Looking Back at the Films of 2023 Part Six - Elemental & Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

 

It's that time again. So let's get to it.

Why Didn't I See Elemental?

It was mainly because the movie simply didn't look interesting. From what I saw from the trailers and commercials, it just looked like another _____ with feelings movie.

What is Elemental?

Elemental is an animated romantic comedy-drama movie, that was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Elemental was written by Kat Likkel, John Hoberg, and Brenda Hsueh and directed by Peter Sohn.

The story is, there's a world inhabited by living elements of nature. One of these is a fire element named Ember, who is trying to save her father's store after an accident. She befriends a water element named Wade. Soon they make a pack to help save the store.

My Thoughts

The Good: I'll give it this, the animation is great.

The Bad: If there's one thing I can't defend, it's the world building. Other than a few creative things, it's mainly just elements living in New York. Not really dazzling considering we've had fairy tale creatures live in a real world setting, cars in a semi-real world setting, etc.

The Okay: One of the three decent things about the movie was the humor. There are some funny moments, but then there were times when I just couldn't even muster up a smile. Then there's the art style. Some characters look visually appealing, such as Ember and Wade, but sometimes there are characters that just didn't look good. I get it that because their are elements they don't have to human-like, but still. The last thing I'll touch on is the story. While the romance between Ember and Wade can be sweet a lot of times, the movie isn't exactly subtle about its topics. Water being in love with fire, is the filmmakers tackling interracial relationships, but the topics like that are similar to, once again, not very subtle. Because of that the movie will most likely be preachy for some.

Final Verdict: Okay.

Why Didn't I See Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken?

Simply put, this movie slipped under my radar. I mean, I kind of remember seeing TV spots here and there, but for the most part I kept forgetting about the whole thing.

What is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken?

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is an animated teen comedy movie, that was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken was written by Pam Brady, Brian C. Brown, and Elliot DiGuiseppi and directed by Kirk DeMicco.

The story is, teenager Ruby Gillman is trying to desperately fit in. Because of this desperation, she disobeys her mother's rule about going into the ocean, just so she can some sort of friends. Doing so, she learns there's more to her then she realized.

My Thoughts

The Good: One positive is the animation. Must like their rival [Pixar], there's no doubt that DreamWorks makes beautiful animated films. And with Ruby Gillman much like previous DreamWorks films, showcase this. I think the best was the underwater scenes. Those were beautiful. I also really enjoyed the humor. I especially loved Captain Lighthouse, he was hilarious. Then there's the art style. I liked it. It was very cartoony and had many good designs. Although I'm not the biggest fan of how some characters' eyes were so close to the bridge of the nose. But that's just a small nitpick, so just ignore that. It's not a valid criticism. The last bit goes to the villain, Chelsea. While I didn't find her to be the most sinister, she was a fun character. I also find funny how she is definitely an evil Ariel. And if say otherwise, look at the poster. She's caucasian, has red hair, and a mermaid. She's evil Ariel. Which is a pretty funny shot DreamWorks took at Disney.

The Bad: Nothing.

The Okay: Now I'm not gonna lie, you know where the story is gonna go. However, I always felt like even if people know where your story is gonna go, people will forgive that aspect as long as you provide a fun experience. And Ruby Gillman does that.

Final Verdict: Good.

Okay, that's all. Due come back on Saturday, Jun 29th, for my review of, A Quiet Place: Day One. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Amazing Spider-Man: If This Be My Destiny Review

 

Typically when I do these comic reviews it's because of a movie relating to comics is coming out. I did this with Spider-Verse, when Across the Spidee-Verse was coming out. And I did this with Flashpoint, when The Flash was coming out.

So what's the reason here? Why not? When I reviewed the previously mentioned comics people liked those, so I figured why not review this just to give my thoughts.

If This Be My Destiny was a 1965 storyline that can be found in the 1963 volume of The Amazing Spider-Man, within issues #31-33. The story arc was written by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and drawn by Steve Ditko.

The story is, it starts off with a typical day for Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, with fighting bad guys, figuring out who the Master Planner is, and attending his first day at his university. But when his Aunt May succumbs to a mysterious life-threatening illness, he must get the cure with the limited time he has. The only problem is the Master Planner has it.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

Now for me, I felt like the pacing was in the decent category. With issues thirty-one, we slow. Now I understand why Stan and Steve did that it was set up plot and character, but it still felt like things could've been quicker. Now issue thirty-two was pretty good, we breeze by, but in no way are we going to quick. This luckily carries on into the next issue.

