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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
You've waited an eternity for this
When it comes to the original Beetlejuice (1988) directed by Tim Burton, I agree with people who say that the film is a cult classic, because it is a good film with a cool creepy style from the director and a great performance by Michael Keaton in the title role; now, thirty-six years later we get the long awaited sequel once again directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the title role again, so when going into it, I was hoping for the sequel to be at least as good or entertaining as the first. The sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) is as funny and entertaining as the first with great performances from returning actors from the first and new actors for the sequel, well-done stop-motion animation and CGI that looks like stop-motion, great practical effects and sets, a fun creepy tone, more of the afterlife in creative ways, and some callbacks to the first for the fans; the only major issue that could have been fixed is if it did not have so many subplots and characters, or if the film handled it better, then it would be better but luckily the film brings it all together by the end in an entertaining finale.
Winona Ryder does a good job as older Lydia Deetz who, because of her ability to see the dead, is the host of a paranormal show called Ghost House which causes some reasonable moments where she would try to not seem like she is crazy at certain points or tries to keep herself together because of her seeing things like Beetlejuice at random moments; I like how she is trying to connect more with her daughter Astrid throughout the film and I liked that her and Delia Deetz have a better connection now since the last film. I did love Jenna Ortega as the daughter Astrid, not because she gives a good performance, but also, I like how her character does not believe in the paranormal despite of how popular her mom is because of her paranormal show and her ability to see the dead; she has some kind of subplot in the film that is started but is finished quickly, which was weird because I wanted at least more of it. Lastly, there are certain returning characters like Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz who once again does a wonderful job and was funny throughout the film, and a new character named Rory played well by Justin Theroux who has a connection with Lydia but is intentionally weird and creepy.
Once again Michael Keaton still has the role of Beetlejuice down perfect, though he is not in the film that much like the first, he has a little bit more screen time than he did in the last film, and he was entertaining and funny throughout the film with him still having that funny humor and entertaining personality; new characters like Delores played great by Monica Bellucci had a cool introduction but needed more screen time, along with another character named Wolf Jackson also played great by Willem Dafoe needed more screen time because he was funny with who he was and how he died. It was great seeing this film use practical effects and stop-motion like the first, also there were uses of CGI that were made to look like stop-motion, along with the film using models and sets; the only major problem is that there were to many characters that did not have much screen time and subplots that started and ended quickly, though it all comes together by the end in an entertaining and funny climax, I still would have handled it better so the film could have been better than what was shown.
The sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) is as funny and entertaining as the first with great performances from returning actors from the first and new actors for the sequel, well-done stop-motion animation and CGI that looks like stop-motion, great practical effects and sets, a fun creepy tone, more of the afterlife in creative ways, a PG-13 rating that pushes its boundaries close to an R rating, and some callbacks to the first for the fans; the only major issue that could have been fixed is if it did not have so many subplots and characters, or if the film handled it better, then it would be better but luckily the film brings it all together by the end in an entertaining finale. Tim Burton did an excellent job making an entertaining and fun sequel to an entertaining and fun film, and the whole film has that great creepy Halloween vibe to it, so like the first this sequel would be a fun time to watch around Halloween; I liked the first film, and I liked this sequel just as much as the first, die-hard fans or casual fans of Beetlejuice will be enjoy and be satisfied by this film.
Beetlejuice (1988)
He's the ghost with the most
The original Beetlejuice (1988) directed by Tim Burton is a great film, and there might be some things I say about the movie that people have already said; because this is a good film, and I like the cool creepy style from the director and the great performance by Michael Keaton in the title role, I decided to rewatch the film because I felt like it, which is why I can say it still holds up to this day. The film Beetlejuice (1988) is funny and entertaining with great performances, well-done stop-motion animation, great practical effects and sets, a fun creepy tone, cool ways to explore the afterlife, a great antagonist, and interesting rules about how the dead operates or coexists with the living; the film runs at a good pace with the couple dying and learning about the dead, and then calling Beetlejuice for some help that backfires, which shows that ghosts trying to get rid of the humans in the house instead of the other way around is a good twist on what we essentially have seen before.
I liked Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as the couple Adam and Barbara and thought they were very likable main characters who happen to die and get put into the weird afterlife, I also liked how since they were new to the rules of the afterlife, they are learning things at the same time as we are and we come to learn more about them, why they like their house, and why they are trying to scare the family moving in to leave; I like the interactions between them and Lydia Deetz who finds out she has the ability to see the dead, and how Lydia tires to prove she is not crazy by proving there are ghosts in the house. Lydia Deetz played well by Winona Ryder was a good character, though she seems like a normal kid who is into dark stuff, she becomes more of a likable character, and you like seeing her on screen; the rest of the cast in the Deetz family are entertaining and funny in their own weird way that can either make sense or no sense, like Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz who had quite a bit of funny scenes along with her having some kind of profession as someone who likes to do art sculptures.
Michael Keaton is excellent Beetlejuice, though he is not in the film that much, he is still entertaining and funny throughout the film with him still having that funny humor and entertaining personality because of some quick jokes or the weird things he tends to do when interacting off the rest of the characters; for most of the film he is just in this model graveyard in a model Adam made, which is done well with great effects. It is great seeing this film use practical effects and stop-motion in certain monster designs or when Beetlejuice is doing weird things, along with the film using models and sets that were looked good along with the cinematography on how they show it and the way they do the sandworm sequences; but what you expect from a Tim Burton film is a score by Danny Elfman, and the score by Danny Elfman is still excellent to listen to, other than that there is not much of an issue with this film other than maybe an occasional dated effect or song.
The film Beetlejuice (1988) is funny and entertaining with great performances, well-done stop-motion animation, great practical effects and sets, a fun creepy tone, cool ways to explore the afterlife, a great antagonist, and interesting rules about how the dead operates or coexists with the living; the film runs at a good pace with the couple dying and learning about the dead, and then calling Beetlejuice for some help that backfires, which shows that ghosts trying to get rid of the humans in the house instead of the other way around is a good twist on what we essentially have seen before. This film is already a classic for most people, and it is a film that is good to watch around the Halloween season because of the cool and creepy tone of the film; this is why people like it all these years later, because it is a simple creepy and fun movie you can watch and rewatch over and over again.
Tarot (2024)
Your fate is in the cards
I knew when going into this film that the premise sounded a bit stupid, because I did not think you could make a horror movie on tarot cards, but then again, a lot of things are being turned into horror films now a days, so it will not surprise me if this film happens to be bad; after watching it, I will say that this film is not good, which was what I expected, but it does have occasionally that entertainingly bad quality to it that should make it at least passable. The horror movie Tarot (2024) was a bad film with its generic/stereotypical main characters, obvious CGI with occasional practical effects, unintentionally funny moments from time to time, tropes that are in a lot of horror movies, and it has certain plot points or certain things in it we have all seen before but done better in other horror films; you do not get that much of a lead into the film at the beginning, instead it just drops you into the film by having the characters stay at an Airbnb and immediately get the plot going by finding the cards, which shows that the directors or writers just want to cut to the chase and get to the kills.
There is nothing to say about the characters except that they are horror movie stereotypes who have romances going on between them that I did care about, the only two characters that do stick out a little bit is one girl in the friend group who knows how to do tarot card readings along with how they work, and the other character is a guy played by Jacob Batalon who was the only one who seemed to be trying to make the dialogue of his character funny in some way despite it going and forth between actually being funny or just being awkward and not fitting the tone of the film. The characters get slowly picked off one by one, except for one thing that happens with a certain character that made me roll my eyes because I thought it was too stupid for them to do despite setting it up earlier in the film, but it did not make sense once they fulfilled what they were setting up by the end; the girl who had knowledge on the tarot would either act like she knew nothing about what was going on or she would be persuaded to do the dumbest things that would lead to them getting killed off or just attacked by these tarot card entities.
When it comes to the tarot card entities, they were the only good thing in this film, with the ones that are clearly CGI having some creepy enough designs and the ones played by actors with practical effects were also not that bad with them also having a creepy or entertaining enough design; specifically, one of the tarot card entities called The Fool which had a cool enough design and he moved and acted weird in at least an entertaining way once on screen. When it comes to scares, the film is not that scary because despite it making me jump because of how obvious the jump scares are, does not mean it is scary but instead shows they cannot rely on silence or just their creepy imagery they setup to freak you out, along with the kills being entertaining enough for a PG-13 rating but could have been way better when it came to a concept like this. Lastly, this film follows quite a bit of horror movie tropes we have seen before, like the characters looking for an expert of some kind to help them with their situation, and the backstory behind the tarot cards was interesting at first but then I was starting to lose interest, and I did not care what was going to happen next as much as I was before even with the dumb generic characters.
The horror movie Tarot (2024) was a bad film with its generic/stereotypical main characters, obvious CGI with occasional practical effects, unintentionally funny moments from time to time, tropes that are in a lot of horror movies, and it has certain plot points or certain things in it we have all seen before but done better in other horror films; you do not get that much of a lead into the film at the beginning, instead it just drops you into the film by having the characters stay at an Airbnb and immediately get the plot going by finding the cards, which shows that the directors or writers just want to cut to the chase and get to the kills, despite the kills just being ok or entertaining enough at best. This film was not good since I was laughing at some dumb parts of it and there were things that would occur that made me lose interest or not care, though the entity designs were good, and the idea of the film was fine, I am not going to recommend this; but if you do decide to watch this, you will get at least some entertainment out of it.
