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Reviews
Click (2006)
Honestly, this is one of Adam Sandler's better movies
Alright, I know this has been out for 18 years now and a lot of people have seen or at least heard about it, but for those who didn't, this review is for you.
Click is probably one of the few Adam Sandler movies where he actually tries and doesn't just make it for crude humor and stupid jokes. Sure, it has some of his typical jokes that can be a bit dumb, but this has a bit of drama to it that actually is a little surprising for an Adam Sandler movie.
The plot is about Michael Newman, played by Sandler, a workaholic father who tries to balance out his work life and his family life, but has a hard time doing so as he spends so much time at his job, which frustrates his wife, played by Kate Beckinsale. Then he comes across this inventor, played by Christopher Walken, who gives him a universal remote that allows Michael to skip over time. At first, Michael is fascinated with the remote's abilities as he can use it to skip over the stressful times, but soon realizes it takes over his life and begins skipping over several important moments in his life that he misses out on. Michael then realizes that he should've cherished all his moments with his family regardless of how stressful things have gotten.
Now, I have to admit, the first time I saw this, I was quite surprised at how it was actually pretty decent. Like having some drama in an Adam Sandler-produced movie was not exactly something you would expect, but here it was done pretty well. The concept of balancing work and family was done well here and the moral of family coming first no matter how stressful life/work can get was presented rather well too. Yes, things do kind of get a bit dramatic towards the middle to the end for Michael Newman, but things do end up well as a result and leaves feeling grateful for your family and got to give credit for Adam and his team for presenting that well here (I won't say what exactly happens in the end, but that'll be something you have to see for yourself!).
Also, the concept of a universal remote being used to change your life was pretty cool. Using it to fast forward through your life or edit things in your life was interesting and it makes you kind of wish that actually existed. However, at the same time, having a remote like that can have its flaws as skipping over moments in life will result in it automatically fast forwarding on its own and can lead to consequences and missing out on important moments in one's life and you can't go back to living them. So kudos to Adam and his team for pointing out that the best things can also be the most dangerous as well and sometimes, it's best to deal with what you have and not wish for something that'll take over you're life.
So overall, I personally think this movie is one of Adam Sandler's better movies. Now it is still overall a comedy and has a lot of Adam's typical humor that does get a laugh out of you in my opinion (like Michael making jokes about his boss and a guy his wife meets later on, as well as a running gag with a stuffed duck and his dogs), but having the addition of drama was a nice touch and was done well too.
Now true, the concept of Click does borrow quite a few plot elements of It's a Wonderful Life, but honestly, despite copying those plot lines, I thought it was done pretty well here and seeing them in one of Adam's movies was something different for him. Some people may not find it new and interesting, but to me, I still think it worked out pretty well here.
So I know a lot of people probably saw Click by now, but if you haven't, I recommend you do because yes, it's another Adam Sandler movie and does contain his trademark sense of humor, but it really is one of the few he made where he tries to make it good and to me, he did it decently well for the most part here and I'd say you should give a chance and watch it for yourself. Plus, it's a good reminder to cherish moments with your family even if work can get a bit stressful, which is something that everyone should remember.
So go see it!!!
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
One of the few standalone sequels that is better than the original!
Okay, so first off, before anyone says anything, I just want to clarify something: I do like the original Jumanji. The story, the action/adventure, the visual effects and of course, Robin Williams is what made that one a classic and it always will be.
Now, as for Welcome to the Jungle: the premise is about four high schoolers who get sucked into the world of Jumanji (much like how Alan Parish did in the first one) and become avatars within the game. As a team and using their avatars' traits/abilities, they have to work together and play through the game in order to complete the game's mission and return to the real world. After seeing this, I was pleasantly surprised at how good this turned out to be. To be honest, I was not expecting it to be all that good, but have to admit, it was quite enjoyable and in quite a few cases, an improvement over its original source material.
