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The Prince of Egypt (1998)
The greatest animated film to have ever been created
As someone who was watched countless animated features from the dawn of the CGI film era of "Toy Story", I can still say without any shred of doubt or bias that "The Prince of Egypt" is the greatest animated film to have been created to this date!
First and foremost, every element and detail of this film is done to absolute perfection! There is no flaw to be found in the writing, acting, animation, music, the dedication to keeping the adaptation as true to the original source as possible, not making it preachy despite being a film heavily rooted in three separate religions, or the pacing of this story!
It is able to captivate audiences of all ages successfully, which rarely any film or even story is able to accomplish!
But not only this, but the music, animation, and choice of cast at the time was truly revolutionary; blending both 2-D and 3-D animation together in a seem-less fashion, being the first animated feature to have an ensemble A-List celebrity cast, and the music by Hans Zimmer....
Absolute perfection!
Every single frame, note, and word from the actors is able to blend together in perfect harmony; all being used to delve into and progress so much of a story into just 1 hour and 30 minutes by having all elements work perfectly together!
The unique elements and layers of music to bring about the thoughts, emotions, and dynamics of the characters.
The remixing of past and future songs to mirror and foreshadow events.
And even making the background itself a main character as it's frequently used alongside the characters to further delve into their thoughts, emotions, and character development without a single word being spoken about it!
Whether you believe in the source material or not, or even have any religious affiliation or not, there is no doubt in my mind that you will still not enjoy this absolute cinematic masterpiece!
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
A movie that perfectly captures the spirit of DnD
It this film going to be a timeless classic that will impact future films and generations to come? Definitely not.
Does this film feature a decent plot to follow with likeable characters? That's a check.
Is the action, special effects, and world building well done? Absolutely!
But most importantly, does this film perfectly capture the spirit of Dungeons and Dragons? That's a Natural 20!
The best thing about this film is that it feels as though it was actually adapted from a real DnD campaign.
Each of the characters are unique and have their own relatively engaging stories to follow. They also all have a part in solving the numerous dilemmas they encounter throughout the story and all have their own interesting story arcs and motives for joining the party.
The story also does an excellent job at highlighting one of the best things about DnD; the ability to creatively solve problems and adapt quickly when things don't necessarily go your way.
The weakness is that the film is mostly forgettable and mostly serves as a means of cheap fun for DnD fans. There's nothing fully praise-worthy about this film aside from staying true to the spirit of DnD as well as its special effects and world designing.
In conclusion, this film is great fun for fans of Dungeons and Dragons. But as a quality film on its own, it definitely doesn't meet the CR requirements...
Scream VI (2023)
Definitely not without its obvious flaws, but delivers well on what the audience wants
Despite its simple origins and premise, the Scream franchise has mostly been consistent with its quality horror and tried-and-true formula which still works well.
For starters, the kills are very well done and will make even veteran horror fans shiver and squirm. There's something so raw about a masked killer that can be anywhere and is ruthless in their hunt that makes them so intimidating and makes you want the characters to survive.
This film also does a fine job of both subverting expectations but also being cliche and predictable when necessary. This is so that the "fresh" and "new" stuff doesn't become the norm or seem "boring" in comparison to the rest of the film, so the writers did a good job with this balance.
I also continue to like how the film does a well done job with developing the characters and keeping them all (mostly) likeable and relatable. This makes the kills and developments that much more impactful, and keeps the audience engaged in between the must-awaited kills.
The best part of this film, however, is the subway sequence. I won't say any more than this.
However, this film is also not without its weaknesses.
With the many, many times that the killer should have been caught, countered, or even killed, and will all the times where the police should have been involved, it ruins a good chunk of the suspense and impact of the story. It's also clear that the writers need the plot to last longer than an hour and ensure that no one can learn how to get away with murder by watching this film.
I also found that those who payed attention to every spoken line and plot development could easily guess who Ghostface was. This is especially true for horror fans who are aware of the tropes of horror films as well as previous Scream canon.
I also found that this film as well as the last seem to copy the core elements and developments of the first two Scream films. Does this mean that the next instalment will feature a single mastermind who manipulated the previous two Ghostface killers and has a much deeper vendetta against the protagonist(s)? We'll just have to see...
In conclusion, this is a solid addition to the Scream franchise that balances all its elements and formulas well, but still has its clear weaknesses that prevent this from being a fully thrilling and terrifying movie.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
A revolutionary film that will impact the next decade of animation
I tried not to be too hopeful of the quality of this movie when I first went into theatres to watch it. I've been disappointed by Spider-man movies and spin-offs before (Spider-Man 3, especially), and didn't want that to happen again...
But boy was I wrong!
The coming-of-age story and voice acting are virtually flawless, and the animation is absolutely revolutionary!
This film is the first to utilize a completely new technique of animation that resembles the "comic-book" feel with a combination of high and low frames-per-second. Aside from this, it is hard to describe with words, so I simply encourage you to watch it yourself and be amazed!
