Tag Archives: movies

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

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As I was sitting in the theater with the credits rolling, I heard a family coming down the steps. The mom asked the little boy what he thought of his first movie, to which he responded with an enthusiastic ‘great.’ I sat there thinking how cool that was. I do not remember what my own first movie in theater was, but I know how the experience can be such an enjoyable moment.

I just recently rewatched the 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch to prepare for the remake and I thought that was an enjoyable watch though I would not say that I found it a Disney all-time classic.

The Disney live action remakes have been largely not some of my favorite films with a few exceptions on the list. This film is one that I think would be a decent film, especially for a family viewing experience, much like the little boy whose first theater movie was this.

I do wonder if this film has a real purpose for existing outside of $$$. Now, to be fair, all movies are looking to make money, but there have been some of these Disney remakes that just do not feel as if they have any soul, any real magic that the animated films had in excess.

Still, I do think that, for the most part, the 2025 Lilo & Stitch was fine. There were some plot and character adjustments from the animated movie, but nothing that jumped out at me.

The CGI Stitch was well done and worked as a character, which was vital if you wanted this movie to work. Voiced by the original voice actor, Chris Sanders, Stitch was every bit the rapscallion that he was in the animated movie. Young Maia Kealoha made her acting debut as Lilo, and she did a decent job. Some of the trailers for the film did not highlight the strongest aspects of Maia’s work so to see it in context made it work so much more. Again, if Lilo did not work, this movie would have flopped.

The comedic pairing of Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis as Pleakley and Jumba was good casting as they played off each other quite well. I did miss the voice of the late David Ogden Stiers from the animated film. Sydney Agudong played the role of Lilo’s sister Nani and I thought she was wonderful. She had a film presence that stood out on the screen. Courtney B. Vance, Amy Hill, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, and Kaipo Dudoit added to the ensemble of the film.

In the end, this was a fine film that did its job, basically. I am sure that there will be plenty of children who see this movie as their first ever movie in a theater and that is a wonderful thing. This would be a good film for that honor.

3.4 stars

Ender’s Game (2013)

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With the school year coming to an end, we decided to show a movie at the end of the most recent unit we have been working on. It was a sci-fi/space adventure unit and it actually had a possible “long” read offered of Orson Scott Card’s novel, Ender’s Game. We decided to show the movie to the seventh graders.

I hadn’t seen Ender’s Game since it was in the theaters back in 2013, so I was excited to get a chance to see it again. I remember liking it, but not loving it.

The cast of this film was extraordinary, starting with Asa Butterfield as Ender and Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff. These two had tremendous chemistry and carried much of the film. The actresses that played Valentine and Petra drove me nuts at first because I knew I recognized them but I just could not place their youthful faces. After a check on IMDB, I realized that Valentine was Abigail Breslin and Petra was Hailee Steinfeld. They were both great. The movie also included Ben Kingsley, Nonso Anozie and Viola Davis. Great actors in this film.

The special effects and the shots were spectacular as well. It looked beautiful and stunning at every moment. The animation of the mind game was a little uncanny valley, but it was supposed to be, showing the difference between this game world and the real world.

I did have some problems, basically with the script. It felt like there were too many moments that were rushed, as if they needed to cut things out to fit it in the film, and because of that, some scenes which were meant to be more impactful, ended up less so than it could have been.

One example was a scene between Ender and Sgt. Dap (Nonso Anozie) where Ender was being a particularly annoying child. Dap screamed at him to shut up and that he would never salute Ender. Then it felt like ten minutes later that Dap was doing that very thing. It was meant to be a powerful moment, but Ender did not seem to have earned that salute in any way, so the powerful moment felt a bit flat.

The conclusion of the film is sensational and Asa Butterfield is excellent at this moment. The eyes of Butterfield were remarkable, constantly right on the verge of being filled with tears while reflecting the light perfectly. The close-up visuals of Ender always worked.

The message is not ignored in Ender’s Game and, in fact, could be argued that it is as important to the film as anything else.

