Tag Archives: Comedy

A Minecraft Movie Review

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This film really ended blew up in theaters and did better than anyone would have dreamed of. It was really impressive and showed just how powerful the world of gaming could be. It took me a while to see it but after watching the film I can confirm that it was pretty solid. The story was on point and the gags were solid. Throw in the fact that it was really not ashamed to be a video game adaption and you have a confident movie on your hands. I would definitely recommend it.

The movie starts off with Steve arriving in the world of Minecraft and quickly mastering the world’s mechanics. Unfortunately he bumps into the dark side of this realm where he is captured by the villains. His dog is able to escape with the gem connecting the two worlds though. Now there is no chance of harm coming to Earth. Unfortunately the gem is found many years later by a guy who is down on his luck. He ends up arriving into the world of Minecraft with two kids and a local real estate agent. Can they find a way to stop the evildoers from getting to the surface world?

I thought that the opening sequence really set the right tone from the start. It was all very fast paced. Instead of waiting 30 minutes for the heroes to make it to this new world, Steve does it in 5 minutes. I liked how quickly he was able to master the different mechanics and wasn’t acting like a tourist. Steve just got to business and it was even pretty heroic how he was able to escape prison long enough to get his dog out of there. Naturally the scenes are played with a slight grin from the movie’s part as this is still a comedy first and foremost but it is actually funny.

That’s something that the film really gets right. The jokes tend to land well with a lot of tried and true gags. The film isn’t exactly going into uncharted territory but it doesn’t need to do that. When you execute an old joke well then it hits as hard as it did the first time. Of course if you don’t tend to like the sillier type of films then this one’s probably not going to change your mind either. It’s all about those old school fundamentals and this is the kind of film you could picture watching on VHS back in the day. If you play Minecraft then you’ll probably recognize more of the gags right away and if not, you’ll still understand all of the important ones.

Steve was definitely the best character throughout the film. He was always in charge of the situation and managed to keep his cool even when things didn’t go as planned. He may not have been a huge success back on Earth but once he was in Minecraft world he was quick to dominate over there. He didn’t whine or complain about his lot in life. He found a creative solution and that’s the way to go.

Garrett becomes one of the main characters early on as another version of Steve to an extent. He was hugely popular at one point but is now poor in the real world. He just can’t find any way to get successful again and is forced to pretend to be someone’s uncle in order to make some pocket change. When Henry finds the magic orb, this becomes Garrett’s chance to make some money. In Minecraft world he is able to finally be the tough guy that he has always portrayed himself to be. It’s not easy but Garrett just makes it work.

He does break down at one point as the pressure becomes too much but for the most part keeps it together. He has a big rivalry with Steve throughout the movie and then eventually earn each other’s respect. Garrett is far from perfect but still makes for a really likable character. It also made sense that he would want some diamonds because he was about to be evicted in the real world. I thought the whole plot line was very reasonable and it’s not like he was doing anything super drastic to get it.

Henry and Natalie can be more on the annoying side. Natalie actually doesn’t get as big a role as you would think. As the older sibling she does her best to look after Henry and make sure that he’s okay. She makes him a pie to bring to school and does her best to be supportive. So I wouldn’t say that she’s a bad character but does randomly try to make Garrett look bad at times by trying to debunk what he’s saying. I never got why some characters want to just be spoilsports like that.

As for Henry, he doesn’t look very good here. After Garrett helps him throughout the movie, Henry is quick to be upset at him later on. I would have preferred for Henry to keep his cool there. Yeah Garrett wasn’t fully honest with him which isn’t cool but I would argue that he still didn’t do anything that was super drastic. It would have been a different story if he ended up being a full traitor or something. Henry’s just a kid so you have to cut him some slack but honestly the film could have worked better without him.

Finally you have Dawn and she ends up being a bit of a downer as well. She just doesn’t know how to have fun as much as Garrett and Steve. They do their best to keep the adventure light while she either starts complaining or trying to get them back on task. What’s the point of exploring a whole new world if you have to be stressed out the whole time? I guess what it all boils down to is that Steve and Garrett didn’t really need any side characters here.

