina also deserves praise in her role as the younger Kya. 

  • Gotta love the setting of this story being in the marshlands of North Carolina. Nice imagery and visuals. Plus I generally adore the preferred method of transportation of traveling the marsh. 

  • Thematic commentary is laudable in its messaging, even if it’s rather simple of a moral lesson to give. Certain people will really find it very relatable. 

NEGATIVES

  • Some plot conveniences that cheapens the narrative a bit. 

  • Gets a bit melodramatic at some points. 

  • Apologies to Harris Dickinson, but his character Chase Andrews could use a lot more nuance than what was given to him by the story. 

  • They imply how much of a character the marsh is, but the movie doesn’t really justify the reverence outside of the voice over expositions. 

  • Some people might get the wrong take from the conclusion. Plus it doesn’t help that this story can be overshadowed by the real controversy surrounding the book’s Author. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Where the Crawdads Sing - watched in IN THEATERS

The Sea Beast

POSITIVES

  • The movie's imaginative world building about sea beasts and the hunters who hunt them is quite excellent. This is a very entertaining adventure at sea that you'll want to experience. 

  • Animation is stellar and those enormous sea beasts are quite magnificent to look at. Visual imagery to marvel at. Then there are those like "Blue" who are just so cute. 

  • Lively distinct characters wonderfully played by Karl Urban as Jacob Holland, Zaris-Angel Hator as Maisie Brumble, Jared Harris as Captain Crow, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sarah Sharpe, plus more. The banter between Jacob and Maisie in particular is pretty fun. 

  • Those grand exciting engaging set pieces and action choreography are spectacular to watch! 

  • What this movie decided to have as a thematic commentary is remarkable. Emphasized by a powerful moment during the last act. Take heed to what it has to say. 

NEGATIVES 

  • This isn't exactly a pirates movie if that's what you were hoping for. 

  • Some familiar plot tropes here and there. 

  • Plot conveniences? Highly illogical moments? Takes you out of the movie stuff? Sure. 

  • Felt like it could have shown me more, and could have been more ambitious in scale. 

  • You know some people are going to get annoyed by the kid. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Sea Beast - watched it on NETFLIX

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

POSITIVES

  • The movie’s premise is about a documentary on a talking shell character that has an eyeball, a mouth, and little shoes! How adorable is that?! Never once did that conceit of a story wear itself out for me. 

  • It’s got very much a “kids say the darndest thing” vibe and I adored that so much. Some of the things Marcel says and does are just the best. 

  • Visually very simple due to the premise, but its ability to bring this little big world that in itself lives in our own big world is just an incredible thing. Plus the very rube goldberg machine aspects are so awesome. 

  • Jenny Slate as Marcel is fantastic! How she and Dean Fleischer-Camp brought Marcel; and Isabella Rossellini's Connie, to be fully developed three dimensional characters to life, that I genuinely cared for, and was unbelievably invested in, is just a work of cinema magic. 

  • I truly enjoyed the movie’s sense of humor, but wow did the dramatic aspects emotionally move me. 

NEGATIVES

  • If you’re not into the premise and this idea of a movie, I don’t know how it would win you over. 

  • It’s going to wreck your brain trying to figure out how the whole world presented in this movie is supposed to logically make sense in any realistic way. 

  • Some predictable plot developments that you might find too derivative. 

  • You’ve seen these kinds of thematic messages before, so it’s not exactly challenging material in that regard. 

  • There’s a segment with Lesley Stahl I was disappointed that I didn’t get more of. The movie’s not that long, so couldn’t we get more Lesley Stahl? 

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - watched in IN THEATERS

Thor: Love and Thunder

POSITIVES

  • If you watched Thor: Ragnarok, really enjoyed the comedic aspects of it, and wished that they would have leaned even more heavily into that, well you got your wish with this installment. Talk about embracing comedy. 

  • Looking past the comedic aspect, this movie’s also got heart, and it’s also got some solid action beats. That’s your Love and Thunder right there. 

  • Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Taika Waititi are excellent in their roles as expected, but wow did Christian Bale once again give 110% to his performance and to his character here; Gorr the God Butcher. Shout out to Russell Crowe too! 

  • Visually provides some nice location imageries, comic book splash page looking shots, plays around with color on black & white, plus those CG characters all look top notch. With all that said, the soundtrack and song choices are fantastic! 

  • While the things the movie talks about are generally simplistic, there are still some interesting thematic commentaries it brings up that are worth exploring. 

NEGATIVES

  • I’m sorry, but am I watching a parody of a Thor movie? Because it’s much too silly to be an actual legit Thor movie. I mean the character of Thor is practically a joke of himself. 