The students of my class seemed to enjoy the film, as every class that I showed this to asked if there was a sequel. I pointed out the book series while telling them that this was the only movie. One girl told me that she wanted Ender and Petra to get married… that she shipped them.

In the end, the film was pretty good. Yes, I think some of the writing needed some work and some of the moments did not feel as earned as it should have, but Ender’s Game was still a fun time among sci-fi films made for both kids and adults.

Final Destination: Bloodlines

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I never knew that Rube Goldberg was such a sicko.

The series of horror movies in the Final Destination franchise are films that I have not see before. It just did not feel like the type of film that was going to appeal to me. So I was not anxious to see the Final Destination: Bloodlines film out this weekend.

I have to say, I liked this way more than i ever believed I would.

According to IMDB, “A teenage girl has recurring nightmares of a tower collapse in the 1960s. She discovers that these nightmares are a premonition she inherited from her grandmother. The grandmother predicted the collapse of the building and saved a group of people from death. Decades later, the granddaughter begins to have visions of her family members dying. She realizes that there is a sequence and must fight to prevent Death from reclaiming her family’s bloodline.”

I really enjoyed the set up for the movie. The opening did a great job of baiting the hook for the audience and it left a huge question in my mind immediately. The set piece with the collapsing restaurant was thrilling and extremely suspenseful. I loved the mystery aspect of the film as our characters tried their best to prevent Death from claiming their family.

The tone of this film worked really well even though it felt like it was all over the place. The kills were, at the same time, grisly and funny. I’m not sure how it could work that I was laughing while I was repelling in disgust. The intricate ways that the victims died made me think of the old Rube Goldberg drawing of complicated inventions to do simple things. In this case, the simple thing was driving something threw someone’s head (or other various body parts).

The film looked great and, as I said, the kills were excellent. I was invested in the group finding a way to prevent their own deaths and thus cheat Death.

Kaitlyn Santa Juana was our lead protagonist, Stefani, and I thought she did a wonderful job. The whole film, I felt as if I had seen her before, but I just could not place it. However, looking on IMDB after the film, I could not find a credit on her list that I would have known her from. She was on the CW series The Flash, but only two episodes and I did not watch that series much any way. I did thin she was a compelling lead so I was impressed with her performance, even if I thought I knew her.

I thought the film does an exceptional job developing characters connected to Stefani. They were more than just the typical horror movie canon fodder characters. They had depth to them and they had emotional beats that work very well in making them be characters that we want to see escape, not just get killed off.

There is also a small cameo from the late Tony Todd. I am not sure if this is his final film, but if it is, he has a strong one to end on.

Perhaps I have to add some of the Final Destination movies to my list of films for the October 13 this year as I enjoyed this one a lot and if this represents what the franchise is about, I am up for some more.

4.1 stars

Clown in a Cornfield

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I saw this listed at Cinemark and my mind immediately went to movies like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Clown in a cornfield? It seemed so ridiculous. However, the reviews were mostly positive, surprising me. I decided to give it a chance.

According to IMBD (by way of Bloody Disgusting), “Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start, But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out as quick as they can. Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.” Synopsis from Bloody Disgusting“

I was torn by this movie. There were parts that I thought were really dumb and, if you excuse the pun, corny. However, it was heads and shoulders above the type of movies that I expected it to be lke.

The film did start off by introducing a group of young teen characters that I hated and led me to look forward to seeing them killed by a clown. As the film progressed, I learned that the unlikable characters were part of the story, not just a slasher movie trope. I started to believe that the writing was more clever than I initially thought.

The story had some interesting moments, but was very messy in a lot of spots. I am not sure everything came together well. There were some holes in the story, especially the ending. Without spoiling anything, something at the end confused me so much that I was questioning myself that I must have missed something.

Clown in a Cornfield is not a bad film. It was an enjoyable enough watch as it moved along quickly. I think I went in with low expectations and I had a good enough time with it. I did like how the film changed up several of the expected horror tropes. This was fun at times.

3 stars

Thunderbolts *

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The newest Marvel Studios film arrived in theaters tonight and took a risk. It featured a group of b-list characters from other films and TV shows and put them front and center. And it was glorious.

