Movies
28 Days Later
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍👍
28 Weeks Later
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- A lot of poor decision making keeps the story going
7 Days in Hell
It's a pretty funny movie. You can see how it inspired Popstar. It feels a little rushed in parts of the story. HBO likely told them to keep it under 45 minutes. Worth watching at least once if you're into the type of humor that Popstar and Hot Rod provide.
A Family Affair (2024)
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👍
A Man Called Otto
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Does a good job handling sensitive topics
About Time
- Romance: 👍👍
- Story: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Music: 😐
American Fiction
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍👍
Anchorman
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
Anyone But You
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
Argylle
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Ending goes off the rails a bit
Beetlejuice
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 👍
- Classic Tim Burton
- Story: 👍
- The life after death premise is interesting
- Not as much Betelgeuse as you might expect given the movie's name
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍👍
- Has some holes, but is a fun followup to the original
Buddy Games
This is a movie you watch with your drunk college buds. It’s a raunchy comedy and not much else.
Bullet Train
- Action: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Some scenes are akin to Kill Bill and related action movies
- Story: 👍
Casino Royale
- Action: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Some beautiful scenery
- Story: 👍👍
- Drags a little at the beginning, but is otherwise entertaining
Children of Men
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Strong visceral imaginary
- Story: 👍
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- Watch this after episode 22 of the anime.
- Basically a really long episode of the show, and that’s not a bad thing.
- Kinda a shame this is the only place Elektra shows up.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
I understand now why they went with a movie over a second season for this story arc. It would've felt cut up and disconnected in an episode format. The story and animation are both top notch. Only a few days later I want to watch it again. I'm happy that more of the series is coming after this. Ending to quickly would've felt strange. I need more of the special flame form in my life though.
Detective Pikachu
This is the second time I’ve watched this movie. It’s a fun movie to watch. Hits that nostalgia bone in your body if you’ve grown up with Pokémon.
Don't Look Up
It's a bit scary how close to reality this movie feels. The commentary on social media, politics, and current (~2020's) society is frustratingly accurate. Nothing in today's world can be a fact. Someone will always say it's a lie and some other people will back them up. Even when a meteor is staring people in the face they won't believe it's real.
Drive
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍👍
Dune: Part Two
- Audio: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👌
- Story: 👍👍
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- The locations, creatures feel authentic to D&D
- Solid action shots
- Story: 👍
- Nothing groundbreaking, but is relatable to a real D&D campaign
Encanto
- Songs feel a little forced and out of place. Probably because there are so many of them. It’s a little overboard. Many sacrifice musical structure have the lyrics be dialog. The lyrics should’ve been dialog to begin with.
- The solution to their problem is…? Not even the movie knows!
- Fine if you want a feel good movie, but it has very little substance. Definitely for kids.
Enola Holmes 2
- Characters: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Mystery: 👍
Escape from Pretoria
- Story: 👍; no depth, but based on a true story
- Cinematography: 😐
- Acting: 👍; Tim Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) is the only character that says or does much
Everything Everyone All at Once
- Cinematography: 👌
- Story: 👍👍
- Tells a cohesive story without sacrificing humor or story beats
- Comedy: 👍👍
- Fantastic absurdist humor
Fatherhood
Kevin Hart does a nice job, especially considering it’s not a comedy. It’s a heartfelt movie about being a single father. It's an enjoyable watch.
Fargo
- Despite the opening, it’s not actually based on a true story.
- Entertaining to watch at least once. The acting are story are both good.
- What’s up with the Mike Yanagita subplot? Doesn’t seem to add much.
Fight Club
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- The settings used give character and context to the filmography
- Story: 👌
- Commentary on consumerism and advertising that is still relevant today
- The narrator’s condition is handled wonderfully
Free Guy
- How would AI feel about how humans "treat" NPC's in games and other interactive media?
- Pretty funny with a creative setting.
- Ryan Reynolds isn't annoying.
From Dusk Till Dawn
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍
Gattaca
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍👍
Ghosted
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- Characters: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Mystery: 👍
Good Burger 2
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Better than the first one, which is saying a lot; it's hard to do that ~20 years later
Hot Rod
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Comedy: 👌
- Story: 👍
IF
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
It Chapter One
- Audio: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Spooky: 👌
- Story: 👍👍
It Chapter Two
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Spooky: 👍
- Not as tense as Chapter One
- Story: 👍👍
Indian Horse
This movie's goal is to educate people on discrimination of natives in the 50s-60s. That's an important topic, but the movie doesn't do much to push the narrative. Two characters kinda randomly die, the kids parents leave out of the blue, and there's child molestation thrown in there for shock factor. When the movie focuses on the main characters hockey career, it's a decent movie. Otherwise it's nothing special.
Love Accidentally
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 😐
Mean Girls
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍👍
Mean Girls 2024
- Audio: 👍
- Strong original music for a musical
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍
Missing Link
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- The animation is beautifully done and unique
- Story: 👍
Mr. Right
- Comedy: 👎
- Martha is annoying
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👎
- The story fails to suspend disbelief
Mystery, Alaska
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Solid hockey footage, but not a ton of it
- Story: 👍👍
Napoleon Dynamite
- Comedy: 😐
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 😐
No Hard Feelings
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👍
Office Space
- Comedy: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
Robocop
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Close to what Blade Runner might look like in Detroit a decade or two earlier
- Story: 👍
Scoob
A fun, modern take on Scooby-Doo’s origin story.
Scooby-Doo
- Story: 👍
- Characters: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
- Story: 👍
- Characters: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders
It's a Scooby-Doo movie with aliens. Does a good job of keeping the mystery alive until the end.
