WandaVision (2021) Series Review!

Wanda Maximoff and Vision – two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

WandaVision is the start of Phase 4 of the MCU and it’s a pretty strong start! Going into the series I was pretty excited for it Wanda has always been one of my favorite characters of the MCU so I was very happy to see a show that was going to be centered around her. Elizabeth Olsen completely slays it in her performance here, so much so that I predict she could possibly get nominated for an Emmy she does such an incredible job and truly is Wanda Maximoff. The same can be said for Paul Bettany as Vision he does a magnificent job and really brings out his talent, the chemistry between Olsen and Bettany is terrific and this is the best showcase of it. This series really does a fantastic job of making you care about the two and their chemistry between one another. Other performances such as Kathryn Hahn and Teyonah Parris both do a very solid job in their roles! The writing got better and better as the series went forward, some of the jokes from the first few episodes were definitely a hit or miss some jokes I laughed at and others whatever. I will give WandaVision credit that it did not resort to the bad Marvel humor that’s present in some of the films (Doctor Strange, Thor The Dark World and a few others) as the series reached its end the writing gave us tons of character development for many of the characters and gave us a very solid villain… Agatha Harkness, one of the things going into WandaVision I was a bit concerned about was if the villain was going to be good. But they really hit it out of the park Agatha is a very solid villain that is a lot of fun, she might not be in the ranks of Loki, Ego and a few others, but she is very close. Her backstory is interesting and her motivations make sense! Hayward is not even worth mentioning to be quite honest, Josh Stamberg does a fine job in the role but Tyler Hayward just feels like the equivalent of a henchmen from one of the non canon Dragon Ball Z movies. He’s a very flat character with little to no personality who half the time I forgot existed. One major issue I did have with the finale is what they did with Monica Rambeau they really could have done something so much better with her character and it felt like they were building up to something to do with her character. However that doesn’t stop the finale from being a very solid ending! Overall WandaVision is really great, it’s refreshing to see the MCU do something different and it’s a very solid start to Phase 4!

8/10 B+

SpongeBob: Sponge On The Run (2021) Movie Review!

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.

6/10 C+

Coming 2 America (2021) Movie Review!

The African monarch Akeem learns he has a long-lost son in the United States and must return to America to meet this unexpected heir and build a relationship with his son.

Coming 2 America is a sequel to the 1988 film Coming to America…a sequel that just sort of came out of nowhere. Coming 2 America is one of those sequels where it definitely tries it’s hardest to be like the first film but doesn’t quite make it. There is a lot to like however, Eddie Murphy seems like he had a ton of fun and his performance shows that as well, I said in my Dolemite is My Name review that I love seeing Eddie Murphy return and that applies here as well. All of the rest of the cast were quite great as well Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Tracey Morgan, Leslie Jones and many others did a solid job. The production design I thought was very solid as well, it added a lot of detail and gave a lot of energy. What does hold Coming 2 America back however is the writing which isn’t exactly that strong, as I said earlier the movie tries very hard to be exactly like the first movie but it doesn’t quite make it. It’s a shame to because Craig Brewer (who previously directed Dolemite is My Name) is in the directors chair and I feel there could have been so much potential. With that said the movie isn’t bad, it’s just the writing really does not do too much for the film and it’s overall forgettable.

5/10 C

Tom And Jerry (2021) Movie Review!

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.

2/10 F

Moxie (2021) Movie Review!

Fed up with the sexist and toxic status quo at her high school, a shy 16-year-old finds inspiration from her mother’s rebellious past and anonymously publishes a zine that sparks a school-wide, coming-of-rage revolution.

Moxie is actually a decent surprise, it isn’t anything mind blowing but let me tell you it’s a huge step up from Amy Poehler’s last film “Wine Country” there is a lot of heart in this movie and I absolutely respect on what it’s saying. The acting is overall not bad except Patrick Schwarzenegger who plays a very one note jock that is no different from any other movie. For me the standout is Alycia Pascual-Pena she does such a great job to the point where I really wish her character was the main character. Mostly because as decent of a performance Hadley Robinson gives her character Vivian is not interesting at all, there really isn’t anything special going for her character. She’s kind of the very definition of a main character without anything interesting added to it, I do feel at times the movie does fall in familiar territory. Some of the jokes work others don’t, what makes Moxie decent is that it was well directed. Despite writing flaws for some characters Amy Poehler made a lot of the film work, overall Moxie might not be anything groundbreaking but it’s a decent movie that I recommend giving a watch.

