nahomgirma-83884 Reviews

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

The Worst Modern Hollywood Film of All Time

[1/10 · 13 December 2023]

I'll say this straight out: I'm a big fan of the Resident Evil video games. But I got a MASSIVE bone to pick with the films. Even if you don't try to connect it to the games, they are all incomprehensible messes that couldn't have any memorable characters or great action scenes. But The Final Chapter? Not only does it take every single problem that the movies and games have had in recent years, it multiplies it EXPONENTIALLY.

The story was fill to the absolute brim with plot holes, the side characters - including Claire Redfield - have nothing to do with plot, the special effects are bellow direct-to-dvd standards, the cinematography is the ugliest in the series, the editing was garbage, the action were so generic and stupid, the twists only makes the timeline more confusing, the soundtrack is a joke, the acting is worse than the Star Wars Prequels and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING MAKES SENSE!

If I would give this movie any awards, it would be:

Worst Film of 2017

Worst Zombie Movie

Worst Horror Movie

Worst Action

Worst Editing

Worst Visual Effects

Worst Adapted Screenplay

Worst Video Game Movie of All Time

I'm not joking when I say there are no redeeming qualities in this film. Not one. Not even a so bad it's good moment.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

The best Mario adaptation since the Nintendo Power comics

[7/10 · 8 April 2023]

For the longest time, I thought that this movie was going to be a mess. With Illumination working on it, Chris Pratt being the voice of Mario and the remarkably limited knowledge of what happened behind the scenes, I thought it was going to crash and burn like the 1993 film. But to my and many others surpsise, this film turned out o be very good!

One thing I have to say right out of the gate, I LOVE the film's animation and audio! Not only is it very colorful and brimming with life and energy, but everybody for the most part retains their iconic looks from the video games!, Especially Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong and Bowser. Not to mention that the small little easter that you can find in the backrounds and through dialoge are a nice treat! The audio something out of this world. The voice acting from everyone, specifically Jack Black, Charlie Day and Anya-Taylor Joy was remarkable! They all sound so energetic but not always over-the-top so that it becomes annoying. But the true higlight of the audio is the soundtrack! Brain Taylor and Koji Kondo did a fantastic job to replicate the original music from nearly every platformer game in the series from the NES to the Switch!

The story, while somewhat predictable and simple, is honestly very engaging. The characters were probably the reason why. Mario is very confident and hard working but he wishes that he could be better and wishes to be a true hero. Luigi, while less competent and very clumsy, is the one who has the most faith in Mario compared to the people of Brooklyn and to some extent, their family. Peach, out of all the characters in the film, is probably my favourite because not only is she a capeable fighter and a great mentor for Mario, but she is the one who has the most potential, mostly because of her backstory. Nowhere in the video games did it explain where Peach came from and how she became the Princess. But this film actually (somewhat) told that. The problem is that it's told very lightly and then moved on. I kind of wished that we delve deeper into it if we ever get a sequel.

One of my biggest problems with the film might be the pacing. While it is an hour and a half long, the film feels like it can be in a constant rush to meet the end credits as scenes go very fast, conversations between characters take up only a half minute, possibly less, some characters got to the conclusion of a task quick and sometimes, when they are in peril, they can find solutions to a problem unusually fast. Even other films like Shrek managed to find ways to feel like a big, long journey while still having a runtime of an hour and a half.

The second problem is that, while the score is incredible, their are times where they will use public domain music and pop songs like "Take Me On" or "I'll Need a Hero" in a few instances. It really feels out of place and very forced. The only time were it does works is in the bathroom scene were it plays Carmen: Habanera. Because the music begins to feel more and more intense, the scene becomes more funnier with things in the room beggining to fall apart.

Overall, The Super Mario Bros Movie is a really good family movie! It is funny, engaging, colorful and most importantly, unlike the 1993 film, it is far more faithful to it's video game counterpart. While it is far from a masterpiece, it is a step in the right direction for video game movies. And if Illumination can fix the problems this movie has with a sequel, we might be seeing a bright future.

Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986)

An Odd Footnote in Animation and Mario's history

[6/10 · 7 January 2023]

I found out about this film around 2018 with it's fan-made english dub. And it wasn't until in 2022 with it's 4K restoration on Youtube that I watched this film again. From what I have researched, this is the first video game movie ever created, released on July 20, 1986. However, it was only released in Japan and had never gotten an international thetrical run or released on home video. Because of that, the film became lost media for over two decades. It wouldn't be until 2007 when the movie was finally discovered on Youtube. And I have to say: this has to be the strangest piece of Mario-related media I have ever found, bar none.