• Positives

Now I'm more than likely gonna lose a lot comic fan credit for this but, I've never been the biggest fan of Steve Ditko's art. Not because I think it's bad, far far from actually. Ditko is without a shadow of doubt one of the greatest, and rightfully deserves to be called a legend. It's just my taste is different from everybody else's. But with If This Be My Destiny, I find this to be Ditko at his best. He's able to show Peter's emotional struggle both with and without the mask, primarily because of skill of display emotion through what kind of pose the characters are in. And I also want to praise Steve for his genius idea of this iconic moment.

When this moment was still in its early phase, Stan Lee himself at first thought this was only gonna be a couple of panels, but to his surprise Ditko stretched this moment out to page after page. According to Stan, he jumped up in triumph even though he wrote the thing.

Then we have the story. It's no wonder people believe this to be the top best story during the Lee & Ditko era of Amazing Spider-Man. Because it's fantastic. We've got Peter going through the ringer, in terms of psychologically, physically, and emotionally, a trope that would follow other Spider-Man stories throughout the character's history for better or worse. We've got drama what with us wondering if Peter will save Aunt May in time, and with him being pinned by that heavy machinery, which would demonstrate his never give up attitude. Even though other great stories would follow suit, this old school classic is one of the examples that show why we love The Wall Crawler.

While a lot of my favorite Spider-Man stories, are either ones Stan Lee didn't write or are ones I grew up with, primarily examples  being the J. Michael Straczynski run w/ John Romita Jr. as the artist or Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis, I absolutely love If This Be My Destiny. If I was for some reason only allowed to read this Spidey story and only this story, you'd hear no complaints from me.

My final rating is, A Must Read!

Okay this was a fun one. Come back on Thursday, Jun 27th, for part six of Looking Back at the Films of 2023. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Underrated Films - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

 

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a neo-noir black comedy crime film, partially based on the Brett Halliday 1941 novel, Bodies Are Where You Find Them. The film was produced by Silver Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was written and directed by Shane Black.

The story is, two-bit crook Harry Lockhart stumbles into an audition for a movie and after his remorse for a botched robbery is mistaken for method acting, he gets the part then finds himself in Hollywood. Soon, he's flung into a tangled, murderous conspiracy involving his childhood sweetheart and a hard boiled private eye.

Why It's Underrated

Like main cases with underrated films, they slip under the radar. This is a special case, because this is written and directed by Shane Black. The guy who wrote Lethal Weapon starring Mel Gibson Danny Glover, and directed by Richard Donner. And yes, the same Donner who did Superman with Christopher Reeve. So you'd think after writing a classic like that his movies would get more recognition. Criminally that's not the case.

My Thoughts

Let's start off with the performances. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer are spectacular together. Their chemistry is great and every scene between is just as entertaining as the last. Kilmer is awesome as the private eye Perry aka Gay Perry. I thought the character was an interesting character and his sarcasm was really funny. The there's Downey Jr. aka Harry Lockhart. This character can kind of be an idiot sometimes, but that almost makes him likable.

Then there's the mystery. I won't go into too much detail in case you're interested. Anyways, at first you think it's gonna be a clear case of somebody being murdered to cover up a big secret. But there's a lot of great twist that'll put a wrench in any of your theories.

Now for the humor. Again, won't go into spoilers in case you're interest is peaked. Now the movie does have fourth wall breaks, but they're done in a way where it doesn't feel like there's winking at the camera. But even if that's not happening, the film also has a tongue-in-cheek way of poking fun at the more hardboiled crime movies or novels. Though not in a mean spirited way, if you look into the production of this, along with Shane Black's filmography, he clearly loves crime and action flicks. So he was poking fun in a more fun way.

The last thing to praise is Shane Black's writing. Not only are his characters flawed and fun, but he also writes great dialogue in a that feels natural for the characters. But there's also the fact that he does a lot of creative things. For instance, in any other the movie, Harry would've met his love interest [Molly] simple because she's there for being an actress. But Shane took a more darkly hilarious route by having her make headline news, by not only stopping a home intruder and almost killing the guy, but also because a Hollywood producer saw the story, not only liked what happened but also thought she was very attractive. Now had I written this I definitely would've put the attractive thing in there, but that whole bit with the home intruder, I honestly never would've thought of that. So thankfully for the filmmakers it was Shane Black who wrote this, and not me 😆.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is not only a great crime film, but also very funny. I say if you find this for rent or streaming, give it a watch.