6/10 C+

I Care A Lot (2021) Movie Review!

A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.

I apologize in advance if this review is a little vague, it’s kind of hard to talk about this one in great detail without spoiling which I most certainly do not want to do. I hope you enjoy otherwise!

I Care A Lot I was immediately excited for when the trailer hit online, Rosamund Pike is one of my favorite actresses so this naturally got me really excited. I Care A Lot really surprised me in a lot of ways, first off the acting is quite fantastic. Rosamund Pike is once again quite fantastic in her role and has a beautiful chemistry with Eiza González (who also does a fantastic job In her role) the film itself is incredible, it does show a lot of situations that do unfortunately happen to senior citizens but the movie doesn’t frame it in a good way at all. It shows how disgusting it is and calls it out, you aren’t supposed to like the characters being the protagonist doesn’t always mean they are the person your supposed to root for or is the “good guy”. The direction I have to say I was very surprised about why you may ask? Because it’s directed by J Blakeson the same director who did The 5th Wave you know that terrible young adult sci-fi movie adaption with Chloe Grace Moretz that failed miserably? This was quite an improvement so I really give major credit to Blakeson. Back to the film, I Care A Lot also does a pretty fantastic job of making you absolutely hate some of the characters, it does everything it possibly can to make you absolutely hate them which really works in this movie’s favor. The ending is also really worth it as well, the buildup is incredibly strong and actually surprises you! This is an example of a very strong Netflix Original that I recommend checking out as soon as you can!!

9/10 A

Sundance Reviews: Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street, John And The Hole, How It Ends and R#J (2021) Movie Reviews!

A look at the history of the long-running children’s TV show, “Sesame Street.”

Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street is a very straightforward documentary that gives a very strong history lesson about Sesame Street. I knew this one would definitely end up being one of my favorites going into Sundance, the documentary covers quite a lot of moments that fans of the show will most definitely remember. It also does cover how the show itself impacted and helped several children, in a lot ways the film follows the same footsteps as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” where that documentary was a celebration of Fred Rogers, Street Gang is a celebration of Sesame Street! Plus it shows how a lot of the characters were created, as far as filmmaking the film itself is pretty clean. It’s well crafted, it has some very interesting interviews and the clips chosen all fit together quite well! I highly recommend watching this one once it releases!

8/10 B+

A coming-of-age psychological thriller that plays out the unsettling reality of a kid who holds his family captive in a hole in the ground.

John And The Hole sounds very interesting on paper but in execution so many things were incredibly lacking, outside of some decent filming and a atmosphere that was actually there (it just wasn’t used very well) this movie really does not have a whole lot going for it. The idea of a morbid coming of age film about a boy putting his entire family in a hole is an incredible idea with very lacking execution, the acting and writing are below average and really don’t give any of the actors or actresses anytime to fully go all out in their roles. The other major problem is how much of a discount Yogros Lanthimos film this feels like. It’s as if they were in the middle of watching a Lanthimos film and suddenly decided to do a bizarre idea but completely forgot how to make that bizarre idea compelling or interesting. Which is what John And The Hole is missing, with Lanthimos’s films they are well written bizarre ideas that you can get behind. With John And The Hole you just don’t get that, instead you get very basic characters with no personality, writing that becomes way too predictable and a final act that really felt rushed. Overall John And The Hole is a primary example of the idea of the movie being more interesting than the movie itself.

4/10 D+

On the last day on Earth, one woman goes on a journey through LA to make it to her last party before the world ends, running into an eclectic cast of characters along the way.

How It Ends was another disappointment for me at the festival, once again the idea of the movie sounded interesting but the execution….was just strange. Like I appreciate what the movie was trying to do but tonally it was all over the place. The best way I could describe How it Ends is that it feels like a bubble gum commercial for what feels like goes on for 2 hours even though the movie itself is 1 hour and 33 minutes. I will say the acting is particularly decent Olivia Wilde being the standout, a lot of the cameos from various celebrities just didn’t hit for me. Sure some were actually quite okay but none of them really did anything for me, lastly I still feel Zoe Lister-Jones has a lot of promise as director I just wish she could go back to her roots when she did Band Aid. Writing wise the humor is going to be a hit or miss, the few character moments that are in the movie I thought were okay. I can definitely see How It Ends getting a decent sized fanbase so when it does release, I do recommend checking it out solely to see if you like it or not. Just don’t go in expecting anything great.

