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Reviews
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
A decent quality movie at 1st sight until the latter time, the next level in runtime, darkness and a downward spiral
Jumanji was a hit since the original came out and the original had such a 1 of a kind plot that made it famous and adventurous yet good for many to watch. This one while had good visuals and a story, didn't match to the original. 1st of all different cast members, starring Dwayne Johnson (the Rock), Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas. They did fine on their roles though you will NEVER get another like Robin Williams (who committed suicide by hanging too soon R.I.P.). The action was fitting for Jumanji movies and certainly a step over the original, plus quite the adventure of movies, including intense scenes with creepy jungle animals, which added to the story. Now the movie was even longer than the 1st, up to 2 hours 3 minutes compared to the 1 hour 44 minute original movie, so just 2 minutes shy of the original 1977 Star Wars movie Episode IV - A New Hope. Now it's definitely flawed, in fact BIG TIME! with the massive amount of profanity in this movie, like 50 swear words in total, more than what most movies have, with 6 uses of God's name in vain being taken in that way and many uses of the H word and D word along with many others including the F word. I get they wanted to give this the PG-13 route but this was extreme even for that in such matters. Yet like I said earlier it was darker than the original in action sequences. I know action movies are enjoyable but some of the types used in this are going over the edge for what would've been a family movie. This isn't Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, but neither is this supposed to be Sesame Street, this is supposed to be Jumanji, a fine balance which the original had but this pushed that boundary. Too bad a pity some movie franchises choose to take a darker route as they go on, like Harry Potter did that and so did Narnia and even Star Wars. Same thing with Jumanji. Yet this movie is unique though another flaw happens even before watching the movie, with the fact that I realized when it was in theaters, the theaters including staff and entrances didn't put up warning signs that the cinematography would involve tons of handheld camera work in scenes, making the footage shaky, which can trigger dizziness/motion sickness in susceptible guests and that viewers prone to motion sickness should either sit next to the entrance/exit door or ask the cashier for further admission or just not watch, yet it was definitely different from the 1st movie in that matter as well. I mean also think about the people who might've gotten sick watching this movie, yet the 3D aspects in the 3D versions makes such matters even worse for them. If movies like the Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, District 9, Project Almanac, Jason Bourne, Battle LA or Earth to Echo make you sick, then its the same with this (and Rogue One + Solo). Not everyone's in the same health or physical shape anyway. Anyway the acting as well didn't live up to the original standards and this movie definitely made no match to the original. It's an example of how some sequels (including this) fall flat and inferior to the originals. Some just try to hard to be as good and don't. Now don't get me wrong, it's better than what Star Wars became since the sequel trilogy (and after George Lucas sold it to Disney), but it's not as good as the original and nor is it as family friendly either, with full of profanity along with intense scenes and especially sexual innuendos. If you loved the the 1st movie, then don't go in expecting this to be as innocent as the original. It's definitely the mature version of Jumanji. Just like how Indiana Jones went dark with their most famous hit Raiders of the Lost Ark, this movie took a dark step and took the family-friendly aspect away. This movie doesn't even get 5 stars due to such reasons. While this was refreshing compared to lots of movies out there in quality and storyline, it's not the breath of fresh air you're looking for whereas Mary Poppins Returns was a better sequel to an original movie (like Mary Poppins) than this was to the original Jumanji. Yet you could also watch YouTube clips of it or YouTube fanfilms or even vlogs by the cast members, which this "movie" practically was. Never forget the legendary Robin Williams who made the original Jumanji classic and the fact that no one will ever live up to his quality in the movie industry or Jumanji's movies anymore. R.I.P. Robin Williams.
All That (2019)
A great revival to a classic show
All That was a classic show and one of the best, and this came on, so we're glad to see one of our favorite shows returning.
The acting is phenomenal and the character traits are great, yet the sketches are cool as before and we're glad to see modern stars make debuts in this.
Some of the modern stars were actors playing the stars' roles, and some stars were the real deal, like the Jonas Brothers for example.
The sketches were a variety as original and great, yet Poppy was funny, like Ashley Arm for this show, with her squeaky voice.
The sound effects were the classic like many live action shows, including the annoying-though necessarily used audience sounds, yet in this there were both fake and real audience sounds and they mixed together to make a more immersive perspective even audio-wise.
The camera work is different in many scenes, it was still and traditional in many scenes though shaky in some scenes (like that commercial on the Amanda Show, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Shelby Woo, the live feed in iCarly, the Naked Brothers Band, the occasional scenes on Every Witch Way/WITS Academy (which got cancelled), Paradise Run, parts of Hunter Street, or any vlog on YouTube), and somehow fit with certain elements though not all elements.
