Wicked: For Good (2025) Film Review

Now demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba lives in exile in the Ozian forest, while Glinda resides at the palace in Emerald City, reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, she’ll need to reunite with Glinda to transform herself, and all of Oz, for good.

Wicked: For Good is directed by Jon M. Chu director of Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), Step Up 3D (2010), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), In The Heights (2021), Wicked (2024) and a few others. The film serves as a sequel to Wicked (2024) and adapts the second act of the 2003 stage musical.

If you ask almost anyone who has seen the stage musical of Wicked what they think of it, a very common criticism you will hear is that the second act is much weaker compared to the first. That very much shows with Wicked: For Good although I will say the film still for the most part lands, there are some very unfortunate downgrades. But the positives are enough to get the film to the finish line.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande continue to be the best parts, Erivo impresses with her cover of “No Good Deed” to the point where it can be argued that she tops the original. The power in her voice is striking and much of what was said about her performance as Elphaba from part one can be applied here, even with the songs that are not as great as the ones in the previous part she’s still able to leave an impact on the viewer with her powerhouse voice and performance. Ervio especially impresses during the film’s second half, the scene with “For Good” is powerful, emotional and absolutely beautiful. Her and Grande’s voice mesh incredibly well together and the viewer can just feel the chemistry through the screen. Erivo as Elphaba will be remembered for an incredibly long time and that’s all due to just how well Erivo portrayed this iconic character.

Similarly, Ariana Grande hits it out of the park. Her performance once again captures the spirit of Glinda and even adds her own flavor into the character, at this point she’s more than proved herself as a capable actress. Her singing is excellent and delivers such a beautiful performance with “For Good” and the original song “Girl In The Bubble”. Like I said about Erivo, even when some of the songs are on the weaker side. Grande is able to make them work and bring many beautiful moments just from her personality, acting and singing. Grande’s take on Glinda is beautifully done and again much like Erivo will be remembered for years to come.

The supporting cast is pretty solid here. Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater get a few strong moments, Bailey sings “As Long As You’re Mine” beautifully with Cynthia Erivo. Ethan Slater does a surprisingly and somewhat intimidatingly good job with “March Of The Witch Hunters” you can here the anger and striking nature in his voice, combine that with the citizens chanting as well as the atmosphere and you have quite honestly one of the stand out moments of the film.

The main thing holding Wicked: For Good back is the first half of the film, while it’s not exactly something I would call bad. The songs are mixed bag with every “No Place Like Home” that is quite great, you also get a “The Wicked Witch Of The East” which isn’t necessarily bad just not particularly memorable. The film also does take a bit to get going, it’s nice to see what all of the characters are up to since the last film. However this goes on for a bit too long, there is also some plot points that do feel a bit rushed and could have used more exploration.

With that being said, the film’s second half pushes the film forward and is able to stick the landing. That’s when you get to the real meat of the film, the emotional moments that strike the heart and some genuinely raw scenes. The second half does such a fantastic job of wrapping the story up in this powerhouse bow, Erivo and Grande really do strike the final moments with “For Good” masterfully. There are tons of tearjerking moments that really bring you along for the climax of the story.

Overall Wicked: For Good is definitely weaker than the previous film, but it’s not a bad film. It hits the right notes and brings this story into a satisfying conclusion that is genuinely beautiful.

Wicked: For Good is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

Eternity (2025) Film Review

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with, and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

Eternity is directed by David Freyne director of The Cured (2017) and Dating Amber (2020).

Eternity is one of those rare modern romantic comedies that strikes that sweet spot when it comes to making both its romance and comedy work so incredibly well with one another. While it is a bit on the predictable side and may have some extra padding here and there. The film works wonderfully due to its fun cast, creativity and the dreamlike atmosphere and filming.