First off, I think the premise was pretty cool. Instead of the board game premise, having the game be a videogame is a little more interesting and a little more up to date. Plus, it adds more features to the game that the regular board game did not have (i.e. When a avatar dies, they only lose a life and get revived, and the avatars have traits/abilities is pretty cool too). Also, having all the main characters, instead of just one, get sucked into the game and being an avatar within the game is pretty cool too and makes the storyline more interesting as well, as they have to learn to adapt to their character. Lastly, there were some pretty cool twists that you didn't really see coming and made the plot more interesting than the original as well.
Secondly, the humor was pretty good and hilarious as well. Yes, the original had its humorous moments (especially with Robin Williams), but here, it was a little more present and made the movie more enjoyable. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart are obviously great as their characters' avatars as they always are, especially when it came to them bashing each other (both verbally and physically!), but Jack Black was probably the biggest standout of them all. Having him pretend to be a spoiled teenage girl whose avatar is an older man in the game itself was a genius move. I swear, I never laughed so hard at Black in a while for that goofy performance and personally, I think this role is what made him funny in live action roles again (he's great in the Kung Fu Panda movies, but those are voiceover roles, and he hasn't been in a good live action role in a while, in my opinion). Also, Karen Gillan was pretty good too playing the awkward character of the group and kudos to her for giving comedy a try. Nick Jonas was pretty funny too, especially when his character made some old fashion jokes (that's explained in the movie). So definitely, I thought the humor was better in Welcome to the Jungle than the original, though that was probably intentional as the first movie was meant to be more of a drama.
Also, the action/adventure aspect was done pretty well too. Having more characters and more battles is what made this movie more exciting and intense. Sure, there were not as many animal encounters as the original and there were more human encounters, but still, when the avatars encountered any predators, it was pretty cool and done well. Plus, having it all take place inside the game is what I think allowed for more battles, rather than in the real world, and works out better. Additionally, the villain (played by Bobby Cannavale) is pretty cool too and to be honest, a bit more interesting and sinister than Van Pelt, as he does not just shoot a gun all the time!
Lastly, I like the fact that this was more light-hearted than the original as well. Kinda going back to what I mentioned earlier, this one is more of a comedy rather than a drama and that works out perfectly here. This is also where I have a bit of a qualm with the original: the drama made it a little gloomy. Yes, Robin Williams does add humor and lighten the mood of that, but some moments are just kind of depressing, dark, or too intense (i.e. Alan's bad relationship with his father, Judy and Peter's parents being dead from accident, Peter nearly getting crushed by an elephant and nearly swallowed whole by an alligator, and Van Pelt shooting at Alan recklessly and nearly shooting others). Here, with Welcome to the Jungle, I personally thought the writers/producers did a great job of making this more family friendly and more enjoyable and already having a light-hearted tone that makes everyone feel comfortable and engaged in the story/adventure.
I could go over more details, but those were the main points that I wanted to cover about why I liked about Welcome to the Jungle. I wouldn't say it's a masterpiece per say, but it's still quite enjoyable and exciting and worth a watch. Now, I still do like the original Jumanji for sure, but Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is definitely one of those rare standalone sequels that works and is an improvement over the original source and if you have not seen the movie yet after all these years, I recommend you watch it and you will more than likely enjoy yourselves.
P. S. - The tribute that Welcome to the Jungle does for Robin Williams was a nice touch and shows some good respect for the original movie.
Saturday Night Live: Kristen Wiig/RAYE (2024)
One of the better episodes this season!!!
Now, I haven't watched much of Saturday Night Live this season because to be honest, most shows have been kinda dull and unfunny and I saw a number of them haven't been getting the best reviews. However, when I saw Kristen Wiig was hosting this time, I figured it might be good since the past few times she hosted, they were pretty decent. So I gave it a shot and watched it have to admit, this was actually pretty good and funny.
The skits were written with a lot of funny intent, Kristen nailed her typical quirky and weird characters like she always did on Saturday Night Live (both when she hosted and when she was a regular), and it was stacked with so many celebrity cameos as well. Like as usual when the host hosts for the 5th time, they get their Five Timers Club jacket and seeing all these celebrities (like Paul Rudd, Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Paula Pell) appear was a nice touch, even if some of them didn't even host 5 times! That was probably the funniest skit.