My final rating is, A Must Watch!

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Jun 20th, for a comic book review. That one will be, the Spider-Man storyline, If This Be My Destiny. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Inside Out 2 Review

 

Inside Out 2 is an animated coming-of-age movie and the sequel to 2015's Inside Out. It's produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Inside Out 2 is written by Kelsey Mann, Meg LeFauve, and Dave Holstein and directed by Kelsey Mann.

The story is, it's been one year since the events of the last movie, and Riley is now gonna start high school. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear think it'll be anything day on the job. But then they're given a curve ball when four new emotions show up.

Initial Reaction

Now while the movie was on my most anticipated list, I was still very skeptical. Mainly because only one of the initial writers came back, so with this new crew I was hoping for the best they do well, but not hold my breath too much. Then there's the fact the first is a masterpiece, and that's not a word a use loosely folks.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

There are two things that while still good in their own right, could've been better. One of those being the characters. Our usual emotions of Joy and co. are still pretty good and I liked how they all came together to prop each other up. The new emotions aren't bad by any means, but they didn't really do much. Anxiety had a really good story, the others not so much. I know Embarrassment gave Sadness a helping hand, but I'm drawing a blank on Ennui and Envy. Then there's the story. There's still a good message, and people can relate to the stress of being thirteen with puberty, starting high school, and trying to fit in. You can relate to that whether you're looking back at those days or you're an actual thirteen year old. The slight issue stems from a repeat. We've already saw Joy get kicked out of HQ and then having to find the way back. The only differences was some locations and instead of one emotion being with her [Joy], it was the rest of the gang.

Pros

Since it's a Pixar film, naturally the animation is great. You'll really appreciate the hard work that was put into it, even if you're not the biggest fan of the final product. And much like the first, the humor was good as well. Not all of it worked for me like it did for the first, but I still had a good time. Especially from my boy Anger, he was once again hilarious. The last thing I'll touch on is the cast, mainly the new members. The cast for the newer emotions were really great and they gave good performances. I especially give credit to Maya Hawke as Anxiety, she was spectacular. There was also some recasting as well, one example being Tony Hale being the voice of Fear instead of Bill Hader. But recast like that was barely noticeable, sure maybe there'll be a slip or two, but nothing too damaging. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if people forget those slip ups after the movie was over.

While the movie is flawed, I'm thankfully it's much better than what I was expecting. So if you wanna give it a watch, I say go for it.

My final rating is, Good.

Okay, I'm all done here. Come back on Monday, Jun 17th, for my Underrated Films review of, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at Inside Out (2015)

 

The sequel is only a day away, so let's look back at the first movie.

Inside Out is an animated coming-of-age movie, that's produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Inside Out was written by Peter Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley and directed by Peter Docter.

The story is, inside young Riley's head are the five emotions, those being Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness that control her and help her with her life. Things were pretty normal, but a move to a different city makes everything take a drastic turn.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

Just keep on scrolling.

• Positives

One pro is the animation. Considering this is a Pixar of course the animation is great, so I'll keep this as brief as possible. Not only is perfectly smooth and great movements to it, but the detailing is great. The emotions just aren't purely solid shapes, but whenever there's a close up on them, but there seems to what I want to say is pixels slightly hovering on them. That didn't really seem necessary but it's a nice touch.

Then there's the humor. This is a pretty funny movie even though it's handling a very serious subject matter. I think my favorite moments mainly came from Anger, he's hilarious. Not only is the physical stuff good, but there's also some good bits of dialogue too. Circling back to Anger, he has one good line being, "We should lock the door and scream that curse word we know. It's a good one!"

Now let's move onto the pacing. Yes usually animated movies are much shorter than live-action ones, but it almost felt like I just blew pass this movie without anything feeling rushed. That's a big accomplishment for any film to pull off, animated or not.

The last thing I'll praise is the story. Let's start off by saying how this is one of the few Pixar movies where's there's no villain. Although, Joy did get on my nerves. Not because she's annoying or anything. The reason is because she's was being very misguided. Her reasons are pure and unlike villains she does learn from her mistakes. So while you might be disappointed in her, it makes it so satisfying when she comes to terms with the fact she can't always have Riley be joyful 24/7. Which is a perfect segway to the next part of the story. There's one negative emotion that at first was pushed to the background, and treated as a detriment to Riley. But we taught something simple but something we should all know. Sometimes a negative emotion is needed and can be helpful. Cause when you bottle everything up, it's only gonna cause more problems. Again, simple, but something we should know.