I suppose that would have hurt the banter though. It’s not like every joke landed but on the whole there were more wins than not. If anything this just didn’t leave much room for the villain to be memorable. She does have a really good final scene as she tries to land a hit on Steve when he drops his guard though. That was pretty good, especially when she tried more than once. It was one of the better gags in the film. If you can’t be a serious threat then the next best thing is to be funny and she pulled that off.

The effects throughout the movie are pretty good. I appreciated how much it was copying the game as well like the villains turning into meat. This was a movie that really paid attention to the details of the game. Now if you don’t like slapstick then that would be the only reason to avoid this film. A lot of the humor is physical so you’re going to have characters getting thrown around and beat up but these scenes just work. I’d even say that about the movie in general…it just works.

There is only one weak plot in the film and that’s the subplot of the divorced vice principal dating a random Minecraft character. That said, it’s still 100X better than the similar plot in Pixels. This one doesn’t overstay its welcome nearly as much and the scenes tend to be short. I’d say they should have been cut out as they had nothing to do with anything but at least they aren’t really in your face the whole time. So I won’t be too harsh on that front.

Overall, A Minecraft Movie was better than I expected it to be. I figured it would be a fun time and all but more like a 6. In the end it surpassed that to be a pretty good experience that I could recommend to anyone. I’m definitely eager to see how the sequel plays out. There are a lot of fun things they can do with a sequel like introducing the Ender Dragon. Of course this is the kind of title where a sequel can mess up easily by not being funny. That’s hard to predict though so we just have to hope for the best for now.

Overall 7/10

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review

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Aquaman has returned for the big sequel. This one’s definitely taking a bit of a different approach from the first as it goes for the buddycop genre this time. It’s a pretty good idea since the banter tends to be fun but Aquaman himself tends to hold that back. Ultimately this one’s a bit of a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs but by the end I’d still say it was a good film.

The movie starts off by showing how Aquaman has been a terrible ruler to Atlantis. He has let the council walk all over him and finds himself bored with all of his official duties. What he doesn’t realize is that Black Manta has been taking this time to work on a plan to destroy the ruler. Manta is working with a mysterious villain in the shadows who has been granting him great technology and physical abilities. Aquaman will need to find a way to track this guy down before his plan can succeed. The only way to get around this is to team up with his old foe…the Ocean Master!

Ocean Master, aka Orm is definitely the best character here. It’s easy to see how he would have been a great king. He has the right temperament for it and also has a lot of experience and general knowledge. It makes sense since he was raised to take the throne from birth after all. Now to balance this out the film does show that Aquaman is the stronger fighter. Still, it’s not by a wide margin and Orm tends to outshine him in all other categories. If the series had kept going it would be interesting to have had Orm be the main villain again. Have him make a play for the throne, not because he is crazy but because he thinks that Aquaman will be the downfall of Atlantis. Additionally more screentime for him would not be a bad thing since Orm is also responsible for all of the film’s funniest moments.

I mentioned earlier that the banter doesn’t match some other titles and none of that is Orm’s fault. He dominates in every scene that he has with the exception of Aquaman tricking him into some gross humor. Yes, Aquaman is one of the weakest parts of the film. I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of his portrayal over the years and this may be his most drastic one yet. The guy can’t really handle any serious conversations and constantly thinks with his muscles. He gets the two of them into trouble many times and never grows into the ruler that he could be. You just wouldn’t want to be friends with this guy.

I would argue that he doesn’t have much of a character arc here because I don’t think he would handle any of the situations differently in a future film. With solid writing you could probably get around that but this isn’t really the film for that. The humor tends to miss most of the time and relies on more crude humor than I’ve seen in a long while. The movie even has to repeat the worst jokes more than once in case the audience didn’t get it.

The movie can have some decent humor like Manta toying with one of his minions or Orm subtlety insulting Aquaman but it does tend to get overwhelmed by the negative moments. The worst jokes are what keeps this film from having real replay value because you just wouldn’t want to go through it all again. It’s the type of movie that will do its best through Youtube shorts for the best moments.

