Tag Archives: Fantasy

Soul (2020)

Posted on by

In Limited Re-Release on January 12th, preceded by the Sparkshort “Burrow.” Check Local Listings.

Also Streaming on Disney Plus, and Available in Stores.

While watching “Soul,” two things came to mind. It’s amazing how much the movie reminded me of Chuck Jones’ “The High Note,” and Norton Juster’s “The Dot and the Line.” Both films perfectly articulate the power of music, and sound and the joy and pain that can come with it. Down to its basest, “Soul” is very much a movie about the power of music and the passion that can arise from it that transcends life and death. It’s probably one of the most unusual animated films from “Soul” in that animation style is so different from anything we’ve seen before or will see after.

Continue reading →

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Posted on by

After the okay “Wreck it Ralph,” the follow up to the highly promoted video game version of “Toy Story” delivers a follow up that is—just as fine, I guess. “Wreck it Ralph” still hasn’t quite built up an interesting universe or interesting protagonists, even if they manage a better job satirizing video game icons. Truth be told I’d rather have a spin off movie about the video game verse and how it operates. Instead we’re given Vanellope von Schweetz and Wreck-It Ralph in a pair of awkward central plots that drive a movie that’s running on fumes from the starting gate.

Continue reading →

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Posted on by

After the perfect ending that was “Toy Story 3,” Disney and Pixar decide to keep the story going because well—merch. Merchandise. Money. Moolah. There’s really no other reason beyond why such a perfect three chapter tale like “Toy Story” would drag on. And I say that since Josh Cooley’s “Toy Story 4” is sadly about as lackluster a sequel as you can get. For a series do centered on awe, wonder, and love, the movie is shockingly dark and bereft of so much of what made the first three movies so special.

Continue reading →

Poor Things (2023)

Posted on by

Emma Stone is an actress that has continued to challenge herself time and time again with roles that we’d never expect her to take on. Originally beginning her career in a teen comedy, she’s managed to really escape pigeonholing by exploring new and interesting roles. Bella Baxter is probably one of the best performances of her career, one even better than her turn in “Birdman.” As Bella, Stone is remarkable in the way she evolves, and develops and grows in to something that we never quite recognize when the film has ended. Although “Poor Things” will get so many interpretations, I pegged Yorgos Lanthimos’ film primarily as a statement about the illusion of bodily autonomy.

Continue reading →

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Posted on by

I can’t fault Zack Snyder for essentially giving us a sprawling remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” when he seeks to build a new “Star Wars” for the modern generation. “Star Wars” was, as many know, a quasi-remake of “Hidden Fortress.” Another by Kurosawa. It all comes full circle, as Snyder seeks to build a massive mythology in the vein of “Star Wars.” He really wants “Rebel Moon” to be “Star Wars”; at the end of “A Child of Fire”—well—he creates a movie that has been done before but to a much better effect (ahem–“Firefly”).

Continue reading →

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Posted on by

2018’s “Aquaman” was such a fun, and out of left gate adaptation of an often lampooned character. It was fun but also took the material seriously. With “The Lost Kingdom,” opts for a just fine follow up that had all the seeds of an epic book end to the DCEU. Along with being a complete tonal mess from head to toe, “The Lost Kingdom” is a poorly conceived follow up that continues the tradition of DCEU heroes that do nothing but bellyache about being super powered Gods that can actually help people.

Continue reading →

Elemental (2023)

Posted on by

People gave “Wish” a lot of guff for feeling like an AI generated movie, but I think when it comes down to it, “Elemental” is so much more guilty of this claim. “Elemental” is one of the laziest and more lethargic Disney films ever produced from Pixar and Disney. It’s such a dull concept that’s overcome by social commentary that literally clubs us over the head every chance it gets. “Elemental” is about immigration and the immigrant experience. Element city is America, or The Land of opportunity. We’re told that a least thirty times over the span of ninety minutes.

Continue reading →