The Invisible Man (2020)
What you can't see can hurt you
I know this is based off a book I have not read titled The Invisible Man by author H. G. Wells, and is mainly a modern retelling of the old The Invisible Man film from the year 1933, along with the premise of someone turning invisible can lend to an entertaining and cool horror movie, especially since this film's director is Leigh Whannell because he has experience writing and directing horror films. The horror film The Invisible Man (2020) was unsettling and investing to watch with the well-done performances, the effective suspense and scares, the entertaining and interesting modern change to the story, the effects and camera work, and just overall unsettling scary feeling you get with the concept of The Invisible Man; what I will say that I liked the most in the film, other than the lead performance, is how The Invisible Man antagonist is portrayed in this by using silence and great uses of cinematography with great camera work that keeps you on edge throughout the film making you question if he is in the same room as the lead character or not.
The lead character Cecilia Kass played excellently by Elisabeth Moss was one of the best parts of the film, with her being believable as this person who has escaped an abusive person to being believable as this person slowly being made to look crazy because of this invisible force somehow messing with her and her life; Elisabeth Moss did a great job moments where the character is acting crazy but is trying to survive anything this invisible force throws at her, while also trying to prove there is something going on with either Adrian Griffin or someone else that could know what is happening, along with you feeling for her character in a way once she describes what Adrian Griffin did to her when in that relationship. The rest of the characters involve people Cecilia knows in her life or police, and they either do not believe her that someone could become invisible, or they get killed and/or mad at her for something this invisible person did to mess with her; the only character that does not have much screen time except for the beginning and end of the film is Adrian Griffin played very well by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, other than him there is not much else about the characters to talk about that does not lead to spoilers.
First, I will say that Oliver Jackson-Cohen did an excellent job in making Adrian Griffin feel like a scary or unlikable person, mainly because when he was on screen you can see why Cecilia was trying to get away from him since the beginning of the film; The Invisible Man himself was scary because the way shot rooms of a house or any room it puts you in edge because you never know if he is in the room with the main character or not depending on where he could be standing or sitting, proving what you can't see is scarier than what you can see. The film had a good amount of suspense and scares with not knowing if the invisible person is in the room to having certain scares that involve some good stunts or kills that drive the plot forward making it investing to watch and it made wonder what was going to happen next, along with how she is going to fight back; there were moments that felt a bit slow, mainly the first two acts, but I was still invested in how they took The Invisible Man and made him more of a threat in that realistic way that makes sense.
The horror film The Invisible Man (2020) was unsettling and investing to watch with the well-done performances, the effective suspense and scares, the entertaining and interesting modern change to the story, the effects and camera work, the unsettling scary feeling you get with the concept of The Invisible Man, and a lot of it winding the tension since the beginning of the film; what I will say that I liked the most in the film, other than the lead performance, is how The Invisible Man antagonist is portrayed in this by using silence and great uses of cinematography with great camera work that keeps you on edge throughout the film making you question if he is in the same room as the lead character or not. If you like the original The Invisible Man film from 1933 or the book by H. G. Wells then you might like this modern take on it, because it takes something we are familiar with and does a modern twist to that makes sense and adds to the film rather than take away anything; I recommend this film for any horror film lovers, or to anyone who wants an entertaining horror thriller to watch.
Logan (2017)
His time has come
The last Wolverine film was The Wolverine (2013) that was directed by James Mangold, and I liked that film except for the last twenty minutes, but still thought it was a great Wolverine stand-alone film, so I was looking forward to this 2017 film because director James Mangold returned for this film and got me at least excited for it; after watching this film, I will say that I loved it from beginning to end. The film Logan (2017) was marvelous with excellent performances, great direction, investing characters and story, an awesome rated R rating, an entertaining villain, awesome action, emotional moments, dark and personal themes, and a depressing and interesting setting in the future; this film gets intense in many moments, but it also gives you an investing story that has an intentional slow pace leading to a satisfying ending for the character, also I like how the X-Men comic books exist in this world and how Logan reacts to them.
Hugh Jackman was excellent as this old and tired Logan who is going through a lot of stuff involving getting money for medication for an old Charles Xavier, having issues with his adamantium claws and healing factor, and not believing in any mutants surviving in this depressing future; I like how he is clearly tired and is just waiting it out until he can pass on, but the journey that involves him taking this girl was investing with him gradually bonding with this girl he has to drive to North Dakota by learning about some certain things involving her past and her ability to fight back in a way. The young girl named Laura was played wonderfully by Dafne Keen, with her not speaking the whole movie until the end, and she has certain tricks up her sleeve that was cool to see, especially with how her Logan might be connected in some way; I liked her character more as the film went on and I like how in certain ways she helps give Logan at least a bit of hope for the world. Lastly, there is an old Charles Xavier played great by Patrick Stewart, who must take medication to stop some mind seizures, and he tries to keep hope alive when knowing more about Laura and having Logan protect her.
The villain Pierce played by Boyd Holbrook was an entertaining villain who was intimidating at many times in the film, with him looking for Laura because of certain things involving who and what she is, along with him occasionally getting violent to get answers into finding Logan; the only thing I will say is that there are things involving experiments on mutants that I found interesting, and I liked how Logan questioned if this supposed safe haven is real or not because of how similar it could be to real X-Men comics. When there are action scenes, it goes all out brutal and bloody with its R rating, and it was awesome to see Logan eventually slashing through people, but most of the movie is him being a broken person because every mutant is extinct; the film has effective suspenseful moments, an occasional funny line, and there are quite a bit of effective emotional moments that did make me cry because of well-directed and well executed these scenes are.
The film Logan (2017) was marvelous with excellent performances, great direction, investing characters and story, an awesome rated R rating, an entertaining villain, awesome action, emotional moments, dark and personal themes, and a depressing and interesting setting in the future; this film gets intense in many moments, but it also gives you an investing story that has an intentional slow pace leading to a satisfying ending for the character, also I like how the X-Men comic books exist in this world and how Logan reacts to them along with how they connect to journey Logan and Laura go on. James Mangold did an excellent job directing both The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017), this film was a satisfying conclusion for the character, and I am glad Hugh Jackman had a long run as this character; this film is a must watch if you love the character of Wolverine or comic book films in general.
The Wolverine (2013)
The hero. The fugitive. The warrior. The survivor. The legend.
The last stand-alone Wolverine film we got was X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and that film was not that good, which lots of X-Men fans can agree on, so I am still looking forward to there being a good Wolverine film because Hugh Jackman is great in the role and I want his character done right; the only thing I knew about this 2013 film was that it takes place after the film X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), which was another reason why I was interested in seeing this. The film The Wolverine (2013) was great with good performances, fun action, not that much CGI, an investing story, a cool serious tone, skillful use of Japan related mythology, and the setting in Tokyo with the uses of Yakuza and Samurai is cool seeing; this whole movie is a great personal journey about Logan becoming Wolverine again, which made the film investing to watch, but also there were some minor issues I found that involves the antagonists and a tone change near the end.
Once again Hugh Jackman is excellent in the role of Logan, with him having nightmares whenever he sleeps and him trying to get over being the cause of Jean Grey's death, but also, I did love his journey to become Wolverine again because he is just called Logan at the start of the film; having him get hurt for real added takes and suspense to certain scenes, and I like how he wants to become mortal but is thinking if he does want that or not, along with protecting this girl who has the potential in being a powerful person. At first, I was not sure about the character Yukio played well by Rila Fukushima, but as the film went on, I started to like her more and she became a cool character with her being cool in certain fight scenes; I also liked the dynamic between her and Logan when they are working together to protect this girl Mariko and fight back against these Yakuza. Lastly, the girl named Mariko played well by Tao Okamoto was not bad of a character, at first you might think she is just a love interest, but she has potential to be a powerful person in her family and she does do quite a bit to show she can handle herself from time to time depending on the situation.
The twist of sorts that involves the reveal of the main villain was a bit obvious once certain clues start going around, but I will just say that you could see it coming by the third act climax, along with there being another villain named Viper who did not work that well with the serious tone of the film that much because of how she would act and use her abilities which made her look silly; also, I will just say that I liked the film until the last twenty minutes, though it was still well directed and was entertaining, it did get a bit silly because of certain things that are revealed and portrayed. The action sequences were fun and cool to watch, with them being bloody enough for a PG-13 rating making it great seeing Logan slash through people, along with there not being that many uses of CGI except for the nice looking adamantium claws and the third act climax; the personal journey Logan takes to become Wolverine was awesome to see with having lots of cool moments proving why Hugh Jackman is perfect in the role and is just like the character in comics.
The film The Wolverine (2013) was great with good performances, fun action, not that much CGI, an investing story, a cool serious tone, skillful use of Japan related mythology, and the setting in Tokyo with the uses of Yakuza and Samurai is cool seeing; this whole movie is a great personal journey about Logan becoming Wolverine again, which made the film investing to watch, but also there were some minor issues I found that involves the antagonists and a tone change near the end, but other than that the film gave me what I wanted from a stand-alone Wolverine film. Wolverine fans, X-Men fans, and casual moviegoers will have a fun time with this movie because it gives comic book fans what they want to see from this character, and they will give normal moviegoers an entertaining and fun film to watch; this was better than the last stand-alone film, and I recommend giving this a watch if you have not already.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Wolverine's origins
Ever since the first film X-Men (2000) or just the first three X-Men films I wanted there to be an accurate representation of Wolverine's origin story, mostly because he is an interesting character, but instead we are given a film that at times is accurate to the comics but instead is filled with bad things including a bad script, bad CGI, and misrepresentations of certain characters; after rewatching it, it just shows more of why this film is not that good, or not as good as it could have been. The film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) has standard performances, silly moments, bad CGI effects, a bad script, uncompleted plotlines, bad characters, bad action, bad editing, and extraordinarily little character development for any main characters or side characters; I know that there is a lot to say about his film, and I know that there is not much else to say about this that people have not said already, but I will just go through what I did not like about it regardless.
