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joshuabowersco
Reviews
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Pretty Good
Spoiler Heavy: I almost gave this a 10/10 just for that one scene where Kong picks up that little guy and starts using him as a weapon lmao. Sorry for the spoiler but that was so funny to me, in a good way.
Other than that, yeah it's a CGI monster fest with less subtlety than 2014s just like how all the sequels have stripped away the subtle awesomeness of the first film in the current monsterverse. But there sure is a lot of action and once you accept the premise and suspend your disbelief it is definitely worth the time. It's very fun, doesn't take itself too seriously, and knows exactly what you want from the movie.
Another great part is when Kong is trying to tell Godzilla to get in the hole and Godzilla just suplex him into the pyramids. Good times. And some kid in the theatre had the audacity to say that the movie was "boring except for the last part" at the end. If a 10 year olds attention can't be held by 2 hours of nonstop King Kong and Godzilla action then maybe our society truly is on the brink of disaster.
Also at the end Kong truly becomes King, I see what they did there and I love it.
The Handmaid's Tale: Chicago (2021)
Jumped the shark
My wife and I are binge watching this show. This season annoyed me a bit already and when Moira showed up at the end? I paused it and said we might want to stop watching. You're telling me that we are going to kill off all of the OG handmaids, then blow up Janine, and then have Moira just magically find June in the middle of the warzone during the ceasefire?
All the Gilead stuff makes sense when you imagine they're struggling to maintain power and losing commanders to the rebellion. But June's revolutionary days are being treated like a joke. I was really hoping that this season would be about insurgency and fighting back. With some losses along the way sure. But within one episode they are captured and June breaks and gets a bunch of people killed for nothing. Seeing them put the handmaid outfit back on filled me with so much dread. It's absurd. I was relieved when they escaped but then you killed them all off at the train? And now this?
Sorry this episode just encapsulates everything wrong with traditional media, specifically this show currently. Let it die. Stop dragging it out. Give us a resolution. Let the characters make progress. We've had the setbacks throughout the seasons. We don't need every two episodes to have everything g reset. Hell at the end of Season 1 where they spared Janine I thought things were gonna get crazy a lot quicker but they didn't. I thought season 3 would be her revolutionary phase, but then it wasn't. Then the finale happened and I thought season 4 would be. But here we are. God just get to the point already. Finding out there's gonna be a season 6 has filled me with disdain. I'm so tired of every narrative driven show taking 6+ seasons to do what could be done in 3 or 4. Especially when the way they stretch it out is by artifical setbacks.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Epic finale to a great trilogy
This is the kind of movie that you don't expect to make you have feelings but here I am, with "all the feels", as the kids say.
The way this movie explores so much about every character as they have grown since the first and second movie is very powerful. Rocket's storyline is obviously the most heartfelt and needs to be watched without any spoilers. But there are also moments that come out of nowhere and unexpectedly punch you in the gut without feeling cheap.
There is a scene with Drax where he recalls his lost family and it is so casually heartbreaking I almost cried at that alone. And the post credit scene was even enough to make me cry.
Just watch this movie already for the love of all things.
The costumes, action, story, and music are all fantastic. It's really one of the best things Marvel has ever put out and it's no surprise it comes from James Gunn.
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
This movie is exactly what it needs to be
I first watched this movie when I was a child probably around 2004 or 2005 whenever it was on DVD. It inspired me, enthralled me, and broke my heart. The first movie I ever cried watching and rewatching it today it still makes me cry.
The movie doesn't dilly-dally too much with a brief 85 minute runtime. But it certainly takes you through a whole world of emotions, a wonderful journey of boyhood and expression of love and family. I'm not religious, never have been, but even the religious themes present are wholesome and certainly not jarring.
I have never read the book or seen the 1974 movie so I have no biases going into this other than nostalgia. But trust me when I say this is required viewing for families of animal lovers as it tackles some heavy subjects in a way that will stick with kids, and can even help adults as well.