RRX: Be Kind, Rewind Decade Retrospective

[Rorschach]

 

Jk, the year's not even done yet. But the first half is officially closed, so you know what that means...!

 

As some of you may know, in the past few game years, starting in Y7, I've opted to go the radio silence treatment: reading every film, then dropping my Top 25, and then finally posting reviews/grades for everything afterward. I wanted to switch up from the standard monthly posted reviews and create a bit more suspense for my year-end lists. I did this out of choice for Y7/Y8 and out of necessity for Y9 due to my living situation at the time, which resulted in me only really reviewing my Top 25 best and Bottom 10 worst films from that year.

 

However, this year, I've decided for old time's sake to bring the monthly reviews back... with a bit of a twist...

 

Even though I'll be reviewing everything this year, the respective grades for each film will not be posted until after the conclusion of my Top 25 list (kinda stealing from your book here,  @4815162342). My main reason for doing this is to give more constructive focus and attention to the films and the reviews on an individual basis, while still keeping an aura of uncertainty in regards to how they stack up against each other at the year's end. IMO, I think this is a good middle-ground between my past methods. And who knows, maybe I'll continue it going forward.

 

But that's not all.

 

In honor of the official end of this decade, following the conclusion of this year's Top 25 countdown, I'll be dedicating the rest of this page to a retrospective look at some of the films from the previous nine game years. Honestly, just typing that out feels super surreal.

 

For this portion of the thread, you guys will get a chance to request films for me to re-read and re-review. It can be any film you want from the past nine game years: a box office smash hit/epic bomb or a critically beloved/panned/divisive work, it doesn't matter. For this section, you will be able to request the following:

 

1 film written by you

2 films written by 2 other users

 

For example, if I were submitting to myself:

1 film by me: Bambi: A Life in the Woods

1 film each from two other users: By the Balls (@Blankments/EGK (co-productions between two players are allowed)) and Spark: Rising (@Ezen Baklattan)

 

My only stipulation is that whatever films you pick, they should be something special to you: whether it be a personal favorite of yours, a favorite of someone else's work, or something that you're just desperate to see be re-evaluated. Whatever they are, I only ask you to be thoughtful with your choices.

 

With that said, though, the following films, and their respective sequels, are unavailable for selection since I will be re-reading all of them for their latest entries and/or rereleases:

 

Gateways

Green Lantern Corps: Rise of the Manhunters

Hilda and the Midnight Giant

Mighty Fall

Poison and Wine

The Scavenger Wars

 

And it should go without saying that my own films are off-limits... since I plan on dedicating an entirely separate section to re-evaluating those anyway 😉.

 

But aside from those, anything is fair game within the boundaries of your three choices, and y'all may begin putting in your requests now.

 

 

With all that said, I'd like to wish you all a very happy 10 years to this game! And I, for one, cannot wait to dive into this year's offerings, as well as the previous nine years!

 

Requests/Exemptions for individual films/franchises:

56 Days of Love, Y2

And the Band Played On, Y2

Best Friends Forever, Y1

The Bronx is Burning, Y8

By the Balls, Y4

Can You Imagine, Y4 + Should You Imagine, Y7

Everything We Miss, Y8

Gateways, Y6

Green Lantern Corps: Rise of the Manhunters, Y5, and Green Lantern Corps: Home, Y7

Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Y7

Lord of the Flies, Y2

LucIId, Y6

Mighty Fall, Y8

Notes from the Otherspace, Y3

The Parvelli Reunion, Y2

Poison and Wine, Y1, Truth Is, Y2, and Dark Side, Y3

The Scavenger Wars, Y1, The Scavenger Wars Part II, Y2, and The Scavenger Wars Part III, Y3

Spark: Rising, Y1, Spark: Homeward (both versions), Y3, Spark: Beyond the Sky, Y4, and Spark: A Hero's Promise, Y6

Starlight, Y7

To The Moon, Y2

Warmth, Y9

Edited April 20 by Rorschach

[YM!]

40 minutes ago, Rorschach said:

1 film written by you

2 films written by 2 other users

Film for me: Can You Imagine? - though in retrospect, I'd change a few things as I gained more experience in the CAYOM game, it and Gateways are probably the two films I am most proud of.

Film from someone else: Notes From The Otherspace by @Ezen Baklattan: Its been no secret I've had a great fondness for this movie. It's probably hands down my favorite film in the game and I think a revisit of this would be a great thing. 

Film from someone else: By The Balls by @Blankments and EGK: Another favorite CAYOM movie I've had the pleasure of reading that like Notes would be a pleasure to revisit.

[MCKillswitch123]

Film by me: Warmth, Y9

Films by other players: Lord of the Flies by @Alpha, Y2; And the Band Played On... by @4815162342, Y2

 

[cookie]

Film by me: Everything We Miss, Year 8

Films by others: The Parvelli Reunion by @Ezen Baklattan, Year 2; LucIId by @Blankments, Year 5(?)