As usual, Colin Jost and Michael Che nailed Weekend Update with their jokes and sense of humor. The jokes were pretty hilarious, especially when they bashed each other, and the bit with the New York earthquake and the solar eclipse was pretty weird but funny. Also, Aunt Linda (one of Kristen Wiig's characters from the past) was pretty funny too with her usual complaints about society.
The musical guest was pretty good too. RAYE's musical performances were nice and catchy and I liked it was laid back and had nice jazzy tone, as opposed to some of the other pop/rock/rap music that plays these days. That was a nice change.
So yeah overall, I'd say probably along with Kate McKinnon's episode, this one was definitely one of the better episodes this season. The skits were smartly written, had a great host/musical guest, and stacked with a lot of celebrities. Seems kind of ironic that it seems like the writers really put in the effort when an SNL alum or a big name celebrity is set to host, but glad they did here and I'd say you should give this a shot and I promise, you won't be disappointed.
Seinfeld (1989)
A timeless, hilarious, sitcom classic that will never get old
I know there's people out there that think Seinfeld is not funny and is just stupid, but honestly, the show is probably one of the funniest sitcoms in today's world and easily beats out quite a few shows that are just as popular, like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and The Office. Sure some the concepts are weird and absurd and they turn out to be pretty goofy, but that's what makes Seinfeld hilarious and somehow, for the most part anyway, a timeless classic that will never get old.
Now true, as it is said multiple times on the show, it is a show about nothing and it's just about the daily lives of Jerry Seinfeld (in a fictional role), George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Kosmo Kramer and there's really no morals or life lessons presented in the episodes. To some, I know they may not like that, but in this case: that actually works out fine. For these characters, they really don't need to go through any experience that changes their perspective on life and them going through life like ordinary people without really learning anything is actually a pretty realistic move on a sitcom. It's also kind of refreshing to have a show that's there solely for humor and not really any morals and Seinfeld is one of those shows that's a perfect example of a sitcom.
Also, the humor is exceptionally funny because although it's goofy and at times pretty stupid, the way it's done is clever and nicely paced. Also, unlike some of the other classic sitcoms, like those I mentioned above, the humor on Seinfeld is not forced and happens naturally. Specifically, what I mean is the jokes aren't there just to fill in a spot for a laugh track and they actually make you laugh (as long as you have a sense of humor). Like on Friends or The Big Bang Theory, you can tell the jokes are forced too heavily, particularly in the later seasons, and they come across as slightly funny or just dull. Now on Seinfeld, that rarely happened and the jokes happened naturally and sometimes what happened next was unexpected and that's what made it funnier than anticipated (particularly some of the slapstick humor of Kramer). True, like the other shows, the humor slightly got duller in the later seasons, but honestly, that's typical for long-running sitcoms and Seinfeld held up well for the most part until the end.
Lastly, like I mentioned above, some of the situations the characters get themselves into are downright absurd and silly and somehow, makes it a classic. Some episodes, like "The Contest", "The Outing", "The Soup Nazi", and "The Opposite" are examples of how the characters get themselves into weird situations and as silly as they were, they make the show what it is and definitely show how hilarious the show is and how it is definitely a show about nothing. Sure, the situations may be pretty exaggerating, but that's the idea for the show and that's what makes Seinfeld a classic.
I could keep going about this show, but given that it's been around for 30 years, we all should know about it by now and know how funny it is. Even if you don't like it or haven't even seen it, try giving it a shot or another shot and don't take it so seriously and just expect humor, then I can guarantee that Seinfeld will win you over and you'll see how smart and cleverly written it is and why it is a timeless sitcom classic.
Ted Lasso (2020)
The show we need right now!!!
I actually did a review of Ted Lasso a while back, but that one was pretty long and probably too much to read. So, I want to give another opinion about this amazing show and be a little more direct and point out what makes the show so good.
First off, the premise of the show is about this football coach from America, named Ted Lasso, who moves to England to coach European football (in other words, soccer). Ted has no idea how to manage soccer and has no prior skills but is willing to do his best and is unaware that he was being set up for failure by the team's owner, Rebecca Welton. However, due to his friendly, optimistic, and cheerful personality, he begins to the win the heart of his team members, including Rebecca, and they begin to follow his nature, which leads to some surprising results for the team along the way.
