How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Review

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (aka Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas) is a 2000 Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film, based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. The movie was produced by Imagine Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was written by Jeffery Price and Peter S. Seaman and directed by Ron Howard.

The story is it's once again time to celebrate Christmas down in Whoville. However, not everyone is pleased, that one unhappy person being the Grinch. After a couple of attempts to try to get along with the Whos, the Grinch sets out to ruin Christmas for everyone. But maybe, just maybe a little girl named Cindy Lou Who might just change his mind.

• Negatives

The only complaint I have for the film is we don't get a reason as to why the Grinch hates Christmas. Yes there's those flashbacks to his school years, but prior to that we're shown he hated the holiday then. So did he always hate, or was when everyone made fun of him? Don't know.

• Mix

I've got nothing. Let's just move on.

• Positives

One thing I loved about the movie is the humor. There were two times I didn't laugh, but for like 99% of the time I was having a great time with the comedy in this. Mostly with some of the Grinch's dialogue. Hell, there's even some amazing adult jokes thrown in there, and it actually works.

Since I brought up the Grinch, let's talk about him....he's awesome. He was still doing what he did in the book and then some. But what also makes me love this version, is the fact that he's so proud of all of his childish antics. Makes for an entertaining comedic villain.

What also makes the movie work is the performances from Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen. Jim was perfectly cast as the Grinch, and his acting ability really shined through even with all of that makeup on him. And I don't know why Stinkers Bad Movie Awards nominated her for "Worst Supporting Actress" during the movie's initial run, because she was actually really good. She made Cindy Lou Who a likable and sweet character.

The last thing I'll give the movie credit for is it actually does keep with the source material. Yes there was stuff added, but the most important part is that they kept the message from the book. In matter of fact, when the Grinch actually starts stealing Christmas and the Whos learn the important part of Christmas, it's just basically the book brought to life.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is actually and I'm not scared to admit it, one of my favorite Christmas movies, and I always look forward to it whenever it's shown on TV. It has great humor, the Grinch is hilarious, the performances from Carrey and Momsen were one of the greatest things about the entire film, and it still does keep the message in tact. The only downside is despite what was shown, or what the movie wants us to believe, we still don't know why the Grinch hates Christmas.

My final rating is Great.

Well everyone, that's it. This is my final post for 2021. And what a year. I got to see Nicolas Cage tear apart evil animatronics, witness the Snyder cut, see Godzilla and Kong duke it out, see what happens when Zack Snyder tackles an army of the undead, enjoy some crazy action from the Fast & Furious series, watch Chris Pratt save the future, believe in the power of the Blue Shirt Guy, have my mind blown from the absolute craziness from a brand new James Wan horror flick, see Michael Myers be a complete murder machine, be completely awestruck from Dune, have some laughs with the Ghostbusters, and last but not least, relive some nostalgia with Spider-Man.

I'm looking forward to the films of next year. So I hope you all have a great New Year's party, and wish you nothing but good luck for 2022. See ya then.

Don't Look Up Review

 

Don't Look Up is a satirical science fiction film. The movie is produced by Hyperobject Industries and distributed by Netflix. Don't Look Up is written by Adam McKay and David Sirota and directed by Adam McKay.

The story is two low-leveled astronomers named Randall and Kate have discovered that an asteroid is heading towards Earth. Just to make matters worse, the asteroid will be arriving in only six months. Now Randall and Kate set off a to warn everyone about the oncoming threat.

Initial Reaction

What drew me into the movie was yes, the cast, but also Adam McKay. He's made a lot movies that I really enjoyed. Such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and so many other flicks. So when I heard his name was attached to this project, I was hooked.

Cons

One of the biggest problems with Don't Look Up is it's not engaging. Somehow the filmmakers made an asteroid hurtling towards Earth and trying to warn everyone, seem boring. I understand the movie wasn't trying to be this crazy heart pounding adventure flick, but still make it seem interesting. You can make a slow story work with the proper build up, but that wasn't here. What also made this feel like a chore was the pacing. It's honestly a mess. One point it wants a slow build up, then it wants to be fast moving, then we're back to slow again. Someone really should've told the filmmakers about this problem, then maybe the film could've been some what better. Then there's the editing. I don't know what Adam McKay was thinking when he saw this, but wow. One moment we could be focused on the characters, then we'll get a shot of their arms being crossed, then back to them talking. If that wasn't distracting enough they also used stock footage. I wish I was making that up, but no. They actually did that.