I love Inside Out. It is truly a great film and one of Pixar's top flicks.

My final rating is, A Must Watch!

That's all. Come back on Saturday, Jun 15th, for my review of Inside Out 2. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Superman (2025) - Superman (1978) Review

 

Next year we'll be getting a brand new Superman movie, and what better way to prepare than reviewing what came before. Now the movie is still a year away and typically I do these when there's only a few months left. Well this Road to is gonna be very different, because I've got a couple of surprises along the way. But enough of that, let's begin.

Superman (technically called Superman: The Movie) is a comic book movie based on the iconic DC Comics' character, Superman. It was produced by Dovemead Ltd. and International Film Production and distributed by Warner Bros. Superman was written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton and directed by Richard Donner.

The story is, after his home planet Krypton was sadly destroyed, Kal-El was sent to Earth and raised by two loving farmers. Now going by the name Clark Kent he soon finds out who he is and becomes Superman. What he doesn't know just yet is Lex Luthor is plotting to kill him.

• Negatives

Now your issue or issues with this movie are gonna be much different from mine, but my biggest issue is the time travel. You know the one. Where Superman is flying around the Earth so fast that he reverses its rotation and that somehow made him travel back in time. I'm sorry, but regardless of this movie's rightfully iconic status, that part is just indefensible. Especially since it raises questions like "If he time traveled shouldn't there be two Supermans?" or "What's stopping him from doing this again?" etc. I'll always love this but I just can't get behind that part.

• Mix

I've got nothing.

• Positives

Now with that gripe out of the way let's get to the good stuff. Starting with John Williams' score. I really don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said. His Superman theme will forever be iconic. When the opening credits start rolling I can't help but hum along.

Then there's Christopher Reeve's performance. Once again, what hasn't already been said about this aspect of the film? Reeve was just spectacular. Whether he had to give it his all, or just by doing something simple as straighting his shoulders, Reeve knocked it out of the park.

Let's move on to the special effects. While some did look a little iffy in some areas, for a majority of the time there really good. To this very day, whenever Superman is flying it still looks flawless.

The last thing I'll praise is the story. Now we still do get your superheroic action, that's not the film's primary focus. For a large portion of the flick, we mainly focus on character development. Mostly Superman's journey of self-discovery. Him finding out where he came from, what was his first home, grappling with what he should do with his powers, who should he be, or his growing romance with Lois. Again, I love the action, but it's the focus on character that appreciate more.

While I'll forever have that one issue in mind, I will still love this film. It's a staple of not only comic book movies, but a staple of cinema as well.

My final rating is, Great.

What a fantastic start to this Road to. Having said that, come back on Thursday, Jun 13th, for my A Look Back at review of, Inside Out. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die Review

 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is an buddy cop action-comedy film, the sequel to Bad Boys for Life as well as the fourth movie in the series. It was produced by Columbia Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Westbrook Studios, and 2.0 Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Bad Boys: Ride or Die is written by Chris Bremmer and Will Beall and directed by Adil & Bilall.

The story is, Detectives Mike Lowery and Martin Burnett feel like there living the best life. That soon changes when their late Captain is posthumously accused of working with the Romanian mafia. To make matters worse, the two are set up and branded fugitives. Now, they must work outside the law to clear their former Captain's name and solve the case.

Initial Reaction

Having being surprised with the third movie, I was wondering what the fourth was gonna be like. And that's pretty much it, no deeper thought or anything else.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

One mix feeling I had with the movie was Adil & Bilall's directing. Now I by no means think they're bad or anything, quite the opposite really. They are a very talented duo, but sometimes I just can't get behind some of there choices. Like there'll be close up here during a shootout scene or something odd like when Martin was talking about being late, but instead of him simply looking at his watch, we got the POV from the watch's perspective. It's not a bad idea, it just looked odd. Then we have the story. Now connecting the pieces to how Captain Howard is involved with the mafia was pretty good, but where the story losses steam is when we go on some side missions here and there.