[Reddroast]

Film by me starlight

Film by others: notes from the otherverse @Ezen Baklattan

 

Scavenger wars 1 @cookie

[cookie]

38 minutes ago, Reddroast said:

Film by me starlight

Film by others: notes from the otherverse @Ezen Baklattan

 

Scavenger wars 1 @cookie

He said Scavs couldn’t be requested since he was going to read it anyway.

[Rorschach]

28 minutes ago, cookie said:

He said Scavs couldn’t be requested since he was going to read it anyway.

Yes, and YM already requested Otherspace, so @Reddroast, I will ask that you pick two other films in their place.

[Hiccup23]

Film by me: 56 Days of Love (Y2)

Films by others: To the Moon (Y2) @ChD  and Best Friends Forever (Y1) @Ezen Baklattan

[Reddroast]

13 hours ago, Reddroast said:

Film by me starlight

Film by others: notes from the otherverse @Ezen Baklattan

 

Scavenger wars 1 @cookie

The 2 other films are spark 1 and the bronx are burning

[Rorschach]

January

 

Sony v Nintendo

Spoiler

Spoiler

Kicking off the New Year, we start things off with a fairly solid documentary detailing the titular rivalry between console giants in the 1990s, giving particular focus to Sony. Admittedly, this is not a subject I’m particularly knowledgeable or well-versed in but the film does an effective enough job of laying out the history and facts in a very engaging and easy-to-understand manner. However, I’d say the only real time the film surprised me was the ‘299’ microphone drop moment in the middle, which was hilariously unexpected (again, given I don’t know squat about this stuff). A very nice, well-researched read.

 

Puckshot

Spoiler

Spoiler

About what you’d expect from this kind of flick; nothing all that special. Gotta give the Hoopsverse (cause everything is a cinematic universe these days, even franchises that take place in the normal, modern-day world) some credit for consistent quality.

 

Money Heist

Spoiler

Spoiler

Hmmm, yeah, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling this one. It sucks because it’s got a lot going for it, namely Spielberg in the director’s chair and a very talented ensemble cast at the center. Yet, both of those kind of wind up being my two biggest gripes with this. For one, nothing about this particular story feels fitting for da Berg’s style or sensibilities, although he certainly works his magic to elevate the material in certain sequences. My second, and more prominent, issue is that there are just far too many characters here. A few of them get some time to shine – like Tokyo, Rachel, Berlin, and the Professor – but the rest all blend together after a while. It also doesn’t help that the writing is often quite confusing, and I found myself going back and re-reading certain sections to catch myself up on what was going on in the story. Overall, this was just a very mixed bag of an experience. Not bad by any means, just kind of a mess.

 

Toppings: A Pizza Romance

Spoiler

Spoiler

From the sick and twisted mind of Sam Levinson, the visionary director behind EUPHORIA, ASSASSINATION NATION, and THE IDOL comes his latest project… probably the most aggressively PG-13 thing he’s done to date… 

 

Woo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just a bizarre read on multiple fronts. This is such a hilarious pairing of material and director, definitely one of the most egregious in this game to date. I’d like to imagine Levinson took on this gig to avoid permanent director jail after the disaster that was The Idol, and the final result is a rather cringe-inducingly tame outing for him. The “romance” here just doesn’t work at all. I could not think of a more mismatched pairing than Jenna Ortega and Finn Wolfhard, especially the latter, who has about as much sex appeal as flatbread. At least Ortega sorta understands the assignment, delivering on the over-the-top sensuality that pushes about as far as its PPG-13 MPA rating will let it go. 

 

But the result still feels like a parody of the romance genre it's trying to fit into. As a parody, it can sometimes result in occasionally funny moments, but that’s the thing: it’s trying to be the real deal, and as such, it’s just plain bad.

 

Operation Finality

Spoiler

Spoiler

I was admittedly a bit thrown for a loop when I discovered this was entirely in a screenplay format. Not a major dealbreaker; it’s a pretty quick read once you get used to it. In the future, though, I think sharing a downloadable PDF of the script would be much more pleasing to the eyes.

 

Anyways, onto the film proper, this was a solidly, serviceable time for a beginning-of-the-year genre flick. It doesn’t do anything too crazy or unexpected within the box of your typical sci-fi action-adventure, but as one, it does its job decently, with some neat atmosphere and fun, occasionally thrilling sequences. The characters are nothing to write home about, but you do get just enough from them to warrant some semblance of emotional attachment. Out of the stars, Michael B. Jordan and Logan Marshall-Green get the most to work with, particularly the latter.

 

While the film is efficiently fast-paced, I did find myself wishing the story would’ve taken some downtime to let us explore and bask in this futuristic world as it seemed far more concerned with reaching its designated plot points. It might’ve allowed us some more time to spend with these characters before shit hits the fan for them. With all that said, I had a pretty good time with this one. Do I wish it could’ve gone further in some aspects? Certainly, but I can’t complain much, because we still got a decent flick out of it.

 

Edited March 3 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

February

Viva Las Vengeance

Spoiler

A typical concert film, nothing worth noting here.

 

Room 131

Spoiler

Hahaha. Oh, man. I missed this series so much. 