Now I could go on and on about why Ted Lasso is so good, but to sum it all up, it is this: it has an excellent mix of comedy, drama, and heart. The latter is what I found most surprising about this show because back when I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be another typical sitcom with rather dark, cynical humor (similar to Seinfeld, The Office, etc.), but after I started watching it, I was quite surprised to see some of the whole-hearted behavior from some of the characters.
If you haven't seen the show yet, I won't give any spoilers, but whenever a character has some sort of a meltdown/panic attack/family crisis, another character (even if they dislike the person who's having them) will actually hop in and help console them and make them feel better. I was really not expecting to see something like that, but when I did, it actually brought a smile to my face and made happy that there's some light-heartedness in this world. Also, I'll put it like this, if you want a show that has that type of behavior, then this is the show you need to see, and I promise it'll make you feel better.
Alright, now besides the light-heartedness, the comedy is pretty good as well, especially when it comes to Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso. His humor is always on point and the way Ted interacts in his goofy, cheerful ways with others will make you bust out laughing. Brett Goldstein also adds a lot of humor as well as Roy Kent, since his character is the polar opposite of Ted and the way their personalities clash occasionally almost always works. Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton is also quite the scene stealer and her character creates some fun chemistry with Ted, Roy, and a few other characters as well. The rest of the characters and the entire soccer team are pretty good and funny as well and they all have great chemistry together.
I won't go into too much more detail about the show, but I will say that if you're looking for a show that has great performances, goofy humor with a good mix of drama, and whole-heartedness, then Ted Lasso is the show for you. Now the show is over, but you can still stream it on Apple TV and all the episodes are still there. I can't guarantee you'll love it per say, but I'd recommend if you need some cheering up and it will make you feel better about yourself and about the people surrounding you.
Once Upon a Studio (2023)
Best way to celebrate 100 years of Disney!!!
When I heard this year marked 100 years of Disney, I was curious to see how they would celebrate it and hoped they would do a decent job of it, especially since I grew up with Disney. Then when I heard about Once Upon a Studio, I decided to give it a shot and after I saw this, it was not just decent: it was outstanding and full of nostalgia.
Like when I say the team who made this special poured their hearts into making this special EXTRA special, I mean they poured every last drop. Seeing all the characters from 1923-2023 together onscreen to the resurgence of hand-drawn/2D animation and to the emotional nostalgic tone is what made this special in my opinion the best anniversary one to come from Disney yet and I applaud the team for their efforts.
Now I don't know where to begin on what made Once Upon a Studio outstanding, but it was definitely the elements mentioned above and here's what I mean specifically for each of them:
1. When I say this special has all the characters from the past 100 years, I mean it has literally 98% of them, and not just the popular ones from The Lion King, Aladdin, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, etc. Like even those from somewhat forgotten media or box office flops appear (i.e., The Black Cauldron, The Rescuers Down Under, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Meet the Robinsons, and even Home on the Range!!!). I was quite surprised to see them appear, but that actually made me happy to see that even if their movies didn't do good initially, Disney wanted to represent them and show they are still part of the Disney family (though some other characters, like Mufasa and King Triton among a few others, were absent, but again, they tried to include as many characters as possible and it was still impressive).
2. Although CGI animation was used for this, the sight of the hand-drawn animation was a breath of fresh air and was done beautifully. I'm glad they brought this back and didn't make it all CGI because I think I speak for everyone when I say we all grew up with the hand-drawn animation and seeing it here once again brought back our childhoods. Additionally, the way they made pretty much all the 2D characters look nearly exactly like how they did in their original movies was amazing too, especially since they were animated by the hand-drawn animators who have worked on them in the past (like Mark Henn, James Baxter, Ruben Aquino, Nik Ranieri, and Will Finn, all of whom had great artistic talents on the 2D films and I'm glad they had another chance to do what they do best in this special).