Se7in
Neo-noir aspects give the movie a distinct tone and visual style.- First half is a bit of a slow burn. Things pick up rapidly after Mills and Sumerset get the book list from the FBI.
- Characters take reasonable actions based on what happening around them.
- It was eye opening to realize more than cops have to deal with trauma from crimes. Coroners, doctors, and more are involved (something I thought of while watching).
- The movies runtime is 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Semi-Pro
- Comedy: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
Shaun of the Dead
- Comedy: 👍
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👍
Shutter Island
- The tension kicks in almost immediately. The movie spares little time getting you thinking about possibilities.
- Is Teddy actually insane, or is he part of an elaborate conspiracy? I believe Teddy/Andrew is insane. However, the conspiracy explanation has merit.
Slap Shot
- Manages to illicit a few good laughs.
- The small bits of hockey action are done well, but everything else is boring.
- Reggie Dunlop's (main character) subplot with his wife is downright confusing.
Space Jam
The scene with Michal Jordan as a kid practicing has been in my head on and off over the years. I could never remember where it was from, but now I do. No idea why that scene stuck with me.
This movie is decidedly B tier in it's production. Some questionable audio at times really gives it away. Most of the money seems to have been spent on Jordan and the animations. It's fun for a kids movie, maybe even worth watching once a decade, but it's status as a "classic" is incorrect.
Sony’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Animation: 👌
- Fresh and original, while also amazing to look at
- Story: 👌
- Unique to Spider-Man and comic book movies
- Audio: 👍👍
- Great song selection and voice acting
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
- Animation: 👌
- Not as special since Into the Spider-Verse exists, but still beautifully done
- Story: 👍👍
- Audio: 👍
- Voice acting is still really good
- Song selection isn’t as strong
Spirited
- Cinematography: 👍
- Music: 👍
- Story: 👍👍
Super Troopers
Easily understandable why this became a cult classic. It's a raunchy comedy with some great jokes, and a good story. One of those movies that can be watched multiple times and still be enjoyable.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- Audio: 👍
- Uses generic pop songs effectively
- Animation: 👍👍
- Feels inspired by Spider-verse, without ripping it off
- Story: 👍
Tenet
”I slept on my thoughts before writing this.” Let’s start with the bad. The ending battle is weird. The “good” guys have a large force, but you never see who they’re shooting. Takes away some of the tension.
The "okay" is the overall story. While everything important is explained in one way or another, it’s not always an in depth explanation. The fantastic is the premise of the movie. Reverse entropy is a really cool idea. How they show it on screen is fantastic. More media playing with that idea would be great to see.
The 40 Year Old Virgin
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Some of the humor is antiquated
- There’s hints of a compelling deconstruction of the rolls of sex and masculinity in society, but stops short of saying anything compelling
The Beanie Bubble
- Cinematography: 👍
- Time jumps works well and aren't confusing.
- Story: 👍
- The characters and their interactions are enjoyable.
The Big Year
This is a feel good movie, and it was right up my alley. Bird watching isn’t something that there are a lot of movies on. Quite the cast as well. Lots of people that I recognized.
The Bubble
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👎
The Departed
- Acting: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍
The Hating Game
- Audio: 😐
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 👍
- Some of the fights between the main characters start for very little reason
The Hitman
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍👍
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍👍
- Story: 👍
- Moves quickly for a two hour movie, some things could’ve used more breathing room
The Other Woman
Could be referred to as a reverse rom-com. Instead of a couple falling in love, 3 women realize the same man is cheating on them. They decide to work together to get revenge. While a decent popcorn flick, the movie isn't anything particular special. That said it does manage to tell a cohesive story and trigger a few laughs.
The Princess Bride
- Audio: 👍
- Music potentially inspired some PS1 era RPGs; they sound similar
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Campy, but that’s what gives the movie its charm
The Russian 5
- Audio: 👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍👍
- A must watch for any Red Wing fan
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Animation: 👍👍
- Clean looking, for better or worse
- Audio: 👍👍
- The pop songs feels forced and out of place
- Mario music is much more fitting
- Voice acting ranges from Fantastic (Toad [Keegan-Michael Key], Luigi [Charlie Day], Bowser [Jack Black]), to good (Mario [Chris Pratt], Peach [Anya Taylor-Joy]), to alright (DK [Seth Rogan])
- Story: 👍
The Tomorrow War
It's not good. Has some interesting ideas, but execution is bad.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
Much better than expected. Wasn’t a cliche story about Vesemir traveling with some mage and they hate each other. Instead we got a look at how Kaer Morhen fell, and why the Witcher’s are dwindling. It’s also animated well (Studio Mir). Tetra is a bitch and effective villain (voiced by Lara Pulver (Mirana)).
Tropic Thunder
Such a strange movie. It has a few points that are funny, but also a lot of down time between the humor. It's debatable on whether or not the story in the down time is enough.
Uglies
- Cinematography: 😐
- Story: 😐
Uncharted
- Story: 👍
- Action/Adventure: 👍👍
- Enjoyment For Uncharted Fans: 👍👍
- Acting: 👍
Wonka
- Audio: 👍👍
- Cinematography: 👍
- Story: 👍
- Lots of positive energy, reminiscent of Ted Lasso
Your Name
AKA 君の名は
- Your emotions go on a roller coaster ride that's ultimately worth it.
- Very pretty animation.
- The story leaves a lasting effect. It's something you'll be thinking about the next days, weeks, months, and probably even years later.
- Make sure to use subs that translate text. There's a fair amount of screens and notes that provide context.