Each of the performances are quite excellent and bring something to the table. Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner all bring their own special charm to the film. Olsen going back and forth of who she wants to spend eternity with feels very real and at times even gets the viewer to participate by making decisions with her. It helps that Olsen in general is a fantastic actress and here is no exception, Teller and Turner are both very fun here and the constant back and forth they have with each other is always entertaining. Their chemistry with Olsen is beautiful and with Olsen delivering a lot of the emotional moments, Teller and Turner do a great job of supporting said moments.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early are also quite great, they are definitely the film’s comedic weapons but serve that role perfectly. Randolph is a stand out among the cast, she steals each and every single scene she’s in as well as bringing the fun and creative energy to the atmosphere whenever possible. Randolph has an undeniable amount of charm here that really blends well with the rest of the cast, her moments with Miles Teller are some of the film’s absolute best.

I have always been interested in films that have different ideas of what happens after life and Eternity is no exception. In fact this is by far one of the most interesting ideas in quite a while, the writing brings this creative, heartfelt and humorous feel to the film that truly captures its playful mindset. There’s this realness to the dialogue and even some strong character moments, the whole memory archive idea leads to some genuinely beautiful scenes that help build Larry, Joan and Luke as characters. There is the perfect balance of comedy and romance, they don’t outweigh one another to a degree where it becomes distracting.

The cinematography from Ruairí O’Brien is done in this dreamlike state that perfectly captures what you would imagine what the afterlife would look and feel like if it was a film itself. The atmosphere shines perfectly with its soft yet beautiful presence, there is times where the atmosphere almost feels like it’s trying to give you a big warm hug and you can’t help but accept it. There’s so much attention to detail with the different eternities or “worlds” that we see, the use of color and light is always quite beautiful to explore with your eyes.

Overall Eternity is a beautifully done film that really shines through, it might be simple at times and as I said it can feel like it’s padding a bit. However the positives absolutely shine and are truly a blast.

Eternity is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) Film Review

Through a surprising twist of fate, single strangers Sarah and David get to relive important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is directed by Kogonada director of Columbus (2017) and After Yang (2021).

Coming off of two quite fantastic films, I was pretty excited to see what Kogonada had in store with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and unfortunately this was a huge step down from his previous work. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has a lot of great ideas and ingredients to make a great film is here, but unfortunately none of it is mixing all that well and creates this messy and forgettable experience that leaves the viewer disappointed.

Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie are both solid here, there’s a few moments in particular where they easily make scenes that otherwise would be drawn out and dull into something genuinely sweet and somewhat powerful. There’s some moments that show vulnerability that mixes well with Joe Hisaishi’s score, there’s a track called “To Her Mother’s Side” that in particular is genuinely moving and creates one of the movie’s most memorable moments. It’s one of the movie’s longer moments but unlike other moments where they feel drawn out, this one feels a lot more earned.

Unfortunately the rest of the movie does not have the strength and firepower it needs to leave an impression on the viewer, the characters just do not have much in common which in turn makes the whole love story element seem incredibly forced and is not worth investing in. The chemistry between Farrell and Robbie is just not there at all, a large part of it is due to just how shallow the script really is. The two are excellent individually but romantically there is not anything here that feels striking or to really care about them as a couple.

The biggest problem here is the dialogue and how it’s desperately trying in every single scene to come off like it’s saying something profound, rather than going for a more natural direction and letting scenes speak for themselves. The movie opts for this forced dialogue that is the equivalent of those type of quotes you would see on Facebook like pages, the ones about relationships, or ones trying to inspire you. Those are fine in themselves, but when you are writing a script for a movie and that’s how deep your dialogue is then where exactly do you go from here?

Finally there’s the scenes being drawn out, I spoke a bit about this earlier but this is a problem that appears several different times during the movie. It’s repetitive and unfortunately leads to the viewer checking out of the movie early on, there’s just not enough interesting moments for our main characters to explore, their backstories are incredibly cliched and predictable and despite how solid the cinematography looks thanks to cinematographer Benjamin Loeb, the world feels empty and the lacking of detail is incredibly noticeable.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is one of the most disappointing movies of the year, the themes of taking risks for connection, embracing vulnerability and overcoming regret do not have the proper writing to make the exploration worthwhile. The lack of chemistry and investing scenes completely stop this movie from being powerful.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

NYFF Review: Scarlet (2025)

A sword-wielding princess embarks on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. She soon meets an idealistic young man who shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage.

