After SpongeBob’s beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home.
This is Tim Hill’s best film since Muppets In Space by far. What do you say here exactly? It’s Spongebob, Spongebob Sponge On The Run plays out exactly how you would expect. Sponge On The Run is pretty much the show but in movie form, sure some of the jokes really don’t land at all. But there are some jokes that do work and I found the songs to pretty solid, seeing Keanu Reeves was also pretty neat as well. The animation does it’s job, it’s not particularly interesting and it’s not terrible in anyway. Sponge On The Run suffers from a story that isn’t particularly great, it’s a very typical animated movie plot. The writing is a hit or miss in a lot of areas, but for the most part it’s very generic. But at least Sponge On The Run is still fun (for the most part) It’s definitely not as good as the other two movies, but for what the movie is it’s a decent watch. Will I ever watch it again? Probably not but it’s a solid timekiller. If your a fan of Spongebob I recommend it.
Adaptation of the classic Hanna-Barbera property, which reveals how Tom and Jerry first meet and form their rivalry.
Tom & Jerry is the third (fourth if you count Wonder Woman) of the Warner Brothers and HBO Max movie deal. I actually thought Tom & Jerry had quite a lot of potential, the trailer was very promising and it didn’t turn Tom & Jerry into CGI nightmare fuel, the trailer had some of the charm of Tom & Jerry so I remained hopeful…until the movie came out. Now look I wasn’t expecting an Oscar winning script or movie but good lord they dropped the ball on this one. What I did like was the few scenes of Tom & Jerry being well Tom & Jerry, it had the energy of what the cartoons had which was very nice to see. Plus some of the animation added in looked decent enough….the problem is it wasn’t used really well at all, I knew from the very beginning when the movie opens up with a rapping bird I was in for a movie that feels like it’s from the early 2000s family movie era. Acting wise it wasn’t good, even Chloe Grace Moretz couldn’t save this movie at all, it seriously felt like she was phoning it in which is quite unfortunate. Everyone else is just not good at all Michael Peña is just not funny at all (that’s 100% the script’s fault which I’ll get to in a second) and everyone else is just not noteworthy at all. What ultimately kills Tom & Jerry are two things, the movie focuses way too much on the human characters and the whole hotel story. Which yes I get is the main central story….but could have they at least made it interesting? When I said earlier that this movie felt like something straight out of the early 2000s family movie era this is a huge part of what I meant. You are going to know exactly how it goes if you watched at least one early 2000s family movie, Tom & Jerry in a hotel doesn’t sound like a bad idea in fact it sounds like a good one! There could have been many ways to turn this concept into something fun, but instead they went with the worst possible choice they could. Finally there is the script…oh lord what happened here? None of the jokes landed at all, a lot of it was the most cheap and unoriginal humor you could imagine. They tried to shove so many jokes at almost any given opportunity it started to become very tiring, Tom & Jerry does not need a joke every 0.2 seconds that’s not what made Tom & Jerry so popular. I also really wish they gave this movie to a different director Tim Story? Seriously the guy who previously directed Shaft (2019) plus some other terrible movies such as Ride Along 2 and two Fantastic Four movies from the 2000s. I will say though that I think kids will love it, despite the several flaws this movie has, kids will most definitely dig this movie. But overall Tom & Jerry is terrible what could have been a decent movie ended up being a manufactured garbage family movie. Give this one a pass.
FLEE tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.
Flee was definitely one of the most unique films of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it’s a documentary that’s animated which is very different. The documentary itself is a true story about a refugee’s life with the threat of capture and death, the storytelling is just absolutely fantastic. It’s a fantastic blend of a documentary and animation that really created something very special, there’s very haunting imagery that is also at the same time very beautiful which shows how incredible the storytelling really is! Flee tells the story through the animation which actually makes Amin’s story more impactful and emotional, it’s truly a fantastic showcase of storytelling. It’s at the point where you feel you are with Amin as you are witnessing the trauma and pain he went through. Flee is most definitely a film to keep an eye out for, as soon as it releases I highly recommend giving it a watch!
Cryptozookeepers try to capture a Baku, a dream-eating hybrid creature of legend, and start wondering if they should display these beasts or keep them hidden and unknown.