 

I don’t remember if it was already announced before or not, but without saying too much, yes, this is a spin-off of the Poison and Wine series. I will not dare spoil how it ties into that franchise; I’ll let y’all discover that for yourselves.

 

As for the actual film itself, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so many conflicting emotions while reading something for this game before. To explain: I was really into this for the first two-thirds or so. Like, really into it. It works very well as a character study of Pico Alexander’s Jordan, who I found quite sympathetic, and the central mystery around Zander’s disappearance hooked me right away. Even when the story takes a slight detour, focusing on a long flashback of Jordan’s traumatic upbringing, I honestly didn’t mind it at all, because it leads to a heartwrenching conclusion that left me appropriately devastated and angry. 

 

However, once the film returns to the present, the dial truly gets turned up to 11, leading to a pretty insane and over-the-top conclusion that left me slack-jawed (even before the post-credits scene). I’d rather not say too much about it, but… it’s something, alright. 

 

Here’s the thing, though; even if it doesn’t quite come together as a whole, I can’t help but admire the boldness of the places this film is willing to go. It’s quite fearless in tackling certain themes and subjects that I could tell from reading come from a very personal place for the author. And the first two-thirds were still thoroughly investing enough that I was pretty much down for the ride for wherever this story wanted to take me next. 

 

Boy, did I sure get my money’s worth out of it.

 

The Valkyries vs. The Galaxy

Spoiler

Endless Animation is an interesting studio with quite a varied output, quality-wise. While I’ve genuinely enjoyed some of their films, lately, I’ve grown a bit weary of some of the repeated tropes and formulas that frequently pop up in their works. At the same time, though, I’m always curious to see their new projects and find out where I land on them.

 

And for this particular one… it’s ight.

 

Yeah, I don’t have too strong of a feeling either way on this. For what it is, it’s a pretty bundle of eye candy with some nice animation, solid voice performances, and a catchy pop soundtrack that’s quite pleasant on the ears. But the story here just leaves a lot to be desired. Like a lot of Endless’ output, this is stuffed to the brim with a ton of colorful characters – some memorable and fun (like RuPaul’s villainous Cosma and Seth MacFarlane’s King), some underdeveloped (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Sydney) or entirely superfluous (coulda done without the numerous cameos in the middle there). The main story feels weirdly simplistic yet oddly complicated at the same time. While I do think there’s some interesting commentary about the exploitation of talent, especially in the music industry, the film devotes such a good chunk of its runtime to this storyline that I think the titular Valkyries themselves get a bit lost in the shuffle. All three of them start as recognizable archetypes and go through the exact arcs you’d expect, with no real nuance or intrigue to compliment the story going on around them.

 

It’s a bit frustrating because there is a solid foundation for something really special here. There are plenty of good elements and ideas present, but they never coalesce into something entirely coherent. It’s a decent enough time as is; just not something I feel strongly about one way or another.

 

 

The Legend of Hollis Brown

Spoiler

I dig it. Apart from the somber undertones that carry throughout, it’s a fairly chill Midwest vibes kind of film with a sweet romance between Eastwood and Bassett at its core. I probably could’ve done without some of the more heavy-handed religious talk, but to the film’s credit, it does have more on its mind than just that. One thing’s for sure: all the old folks who make up this flick’s target audience will eat this up.

 

A Ghost Tail

Spoiler

Far too saccharine to a borderline off-putting degree. Like a lot of the other weird fantasy-drama works from Studio Groundswell (and the defunct New Journey Pictures), this exists entirely in a bizarre world where every person and every human interaction just feels oh-so-slightly off from reality, even before the fantastical elements rear their head. As a result, every attempted comedic or emotional beat just comes off as weird and awkward. Certainly, its heart is very well-intentioned, but it's almost entirely misplaced.

 

[Hiccup23]

Thanks for the review! Very happy with the reactions so far! Feeling a Saltburn run? 

[Rorschach]

March

 

Speed Demon

Spoiler

Spoiler

Fairly competent for what it is, but I’ll be honest, the whole subgenre of dark and edgy takes on famous superheroes already wore out its welcome quite a long time ago for me. And while I wouldn’t go as far as to call this a bad film or anything, it simply lacks a hard, satirical bite and falls too firmly into formulaic tropes to make it unique compared to its ilk. Even the graphic violence barely registers – which is a problem considering that’s its biggest selling point. But for what it is, I can’t say disliked my viewing experience. It coasts by just fine with its talented actors and occasionally showcases a few fun sequences, but it never rises above being kind of generic and unremarkable.

 

Klonoa: Door to the Phantomile

Spoiler

Spoiler

Of all the films your animated kids' flick could’ve ripped off, I never, in a million years, would’ve expected it to copy from the ending of The Empty Man of all things.

 

I kid, of course… but only a little bit.

 

This was… fine? Like many of these video game adaptations, I think the appeal of what made their source material work (not that I would know, I’m not a gamer) just gets lost in translation along the way. The vignette-ish structure – largely devoted to unengaging fetch quests, through the POV of a blank-slate protagonist very clearly meant to stand in as an audience surrogate – might work as a playable console game, but as a film, it's extremely unengaging, albeit pleasant to look at, for what its worth. I will say, though, that the “twist” ending does partially remedy some of these flaws in just an interesting enough manner to make this a worthwhile watch. But just barely.