New York Film Festival Review

Scarlet is directed by Mamoru Hosoda director of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018) and Belle (2021)

Mamoru Hosoda is a director who has delivered consistently with tons of great films that lead to some fantastic and mesmerizing experiences, however coming off of Hosoda’s previous film Belle (2021) his newest film Scarlet is quite a big disappointment. The film undeniably has some gorgeous animation that leads to some strong sequences and the final act ends up being a bit better than the movie’s rough middle portion. However Scarlet is ultimately a very watered down version of Willam Shakespeare’s Hamlet that does not add anything new or compelling.

The voice cast is all around great, with such a shallow script the cast does what they can a while there are some well done moments and the side characters get some admittedly cute moments. It’s Scarlet herself that just does not have enough character writing to make for an investing character, during the first 30 minutes or so we get some decent character building for her and then afterwards it almost feels like the movie completely stops. So many different themes and characters are thrown at the viewer that the movie loses focus on its main character, Hijiri is a fine enough secondary main character but the whole plot point with him is incredibly predictable and can be seen coming from a mile away.

The writing wants to be more than a watered down Hamlet but fails to do so in any unique or interesting way, there’s a pop song sequence that seemingly comes out of nowhere and takes the viewer completely out of the film. The villains of the story are shallowly written most of them are nothing more but bloodthirsty henchmen and Claudius the big bad of the movie does get a solid introduction but is not seen again until the movie is almost over making any sort of intrigue as a character next to impossible.

The animation is without a doubt the best part of the movie, as I said before it leads to some genuinely stunning moments and fun sequences. The attention to detail is sharp, clear and makes the movie’s world stand out a bit more. But that’s about as far as it goes, the animation can really only do so much when you have such a shallow script that fails to elaborate on any of its characters.

Scarlet is a disappointment, it’s a shame because there was potential for something great here. The right materials are here and the way the movie tackles life and death is genuinely interesting. But unfortunately the middle portion heavily lacks strong writing and is way to forgettable for its own good.

Scarlet releases in theaters December 12th (Limited) and February 6th (Wide)

5/10 C

Red Sonja (2025) Film Review

Captured, chained and forced to fight for survival, Red Sonja must battle her way through the blood-soaked pits of a tyrant’s empire while rallying an army of outcasts to reclaim her freedom and take down Dragan and his ruthless bride, Dark Annisia.

Red Sonja is directed by M.J. Bassett director of Deathwatch (2002), Wilderness (2006), Solomon Kane (2009), Silent Hill Revelation (2012), Inside Man: Most Wanted (2019) and Endangered Species (2021).

Since 2008 there has been several attempts at trying to make a second Red Sonja film, the 1985 Red Sonja was the very definition of an 80s fantasy movie that was quite honestly never good to begin with. Despite bombing at the box office and getting torn to shreds critically, a second Red Sonja film was released.

While I do think this one is actually better in a few ways than the 1985 one, that is really not saying a whole lot. I absolutely admire the attempt by M.J. Bassett to try and take a very 80s fantasy film and figure out how to make it work in 2025 even if the attempt is ultimately a misfire.

The best part about Red Sonja is Matilda Lutz, she does the best she can with such a very weak script but still ends up giving a better performance than Brigitte Neilson did in the 1985 film. Lutz just gives a more convincing performance as Red Sonja and goes for a more quiet yet effective approach that ultimately fares better in the end. The acting overall is a step up from the 1985 movie, while a bit goofy at times the supporting cast the very least this time around offer some entertainment during the movie’s more drawn out parts.

The 1985 movie is better when it comes to technical aspects that’s mainly due to a higher budget which is something this version does not have and is very evident almost immediately. While the cinematography, production design and such aren’t awful, they very clearly worked with what they could do it unfortunately does take the viewer out of the movie during certain moments. With a higher budget I think M.J. Bassett could have actually done a lot more here to give the movie’s world more life and perhaps may have resulted in a more focused and imaginative experience.