Middle Ground

One gray area with the movie is the humor. There are times when it actually works. Other times you just roll your eyes. Like okay I did laugh quite a lot when they showcased the politicians being greedy idiots, but that did run it's course pretty fast. The other mix feelings I had was Adam McKay's directing. He did truly direct a beautiful looking movie, however I had a hard time to really enjoy it because of the editing.

Pros

The only aspect I'll really enjoyed was the performances. Even though the movie really isn't all that good, the people in front of the camera did a really good job. Which does somewhat help the overall product.

Honestly I can't get behind this movie. It's premise somehow isn't interesting, the pacing is awful, and I have no idea what's going on with the editing. The humor does work to some extent and while McKay's directing is very good, you can only enjoy a little bit. The only positive is the acting.

My final rating is Bad.

Much like The Matrix Resurrections this was a letdown. But I do wish for you to come back on Thursday, Dec 30th for my review of How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey. Yes, the holiday season is over, but I really want to review that one. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Matrix Resurrections Review

 

The Matrix Resurrections is a sci-fi action film and the fourth movie in The Matrix film series. The movie is produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Venus Castina Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Matrix Resurrections is written by Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, and Aleksandar Hemon and directed by Lana Wachowski.

The story is it's been many years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, and things are rather....odd. Neo is back to living a normal life and is going by Thomas Anderson again and his now a video game developer, to make things even more strange Trinity seems to be alive, but they both don't recognize each other. Later someone claiming to be Morpheus offers him the red pill, and Neo not only rediscovers the Matrix, but also learns of a new enemy.

Initial Reaction

Now I've been a fan of The Matrix series ever seen my sister showed me the first movie a couple of years ago. Since then, whenever I feel like it or whenever it's on TV, I sit down and watch the movie. I even kind of liked the sequels. So when I heard a fourth one was coming out and Keanu was returning I was hyped. And I got even more so when the marketing finally kicked in.

Cons

One of the many big issues with the film is the meta commentary. It's really doesn't need to be eye. It got so meta, that I was just waiting for one or all of the characters to just turn and wink at the camera. Which really damages the film. Because whenever I think of the Matrix, I don't think of this self aware franchise. And it's really not that clever either. There's an entire montage scene where Neo and his fellow employees are developing a fourth video game for the Matrix (Yes. That's an actual thing in the movie), and you guessed it, they completely missed the point of the series. Yep. Definitely didn't see that one coming. Then we have the nostalgia. This bit of the movie quite literally could've been written out. It served no purpose at all. It's not like with Spider-Man: No Way Home, where they took all of the old characters and put them on a new adventure. Okay, there is a new adventure but, a lot of the times it's just recreating scenes. Like when Neo fights Smith, there are a lot of times when a move they've used in a previous fight, will be used in this current fight. Then we have the post-credit scene. Yeah we have those now. What was the point of that?! That scene had no reason to be here. What made it when worse was, it could've been put into the montage. So why was there a need to be here? I don't know.

Middle Ground

One mix bag was the action. It was fine, although it didn't have the same impact as the previous movies. There was also the special effects. A lot of the times there pretty good, other times it painfully obvious when CGI was used.

Pros

What really worked for The Matrix Resurrections was Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss. Their performances/chemistry really does somewhat prevent from giving this a lower rating. Lana also did a pretty good job directing this. There were a lot of shots that I really enjoyed.

The Matrix Resurrections is a huge let down. Because of the film's poor quality I'm not gonna be surprised, when people have a new found love for Reloaded and Revolutions. Cause with those movies you didn't have out of place meta stuff, easy to write out nostalgia, and a post-credit scene that'll make ya face palm. There was some decent action and special effects. While Lana's directing is good, it's really Keanu and Carrie-Ann that help the movie quite a bit.

My final rating is Bad.

Okay, that's going to do it for me. I hope you'll come back on Monday, Dec 27th for my review of Don't Look Up. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Sing 2 Review

 

Sing 2 is a 3D animated musical comedy film and the sequel to 2016's Sing. The movie is produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. Sing 2 is written and directed by Garth Jennings.

The story is it's been two years after the events of the first movie, and Buster Moon is now famous for his theatre. However, one talent scout named Suki says him and his cast aren't good enough and wouldn't even make it in Redshore City, a place claimed to be where stars are made. Taking up the challenge Buster and the gang head there, and along the way need help from a legendary rockstar who hasn't been seen in 15 years, Clay Calloway.