Yelena (Florence Pugh) was feeling alone and depressed with the state of her life. She was tired of just receiving another mission from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). When Yelena accepted one final mission for Valentina, things go astray. She met up with a group of ragtag mercs including John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) who all had missions to eliminate the others.

However, while they were there, they also met Bob (Lewis Pullman), a mysterious figure that did not remember why he was there.

Add Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Red Guardian (David Harbour) and the Thunderbolts are together.

This was great. It felt like a different style of Marvel movie. Sure there was action, and it was great, but the writing and the story was rich and complex. We saw details behind these characters that you do not usually see in the MCU. These people were broken and they were going through the motions trying to find a purpose.

The allegory for mental health is clear as several of these characters could be considered depressed from the way their lives have gone. It really is a well balanced story, with character development, humor, action, and some of the best chemistry the MCU has seen in awhile.

This cast is just tremendous with the material they were given. Florence Pugh is a movie star. She is such an amazing actor and this is an amazing performance. I understood everything that she was feeling and Pugh was able to show the whole range of emotions for the sister of the Black Widow. Lewis Pullman is exceptional as Bob, aka Sentry. He is one of the most original characters in the MCU and I think the future is really bright for him.

David Harbour is unbelievable in this film. He provides some of the best comedic lines of the film, but there is an argument to be made that he is also the heart of the Thunderbolts. He is not just a buffoon. He is more than that.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus got some very meaty stuff to do in this film. This is easily the best she has done since entering the MCU in The Falcon and Winter Soldier on Disney +. I would also say that Wyatt Russell’s work as John Walker really built on the job he did on that TV show.

It was over a two-hour movie, but, for me, it flew by. I could not believe that we were arriving in the final scenes of the movie as it just did not feel like that much time had passes. It was wonderfully directed and paced by Jake Schreier, who directed the Netflix series Beef.

The final act of the film was considerably different than the normal MCU film and I found it to be extremely emotional. I loved how they wrapped up this story.

There are two post credit scenes that you must not skip. The first one was a fun scene but the second one elicited applause from my audience.

I love the Thunderbolts* (and the meaning of the asterisk is revealed) and this was such a great film. These characters are nowhere near the peak Marvel characters, but it goes to show you that if you have good writing and a great cast, you can accomplish anything. This is a fabulous film that I am excited to see again.

5 stars

By the way, the IMAX theater I was in had a countdown before the movie like it always did, except this one was all about the Fantastic Four, including the music from the trailer. I literally had goosebumps when the countdown finished and all it included was the numbers 10 to 1. It was special.

Light & Magic S2 E2

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Spoilers

“There Must Be A Better Way…”

The second episode of the second season of Light & Magic on Disney + featured heavily on the transition from practical effects to that of digital recording and the way in which ILM lead the way in the field of digital special effects.

It started out talking about the elephant in the room, Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar is one of the most hated of Star Wars characters among a certain section of the fandom, but the doc looked at the creation of the character. They spoke to Jar Jar actor, Ahmed Best, who was not taking the criticism and anger of the character well. The comments of Jar Jar being a racist character or filled of racist tropes was difficult for him to hear. It got so bad that he told a story about him going on a bridge in New York with the intent of “showing them” how much it affected him. This story of a man having suicidal thoughts over the creation of a movie character was very powerful as was the resolution of the story. It made me think about my own feelings toward Jar Jar.

I was impressed with how much of the negative thoughts and criticisms this doc dealt with. They could have easily brushed that under the rug, but the doc still showed the push back ILM received for its motion capture and digital film from the movie society in general.

The doc spent some time showing how they were involved in the creation of digital tornados for films such as Jumanji and Twister as well as the massive wave from A Perfect Storm.

They spent a good deal of time telling about how they transitioned from Yoda being a puppet as he was in the original trilogy to more of a digital character and then eventually to a point where Yoda could have a lightsaber fight with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. One of the more fascinating parts of that section of the show was seeing how Frank Oz, who was puppeteering and voice Yoda, went through so much trouble and challenges with this extremely heavy puppet that he had to hold up with his right arm.