The movie’s world feels very empty and just does not have a whole lot of personality, which leads into the main problem with this version of Red Sonja….the writing. This movie is not much different than your bad early 2000s fantasy movie, it’s very reminiscent of films like Eragon (2006) or Dungeons & Dragons (2000s) a collection of fantasy elements that ultimately don’t add up into anything new or special. The villain Emperor Dragan the Magnificent is a very nothing villain despite a somewhat entertaining performance from Robert Sheehan.

It’s admirable what M.J. Bassett was trying to go for here with Red Sonja. But unfortunately the technical aspects combined with the bland fantasy tropes really hold this one back from being great.

Red Sonja is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Tribeca Film Review: How To Train Your Dragon (2025)

On the rugged isle of Berk, a Viking boy named Hiccup defies centuries of tradition by befriending a dragon named Toothless. However, when an ancient threat emerges that endangers both species, Hiccup’s friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader.

Tribeca Review

How To Train Your Dragon is directed by Dean DeBlois director of the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy and Lilo & Stitch (2002) along with Chris Sanders.

The How To Train Your Dragon films are incredible and are a prime example of a series that really focused on introducing new elements with each installment and figuring out ways to get better and better. Each one has something unique to them which truly makes them special and well remembered. To say that a live action film for the first film is an odd choice would be understatement, even though the clear reason as to why is money. Despite that however this one manages to be one of the far better live action remakes and I really have to attribute that to DeBlois being in the director’s chair because he did quite a splendid job here.

The performances work very well, Mason Thames does a great job as Hiccup. He had a lot to carry on his shoulders but he manages to really put his own energy into the character, he’s not trying to do an impression of Jay Baruchel. He’s doing his own thing while also being faithful to what makes Hiccup such a great character. The bond between him and Toothless is something the film is able to capture quite well and really does bring a smile on your face, it’s mainly thanks to Thames’s performance that really holds these memorable moments together.

Nico Parker as Astrid is quite great, much of what I said about Thames making Hiccup his own can be applied here with Parker making Astrid her own. It helps that the chemistry between the two is genuinely adorable and their acting bounces off of each other very well. Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick and much like in the original film does really well, the father-son dynamic is strong and translates well. Nick Frost as Gobbet is different yet it’s welcome, he actually does have some genuinely funny lines here that worked.

When it comes to a technical aspect the film is excellent, the cinematography is genuinely beautiful and the film is undeniably very well made. Combined with the location you do get this sense of adventure and wonder that the original film had and that’s felt throughout film. This is something that a lot of other live action remakes tend to miss so it is refreshing to see one of these films actually look beautiful as well as managing to capture the spirit of the source material, some might say “that’s the bare minimum they should all be doing that” and that is not necessarily wrong but seeing how a majority of them have completely opted to not do that I say this is kind of shocking,

With all of that being said at the end of the day this is very much a shot for shot live action remake with small differences in between. Even though it’s a faithful one and admittedly a pretty well directed one, it does not really do anything that the original film did not do. The original film is far and away a better film simply because the emotional impact is far more present in that film than it is here, while there are touching moments here that can get the viewer to connect with these characters all over again. Seeing the same film again but in live action does not quite strike up the emotional impact.

Overall How To Train Your Dragon is still a fun time, if you liked the original film you will probably get a lot out of this one. Just don’t go in expecting anything different because you will not get that here. This is a film I will probably never go back to, but I would be lying if I said I did not have a decent time with this one.

How To Train Your Dragon releases tomorrow in theaters.

7/10 B

The Legend Of Ochi (2025) Film Review

A young girl learns to never go outside after dark because of reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. However, when a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.

The Legend Of Ochi is directed by Isaiah Saxon which is his directorial debut.

The Legend Of Ochi is one of those E.T. (1982) movies, you know the ones where a child discovers a creature and has to protect it and help it return home? You have probably seen at least one of these films before, while this one does not do a whole lot differently there is still a lot of charm here especially when it comes to the visual style.