 

Gran Turismo 2

Spoiler

Spoiler

Admittedly very weird that this even exists, especially since the irl Gran Turismo film was released between the two film installments. Though that whole film in itself is weird because it was framed from a true story angle, so technically, it's not even an adaptation. It’s quite bizarre. Anyway, this was a fine enough time-waster, just like the first film. Don’t have much more to add than that.

 

Lions and Dragons

Spoiler

Spoiler

I genuinely don’t enjoy ripping into films, especially ones from a newcomer studio, so I’ll refrain from doing that here. But I’m sorry, this was a whole lot of nothing. Certainly, this fantastical premise and world provide a load of potential, but it fails to fully take advantage of any of it and winds up feeling wholly derivative of dozens of other works that utilize these elements far more effectively. Some decent animation and a notable array of celebrity voice actors will only take you so far. At the very least, this will be a good film to plop your little one down to watch to get them off your back for an hour and a half.

 

Edited March 3 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

April

 

Father vs. Son 

Spoiler

Spoiler

The selling point alone, seeing Denzel and John David Washington duking it out against each other, makes this an incredibly fun watch. For the most part, it delivers on exactly that, though most of its focus is lopsided in favor of the younger Washington. Not a bad thing, though, I’ve always been enamored by his charisma and physical commitment in his roles (like father, like son, I suppose). Part of me does wish that the film delivered more on its title, and I was rather frustrated with the film’s attempt to sequel-bait at the very end, but ultimately, I still walked out relatively satisfied.

 

Cruis'n World

Spoiler

Spoiler

Even with a fun ensemble cast driving around the world in some fun racing sequences, this never really rises above just okay for me. I will say, the fact that the film’s climax that's essentially the moon buggy chase from Ad Astra but with race cars is more than worth the price of admission.

 

The Enormous Radio

Spoiler

Spoiler

Based on the classic New Yorker story, this romantic drama, tinged with a bit of fantasy, provides one of the most intriguing outings from this year so far. Right away, the throwback to 40s and 50s style filmmaking sets it apart, providing a very aesthetically pleasing and appropriate nostalgic feel to the picture. But the actual story itself – concerning a couple who purchase a giant radio that, through unknown fantastical means, allows them to listen in on the conversations of everyone around them – provides an interesting spin on the classic forbidden knowledge narrative, with Scarlett Johansson’s Irene growing invested, and later unhealthily obsessed, with the lives of those whom she listens in on. As expected, this creates quite a bit of drama between her and her breadwinner husband, who hides his own set of secrets from her. 

 

For the most part, the film makes good use of its premise, selling you on Irene’s gradual fall into obsession and the effects that has on her and her family, especially her husband. Another part of me wished that we could’ve gotten more information from the people that she eavesdrops on, maybe focusing on specific individuals to simulate that exact investment that consumes Irene. But the film does make the drama that results from it satisfying enough to engage with. My only real negative point would be the rather anticlimactic ending that just kind of stops unexpectedly right when you think it's going to build up to something bigger. Otherwise, this is a well-crafted, well-written picture with two very good lead performances from Johansson and Foster anchoring its emotional center.

 

Stallions

Spoiler

Spoiler

I give YM major props for resisting the temptation to put Megan Thee as the narrator of this. I know it must’ve taken great strength not to do it.

 

Edited March 3 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

May

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Spoiler

Spoiler

Certainly, a fair improvement over the first film, which I barely even remember. At the very least, this boasts far more of a style and personality that was sorely lacking in its predecessor, thanks in part to a small but talented cast as well as the directing duo behind Bad Boys for Life at the helm this go around. With all that said, this was still just okay for me. It does avoid certain pitfalls of other video game adaptations (this is much better structured than something Klonoa from two months ago) while falling into a few others along the way (I can’t tell whether the dialogue excerpts here are all from the game or not but some of them come across as extremely awkward and clunky in execution here). I also just could not get invested in this story, which only really serves its purpose as a vehicle to keep the plot moving along to hit all the designated action setpieces. Which, granted, are a lot of fun, but the high wears off quickly once you get back into the motions of the narrative. But FWIW, it’s a decent enough time-waster.

 

Doraemon

Spoiler

Spoiler

I just… lol. 

 

This is pretty much strictly a young kids' film – noisy and busy enough to keep them entertained for an hour-and-a-half, but for anyone older, this will be quite an endurance test. It’s not terrible or offensive by any means (though I kind of question what the point of setting this America was given how much this specifically engages with Japanese culture), but for a live-action adaptation of a cartoon, the translation between mediums just does not work here at all. It’s a weird tonal mishmash where the human characters – especially the bully – are sometimes more cartoony than anything going on with the actual titular cartoon character (who, I should note, I found far more annoying than charming). If this film is meant to appeal to anyone, it’s most definitely not me.