There is one more episode of season two to go. My guess is that it will focus in on Revenge of the Sith.

The Legend of Ochi

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A24 is an active and extremely busy movie studio, releasing all kinds of different movies. One of the newest releases from the studio is a fantasy/adventure that plays like a fairy tail in The Legend of Ochi.

Shot on location in Romania, The Legend of Ochi looks beautiful and the creatures known as the ochi are amazingly constructed in one of the best uses of practical effects in years. The creatures, in particular our little lead character, are marvelous and shows that you can still create something stunning and effective without a bunch of CGI.

According to IMBD, “A young girl named Yuri is raised to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. However, when she discovers a baby ochi left behind by its pack, she embarks on a perilous journey to reunite the creature with its family. As Yuri ventures deeper into the forest, she faces dangerous challenges and learns valuable lessons about courage, friendship, and the importance of protecting nature.”

The performance of young actor Helena Zengel is very impressive as Yuri and she effectively carries the bulk of this film on her shoulders. She does an admirable job interacting with the puppet ochi as it travels around on her back and in her company.

There are two well known faces involved in the film. Willem Dafoe played Yuri’s father Maxim and Finn Wolfhard is Petro, a boy who is taken in by her father. Dafoe is his usually wonderful self as this father whose anger about his life is transferred into his hatred for these ochi creatures. He trained these children that are in his care as a military unit to hunt the ochi.

I did like the background story of Maxim and I thought his arc of the movie was very soldi. He had some great scenes with Emily Watson, who played Dasha, Yuri’s absent mother.

There are some weird things happening here, but it had that ET feel combined with a A24 horror film. The Legend of Ochi was a fun film with a nice story.

3.8 stars

The Accountant 2

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The first Accountant movie with Ben Affleck was fine, but not one of my favorite movies. I never thought it needed a sequel so when the announcement of The Accountant 2 was made, it did not make my list of anticipated movies.

I do believe that I liked this movie more than I did the original, but there are plenty of flaws here. Honestly, there is only one thing that made this an enjoyable time at the movie theater: The relationship between Be Affleck’s Christian Wolff and his brother, Braxton, played by Jon Bernthal.

According to IMDB, “When her former boss is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.“

I have a definite idea that had Jon Bernthal not been in this movie, I would not have liked it. I did not find the plot to be engaging, and it was fairly ham-fisted. The action was fine, but nothing that we haven’t seen before.

The key to this movie was the exceptional interaction between two actors at the top of their game. Affleck and Bernthal had remarkable chemistry and every moment they were on screen together was electric. Especially the scenes where they are not shooting things up. It almost had an action buddy cop type of feel for The Accountant 2, and I was here for that.

It did feel too long, but the scenes with the two leads really pulled this forward. I should also shout out the work of Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who made for a solid third in the story.

Overall, I thought this was a solid action movie with a great lead pairing between two exceptional actors. These actors elevated the material around them to a level where I found myself engaged instead of checked out.

3.7 stars

Sinners

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Ryan Coogler has been hugely successful as a director. From his debut with Fruitville Station to his forays into the MCU with Black Panther to his entries in the Rocky franchise with Creed, Coogler has been a winner. Coogler decided to tackle the vampire genre with his new film Sinners, but there is so much more than just a vampire flick.

Conceivably, you could call this a Vampire musical. I was not expecting that.

According to IMDB, “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.”

I can see some people feeling that this movie is slow, and there is no doubt that the film takes the first hour or so of the run time to do lots of background. It absolutely takes its time to get to the vampire, and, while I was sitting in the theater, it did feel its length at times, what came after was worth it, and that first hour or so did make a difference with the deaths that followed.

Michael B. Jordon was wonderful in this dual role, as Smoke and Stack. You felt the connection between the twin brothers and Jordon does such a good job that there were a couple of times I questioned that it was him doing both parts.

