Peanuts Movie

Hahaha, I have to admit that I have not seen much of Charlie Brown or the Peanuts gang before. I’ve seen that awesome dance scene, though. But I don’t really know the characters or the plot. So this movie is a first for me.

And I really enjoyed it. To describe this movie in two words, charming and nice. It’s probably the nicest movie I’ve seen in a while. And I mean nice in the sense that no ones really mean. There are no antagonists. Its just a nice story about kids. Everyone likes Charlie Brown even if Charlie Brown doesn’t like Charlie Brown. There are cute Snoopy and Woodstock antics. The movie is nice.

The art style for the movie is great. It really stands out as trying to look like old-style 2D animations. Sometimes, te animations are jerky. They have constant effects that are done in 2d. The characters are constantly moving and have their own little flourishes. All over, the movie has a lot of charm and style.

The film is a slice-of-life style plot, so I really like it. I’m not going to say too much more, but it’s a nice kids story. There is a second plot running through that involves Snoopy and Woodstock. While the two plots only intersect rarely, Snoopy is constantly around the other characters. And the movie still felt decently short even with two separate plotlines running through it. The movie is a good length, though. There’s no unncessary stuff. The scenes just roll right along while leaving behind little sparkles of delight.

The only thing I found weird with this movie was who it was for. I think it’s for people who have enjoyed Peanuts for a long time. They use technology from the 80’s, and not just in a stylistic way. It does affect the plot at one point. And kids are going to need an explanation of why their phones have wires.

Still, the overall movie is good. It’s not as flashy as some other CGI films. Peanuts is homely and a good watch.

Gods of Egypt

This should have been a video game. That’s my main point. This movie would have, well, I don’t want to say would have, but could have been really fun to play. As a movie, it’s pretty ridiculous and runs entirely on rule of cool.

Gods of Egypt is a fantasy/magical story based on Egyptian mythology. I don’t know that much about it, but nothing really seems unintentionally inaccurate. To not have a double negative, everything that’s not accurate to the myths seems to serve their story. The story is pretty simple one of the unfavored brother taking what the favored brother has all while being evil about it. The son of the dead brother then has to take back what was lost and save the day.

Everything is super dressed up with special effects and CGI. Some is more noticeable than others, but the size difference between the Gods and mortals is done pretty well, actually. The acting, though, is kind of stiff at times. It’s like some characters want to be quippy but fail at giving it any sort of impact or punch.

A lot of things happen in this movie just for the sake of being cool. The two characters I enjoyed watching were Thoth and Anubis, though. Anubis is a cool guy and just wants to do his job. I like all of Thoth’s little ticks. It makes him fun and interesting to watch compared to everyone else.

This movie really is a CGI fest and special effects fest. The action scenes weren’t overly memorable or noticeable, though, which could have brought some excitement to this movie. As is, this movie will be pretty forgettable.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

This is the third different Spider-Man universe, but this time, its in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)! That means so many more possibilities! I enjoyed most of the previous Spider-Man films, but having oen as part of a larger superhero world is really cool. Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s real identity, being younger than the previous versions adds a lot of fun to the story. This time around, Peter Parker is only fifteen and still in high school.

I really like their immediate connection to the rest of the MCU world. It works great and doesn’t feel too much at all. It also gives the main villain an understandable motive for doing what he does. Vulture is the villain this time around, and he’s a good one. Unlike some other villains, he has a completely reasonable goal, provide for his family, only he does bad things while doing so. But he’s not out to ruin anything or take over anything. And it makes him pretty compelling. Michael Keaton is also great at portraying him.

Unlike most other Spider-Man movies, this one is not too busy. Vulture is the main villain, and there’s not a lot to distract from that.

While this movie is not an origin film, it is still pretty much the first time Spider-Man has faced any serious threats. It shows really shows him growing into it, all while still being an awkward kid. He’s funny, he tries to be manacing to the criminals, he tries to act cool and how he thinks a superhero should act. It’s adorable. And like any kid, he messes up and gets in over his head.

My main issue with the movie, I suppose, is how much they rely on the adults don’t listen to kids storyline. It’s overdone, really, and Peter’s suit is even recording all of his interactions with the bad guys! Why, with what Peter has seen, would that not warrant a more forceful response from the adults? Okay, specifically a certain adult, and I’ll consider it a spoiler even though he was in the trailers. So I’ll talk about it more in the spoiler section.

