Keep it Short

Spiral is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and serves as the ninth installment of the Saw film series. This story tells a simple yet interesting premise; what if cops were the only targets for the killer?

Spiral does a solid job at being a Saw movie. There’s gore, there’s traps, and there’s distorted voices over TVs. If you come into this expecting anything else, you’ll be disappointed. The story is basic and honestly pretty predictable. There are big chunks that seem to be missing at times and leaves some scenes feeling like they came out of nowhere. The execution and editing leave a lot to be desired. There are so many more ways to tell a story other than flashbacks, but this movie has a ridiculous amount of them.

The performances here are nothing to rave about. Chris Rock seems a bit awkward in a lot of scenes; he brings the humor for sure, but just doesn’t resonate with me on any other level. Samuel L Jackson is himself and is enjoyable. Nobody leaves a lasting impression on me with their performances here.

Overall, Spiral is a solid addition to the Saw franchise and serves as a good reboot if they want to go in that direction. It’s a fun movie to watch and nothing more. Enjoy this movie in theaters and turn your brain off for a couple of hours.

6.0/10

Justice League The Snyder Cut is directed by Zack Snyder (surprise) and is the alternate edition of the 2017 Justice League movie. This is the original vision Zack Snyder had for this film before Joss Whedon took over directing duties after Snyder had to exit the film due to family issues.

This movie is FOUR hours long and it feels like it’s ten. This opened my eyes to the importance of editing movies. It feels drawn out and unfinished at various points of the film. There are scenes that are five minutes long that could be trimmed down to one. The pacing feels off and the story is still convoluted.

The characters here are still very bland to me. There is definitely more character development for some characters here such as Cyborg and Flash, but it just adds to the already long run-time of the movie. I am all for character development, but trying to introduce and develop these new and super important characters to a movie like this just feels like it’s too much. We should already have established these characters in a movie about them joining forces to save the world.

There are cool sequences that happen throughout the movie, but not enough to warrant watching a four hour movie to watch a few good scenes. This movie sets up about five sequels that will never happen due to this not being cannon in the DC Extended Universe.

Overall, the Snyder Cut just feels like a long and slow movie with some bad CGI and lazy storytelling. There are definitely fun and cool scenes, but they get bogged down with an over reliance of slow-mo and they get drawn out. If you have four hours of free time and you love super hero movies, this might be something to throw on. There are worse things to watch for four hours, but much much better as well.

5.0/10

Godzilla vs. Kong is a film that is directed by Adam Wingard and stars Millie Bobby Brown and Alex Skarsgård. This movie has a simple premise and a simple question. Who would win in a fight between Godzilla and King Kong? Coming into this movie, I expected this to be pretty mediocre; I was absolutely wrong. By no means is the movie Oscar-worthy, but it delivers a good time and some awesome action scenes.

The story follows our two monsters and gives us a little more background on their relationship together. Godzilla and Kong are by far the best parts of this film. Their action scenes and the further characterization of the two provide tons of entertainment for audiences to enjoy. The film also does a good job on answering the question of who would win in a fight between these two. I was afraid that they would try and cater to fans of both monsters and not give us a definitive winner.

My biggest gripe with this movie is definitely the human characters. Most of them are just there to be there and aren’t very interesting. There were maybe two human characters that I was invested in, but a majority of them were just bland. The good news is that they don’t deter from the main storyline and don’t slow down the pace at all.

Overall, Godzilla vs. Kong delivers a fun and entertaining action adventure that I think most people will enjoy. The movie is just about two hours long, but it felt way shorter than that – which is good. It left me wanting more of the two characters and I hope we get to see them in the near future. I was able to experience this movie in theaters and it was such a great experience. I would definitely recommend seeing this in theaters if possible, if not then it’s also available on HBOmax. Definitely check this movie out and enjoy the two hours of jaw-dropping fight scenes.

8.1/10

Disney Pixar’s Soul tackles some heavy ideas. It asks what our purpose is on this planet and what happens to our souls before and after life on Earth. This seems like a very mature theme for a kids film, but this is done so beautifully and gracefully. This might just be a top five Pixar film of all time for me.

The animation in this movie is incredible. Between the instruments, the shots of New York, and the realism of so many backgrounds, it is almost hard to believe that this is animated. Pixar continues with their unmatched animation style. This brings a little more weight to the story that they are telling the audience. This tackles some very adult themes and it almost feels like it’s targeting more of the adult audience than the younger one. I’m not sure if many kids will fully understand the lesson in this movie and just what kind of message Pixar is trying to relay to us. It doesn’t matter though because the message is absolutely beautiful and is a fitting reminder after this crazy year we have had.

