Welcome back to yet another edition. Let's get to it.
Why is Killers of the Flower Moon Here?
So if any of you know how this works then you know I put these movies in the month they were released. Well the reason why Killers of the Flower Moon is here instead of in Oct is because I made a mistake. I thought it came in November but then I saw it came out in October. So instead of just canceling a review for it, I decided to move it with the rest of the movies.
Why Didn't I See Killers of the Flower Moon?
Well I was hoping to review this but sadly I couldn't because my local theater wasn't gonna have a showing until much much later. So I wasn't gonna get my chance to review while it was fresh.
What is Killers of the Flower Moon?
Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic western crime drama movie, based on David Grann's 2017 book of the same name. Paramount Pictures and Apple Original Films did distribution, with production being handled to Apple Studios, Imperative Entertainment, Sikelia Productions, and Appian Way Productions. The screenplay was written by Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth with Martin Scorsese also directing.
The story is, it's 1920s Oklahoma and there's been numerous murders of the Osage natives. Theses series of murders of attracted the attention of the FBI. As they investigate, they go down a spiral of greed.
My Thoughts
The Good: Let's start off with the performances. Mainly from Robert De Niro, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Lily Gladstone. Robert was perfect at playing with the role of William King Hale. He nailed it as this guy who was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. Dicaprio is supposed to be this very conflicted man even though it's very clear he's a bad guy. And Lily was outstanding as Mollie. Her role is this woman who is blinded by love, and Lily really makes you feel sympathetic towards Mollie. Then there's Scorsese's directing. The guy is in his 80's and he still hasn't missed a beat when being behind the camera. He made a beautifully dark looking film. The last thing I'll praise is the story. Now we still do get a brilliantly told crime story. It's a sad story cause even though the ones responsible were caught, sadly many people died and the story, the real one, was lost to history for the longest time. But Martin also said how it's a love story, and it is in a sense. However it's not feel good romantic, it's tragic. Because like I said people are so blinded by love that they can't see what's right in front of them.
The Bad: The only downside was the runtime. This movie is three hours long and it feels like it. I started to feel that long runtime within an hour into the movie.
The Okay: None.
Final Verdict: Great!
Why Didn't I See Godzilla Minus One?
Well my theater did have a showing when the movie made it's debut in the states, but I was so busy with other stuff in my life that sadly Godzilla had to take a backseat...oh well. Sometimes that's life for ya.
What is Godzilla Minus One?
Godzilla Minus One is an epic kaiju movie, being the 37th film in the franchise, the 33rd Toho Godzilla movie, and the fifth installment to the Reiwa era. Toho Studios and Robot Communications produced while Toho distributed. The film was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
The story is, it's postwar Japan a former kamikaze pilot is suffering from PTSD from not just the war but from a giant terrifying monster. Very soon, all of Japan will share his fear when Godzilla rises and brings havoc to the nation.
My Thoughts
The Good: Oh I got a lot of positive things to say, starting with the directing. I'm gonna be honest I've never seen any of Yamazaki's previous work, but I will say he did a fantastic job here. He shot a beautifully made movie, I loved the whole look and everything. Then we have the performances. Now naturally I had to watch this with subtitles cause I can't speak Japanese even if my life depended on it, but even if I had to watch with subtitles that didn't change the fact I could see the fantastic job done by the actors. They bring it. Whether it'd be the tone of their voice, facial expressions and body language, they were tremendous. Which now brings me to the special effects. Wow...just...wow. This was made with an estimated budget of $10-15 million and yet somehow looks better than some movies with a budget $200 million. Really spent that money wisely. Then there's the pacing. It clocks in a two hours and eighteen minutes but didn't feel that way. Even the more character focused moments just go right by while still giving us the info and drama we needed. The last thing I'll praise is the story. While Godzilla still plays a big role in the story, this is still very much a human story. Not only are some of our characters struggle with PTSD, but those who don't have post-traumatic stress still have to live with trying to rebuild their lives after the bomb wrecked everything. Then just when they thought some form of normalcy was on the horizon, Godzilla appears destroying that hope. You really feel for the human characters and are hoping none them get hurt or worse die. If any of you know me then you're well aware that I like the MonsterVerse and that franchise being popcorn flicks, but if I can get a Godzilla movie that's one half monster flick, another half human struggles, then I'm all for it.
The Bad: There's nothing wrong.
The Okay: Got nothing here either.
Final Verdict: A MUST WATCH!
Why Did I See Leo?
Mainly because ever since COVID ended years back I've been moving further and further away from streaming movies unless it truly interests me. Like say the director's cuts of the Rebel Moon movies and Mr. Crocket. And there was the fact Adam Sandler is starring. Don't get the wrong idea, he's done a lot of good stuff, but there's also been tons of crap.
What is Leo?
Leo is an animated musical comedy, that's produced by Netflix Animation, Happy Madison Productions, Animal Logic, and Screen NSW, with Netflix distributing. The story was written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Paul Sado with directing done by Robert Marianetti, David Wachtenheim, and Robert Smigel.