What I did not expect was how much this was tied in with music, particularly with the Blues. Some of the musical numbers were amazingly complex and choreographed and a couple of them were downright surreal. I watched the one dance routine with spirits from the past, present and future with a shocked disbelief.

One of the best performances came from the debut of Miles Caton, who played Sammie. His character really made me think about Robert Johnson and the legend surrounding his life and career. Sammie was a phenom on the guitar, but his music seemingly brought forth the vampires. Caton was an impressive actor in this film.

The story was brutal and emotional, pulling on heartstrings of the different characters, providing pain and anguish as well as some joy of the music and being together.

Sinners is a challenging watch, but it is a worthwhile one, marking yet another win for Ryan Coogler.

4.3 stars

A Minecraft Movie

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My teacher buddy Ambarlee stopped by my classroom Monday morning and she told me that she went to A Minecraft Movie over the weekend and she loved it. When I said I was going Wednesday morning and not looking forward to it, she said that she was watching her middle child and there was so much joy on his face that it made it so much better for her. Sadly, I had no child’s face to stare at when I watched this thing. I am sure I would rather be watching a child’s face than this movie.

According to IMDB, “Four misfits are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected expert crafter.”

I do like Jack Black and Jason Momoa. They are reasonably likable characters here… well, at least, they are likable representation of themselves. I always enjoyed when Jack Black would break into song in A Minecraft movie. Black is a full-fledged entertainer.

After that, there is little in this movie that I enjoyed. I found the story repetitive and dull. The comedy missed way more than it hit. There were a few moments were I found myself laughing, but they were few and far between.

I was not a fan of the manner in which the story was told nor did I think the film looked that great. It absolutely had a feel like a video game where the background was cartoonish. I am not sure what the whole Jennifer Coolidge sections were about, though Coolidge is another actor that I like, but her entire story arc was unnecessary.

This was a dumb movie that especially young audiences might enjoy, especially those that have spent hours playing the game this movie was based on. This was not for me. I went in with a low level of expectations and the film struggled to reach them. A Minecraft Movie made a massive amount at the box office this weekend (though my Wednesday morning showing at Phoenix Theaters was empty except for me) and this will undoubtedly be a major success. I wish it was a better movie.

1.75 stars

O’Dessa

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Haven’t had a rock opera in awhile.

Well, there is one on Hulu right now starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. It is called O’Dessa and it is something. I feel as if I should sit with this one awhile.

Sadie Sink played the titular character O’Dessa Galloway, a young farm girl who takes her father’s guitar and set off to become a rambler, a traveling musician, like her father. Along the way, she met Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and she fell in love with him. O’Dessa must overcome series of obstacles in the way of their love to play one song for the world.

There are things that this movie does extremely well and things that it does poorly. It is definitely a mixed bag for me. Starting with the positives, Sadie Sink is absolutely the star of this movie and she showed that she has a bright career after her days in Hawkins, Indiana come to a close. She has amazing charisma and displays a lot of talent, elevating the movie above what the script gives her.

That script is one of the weaknesses of the film as there is not much there below the surface area of plot and character development.

As I mentioned in my recent review of Disney’s Snow White remake, the music in O’Dessa is entertaining and, in the moment, I enjoyed it, but I am not sure that I will remember any of the songs and it did not inspire me to go buy it on Apple Music. So that is a push. I enjoyed listening to the music during the film, but it does not occupy a place in my head as great musicals would.

The post-apocalyptic world is an interesting mishmash of styles and imagery. Some areas felt like the world of “Fallout” while others feature technology and neon energy such as Blade Runner. It felt as if there should have been one or the other.

Regina Hall and Murray Bartlett appear as a couple of villainous characters that do not have much more than the villainy that they commit. Both are outstanding actors that bring more to their roles than what was on the page. The ending segment with Sadie Sink and Murray Bartlett was engaging and thrilling even if there was not a ton of depth to the characters. I truly believe that this is because of the skill of these actors.

Overall, I would give O’Dessa a slight positive as the best parts outweighed the weaknesses and the music is passable enough for an under two hour film. I do not think this will be a cult favorite though which is what it should have strived for.