However, the greatest strength of this movie is that it incorporates the previously established Spider-Man lore and stories without disrespecting them or needlessly remixing them. In fact, the film uses this to its advantage by comparing the main character's arc with the previous stories or other Spider-people. It works so well and is truly fulfilling to watch as a Spider-Man fan.
Not only this, but it also dares to try and do new things with the Spider-Man world that have never been done before, but does so with care and love for the series and characters. This allows for the main character's story to shine without having to disrespect or "cancel out" the beloved characters that came before them (I'm looking at you, Star Wars sequels...)
The only weakness of this movie is the fact that those unfamiliar will Spider-man will not get the full enjoyment or impact of this movie, especially as there are a lot of references to previously established story arcs and even fan "memes" that can become lost to anyone who is unfamiliar with Spider-man.
Aside from this, this is a perfect animated film that will completely revolutionize the future of animated film-making and story-telling. A certified must-watch for all audiences.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
A film that has no right to be as good as it is
When I heard that "Puss in Boots 2" was getting great reviews from critics and fans alike, I was seriously doubtful. I mean, how could a spin-off of Dreamwork's flagship IP whose glory days are far behind possibly be a good film?
But when I saw it for myself, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
The story, animation, and acting are truly top-notch. There wasn't a moment where I was bored or disengaged from the story and didn't care about what was going on. The story's balance of all its elements, developments, and climaxes are truly well done, and there were certainly plenty of times where the story caught me off guard and pleasantly surprised me.
However, the greatest strength of this film is its villains...
Without giving away any spoilers, the villains of this movie truly makes this movie so fulfilling and worthy of praise. Dreamworks dared to do what most children's movies would never even dare to touch, purposely poked fun at established fairy tail lore and tropes, and pulled it off so well that audiences of all ages will be impacted by their presence and story.
The only thing the movie is weak on is that viewers would have needed to watch the previous films in order for this movie to be fully enjoyable. There are certain character developments and introductions that lack full context and impact without watching many of the previous films (including the Shrek films). I wish this wasn't the case so that I could give this film a higher mark, but it's a weakness of the film regardless as it is a sequel.
In conclusion, this is definitely one of the better films that have come out in 2022, and would highly recommend it for audiences 10 and up.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Incredible special effects, especially in IMAX 3-D, but that's about it
Whenever Disney has dedicated themselves to making sequels of previously successful franchises, they have a very bad habit of simply recycling the plots of the original stories (the Star Wars sequels and Pirates of the Caribbean being prime examples of this).
So when it comes to Avatar... unfortunately it's no different.
For the most part, the core plot and developments of this sequel and its original counterpart are essentially identical. Even some of the iconic sequences and shots of the original are directly copied in this sequel.
But the worst part of this story is that it's clear that any and all struggles the characters go through are going to essentially amount to nothing as Disney wants to keep the core characters alive to create many more sequels to come. This also means that many plot points get drawn out needlessly in order to create more repetitive content for the future.
This is why the movie only gets half points for me. It does a spectacular job with revolutionizing visual effects for future films, but the story leaves much to be desired.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
It is workable for the premise... but that's about it
I have to actually agree with the critics on this movie; aside from the fan service, it's truly mediocre at best.
When you put this movie up against the most critically acclaimed children's movies of all time, including the classic Disney and Pixar movies, this film just doesn't measure up to the established "5-star" quality Hollywood has produced before.
Does it have good animation, design, and action sequences? Yes.
Does it have stellar performances that set new highs for what actors should aspire to? Aside from maybe Jack Black as Bowser, that's a hard no.
Does it have a well-written story that's timeless and will impact generations for ages? Definitely not.
The strength of this movie lies within its dedication to staying fully true to the Mario games and the worlds they've built, and packing as many possible references to the games as possible in under 1 hour while keeping the illusion that there's some sort of plot to follow.
But in terms of its actual quality as a movie, even the hardcore fans have to agree that if the Mario IP wasn't slapped onto this movie, it would have absolutely failed at the box office as well as with professional and fan critics alike.
17 Kids and Counting (2008)
15 Boring Seasons and Counting...
When I first started watching this show, I was interested to see how the lives of such a large and Christian family would play out. Being Christian myself, I thought I was going to see some good TV and important messages about what it means to be a happy family.
Boy was I in for a downer...
Instead, the show describes the overly-protective lives of the children of the Duggar family and just how boring their lives really are. To this day, I have NEVER seen a date in public where the people dating were literally being followed around by their own family.
This show is literally what life would be like if "Big Brother" was actually a thing. These kids lives are being constantly monitored; every single move they make is being made known to everyone else. They're also home-schooled and live in a pretty shut-in community. What these parents are doing is not preparing them for the real world. First of all, these kids need A LOT more independence.
They need to be able to determine for themselves what's right and what's wrong, and not have their parents watch their every move.
Yes your kids can and will be tempted to do what's wrong, but they need to be able to flee temptation on their own. If you don't think your kids are going to do the right thing when no one is looking, then you have a problem...
In conclusion, this show is more disturbing than entertaining. With all the overbearing rules and overly protective parenting this family has, it's no surprise that the kids that have already moved out turned a little wacko...