Initial Reaction

Being a fan of the first movie, I was really excited to hear that the filmmakers were working on a sequel. Although like with many other films, I was a little bummed out that it had to pushed around because of COVID-19. Thankfully it had a set date this year, and better yet I wasn't gonna miss because my local theater would be having a showing.

Cons

My only real issue with the movie was the gang thought about going to Redshore City WAY TOO QUICKLY. Buster Moon gets one negative comment about one of his shows, and that was enough to make him and everyone else go. I understand it [the comment] came from a talent scout and all, but I'm almost certain he heard much worse from the previous movie.

Middle Ground

Now we still do get some good character development from this just like the previous flick. Although here, I felt like some of the character's problems got solved a lot quicker than what they were put through last time.

Pros

Even though there was a slight issue with character development, overall I still liked these characters just as much as the first movie. Sure we have a villain, but you're supposed to hate him. I also do want to give credit to the actors and actresses. The cast from the first movie yet again did a fantastic job voicing their characters. But I'm also giving credit to newcomers such as Bobby Cannavale as Jimmy Crystal, Halsey as Porsha Crystal, Bono as Clay Calloway, and etc. The last thing I'll give the movie credit for is the animation. Once again it's spectacular. Especially during the final act when their doing their play. That whole sequence of events was definitely an upgrade when comparing to the last final performance.

Overall Sing 2 is a good sequel. What with likeable characters, a great cast, and wonderful animation. Character development is still there, but sometimes it's done just a little too quick. My only issue was we got to the city way too quickly. However, despite that, I think the good out weights the bad.

My final rating is Good.

So I'm all done here. Come back on Saturday, Dec 25th for my review of The Matrix Resurrections. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Mother/Android Review

 

Mother/Android is a science fiction thriller movie. The film is produced by Miramax and 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company and distributed by Hulu. Mother/Android is written and directed by Mattson Tomlin.

The story is the world is caught up in a war between man and A.I.'s. Because of this a couple must flee their country and go to a safe heaven, for not only their safety but their unborn child as well. Only God knows what kind of threats they'll face along the way.

Initial Reaction

What got me interested in the movie was not only the idea, but much like Project Power was Mattson Tomlin. Because again, he's an uncredited writer for Matt Reeves' The Batman, so I'm very curious about his other projects that aren't related to the film.

Cons

The movie's biggest issue and very much a well deserved complaint is there's not much world building. We barely get to know enough about it. We know a little bit here and there, but not enough to say, we have a complete picture.

Middle Ground

The mix bag was the characters. I thought they were okay. At the same time I wasn't fully invested. I mean if anybody died, yes it would be a shock, but not one were you go "No, not that person, I really loved them."

Pros

Now there are three good aspects to Mother/Android that prevent me from giving it one of my lower ratings. One of those aspects is Chloë Grace Moretz's performance. She was absolutely great in her role, as a pregnant mother just trying to survive long enough for her child to be born. And since I'm on the subject of her, let's talk about both her and her co-star Algee Smith. Their chemistry is another reason why I truly can't give the film such a low rating. Both of them are the true highlight of the movie. The last thing I'll give Mother/Android is there were a lot of good moments of intensity. There were scenes that I actually found myself in a very suspenseful mood, and was wondering how are our characters going to get out of their situations.

I do think Mother/Android is getting too much of a bad reputation. It's by no means an awful film. The main issue stems from a lack of world building. The characters are just okay. The things that really kinda of save the film in a way are Moretz's performance, her chemistry with Algee, and some very effective intense moments.

My final rating is Okay.

So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, Dec 23rd for my review of Sing 2. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Review

 

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a comic book movie, as well as a sequel to both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the 27th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is produced by Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures, and Pascal Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Spider-Man: No Way Home is written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers and directed by Jon Watts.

The story is after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker's life as both himself and Spider-Man has been nothing but an absolute mess. In order to get his secret identity back, Peter goes to Doctor Strange. However, Strange's spell goes wrong and villains from across the multiverse are coming to their world. Now Peter must put a stop to these sinister threats.

Initial Reaction

Being a Spider-Man fan I was looking forward to this. I had my doubts because the last Spider-Man movie (Far From Home), was just okay. However when started hearing news that they were brining back the old villains from the Riami and Webb films thus making this a big multiverse flick, I was pumped. Especially for Willem Defoe's Green Goblin. Absolutely loved that character.

Cons

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Middle Ground

One mix bag was the humor. There were some bits that really weren't needed, but unlike the last Spidey film, for a majority of the time I could pull through. Then we have the villains. There's instances where I felt like they weren't being as serious as they should be, but overall I thought they were fine.