The story begins with Mario playing on the Famicom late at night. Then suddenly, the screen shows Princess Peach(known back then as Princess Toadstool)running away from a bunch of Bowser's minions; only for her to jump out of the TV and into Mario's home. She asks Mario to stay in the house for a bit, but it doesn't go for too long as Bowser also jumps out of the TV and successfully kidnaps and gets back into the virtual world. Mario then discovers that Peach left behind a necklace before she disappeared.

The next morning, Mario and his younger brother Luigi(who works in a groccery store instead of plumbing)finds a dog named Kibidango who then decides to steal Peach's necklace and runs off. The brothers give chase but they both getting into a warp pipe. Mario, Luigi and Kibidango then end up in the Mushroom Kingdom where and old man known as Kinoko who says that Bowser cast a dark spell on the Mushroom Kingdom citizens into bricks, coins and plants after Peach rejected his proposal. In order to break it, the brothers must find three magical power-ups: the Mushroom, the Fire Flower and the Star. Now the two must find all three items, defeat Bowser and break the spell.

So first off, I will give praise that this film, unlike the 1993 live action movie, is a lot closer to the actual video game. Every major enemy and character is from the source material and even predates some aspects of the later games: Bowser forcefully wants to marry Peach, enemies can be both small and giant, Mario and Luigi can hijack the clouds that Lakitu rides on and in the climax of the movie, Mario swings Bowser by his tail, just like his iconic boss fight in Super Mario 64.

The animation is a bit of a mixed bag. While for the most part it looks appealing, there are things like some noticeable frame drops and animation errors. Mario and Peach can change sometimes in their colour and sizes, making it look very confusing.

But that isn't my only gripe with this movie. It almost feels like this film goes on Alice in Wonderland logic. That is to say, no logic. It is never told if the Mushroom Kingdom is a virtual world or a different dimension. We first see it as a video game world in the movie and then later as a parallel universe. But that is just one of several plot holes and inconsistencies that this film has in store.

However, despite that, I weirdly like how much the film doesn't make any sense. As it gives it it's own sense of charm. And while it is true that the characters are somewhat one-note, besides Mario and Bowser, because of some decent voice acting(even if it's a language I can't understand)and funny dialoge, I find all of them endiring.

It also helps that the soundtrack in this film is really good! It was composed by Toshiyuki Kimori and legendary video game composer Koji Kondo. Many of the tracks from the original NES game are in the film along with a bunch of pop-songs. While I don't want describe every single one, trust me, they are some true foot tapping songs.

But despite all the praise I have given this film, it's worst aspect has to be the ending. It ends with Mario defeating Bowser and the Mushroom Kingdom is back to normal. But once Mario gives back Peach the necklace, Kibidango, the dog character, tranforms into his human form. It turns out that he was actually a prince known as Prince Haru from the Flower Kingdom. He was actually Peach's fiancee who was about to marry her, but Bowser turned him into a dog before it started.

So it basically means that Mario can't marry Peach, even if there was a clear romance between the two. Far more than Peach and Haru. And yet despite that, and the fact that Mario and Luigi wasn't even rewared for their journey, the former is OK with it. This ending feels like it came out of nowhere and it's very mean spirited towards Mario.

But even with that ending, Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach is a decent film. And arguably, one of the better video game movie adaptations. While I would mostly recommend it to the most die-hard fans of the franchise, it is not a bad idea to watch to kids or friends of yours if you are in the mood to see something strange.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

The Mature & Joyful Pinocchio

[10/10 · 23 December 2022]

This just might be Guillermo del Toro's magnum opus. For the longest time, I believed that only Disney got the perfect one. But this one might be overthrowing that title.

The story is about a toy maker named Geppetto who has been greving over the loss of his son Carlo who was killed during a bombing campaign in WWI. Several years pass as Italy has changed itself as a fascism state under the control of Benito Mussolini. One day, in a fit of drunken rage, Geppetto cuts down a tree so he can make a wooden puppet that he could call his son. When he falls asleep, a blue Wood Sprite, comes out and brings the puppet to life and names it Pinocchio. And from here on out, he will see the what it means to be human, while going on crazy adventures with strange people.