3. The emotional tone in this was on point, and there was a number of elements that made it up as well:
* For one thing, hearing a good number of characters being voice by their original actor (i.e., Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson as Belle and Beast, Jodi Benson as Ariel, Jeremy Irons as Scar, Tom Hulce as Quasimodo) brought a smile to my face and I'm glad they didn't replace them with someone new. Now for some characters, they did (like Iago and Cogsworth), but I guess they couldn't do it for all the characters, and they did what they could and I'm glad for other characters (like Peter Pan and Jiminy Cricket), they used old recordings of their voice actors to honor them. Also (and I'm sure those who haven't seen it yet have heard about this by now), hearing Robin Williams' voice as the Genie once again, via unused recordings from Aladdin, was such a blast of nostalgia and I almost cried during that part because it was so nice to hear his voice once again, even if he's not with us anymore. Thank you to Mr. Williams' estate for allowing the Disney company to use the recordings and for understanding how much Robin's work as Genie meant to us!!!
* For another thing, the scene where Mickey comes across the portrait of Walt Disney himself and stares at it while Free the Birds from Mary Poppins (Walt's favorite song) faintly playing in the background was quite emotional, especially when Mickey quietly thanks Walt. It was like watching a son thanking his dad for everything and that was nicely done.
* Lastly, and probably the most emotional nostalgic part of the entire special, the ending scene with everyone joining in with singing When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio was the best way to represent celebrating 100 years of Disney. It starts off slow and one by one, each character joins in singing, and it was such a beautiful moment to see all of them together singing the song that best represents the Walt Disney Company, and its main theme song as well. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I'm glad when it was Jiminy Cricket's time to sing, they used Cliff Edward's original recording of the song and did not recast him and that was a beautiful moment to honor Mr. Edwards as well, since he was the one who brought the song to life.
I wish I could go on more about what else made Once Upon a Studio outstanding, but I think I said pretty much everything here. The last thing I'll say is the tribute to Burny Mattinson was nice and heartfelt too as he contributed A LOT to the studio and this special was a nice way to honor his legacy, especially since up until he passed away, he was the longest serving member at the studio and we thank him for everything he contributed to many Disney films.
Now, I don't know if all this is enough to say that Once Upon a Studio is the best way to celebrate 100 years of Disney, but all I can say is you should give it a shot and I can almost guarantee you'll be reliving your childhood once again and it'll bring a smile to your face.
Also, thank you so much to the team behind the special for making Once Upon a Studio and for capturing everything that made the Walt Disney Studio a big part of all of our lives, and if this does make it into the category, I really hope this wins Best Animated Short Film at the next Academy Awards.
Last of all, Happy 100 Years of Disney!!!!
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Halle Bailey was great, small but interesting changes, a bit slow in some parts, but still better than some of the recent live action Disney remakes.
So, I know people have strongly mixed feelings about The Little Mermaid remake and to be honest, I don't blame them, but in my opinion, I thought it was actually pretty good and worth watching. Now that's not saying it's great, but I would say compared to some of the other live action remakes from Disney, they were actually trying to make this good and you could tell they were too. The acting was pretty good, the songs (both the original and the new ones) were pretty decent too, and some of the changes they made from the original worked out pretty nicely as well, though there were some cases where there could've been improvement.
Let's start off with what I believe most people are saying was great (and I'm glad they are too): Halle Bailey as Ariel. She was STELLAR as her, both with singing and acting, and I would say her performance was probably the best part of the movie. She played Ariel so naturally, it didn't feel too forced, and you could tell she enjoyed playing her and she was giving her everything to the character. Her voice was great too and I'm not afraid to admit that her performance during Part of Your World almost made me cry because it was that amazing and beautiful. Heck, I would say her singing was very comparable to Jodi Benson's from the original (who does make a cameo by the way). So yes, definitely, casting Halle Bailey as our favorite mermaid was one part of the movie that was done perfectly regardless.