There is definitely a lot of action in the film but not too many fight scenes. The two best fights in the film are when Aquaman fights Manta in round 1 and then the 2 v 1 against him in the climax. I wanted to see more of that because those fights were bright and fast paced. You really get to enjoy the choreography there and feel the intensity of the battles. The film nearly gives us one more but chooses to end the climax on more of a gag this time. It’s a decent gag but personally I wanted to see the big villain get to fight. Based on the hype he was getting, that would have been a really epic showdown.

The general action scenes don’t work as well because of how many involve being underwater. It’s been many years and films still have yet to make underwater fighting all that much fun. Without a place to land and pivot, fight scenes don’t have the same depth. There tend to be a lot of giant encounters as well so you’re not getting much choreography there. I still appreciate having the action of course but will always prefer fight scenes. The special effects were pretty solid all around though. I’m glad they kept in the shockwaves for all of the big power attacks because that’s still the best way to show off super strength.

Black Manta is the main villain for most of the film and definitely does a good job there. He constantly makes sure that his underlings are following his lead. He’s not looking for sympathy or anything and is just focused on his big revenge mission. He comes close to taking out Aquaman on different occasions and honestly should have the edge most of the time since his heat laser can take out just about anyone in a single shot.

Stephen is a particularly weak character though as he just seems wishy washy the whole time. He knew from the start that he was joining the villains by working for Black Manta. It’s way too late in the game to be having second thoughts about that and I certainly didn’t take them seriously. I would have preferred for Manta to take him down at some point.

Manta has another much more loyal subordinate but she ultimately doesn’t get to do too much. Of course there is Manta’s partner from the shadows who is really solid but ultimately doesn’t get to do a whole lot here. Aquaman’s supporting cast get to show off their powers a bit but for the most part this is the Orm and Aquaman show on the heroes side. If they ever made an Orm solo title that could be a lot of fun. The stakes by the end of the film are high enough where I dare say we should have seen some guest star appearances but I suppose everyone might have been busy.

Overall, How much you enjoy the film will probably depend on how much you enjoy Aquaman and the humor style of the film. If you enjoy them both then this will probably be an elite film because the rest of the film’s fundamentals are sound. If you don’t enjoy them, then you are counting on the action being enough to get you through this. Hopefully if we get another Aquaman film someday the humor style will be a bit more mature. At the very least you don’t want scenes that really make you cringe like some of the moments here. Just try to focus on the fights and Orm showing why he should be the proper king of Atlantis.

Overall 6/10

The Aristocats Review

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It’s time for a classic film about danger and true love. I’d say it’s a good adventure overall but definitely more forgettable than a lot of its rivals. The movie doesn’t really make any big mistakes but just doesn’t have as many strengths as you would normally expect. So you’ll be kept entertained but give it a few weeks and this one will be a distant memory.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Duchess and her three kittens. They live a nice life as they are owned by an incredibly rich woman who really loves them. In fact she intends to leave a massive amount of her will to the cats. Unfortunately her butler Edgar finds out about this and decides to destroy the cats. One night he kidnaps them and strands the cats many miles away from home. They aren’t exactly used to the outside world though and now their only hope is to rely on a strong cat named Thomas. Thomas certainly seems to know what he is doing but can they really trust him?

You’ve got a bigger cast here than you might expect. Thomas has a few friends, then you have a subplot with two dogs, another plot with a mouse, and of course there are 4 main cats. The movie is pretty short too so you shouldn’t expect these characters to do too much. It’s fairly stuffed so the pacing is pretty good but the film probably could have stood to shrunk the cast and give them bigger roles. Well, ultimately it works out well enough.

I would say the surprise hit here is the main villain Edgar. The guy wants to be rich and is willing to do anything towards this goal. He’s an evil villain through and through but has quite a lot of power. Not only is he able to overcome the two dogs who were trying to get him but at the end of the film he is fighting off a 1 vs 5-6 and somehow holds his own. That’s not an easy feat and Edgar doesn’t give up right to the very end. He has no tearful backstory or secret origins here. The guy is just super selfish and that simple motive works this time.