 

Also, I don’t think I even need to ask, but I’ll do it anyway: why did Karyn Kusama of all people direct this? Seriously, what’s up so far this year with the mismatched projects and directors? Just weird.

 

DC's The Siege of Savage

Spoiler

Spoiler

The several game years’ culmination of DC superhero films from Endless Entertainment (sans Green Lantern Corps), spotlighting some of the brand’s minor but noteworthy heroes, finally brings them all together in a big-budget tentpole crossover event. Quite ironic that I read this on the day that the final DCEU film was released in theaters; pretty funny how that works out.

 

Even though I’m very much tired of this genre, I’ll admit, there was a decent level of satisfaction in experiencing this years-in-the-making crossover play out. For the most part, this gave me exactly what I wanted out of this kind of film. The clear highlight is just getting to see these characters interact with one another for the first time. Out of the returning cast, Niles Fitch’s Static Shock always remains a highlight, but out of everyone, I did find one of the only new characters, Lryic Ross’ Miss Martian, to be the most compelling out of the ensemble. 

 

Structurally, the film, especially in its beginnings, is a little wobbly, with plenty of time devoted to a long opening prologue establishing Savage’s background, as well as moving its chess pieces around to finally unite all of the heroes. Thankfully, it does pick up from there in the second act, leading to my favorite set-piece where the team attempts to work together to pull off a heist. Otherwise, it mostly adheres to the standard formula you come to expect from a superhero flick, very clearly borrowing story beats from others of its genre, like the first Avengers film, specifically. But overall, it’s a fun and breezy time and I walked out of it fairly satisfied with the experience.

 

The Set-Up

Spoiler

Spoiler

I dug this quite a bit. What starts as a fairly regular rom-com with a standard premise evolves into something not groundbreaking, by any means, but smart and thoughtful in comparison to a lot of its contemporaries. The central relationship between Condor and Centineo’s high school characters evokes some interesting ideas about high school romance: questioning the importantance pursuing love at that stage in life vs. focusing/pursuing your own goals. Whether its simple self-improvement (in Kitt’s case) or just trying to figure things out for yourself, this film comes at these ideas and conclusions from a fresh, nuanced perspective, which I appreciate a lot and wish that more teen-centric stories strived for more often. Just a warm, reassuring hug of a film.

 

12 Angry Veggies: A VeggieTales Movie

Spoiler

Spoiler

A fairly loose adaptation of 12 Angry Men (not sure why McKill said this was identical in structure lol; this makes up quite a good bit of new stuff, especially before the jury even begins deliberation), but compared to the other two VeggieTale remakes of classic films, this finds an agreeable middle ground between the beat-for-beat Veggies in the Rain and the in-name only Citizen Kale. Despite its heavy-handed delivery of the gospel, I do think this has a worthwhile message about discrimination that it gets across well enough. It’s not my thing whatsoever, but it should satisfy its target audience either way. 

 

Edited January 27 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

June

 

Old Men Walking

Spoiler

For an Adam Sandler joint, this is quite an enjoyable romp. While the body-swapping premise is nothing new, the film takes ample advantage of it where it most matters. Watching Sandler and Schwarzenegger portray teenage girls (a la Jack Black in Jumanji) is an amusing concept that the film gets some good mileage from. It’s nothing special – I probably won’t be thinking about it at all by the end of the year – but for what it is, I can’t complain much.

 

Flesh

Spoiler

I never got a chance to review any of Squib’s films from last year because none of them made my top or worst lists so I think I’ll use this review to voice a shared criticism that I’m pretty sure a few others have already commented on.

 

First of all, I do greatly appreciate that there’s a studio in this game dedicated to producing lower-budget animated films from unknown talent. I honestly think that’s pretty cool and I encourage Squib to keep making them. My main issue, which I know others have noted before me, is that the use of fictional voice actors, while not against the rules or anything, does make engaging with the films a bit challenging. Unlike live-action films utilizing unknown actors (a prime example being Numbers’ Finders Keepers trilogy) where you can picture whoever you want in the roles, animation is a different beast where you only have a voice to go off. And unless your film specifies what kind of voice that character sports, it's a bit more of a stretch to envision what they sound like. I get the resistance to using celebrities as voice talent, but certainly, there’s an enormous treasure trove of seasoned voice actors in the animation industry to pick from while still keeping an ideal lower budget. You cast Frank Welker in this specific film and Samuel L. Jackson (who is a big-name celebrity but has plenty of voice acting experience under his belt) voiced the lead in Shadow of the Comet so I know you’re not opposed to it. You can keep using fictional directors if you wish since that doesn’t matter too much but I would encourage you to cast more recognizable talent in the future. Not only do I think it’ll increase engagement with your films but also help them stand out more from others. Just a thought.

 

With all that said, onto the film proper. For what it is, it’s a neat package of cool worldbuilding expanding off an extremely creative premise; the film is definitely at its best when it's squarely focused on the awesome dinos. The human side of things is pretty paper-thin, largely devoted to uninteresting leads who get involved in a fairly cut-and-dry cat-and-mouse chase with the antagonists. It serves its purpose just fine but feels sorely lacking in comparison to its imaginative foundations. Thoroughly meh.