The performances are solid, Helena Zengal who plays Yuri gives a lovely and charming performance. Her performance is not that much different than what you would expect from these types of movies, however there is heart here she clearly pours so it ends up working in the long run. Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson are both great here as well, their performances might not be some of the most memorable they have ever done but they are clearly having a blast and are committed to the roles.

The visual style of the film is what stands out here and quite honestly makes the film worth a watch. It takes on this dreamlike children’s book style that you almost feel like you are being transported into the film’s world. Saxton is primarily a music video director so it is no surprise that the visual style is the main priority here, a lot of the visuals do so much of the talking when it comes to world building mainly due to the script just not being that investing (we will get to that in a second.) So when you have some large in scale scenes that show off the visuals you get a bit more of a description of the world, the Ochi as creatures are also cute and while they may not be the most developed creature ever put to film. The bond between Yuri and the baby Ochi is admittedly very cute and filled to the brim with charm.

What holds this film back from being great mainly comes down to the script, it is a very basic E.T. (1982) like film at the end of the day. There’s not a whole lot going on here character wise, while the performances have charm the characters unfortunately do not get a lot of development and very much fit the character types you would expect from a film like this. Finn Wolfhard’s character Petro for example just feels there, the movie does not do all that much with his character. The only element that’s really keeping the viewer invested is the charming bond between Yuri and the baby Ochi, if you take that away you are left with some incredibly neat visuals but that can only keep the viewer invested for so long.

Overall The Legend Of Ochi is flawed but it has just the right amount of charm to give this one a look, the visuals are fun and the acting is decent. This is one that I’m probably never going to come back to, but despite my issues I do recommend giving this one a look if these are your types of movies.

The Legend Of Ochi is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

In The Lost Lands (2025) Film Review

A witch travels to the Lost Lands in search of a magical power that allows a person to transform into a werewolf.

In The Lost Lands is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson director of the Resident Evil film franchise (2002-2016), Event Horizon (1997), Mortal Kombat (1995), Alien Vs. Predator (2004), Pompeii (2014), Monster Hunter (2020) and a few others.

Paul W.S. Anderson is back and with his same old shtick, a terrible post-apocalyptic movie starring his wife Milla Jovovich. He’s done this multiple times with the Resident Evil films and Monster Hunter (2020) in particular. In The Lost Lands somehow ends up being far worse than any of the movies mentioned, mainly due to the movie having no personality behind it at all and being a complete and total mess.

The performances here are mostly terrible, occasionally Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista will have moments that attempt to elevate the material. But unfortunately those moments are far and few between to even really matter in the end, the acting results in some incredibly awful dialogue that have the energy of NPCs from an early 2000s video game. The writing is incredibly poor, we don’t learn anything of note about the characters at all outside of cliched elements that you have come to expect. The movie’s world is about as bland as you can get from these post-apocalyptic movies, there’s very little atmosphere that drives the viewer into the movie. It’s all incredibly stale and lacking in personality, it feels a lot like any of Anderson’s previous movies just somehow worse.

The movie itself right from the start is a jumbled mess, within the first few minutes it feels like the movie is throwing you in the middle of the second act. The viewer feels like they are missing a lot of context or wondering if there were supposed to be extra scenes here but were cut for some reason (I had these same thoughts as well.) This is exactly the sort of mess you would expect from one of these poorly rated action films that came out in the 2000s, you know the ones with barely a coherent plot, choppy editing and laughably bad filmmaking wise? Whereas those movies at least have some charm and could be laughed at, In The Lost Lands does not have any of the charm at all and only has a few moments of unintentional humor It’s a dull and uninteresting mess that does not have any sort of fun with itself at all.

The movie itself is also incredibly ugly to look at, I get what they were going for here but none of it works. The desaturated colors are not appealing here at all and feel more like they are trying to replicate Sucker Punch (2011) only that while the movie itself wasn’t exactly great at least stylistically it made sense as to why it looked like that (and had story reasons as well.) In The Lost Lands just feels like it saw what Zack Snyder did and then tried to replicate without thinking as to why it for the most part worked for Snyder.