Despite being a kids movie and keeping some of the essentials of the Pinocchio story, it still has some dark themes and subjects like life and death, the terrible suffering during WWI and WWII, political policies and even religion. And none of it feels hammy or forced. This is especially the case with the characters. The relationship with Geppetto and Pinocchio is amazing. The latter clearly loves the former so much and wants to be seen as his son. But Geppotto struggles to accept him as his son, given that he is a living wooden puppet and is very naive.

The animation is outstanding. This just might be one of the best looking animated films I have seen in years. I kept forgetting that the film was stop-motion, and not computer-generated. Because the character models look out-of-this-world! Particularly with Geppetto and the Wood Sprite. They don't have any hard edges, the character models have just the right amount of detail and the character animation is as smooth as butter.

This is an absolute must watch! If you are someone who wants to see a more mature and different take on this classic story, this is right up your ally!

Titan A.E. (2000)

A Guilty Pleasure

[6/10 · 18 December 2022]

In the year 3028, a man by the name of Professor Sam Tucker created a machine called Titan. It was supposed to be something that put humanity on top of the galaxy! But once a notorious alien race known as the Drej finds out about this, with fear of humanity becoming too powerful, fought a war against them. Sam decides to hide the Titan in a far away place in space and gives the map of the Titan to his son Cale Tucker. Everyone evacuates as the Drej shoots a gigantic laser beam on Earth, causing the entire planet to explode!

Fast forward 15 years later and Cale, as a young adult, works at salvage yard near a space station. And at this time, humanity is at an all time low and is about to hit extinction. Luckily, Cale meets with ex-military officer and a former friend to Professor Tucker, Joseph Korso. He tells Cale about the map to the Titan and what it could lead to their future. With the help of Korso's crew, Akima, Preed, Stith and Gune, Cale is on an adventure to find the Titan across several planets and nebulas and avoid the Drej.

There are already a few major flaws with the film to me. First off, Cale is an annoyingly unlikeable hero. Despite that the movie wants us to sympathise with him because he dosen't not have a father figure and struggling with other aliens, he acts like a cold blooded jerk. Especially in the first half. I mean, when we see him in the space ship with Korso and talking about the potential of the Titan, Cale doesn't care about it and wonders if there are any more rewards he would get out of it! Saving humanity is more than enough!!

It makes me always wonder why is this movie about him instead of Akima or Korso!? Both have more interesting backstories, they show more confidence and they are much more interesting as characters. But my biggest problems I have is the villians, the reptitive sound effects and the action scenes.

Besides the Drej just fearing humanity because of their potential future, we don't know more about them. We don't know where they come from, did they destroy other alien species, what allies they have, they don't show personality or other goals ect.

Then, there are the sound effects. While it is fine, the laser pistol shots and the Drej shots not only sound generic, but sometimes sound distorted and chrunchy. Making it sometimes painful to listen to. The action scenes in the film, while fun from time to time, feels increasingly dull, given that it usually relies on simply running away and shooting at others.

But despite all of my criticism, I still find some good parts of this movie. The animation and art direction is some of the best that Don Bluth has ever done. It has more of a post-apocalyptic feel to it, with a hint of cyberpunk added to it. Backrounds are usually made with dark colours and gritty feel to it. Not to mention the animation can look stunning.

However, while the animation can look great, it can also look terribly dated. See, the film wants to combine both 2D animation and 3D animation at the same time, not unlike Tarzan or The Iron Giant. But it can not be consitant with it. A few scenes like the Wake Angels scene and the Ice Rings scene can look amazing with combining the two. But other moments like the beginning and the ending can look REALLY bad.

So the animation is a pretty mixed bag. But if there was one part that I LOVED with this movie, it has to be the soundtrack. The film is filled with early 2000s rock and pop songs added and they were the highlights for me. They were memorable, but kind of cheesy in a fun way.

In the end, I consider Titan A. E. a guilty pleasure. Far from a masterpiece and it's not even a great film from Don Bluth, but I still find enjoyment out of it. If you are someone who loves his previous works, I would say that you should watch it at least once. What you will think about it is all up to you.

Spirited Away (2001)

The Anime Classic

[10/10 · 18 December 2022]

A girl named Chihiro Ogino and her parents are moving to their new home. However, when her father takes a "shortcut" by driving in the woods. But they get lost and find an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro's parents insists on exploring, which she refuses. Then the parents discovers a restaurant with freshly cooked food. With no second thought, the parents eat it. Later on, they get turned into huge pigs! As it turns out, Chihiro and her family has entered a spirit world were it is ruled by Yubaba the witch. Chihiro takes a job at Yubaba's bathhouse in order to save her parents, turn them into humans and get back into the human world.