 

LittleBigPlanet

Spoiler

An egregiously uninteresting flick, doubling down on the main problems I had with Klonoa, though at least that film does something fairly unexpected at the end to shake things up. This film is a plain old bore, centering around a blank-slate protagonist who goes on a relatively conflict-free journey culminating with an ending that sledgehammers its main message into the ground. Strictly for younger children.

 

The Secret That Love Brings

Spoiler

A remake of one of the most infamous films of the game that, thankfully, removes said infamous element entirely from the equation. However, what’s left is just a kind of dull bore that’s partially carried by Powell and Randolph’s performances but sadly not enough to raise my emotional interest beyond complete and utter indifference. The definition of a filler flick that's meant to fit in an empty date slot.

 

[Rorschach]

July

 

Ping

Spoiler

About what you’d expect from one of these young kids’ films (and yes, I mean very, very young).

 

51

Spoiler

This has the foundations for something compelling with its true story premise – the fact that this all happened is quite insane – but this is mostly all squandered, thanks to a fairly gimmicky found footage framing device and no real characters of substance to attach yourself to amidst the carnage of an insanely chaotic backdrop. This makes some of the more gratuitous depictions of rape abuse towards the victims, in the beginning, feel downright exploitative, given how it seems more interested in getting to the endless action sequences rather than exploring anything meaningful or substantial with its characters based on real people who went through this ordeal. An egregious case of wasted potential.

 

Freedom Day

Spoiler

The low-budget horror second cousin of Ready Player One and Sword Art Online. Honestly, it's pretty decent in that regard, fully embracing the scary side of those extreme scenarios and the implications of their real-world consequences. Obviously, with such a low budget, there are times when the film is capped off in terms of how far it can take it – evident with the hit-and-miss/uncanny VFX with the undead virtual avatars that haunt the lead – but I do give the film plenty of kudos for managing to do a lot with a little. Solid stuff.

 

Second Dimension: Battle for North Kingdom

Spoiler

Since I never reviewed the first film as it didn’t make either my Top 25 or Bottom 10 from last year, I’ll give my brief thoughts here. For a bid-budget tentpole from a newcomer studio, it’s an admirable first entry but the experience is brought down quite a lot by some very sloppy writing and derivative fantasy narrative with only a couple of unique aspects sprinkled in to compensate for its trope-ridden story and archetypal characters.

 

Thankfully, this follow-up is a decent improvement over its predecessor, thanks in large part to a vastly more eye-pleasing screenplay format (though, as I said in my Operation Finality review, in the future, I’d recommend making a downloadable PDF for easier access @lamamama). But on top of that, I also did find myself getting semi-invested in the overarching story, mostly due to the fun action setpieces and some enjoyable characters from the ensemble. Erin Kellyman gets quite a bit more to do here, which is cool to see as I’ve always considered her an underrated actress, and Kerry Washington was also a notable stand-out. The dimension-hopping sequences also remain enjoyable to watch, even if the numerous sub-plots with our ever-growing ensemble sometimes result in some wonky pacing. 

 

But aside from a few other neat subversions of fantasy tropes, this sequel still carries over its predecessor’s main problem of feeling extremely been there done that within the larger landscape of fantasy media. As the middle chapter of an ongoing saga, its structure still suffers from its inconclusiveness. Still, given the fair glow-up between installments, I think there’s a decent chance for a third film to deliver something quite good (I should know, speaking from experience).

 

The Furby Movie

Spoiler

Really can’t say a whole lot about this. For sure, it's a cute and inoffensive time, though also a pretty blatant attempt at creating a young-kid-friendy, Care Bears-ified version of Gremlins, which I imagine for the majority of adults without kids probably sounds like one of the least appealing things ever lol. For families, though, not a terrible film to take the kiddos to see.

 

Lifeguards

Spoiler

An occasionally raunchy but otherwise fairly light romantic comedy, but you probably won’t remember a thing about it the second you sit up from your theater seat.

 

The Lottery

Spoiler

An odd film. Definitely at its best when it's strictly a straight adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s original short story, which this film brings to life in (mostly) faithful and thrilling fashion in its first chapter. It’s the two following chapters after that where things take a bit of a turn into much shakier structural ground. I didn’t find any of the additional material all that compelling, which I think boils down to how quick and slight it all feels. Despite its 110-minute runtime, this felt like a pretty obvious sub-90-minute film, given the short lengths of each section. I think this could’ve worked better with a little more breathing room and some expansion on the latter two parts – specifically, all of the time in the year-long gap between the bookending lottery days, where we could’ve gotten more time with the characters reeling from the fallout of what happened at the end of chapter one to make the ending stand-off hit with more of a punch – and even then, I imagine I'd still have qualms with how that conclusion plays out. Still, not bad by any means, mostly due to the great ensemble giving it their all, especially Michaela Coel as Tessie. Very flawed but a mostly worthwhile experience.