There really is not much more to be said here, In The Lost Lands is yet another terrible movie from Anderson. As I said before it’s almost identical to his other films, even if you are someone who enjoyed his Resident Evil films you will not get anything out of this one.

In The Lost Lands is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

Wicked (2024) Film Review!

Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.

Wicked is directed by Jon M. Chu director of Crazy Rich Asians (2018), In The Heights (2021), Now You See Me 2 (2016), Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), Step Up 3D (2010), G.I. Joe Retaliation (2013) and Jem and the Holograms (2015). Wicked is the first installment of a two part film adaption based on the musical of the same name and serves as a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz.

It was inevitable that a film adaption of one of the biggest broadway shows in recent memory Wicked was going to be made, the questions were when was it going to be made? Who would make it? Plus would it actually happen? The answers to these questions are luckily very satisfying, which in turn led to one of the best films of the year and the very definition of a fantastic crowd pleaser.

Right from the beginning we are thrown into the land of Oz, the production design all the way through the film is quite excellent. A lot of attention to detail with the many colors that pop out, especially during the musical numbers where the film gets more creative. There’s many of these instances where the townspeople, students and get to participate and show off their choreography which truly is fantastic and really gives the film this lightning sort of energy it needed as well as a beautiful personality that really makes you feel your right there.

The performances are all fantastic, everyone here really gives it their all which leads into some of the best moments from a film this year. Cynthia Erivo was just a natural choice for Elphaba, Erivo’s singing voice is known to be big and powerful plus she her acting ability has always been top notch and here is no exception. She absolutely nails it down with “Defying Gravity” it’s a legendary song at this point and is a song that is incredibly challenging to sing, Erivo does such a masterful job with the song and really goes beyond expectations. It’s almost like you can see Erivo challenging herself to go even further which is something that is always fascinating to see from actors and actresses. We also quickly get to see how incredible Erivo’s voice really is with “The Wizard and I” a solo performance that quickly establishes that Erivo truly captures Elphaba as a character and goes even further in the film.

Ariana Grande as Galinda is just as fantastic, before this film Grande had not been in a lead or even a supporting role for years. There were cameos like Don’t Look Up (2021). But her last relatively main role was Hairspray Live (2016) but even then she wasn’t really front and center if you want go even further back it would be Victorious and Sam & Cat. To say Ariana Grande proved herself to be a fantastic actress here that could even go further in her acting career would be the understatement of the year. Right from the beginning Ariana Grande hits it out of the park with her powerful singing voice the notes she hits during “No One Mourns The Wicked” is absolutely striking and oozes with power, any doubt of Grande’s ability as an actress gets thrown out the window right at the moment. Throughout the film Grande really goes above and beyond to capture the spirit of Galinda and does such a masterful job at it, “Popular” is another grand moment for Grande the film does such a good job of comparing the personalities of Elphaba and Galinda throughout the film but this musical number and the Ozbust scene (more on that in a second) really shines. Grande brings this energizing spark to the film that really captures the land of Oz perfectly.

Together Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande bring this power that was absolutely needed to make the film work as well as it does, they go beyond expectations and even throw in their own style into the mix. One such example is during the Ozbust Elphaba and Galinda share an unforgettable beautiful moment that I believe to be the film’s heart. Before this we saw the two’s personalities challenge each other but here it’s when they collide and become friends…in a very beautiful way. The way the scene is done is just gorgeous, no dialogue besides the whispers of the crowd watching the two, they both move slowly and perform personal and beautiful movements that ultimately speak to one another. It’s a scene that admittedly made me tear up due to just how up close the camera is, the film is telling the viewer that this is a personal moment and wants you to experience it. The acting from Erivo and Grande gives us moments like this, “One Short Day” which is just oozing with energy and of course “Defying Gravity”.

The supporting roles from Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode and Jonathan Bailey are all fantastic. Marissa Bode has a lot of cute moments that are bound to warm your heart and Jonathan Bailey is just a lot of fun “Dancing Through Life” shows he’s quite a solid singer as well and really captures his character quite well.