3.1 stars

Locked

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I had not heard about this movie until I saw a mention of it on TikTok. Starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, this reminded me quite a bit of Phone Booth, with Colin Farrell, but with a car.

Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgård) was a man struggling to get his life on track. His van was in the shop and he did not have the money to pay to get it fixed and he could not keep his promises to pick up his daughter, Sarah (Ashley Cartwright) after school.

In an attempt to get the money he needed, Eddie was in search of a car that might be open where he could steal the money he needed. He was not stealing cars, just looking for stuff he could steal inside.

When he comes across a wealthy looking car unlocked in a parking lot, Eddie thinks he has struck it rich. That is until he realizes that he can not get back out of the car. He is locked inside. And a phone line from the car is ringing, demanding that he answer it.

When Eddie can’t take the ring any longer, he answers the phone to discover that the car’s owner, William (Anthony Hopkins) is on the other end and this car was a trap to punish anyone trying to rob it. William then tortures Eddie for several days in several hard to buy scenarios in an attempt for justice. Eddie does not know how deep the anger goes inside William.

I am of two minds with this one. While I like the idea and the execution, some of the things going down are hard to accept as possible. The electrified seats, the bullet proof glass, and the cameras everywhere were all accepted as part of the trap. I kept thinking that there had to be a way out of this car and that made it tough for me to accept the premise.

Bill Skarsgård, however, does a fantastic job as Eddie. Eddie goes through the ringer here, both physically and emotionally. This is one of the rare films that Bill Skarsgård has done where we can see his face, and he does not disappoint. His character is filled with all kinds of emotion and guilt over the life that he has chosen and his own failures as a man and a father. He clearly loves his daughter, even while letting her down consistently.

There just felt like there was something that did not work in this movie for me, and, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think it was Anthony Hopkins. He is a master at acting, but I just did not feel like he was cast properly in this role. I found his dialogue to be clunky and all over the place, lacking that taut delivery of some of his other classic villains. The film want this to be a morality tale, but it takes too long to get to the reasoning behind the trap and I found Hopkins to be more annoying than sinister.

The drama is well done and the scenes with the car in motion are both ridiculous and suspenseful at the same time. There is a scene with a slow motion deflecting bullet that is kind of laughable, but most of the action is good.

I do think the performance of Bill Skarsgård is worth the price of admission alone. Locked felt too long, even at just over 90 minutes, but what worked in the film worked well.

3 stars

Disney’s Snow White (2025)

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I have found most of the “live-action” Disney remakes to fall into the “meh/it’s okay” category. There have been a couple of good ones, some bad ones, but mostly average to below average. Snow White had been receiving a lot of bad word of mouth and online hate, so my expectations were extremely low.

I did not think it was as bad of a film from what I had heard. It’s not a great movie, and it might be pushing it to call it good as well, but I did not see the reason for all of the hatred this film has received.

The classic story is retold as Snow White was shown as a youngster with wonderful parents, the king and queen. Tragedy struck leaving the king alone. Gal Gadot arrived and married the king. When he went to war, the king did not return and Gadot became the Queen, aka the Evil Queen.

Snow White tried to help her people, but the Evil Queen sent the Huntsman out with her to kill Snow White. He could not do it and let her escape into the woods where she discovered the Dwarves.

Rachel Zegler was good as Snow White. I would go as far as to say that she was the best part of the film. The film had some heart and it told the story well. I thought most of the music was catchy or nice to listen to, even though I doubt I would remember them tomorrow and none of them are songs that I would buy on Apple Music.

The Dwarves were not one of my favorite parts. I thought they looked terrible, creepy as all get out as they were all CGI. The animals looked better, but the Dwarves just had that weird look on their faces all the time.

I did not think Gal Gadot made a good Evil Queen. This is the type of role that she would not handle well. She looked amazing, though.

The overall look of the film was not great. It felt fake and much of the CGI was disappointing. The background was not as beautiful and elegant as it should have been and I am not sure where they spent the reported 250 million dollar budget.