In part he also stands out because there just isn’t much to the main characters. For example Dutchess’ 3 kids don’t have a whole lot to do. You have the guy who wants to be a tough street cat, the girl who loves romance and tries to act dignified, as well as the third kitten who never got much of a personality. They are a little too young to really contribute to the plot and for the most part are just here to slow down Duchess. You could say they fit the role of being the cute characters but don’t really do anything beyond that which is unfortunate.

Duchess is a decent enough character but gives in to the romance a little too quickly. Thomas starts flirting with her almost immediately and Duchess seems charmed right away. You know I’m always more of a fan of the slow burn kind of romance. A romance moving this quickly with a guy who clearly seems like a player doesn’t make for the strongest romance. It’s not a massive part of the story but I do think it should have been earned more. Maybe we see them start to get closer after he saves her from Edgar or something like that.

As for Thomas, well I appreciate his confidence. He knows just about everyone and has made a lot of friends. It’s easy to see why he has so much confidence. The guy has been very successful throughout his life and is the kind of character that you want in his corner. Since his kind of character is fairly well known, the film doesn’t have to flesh it out too much and you immediately have a good feel for the character. It’s a fairly clever way of writing the character.

I’d say he would have really shined if there was more banter between the characters though. That’s where someone like Thomas would have really gotten to shine. Without that element it just feels like the film is missing something. His friends help to establish Thomas’ background a bit but even then they don’t get to appear a ton either. They help by the climax though and still have more of a role than the mouse. The mouse was a good friend to Duchess so you appreciate his efforts though. He jumped into situations that were pretty dangerous for him and took a lot of risks to save the day.

Finally we have the subplot with the two dogs. It was probably the funniest plot in the film even if the jokes could be a little limited. Basically you have the leader and his super loyal follower as they get into a lot of shenanigans. They still couldn’t even defeat Edgar so it’s not like they are super strong but they do their best. Their humor style is either something you like or you don’t though as the leader is constantly bashing his friend who just sits there and takes it the whole time. Ultimately they are good friends but the leader probably wouldn’t admit it. I liked the dynamic well enough but I would have liked the leader to have been a little stronger. Yeah that’s part of the joke but still it would have been since to have seen them get some more solid wins.

The music is definitely forgettable though. None of the songs are particularly strong and this sounds the way you would expect some musicals to sound like. There isn’t much soul behind the tunes and it all sounds like free domain type of music. A song should really have some strong emotions behind it along with a fast beat. None of these songs are ones that will get stuck in your head and you certainly won’t be singing them. That’s an L in my book.

The animation isn’t bad. Fairly standard stuff but certainly nothing bad. You have a lot of movement here throughout the adventure and even some fight scenes. I may even say this was the strongest part of the movie because it was going all out the whole time. It may be the most memorable part of the film overall and part of what would give it some replay value. At the end of the day that’s the position the film is in. I could easily see it again at any time but it’s like eating a sandwich. It doesn’t really do anything for you and just gives you a fun enough time during the experience.

Overall, If you like animated films like this then I would recommend The Aristocats. It doesn’t do anything new or different with the genre but brings you all of the familiar elements that you have come to expect. As long as you enter the film with reasonable expectations then I think you’ll have a good time here. If they decide to make a remake of this someday, I’d say to cut out the songs and just spend more time on the actual adventure. Have them pass different towns with strange traditions and make every part of the film more memorable. It wouldn’t be a super hard thing to do and that would be an improvement here.

Overall 6/10

What About Bob? Review

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It’s time for a pretty crazy film about what might happen if someone decides to stalk you across the city. This one’s a comedy though so we get to see the fun parts of the premise without dwelling on the darker elements. What this film does particularly well is not breaking character at all during the journey. Even right as we are getting to the end of the film, it resists the urge to suddenly get serious. I thought that was really impressive because 99% of the time the film will quickly get serious at the end to try and land some kind of message. This time the film wasn’t worried about any of that and I thought it was better off for it.

The main character here is debatably Bob or Leo but I’m going to say that it’s Leo. Leo is a professional psychiatrist who is getting ready for a long vacation. Unfortunately he has one last interview before he heads out and it is with a guy named Bob. Bob comes from another psychiatrist who retired suddenly but seems like a harmless guy. Bob suffers from numerous phobias but the biggest one is the fear of germs. He always carries a napkin so he doesn’t have to touch anything directly. Leo gives him some general advice and then heads on vacation. The problem? Bob has followed him over and declares that he won’t be leaving, Leo needs to be giving him guidance 24/7. Can Leo throw Bob out without hurting his reputation with his family?