Other than that, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a great movie where Peter tries to get used to his new superhero status while still being in high school. It doesn’t do anything new, but it does most things great. Though I suppose it does say something about the side-characters seeing that I have no real comments about them. Aunt May really wasn’t in the movie enough, and she should be in it more. I also really liked Donald Glover’s character. He’s not in it much, but he’s great when he shows up.

Alright, now for some spoilers!

The adult I referenced previously is, of course, Tony Start, the Iron Man. He gave Peter a Spider-Man suit with all sorts of features. And he’s also keeping an eye on Spider-Man. I think with all that has happened, he could do more than try some normal FBI agents. Because while a big disaster might not have happened without Spider-Man, no way the FBI agents were stopping the Vulture.

Still, Tony Stark works as a great mentor to Peter. Peter believes he needs the suit to be something, and Tony has definitely gone through that before. It works well. Tony also doesn’t take over the movie, so the hero of the day is all Spider-Man. Yet, this movie really couldn’t happen without taking place in the MCU. It just weaves in really well.

Though seriously, how many villains is Tony going to influence into badness? Aldrich Killian, Ultron, Pietro and Wanda, and now Adrian Toomes. For real, Tony should have the guilt.

This is a fun movie with a great villain and even greater possibilities for the future.

Super end of movie spoilers ahead!

I am so glad to see Pepper Potts again! It’s just good to know things are going well between her and Tony again, or just to see what she’s up to since we last saw her quite a while ago.

Central Intelligence

It seems like Kevin Hart is the new team-up guy of movies. Will Ferrel, Ice Cube, now Dwayne Johnson. In Central Intelligence, Kevin Hart plays Calvin Joyner, former high school superstar and current average guy. He’s unhappy with the trajectory of his life until an old high school classmate returns into his life making it crazy.

While I wouldn’t say this film is hilarious, I was entertained. The earlier part I felt was a bit slow, but I think it was worth it just to set up a friendship between Calvin and Bob (Dwayne Johnson’s character). Still, it could have happened a bit faster.

Then things get crazy. It’s in the title of the movie, so I’ll just say that Bob is a member of the CIA. Or is he? That’s what the movie is primarily about, whether Bob is delusional or not and what Calvin should do about it.

Overall, since it’s a comedy, and not the tragic kind, you sort of expect it to end happily. the antics along the way are pretty good. And because you have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the action scenes are actually really good. Bob Stone has that kind of crazy awesome schtick, emphasis on both crazy and awesome.

The movie doesn’t last too long, so the question of is or isn’t Bob crazy doesn’t get tiring. I would consider the movie as alright. If you want more Kevin Hart fast talking, this will give it to you. It’s a fine movie that’s enjoyable for an afternoon of fun. Nothing too serious in there.

iZombie, Season 3

My favorite zombie forensic specialist and her detective partner is back! But this season is so short. I wanted more, and this show deserves more. Due to the shortness of the season, there are some plot points that don’t get resolved, though I think they’ll be doing them a bit next season. Still, this season tells one fun story with some great sad moments, funny moments and everything in between.

The biggest change up (and this will be spoilers from the past season), this season Clive Babineaux knows that Liv is a zombie! And he just gets so much better for it. Clive has the best reaction to things, and now that he knows about zombies, he gets even more as he gets pulled deeper into their world.

Blaine’s been kind of up and down this season. There really wasn’t one big awesome Blaine moment, but he and Liv does get some really cool scenes together. With Fillmore Graves around, Blaine’s zombie empire isn’t as big as before, so I hope that gets changed in the future. I do like the kind of frenemy thing he has going on with Liv and gang, though. And Don-E, that guy’s great!

In this season, the threat of zombies being revealed to the world are becoming more and more likely. There’s no single bad guy, just a lot of people trying to figure out what to do. I really like the different persepectives, from the zombie hunters to the zombie militia. Liv is just trying to do her medical crime-solving thing, but she gets dragged along.

The cases of the week, while fun, feel less important than before. The brains she eats are more to help the overall plot with the case of the week taking a backseat, but the show still works really well. And now that Clive knows about zombies, he can get in on the overall plot.

Peyton, too, seems to be getting more important, and that’s great.

iZombie is great fun. It’s concept still works, and the show is not afraid to push the world forward. It’s going to be a wild 4th season.

