Suzume blends reality and fantasy masterfully.

A modern action adventure road story where a 17-year-old girl named Suzume helps a mysterious young man close doors from the other side that are releasing disasters all over in Japan.

Going into Suzume I knew very little outside of Makoto Shinkai being the director who’s previous work is very impressive particularly Weathering With You and Your Name both of which are very fantastic films. Suzume continues to show how incredible Shinkai is as a filmmaker and really surprises the viewer as well.

The voice cast are all fantastic here and really deliver some very beautiful moments especially during the final act of the film, what makes the film standout quite a lot is that it pulls you in fantasy combined with some coming of age and road trip movie elements. But then slowly starts to introduce some reality type of elements such as losing a loved one, by that point the film has pulled you in making the viewer be treated to some very crushing scenes that are filled with emotion.

As always when it comes to Makoto Shinkai’s work the animation is absolutely stunning, it’s a combination of reality and this dreamlike world that takes the viewer on an adventure while never letting go. There’s so much detail to the animation and the character’s as well that really bring the film together and only bring the viewer closer to the characters.

There’s many creative ideas here that are very well developed, Shinkai takes ideas or plot points we are familiar with such as the road trip premise or the coming of age genre and completely makes it his own. We also get to meet several characters even if some of them aren’t in the film for very long, the humor and Suzume’s interactions with the characters makes up for that. When the film reaches it’s final act it starts to introduce a lot of hard hitting themes that can be very relatable to the viewer and is quite a beautiful way to bring the film together.

The film has the theme of struggling with loss, how we cope with loss and that letting go can be okay, Suzume as a character goes through this and is absolutely well written. She’s a character that easily connects to the viewer mainly due to just how masterfully written she really is.

Overall Suzume is a beautiful blend between fantasy and realistic elements that all come together to create a beautiful film.

Suzume is available in theaters.

10/10 A+

Kids vs. Aliens has heart but lacks the writing and character development.

With Gary and Samantha’s parents out of town on Halloween weekend, a rager of a teenage house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing the siblings to band together to survive the night.

Kids vs. Aliens is a movie I really wanted to like because there was clearly a lot of effort and talent put into it, plus it does have that classic low budget feel that’s incredibly charming. However there’s a ton of problems here that really don’t do the movie any favors.

The gore is a lot of fun and there’s truly some pretty gnarly kills that are highly entertaining, the acting is overall not bad (some performances are much better than others) and the last half of the movie is quite entertaining that does throw in a few surprises that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming. The last half is where the movie truly finds it’s footing and manages to grab the viewer’s attention.

Unfortunately for this movie it’s only 75 minutes long which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but in this case it doesn’t benefit the movie when you take a look at the first half of the movie, it’s on the bland side and takes way too much time on establishing the character’s relationships with one another. Again not necessarily a bad thing but the characters in the movie range from being very poorly written to incredibly forgettable.

It is a shame because Kids vs. Aliens does have heart and it definitely seemed like that the production was a lot of fun, but the movie really doesn’t leave the viewer with very much and really wanting a lot more from it.

Kids vs. Aliens is available on Shudder.

5/10 C

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a charming and heartfelt adventure.

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic, but their charming adventure goes dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

Before I start it should be noted that I have next to no knowledge about Dungeons & Dragons, I only know it by name and that they made three previous garbage movies based on it.

Anyway Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves I guess sort of serves as a reboot to the three movies I just mentioned. Dungeons & Dragons (2000), Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath Of The Dragon God (2005) and Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012) were a trilogy of movies that came out and well they were pretty bad, so fast forward to 2023 and there’s finally a solid Dungeons & Dragons movie?

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is definitely a huge surprise, there’s a lot going for it here and you would think would not work all that well but mainly due to the cast and a lot of the classic fantasy elements, there’s so much that works here.

The cast is quite strong here in particular Chris Pine, Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis are really solid. They all work well together and bring a charming and this sweet type of atmosphere to their group that you can’t help but smile at, Edgin Darvis’s (played by Chris Pine) story might not be anything new especially when it comes to the fantasy genre. However what does make it standout is how it’s done, it’s a sweet and heartfelt story that makes you really care for Edgin and want him to succeed on his quest.