Pros

One positive was Jon Watts' directing. Sure I liked what he did for Homecoming and Far From Home, here there was one shot where Spidey is standing in the rain, and thinking about recent events, and they way it looked looked beautiful. That was by far my favorite scene in the movie. Then there's the action. Especially during the third act. There's this one scene, where sure Peter is still putting up a fight, but throughout the whole thing he is just getting tossed around and basically just getting the crap beating out of him. Then we have the final battle. I really wish I could tell you more about, but it's a spoiler even though you probably know what it is. What I will say is I felt like a kid again. I really did. What I also liked about No Way Home was there was a lot more emotional weight in this than the first two. There's this scene where someone dies, it's handled extremely well. There's no joke or anything to ruin it. It's truly a dramatic scene. Then after Ned and Michelle after their scene, we're back with Peter and it's another great emotional moment.  This is something Marvel Studios really needs to do more of. Sure, you can still have your fun, but if you're going to do something with drama, actually make it count. Don't just be dramatic, then have a pause, then have a joke come in. What also made this movie worth checking out was the ending. It was very bitter sweet. I want to say more, but it goes into spoiler territory. So it's best left at that. The ending is bitter sweet. The last aspect I'll give credit for is the question the movie left me with, and that's, what happens next? The mid-credit scene gives kind of an idea, but with everything Peter's been through, what's his next step. Sure he's still Spider-Man, but after what he had Dr. Strange do, where will he go from here?

Spider-Man: No Way Home is by far Tom Holland's best Spidey film. Watts' direction was pumped up a notch, the action especially the later half was good, there's some good dramatic stuff this time around, I loved the bitter sweet ending, and I'm very curious where Tom's Spider-Man will go from here. The gray areas was with the humor and the villains.

My final rating is Good.

So yeah, give Spider-Man: No Way Home a watch. But that's all for me. Come back on Monday, Dec 20th for my of Hulu's Mother/Android. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

#ReleaseTheRaimiCut & #ReleaseTheWebbCut

Hi guys. So, I don't know if you noticed by I've been supporting a lot of fan movements. So much so that I've dedicated an entire post based on movements that could really use some love. Two of those were about the Raimi cut and the Webb cut. 

Not one, but two director cuts of famous Spider-Man movies that I've always wanted to talk about but never could really find the time to. But thankfully with Spider-Man: No Way Home coming out soon I've got just the perfect moment. So what are these cuts? Why should we care? Why should they be released? And what can we do? Well sit back and let me explain.

Part One - Who are Sam Raimi & Marc Webb?

Sam Raimi (left) and Marc Webb (right)

Before I tell you about the movies and their director's cuts, it's important to give a brief summary of said directors. Let's start off with Sam Raimi.

Sam Raimi is an American filmmaker who started his film career back in 1977, directing and writing (along side Scott Spiegel) the murder mystery flick It's Murder!. Which by the way he made that film while he was still college. He would gain a lot more attention in 1981, with his supernatural horror flick The Evil Dead. The success of that movie would later allow him to direct and write two more sequels, those being Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness.

But even then he didn't get anywhere near Spider-Man. He would go on to direct others movies such as Darkman, The Quick and the Dead, A Simple Plan, and The Gift. It wasn't until January of 2000 that it was announced that he would direct 2002's Spider-Man.

He would later direct the sequels those simply being called Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. However, after Spider-Man 3 he wouldn't be directing another comic book movie. Instead he give us the movies of Drag Me to Hell and Oz the Great and Powerful. It was only on Feb 5, 2020 that it was reported that he was in negotiations to direct the sequel to 2016's Doctor Strange. Weeks later he would accept the job of directing and at the time writing this, the film (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) is expected to be released on May 6, 2022.

Marc Webb is also an American filmmaker and is also a music video director. He started his career back in 1997, when he directed the music video for the band Blues Traveler and their song "Canadian Rose". He would later direct other music videos for bands such as 3 Doors Down, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Puddle of Mud, Maroon 5, Disturbed, and many others.

He didn't get his start in film until 2009 when the film 500 Days of Summer was released. It wasn't until Jan of 2010, that it was announced that he would be directing the 2012 film titled The Amazing Spider-Man, which served as a reboot to the Spider-Man film series, and a film that even he admitted was more Ultimate Spider-Man and less Steve Ditko.