5/10 C

A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

R#J is pretty much a Romeo & Juliet retelling in the modern age…that’s literally it, I liked the idea behind it which is why I gave it a chance at Sundance. The best thing I can say about it is there are some genuine interesting parts of filmmaking here and there that I quite liked. It’s just a huge shame that the dialogue is old speech used in a modern setting which really ruins the point of what the movie is trying to go for. It also doesn’t bring anything new to the table at all, the actors did the best they could with the script but it ultimately just doesn’t come together at all. I’m sure there might be people out there that will like this one I’m just not one of them.

4/10 D+

Flora & Ulysses (2021) Movie Review!

The adventures of a young girl and a squirrel with superpowers.

Flora & Ulysses is definitely a bit better than expected, what’s weird about this movie is how good the cast actually is, like Ben Schwartz, Matilda Lawler and everyone else does a very decent job for a very silly movie about a flying squirrel. This is the type of movie where I can’t see myself ever watching it again, but I would most definitely recommend it to parents who have kids, it’s a very harmless movie that has a few some decent jokes (don’t expect anything laugh out loud funny) and the story simple yet decent enough. For what the movie is it gets the job the done it knows what it’s going for. Not much else to say about this one although the Marvel references start to get really old after awhile.

6/10 C+

Willy’s Wonderland (2021) Movie Review!

A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Wally’s Wonderland. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. Fists fly, kicks land, titans clash — and only one side will make it out alive.

Willy’s Wonderland has been on my radar for some time now, so when I heard it got a February 2021 release date I was very excited! Willy’s Wonderland is exactly what I expected and I couldn’t be more happy, Nicholas Cage doesn’t actually talk in this film, which you would think would not be a good idea that could prevent him from giving a lot of the over the top performances we all know and love. However he still manages to play an absolute hilarious and quite fantastic role as well, there’s some incredibly badass fight scenes between Cage and the animatronics. Really incredible kills as well that are actually quite well done as well, I also do like Emily Tosta and Caylee Cowan as well! I can definitely see the both of them going on to be in several other horror movies. Willy’s Wonderland is also Incredibly silly which is expected, it’s a whole lot of fun and knows what it’s set out to do. The animatronics designs I actually thought were pretty interesting as well, sure they may not be unique but it was trying to capture the 80s/90s when these things were popular. So they did a pretty great job with that. Willy’s Wonderland is overall a very straightforward slasher film that’s quite solid, there are some areas that could have been better (mostly the first act) I highly recommend giving this one a watch!

7/10 B

Sundance Review: Mother Schmuckers (2021) Movie Review!

Issachar and Zabulon, two brothers in their twenties, are supremely stupid and never bored, as madness is part of their daily lives. When they lose their mother’s beloved dog, they have 24 hours to find it – or she will kick them out.

I’m seriously going to try my best to keep this as short as possible because as horrendous as Mother Schmuckers is, there is actually not a whole lot to say about this movie. Mother Schmuckers I only decided to see at Sundance because I heard how terrible it was when it had it’s premiere showing. As they say curiosity killed the cat which in this case the cat being myself. Mother Schmuckers is what happens if you convince a couple of edgy YouTubers from the early 2000s that they could make a movie filled with disgusting, edgy, bathroom and slight animal abuse jokes. The whole entire film is like watching someone rambling on and on about a bunch of nonsense for 70 minutes until the movie ends. Trust me those 70 minutes go by INCREDIBLY slow, the acting and writing are worthless just simply worthless. None of the jokes are smart, clever or funny it’s not even a “it’s so bad it’s good” type funny. It’s so poorly made and feels like somebody made this as a troll and Sundance for whatever reason accepted it. The movie is also very repetitive if you thought maybe they change up their humor during the movie think again, they keep doing the same tired jokes over and over again. Even one of the moderators who introduces the film that’s about to be shown and tries to hype up the movie had a very hard time trying to find good things to say about Mother Schmuckers. Which I think that sums up the whole movie words can’t describe how bad and how much of a mess this movie truly is, do not see this once it releases (who knows when that will be.)

Disgrace To Cinema F