Category: Media

Posted on

Light Reviews

This series brought back so many memories for me, from watching the ‘Making of…’ specials on TV to reading Starlog magazine.

A lot of the people in the series were my heroes back in the day: John Dykstra, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippitt, Richard Edlund, Ken Ralson all worked on stuff that I loved and still love.

If I wasn’t so gung-ho about computers back then, I probably would have followed in their footsteps.  I have my own stop-motion movies that I made back in the day.

Part of it was also a history lesson, or more a refresher.  I remember reading about the digital effects revolution and how it shook up the film industry.  I remember how I felt the first time I saw a dinosaur in Jurassic Park.

Highly recommended series if you love these kind of movies and/or oral history shows.

I really liked this movie, though it was a very stressful one to watch, from moment to moment all seemed lost until it wasn’t, if that makes any sense.

It probably looked cool in the theatre, but it wasn’t one I felt compelled to see on the big screen, as much as I love Toy Story, and Buzz in particular.

The reveal was one that I didn’t see coming (maybe) and also made me go, “really?”

Anyways, recommended if you love Toy Story or good space adventure stories.

Posted on

Thor: Love and Thunder

In the words of my nephew Joseph, “it was fun.”

I find it hard to get too excited about any Marvel film after Endgame, to be totally honest.

That said, it was an entertaining film, though it felt a bit rushed at times IMHO.

It moves the story along, that story being the almost 30 movie (and a few TV shows) story called ‘Marvel’.

I loved the goats.

I especially loved the mid credits scene.

Is it worth seeing?  Yes.

Is it worth seeing in the theatre? Sure, but I’ll wait until it’s on Disney Plus to see it again.

Posted on

Top Gun Maverick

I went to the Early Access screening for Top Gun Maverick Tuesday night.

I had a huge grin under my mask and the occasional teary eyes all throughout the movie.

I didn’t expect The Empire Strikes Back level of a sequel, but this was definitely one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen.

It just hit the right chords at the right times, fan service but not overly so.

And I honestly didn’t know that Jennifer Connelly was playing THAT character in this movie.  She’s still one of my top Hollywood crushes, hands down.

36 years of a wait was worth it.

And I got a pin and a little poster.

If you liked the original, you’ll love this one.

If you loved the original (like me), you’ll really love this one.

Recommended!  Go see it!

 

Posted on

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness

It was good.

Not as good as, say, Shang-Chi or No Way Home, but better, IMHO, than Black Widow and Eternals.

It’s just hard to rank them in a post-Endgame world, what with 28 films on the list as well.

If anything, this felt more like a non-superhero Sam Raimi film.

The cameos were great, especially the one during the surprising mid credits scene.

It certainly felt like a shorter film than many of the other MCU movies.  Which isn’t good or bad, just an observation.

Just make sure you’ve at least seen Wandavision before seeing this film.

Recommended!  Go see it!

Posted on

Streaming

I’m running out of things to watch on the various streaming services.

I do have the end of The Legend of Vox Machina to finish up, but with the end of The Book of Boba Fett and Peacemaker, pickings are currently slim.  Though I know stuff is on the way, like Kenobi and Moon Knight.

I finished Reacher, which I thought was good.

I’m not interested in most of the Star Trek series, though I will check out Strange New Worlds.

 

Posted on

No Way Home

I left the theatre saying that I liked it.

After sleeping on it, I was wrong.

I loved it.

This movie reminded me of everything that I love about Spider-Man and these movies.

I can’t say much more without spoiling A LOT of the film, I’ll just mention that I need a scene translated by my aunts or uncles.

Recommended.  Go see it!

Posted on

Ghostbusters Afterlife

I’m a huge Ghostbusters movie fan.   I love the franchise in general, but mostly the films, even the 2016 one. 

I never watched the cartoon, and I didn’t finish the video game from a few years back.  I did back both Ghostbusters games on Kickstarter, and I still have my copy of the old West End Games RPG.

I liked this movie.

It was a slow build up to an awesome last 30 minutes or so.

The actors were great in their roles, the story kinda meandered a bit here and there.

And I cried.  For reasons.

If this is the start of a new GB franchise, I’m all for it.  The just need to tighten up the story telling, I think.

Recommended, with the caveat that Ghostbusters fans will enjoy it more.

Posted on

Eternals

I really liked it.

In the past I’ve described these movies as”[genre/trope] with superheroes”.

This was… indescribable in those terms.

Superhero movie with superheroes, maybe.

But yeah, I really liked it.

On it’s own, one of the best films I’ve seen this year.

In MCU rankings, this one doesn’t crack my top 5, maybe not even my top ten.

What little I know about the Eternals didn’t sway my enjoyment one way or another.

Though the end credits scene has me more intrigued than the mid-credits scene, which was also intriguing.

I kinda wanna see it again already, but I think I can wait for Disney+ to pick it up.

We’ll see.

Oh, and it appears that another trailer scene was absent from the film.

Posted on

End of an Era

After a couple of hours to process this roller coaster of emotions after watching this, I gotta say that I loved this movie.

Arguably Craig’s best outing as Bond, in my humble opinion.

Some of the musical cues surprised the hell out of me, but fit in the context of the movie.

There was even a moment that fans of the Bond *novels* will find satisfying.

Not much more I can say, except…

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN

Posted on

Shang-Chi

Confession: I didn’t think I was gonna like this film as much as I do.

I remember being genuinely happy when it was announced that Simu Liu was cast in the lead role, having been a big fan of Kim’s Convenience.

That said, I was having a hard time *not* seeing Jung Kim whenever a trailer for Shang-Chi came on.

But once the movie started and he appeared on screen, he was Shang-Chi.

Or Shaun, initially.

The action/comedy/pacing on this film were about as perfect as I expect from a movie.  The only other film I put in that category is Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I daresay it’s my favorite Marvel film not called “Endgame”.

It’s certainly the best origin film that they’ve put out.

And I wonder how many non-Asians understood the line, “I speak ABC!”

Highest recommendation possible for this one.

It’ll be on Disney+ in a month and a half, if you can’t or don’t want to hit your local theatre.

The only thing that bums me out about this film?

I have to clear a spot in my all-time Top Ten Movies for this one.

It’s already taken the #5 spot in my All Time Marvel Movies list, bumping Ant-Man down a spot.

While both take place in my hometown of San Francisco, the inclusion of one of my all time favorite songs puts it over Ant-Man in the list.

As of this post, I’ve seen it 3 times, opening weekend.  Last movie I saw that many times was The Rise of Skywalker.