 

Green Lantern Corps: Evolution

Spoiler

I haven’t read either of the previous Green Lantern films since their respective game years, so it feels like I’m coming into this threequel with semi-fresh eyes. Going off memory, though, I want to say this is the best of the trilogy. At least, I know for certain it’s on par with the previous one. As always with these films, the action scenes remain the highlights, getting some creative mileage out of the green lantern’s powers to deliver eye-popping visuals that look hella good on the big screen. However, this time around, I did find myself most interested in the individual character drama compared to everything else. Joaquin Phoenix’s Sinestro and Sam Heughan’s Hal remain compelling figures in their own right (Heughan is an inspired replacement for that other guy who shall not be named), but with this entry, I found Sterling K. Brown’s newcomer lantern, John Stewart, to be the clear highlight, bringing a welcome grounded presence to bounce off the more eccentric personalities around him. 

 

Probably the biggest thorn in the film’s side would be its occasionally messy screenplay. As McKill said, this is expository to a fault – with quite a few instances of characters outright halting the film, even during big action scenes, to go on extended monologues spouting out the main messages in as plain of fashion as possible. At times, it did make for an exhausting watch for a few stretches, but as a whole, it was nothing that completely kneecaps the film, by any means. It just results in an enjoyable film rather than a great one.

 

 

Wii Sports: Vacation to Wuhu Island

Spoiler

Pretty riveting shit… if watching a feature-length resort commercial with some occasional kooky things happening every five minutes to break up the monotony gets your goat.

 

[Rorschach]

August

 

Tornado

Spoiler

Certainly delivers on the devastating destruction you come to expect from one of these twister disaster pictures, but not much else, unfortunately—still, a decent enough big-screen experience.

 

Tatiana's Journey

Spoiler

Like the Green Lantern threequel, I wish I had the chance to revisit Might Fall before reading its sequel, but time constraints got me in a bind so I have to make do. Thankfully, I do remember the previous one just enough that I got through this one just fine without needing a refresher. 

 

The best thing I can say about this film is that it is a definite improvement over the first film – which I recall admiring its attempt to combine Looney Tunes with the omnipresent Space Opera boom that’s dominated this first decade of the game, but found the overall film a messy, mixed bag that ultimately failed to take full advantage of its cartoony characters. Thankfully, this follow-up is a much more streamlined and focused feature that makes better use of its classic characters – though, not completely. I will say: did find the main trio (Jane, Thiago, Allyarah) far more engaging this time around as the first two aren’t forced to take a back seat to a full-throttle plot that hurt the last film, with a poignant family arc dedicated to them that better allowed me to emotionally connect with them. Hell, I even found Jane and Allyarah’s budding romance to be kinda cute. 

 

However, this film does suffer a little bit from a slightly aimless structure for a decent chunk of it. IMO, there’s a little too much downtime in the middle portion – specifically when the siblings take a mini-vacation while Allyarah goes on some sidequests with alien Bugs/Daffy/Tina – that I think could’ve been cut down a bit. I was also not very impressed with the villains here, though I will concede that the running subplot of Kristoffer Hivju’s incel villain getting constantly humiliated did get some occasional chuckles out of me. The Trucidator didn’t leave much of an impression, considering how limited her screen time is in the first half and how unconvincing of a threat she proves to be in the second half. And yeah, I was admittedly still a bit underwhelmed with the under-usage of the Looney Tunes characters, but not to the degree that I was with its predecessor. 

 

Still, as a whole, I enjoyed myself and compared to the middling first film, I walked away from this with an overall positive feeling.

 

A Walk in the London Rain

Spoiler

A great late summer vibe picture if I’ve ever seen one; I dug this flick quite a lot. From the infectious, lived-in atmosphere of the rainy early morning London setting to the very personal, emotionally poignant queer story at its core, I was captivated for the duration of its short runtime. A warm, comforting, and, ultimately, reassuring picture.

 

Six Souls

Spoiler

As a former Boy Scout myself, I got a sliver of enjoyment out of this dumb, trashy slasher flick, but the over-the-top climax set in hell felt like a bridge too far and soured some of the fun.

 

Burnout: Revenge

Spoiler

A sequel to a film that I vaguely remember from the early game years. This one is mainly held up by the cool stylistic touches to the presentation. I can’t recall if that was a thing in the original or not, but, if it's a new addition, it was a good choice that elevated a fairly mediocre narrative up to something at least memorable.

 

Now give me Alita 2, already, Rodriguez!

 

 

Coyotes Wild

Spoiler

Haha, nice one.

 

[Rorschach]

September

 

Providence

Spoiler

Had a good time with this one. Over the past couple of years, James Wan has come to be a personal favorite director of mine, and while I can’t say this one ranks among the best of his filmography, it is still a damn fun entry, regardless. A pulpy sci-fi flick that delivers some fun thrills with a solid ensemble that, despite a somewhat lackluster story, is highly elevated by Wan’s masterful sensibilities. Very enjoyable, and easily my favorite of Studio Groundswell’s final year of films.