All of the characters are well performed and nothing feels off here. The movie is about an hour and a half long and it paces itself well. Soul will tug on your heartstrings and make you realize just how important it is to not only have goals and ambitions, but to sit back and enjoy life for what it is. Every moment, big or small, is what makes life beautiful. This film tells this message with unique character designs, amazing storytelling, and characters who I’m sure many people can relate to.

Overall, Soul is a masterpiece of animation and the story hits on all cylinders. Pixar continues with their more mature themes and they do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. This is one of the best films I have seen in 2020 and I think most of you would agree after seeing this. My only gripe is that I wish I could have seen this on the big screen, but that is to no fault of the film itself. Definitely check this out on Disney+. You will not regret it.

9.7/10

Wonder Woman 1984 is the sequel to DC’s Wonder Woman (2017). This is a year starved of blockbuster movies and super hero entertainment. I had high hopes that this would satisfy that itch. This did not. This is a gigantic disappointment. This movie feels way too long and poorly edited. I can’t believe that the studio was given extra time to polish the movie and this was the final result.

The story feels all over the place and there are so many scenes that go on way too long. It’s almost as if there was no editor and they just let the scenes play out like a blooper reel. The characters are pretty underwhelming and underdeveloped. The only character that I was actually invested in was Maxwell Lord who was played by Pedro Pascall (The Mandalorian). He gave such a great performance with a subpar script and I only wish we could’ve seen him with a more coherent script and better written dialogue.

This movie is two and a half hours long and feels like it’s five. They could have condensed it to an hour and a half and we would have ended up at the same conclusion. There is so much lazy writing and seemingly no direction here. Diana is given powers at random that seem to fit the plot. The first movie was so good and I really thought that the studio would build off of what made that film great. The action is lackluster and seems too “bouncey”? It’s hard to describe, but the choreography is just awkward. This is just a boring mess of a movie and it overstays it’s welcome. It’s available on HBO Max if you do decide to give it a watch for yourself.

5.9/10

In a wild year full of blockbuster delays and virtually nothing being released, The Mandalorian season two delivered a fantastic season for casual fans and hardcore fans alike. Season one was so good and seemed to nail every aspect of Star Wars. Many fans wondered if season two could bring that same level of excitement and continue the world building that season one started us on. Season two did not disappoint. In fact, it surpassed the first season by a mile.

John Favreau delivered big time with season two. He continues to prove that he is a master at creating and building new worlds. He did it with the first Iron Man movie that kicked off the MCU, and he’s doing it again with the Mandalorian. He understands what fans want and is able to tell a satisfying story that leaves us with questions but not questioning the actual plot points themselves. Fan service was in full effect this season. It was done so well that it didn’t seem like it was done just for the sake of doing it. The fan service that was in here was actually integral to the main story and pays off. The cameos this season were jaw dropping and so well done. It is absolutely unreal how they were able to piece these characters together in a coherent and fun storyline. One cameo in particular left me speechless and made me actually jump. I didn’t think that the baby yoda surprise from season one would be topped, but here we are.

It is clear that John Favreau knows what he wants and what the fans want. There is a clear direction and overarching story here. It’s a shame that the Disney Star Wars movies didn’t follow that same blueprint. The movies should have been handled with the same care and attention that The Mandalorian has had. If you haven’t seen season two, go check it out now. There are only eight episodes and they are all absolutely worth your time. The Mandalorian season two is available on Disney+.

9.7/10

The Devil All The Time is about a young man who is devoted to protecting his loved ones in a town full of corruption and sinister characters. This film is based on the novel of the same name that was written by Donald Ray Pollock. This movie is full of star power. It stars Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, and Robert Pattinson. These three all deliver amazing performances, but Tom Holland knocked it out of the park. This is by far his best performance.

The film started off a little slow for me. I wasn’t fully into the story at first, but once the movie picked up it never let off the gas. The pacing was the worst part of the movie in my opinion. There were some moments that seemed to come out of nowhere, which makes me think that this would have served better as a miniseries with about six or seven episodes. This didn’t take the enjoyment out of the movie for me though, the story was great and the acting was top notch.