The best part of the film would be Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine because he is great in the role, but since this is supposed to be an origin story, there is supposed to be more learned about him but instead we just know what we knew before, along with the connection between him and Victor Creed/Sabretooth not making sense at times despite the idea of them being brothers is a weird but interesting change; we go from Logan when he was young to him being in a lot of wars all in one shot during the opening credits, and even though I thought they should have spent more time with that, it does not do much to the story except to eventually have him work for Stryker. I liked Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth, but there was no progression or reason to why he went against Logan and how he got his blood lust, so he becomes evil quickly along with him working with Stryker for a certain reason that makes no sense; also, there was not much of a brother dynamic between Logan and Victor to make it believable. Lastly, there are other mutants like John Wraith played by Will.i.am or Gambit played by Taylor Kitsch that had one cool shot in the movie but did not do much except give information for certain things; there were also other mutants that were not represented that well, which bothered me.
The villain is Stryker because he was the one who gave Wolverine the adamantium procedure and is the one who is taking mutants to take their powers for Weapon 11, he was a bland villain, and I did not like his plan at all when it involved using a certain mutant to do everything for him; Deadpool is one of my favorite Marvel characters, and we know Ryan Reynolds is great in the role, but in this film they ruin the character by changing everything people loved about the character by sewing his mouth, giving him a bunch of mutant's abilities, and having the title of Weapon 11. The CGI effects on the adamantium claws were not that good with it looking very fake and making the effects from the last three X-Men films look better than this, along with the effects from a bunch of mutant abilities looking fake and silly looking; the action scenes could have been good but they used so many cuts where it makes it hard to watch, along with the bad editing, and a bad script leading to pointless plotlines and twists. Lastly, for positives, there was an occasional cool moment with some promising ideas involving the adamantium procedure or some instances of Logan's backstory when he was younger, but other than that, everything else does not work.
The film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) has standard performances, silly moments, bad CGI effects, a bad script, uncompleted plotlines, bad characters, bad action, bad editing, and extraordinarily little character development for any main characters or side characters; I do agree with what people have said about this film, but despite all of the problems the film has, there is an occasional moment that has potential to be good. This film is entertainingly bad to watch, so you will get some enjoyment out of it, but this movie could have been better than what we got; this is why I will say that this film is a missed opportunity.
X-Men (2000)
Trust a few. Fear the rest.
I have not seen this film in a long time, so this is just my thoughts after rewatching it, which is why I will start by saying that the very first X-Men film is not as bad as a couple people say it is, along with it being at least better than when I first watched it; I have read enough X-Men comics to notice certain things that occur in this, and I know there are quite a few people who do not like director Bryan Singer, but I honestly thought he did a good job in making the first X-Men movie. The film X-Men (2000) was entertaining with good and great performances, a mix of dated and good-looking effects, some fun action, slow pacing, and some issues with some of the character's decisions and some weird editing choices; though there are changes from the comics, there will be quite a bit X-Men fans will like seeing, despite some things that occur that they do not go all the way with.
At least one of the characters they focus on is Logan/Wolverine played excellently by Hugh Jackman in his first appearance as the character, with him not remembering anything from his past, and him meeting Rogue and the X-Men team; Rogue played ok by Anna Paquin could have been better considering certain things they do with her character that involves a ability she has, a relationship she starts, and how she does not do much. There are mutants like Cyclops played well by James Marsden who does not do much in the film, Storm played well by Halle Berry wearing a silly wig and talking in a weird accent, and Jean Grey played well by Famke Janssen who does not have much to her character except for having a relationship with Cyclops like in the comics but this time without much chemistry shown between them. Lastly, Charles Xavier/Professor X fantastically played by Patrick Stewart, though not in the film that much, but he was still good in the role with him having a believable rivalry with Magneto when they talk about how mutants should be treated with Xavier's good X-Men team and Magneto's group of evil mutants.
The villain Magneto is played very well by Ian McKellen, I believed his rivalry with Charles Xavier, and I believed his reason in why he thinks mutants will not be accepted by normal people, along with him some cool scenes where he uses his powers; working with Magneto in his plan is Mystique played well by Rebecca Romijn who was cool in certain scenes she was in, along with an occasional cool scene with Sabretooth and dumb moments with the villain named Toad. Though there were some cool action scenes, there were uses of dated effects except for Logan/Wolverine's adamantium claws which looked cool and believable; what I did not like was how certain rivalries from the comics were not built up well, some relationships were not believable, the film had slow pacing, and there are things either comic book fans will like or not like depending on some minor changes made that are different from the comics they are based on, along with people who watched the animated series from the 90s noticing these changes too.
The film X-Men (2000) was entertaining with good and great performances, a mix of dated and good-looking effects, some fun action, slow pacing, and some issues with some of the character's decisions and some weird editing choices; though there are changes from the comics and the animated series from the 90s, but there will be quite a bit X-Men fans will like seeing, but also that this was not bad of a start for the X-Men ever since being a part of 20th Century Fox at the time. I know there are quite a few people who do not like Bryan Singer as a director, but I honestly thought he did a decent job in making this despite knowing what he is going to do to some of these films later; watching the movie for the first time I thought it was ok, but after rewatching it, I started to like/appreciate it a bit more than I did because of this film we started getting more faithful comic book films and it is the reason we are still talking about the X-Men films to this day.
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Drawing in purple
I am sure there are quite a bit of people who know the children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson that came out in 1955, most likely there are people who might have read it when they were way younger, which is why I have not read it in a long time and I only remember the basics of its story; because of how simple the book is I was not sure how doing a live-action film was going to go, but going in I was not going to expect much from it. The film Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024) is not good with average performances from good actors, good enough CGI, some good digital effects, an occasional funny moment, a weak script with an ok premise, a weird and crazy antagonist, and some good 2D animation in the drawn book world; I was not expecting much going into this movie except to expect some kind of imagination to the premise, and getting out of the movie, I think this is a bad movie, but for younger kids, this is an entertaining enough movie to have on in the background and distract them for the runtime of one hour and thirty minutes.
All the performances in the film are from good actors given not much to do, like Zachary Levi as Harold, who for most of the film is just getting used to the real world and is trying to find the narrator of his world by calling him "the old man" while looking for him; the idea of Harold getting older was fine enough for the premise, and the setup for him wanting to go to the real world was ok, but it just looks like he is all one note which is being whimsically happy all the time with his imagination. I feel like actors Lil Rel Howery and Tanya Reynolds as Harold's friends Moose and Porcupine were not given much to do, because Moose just says some dumb lines or does something stupid since he is with Harold the whole film, and Porcupine is separated from them for most of the film with her trying to find them and getting into trouble by also doing dumb things that were cringey to watch; it was random when it would cut to whatever Porcupine is doing for a short scene and then cut to Harold and Moose in their situation. Lastly, Terry, played ok by Zooey Deschanel, does not believe in this crayon magic despite Harold having multiple opportunities to show her in annoying ways and her being weirdly ok with taking Harold and Moose in after running into them; also, Terry's son was weird with him believing in Harold's abilities and trying to help him despite acting like a bland happy kid the whole time.
The antagonist is not introduced till at least halfway through the film, and it is this weird librarian named Gary played oddly by Jemaine Clement, who is obsessed with his book he cannot get approved by anyone and is also obsessed with his fictional book world; he was a weird and awkward character who occasionally had a funny line but was made an antagonist in the middle of the film, with him somehow getting the purple crayon very easily. The cartoon drawn world where Harold is from had nice animation with bright colors, and I did like the CGI/visual effects showing Harold drawing with the purple crayon and how he created certain things, along with some CGI in the film being a mix of ok and very noticeable; the film has an occasional moment that made me chuckle a little, but for the most part the comedy was annoying or awkward, and the script/the writing for this film is not that good and there were quite a few awkward lines of dialogue from the characters.
The film Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024) is not good with average performances from good actors, good enough CGI, some good digital effects, an occasional funny moment, a weak script with an ok premise, a weird and crazy antagonist, and some good 2D animation in the drawn book world; I was not expecting much going into this movie except to expect some kind of imagination to the premise, and I did get some of that when Harold is drawing with the crayon, but the script, the awkward moments, and the annoyingly bland characters made it bad. Getting out of this movie, I did think this a bad movie not worth watching, but for younger kids, this is an entertaining enough movie to have on in the background and distract them for time being while you do something else; this is why I say that this film did not need to be made at all except to be a mindless distraction for children.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Make room for new emotions
I loved the first film Inside Out (2015) with its creative premise, good humor, nice animation, and likable characters, so I have been wanting a sequel to it because it could introduce more emotions, explore more of Riley's life as she grows up, and bring more creative and interesting topics to the premise; nine years later we get the sequel, and after watching it, I can say that I loved it as much as the first one. The sequel Inside Out 2 (2024) was a funny and emotionally fun time with excellent voice acting, relatable topics, creative visuals inside teenage Riley's mind, great new emotions, wonderful animation, and serious topics involving how teenagers see themselves or think about themselves; what I liked about the film is that there is no villain in this, the antagonist would be anxiety and how teenagers when growing up try to deal with it, which I can relate to a lot.
Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust voiced excellently by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, and Liza Lapira were once again likable characters who are just trying to take care of Riley any way they can, so them dealing with new emotions in now teenage Riley was entertaining to watch; Joy learning how she cannot be relied on all the time was interesting, and the way she goes through a new development is investing and emotional to watch, especially when the person they control might not want that emotion any more. The rest of the main emotions like Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust were funny and I like that they go the adventure this time through Riley's mind unlike the first film, along with not just joy but them also having layers of emotions of sorts too making them interesting and likable and not all one note. Lastly, the new emotions Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui voiced great by Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Paul Walter Hauser, and Adèle Exarchopoulos were all likable characters that all had something to do with how teenagers tend to act, not only making them relatable characters but also funny and adorable to watch.
The main new emotion I liked the most was Anxiety voiced great by Maya Hawke, because though she is the antagonist of the film, she is not intentionally trying to screw up Riley and instead is trying to help her without knowing she is hurting her; she was relatable to me and the way they show her over analyze things, make Riley do awkward stuff, and make her think of bad scenarios in her head was creative and I liked the visuals of it. The film was funnier than the first and the animation was phenomenal, but what I like the most was the serious topics it would handle involving how anxiety can affect you, how you try to impress certain people, how you try to make friends, and just overall trying to fit in; the film was creative on how it shows what Riley thinks of herself, how the emotions can effect it, and how anxiety can affect it to make you like yourself less. Lastly, other than the funny moments and callbacks to the first film, this film had emotional moments that were highly effective and made me cry while watching, that is because of how relatable the subject matter was and how realistic it felt making it very investing to watch.
The sequel Inside Out 2 (2024) was a funny and emotionally fun time with excellent voice acting, relatable topics, creative visuals inside teenage Riley's mind, great new emotions, wonderful animation, and serious topics involving how teenagers see themselves or think about themselves; what I liked about the film is that there is no villain in this, the antagonist would be anxiety and how teenagers when growing up try to deal with it, which I can relate to a lot, but also that this character is just trying to help without realizing she is hurting the person she is controlling. I would not mind for them to make a third film because I want to see more of Riley's life and how it changes through time; this film was a return to form for Disney Pixar with them making an excellent sequel to an excellent first film that came out nine years ago, using new and relatable topics, which is why I highly recommend giving this a watch if you loved the first.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Everyone deserves a happy ending
The first two Deadpool films are fun and funny with Ryan Reynolds being great as the character, so having him be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and having Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine was what got me interested in and excited for this third film, especially since this film will have to try to not mess up what the film Logan (2017) did for the character; after watching the film, I will say that I loved this movie with its great lead stars, great fan service, and fun and funny humor. The third film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) was incredibly fun and funny to watch with excellent performances, fun action sequences, awesome fan service, entertaining cameos, an intimidating villain, great humor involving fourth wall breaks and jokes about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a fantastic opening credit sequence, and a satisfying goodbye to the Twentieth Century Fox era of comic book films; while watching the movie you can tell that Ryan Reynolds wanted to make a great film, and the film respects the events that occurred in the film Logan (2017) in its own funny and entertaining way.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are fantastic together as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Wolverine/Logan, with one being the straight man in a way and the other is known for being loudmouth and annoying, that dynamic between them was great and funny to watch from beginning to end; Deadpool/Wade Wilson was once again hilarious with him doing great fourth wall breaks, but also him being introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the TVA and trying to save his world was investing and entertaining to watch. It is awesome seeing Hugh Jackman play Wolverine/Logan again, it was cool knowing he is a variant of Wolverine with him having a tragic backstory and an awesome comic accurate yellow and blue outfit; he was funny in that powerful way with him and Deadpool fighting each other or trying to fix his own world, but also, that there is a whole monologue from him in the film that was very effective. Lastly, other than some little appearances from other characters from the other Deadpool films, I will say that I like how they use the TVA to bring Deadpool into the MCU despite Deadpool doing his own way to save his world and ignore everything the TVA says about these multiple worlds; also, there is a character who was funny but acted like an antagonist in some way.
The villain of the film is Charles Xavier's sister Cassandra Nova, played very well by Emma Corrin, who was an intimidating character, but she was also smart while having these powers that at times made her seem overpowered, but it worked with what the film is; she did not have much of an explanation, but what I got was that she wanted to take control of all worlds. The action sequences were amazing and funny to watch, with them all being well shot and the fights between Deadpool and Wolverine were great to watch, it especially worked because of the R rating; there was so much fun action, and the film was beginning to end because of the jokes and fourth wall breaks; this also leads to the film having variants of certain characters, lots of cameos, and an excellent opening credits sequence at the start of the film. Lastly, this film has lots of stuff fans will recognize from the comics, with the multiple cameos, variants, comic exact moments, and comic exact characters that are amazing to see; the film was entertaining, funny, and fun from beginning to end, especially for comic book fans.
The third film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) was incredibly fun and funny to watch with excellent performances, fun action sequences, awesome fan service, entertaining cameos, an intimidating villain, great humor involving fourth wall breaks and jokes about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a fantastic opening credit sequence, and a satisfying goodbye to the Twentieth Century Fox era of comic book films; you can tell that Ryan Reynolds loved this character and that he wanted to make a great film, and the film respects the events that occurred in the film Logan (2017) in its own funny and entertaining way. This was a satisfying goodbye to the Twentieth Century Fox era for superhero films, with it also being a great introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Deadpool character, along with it being a great third film in the Deadpool film series; if this is going to be the last appearance for the character of Deadpool, then Ryan Reynolds made an excellent trilogy of films thar are fun, funny, and very entertaining to watch and rewatch.
The Union (2024)
Old Flame. New Mission.
I almost forgot this was releasing on Netflix because it looked like a straightforward generic action movie put on streaming, but despite the two lead actors that got me to watch it, but going into it I was hoping to at least get some fun enough action, good enough performances, and a couple of laughs from it; after watching it, I did get at least most of that, but it was mostly by the numbers with a premise we have all seen before in other films. The Netflix movie The Union (2024) was a generic action movie with good enough performances, an occasional funny moment, occasional good action, a premise we have seen before, a predictable twist, and antagonists/villains that are unnamed and have extraordinarily little information on who or what they are; the movie is not technically good, despite having some entertaining enough moments, there is not much to say about it because of how similar it is to other movies that most likely did this premise a bit better.
Both Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry as normal Mike McKenna and agent Roxanne Hall because they are both giving good enough performances for a movie like this, like Mike being a straightforward normal guy who is some kind of construction worker and is dragged into working for The Union in a quick and unbelievable way; also, he was just an overall average character. Roxanne was an ok character who has some connections that play into later, despite Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg working well off each other, sometimes their back and forth could get a little annoying because of the dialogue they are given to say; there is not much to her except that she is a cool agent that grabs someone she knows to help her without giving much of a reason why or an explanation. Lastly, there are characters like the boss played fine by J. K. Simmons, who could have been played by anyone, but he occasionally has a funny line here or there; the rest of the characters in the movie are just there for you to be suspicious of them so a certain predictable twist can occur in the third act climax.
The villain/antagonist is this unknown organization that is trying to stop whatever it is the leads are doing, but there is not much information on who or what they are, and there is not much to an evil plan except for an average plan of leaking information on The Union which can lead to them taking control of certain things and getting money out of it; there is a twist on who is doing all of this, but it was predictable because of how obvious it got. The movie has some fine action sequences that are entertaining and fun enough to watch, though there is at least one or two that could have lowered the number of cuts because I know Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry can do action, along with there being some good choreography; there were occasional funny moments but also some awkward moments, along with the third act climax feeling drawn out a bit with the movie feeling a bit too long, which is why I think it's one hour and forty-seven minute long runtime should have been shortened for a standard action movie like this.
The Netflix movie The Union (2024) was a generic action movie with good enough performances, an occasional funny moment, occasional good action, a premise we have seen before, a predictable twist I could see coming, and antagonists/villains that are unnamed and have extraordinarily little information on who or what they are; the movie is not technically good, despite having some entertaining enough moments, there is not much to say about it because of how similar it is to other movies that most likely did this premise a bit better. This is not an action movie I can see people watching that much on Netflix, because it is more likely to be something you can play in the background, so this is not something I am going to recommend watching; this is not worth rushing to Netflix to watch, you can skip this one.
Trap (2024)
30,000 fans. 300 cops. 1 serial killer. No escape.
When it comes to M. Night Shyamalan's films, they can go three ways, good or bad or entertainingly bad in that guilty pleasure way, but I am always excited to see a new film from him because I think he can make entertaining or interesting films with interesting premises; for his this film, the main thing that got me wanting to see the film was the premise and what the trailer said about a serial killer being the lead character. The M. Night Shyamalan film Trap (2024) was an entertaining and fun enough thriller with a great lead performance, intentional and unintentional funny moments/lines of dialogue, not completely great side character performances, a nice setting with nice cinematography, good suspense, and good music; though I expected this from a M. Night Shyamalan film, the dialogue was only good for the lead star but the side characters had such laughable dialogue either it was intentional or unintentional, which does make the film entertaining along with the sort of implausible premise and the setting of a big concert performance making it feel closed in since there are police and SWAT teams everywhere near or around the building.