The unexpected surprises of characters were great and cool and the round of sound phrase never gets old, proving they still got the unique magic touch.
Nickelodeon finally pulled a bold move for once after years of disastrous downgrades.
Yet this is better than when they replaced the old cast with the once "new"cast.
Glad I watched it.
Rogue One (2016)
A refreshing prequel though not the best Star Wars movie, but better than the failed sequel The Force Awakens
I watched this movie when it came out and it was at least mediocre when it came to Star Wars movies, though let's get things straight.
First of all, everyone was calm and it wasn't hyped like the Justin Bieber concert known as Ep VII - The Force Awakens that left everyone on Earth and even the natural animals erupting like crazy into thunderous applause.
Yet there was no screaming anywhere or even at the end with this movie.
It's better than The Force Awakens, because that was a rehash of the original trilogy.
Now people did say this was really dark for a Star Wars movie, and it was definitely darker than most, but NOTHING like the Force Awakens or even Ep IV - A New Hope (where Alderaan and everyone on it got destroyed), as the 1st Order destroyed the planets with the Starkiller Base killing all the inhabitants.
The Death Star in this was at minimal power and the results were just localized areas being annihilated, like cities and towns.
Yet good characters died in this, but they were NOWHERE near as important as Han Solo, who was killed off by his son Kylo Ren in TFA, traumatizing me and many others.
In fact that's the biggest problem with this movie.
All the good characters were killed in this, and that's become an unintended thing in the movie.
Plus there was blood in this multiple times (more times than on Ep III - Revenge of the Sith that's for sure).
Yet the 2nd biggest problem was that there were no lightsaber duels, which are a staple in the Star Wars franchise, and if Rogue One had those, it'd be more popular and get better ratings.
Another problem was that it failed to warn guests about the filming technique because the camera work was shaky for the majority and looked more like a vlog on the set of Star Wars than a typical movie.
Something that doesn't usually happen in the majority or entirety of a Star Wars movie.
I know it was supposed to be a gritty war movie, so that it would look like live footage of a war, but just think about it.
Imagine watching a 2 hour 13 minute YouTube video/vlog from one of your favorite vloggers who teleported to the Star Wars Galaxy vlogging his/her experience on the planet Scarif or Jeddah.
Yet some people are prone to dizziness and motion sickness, so there should've been warnings about that at the entrance and on tickets.
The plot focused on the fact that it took place somewhere between Star Wars Rebels & A New Hope (both after Revenge of the Sith), though near the end, the good guys were trying to save a town and facility on it, before the Death Star came and fired its laser (again at minimal power) on the target, killing off the last good characters in the movie.
Though ironic how the ships near the end moved like bath toys in a tub.
Though in the end it felt it was gonna continue leading to the beginning of A New Hope, though it was still different scenery (and Leia was clear in this and nailed her CGI well).
Overall it was a MUCH better movie than the Flop Awakens and certainly had great visuals and was a great idea that they decided to make a movie between Star Wars Rebels and A New Hope in the timeline.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Practically Perfect in Every Way
I saw this movie on January 12, 2019(yet it came out on December 19, 2018), and I have to say it's a masterpiece in the dark age of movies, shining light through the darkness.
The story was wonderful and Emily Blunt did an amazing job acting as her character Mary Poppins.
Dick Van Dyke was amazing too.
The protagonist and antagonist roles were done correctly and executed perfectly.
It had the perfect balance of happiness, sadness, and rescues, along with excellent music scores and awesome.
It had perfect comedy as well.
The animation was superb and spot-on, and the idea of being in a pot also added to the amazement and humor.
I even watched on a behind-the-scenes documentary about how they did it.
Many people believed it relied heavily on CGI, but they're wrong.
This relied on practical effects, and the time and effort it took, from animating for months, to making musical sequences and blending them perfectly.
Plus the planning, equipment, schedules and complexity.
After a dark age of years of unoriginal movies with lack of creativity, too much CGI, unoriginal plots, acting and poor execution, this is the best movie in YEARS, and a movie that relied on practical effects and executed well.
There are downsides, first with the MPAA rating being PG for thematic sequences and brief action, keeping it from being entirely for all ages, and there were reports stating Julie Andrews wasn't on it, nor playing Mary Poppins, or the supercalifragilisticexpialadocious song in the movie, yet those were HUGELY important factors for Mary Poppins, which was enough take 3 stars away from this, but compared to the filth of today, it's practically perfect, in every way.