Maleficent

Hmm, I’ll say that when these life action Disney remakes first started coming out, I didn’t have a huge interest in them. I still don’t, actually, but I surely would watch them if they were on TV, like this one.

And Maleficent isn’t a remake, either. It’s a retelling of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, but with Maleficent as the main character. I will say that I really enjoyed the movie, actually. I could have used less action scenes, but I like twists on well-known stories. Maleficent does it pretty well and makes her a compelling character. Okay, I don’t remember the original Disney Sleeping Beauty much, but I don’t think either Aurora or Maleficent were too interesting.

This film has fun visuals, both in the fairy woods of the Moors and in the, uh, Sleeping Beauty Kingdom (I don’t know the kingdom’s name). Angelina Jolie does really well as Maleficent. We get to see a younger Maleficent introdution in the movie, and dang, she grew cheekbones like crazy. Aurora is also fun to watch.

As this changes events of the original a lot, I’m going to go more into detail in the spoiler section of the review. For me, I really enjoyed the changes and the new information present. Aurora is much more involved this time around, though the story is still definitely Maleficents. The two characters play off each other really well.

Oh, and Diaval, the crow, has gotten really fun.

Overall, I enjoyed it. The special effect battles are probably a bit overdone and mostly for cool action scenes, but beyond that, it’s a fun movie.

Onto some spoilery parts.

So, at first, I wasn’t sure who was really going to be the bad guy of the film. I mean, it could still be Maleficent, but seems kind of depressing for a children’s film to have the main character die at the end. And this Maleficent isn’t pure evil. She has a rather good reason for doing what she did.

And that’s what allows for some great scenes between Maleficent and Aurora.

By the midway point, you’ll definitely know who’s the bad guy of the film.

Now as for who was going to wake up Aurora, I knew it wasn’t going to be Prince Phillip. Fairy tale story aside, it doesn’t feel satisfying to have a true love’s kiss between two people that met once for all of five minutes or so. And there were only two other people that Aurora had constant contact with (on screen), Diaval and Maleficent.

Overall, I’m glad with the way it turned out in the end. Yes, it has a happy ending, yes, I’m fine that it’s so different from the original movie. It works for the story they’re telling. Maleficent is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that has enough changes to keep it interesting throughout.

The dragon scene is pretty rad, too.

Spectre

Out of all the James Bond movies, I have only seen Skyfall fully. Spectre would be my second movie. So I am not hugely knowledgeable about James Bond lore and story. But hey, it was on TV, and I was interested.

First off, I’ll say that out of the two, I enjoyed Skyfall more. Spectre has payoffs that only really come if you know the story and watch the franchise. I have not seen even Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace, so I probably didn’t get the full experience.

Still, the movie does feel really slick and spy-like. James Bond just does things, all while being cool and suave. It seems like his intense gaze can get most women into bed with him.

In Spectre, Bond is trying to hunt down the hidden organization, named Spectre. The organization is responsible for a lot of crimes around the world. Consider it a Rogue Nation of sorts. I’m sorry. I had to say it. I know the movies were made at the same time and already had years of development, and that both of them use pretty standard plot points.

The first 2/3rds of the movie was great. It had nice action, stunts and scenes. There was a nice intrigue built up, and the meeting of the people in Spectre was a well-done scene. Mr. Hinx, played by Dave Bautista, was a fun enemy for Bond to face. Bautista brought about that physical threat and a menacing face. He also didn’t talk much, which really worked or the character.

Bond, of course, traipses all around the world avoiding Mr. Hinx and trying to track down the main base of Spectre. And for the most part, it’s pretty fun. The performances are all fine. I can’t think of anyone standing out, but they’re all spies. They should stay cool under pressure. So it works.

Now for the spoilers parts. If you like the previous Daniel Craig Bond movies, this one is alright.

Anyway, the movie sort of deflates after Mr. Hinx dies. None of his bosses are any real physical threats, and all of their random henchmen just die while hitting nothign with their own guns.

After Mr. Hinx, bond feels like he’s in total control. There’s one point where he’s captured, but then escapes really easily. Even if none of MI6 could help him, he still never really felt in danger.

the final action piece is a long way away from Skyfall’s. So overall, I liked Skyfall better. This movie had an interesting start, but a weaker finish.