Because of the success of The Amazing Spider-Man, this allowed him to come back to direct the sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But that film didn't do too well. It wasn't all bad for Marc though, he would later direct 2017's Gifted and The Only Living Boy in New York. And at the time of writing, he's currently working on a live-action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and a while back he signed a deal with ABC Studios.

Part Two - Some Things That Were Cut

Now I'm not gonna go into full detail about every little thing that was cut. What I am going to do is tell you about some of the scenes, that I think mattered the most. Then afterwards I'll explain why this scenes truly matter.

Spider-Man 3

Let's start off with some of the scenes that were cut from Spider-Man 3.

One scene that was cut was when Flint (Sandman) visited a doctor by the name of Phil Wallace. He told Flint that he would need more money to cure Penny (Flint's daughter). Which would've lead to him stealing it, and then that would've led us to the subway fight.

We would have also gotten a lot more stuff with Harry. One of those being him hallucinating about his father Norman. During which the ghost of Norman would've been saying to Harry, "Why haven't you killed Peter Parker?" and "He took me away from you."

There was also an alternate scene with Venom (Eddie Brock) asking Sandman for help. No information from what I could see was given of why this was cut.

Image from @WilliamD1123

Speaking of Eddie Brock/Venom, there would've been a scene where he would've gone to Gwen for some solace. However, Gwen doesn't want him in her life and tells him to leave.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

One of the biggest changes to the movie was the Harry Osborn/Green Goblin. During his transformation, his teeth were suppose to grown then shattered and we would've seen his nails grow longer.

Another thing about Goblin was he going to be way more violent than in the theatrical cut. After his transformation he going to kill Menken and then proceed to destroy the entire Oscorp building, and only spare one life, that life being Felicia (yes, that Felicia, the one that becomes Black Cat).

Then we have this scene. Basically after Gwen's death, Goblin would've laughed at Spider-Man, Spidey would've snapped, and nearly beat Harry to death. All of the scenes I mentioned were cut, because Sony wanted to keep Amazing Spider-Man 2 at a PG-13 level.

Part Three - Why These Scenes Matter

These scenes matter not only because it's the director's true vision, but they would've provided the films more substance. Our villains in both Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are clearly far more developed than they are in the theatrical cut. I know that Spider-Man 3 would've gotten a far batter critical response had those scenes with Venom and Sandman been intact. I don't know if the same could've been said about Amazing Spider-Man 2. The Amazing Spider-Man films do indeed have fans (me included), it's just for some reason that I just can't figure out people act like both the first and second movie are the worst things that could've happened to the Spider-Man franchise (because apparently storylines like the 90's Clone Saga, Sins Past, One More Day, and anything Dan Slott ever wrote never happened). However, maybe if those scenes were in Amazing Spider-Man 2 maybe the reviews wouldn't have been so harsh.

Part Four - The Rallying Cries

Artwork belongs to the artists, not me.

Now everyone and their grandma knows that when #ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a big thing (and would later be successful) this lead to a lot of other fans using similar hashtags.

Those are hashtags are of course #ReleaseTheRaimiCut and #ReleaseTheWebbCut. The reason why I brought this up is because it's quite shocking. I figured that since with Tom Holland's verison of Spider-Man swinging around in the MCU, nobody would really want to see anything with Maguire or Garfield ever again.

But it's clear that despite that, fans want to see more of these characters. And it's not just for director cuts either. In the wake of the #ReleaseTheRaimiCut and #ReleaseTheWebbCut, I've also saw tweets that are essentially spin-offs such as #WeWantSpiderMan4, #RestoreTheRaimiVerse, and #RestoreTheWebbVerse.

Part Five - What I Hope Will Happen

I think it probably goes without say but, I truly do hope the fans get what they want. Sony, Marvel, or whoever really should just let this happen. I mean if we can have multiple Batmen at the same time whether it's a solo movie (Robert Pattinson in The Batman) or appearing in someone else's film (Ben Affleck & Michael Keaton appearing in The Flash), then why can't we have multiple Spider-Men?

Of course, this also depends on if even the actors, actress, writers, and directors even want to do this as well. If this ever does happen and everyone I mentioned before is on board including making more movies, then I will be very happy.

But for now, only time will tell us what happens next.

So that's all for me. Come back on Saturday, Dec 18th for review of the much anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and remember, #ReleaseTheRaimiCut and #ReleaseTheWebbCut.

A Look Back at Sing (2016)

 

Sing is a 2016 3D animated musical comedy film. The movie was produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Sing was written and directed by Garth Jennings.