 

Smile

Spoiler

Compared to this studio’s debut animated feature, I’d say Kirsten Lester’s Smile is a marked quality improvement. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, this film features a much looser, naturalistic structure (often reminiscent of a Richard Linklater film) than most would expect from a mainstream animated film. I imagine some might take issue with this, but I honestly didn’t mind it, given the insanely pleasant vibes throughout. Your wavelength with this will vary, depending on your tolerance for it, but for my money’s worth, I liked it fine.

 

9/11: Never Forget

Spoiler

An interesting experimental piece documenting the entirety of the harrowing events from the titular day. While there can be something about the film’s lack of any clear political stance, it’s made clear from the get-go that’s not its intention, choosing instead to respectfully serve as a memorial piece for those who perished in the tragedies. It’s not particularly informative if you’re someone who has already extensive documentaries on the subject, but this is more concerned with painting a collective picture of the day from the first-hand accounts of survivors through rotoscope animation. A neat, emotional experience.

 

Adam & Cindy ft. Cersei, in Guinea Piggest

Spoiler

“And so, the Guinea Pig franchise finally comes to an end.”

 

 

“As for the Adam & Cindy one... we'll see.”

 

 

RIP Arya

 

Fishergirls

Spoiler

Now that’s a little more like it. Easily the best film to come out of Fossil Record Animation Workshop to date. Between a cool animation style and some neat atmospheric fantasy worldbuilding, along with some decently compelling character drama at its core, I found myself surprisingly engaged with this one compared to the studio’s previous output. Color me surprised!

 

Kris' Plan

Spoiler

Outside of a neat premise and a cool dystopian world, I was a little let down by how fairly non-engaging and low-key the actual narrative played out. I kinda held out hope that it was building to something bigger to match its ambitious foundations, but it plays it frustratingly safe and insular. Slightly disappointing tbh.

 

Sweet Tooth

Spoiler

A goofy, dumb fun slasher flick that knows exactly what it is. Got a good kick out of Bautista’s over-the-top dentist villain, as well as the neat production design. Perfect fodder for a future featured attraction at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.

 

[Rorschach]

October

 

Pac-Man

Spoiler

*My blazed ass munching on popcorn while watching this film*:

 

 

Paranormal Paranormal

Spoiler

Goofy as fuck, though not really in the good sense; a cliched hodge-podge of every supernatural horror film you can think of, with not much else to add. It might make for a fun disposable Halloween watch for those wanting to have a good ‘ol drunken time, but otherwise, not worth a watch.

 

The Boy with the Green Eyes

Spoiler

Yes… Ha Ha Ha… Yes!!!

The Poison and Wine saga has always been a blast to watch unfold, but these latest two spin-off entries have gone above and beyond to become entertaining beasts of genre-bending proportions. This newest one dabbles in the fantasy and musical genres in a zany yet fascinating blend that, by all means, should not work at all, but surprisingly does. Compared to its immediate predecessor, this is a much more confident film that embraces its goofiness. But just like Room 131, it is never afraid to push boundaries to create a one-of-a-kind experience all its own. The musical numbers are an energetic blast along with a fun core cast of characters. Tyler/Hunter and [redacted] even make a few brief appearances that deepen the connectivity between these films. And the final scene, hoo boy; I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to watch a future follow-up than after this conclusion. What a crazy ride of a series this is turning out to be.

 

Monster Farm

Spoiler

While this one does use a mix of unknown voice actors, I did appreciate the use of known voice talent, who also voiced some of these characters in the original cartoon this is based on, so that’s pretty neat. This cinematic adaptation of said cartoon isn’t super compelling, but as a seasonal animated offering meant for children, I suppose you could certainly do far worse. It fits in line with films such as Hotel Transylvania and the new Addams Family films and I imagine it’ll do somewhere in line with the latter duology. Not bad.

 

The Elevator

Spoiler

A new r/nosleep adaptation for spooky season. This was just okay, fulfilling that Halloween itch moreso than something like this month’s Paranormal Paranormal, but that’s about as much praise as I can give it. The sight and overly repetitive story don’t do this one much favors, outside of a few creepy moments here and there. Casual horror fans might get more out of this than me, but I found it thoroughly meh.

 

Mouse Hunt

Spoiler

A nicely well-researched doc covering material that I have already a decent cursory knowledge of but still find fascinating, nonetheless, and I’m sure those who aren’t well-versed in Disney history will get a lot out of it. Aside from rather sloppy writing at times, a mostly engaging experience.

 

Red Flag

Spoiler

I don’t want to be that guy, but if you’re going to make a filler film, you gotta give us something more than just a vague, throwaway sentence that conveys absolutely nothing. I don’t know anything about the history of NASCAR, and the summary does jackshit in telling me anything of substance about it. So I can only gather that the actual film doesn’t say much of anything either. Stuff like this is literally why the infamous two-sentence Outside Man movie has become a running inside joke within the game. Just completely lazy.

 

Life Picture

Spoiler

Don’t have much to say about this one, other than it perhaps a little too simple and undercooked to fully come together for me, but I won’t deny this is a very emotionally stirring picture, held up by Lawrence and Quan’s performances. Decent.