The action scenes are quite well done, they aren’t going to break any new ground but there is absolutely no denying that they are filled to the brim with energy and really gets the viewer excited as well. The major thing I am pretty surprised they did pretty well with was the thing that I was mostly scared was going to take up most of the movie…the humor, the movie actually does a fairly decent job at balancing the humor and the character moments.

There’s some genuinely funny dialogue here that actually works quite well and adds to the overall sweet and heartfelt atmosphere of the movie, the one liners do get old but luckily they aren’t enough to stop Honor Among Thieves from being a genuinely fun time.

While Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves won’t break any new ground in the fantasy genre, it does offer something truly fun and very charming.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves releases March 31st in theaters.

7/10 B

Matilda: The Musical is a fun little movie.

Matilda, an extraordinary girl armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand against her oppressive parents and head teacher to change her story with miraculous results.

Honestly the more I thought about Matilda: The Musical the more I actually thought it wasn’t too bad. There really isn’t a whole lot to say here as it does play out as expected, but I will say between the performances that are actually pretty decent particularly Lashana Lynch and Emma Thompson who both give really fun and very strong performances. Emma Thompson really captures what made Miss Trenchbull so terrible from the original film really well, there’s also the music that’s actually quite great. The music isn’t really my cup of tea but I absolutely won’t deny that it’s very enjoyable and did get me to sing-along at times (outside of the baffling opening), the movie does run for a bit too long it clocks in for nearly 2 hours where at times you really do feel like the movie has run for a bit too long. Having that said the music, performances and some of the jokes are enough to keep the viewer entertained, this isn’t going to be something I’ll ever come back to but it’s an overall decent watch.

Matilda: The Musical is available on Netflix.

7/10 B

Slumberland is a bland fantasy adventure.

A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.

I wish there was a lot to say about Slumberland a $150 million dollar budget Netflix original directed by Francis Lawrence, but to be quite honest there really isn’t. The movie at least looks a bit more appealing to the eye when compared to Red Notice and The Gray Man, but that’s mainly due to the fantasy elements here that actually do give the movie some sort of life. Jason Momoa puts on a very different type of performance here that is genuinely charming, Marlow Barkley also gives a charming performance as well, for a Netflix child actor performance this is definitely one of the better ones. The main issue comes in story wise where it plays out way too similarly to a lot of fantasy movies, the whole “person discovers a new land full of creatures” has been done far better before, what’s very unfortunate here is Francis Lawrence’s direction is just nonexistent here, maybe it’s because this is entirely different from what he usually does but a lot of what makes his direction interesting is just not here. The raw emotions in Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 2, the strong chemistry in Water For Elephants, the sense of building a strong atmosphere in I Am Legend and so on. It often times looks like the movie is going to try and do something interesting but quickly goes back to playing it way too safe. Every now and then you get some charming moments with Momoa and Barkley but otherwise this is very forgettable and definitely overstays it’s welcome with a nearly 2 hour running time. Overall despite my many complaints Slumberland isn’t exactly terrible it’s rather forgettable and just sits there as another addition to the forgettable Netflix movie pile.

Slumberland is available on Netflix.

5/10 C

The School Of Good And Evil is another bland Young Adult adaption.

Best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides of an epic battle when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where aspiring heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance between good and evil.

I like that Paul Feig is continuing to try and tackle different genres instead of sticking with comedy, because he did a surprisingly excellent job with A Simple Favor, so I was a bit curious what he was going to do with The School for Good and Evil, long story short this movie is complete and total mess, this is what you would get if you took every young adult adaption movie from the early 2010s and blended them together. You would get this directionless Frankenstein monster of a movie that has no idea what it’s trying to do, Michelle Yeoh is the standout here and she’s pretty much shelved throughout the movie. Getting very little screentime compared to everyone else, speaking of which everyone else does an okay job. There aren’t any flat out bad performances but there aren’t any good ones either, a lot of them are just there and I guess get the job done. The writing is filled to the brim of melodrama, typical young adult movie cliches and very weak world building. Lastly there’s Paul Feig’s directing style that really doesn’t do anything for the movie, there’s attempts to throw in some comedy but it’s more of that young adult movie adaption humor that is often dull. Lastly what really seals the movie’s fate is the pacing combined with the running time why this movie was 2 hours and 27 minutes I will never know. But it did not do the movie any favors at all, the pacing was truly dreadful and the build up was just not worth the end result.