The story is a struggling theater owner named Buster Moon is tying his best to save his theater. His big idea is to hold singing competition, in the hopes that this will save his business. Along the way, we say not only how this competition is effecting him, but the contests as well. Can Buster save his dream theater or is everything just gonna blow up in his face?

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Mix

Now I fully agree that yes, this movie does go by the usual tropes and clichés they were probably expecting. However, I feel as though what really helped the movie and made us forgive those is that all of the good really did work for it. So even though, you know the clichés that doesn't you from having a good time with the film.

• Positives

One positive to Sing is the animation. It's very well done. The Moon Theater it's self is pretty good, because when we look at it, you truly feel as though that once was a building that was spectacular, but now has truly seen better days. Another spot where the animation shines is when our characters are dancing and really getting into the songs. There's quite a lot great movements going on for them.

What also worked for Sing was the cast. The voice actors did a great job with their characters. From Matthew McConaughey's optimistic Buster Moon to Scarlett Johansson's punk rocker Ash to Tori Kelly's shy Meena. All of them did a fantastic job and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them yet again in Sing 2.

Another thing I found enjoyable about the movie and it's one of it's biggest highlights and that's the characters. Even if they fill into a certain cliché we're given very relatable reasons as to why they're part of this competition. Some do it cause they like to sing or some do it cause they wanted something more in their lives. Witness this sort of thing from this movie really does make you hope that they get what they want.

The last thing I'll give the film credit for and it's another of it's big highlights and that is just a feel good experience. Even if I had seen the movie multiple times, I always have this good feeling in me afterwards. This experience along with the characters is why I really enjoy the movie even with it's flaws. And I think that's definitely worth getting either a good score or a pretty decent score for this movie.

Honestly Sing is one of my many favorite animated movies. Sure it does fall into the usual tropes, but what saves it from being so bad is the animation, the voice acting, the characters, and the overall feel good moments.

My final rating is Good.

So that's going to do it for me. I'm very much looking forward to Sing 2, I don't care if the trailer "give away the entire movie", I'm just excited. Anyhow, come back on Thursday, Dec 16th. Cause of that day I'm going to be talking about a certain Sam Raimi Spider-Man film and a certain Marc Webb Spider-Man film. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Review

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a computer animated comedy film based on the 2007 book of the same name. It also serves as a reboot of the live-action film series. The movie is produced by 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Color Force and distributed by Disney+. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is written by Jeff Kinney and directed by Swinton Scott.

The story is Greg is a scrawny yet ambitious kid with big dreams. However, if he wants to achieve these dreams first he's gotta survive middle school. Greg is going to go on quite a journey about how to get through both this hilarious and disastrous stage of his life, and truly accept himself.

Initial Reaction

I was very curious about this movie since it was announced. Cause in all honest, despite what the critical reception was I was never impressed with the live-action movies. They always looked like tv movies to me, only with a bit more of a budget. So, when I heard and saw this new animated movie I had much higher hopes. Especially since the writer of the books, Jeff Kinney was going to be writing this verison of the series.

Cons

Now this criticism is nothing new, but I fully agree about the runtime complaint. This movie really would've benefitted had the runtime been 20 maybe 25 minutes longer. Because of the current runtime we have, a lot of stories got resolved really quick.

Middle Ground

One gray area with the movie is the humor. I did chuckle and giggle had a couple of scenes and lines. But there were also some moments when I didn't laugh at all. The other mix bag is the voice acting. It's nothing that I really found bad, not by any means, but the actors/actress really should've been told to put just a bit more emotion in their roles. The last thing I'll touch upon in this section is the animation. Honestly, it's not bad in my opinion, it does take some time to get used to though. Like I said, it's not awful, I've seen animated movies with WAY worse animation than this film.

Pros

One pro I gotta give the movie is that you can relate to it. You can relate to the pressure of having to go from one grade of your school to getting to a grade where things get a lot more crazy. And you can also relate to the fact that you and your best friend got into an argument, and in the end find a way to become friends again. The last thing I'll give credit for is the faithfulness. This movie really did adapted the book a pretty good manner.

Overall Diary of a Wimpy Kid is just alright. To me, it should be by no means labeled the worst movie of 2021. You can relate to it and it was faithful to the book. Where the movie should improve for the upcoming sequel so they can improve, is work on the humor, the acting, and bump up the quality of the animation. The only thing that really hurts the movie is the runtime.

My final rating is Okay.

Well that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Dec 13th for my A Look Back at review the 2016 animated feature, Sing. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.