The rest of the film is just a blast and it remains that way throughout the film, the choreography is energetic and as I said before everyone gets the chance to participate plus insert their own style into the mix. The film really captures the land of Oz quite beautifully with its production design, music and atmosphere. The atmosphere has this perfect balance of light and dark, the film isn’t overly too happy and it isn’t overly too dark either. It’s the perfect balance that makes the film speak for itself, all the build up is worth it to the grand finale when “Defying Gravity” plays. Even if you haven’t seen Wicked you probably have at least heard of the song or someone mention it. As I said earlier it’s a huge song that really does sum up Wicked a big and powerful piece that is booming and at times intimidating. Luckily that feeling is captured here, between all the events of the film coming together to the voices of Erivo and Grande mixing flawlessly it’s a sight that really wows you.

Overall Wicked is the definition of a crowd pleaser and one that has so much heart, it’s one of my absolute favorite films of the year! If you haven’t seen it already please do so!

Wicked is currently in theaters!

10/10 A+

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim (2024)

A sudden attack by Wulf, a ruthless Dunlending lord, forces Helm Hammerhand and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Helm’s daughter, Héra, must lead the resistance against a deadly enemy who’s intent on total destruction.

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim is directed by Kenji Kamiyama director of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999), Napping Princess (2017), a few Ghost In the Shell movies and a few others.

As someone who is a major fan of the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy and was overall very disappointed with The Hobbit trilogy (Desolation Of Smaug of grown to really like in recent years but it doesn’t touch the original trilogy still) I was all for an anime Lord Of The Rings film. This had the potential to be something really creative and even bring new ideas to the table, unfortunately that’s not what happened here. When Warner Bros said they only made this movie so that they can keep the rights to the franchise it definitely shows in this movie.

I will say that the score is quite fantastic, it has the Lord Of The Rings spirit there’s a mix of Howard Shore and new music that keeps the score interesting and beautiful. The score does a wonderful job of setting the mood and tone of the movie and actually does far more talking than the writing does for the characters. The animation a lot of the time is quite beautiful, I say a lot of the time because the character models have this weird hiccup where if they are far away they look like ragdolls with no face for some reason. But outside of that the detail is excellent and there’s some very beautifully done moments that do a solid job of capturing the many locations of the movie, especially towards the second half of the movie.

Everything else however is quite disappointing, the characters being a main offender. If you are going in expecting some great character development like the original trilogy then you are in for a disappointment. While the voice acting isn’t terrible (Brian Cox being the standout) the characters are very underwritten and are a prime example of show don’t tell. We are told things about these characters such as the main character Hera being “wild and free” but we never actually get to see that, instead we see that she’s traditional protagonist number 210. Hera’s brothers Hama and Haleth have no character development outside of being Hera’s brother, Fréaláf (Helm’s nephew) disappears for half the movie and by the time he reappears during the movie’s final act it’s almost over. King Helm while kind of a neat character at times and admittedly has a great final scene has the most sloppiest put together redemption arc I’ve seen in quite some time. Finally there’s Wulf our main villain and well he’s about as standard as you can get, very typical revenge story that really doesn’t say or do anything new.

The writing gives these characters no room to develop or have a unique identity, it’s all stock character traits that you have probably seen in countless movies. Which leads into another main issue….why was this a Lord Of The Rings film? There’s a cameo and a name drop during the final moments of the movie, how Helms Deep got its name (even then the movie does a terrible job of explaining that) and Miranda Otto returns to narrate. Outside of that I completely forgot this was supposed to be a Lord Of The Rings film, this felt much more like a very cliched fantasy film than a Lord Of The Rings film. It’s a very weird mishmash of trying to connect to the franchise and very cliched ideas that not even fans of the fantasy genre would enjoy.

It’s very weird saying “I don’t have much else to say” about a Lord Of The Rings film but that’s actually the case here The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim is a very nothing movie, we don’t learn anything new or interesting about Middle Earth all we get is a very messy cash grab (considering how bad this movie is bombing currently it’s not even good at that.) By far the most disappointing movie of the year.

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim is currently in theaters.

4/10 D+