The lead character or serial killer, as it shows in the trailers, Cooper is played very well by Josh Hartnett giving a believable performance as this dad taking his daughter to see a concert of her favorite singer and as this well-known serial killer known by people as The Butcher; he was smart when trying to avoid or disguise himself from being noticed by the cops, creepy at certain points in the film, and they do reveal a bit of his backstory which could explain why he is insane. I did like the father daughter relationship between Cooper and his daughter Riley with him being a funny, awkward, but likable person who prioritizes keeping his daughter happy with the concert and trying to not get noticed by any police or SWAT teams; the side characters went from funny to weird/awkward, especially one character that is somebody who Cooper and Riley know, but she does not have a lot to her except for that she is a bad person. Lastly, I will just say that the lead performance from Josh Hartnett is the best part of the film, but also there is Saleka Shyamalan playing the pop star Lady Raven, and her acting performance goes from good enough to mediocre whenever on screen, but I will say that her original songs for the film on for the soundtrack was good to listen to.
There are quite a few suspenseful moments with effective creepy moments involving Cooper being his serial killer self, though the writing or the dialogue for Cooper is well-done, the writing is not completely believable with the side characters because there were unintentionally funny moments that I laughed at because of certain lines of dialogue they said; also, this because I play video games, but there were moments that made me think of the Hitman video game series which is when Cooper is going around certain areas in disguises or taking people out in secret. I do agree with the people who say that the premise seems implausible or that they do not think it is believable, but I thought the film was entertaining with its intentional and unintentional funny moments and the lead performance, along with a third act climax that went a certain way I was not expecting but I did think it was a bit drawn out; Cooper being the killer is not much of a twist because it is in all the marketing for the film, but I will say there was an interesting big reveal in the third act climax.
The M. Night Shyamalan film Trap (2024) was an entertaining and fun enough thriller with a great lead performance, intentional and unintentional funny moments/lines of dialogue, not completely great side character performances, a nice setting with nice cinematography, good suspense, and good music; though I expected this from a M. Night Shyamalan film, the dialogue was only good for the lead star but the side characters had such laughable dialogue either it was intentional or unintentional, which does make the film entertaining along with the sort of implausible premise and the setting of a big concert performance making it feel closed in since there are police and SWAT teams everywhere near or around the building. This film was good, and I am looking forward to whatever M. Night Shyamalan directs next, because other than the mediocre dialogue and some average performances from side characters, the film was entertaining and fun enough to watch; I recommend giving this a watch if you are a fan of director M. Night Shyamalan, or if you like entertaining thrillers.
Despicable Me 4 (2024)
He's going undercover
When it comes to the Despicable Me franchise, Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013) were both great animated films, Despicable Me 3 (2017) was a good enough sequel, the first prequel film Minions (2015) was average, and the Minions sequel Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) was pretty good; I was not expecting there to be a fourth installment, I did not know that much about the plot going in, and despite this being Illumination's most popular franchise, I was wondering why there was a need for a fourth film. The fourth installment Despicable Me 4 (2024) was ok because the film has well-done voice acting, great animation, a plot that is unfocused, entertaining moments with the Minions, fun action scenes, an entertaining enough main villain, and quite a few side plots; because I did not know much about the premise of the film going in I was a bit surprised by certain random and weird moments that would occur even if they do not make that much a difference to what its main focus is.
I still like Steve Carell as Gru, and it goes between being funny and a little cringey when he is trying to be undercover with a fake identity, but there is also his new son Gru Jr. Who does not like him for some reason not explained, and a villain from the past wanting to get his revenge on him because of a certain event that happened; I also still like Kristen Wiig as Lucy, but she does not do much in the film except for being shown adapting to her fake identity and taking care of Margo, Edith, Agnes, and Gru Jr., along with the three girls having an occasional funny moment despite not being in the film that much. There is this girl named Poppy Prescott, voiced well by Joey King, who is the daughter of the neighbors next door to Gru's family safe house, and I thought she was a weird character; she is introduced quickly with her making her and Gru to do a heist, and later have her and him be friends somehow in a rushed way making her scenes feel unnecessary at times. Lastly, the Minions working at the AVL were entertaining to watch and seeing these five Minions turn into Mega Minions was entertaining enough to watch, despite their side plot having little to do with what the main characters are doing; also, what I noticed was an occasional superhero movie reference with the Mega Minions failing at saving people.
The main villain is Maxime Le Mal who is voiced well by Will Ferrell who is having some fun in the role, because this character was weird and occasionally had a funny scene, and the reason for why he wants his revenge on Gru is stupid but funny along with him having an obsession with cockroaches that leads to future events in the film; also, there is Maxime's girlfriend Valentina voiced well by Sofia Vergara, who does not do much in the film but have an occasional funny line. Though the action scenes are fun to watch, and the animation is excellent, the film felt all over the place with it cutting back and forth between multiple side plots involving Gru and his family being undercover, the Mega Minions, Maxime wanting his revenge, Gru Jr. Being nicer to his father Gru, Lucy and the girls fitting in at their school and job, and Poppy wanting to be a villain by pulling off a heist with Gru; the comedy did not always work, with it either being a bit awkward or cringe worthy, but there are quite a bit of entertaining and fun moments along with quite a bit of effective funny moments and weird moments that surprised me.
The fourth installment Despicable Me 4 (2024) was ok because the film has well-done voice acting, great animation, a plot that is unfocused, entertaining moments with the Minions, fun action scenes, and an entertaining enough main villain; because I did not know much about the premise of the film going in I was a bit surprised by certain random and weird moments along with the multiple side plots the film has. This installment is not terrible, and it is not excellent, it is a fine addition to the franchise that I thought was entertaining and fun enough to watch, leading to a fine conclusion; I highly suggest that the Despicable Me films should end here because this fourth film made me think they were running out of ideas for them, so I will say you should at least watch this once, and I recommend giving the last three films if you have not already.
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Evil brothers
I have liked the first film Despicable Me (2010) thinking it was an enjoyable and funny movie, and I like the second film Despicable Me 2 (2013) and thought it was a worthy sequel, along with the spinoff film Minions (2015) just being ok with an occasional funny moment; so, I did not know what to expect when going into the third Despicable Me film, but after watching it, I can say that it is a good sequel, just not as good as the second film. The third movie Despicable Me 3 (2017) was entertaining and funny with well-done voice acting, excellent animation, a funny villain, detours through other side plots, and a funny enough direction taken for the Minions; throughout the film I did like it and there were an occasional issue involving it getting distracted by separate plotlines or sudden changes in tones or certain emotions from the characters, which is why it is good but not as good as the first or the second film, but it is better than the first spinoff Minions film.
Steve Carell is still great as the character Gru, and he is funny as Gru's twin brother Dru, with Gru finding out about his brother and that his family has a past of being villains and Dru trying to get Gru to teach him the ways of villainy; I liked how Gru was hinting at going back to being a villain but really he likes where he is at now and that he wants to get his job back at the Anti-Villain League, and there was a good enough brother dynamic between Gru and Dru. Kristen Wiig is good as Lucy with her trying to get used to being a mom to the three girls Margo, Edith, and Agnes, which was nice to see, but then you have most of this side plot of sorts involving Agnes trying to find a unicorn that starts and ends quickly; though not in the film that much, Lucy and the three girls are entertaining to watch and can be funny. Lastly, the Minions quitting from their job working for Gru and eventually getting put in prison was funny, though they are funny, it did feel unfocused as it will cut back and forth between what Gru is doing and what the Minions are doing at the same time.
The villain Balthazar Bratt voiced well by Trey Parker was an entertaining and funny character who is all about the 80s after being a child star back in the day on a hit show many years ago, there are lots of things in this movie because of that are 80s style like the music and how he dances; when he and Gru went up against each other it was funny to watch. The 3D animation is excellent, especially with their action sequences and the look of the locations, like Gru and Dru doing a heist or Balthazar Bratt's big 80s lair, along with quite a bit of funny moments with the dialogue and the characters; I did have an issue with the detours or side plots being put in the way of the main plot, like Agnes trying to find a unicorn or the Minions in prison, these things would occur and will be finished quickly or it would go back and forth a bunch during the main focus making it a bit disjointed at times despite it being entertaining.
The third movie Despicable Me 3 (2017) was entertaining and funny with well-done voice acting, excellent animation, a funny villain, detours through other side plots, and a funny enough direction taken for the Minions; throughout the film I did like it and there were an occasional issue involving it getting distracted by separate plotlines or sudden changes in tones or certain emotions from the characters, which is why it is good but not as good as the first or the second film, but it is mostly better than the first prequel Minions film. If you liked the other two Despicable Me films, then you will like this third film, even if you liked the first Minions film you will like this; these Despicable Me films are just entertaining enough and funny enough to watch making great animated films to check out from the Illumination studio, especially since Despicable Me (2010) was how Illumination got started.
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
When the world needed a hero, they called a villain.
The first movie Despicable Me (2010) not only was a very good movie and was successful, but it was also the first animated movie from the animation studio Illumination that got it to be as well-known as it is today; the sequel Despicable Me 2 (2013) that came out three years later after the first was a very good and entertaining follow-up. The sequel Despicable Me 2 (2013) was funny and entertaining to watch with well-done animation, great voice acting, effective emotional moments, and fun action involving Gru, Lucy, and the minions; there is a little side plot going on at the same time as the main plot, but it was funny enough to be fine for the movie, with the minions obviously being for the kids and bringing the childish humor to the film.
