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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Like dangling keys in front of a baby, but instead dangling a popular IP in front of the entire family.
This movie is not a movie for critics. That sounds odd since I'm critiquing right now.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is fine for Illumination's standards, but boring for movie standards. What I mean when I say, "it isn't for critics" is its not a movie you're going to get a lot from unless you are a Mario fanatic (you might not get anything from it if you're unfamiliar with the franchise).
The characters here, Mario, Donkey Kong, and Peach, don't really have much to them, other than they're brave and want to save the world. Typical hero archetypes.
The real standout here is the character Bowser, who, voiced by Jack Black, is the most entertaining by a long shot. From his obsession with Peach to his off kilter singing, he's everything you could ask for from an over-the-top villain.
But other than him, there's not a lot going for this film. The animation is fun but the plot is pretty standard and boring, it's just a harmless film to shut your brain off to.
Check it out if you love the Mario franchise, but if not I wouldn't recommend this for you.
Inside Job (2021)
Cognito Incredible (ish)
When I started this show, I worried that it might be another one of those forgettable Netflix cartoons that had less effort than budget, which is pretty commonly low with Netflix animated series. But as the show went on, it became clear that this wasn't a Hoops or a Big Mouth. It was something special.
I initially only started watching the show because I heard Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, would be affiliated with it. And while Inside Job is no Gravity Falls, it stands on its own as a clever and witty adult animated comedy.
I like the two main characters, Reagan and Brett. At first I expected their relationship to be the trope of the super serious and hard worker constantly being annoyed by their giddy sidekick, but their dynamic is actually more fleshed out than that. While their personalities clashed at first, they eventually grow on each other and despite their different outlooks on the world, they learn to appreciate each other's strengths and support them through their weaknesses.
However, even though I enjoy their relationship and personalities, I can't really say that about the rest of the characters. Reagan's fellow employees of the company Cognito Inc are constantly mean to each other, exploiting one another, and just kind of annoying. They do have their moments of endearment but are mostly just crude and one note.
Honestly the main thing I like about the show is it's concept, which is executed pretty well. The show plays on conspiracy theories from the real world, things like Bigfoot and Lizard People, and puts a spin on them. They aren't just one-to-one copies of the conspiracy, which create interesting ways for Inside Job's to build its world.
Aside from that, let's talk about the comedy. It is a comedy show after all. It's fine. Passable. Nothing that will make you fall out of your seat dying laughing, but enough to cause a humorous snort every now and then. It has some issues though. There are way too many pop culture references and they feel more like writing crutches than actual jokes. There are a lot of pun jokes which just make me roll my eyes. The humor works best when it plays off of the characters interacting, which I wish there was more jokes of instead of those other types.
But overall, a pretty funny show that has more heart and thought put into it than a lot of what's out there at the moment. And the animation actually looks pretty great, something pretty rare for adult animated TV shows. 7/10.