Leo’s also got a big interview with Good Morning America about his new book and this is threatening that appointment quite a lot. So Leo is stressed throughout the film and you can definitely feel his pain. It doesn’t help that his family quickly become big fans of Bob. They want him around and even think that he is more fun than Lein general. That’s really not good for Leo’s chances of getting them on board. Every time he makes a move against Bob they end up getting more and more upset.

Leo is the antagonist by the end of the film though. He is absolutely trying to destroy Bob and is willing to use bombs for this approach. So as sympathetic as he gets you do have to remember that he is also crazy. It’s just in a different way than Bob. At one point you feel like the film is about to end with the interview but then we get a whole other act after that which was a really good fakeout. The constant battle with Leo and Bob is really where a lot of the humor comes from. I would say Leo is the standout character here and you couldn’t make the film without him.

The movie’s sense of humor is really good so you’ll be having a good time throughout. The pacing is solid as well and the film doesn’t really have any weaknesses here. This is an old school comedy film that manages to land just about all of its jokes. I guess the weakest part of the film would be the family for me. They tend to take Bob’s side a little too easily. That’s part of the joke of course so it works within the film’s context but for the characters themselves you’ll be shaking your head.

As for Bob, he’s fun because he is absolutely psychotic. If he wasn’t crazy then of course he would be a big antagonist as well. Instead you can just make the case that he is supremely oblivious and has no idea what is going on. In a way that is definitely a rough situation to be in. He does manage to get over his traumas pretty quickly but then he still has to get readjusted to real life where he doesn’t understand boundaries and common sense elements. Once he has those, then he would really be okay but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

He clearly knows enough to get along with most people to the point where he is even getting married. So Bob has potential here but the specific mental block of his psychiatrist may just be something that’s cemented by this point. If we ever get a sequel, the film already set things up with a legal battle that is about to ensue. It’s more of a funny ending than anything trying to set up a sequel of course but it could work if they ever wanted to get some nostalgia money out of the audience.

The cast is pretty small which is good for this film. There wouldn’t be time to introduce a bunch of characters or anything like that. We did have some fun supporting characters though like the crazy next door neighbors who are always around. Additionally there is Leo’s colleague from the crazy ward but she ended up not being of any real help here. Somehow Bob took over the whole place in under a day which again shows just how charismatic he can be when he really wants to.

He also has a lot of good technical skills like getting a bus to where Leo lives and finding out all of the information on how to get there. Bob has a very one track mind and so I think Leo’s best chance to stop him would have been to trick the guy. Get him to use his one track mind for something but that is easier said than done. Leo tries to trick him on numerous occasions and it just never seems to work. Bob is always a few steps ahead of him. That’s just how it goes.

Overall, What About Bob? is a film that has a really crazy premise and just rolls with it. That’s so much better than trying to take this too seriously. Bob even pretends to off himself at one point to infiltrate a call center which is absolutely diabolical. If you like watching comedies like this then this one is absolutely up your alley. If you are looking for one of those films that has a very serious moral/message at the end…well then this one isn’t exactly for you.

Overall 7/10

Blue Box Review

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Shonen Jump has lost another big title with Blue Box coming to an end. At one point it was thought to be the next king of Jump to replace One Piece. Unfortunately One Piece still has many years left to go so that was not in the cards. Box still had a fairly long runtime though and was a fun enough series. I would say that it did start to lose a lot of steam in the second half but that’s just how these things go sometimes. The series was unable to capture the same high levels of energy of the will they/won’t they once the main two were together.

The series follows a boy named Taiki who is really into Badminton and a girl named Chinatsu who is a star Basketball player. They both attend the same high school although Chinatsu is one grade above Taiki’s. He has always had a big crush on her and they see each other a lot as the first two people in the gym every morning. What he didn’t expect was for Chinatsu to move in with him! Her parents will be away for a while and were friends with his parents so they got permission for her to stay so that she could focus on Basketball. Now Taiki has more opportunities to confess but also feels like this is a bad time to do so. It could make her feel uncomfortable…what should he do?

