Tag: Movie Review

Perfection in Ron’s Gone Wrong Message!

I appreciate the subtle criticism that Ron’s Gone Wrong makes about social media and technology.

Ron's Gone Wrong (2021) poster.jpgSpoiler Alert

It’s hard not to draw comparisons to Big Hero 6 in Ron’s Gone Wrong. The title character, a B-Bot, is a pill-shaped version of Baymax. This replacement is sleek and stylish and sometimes behaves like a Minion. In this film, no bot is alike because each robot is customized by its owner.

In a world where kids are very glued to social media, owning one of these mechanical wonders to stay ahead is a must. Nearly every child has one, except for Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer). His family can barely make ends meet and he’s a social outcast. This boy had the neighbourhood gang to hang out with before going to the local school became part of the complex equation. As they entered those formative tween years, they drifted apart because everyone has found a clique to belong to. Only his eccentric grandmother notices, and she tries her best to help.

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Polina, A Magical Journey in Review

This film is interesting enough to captivate, but to hold it needs more than a few expositions to reveal why this young girl is special

A Magical Journey (2019) - IMDbAvailable on VOD
Google Play, VUDU, YouTube Movies 

Olias Barco’s A Magical Journey (originally titled Polina tayemnyzia kinostudiyi) is a blend of several familiar young adventures. It sometimes borders on Alice in Wonderland territory such that Polina (Polina Pechenenko), an 11-year-old orphan, ventures from one fairy tale world to another. In this story’s case, it’s jumping from one film world to another to avoid being caught by the wicked witch’s minions.

Taking a slight cue from the first Harry Potter movie, she’s holed up in tiny room in her aunt’s home, a wannabe Cruella, and only has her imagination to keep her sane. She plays with little figures and one day finds mementos from her past. All she has is a torn-up photo of her biological family and a pass to the movie studio her parents once owned. This relative hates the idea she’ll take ownership one day and plans to kill her. Fortunately, she escapes and enters the wondrous world of filmmaking. 

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Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, A Movie Review

This film feels more like an obligatory product that had to be made because of Black Panther’s success

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Wuxia movies are a dime a dozen. To stand out requires a proper vision. Somehow Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (SCLotR) lack the sense of feeling like an Asian film. It’s produced by Chinese-Americans, who are probably two generations removed from their heritage. Instead of earning their wings on some feudal period piece for television in Shanghai (or Hong Kong), they only have the approval of Disney to produce this piece.

This film begins nicely enough, with bits from Jackie’s Chan’s The Myth and Forbidden Kingdom mixed in, but somehow in the tale’s progression, it turns into something like a Black Widow type of film.

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Barely Scratching the Surface on the “Skinwalker”

I secretly wanted his work to connect to the latest folklore, but alas no signs of aliens from Mars are spotted here.

SkinwalkerOctober Coast
Now Available on VOD & DVD

It’s rare to get a movie about the Weird West these days. When it concerns Skinwalker, also the title, I couldn’t help but want to look at Robert Conway’s film. His take in what the Indian legends of these shapeshifters are about is easier to understand, but it has nothing to do with recent investigations of a certain highly secure ranch. I secretly wanted his work to connect to the latest folklore, but alas no signs of aliens from Mars are spotted here.

Instead, we have a very traditional horror tale set in the yesteryears of American colonization. Two cowboys disturb a grave and the chaos that erupts is true to form. The items they stole are haunted, and are a beacon for the spirit to follow. This director also tosses in a few moments in how locals treat the indigenous tribes. And when the dead want justice, there’s certainly hell to pay. If only a voice for the tribal children lost in the residential schools in Canada also existed….

The film begins by showing two cowboys (Nathaniel Burns and Conway) not knowing any better about the stuff they found. Instead of a creature completely ethereal trying to be reasonable with these grave-robbers, it’s simply out for blood. Real-life interpretations of the Skinwalker say it can take on the shape of anyone. So why couldn’t it become someone these robbers know and try to be reasonable? Ghosts are rarely that in entertainment, but when considering the human mind can’t comprehend the paranormal, their flight instead of fight response is normal.

I like the setup and there’s an air of trying to be authentic, but there are times the dialogue doesn’t always measure up. In what is basically a zombie film, anything that’s authentically characteristic about the folklore of the Skinwalkers is not there. Maybe this filmmaker should’ve spent more time reading Louis L’amour than going for a Wild Wild West (the TV series) meets Evil Dead.

3 Stars out of 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3e3_TqDTY

How to Be A Black Widow Isn’t Easy in MCU’s Latest

As a stand-alone product, Black Widow is a very moody film.

Black Widow (2021 film) poster.jpgNow Playing in Theatres and Disney Plus
Spoiler Alert

The long wait to understand why Black Widow is who she is gets muddled on the big screen. I’ve known about her origins by reading the graphic novel collections and consulting the Internet. To finally see her solo adventure in cinema is more of a let’s stick to the MCU tradition: Every hero needs his or her solo adventure, and let’s try not to riff off of Captain America: Civil War too much.

We’ve seen snippets of this superspy’s training from past films. To know how these past scenes and other bits play to her psychology isn’t examined. I was hoping part of the tale would flashback to specific moments of her life and lead up to how she died in Avengers Endgame. Sadly, this would mean viewers would have to know those past movies. There’s no guarantee everyone would understand when the film ends with her broken body, and the last words from her lips muttering, “No regrets…” It can work had it started as an intro, and reference those movies so some fans can go rewatch them again. Movies that are built through flashbacks can be done.

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The Mitchells vs. the Machines vs. Pleasing the Masses

Despite borrowing from the likes of past works I’ve enjoyed, this animated film shines with its kinetic production design.

MitchellsMachinesPoster.jpgBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available on Netflix 

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is certainly a very colourful and crazy mixed media movie about a not so normal family. Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) is about to leave the nest. She’s an artist and a videographer. Her love for theatrics (aka storytelling) is something her dad doesn’t get. He refused to take challenges and was unadaptable. He’s hilariously sad since staying up to date is as foreign to him as kids of today are to punch card technology.

Even the younger brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) is odd. He loves dinosaurs, which is typical for any lad, and is obsessive as Hudson Harper from Lego Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar. Linda (Maya Rudolph), her mom, is about the only voice of reason to keep the clan together. The family dynamics are at the heart of why this film is adorable. This oddball clan is just that, and honestly, it’s Munch the dog who steals the show. This exotropia and bug eyed pug is very familiar tho’, and when I’ve seen a whole ton of animated shows, it’s easy to see what series Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and the writing crew picked from when creating this film.

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