As for the other actors, they were good too. Melissa McCarthy of course did a pretty superb performance as Ursula and in my opinion, make her sassier, funnier, and even more evil than the original one (though not exactly better as Pat Caroll still owns that role no matter what) and like Bailey, you could tell she had fun playing Ursula and played it so naturally as well. Daveed Diggs also was pretty good as Sebastian (and comparable to Samuel E. Wright) and made him quite funny too and like the actresses, I'm sure he had fun playing him as well, especially when it came to Sebastian getting into arguments/embarrassing situations with other characters! Also, say what you will about Awkwafina as Scuttle (because I know people aren't exactly big fans of hers), but I thought she gave Scuttle a pretty good performance and was a bit funnier than the original (though Buddy Hackett still owns the original too). I don't have too much else to say about the other actors, but I will say that Jonah Hauer-King's performance as Eric was good (especially when it came to his singing for Eric's new solo) and Javier Bardem was nice and stern as King Triton (though could have given him a bit more emotion).
Aside from the acting, some of the changes they made in this version were actually not bad and were slight improvements from the original. Some of which include:
* Scuttle being a female instead of a male and being a northern gannet instead of a seagull (the bigger improvement was the latter as it was cool that Scuttle was able to talk to Ariel and Flounder underwater).
* King Triton's daughters having different names and also being different ethnicities was interesting (I think each representing the different seas, if I remember correctly).
* Ariel helping Max (the dog) getting to the one of the crew's row boats after Eric saves him from the burning ship during the storm scene.
* Ursula and Triton being siblings in this version (which I know was going to be originally used in the animated version, but was cut), though they still didn't exactly deep dive into their relationship and why Triton banished her. Only thing we got was that Ursula wanted to start trouble between the humans and the merpeople, so maybe that had something to do with it.
* Ariel and Eric bonding more here than the original and therefore, kind of building up their relationship better, such as when they're checking out Eric's sea collection and dancing in the marketplace.
* During Kiss the Girl, instead of Sebastian whispering Ariel's name to Eric, Ariel and Eric look up at the constellations in the stars and she points to Aries and that's how Eric guesses her name (that I thought was a pretty cool change and an improvement).
* It's actually explained in this version what happened to Ariel's mother and why King Triton hated humans (if you haven't seen it yet, I won't say what happened, but all I'll say is if you saw one of the direct-to-video sequels to the original animated one, then you can probably guess what happened).
* The new songs in this were actually pretty good, especially since they were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda along with Alan Menken (the original's composer). For the First Time was probably the best and the catchiest one, Uncharted Waters was not bad and pretty good (and nice that Eric was given his own solo, kind of similar to how Jasmine got her own with Speechless from the Aladdin remake), but The Scuttlebutt...yeah, that one was a bit unnecessary and a little annoying (sorry Miranda, you're a legend, but that song was honestly not one of your best). Some the changes to the original songs were not bad too and kind of made more sense.
Those were all the changes that I can think of. There are more, but they would be huge spoilers and I don't want to say them here and you would have to see the film to what else changes.
Now while I liked a good portion of elements about the film, I will say there are parts that I wasn't exactly impressed with. One thing that I was a little less than amazed with was the action sequences. They were slightly intense, but just barely and they felt kind of slow to be perfectly honest. Like if you saw The Lion King remake, you'll know what I'm talking about as with the stampede, it felt so lackluster and didn't leave you feeling like you were at the end of your seat. That's pretty much how I felt during the storm scene towards the beginning, Triton's destruction of Ariel's grotto, and the final battle between Ariel & Eric and Ursula towards the end and they honestly made me yawn because they were that slow. Now, they weren't bad per say and perhaps they couldn't make them very intense due to the high budget and it might've frightened younger viewers, but still, they could've tried putting in a little more effort.
Also, the CGI was completely mixed in my opinion. Specifically, for some characters, it wasn't too bad, but for others, it was. Flounder was where the CGI was honestly not the best because while he did look like a real fish, his design just looked weird and also there wasn't really a whole lot of facial emotions with him (kind of similar to the characters from The Lion King remake). However, the CGI for Sebastian and Scuttle was pretty decent and not too bad and while not exactly outstanding, it's at least better than Flounder and they had more facial emotions too. Lastly, the CGI used for Ursula's tentacles was decent as well and it was kind of cool having them glow as well.