First off I would say that Taiki is absolutely correct here. He may want to confess and everything but to be honest it would be the wrong call. Her parents are counting on this being a relaxing environment for Chinatsu with no distractions. A confession is absolutely selfish here because it puts her in a bad spot if she says no. A confession can’t have any pressure behind it or else the whole thing just won’t feel right. This naturally does lead to a lot of drama though as Chinatsu also likes Taiki but faces the same struggles. They have a hard time getting on the same page and both have other suitors who appear to be interested.

That is much more of a factor for Taiki though. His childhood best friend, Hina, really likes him. She’s not even very subtle about it but Taiki completely sees her as a friend and is oblivious to every flirtatious moment. Unfortunately his best friend Kyo is a professional gaslighter who makes every situation much harder than it has to be. So there’s a lot going on but in a way that’s what makes the first half really intense. It was just really chaotic with a whole lot of players involved.

So lets go with the weaknesses of the series first. One is that the sport matches star to be more off screen as the series goes on. This was never a sports series first and foremost but we still got some really big battles early on like Taiki vs Haryu. By the end of the series we start skipping major portions of matches and even skip all of Nationals itself. You know, the thing that was Taiki’s goal from the start? That was definitely an annoying moment because it would have been so cool. You could easily have cut some chapters from the side characters to make room for that. Chinatsu’s final competitions at least got some screentime even if I would have liked to have seen more.

The other weakness by the end is that the supporting characters were never as interesting. It is pretty much obligatory that you try to pair up all of the side characters at the end but you don’t have a lot of reason to care about them. Not compared to the main two which is where all of the development had gone to anyway. Most of these characters are basically left with rebound options so it’s not like you could say the romances are particularly strong either. It works well enough you could say but it’s why the first half is much better.

As for the art, it’s not bad. It’s definitely not one of the stronger Shonen Jump titles in that area though. In particular there were two characters who looked way too similar and I would constantly mix them up. Yusa and his brother. Now granted, brothers should look alike but they really appeared to be identical at times. The art is still good enough though so I wouldn’t say that I had any serious issues there.

So lets get into the characters. First up we have Taiki and I was really clowning on him throughout the series. He just couldn’t stop catching Ls as most of the drama was his fault. Pushing Chinatsu away while in public because he got scared of what other people would think was something that happened more than once. To be clear, he was doing this because he thought that is what was best for Chinatsu. It still doesn’t make him look much better.

Then he doesn’t handle the Hina situation very well. He actually started out well by initially rejecting her but then Kyo got in his head and Taiki started to hesitate. Taiki initially knew that he only had eyes for Chinatsu and needed to stick with that. Instead Kyo gave him an analogy about coffee and a lot of other crazy stuff. Ultimately Taiki decides to still be close friends with Hina which allows her to try and make another play. That was probably a moment too far for her and he needed to break things off.

It’s extremely hard to be friends with someone who wants you. Especially when they already know that you like someone else. It comes off as really selfish no matter how you slice it. Taiki just lacks in confidence a whole lot and this carried over right to the end of the series. Even in the last chapters he is still acting like that. It’s partially because he is written as the everyman and there is this idea that guys are always going to be a little passive/nervous around the girl. Perhaps it is realistic to a degree but it doesn’t make him a very strong lead. I needed to see more fire out of him instead of learning the same lessons over and over again.

In comparison Chinatsu is the much better character. She basically has to initiate every interaction between them. She never loses sight of her goals or waves in the slightest no matter who approaches her. I also appreciate how defensive she gets when anyone makes fun of Taiki. She is very quick to fire back and that’s the kind of loyalty you like to see. Chinatsu’s a very well rounded character and continues to excel in Basketball/school even outside of the romance. Taiki may be her goal but he isn’t the only part of her world.

Even as someone who was more on team Hina in terms of character, Chinatsu is one of the best parts of the series. There can be no doubt on that. She even gets her own rival later on in the series which was pretty cool. No, not a rival in love but an actual Basketball rival so I really appreciated that. She’ll likely have to continue leading the relationship with Taiki but is more than willing to always put in the effort there.