This is a very dark movie and shows that so many people, no matter how they appear on the surface, could have a dark secret that would change how others perceive them. Robert Pattinson is absolutely an evil man in this story and he is CREEPY. He was so convincing in his role and I cannot wait for all of his future projects.

Overall, The Devil All The Time is a solid movie that tells a riveting story and connects a lot of different characters in unique and interesting ways. Although it would have been better served as a miniseries, this still tells a great story and is able to maintain the attention of the viewer. This is one of the best Netflix movies I have seen in a while. Definitely give it a watch if you have Netflix.

8.2/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

New Mutants is an X-Men movie about five young mutants that are trying to figure out their powers while being held against their wills in a secret facility. They fight to escape their past sins and save themselves. To start off, let’s just remember that this movie was originally set to release in 2017. It definitely would have benefited from that. It would follow up Logan and I think that would have helped the movie achieve more success. It’s a middle of the pack X-Men movie. It takes interesting chances and it’s exploration into a darker world is entertaining.

This movie suffered from development hell for years, and it is obvious in here. It’s easy to see that this movie went through various studios and scripts, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be given the circumstances. The characters are interesting for the most part and the actual story is pretty good. There are some horror elements, but nothing as scary as advertised. New Mutants definitely feels choppy throughout the film. Some scenes try for a John Hughes vibe, some for a more classic X-Men vibe, and others are more horror driven. There is no scene that is able to combine all three which leaves us with a disjointed film.

I’m happy that this movie finally released, and I’m glad that it wasn’t a total dumpster fire. If you care about the X-Men franchise, then definitely check this movie out. If not, it would be an easy pass in my opinion. Again, this movie had a lot of potential, but it just had so many issues with development that it’s a miracle that it’s as decent as it is. Not awful, but absolutely underwhelming.

5.5/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Mulan (2020) is Disney’s latest live-action adaptation of their beloved animated movies. I am going to confidently say that I no longer look forward to their live-action remakes. Between this and Lion King, I have lost confidence in them doing these kind of movies justice. Let’s talk about Mulan and why I feel this way.

This is a very different movie than the animated one. This borrows some elements from it, and also borrows some elements from the original Ballad of Mulan. This does not blend them well. This movie is boring. Some might call it darker and more serious, but it’s just more boring. The animated movie brought humor, liveliness, and characterization to the audience. The 2009 Mulan was a more accurate take on Mulan from the original story, while this just felt like it wasn’t necessary.

Mushu is not in this movie, which takes a lot away from the story in my opinion. It feels like Aladdin without Genie. I understand that this movie was going for a more serious tone, but they take away Mushu and add some magic elements and it just leaves me to wonder why they would take Mushu out of the movie. The movie looked beautiful for the most part, although some green screen was noticeable for some scenes. The pacing was a mess and the editing was jarring. There is no music in this iteration and almost no humor.

Overall, this movie just fell flat for me. If you want to enjoy a Mulan movie, just watch the animated version. It tells a better and more fun story in a shorter amount of time. Keep in mind, I don’t hate Disney live-action remakes. I enjoyed Aladdin and Jungle Book, but this just felt lifeless. I probably won’t remember this movie in two days. Don’t waste $30 on Disney+. If you want to watch it, just wait until it’s free on Disney+ on December 4th.

4.5/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Child’s Play (2019) is a re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic “Child’s Play” with a modern twist. It definitely does not shy away from being its own take on the character of Chucky. It gives off that 90s/80s slasher vibe where it is serious enough to get the audience invested, but not serious enough where the movie is bleak. This definitely is a dark comedy/slasher type of flick.

All of the characters are solid and the voice acting by Mark Hamill is fantastic. The kill scenes were satisfying and entertaining. The film is beautifully shot (which surprised me) and a lot of the jokes in this land surprisingly well. Chucky in this iteration is definitely a more sympathetic character and the movie almost makes you feel for him in a weird and perverse way. It is an awesome and new take on a classic character. You can definitely tell that the people who worked on this movie genuinely cared about the product and that this wasn’t some soulless cash grab.

Overall, this movie definitely surprised me. I hope that they make a sequel (something I NEVER thought I would say before watching this) and I’m glad that the studio decided to go with a different take on this character. It works for the world that we live in now, and it’s a fun watch. Go in with an open mind and you will enjoy this movie a lot more. The movie is available on the Amazon Prime app, so definitely give it a watch if you’re a member of Amazon Prime.

7.3/10

Written by: Manny Talancon