Let’s dive into something very weird that was at Sundance…Cryptozoo. I wasn’t originally going to see this one, but I heard the first reactions and it sounded quite interesting so I gave it a watch. As I said in my reaction I still have no idea what this movie was about, but whatever it was I really liked it. Let me get this out of the way and say Cryptozoo is not going to be for everyone it’s just simple as that. What makes Cryptozoo standout is the animation which feels like you took half a dozen different types of drugs and looked at a TV screen. The creativity is also really great, there’s a ton of interesting ideas that really work well. Most of all what makes Cryptozoo is that it embraces it’s weirdness it goes all out on it and really doesn’t hold back. I wasn’t a huge fan of the story as there were familiar parts to it, however the style of the film really makes up for it and makes the whole experience worth it. I definitely recommend checking this one out when it comes out, just know what you are getting into.
It follows an orphan girl, Earwig, who is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.
I know there was a lot of criticism about Earwig and the Witch when the trailer first came out online, seeing that was 3D animated rather than Studio Ghibli’s traditional drawn animation was very surprising and felt out of the blue. Plus the movie itself did not look anywhere near as good as the other films, despite this I wanted to give it a try and see that maybe it could be decent….it wasn’t. The main issue here is hardly anything ever happens, the writing just does not have a whole lot of material. It’s the type of movie where someone clearly had a somewhat interesting idea but then decided to water it down quite a bit. It feels like a movie that needed more time to be worked on, the animation is not that great either. While it’s not as bad as some people said it was it’s definitely not inspiring at all. With a lot of Studio Ghibli’s films you feel magic in the film, through the characters and animation….you just don’t get that here at all, it feels like someone who spent like 15 minutes of watching a Studio Ghibli film idea of what a Studio Ghibli film is like. I completely understand they were trying to go for something different with this movie, but it heavily backfired pretty badly and it’s a shame too. There’s a few scenes here and there that work, I do find some of the film charming as well, but it’s really not enough to save this movie from being a disappointment. It’s a movie with absolutely no substance.
3/10 D-
A mind-bending love story following Greg who, after recently being divorced and then fired, meets the mysterious Isabel, a woman living on the streets and convinced that the polluted, broken world around them is a computer simulation.
I’m going to be completely honest here….I’m not exactly sure what Bliss was supposed to be. What I do know is this was a dreadful start for Amazon Prime Video’s original movies for this year. It’s absolutely no wonder this had nonexistent advertising, the only reason why I found out about this movie is because I occasionally check the “list of Amazon Prime Video Original Movies” Wikipedia page and saw it listed. Anyway the movie itself is dreadful, a lot of the movie feels like a bunch of different ideas from other movies blended into one gigantic mess. Owen Wilson feels completely out of place here, I’m all for Owen Wilson trying different things (heck I actually really liked No Escape) but this just does not work at all. Salma Hayek definitely tries her best but it’s just not enough to save this movie, this is most definitely one of her weaker roles. The script feels very empty with no direction and very little idea of what it wants to truly be, there isn’t any passion or anything showing that anyone cared about this movie at all. The best compliment I can give it is maybe some of the filming is okay but even then it’s not that great. Most of all Bliss just felt like release date fodder, my guess was this movie was just laying around somewhere and they had to release it eventually. Overall really not much else to be said here, it’s a terrible movie that I recommend skipping.
Two New Orleans paramedics’ lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.
Synchronic is a very decent Sci-Fi Thriller that really shows some huge talent from Anthony Mackie and surprisingly Jamie Dornan as well as the rest of the cast! The direction from Justin Benson director of The Endless and Spring (both fantastic films) does a really great job of creating a very solid and thrilling atmosphere. Synchronic does take awhile to get going, but once the movie gets going it’s a very fun experience. The writing is a lot of fun with some great moments that build the atmosphere, while Synchronic might be weaker than The The Endless and Spring it’s still a solid movie that I recommend checking out.
7/10 B
In the 1970s, a missing teacher of martial arts is the subject of a quest by his devoted and brilliant but distant students, who include Batman.
Batman Soul Of The Dragon is the newest DC animated movie, I have a love and hate relationship with these movies. They either go in one or two ways either they are good or they are bad. Soul of the Dragon is pretty alright it has some decent action scenes and some pretty decent characters to back it up. The movie is heavily flawed however, the animation is really not that great. Especially when you compare it to a lot of the other DC animated movie’s animation this looks just terrible in comparison. My other huge issue is Batman is just sort of there, sure he does get involved in the story but he really doesn’t do much. I wouldn’t mind this that much if the villains were interesting…sadly they aren’t. They are the most generic villains you could think of, it’s a huge shame because I understand what the movie was trying to go for. Which was something very simple but unfortunately it doesn’t quite hit. Soul of the Dragon definitely is not a bad movie, it has a ton of fun moments and as I said some of the other characters are interesting this is just one of those DC animated movies that really does not standout all that much.