So that's pretty much everything I have to say about The Little Mermaid. Now, is it one of the best Disney remakes? Not really, but is it at least better than some of the recent remakes? Honestly, yes, I think it is, especially from what I saw from critics, they gave it a higher rating than such remakes like Aladdin, The Lion King, and Dumbo. I honestly enjoyed watching the movie and while there were some parts that I thought could've used improvements, the other parts outweighed them and made the film pretty decent and good. I'd say give this a movie a shot if you want to and I promise you, it'll most likely be worth your time.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Beautifully animated, cool action sequences, funny new/returning characters, and full of important life lessons.
When I first heard about The Last Wish, and saw some of the trailers, I thought it was going to be a bit goofy and not as good as the first one (though seeing Puss say "No hablo Inglés" to get out of talking to that dog made me chuckle) and the stylized animation looked cheap and kind of hurt my eyes and I wasn't that interested. However, once I saw a few clips of it, I thought it looked rather interesting and decided to give a shot.
After I finally watched it, I have to admit it was actually very good and comparable to the first Puss in Boots movie and in some cases, even better. The premise was interesting, the animation actually was pretty good, the stylized animation actually worked out pretty well (especially for the action sequences), full of new characters that were funny and cool, and had some important life lessons for everyone to remember and use in their everyday lives.
So I liked the premise because Puss using up eight of his nine lives and trying to get to the Last Wish to gain them back while also battling a bunch of other characters who want the wish sets up a cool and interesting story that'll keep you hooked to see who actually gets the wish. You can kind of guess what will happen in the end, but you still want to see what happens regardless.
The animation was pretty beautiful as well because although they did not use the realistic animation of the Shrek movies or the first Puss in Boots movie, having it stylized and more comic book-like works out well here as it makes the movie look more vivid and gives you a more fairy tale vibe. Plus, there were more details they could add to the characters and the scenery as well. Also, as much it kind of looked cheap, the stylized animation worked out well for some of the action scenes and made them look pretty cool and graphic and added more suspense to the fight scenes between the good guys and the bad guys.
The characters were also pretty cool as well. Puss (once again voiced by Antonio Banderas) is just as funny, cool, and energetic as he always was in the previous films, Kitty Softpaws (once again voiced by Selma Hayek) adds some great humor and banter with Puss once again in his mission, and the new characters were quite interesting too. Perrito, the little dog (voiced by Harvey Guillén), is pretty funny and although plays the typical annoying sidekick, his role works out pretty well here as he helps Puss and Kitty. Goldilocks and the Three Bears (voiced by Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, and Samson Kayo) add some funny humor as well and their banter with each other is quite hilarious as well. Big Jack Horner, one of the villains (voiced by John Mulaney), is certainly devious and sarcastic, and his dark humor is ironically quite funny at times (I mean, if he's voiced by Mulaney, then obviously it's going to be funny, due to his rather deadpan delivery of his lines).
Then there's the Wolf (voiced by Wagner Moura), who serves as the other villain in this, but way darker and more sinister than Jack Horner. Specifically, he is really the Grim Reaper who is after Puss for him cheating death eight times and wants to take his last life as punishment, even though Puss is still alive. Now, when I say this character is dark, he--is--dark! Like from his red eyes to his hooded figure to his low, slow, creepy sounding voice to his spine chilling/goosebump inducing whistling to his only intention of claiming Puss' last life, this is a dark villain done right and probably one of the best ones in any Dreamworks movie in a long time. Heck, I was surprised the directors and writers made the Wolf as dark as they did as it would certainly freak out some kids, and even some adults as well. At the same time though, I'll give them credit for really stepping it up here and making a very interesting and intimidating villain, as well as not making him a surprise villain too and you knew he was a villain from the beginning (the surprise villain trope has been used too much lately and it was nice to have the obvious villain trope come back once again in my opinion). I would say if you have kids, viewer discretion is advised for the Wolf's scenes, but it's just a few scenes and it's not constantly.
Now for the themes, they were definitely important ones that I believe we all should consider in our daily lives. I won't try to spoil anything with them, but the themes presented in The Last Wish involve being happy with the family you grew up with even if they're not your biological family, being around people (and animals) that you can trust, and also, accepting that death is an inevitable thing, but that means living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it and do not waste it. Again, not trying to spoil too much, but they were presented really well in The Last Wish that will definitely grasp your attention and might even get you thinking about how things are going with your life and might make you consider making some better changes for yourself.
