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Reviews
Elemental (2023)
It was underdeveloped, but still ok
The underlying story and message is really good. I just feel it was written well, but executed poorly as a film. Scenes didn't really feel connected or well linked. It just felt like I was jumping to the next part, so the flow wasn't great. Even some of the ways the conflict was set up felt forced and a little random at times. Ember and Wade were good characters and you definitely root for them during the story, but it felt a little rushed at times. I feel like some of the ways the characters felt during a scene was forced just to progress the story and the relationship between the two.
If you do watch Elemental, you'll find it to be an ok movie. It definitely is animated well, and the story is good. But they didn't really refine this film well. It felt disconnected and underdeveloped, with everything feeling rushed. This makes the film feel shorter than it is. It had a lot of potential to be good, but they missed the mark here. Still, there's something nice to takeaway from this film. I just feel if it was done correctly, could have been an 8 or 9 / 10 film.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Trying to do too many things all at once
A disappointing letdown for a 10+ year wait
WARNING: There are some MAJOR spoilers in this review!
First off, I want to say this isn't a bad movie, but it is massively disappointing. The visual effects were great, and you could tell they really wanted to show it off. Honestly, fantastic scenery, creatures and all around visuals and animations.
The story, however, that's the main issue. The first avatar movie has a decent story, nothing entirely groundbreaking, but a good story. While there were a lot of characters in Avatar 1, the focus was definitely on specific characters and it worked really well. Every scene felt meaningful and added something that would be important for later. The dialogue was good and there was a clear message.
Avatar: Way Of The Water also has a clear message of family. But it is trying to do TOO MANY THINGS all at once. Even in the 3 hour runtime, so many plotlines and character dynamics were left unpolished or simply not explored or developed. It was all over the place. To give a good picture, you have Jakes family which consists of 7 people (including Spider and Kiri) and each of them have a dynamic. Jake and Neteyam, Jake and Lo'ak, Spider and Kiri, Jake and Neytiri and Neteyam and Lo'ak. And that's just Jakes family. They then did the Quartich and Spider (really unnatural and rushed dynamic), Lo'ak and Aonung, Lo'ak and Tsireya and Lo'ak and Payakan. As you can see, a lot of the focus is on Lo'ak (and Kiri has important scenes). But it's so all over the place. You feel like Lo'ak and Aonung is going somewhere but then they just do nothing with it (literally after the last interaction when Lo'ak actually sticks up for Aonung and they become friends, Aonung is just not seen again apart from in passing. No relevance whatsoever or even a cool scene where he saves Lo'ak.) There's so many examples of these characters trying to solve their relationships but none of them are explored to a good level. It's so underdeveloped and it keeps switching constantly. It doesn't feel like a flowing story but a collection of different parts glued together.
I also feel the dialogue was really lacking in some really important parts. When some of the characters like Jake and Lo'ak talk at the end, you expect more dialogue considering all the tension between them early on and throughout the movie, but no. Just one or a few unsatisfying lines.
And I'm sorry, but Neteyams death was really lame. It was such an underwhelming way to go out and just felt like such a rushed and badly timed death considering what was going on.
The thing with the first Avatar is that when I watch it again, it's still really good. I could not watch this movie again since most parts would just be really boring.
Overall, it's certainly not bad, but it's really messy. And considering this is a 10+ year wait and a 3 hour runtime, you would expect a better developed story. But it's a cluttered mess of too many things going on at once.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
Imagine Paddington, but a crocodile in New York
It's a family movie which hits all the right buttons. It has fantastic original songs, a good charm to all the characters, Lyle is animated really well in the world, and some of the scenes with dancing feel so fluid and nice to watch. It is a really solid film, and everything you would expect is in it, plus that little bit of charm to seperate it from being too generic and predictable. Sure some of the story is a little underdeveloped but it has a satisfying intro, build up, climax and conclusion. If you're looking for a nice light hearted movie to watch, this movie is a good recommendation. It reminds me a lot of Paddington and that's a good thing.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Don't get all the hype, but a good movie
I'm not sure why this people look at this movie as a masterpiece. Don't get me wrong, it's a good, solid movie but I don't think it's anything spectacular. The animation is really nice to look at, and fights are fluid and intense. The character designs are well made, the music is good, and the storyline is decent. The jokes are also on point most the time so overall, I don't see anything the movie did bad. That being said, I also don't see anything the movie did exceptionally well over any other animated movies I've seen. The story isn't groundbreaking or anything, and while the fights (especially puss vs death) are really entertaining to watch, I do think this movie is a little generic at times. I do recommend watching this movie, but I feel if you go in with expectations for this being a 9/10 or 10/10 movie, you might come out feeling a little disappointed. It's good, really good, but not amazing.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
So disappointing and underwhelming
I thought the first one was a good movie. It had a clear focus and a good storyline and everything felt connected. I really wanted this to be a step up but it was so disjointed and clunky. They tried throwing in a lot of topics but they never developed any of them so in the end it really felt like no one changed or developed as a person. Most scenes felt so pointless, just a back and forth game of stealing an object and it never really felt like we were progressing in the story. The villains were bland and lacked depth which is a shame because they had potential to be so much better. On one hand, things like story and romance felt so rushed while on the other, some scenes seemed to drag on for a long time. Even most the jokes (some were decently funny and felt like the humour style of the first) were just really subpar even for a family movie.
Compared to the first movie, this movie is a massive disappointment and I really dont recommend watching this. As a movie on its own, it's dull, lacking any cool visuals or moments, any emotional scenes or any sort of interesting story.
I'm really disappointed by this one.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
A very wacky, and fantastic film.... but not for me
This movie has a great message and fantastic visual effects. In fact I liked most things about the movie...except it's just a little too weird for me. I knew it was going to be chaotic and weird, but I just felt some parts were a little too grotesque. It's nothing massive, just weirded me out (like the naked officer and use of private parts in the film). I didn't really find those parts that funny and thought it was a bit unneeded. These parts kinda grossed me and ruined what was otherwise a pretty good film. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh in my rating, but it really killed the movie for me. Aside from the grotesqueness, I thought it was funny at the right moments, emotional at the right moments and pretty great overall. I'd recommend it if you don't mind the genital jokes/gags, but it wasn't for me.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
It's just really...meh
Hulk is just really lame now. All the coolness of hulk was lost after Ragnarok really and that's because it's just Bruce Banner in a hulk body. There is no hulk. So Marvel decided to make a She Hulk, who also doesn't have a hulk personality. So it's just two regular people in hulk bodies. The jokes aren't funny. Weirdly paced. Not a fan personally. Could change as more episodes come out.