A musician who has lost his passion for music is transported out of his body and must find his way back with the help of an infant soul learning about herself.
Soul is once again another beautiful film by Pixar, there is so much here to talk about it’s overwhelming so let’s just work our way down! First we have the characters which are pretty great, we explore a lot about our main character Joe who is a man that is obsessed about Jazz music, Soul takes a very simple premise and manages to do something extremely beautiful with it. You also have some simple but gorgeous writing, there’s some genuine great humor in there that really works. Then you have a ton of moments where the movie hits you with a ton of bricks that are full of emotions, the film itself makes you ask a lot of questions about yourself such as “what is my passion?” “What do I see myself doing 10 years” this is some of the most real questions Pixar has asked in quite awhile, which says something considering a lot of their other films. The animation is stunning there is no other way to put it, it has this photorealistic look to it and the characters look incredible as well, the storytelling is magical it really hits you with question after question while throwing in some genuine comedic moments as well. Which leads me to my next point the film balances comedic moments with the serious moments, it’s the type of balance where you really appreciate it to the point where it feels like a very real film. I think that’s part of the reason why Pete Doctor’s previous film “Inside Out” didn’t work as well as it did for many others, it was a great film but a lot of the comedic moments really took away a from the film. In Soul that doesn’t happen anywhere in the film, it truly delivers on every single level. The barbershop scene is a huge highlight of the movie showing genuine conversations in the film, something you don’t see very often in a lot of animated movies. With a lot of animated films it’s always about being over the top and making 20 different variations of the same joke. But luckily Pixar (they have messed up in the past) strives to create some of the most beautiful and meaningful films out there and Soul just might be one of their crowning achievements. The film feels like a very human movie like it was made for the audience, which is a very beautiful film and quite special as well. Overall Soul is one of the most beautiful films of the year and truly a fantastic way to finish 2020! I highly recommend giving this one a watch! Just be prepared to cry your eyes out because it is a very emotional film!
A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.
Wolfwalkers is such a beautiful film, everything from the message of the film to the animation it’s quite breathtaking. The writing is absolutely fantastic, with griping emotional moments from the characters. Plus you have such a simple but fantastic story that manages to expand throughout the film, the animation is absolutely impressive the style they went for was spot on and I don’t think the animation would have been nearly as effective if they went with computer animation. The details give so much life to the characters and the film, everything pops out and drags you into the film! The movie has a very familiar premise but it does so much to that premise to the point where the film makes it it’s own, Wolfwalkers really gets to you towards the end with several emotional moments and with some really interesting character development that makes you appreciate the characters. Overall Wolfwalkers is a fantastic film that I seriously recommend, I can definitely see this winning best animated film at the Oscars!
Lupin III goes on a grand adventure to uncover the secrets of the Bresson Diary, which is tied to the legacy of his famous grandfather.
I’ve always been a fan of Lupin The Third I feel in terms of anime it’s one of the more underrated ones, one of the ones that doesn’t get really talked about all that much. When I heard a 3D movie was going to happen I was pretty excited, the wait for this movie really killed me but it was worth it! It really translated well into 3D, the animation is absolutely gorgeous and the movement of the characters is extremely well done. The characters are really great as well, the source material is done with a lot of time and care. Plus the movie is a blast, sure there’s the Nazi plot that does get tired but the movie manages to keep things interesting and keeps the movie at a steady pace. It didn’t feel rushed at all, it knew what it was sent out to do and it accomplished just that. The writing is engaging and has some humorous moments that I actually found quite funny! Overall a really strong movie to a beloved series, I would definitely not mind seeing another one!!
Rey leaves her friends to prepare for Life Day as she sets off on an adventure to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure. Will she make it back in time for Life Day?
I debated if I should even count this as a film and add it to my 2020 movies count. But since a lot of people are counting it I might as well, it’s only 48 minutes long which for what it is the movie is fine enough. There’s tons of Star Wars memes thrown in the film such as “Hello there!” To my surprise they actually got Kelly Marie Tran to voice Rose, it’s actually pretty nice to see although her part isn’t that big. What this movie really reminds me of is when I was like 8-10 years old I use to make storylines with my action figures. That’s the vibe this movie gives off which is not a bad thing at all, in fact in this case I think it works well. The movie is clearly not going for a serious tone, the comedy is a hit or miss some of it works and some of it doesn’t. It really comes down to if your a huge Star Wars fan or not, because a lot of it is Star Wars oriented humor. But overall The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special is very straightforward and gets to the point quickly, I can’t see myself ever watching this again but for a first time watch it’s passable.
Jerome Reviews... 