Steve Carell still does a wonderful job voicing Gru making the character a funny and likable character, with him being recruited into the Anti Villain League and him working with AVL agent Lucy when looking for a certain serum used in a plot from another villain; I like how Gru takes on the role of being an agent for a secret team while taking care of his three daughters, and the three girls Margo, Edith, and Agnes voiced again by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher who are all funny and there is some kind of side plot going on with Agnes, but they are still likable and entertaining with Gru being a protective parent at times. Gru's new partner Lucy voiced by Russell Kristen Wiig was a funny character and I liked seeing her and Gru work together and build chemistry with one another when they are going on certain missions to find a serum the agency is looking for, and how they can seem like opposites by the way they act; also, at the same time Gru's minions mysteriously disappear because of a plan being put together from the actual main villain, which can be funny, and the minions themselves can be funny despite being there for immature childish humor.
The main villain that Gru tries to prove to the agency that he is still around, which is big reveal on who it is, so no spoilers but I will say he is voiced well by Benjamin Bratt; he is a funny, who does use and steal Gru's minions for a certain plan he has been working on for years, while also just trying to have Gru join him because of the last movie. The 3D animation is well-done, the minions are funny in the scenes they are in, and the action scenes are fun to watch; the look of Gru's lab and gadgets are cool along with the look of the AVL tech and headquarters, but also that the weapons used are cool when used on people; the movie does go more into a spy movie, and I liked that direction it was heading. Also, there are some songs by Pharrell Williams that are nice to listen to, along with there being quite a few heartfelt moments between Gru and the three girls or Gru and Lucy when Gru is being a protective father and building a relationship with Lucy.
The sequel Despicable Me 2 (2013) is as enjoyable and entertaining to watch as the first, because it has well-done 3D animation, quite a few funny moments and memorable lines of dialogue, and incredibly good voice acting; Illumination still did an excellent job with this movie, though it is not a perfect animated movie, it is still fun to watch for both animation fans and families. This movie is worth watching and rewatching like the first, with this being a good sequel to a movie that got this animation studio started; a great follow-up to a great animated movie that I recommend.
Despicable Me (2010)
Superbad. Superdad.
This is Illumination's first ever animated movie when they were starting out, and then eventually got popular and well-known where it got two sequels plus a fourth one coming soon, and two prequel movies focusing on the Minions; it makes sense why this movie is so well-known, because the movie itself is particularly good. The movie Despicable Me (2010) has well-done 3D animation for the year 2010, quite a few funny moments and memorable lines of dialogue, incredibly good voice acting, and an introduction to the Minions who helped Illumination become as well-known as it is; except to be popular for just merchandise, the Minions are funny in the movie, along with there being some good catchy songs by Pharrell Williams.
Steve Carell does a wonderful job voicing Gru making the character a funny and likable character, with going from being a big villain to being a good dad once he adopts three girls for a plan that involves a shrink ray and stealing the moon; I like Gru's progression from wanting to be popular villain again to wanting to be a dad and taking care of the three girls. The three girls Margo, Edith, and Agnes voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher are all funny and I like how they warm up to having Gru as their parent, and I like the interactions between Gru and the girls; with Gru helping the girls sell cookies, take them to dance class, and attending their dance recitals. Also, Gru's assistant Dr. Nefario voiced by Russell Brand is helping with Gru's plan to steal the moon and make weapons and vehicles for Gru in the lab with a bunch of the Minions who tend to mess around and screw things up when it comes to following certain instructions or completing a task.
The other villain that Gru goes up against is Vector voiced by Jason Segel, who is known as an idiot by how he acts but will do something evil like stealing the Pyramid of Giza; he is a funny, annoying villain that you want to see Gru take down. The 3D animation is well-done, the minions are funny in the scenes they are in, and the action scenes are fun to watch; the look of Gru's lab is cool along with the look of Vector's lair, but also that the weapons used are cool when used and seen put together. Also, the songs by Pharrell Williams are nice to listen to, along with there being quite a few heartfelt moments between Gru and the three girls when they are bonding having more of a father daughters' relationship.
The movie Despicable Me (2010) is enjoyable and entertaining to watch, because it has well-done 3D animation, quite a few funny moments and memorable lines of dialogue, and incredibly good voice acting; Illumination did an excellent job with their first movie, though it is not a perfect animated movie, it is still fun to watch for both animation fans and families. This movie is worth watching and rewatching, it makes sense why this would get three sequels and two prequels, because it got the animation studio started and gave us memorable characters, like Gru and the Minions, which made this studio what we know it is today.
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)
Squirrel and sponge adventure
I will start by saying that I think the show SpongeBob SquarePants that started in 1999 and is currently still airing with new episodes is a great animated show from Nickelodeon, along the great first movie titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), a good and entertaining enough follow-up sequel called The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), and an entertaining enough third film titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2021); despite it taking a while to come out, I was still interested in a Sandy Cheeks spinoff movie being released. The Netflix SpongeBob spinoff movie titled Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024) had good voice acting, good 3D animation, bland live-action performances, random scenes that had little to do with the plot, cringey moments, and an occasional out of nowhere song number that felt out of place; the movie had funny moments and the original voice actors are still great at voicing their characters, but it was not as good as the other three films because of how unfocused it got, and the mediocre villain was too weird and it got a little hard to watch because of her cringey over the top performance.
Carolyn Lawrence is still great as Sandy making her a likable character, along with SpongeBob also voiced great by Tom Kenny, they are both entertaining to watch even with some of the weird dialogue and things they do; Sandy having a connection to this facility in Texas was a good setup for the adventure and though there are some moments of expected implausibility, her using science and knowledge to save Bikini Bottom was not bad. SpongeBob is dragged into this to help Sandy save everyone because he was the only other person remaining, but he does have an occasional funny line and he is entertaining to watch, but I would have liked it if he had a little bit more to do instead of acting like an idiot most of the time; also the rest of the characters like Mr. Krabs, Patrick, Squidward, and Plankton are still voiced well by Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, and Mr. Lawrence despite not being in the movie that much and having an occasional scene here or there. Lastly, Sandy's family was entertaining enough to watch with some good voice acting from actors Craig Robinson, Johnny Knoxville, and voice actor Grey Griffin; they did get annoying at times, but it was at least to learn more about Sandy's past with her family and why she went to Bikini Bottom in the first place.
The weird villain named Sue Nahmee played by Wanda Sykes giving an over-the-top performance as this person takes Bikini Bottom for a weird and stupid plan I was not expecting going in, and the way they show her backstory was very awkward and made me question what I was looking at multiple points in the movie; I will also say that the live-action performances from the human scientist side characters were not that good making them sound wooden. The 3D animation was not bad, and it worked well with the live action environments, and there were occasional funny moments and lines of dialogue, but there were quite a few random moments in the movie that do not lead anywhere and makes me question what is going on; also, there were very sudden moments of song numbers for this movie that is not a musical, with these songs either being cut off in the middle or they are played in their entirety with no reason to be in the movie.
The SpongeBob spinoff movie titled Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024) had good voice acting, good 3D animation, bland live-action performances, random scenes that had little to do with the plot, cringey moments, and an occasional out of nowhere song number that felt out of place; the movie had funny moments and the original voice actors are still great at voicing their characters, but it was not as good as the other three films because of how unfocused it got, which is why I can understand why there are people not liking this movie. Though this movie is not completely terrible since I was entertained while watching it, I am not going to tell you to rush to Netflix to watch this, because this one is not as good as it could have been; not as good as the other three SpongeBob films, but it was still enjoyable enough.
Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024)
The evil red pocket watch
The Descendants movies are enjoyable and entertaining enough to watch from Disney Channel that have good enough performances, good and catchy songs, and an ending with the third movie I thought was satisfying enough for the trilogy, along with the actual conclusion being the animated special Descendants: The Royal Wedding (2021) that came afterwards and was also enjoyable to watch; I did not know there was going to be a new movie with new characters, but I was at least intrigued to see how they could expand on this world, especially since they are now welcoming people from Wonderland into Auradon. The fourth movie Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) was not that bad, though it is not as good as the last three movies, I still was enjoyed it and was entertained by the good enough performances, good songs, musical numbers that felt random, a mix of over-the-top and standard characters, cheesy lines of dialogue, ok CG digital effects, and nice visuals with the nice choreography; I did like the inclusion of Wonderland, though I would have liked to see more of it, it was still visually cool to see.
I liked Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker as the villain kid Red and good kid Chloe who are at odds with each other at first until they decide to work together once they time travel, which leads to me saying that I did like how Red wants to be herself and not be like her mother the Queen of Hearts despite how much she is pushed to do certain things she does not want to do; there is not much to Cinderella's daughter Chloe except for slowly building a friendship with Red and help with what occurs in the plot, along with her occasionally being annoying. The rest of the characters are the famous Disney villains younger in school with newer characters like Merlin, but the look of these characters was either too silly looking or designs that were mad a certain way, so you recognize who they are; also, there younger characters that are famous good characters from Disney movies like Aladdin or Prince Charming that looked average in their designs. Lastly, not that much of the cast from the last three movies are in this except for the return of China Anne McClain as Uma, and despite being good in the movie, she is not in the movie that much and is mostly there to catch you up on the time skip between movies; the major point is that she is the new headmaster of Auradon Prep.