The story is, Leo is a jaded 74 year old lizard who's been in the same classroom for decades. When he finds out he's only got one more year left to live, he sets out to experience life outside the classroom. But he'll need to deal with some anxious students and one mean substitute teacher.
My Thoughts
The Good: One aspect is the cast primarily Adam Sandler and Bill Burr. I liked both of them, I thought they were really entertaining and made their characters more likable. Although I'll admit that the voice that Sandler uses for Leo does take time to get use to. Speaking of Leo, he's a really good guy...or lizard I should say. While he does start off being selfish in his goal, he slowly starts to realize he's life can be helping the kids in his classroom before his time is up. So he does quickly become a very likable character. Then there's the pacing. While not as long as the movie above I just previously reviewed, it's pretty nice how this heartwarming story was told as good as it was even though it goes by very quickly. Alright now for the humor. Let me just say, no not ever joke worked, mainly the pee and poop ones. But I did enjoy all of the other jokes. My favorite one is this running gag where the kindergartens are just a bunch of animals. Because I can so see that as how adults saw me and my classmates. Just this group of uncontrollable little savages. The last thing I'll credit is the story. While not something that's gonna break the mold of storytelling, it's actually pretty good. It's clear there was some heart put into but, a lot of times it can be relatable. You can understand that part of your childhood where you're taking that next step in life like moving up to another grade, thinking you're too talkative, thinking you have to be something special because your parents went on and on about how special you are because of wealth or something else, and having to deal with helicopter parents. Very understandable stuff.
The Bad: I've got nothing.
The Okay: The decent part of the movie comes from the animation. It's solid. It's not mind blowing awesome but it's by no means bad, far from it. The animation is serviceable.
Final Verdict: Good.
Why Didn't I See Wish?
Simply put the movie just didn't interest me. There was nothing in the marketing that made feel like I absolutely NEED to see this. So instead of just forcing myself to see it just for the sake of this blog, I just decided to save it for this segment.
What is Wish?
Wish is an animated musical fantasy drama movie. Production was done by Walt Disney Animation Studios while Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures was in charge of distribution. The movie was written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore and Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn directed.
The story is, in the land of Rosas a powerful sorcerer named King Magnifico can grant wishes. A young woman named Asha ask him to grant wish for someone special to her, and declines. Finding out he's not what he seems, Asha wants to put a stop to his controlling ways.
My Thoughts
The Good: The cast is good...too bad they weren't given better material.
The Bad: Oh boy, I've got a lot to say. First off let's start with the animation. It's not very good. The filmmakers though it'd be a good idea to combine traditional animation with 3D animation. Now that by no means is a bad idea, it's been done before and very successfully. But the hell was this style? Yeah it's 2D and 3D put together but it's not a good look. It looks like it was half way close to being finished. Then there's our hero Asha and the villain Magnifico. The writing for these two was bad. Let's start off with Asha. Not only is she yet another "adorkable" character that Disney seems to be really obsessed with as of late, but her idea is horrible. She doesn't like the fact that not everybody is getting their wish granted. So she thinks it'd be a good idea to grant everybody's wishes. Never mind the fact that's an absolutely terrible idea! Oh and she decided to get to that goal by inciting dissent threw out the kingdom and overthrow the king. Now yes there's some good rebellions that did the same thing, but because Asha is so entitled this makes her look like the villain. Speaking of "villain" boy did I feel bad for Magnifico. They want us to consider him a villain because he's not granting every single wish. Which doesn't make sense. There are some bad wishes that could negatively effect not only the person who wanted the wish, but also effect other people. And what's actually pretty noble is he doesn't disregard the unmade wishes, he keeps them safe. The only reason he went crazy afterwards was because thanks to Asha, the villagers got very greedy and ungrateful. Alright let's move onto the music. A lot of these songs aren't very good. Okay some are fine, others not so much. Let's start with Magnifico's "villain" song.
First off, the ego parts don't make any sense because he didn't act that way until this song. Also this is WAY too upbeat for a villain song. When you listen to classic Disney villain songs they're usually very dark and sinister, like the villain is enjoying being evil. Sure Magnifico's song gets a little dark in the middle but that lasted what? Twenty seconds? Lastly, "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent". That's the same exact thing. Now onto our "hero" song.
This sounds way more like a villain song even though it's supposed to be the big the rebels are banding together. Also ironic how one piece of this song is about how Magnifico is a liar when Asha is kinda lying about who he is.
The last thing I'll criticize and it's my biggest problem is how the movie doesn't do anything special. Why is that my biggest complaint? Because last year this movie was meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Disney. The 100th anniversary of one of the most iconic brands in not only American history, but history in general, and we got a bland, uninspiring, and terribly written movie. What a shame.
The Okay: I've got nothing.
Final Verdict: Awful!
Okay finally finished with that. Come back on Saturday, Dec 7th, for my review of the newest Amy Adams' movie, Nightbitch. Although my theater doesn't seem like it'll have a showing for that. So if there's no review for that then come back on Monday, Dec 9th, for my Classic Film Night review of Home Alone. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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