  • It’s not actually a parody? Okay, maybe this is another example of comedy being subjective? 

  • Oh wait, it got serious. Talk about a tonal switch. It’s like I’m watching two different movies. 

  • Also, how come for an MCU film with a big budget and a huge supporting cast, the movie itself looks like it’s showing the limits of its budget much more than expected (you’d think they shot some of those scenes in a Best Buy parking lot or something). Plus the huge supporting cast that doesn’t really seem to be doing a whole lot when clearly the plot would suggest that they should. 

  • Let’s just say that Director Taika Waititi was indulging himself way too much here and also at the same he wasn’t indulging himself enough in other aspects. 

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Thor: Love and Thunder - watched in IN THEATERS

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe

POSITIVES

  • Ridiculous premise, juvenile humor, and pop culture references. Fans of Beavis & Butthead will enjoy this. Plus there are some montage sequences that are pretty entertaining to see.

  • Part of the fun of the plot is seeing all the stupid situations these two idiots get themselves into. 

  • Solid addition of Andrea Savage, Nat Faxon, Gary Cole, and Chi McBride for the movie. 

  • Gotta appreciate the simple traditional animation style. 

  • The way this movie does satirical commentary of the time is quite amusing. 

NEGATIVES 

  • If you're not into the ridiculous premise and the juvenile humor, then this is absolutely not for you. 

  • It is infinitely nonsensical and illogical and pretty stupid. You have been warned. 

  • I mean there is one dumb running joke that is repeated over and over and over again. It’s a very simple minded movie. 

  • So many plot conveniences just to keep the story going. 

  • Gotta say. Wished it was more outrageous than it really is. Plus not enough fan service? 

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe - watched it on PARAMOUNT+

Minions: The Rise of Gru

POSITIVES

  • This is an incredibly nonsensical silly movie that has bouts of humorous cleverness, and that’s what you want from this installment of this popular animated movie franchise. 

  • From the visual gags, the action sequences, to the detailed stylish designs, the animation quality is a delight to see on screen. 

  • The minions never fail in their wackiness and all the random situations they find themselves in are just such a fun time. Plus I really liked that whole subplot involving Michelle Yeoh's Master Chow character. 

  • Plotwise, the whole thing with Steve Carrell’s Gru, Alan Arkin's Wild Knuckles, Taraji P Henson's Belle Bottom, and the rest of the Vicious 6, is enjoyable enough to drive the overall story. 

  • Adults watching this will probably be entertained by the pop culture, the 1970s era references, and the soundtrack. 

NEGATIVES

  • Admittedly there will be those who go into this and say that it’s stupid and idiotic and doesn’t make much sense. 

  • Needless to say, comedy is subjective, and the jokes found in this movie might not work for everybody. 

  • Felt like they could have showcased more interesting personalities to the Vicious 6.

  • I don’t know about you all, but can we just stick with only having the Minions in their own movie. I can live without human characters in a Minions movie. 

  • The fact that a lot of the words in Minionese are starting to sound like real world dialects kinda ruins the fun of listening to this fictitious language. 

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Minions: The Rise Of Gru - watched in IN THEATERS

The Princess

POSITIVES

  • Premise and narrative is a bit self-aware of what it is, enjoyably simple, kinda cheesy, and may as well be straight out of a video game or a 1980s action film. You go into watching this for the many fight scenes, with a dash of exposition and background details via some effectively used flashbacks. 

  • Provides some fun entertainment by practically having an action sequence every five minutes that showcases some solid fight choreography. 

  • Joey King is fantastic as the title character and even does a significant amount of her own stunt work in the fights. Action star Veronica Ngo is also a welcome presence in this cast, plus I got to appreciate Dominic Cooper and Olga Kurylenko hamming it up as the villains of this story. 

  • Makes great use of having this movie take place in one location, but still manages to provide some variety in the sets shown, that helps progress the plot forward. 

  • The political commentary and themes are a little bit on the blunt obvious side, but considering today’s modern social climate, I’m all for it. 

NEGATIVES 

  • Premise is just a bit on the silly, exaggerated, and unbelievable variety, that’s regretfully a rather forgetful movie. 

  • Plot isn’t exactly deep, or anything you haven’t seen before, so expect some very predictable moments. 

  • The bloody violence might be too surprising for those thinking that this is just a fun action-adventure movie for teens. 

  • Some will claim that this is just another man-hating feminist leaning movie. 

  • There's a fat joke in this that seems unnecessary.  

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Princess - watched it on HULU