The main villain is technically the Queen of Hearts played by Rita Ora, who gives an over-the-top performance with her being a well-known tyrant in Wonderland and in Auradon, with her forcing her daughter to rule side by side with her, and her ruling over people is believable enough; there is a reason she is like this, which is why and Red and Chloe go back in time to fix something, but there was an occasional moment where she gives an odd performance when it came to acting upset about some things that occur. The focus of the movie is mainly the time traveling to fix the Queen of Hearts when she was younger, and when they go back in time it was interesting to see what the school was like back then along with how certain things that occur in the past effect the future; the songs in the movie are good and catchy enough to listen to, despite some musical numbers occurring at random, with Wonderland looking cool in its visuals and good set design with what looks like a higher budget, along with well-done dance choreography.
The fourth movie Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) was not that bad, though it is not as good as the last three movies, I still was enjoyed it and was entertained by the good enough performances, good songs, musical numbers that felt random, a mix of over-the-top and standard characters, cheesy lines of dialogue, ok CG digital effects, and nice visuals with the nice choreography; I did like the inclusion of Wonderland, though I would have liked to see more of it, it was still visually cool to see along with it showing how the Queen of Hearts rules over her kingdom and decides to execute people. Lastly, I will just say that this movie is not excellent by any means, but I still enjoyed it like the last three, despite it being not as good as the other movies; it is hard to complain about this film because you know what you are going to get going into it, so if you like the other three movies, then you might like this.
Twisters (2024)
Chase. Ride. Survive.
I thought the original film Twister (1996) was ok by liking the weather stuff in the film but not caring that much about the two leads played by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, who are not giving bad performances, I just liked everything going on around them involving the tornadoes rather than liking them; so, I heard this new film was reboot sequel of sorts where it does things like the original but does it with new characters and an occasional updated thing to make it a little bit different. After watching, I will say that I liked the film Twisters (2024) more than the original with it having well-done performances, great weather effects, good suspense with good tension for the lead character's safety, nods to the original, funny moments, and some subtle changes to this film that works well with this premise about storm chasers like the original; there will be people who like the original who are worried that this film will change what was good about the first, but actually this film does not change anything except for uses of newer technology and newer looking cars.
The main two characters Kate and Tyler played great by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell being storm chasers who are at odds with each other at first until they build a bond and get along, with Kate being a likable character who was done with storm chasing because of an incident that happened but returns because of a friend of hers asking for her help; Tyler at first was unlikable in a weird charming way at first, but throughout the film he becomes more likable because of his storm chasing past, and builds a storm chasing bond with Kate that I liked seeing. Lastly, there are other characters that either are there to be picked off by the tornadoes, or there to be weird people who are bad or are good and helping the leads such as Tyler's crew who record him doing his storm chasing , along with a friend of Kate's being Javi played very well by Anthony Ramos who is part of some kind of company that he thinks is helping people by getting data on tornadoes but is really doing something else leading to him having good development to being against things to helping the leads by the end.
The effects on the tornado/tornadoes were great to look at with them looking real and intense, though there was an occasional unbelievable moment, I did feel the suspense and wanted the characters to survive, along with it being entertaining to watch when it is destroying places or sucking people up; also, there are moments where they make it more threatening or scary once a certain event happens, and I thought it was cool to watch. If you are fans of the original and are thinking this film is going to change what was good about it, you do not have to worry about any of that, because nothing is changed that much except updated technology and newer looking cars for the storm chasing; at least all of the film is similar to the original, with certain characters, places, and storm chaser equipment used that is almost exact on how the original is executed, which is why I think fans of the original will like this movie because it does not mess up or retell anything the film before it has done already.
I liked the film Twisters (2024) more than the original with it having well-done performances, great weather effects, good suspense with good tension for the lead character's safety, nods to the original, funny moments, and some subtle changes to this film that works well with this premise about storm chasers like the original; there will be people who like the original who are worried that this film will change what was good about the first, but I think fans will be satisfied with this film because of how entertaining and fun it is. I am someone who thought the original was ok, and thinks this newer film is better than it, so other people will either disagree or agree with me; if you like natural disaster movies, then I will at least suggest watching the original Twister (1996) and this film back-to-back making an entertaining and fun double feature.
Longlegs (2024)
Horror, thrills, and murder
All I knew going into this movie was that it was some kind of crime mystery involving Nicolas Cage playing a serial killer, and after I finished watching the film, I was surprised about what I saw with how everything looks, how it is directed, and how it is executed; because of the certain things in this film and because it is a slow burn while watching, I can see this film being divisive with a lot of people, only certain people who like movies like this will probably like this more than others. The horror thriller film Longlegs (2024) was fantastic with its great direction, excellent performances, creepy and disturbing moments from beginning to end, an investing FBI serial killer search, great cinematography, with it being cut together well with well-done editing, and a serial killer played by a great actor giving a creepy and disturbing performance; without giving any spoilers, I will give my thoughts on the film and what I liked in it, because I recommend watching this film little about the plot and without seeing any trailers that could give away details about it.
The lead actor Maika Monroe as Agent Lee Harker was fantastic, with everything about her feeling a bit off by the way she acts, talks, or moves around to different crime scenes, along with her having a past of sorts that she either has forgotten about or is dealing with the effects of what happened; without spoiling anything, I will just say she is good at her job with her having sudden things occur that notify her about the murders and where to look for the killer. It is hard to say anything else about any side characters because it either leads to spoilers or there is not much going on with them, but I will say there are other characters like Lee Harker's mother played by Alicia Witt or FBI Agent Carter played by Blair Underwood; the last thing I will say about any of the main or side characters is that the main character is that her past was interesting and creepy when you are figuring it out as you go along with her while she is trying to solve these murders to find the one responsible for them.
Nicolas Cage as the serial killer called Longlegs was great, though he is not in the film that much, when he was on screen, he gave such a creepy, disturbing, insane, and entertaining performance that was amazing to watch; without spoiling who or what he is, I will say he and Lee Harker have a connection of sorts that is very interesting to learn more about and the way he kills people is also interesting and brutal, but also whatever Longlegs does in the film either has a reason or it does not and it just shows how insane he is. The cinematography is excellent with nice wide shots, panning shots, and camera movements that fits well with the creepy tone or atmosphere the movie has, along with being cut together well with a well-done musical score that helps with any suspense or creepy moment that happens; what I also liked, alongside the great uses of silence in moments, was that the search for the serial killer is investing and there are quite a few very effective creepy and disturbing scenes that creeped me out and gave me chills while watching.
The horror thriller film Longlegs (2024) was fantastic with its great direction, excellent performances, creepy and disturbing moments from beginning to end, an investing FBI serial killer search, great cinematography, with it being cut together well with well-done editing, and a serial killer played by a great actor giving a creepy and disturbing performance; I am not going to expect a lot of people to like this film, but I am sure there will be a small few of people like who love this film, which is why this will be divisive amongst critics or casual audience members. I am simply happy that an original horror film like this came out to theatres and that my auditorium at the theatre was filled with people interested to see this film, and I am glad that I saw this film; after watching it I wanted to go back and rewatch it because of how much I liked this movie and how it is directed, which is why I would highly recommend giving this a watch, especially if you like horror films like this.
Twister (1996)
The dark side of nature
I do like natural disaster films that involve tornadoes, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc, especially since there are quite a few of them in the 90s, with the film Twister (1996) being one of those films that people either like or dislike because of certain things that occur in it; after watching it, I thought the film was good and entertaining enough to watch with its occasional silly or over the top situations involving the tornado, despite issues that are hard not to notice while watching. The film Twister (1996) is an entertaining enough disaster movie that fine performances, standard characters, well-done weather effects, entertaining action scenes, and tornado destruction that makes the film at least fun to watch; there are stuff that happens in this movie that are implausible or just too silly to believe and a certain thing going on between the main two leads that I felt like could have been taken out or done better to make them better characters to follow when they are going around chasing these storms to get some data or when they are just doing this for fun.
The main leads Bill Harding and Jo Harding were fine characters, and they are played fine by Bill Paxton and Hellen Hunt, but I did not like that they were both divorced by having Bill Harding have a bland fiancé and Jo Harding being obsessed with storm chasing and not going along with the divorce; they got annoying at times when they would constantly argue and one was pushing the other into doing something that could kill each other when getting close to a tornado. Another storm chaser who is shown as an antagonist is named Jonas Miller, who is played fine by Cary Elwes, he does not do much in the film except to be a rival to the leads and to act like a jerk in certain moments, along with him not being in the movie that much; also, I will say that I do like what happens to him by the end of the film, because it was entertaining to watch. Lastly, the rest of the storm chaser crew were a bit annoying and weird, but since that is because they are excited about what they are doing involving this tornado, it did not bother me that much; what did bother me was how the fiancé Melissa Reeves played by Jami Gertz could have been cut out of the movie, that is because she does not do much and her performance went from blank expression to screaming every second because of the destruction.
The effects on the tornado/tornadoes were well-done and they did look real, though there were occasional moments of noticeable CGI, it still look cool, along with it being entertaining to watch when it is destroying places or sucking people up; also, there were quite a few moments involving it somehow knowing where the main characters were and was following them, and I thought that was a bit unrealistic on how it was shown. The stuff with the divorce and the fiancé could have been taken out or changed to make it work better and there were moments where the characters survive certain attacks, and it did not look believable, but I will say that the action scenes involving them dodging things being flung at them was entertaining to watch; I will also say that hearing their knowledge on storms and tornadoes was cool, and the way describe different forces of tornadoes was interesting and it made sense that they would know this kind of stuff.