As for Hina, well I may have liked her a lot but some of her actions are pretty indefensible. She continues to go after Taiki even once he has a girlfriend which is really not cool. I know that some will say it’s all fair game until marriage but that’s not a very healthy outlook. Do you really want a guy that you can steal away so easily? To be direct, you should give up if the person you are interested in is already taken. Nothing good can come from going down that avenue but there are certainly a lot of bad things that can arise.

Once you have moved on, then it’s possible you will find someone else but it will take time. The series presents at least two more options for Hina after Taiki and both feel like they would have just been emotional rebounds. For that reason I am glad that the series didn’t force anything at the end. The door is left open for this to succeed and it’s certainly implied that she will eventually make a choice but at least it wasn’t instant. Hina was taking her time and that’s important.

Her final character arc of realizing that she actually wasn’t over Taiki was actually a really good one. Aside from the misstep of telling him about it, it makes sense that she couldn’t just snap her fingers and be over him. A lot of times in the movies you will see a character just immediately move on when they are rejected but things don’t tend to move that fast. The feelings will take some time to dissipate.

Then we have Kyo who is a particularly weak supporting character. By the time he starts to get more screentime at the end, it is too little, too late. It felt like he was mainly around to just sabotage Taiki for a while there. I want to be clear that he never did this intentionally but has a bad habit of talking way too much and he always just has the wrong takes. The guy is a bit too quiet otherwise and then in his own romance he ends up being passive. Even in the moments that are supposed to make him likable, they never seemed to land. Ultimately I had to give him a thumbs down.

Taiki’s parents were far better as characters. It’s not like they have a big role but they were consistently solid the whole time. They mostly kept a hands off approach but Taiki’s dad would remind him to always do what’s right. Then the mom would always do her best to help out in the background by prepping for events, supporting Taiki, etc. Chinatsu’s parents are much the same way with her father very reasonably not being a fan of the setup once he found out that Taiki liked her. That’s just responsible parenting after all since that opens the door to a lot of tricky situations. He ultimately allows it but I wouldn’t have faulted him even if he had made Chinatsu move out.

Haryu works well as the first rival. In a way he is the older what if version of Taiki. He got to play at a high level and has a good relationship with his girlfriend. Ultimately he chooses not to pursue Badminton past high school though while Taiki wants to keep going. The parallels are fun and he even starts to get spooked about playing Taiki. He worries that losing to him will forever change their dynamic. That was a bit petty since they’re on the same squad and should still be playing each other a whole lot. Not playing because you’re scared will only hinder your growth in the long run.

His girlfriend Karen is a strong character as well. She was always quick on the uptake and wasn’t as oblivious as most of the other characters. She doesn’t get to appear a lot but makes sure to set strong ground rules for her relationship. With Haryu she explains that this can never be an excuse for either of them to fail. It’s a pretty good rule if you ask me although any real character should never be using something like that as an excuse either way.

Hyodo takes over as a new rival for the end of the series. He’s even more powerful than Haryu and is basically unbeatable. He has done that by making Badminton his life. He has pushed aside all other interests and has no interest in getting a girlfriend. You could say he’s the other extreme as a possible Taiki future. It may be possible to surpass him but is the cost really worth it? It just feels like that is not a good idea. The manga never makes Taiki tempted by this approach though which is a good thing.

Then we have Hyodo’s younger brother Yusa who is also super good at the sport. Initially he also believes that it requires a ton of sacrifice but then learns from Taiki that you can still live your complete life along with it. I’d say he just needed some more screentime. His romance with Hina is pretty weak and came too late to really make anything out of it. He would make for a solid character in a sequel story though. There’s nothing really wrong with him but it just feels like the guy came on too late.

Ayame is another character who was a bit of a late inclusion. Not as late as Chinatsu’s next door neighbor who just exists for potential drama but still pretty late. She basically goes through guys really fast which makes a few of the characters worry. What if she sinks her fangs into Taiki?? The story never goes there though and she’s actually a bit of a romantic as she tries to get Hina and Taiki together. Her own romance plot with Kyo is a bit forced though and doesn’t work so well. I appreciated what she added to the dynamic though.