Alright, so I know that was a lot to say here, but I just wanted to go over everything that I liked about The Last Wish. I know it's been out for a while now, but for those who haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend giving it a chance because it's definitely one of the better animated movies that have come out in recent years and it's one that I'm sure you'll love instantly once you watch it. It does have its serious moments, but it has a good blend of that and humor and some touching moments that hit you in the feels. Lastly, if you're a fan of Puss in Boots, then seeing him in action once again will definitely satisfy your movie going needs.
So if you have Netflix, Apple TV, or any other streaming service Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is on, go watch it!!!
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Kind of long, but there's plenty of exciting/suspenseful action, great humor/acting, and some surprisingly sentimental sequences that makes this a perfect ending to this saga.
Okay, so I know there's people out there who were hoping for something better or say this wasn't needed, but in opinion, I thought Dial of Destiny was great and was a pretty good sendoff for the Indiana Jones saga. It was pretty long to be honest, but there were plenty of action sequences that kept me excited and entertained and of course, Harrison Ford as the iconic and memorable character was a joy to see, as well as the funny addition of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the intimidating performance of Mads Mikkelsen.
The premise of this takes place in 1969 and is about Indy once again dealing with Nazis (led by Mikkelsen) and racing alongside them to retrieve an artifact that can change the course of time. In this case, it's Archimedes' Dial, which is said to be involved with time travel and Mikkelsen's character wants to use it to go back in time and claim victory for Germany in World War II. Along the way, Indy teams up with one of his old partner's daughter (which is his goddaughter, Waller-Bridge) and some new friends (one played by Antonio Banderas) and some old friends (like Sallah, once again played by John-Rhys Davis) as he tries to stop Mikkelsen's character from getting the Dial and changing history...for the worst.
Alright, I know the premise is basically like Raiders and Last Crusade in that it's another Indy vs. Nazis for an ancient artifact, but the concept presented in this film is still pretty interesting and comparable to those films. Additionally, I will say this: it's at least better than the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (it's not terrible, but the alien concept threw me off and I thought it was a bit cheesy and kind of lame compared to the first three films). Also, speaking of the Crystal Skull, Mutt Williams is not in this film (probably due to Shia LaBeouf doing something that got him fired, from what I remember), but his exclusion actually works out well as it sets up an interesting plotline for Indy and Marion that's a bit heartbreaking yet sentimental (and yes, Karen Allen does return as Marion as well).
Aside from the plot, the effects and the acting were great as well. The de-aging effects used for Harrison Ford during the opening scenes were done really well in my opinion and he looked almost exactly like he did in Raiders (the opening takes place during World War II) and I know some people didn't like it, but I thought it was still good and impressive. Also, Harrison himself praised the effects and said that's how Indy looked like in WWII and how he looked like when Raiders was made!
Also, Waller-Bridge's character was a nice addition and I would say her character is comparable to Marion and way more engaging, smarter, and funnier than the other female leads, particularly that whiny brat, Willy (for those who didn't like Waller-Bridge's character, think of it as this: would you prefer her? Or Willy???). Mikkelsen's character is also pretty intimidating as well and his intensions were pretty evil as well and I would say he's comparable to Belloq and Walter Donovan (heck, his character rarely smiles or makes a joke, which makes him even more intimating). Lastly, of course, Harrison Ford sells it well as Indiana Jones and you could tell he put everything into his role, particularly the serious and emotional scenes, and I'm sure he enjoyed playing his most iconic and memorable character one last time.
Along with everything I mentioned, John Williams continues to nail the musical score and knows how to set the right tone and mood for each scene and proves he can still bring life and emotion to an Indiana Jones film. Last of all, James Mangold's direction is excellent too and definitely on the same level as Spielberg's directorial work and he really knew how to follow in his footsteps to make the Dial of Destiny a proper and excellent sendoff to Indiana Jones.
I know I said a lot here already, but I'm just letting all of you know that this film is actually pretty decent and good and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to see Indiana Jones in action one more time. So if you want to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, then see it!!!