So while this was nowhere near as bad as the internet wants you to believe, I would still place it firmly in that Disney Live Action “meh” category I talked about earlier. I am not sure that there was a real reason (outside of making money) for this film to have been remade.

2.8 stars

The Leftovers S1 E1

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Spoilers

“Pilot”

I needed some more TV shows to watch. Of course, I have a bunch of shows that I watch during the week, such as Daredevil: Born Again, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets. However, with the rewatch/new watch shows, I have finished Battlestar Galactica, Bates Motel, Dark Matter and others leaving me just The X-Files to watch. I decided it was time to dip into the queue and see what series I could add to the X-Files.

I have been interested in The Leftovers for awhile now. I have heard positive word of mouth about the series, and it did not hurt that it was from Damon Lindelof, one of the driving forces behind LOST, my favorite show of all time.

The Leftovers has been on my MAX list for awhile now and I thought this was the perfect time to start this show.

My first thoughts was that the Russo Brothers must have taken inspiration from this show for Avengers: Endgame, because there were so many early episode similarities. The disappearance of the people from the earth right down to the THREE YEARS LATER that came on the screen. (Yes, Endgame was FIVE YEARS LATER, but that is semantics).

The world we were being introduced to had that same grim feel that Endgame had in its first moments where we see the post blip. This was with only 2% of the population of earth disappearing. I can’t imagine how that would feel, when people you know were just gone, with no explanation. Avengers: Endgame could blame Thanos. Where were the answers for these people?

The pilot began to introduce us to characters, and getting to know a large ensemble is a challenging task. This show did it very well as I was engaged with everyone as the episode progressed. There were plenty of mysteries and untold stories that will be revealed, I’m sure. The trauma from everyone in this town was obvious.

There are three seasons of The Leftovers with 28 episodes overall. There were several moments in the pilot that caused me to shout out. I am sure that this will live up to the hype.

The Electric State

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What do you expect for a budget of $320 million? A good movie?

The Electric State, based on a 2018 graphic novel, is one of the most expensive Netflix movies ever made, and to be fair, you can see the money on the screen with some tremendous special effects. However, there is not much of anything else in the film and it just lacked any kind of heart, any type of spark.

Joe and Anthony Russo directed the film, reteaming with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely from their MCU days. They worked together on Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Those are classic Marvel films. This one is not those.

According to IMDB, “With humans isolated in their VR helmets and a continuing battle against a strange breed of monstruous drones in the wake of a technological meltdown, a teenage girl named Michelle and a robot travel the West Coast of the U.S in search of the girl’s missing brother.“

One thing for sure, this movie has an astounding cast. Starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, the film also featured either live action or voice over performances from Stanley Tucci, Woody Norman, Woody Harrelson, Alan Tudyk, Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, Tuc Watkins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan, Colman Domingo, Anthony Mackie, Hank Azaria, Rob Gronkowski, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Greg Cromer, and Kurt Loder.

Despite the loaded cast, this movie was a slog, taking pieces that we have seen from other films and mashing them together into a lesser contraption.

I immediately was pulled out when one of the characters was Mister Peanut. Yes, Mister Peanut from Planters. The character design of the robots, almost all of the robots, was so childish and cartoonish that I had no connection to them at all.

The biggest problem with that is that the robots did not fit with the tone being set up in this movie. Had this been a satire or a straight up action/comedy, maybe these robots would have worked, but this movie tried to be a serious film with sprinkling of humor throughout, and it did not work. Had this movie really embraced the ridiculousness of the film, it might have been a much better movie.

While there is a great cast, there is not any characters with any depth to them at all. They are all, with the possible exception of Millie Bobby Brown, one-dimensional characters that lack any real development through the film. Chris Pratt played the same character that he has played in many different movies. How are you supposed to give character development to Mister Peanut?

Electric State missed the mark badly. It had a chance to do something new and different, but slipped back into the most cliched story you could expect and just could not nail the tone. It tried to be too many different things and failed at all of them. A real disappointment. Hope the Russos do a better job with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars over the next few years.

1.2 stars