The film Twister (1996) is an entertaining enough disaster movie that fine performances, standard characters, well-done weather effects, entertaining action scenes, and tornado destruction that makes the film at least fun to watch; there are stuff that happens in this movie that are implausible or just too silly to believe and a certain thing going on between the main two leads that I felt like could have been taken out or done better to make the characters at least likable, which is why I like everything else around the characters. I do like natural disaster films that involve tornadoes like this if they are done well, though there are people who dislike this film because of how stupid it can get, I did find this movie at least entertaining and fun to watch; I can understand why there are people that like this movie and why there are people who dislike it, but I think this movie is worth watching at least once if you have not already.
The Garfield Movie (2024)
Indoor cat. Outdoor adventure.
I like the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, and I did not like the two live-action films that came out in 2004 and 2006 because of how little had to do with the character and how it portrayed certain things in a wrong way, so I was at least hoping for an animated Garfield movie somewhere down the line because it could only work like that; with this animated film I liked the look of it but was not sure how having actor Chris Pratt in the role was going to go. The Sony animated film The Garfield Movie (2024) was an enjoyable and funny enough time watching with nice voice acting, excellent animation, some good action, funny enough slapstick, a crazy villain who was just ok, and an interesting enough father and son relationship between Garfield and his dad Vic; I did think the heist part of the plot was a bit weird for this character but found it entertaining enough and there is kind of a side romance for a side character that they focus on occasionally by the second act, this could have been taken out because it was not really needed for a film like this.
Though Chris Pratt was not my first choice to voice Garfield, he was not bad in the role, and I got used to his voice as the film went on whenever he said a line of dialogue; he was funny with how he gave certain sarcastic comments, with how lazy he is, and how he uses drone delivery to get a bunch of food with it coming into play later, also the backstory on how he met Jon was nice seeing along with why his real dad has not been seen for years. Garfield's real dad Vic voiced well by Samuel L. Jackson, who has some kind of past that involves a debt he owes the villain and having to toughen up the indoor cat Garfield who gets forced to help, and I like how Garfield argues with Vic about where he has been for years and why he left; the father and son relationship was not bad and Vic teaching Garfield about the outdoors while on the heist was not bad. Lastly, there is Odie who also gets forced to do the heist who does have an occasional funny moment, there are side characters who has an occasionally funny line, and Garfield and Odies's owner Jon, voiced fine by Nicholas Hoult, also has an occasional funny scene despite not being in the film that much.
The cat villain in this is named Jinx, voiced fine by Hannah Waddingham, who was a character that acted crazy in a way that can get a little annoying whenever she is just talking to someone or telling her dog minions what to do; she was a fine villain who has a connection to Vic and wanting to get her revenge on him by doing a milk heist, which was a bit entertaining to watch, especially when you see the security and the many rooms it has. The animation is great with it being pretty to look at by having nice visuals, movements, and backgrounds including characters like Garfield having funny big expressions and nice details in his orange fur; this film does have quite a bit of funny moments with a heist element to the film that made it entertaining but a bit out of place for the Garfield character, and the dad drama was a weird addition despite it being done well, along with a side romance with side characters that could have been cut out because of it being weirdly focused on quite a bit by the second act to the third act.
The Sony animated film The Garfield Movie (2024) was an enjoyable and funny enough time watching with nice voice acting, excellent animation, some good action when on the heist, funny enough slapstick when getting out of situations or getting into something, a crazy villain who was just ok, and an interesting enough father and son relationship between Garfield and his dad Vic; I did think the heist part of the plot was a bit weird for this character but found it entertaining enough and there is kind of a side romance for a side character that they focus on occasionally by the second act, this could have been taken out because it was not really needed for a film like this. If you like the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, then you will like this film fine, because I thought it was an entertaining and enjoyable enough animated film; this animated film was not bad, I liked it more than the other two live-action films, and I would say that this is film is worth watching at least once.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Remember her.
I did like the fourth film Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) quite a bit and thought it was an awesome thrill ride of an action movie that was investing to watch, and while watching it I thought the Furiosa character played by Charlize Theron was cool, so having film about her origin and how she got to where she is in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); I went in with reasonable expectations, and came out thinking it was almost as good as the last film. The fifth film in the Mad Max franchise by George Miller called Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) was an excellent revenge story with fantastic performances, great effects, fun and fast action sequences that are investing to watch, an entertaining villain, a few uses of noticeable CGI and green screens, and small pacing issues; the film does have some cool connections to the previous film in some way that makes sense, and I liked the whole revenge story in this film because it makes this story very personal for the main character and eventually satisfying when she succeeds in what she wanted to do by the end.
For most of the first act it focuses on a young Furiosa played by Alyla Browne, who does an excellent job portraying a young silent Furiosa who goes through so much involving how the villain ruined her life by attacking her family, doing torturous stuff, and just thinking he can do anything to innocent people; when we get around to the second act we get Anya Taylor Joy in the role of Furiosa as advertised, and she was fantastic as this character, with her not saying anything for most of the film except in small quick moments that were cool to watch and it was very entertaining watching her on her revenge quest leading to a satisfying conclusion. There quite a bit of characters from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) that you are going to notice, like Immortan Joe or Rictus Erectus, and they do have roles in the film involving a cool confrontation between the villain named Dementus and the last film's villain Immortan Joe; there is one character who Furiosa bonds with on her journey, and I like how this bond makes certain things from the last film better in many ways that means for her character.
The villain in this film is Dementus played by Chris Hemsworth, who is having fun in this role giving an impressive performance, with him looking almost unrecognizable and him speaking with a weird voice that made him fun to watch in many scenes; he was funny, threatening, and unlikable enough when he does evil and brutal things to powerful people or he just does whatever he wants to innocent people. The action sequences are fun and fast paced with amazing stunts and choreography, along with great effects and locations; the only thing noticeable in some scenes were a few uses of CGI and green screen instead of being completely practical, but it was not all awful because it did make things look grand and the wasteland look big with great visual storytelling. Lastly, my favorite thing in this film was Furiosa's revenge against Dementus and how it builds throughout the film until the third act climax in a fulfilling and satisfying way; I like how certain things that occur in this film effect what happens in the last film, and the visual storytelling with showing Furiosa through the years until completing her goal by the end was investing and made me more and more interested in her.
The fifth film in the Mad Max franchise called Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) was an excellent revenge story with fantastic performances, great effects, fun and fast action sequences that are investing to watch, an entertaining villain, a few uses of noticeable CGI and green screens, and small pacing issues when going to different points in Furiosa's life that are split up by chapters; the film does have some cool connections to the previous film in some way that makes sense, and I liked the whole revenge story in this film and how personal it is to the character leading to a great conclusion. Though this is the first film in the Mad Max franchise to not have Max in it, I still highly recommend giving this a watch for those who loved Mad Max: Fury Road (2012) or for those who just like revenge films in general, because this was an excellent experience; do not skip this film.
The Casagrandes Movie (2024)
Mexico, demigods, and family
I like The Loud House spinoff show The Casagrandes that started in 2019, which ended in 2022, because I thought it was an enjoyable animated show with likable characters and a nice-looking animation style like The Loud House; I am hoping that at least the movie on Netflix is had what I liked about the show since this a conclusion for the show, especially since this film is not going down the musical route like The Loud House Movie (2021), which I did not expect. The Netflix film The Casagrandes Movie (2024) is an enjoyable enough film that has good voice acting, nice-looking 2D animation, a good enough and interesting villain, likable main characters, and some new elements added into this film that were not established in the show; this film is not spectacular by any means but it was a good conclusion of sorts to the show that people who watched the show will like, and for those who have not seen the show, the film is good and enjoyable enough so you do not have to see the show to watch this movie.
The main Casagrande family is likable enough, with Ronnie Anne Santiago trying to get alone time on her twelfth birthday away from her family, until accidentally releasing a demigod; I like Ronnie Anne trying to fix what she did by working with her family, and since her and her mother tend to disagree, her mom has to learn to give Ronnie Anne space to be on her own and Ronnie Anne has to fix her issues and make up with her mom by the end. The rest of the Casagrande family are not in the film that much, but they are entertaining and likable enough with each one of them having a certain personality or quirk, along with them helping in the third act; I like the family relationship between Ronnie Anne and her family, and I would have liked to have seen them more because they are not given much to do. Lastly, the history of Mexico and the Casagrande family was interesting, along with the new additions of demigods and magic that was not in the show but was cool seeing with the improved animation and the bright visuals to make it investing to watch.
The villain is this demigod Punguari who was fine, like she is not bad or anything, I just thought she was a good enough villain for a movie like this, with her backstory having a connection of sorts the Casagrande family and her being a angst filled teenager who wanted to be a god despite not being ready for it; the elements introduced in this were not established in the show, that being any magic or god elements, which is used in the villain's plan in some way involving taking over Mexico for her own doing. The 2D animation looks the same as the show just with more movements and certain shading details to make it look improved on with bright visuals/colors making Mexico look pretty, and there was an occasional funny moment; there is not much else to say because this film does not have a complicated premise or anything or anything really big or noteworthy, I will just say that this was an easy watch.
The Netflix film The Casagrandes Movie (2024) is an enjoyable enough film that has good voice acting, nice-looking 2D animation, a good enough and interesting villain, likable main characters, and some new elements added into this film that were not established in the show; this film is not spectacular by any means but it was a good conclusion of sorts to the show that people who watched the show will like, and for those who have not seen the show, you will just see this as an enjoyable Nickelodeon movie. The last thing I will say is that I would recommend giving some episodes of the show a watch because I do think it is a good enough show, with it being enjoyable to watch; for the film, it is just a fine animated movie that is worth watching at least once.