What new can I add that hasn't been said by many people? This film is every bit of a masterpiece from the extraordinary animation, the deeply layered characters, the beautiful soundtrack, the excellent pacing and the sheer amount of creativity seen on display with the spirits.

If you really want to know what I'm talking about, you have to see it! Buy it on Blu-Ray! Or maybe watch it on Netflix! Doesn't matter! This is truly a magnificent film!

The Secret of Kells (2009)

A Forgotten Masterpiece

[10/10 · 18 December 2022]

When I discovered movie in 2020, I thought this was just an average fantasy comedy. With the only notable thing being the film's unique animation. But when I decided to watch it last year, it felt like I was transported to a new world.

The story is about a young boy in a remote village called Kells in Ireland during the early middle ages. When a manuscripter, named Brother Aiden enters the village to complete the real life national treasure, the Book of Kells, he asists Brendan to find the components to help him with the book. With the help of a fairy girl named Aisling and going on a dangerous quest to find the items, Brendan discovers some dark secrets of both Kells and Aisling.

Right off the bat, while the film has a remarkably short running time of 75 minutes(an hour and 15 minutes), the pacing doesn't feel rushed. It perfectly handles every scene. No scene feels too long or too short and every character has their time to shine, regardless of how imprtant they are.

But what are the true highlights of the film is the characters and animation. Brendan and Aisling's freindship is beautifully adorable, and I'm happy they didn't make the latter as a love interest. But thats not all. Brother Aiden is an amazingly charming and seriously sympathetic given he potrays Brendan as not just a great companion, but handles everyone with true respect, even with eh ones who challanges his motives.

The animation is out of this world. I'm still blown away by how amazing it looks. Despite the film's low budget of just $8 million, they packed in so much detail of the backrounds and even the most basic things like boulders and trees. The only nitpick could be the character animation. While the design are great, the movements are noticeably limited.

This is truly an underrated treasure. If you are someone who is interested in european animated, do yourself a favor by watching this forgotten masterpiece! You will truly love it!

Pippi Longstocking (1997)

Close to the bottom of the barrel

[2/10 · 11 October 2022]

I can't believe I'm saying this but this has got to be the animated film equivalent to Dragon Ball Evolution! The animation is trash, the story is stupid, the musical numbers are a joke, the characters(especially Pippi)are complete morons and pacing is almost rapid fire. But not in a funny way or exciting way, more of a "SLOW DOWN MOVIE!" kind of way.

I can't recommend this to anyone. And I really mean anyone. Not for the fans of the book, not for fans of animation and not even in a way were it's bad it's good. No, it's so bad it's bad! Very, VERY bad!

Simply stay away from this piece of garbage. If you want to see Pippi Longstocking animated, stick to the animated TV-series. It's not a masterpiece, but it's better than this souless hour waster.

Shrek (2001)

The Greatest Animated Comedy Ever

[10/10 · 11 October 2022]

Before we would know Shrek as universally popular meme, he starred in this comedy classic. Based loosely on the 1990 picture book of the same name by William Steig, the story is about a green ogre named Shrek(voiced by Mike Myers) who, along with a talking donkey(voiced by Eddie Murphy), is trying to rescue the wonderful Princess Fiona(voiced by Cameron Diaz) from a fire breathing dragon in order to send her to a pint sized lord. Along the way, Shrek and Fiona is starting to fall in love with each other and discover the meaning of inner beauty.

As a spoof of Disney tropes like musical numbers, the main characters want something more in their lifes and even refrencing many of their most famous films, it works great. And as many have already pointed out, this film is nothing short of hilarious. So many of the jokes hit bullseyes and and I never, ever felt like the writing was getting lazy.

This film holds up great, and if you are in the mood to see simply a great comedy, watch Shrek.

Persepolis (2007)

One of the Best Animated Features of the 21st Century!

[10/10 · 11 October 2022]

Persepolis, based on the graphic novels of the same name by Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, is not like any other animated film I have ever seen in my life. The story is animated depiction of Marjane's life from her early years during the Iranian Revolution to her later years as an adult. And she goes through all the problems she is gonna get through her life at these times like politics, war, treatment of women, family and so much more.

If you are someone who is looking for something more mature and dark, if you are intrested to find obscure animated or if you really are intrested to find a great animated that is based on real life events, Persepolis is the perfect film for you. Words can not describe how great this film is.