The School Of Good And Evil is available on Netflix.

4/10 D+

Mona Lisa and The Blood Moon is an entertaining ride.

When a struggling single mother befriends a mysterious woman who has supernatural powers, she sees a lucrative opportunity to make some fast cash. However, their crime spree soon draws unwanted attention as the cops start to close in.

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is an interesting little movie, that while story wise it really isn’t anything special it makes up for it with a lot of other elements that go together quite nicely. The cinematography combined with the setting of New Orleans is truly a lot of fun and adds to the movie’s overall atmosphere, the performances are overall pretty solid particularly Jeon Jong-seo and Kate Hudson who have great chemistry and really steal every scene they are in together. Craig Robinson is also a fun addition as well, the direction from Ana Lily Amirpour (director of The Bad Batch and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) is really fantastic here, we get more character development than we usually would when it comes to films like this. There’s some character driven moments that are very investing and really drag the viewer into the film, Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon might be Amirpour’s weakest film mainly due to the story feeling a bit too recognizable, but it’s still a very entertaining movie that I do recommend giving a watch, it’s a solid introduction to her work.

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Monster High: The Movie…is a Descendants clone

When Clawdeen begins attending Monster High, she discovers a devious plot that would not only destroy her school, but it would also reveal her half-human, half-werewolf identity.

Oh man what is there to say here? I’m clearly not the target audience and I’m sure there’s kids out there who will like this fine enough, but this whole movie seems like Nickelodeon saw what Disney was doing with The Descendants and Zombies then tried to be exactly like that. Even though Monster High is based off of the fashion doll franchise from Mattel, it comes off as a horrible Descendants and Zombies clone. The only positive I can really give this movie is the cast were at least trying their hardest with what they were given, everything else from the songs that aren’t particularly memorable, the writing and the shoehorned villain makes for a bad kid’s movie that is a chore to sit through.

Monster High: The Movie is available on Nickelodeon and Paramount+

1/10 F

Hocus Pocus 2 is about the same as the first movie.

Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.

Hocus Pocus 2 finally releases after several years of the being on those “sequels that should have been a thing by now but haven’t” lists, there’s honestly not a whole lot to comment on here as Hocus Pocus 2 is about the same as the original. Which might be good for people who absolutely adored the first movie, I was never a huge Hocus Pocus fan it’s a fun little movie but that’s all it really was for me. Hocus Pocus 2 falls in the same line, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are still quite fantastic as the Sanderson sisters and are clearly having a blast, the entertaining atmosphere is still quite great and keeps a lot of the atmosphere from the first one, the flaws mostly come from the characters and the jokes really not being as strong, I get they wanted to put in the whole modern setting idea in the movie and at times it works. But other times it really mirrors what a lot of other movies do with this exact plot line, so it definitely leads to a lot of “seen that and it’s been done better before” type of moments. The overall message is charming enough and there’s some cute moments towards the end that did put a smile on my face, there’s definitely some level of charm that went into this movie that can be appreciated. It just falls a little short of being a little too identical to the first movie.

Hocus Pocus 2 is available on Disney+

5/10 C

Medusa has a lot of themes but falls short.

A gang of young women in Brazil try to control everything around them, including other women, by roaming the streets and beating up those they deem too sinful.

There’s definitely a lot going on here thematically with Anita Rocha da Silveira’s Medusa, there’s themes of beauty standards, physical and mental trauma for women and even some Greek mythology or tragedy Included as well. Unfortunately this is the type of movie where those themes aren’t explored all that well, the filming and visuals are at least quite captivating and at times hypnotic as well. There’s some solid acting bits here that give the characters some personality and give them time to shine. The main problem here is the running time it’s 127 minutes long, which you would think would give it more time to explore it’s themes. However it somehow ends up being very surface level at best and drags for the sake of dragging, the writing is nowhere near as strong as the movie thinks it is. It introduces themes, does a little bit with them and then moves on to the next idea. Medusa is definitely not a terrible movie as it is very well made but this is the very definition of style over substance.

Medusa is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C