Pros

One pro was the humor. I liked a lot of the jokes here and there, and while some were misses for the most part it worked. Oh and if any of you are worried, calm down, there's no joke about Will Smith slapping people. Then there's the action. While I'll still love what Michael Bay did for the first two Bad Boys movies, I have grown to like what Adil & Bilall are doing. It's violent just as much as it is fun. The last thing I'll touch upon is Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's chemistry. Once again they're fantastic together. But what I liked is this time around is the roles are switching from time to time. Will is still playing the badass, but times when he has to be the worried, while Martin is still worried, this time he can actually be the more chilled one. Yet even with a slight role reversal the chemistry is still strong.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die might have its issues, but it's still a fun time. So if you want some turn off your brain entertainment, try giving this a watch.

My final rating is, Good.

Alright that's all. Come back on Monday, Jun 10th, for the Road to Superman (2025), it starts with the 1978 classic starring Christopher Reeve also simply titled Superman. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at The Boys - Season 3

 

With season four on the way, it's time to look back at season three.

The Boys is a comic book web show based on the Garth Ennis comic book series of the same name. It's produced by Amazon Studios, Sony Pictures Television, Kripke Enterprise, Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, Kickstart Entertainment, and  KFL Nightsky Productions and distributed by Amazon Studios. The Boys was developed by Eric Kripke, and this season consist of eight episodes.

The story is, it's been one year since the event with Stormfront, and The Boys are now working with Victoria Neuman and her Bureau of Superhero Affairs to capture problematic Supes. But this seemingly peaceful days are soon gone when something from Neuman's past comes back, which soon leads to The Boys investigating the supposed death of Vought's first superhero, Soldier Boy. Meanwhile, Homelander continues his decent into insanity.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

The biggest mix bag lies in the writing. The story started off really good, but then just went to being okay by the end. The one of two reasons being Hughie's story. Basically Billy Butcher was giving a serum called Tempt V, this drug gives you superpowers for 24 hours. Now what the writers were trying to do was making it look like Hughie was becoming the new Butcher. The problem however is the people criticizing him was the other members of The Boys (those being MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko) and Starlight. Now the other members of The Boys can't act all high and mighty because they're not good people, they've got lots of blood on their hands. I get maybe that's why, because they know what it's like going to dark places, but the execution was just a miss. Then there's Starlight. She has done some shady stuff herself but Hughie does this one thing and she treats it like he immediately turned into a different person. What also made this frustrating was she criticized Hughie for teaming up with a murder [Soldier Boy], yet she's worked with Kimiko. A character who's murdered God only knows how many people. There's also the fact she saw her ex's corpse (take a wild guess who killed him), so you'd think she'd want Hughie to have some sort of edge to keep himself safe. So because of this poor execution MM, Frenchie, Kimiko, and Starlight all looked like hypocrites.

Then there's the comedy. Now don't get it twisted, there were just plenty of funny moments. But where it falls is when they tackle politically correct stuff. At one point they make fun of it, by showing how it's commercialized pandering (which it is), but then the show it's self will treat this stuff seriously. So you're left wondering which is it? Is being woke just for good PR & companies don't actually believe this stuff (answer, yes & yes) or should you be part of "the cause"?

• Positives

Now there is some positives, one of those being the fight scenes. While I don't find them mind blowing, that didn't change the fact they were really entertaining. There's one really fun fight between Soldier Boy, Butcher, Hughie and Homelander, and it's really awesome.

Then there's Soldier Boy. He was a great addition to this season. He's got some pretty funny lines like "First off, I don't have shell shock. F*ck you". But he was also a really good anti-villain. What that means is it's a villain who has a drive to do things that isn't about causing chaos for the sake of chaos. In Soldier Boy's case, sure he does want to be the hero, but it's mainly driven by ego rather than doing the right thing.

The last thing I'll praise is the performances from Anthony Starr, Karl Urban, and Jensen Ackles. While Karl is still playing the charismatic badass, he also did a great job showcasing Butcher's more saddened side, and some of his characters regretful moments. Jensen gave the perfect balance to Soldier Boy's comedy bits and his more serious moments, I especially loved his acting during those moments. Then there's Anthony Starr. This guy needs to be in the next big blockbuster, or at least some big named movie. He's great! He has this one scene where Homelander is talking to himself in front of a mirror, and I got chills watching it, even though I saw that scene twice before.

While I didn't hate this scene, I do believe it's the weakest so far. I'm hoping season four is better, but considering they're doing an election storyline, I'm a bit worried. Worried but, still hopeful.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Jun 8th, for my review of Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.