Finally there is Yumeka who is a solid character. She may not have a ton of screentime but I did think that she made for a solid rival to Chinatsu. Her skills were definitely on point and she really managed to keep up. This also worked as a way to give Chinatsu an extra plot that wasn’t directly tied to Taiki. That was a really strong move all the way and also gave a reason for the show to include more Basketball scenes.

While the story beats are all fairly straightforward from the start, this is not a series that is being built around twists. The whole idea here is that Taiki and Chinatsu will get together and you’re just seeing how that happens. In a way you could say that is true for most romance series. It’s all about the adventure, not really about the ending. So you hope against all odds for the underdog to win but know that it will be futile. I just think sometimes the authors accidentally make the backup love interest more interesting than the main one. Hina was just more fun to have around even if you knew that she was doomed. Such is life and the appeal of the doomed romance.

The series still had a light tone throughout and just makes for an easy read. I’d say that it is a series which can really appeal to anyone. The only way you’d dislike this series is if you really just don’t like romance drama. Drama is basically inevitable for any long running romance series though because that’s how they extend the runtime. Blue Box stays pretty safe throughout though with no character making mistakes that I would deem to be irredeemable. Drama goes too far if a character actually cheats or something like that and fortunately we never even approach that point.


Overall, Blue Box is a good series that I can recommend. The romance is well written and the sports dynamic helps to add in a bit of extra flair as well. The ending isn’t the strongest and on a petty note it was kind of annoying that they couldn’t genuinely end by noticing that the gym was like a blue box. Adding a correction that it was actually orange was wholly unnecessary. I’d say the series will especially work well in a binge format so you should just start reading through the series right away. As long as you enjoy romance and/or sports then you will have a good time here.

Overall 6/10

Cats Don’t Dance Review

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It’s time for a classic animated film. I wouldn’t say that it ever got all that big since I don’t really remember it. I may have been in the wrong circles though. It’s a perfectly pleasant film but one that seemed to really lack a hook the whole time. By the time it ends you feel like the film never had much of a high point. So it is a good adventure from start to finish but it never really stuck out.

The film begins by introducing us to a cat named Danny who is really excited to make his big debut into Hollywood. He’s always wanted to be a huge star and knows that he has what it takes. Animals and humans have long collaborated on a bunch of movies in Hollywood. What Danny doesn’t realize is that this is a two tiered system where humans get all of the money and credit while animals get the worst roles without any of the accolades. Danny may be able to change this but he will have to get past the number 1 human prodigy….a little girl named Darla.

Now one question I did have about the whole premise here is how Danny didn’t know about the animals having such a small role. I figure as a big Hollywood fan he would probably have realized that from watching the movie? It sounded like very few animals ever got big roles so that seems like it would have been noticeable. I think the film should have made it so they have decently large roles but just don’t get much money. That would have made a lot more sense on why he wouldn’t have realized this.

Maybe Danny just didn’t actually watch many actual Hollywood films. He did mention at one point that things were different in his hometown so perhaps he mostly just saw local stuff and figured it would be the same in Hollywood. There are ways you could answer this but I was pretty skeptical. Danny’s a good main character though. It takes a lot to get him to start doubting himself near the end but before that he fights as hard as he could. He does inspire a lot of the other characters including Sawyer so without him things never would have changed.

Naturally I didn’t think the romance worked all that well though. It’s a bit rushed especially considering what a rocky start they had. He really put her in a lot of jams without realizing it at first. Sawyer was also pretty content with her situation initially so it’s not like she was coming from a bad situation. All in all Sawyer was a quality character as well. I would have preferred if she had kept more of the fire she had in the first scene but overall still looked good. She just mellowed out rather quickly.

One character who did not lose any of her edge was Darla though. She was really determined to be the heel the whole time. It’s easy to see why it would be tough for her to change since it looks like the entire world was really spoiling her the whole time. The movie’s director and staff were downright scared of her. Then she has a huge bodyguard named Max who can beat up anyone in her way.

Darla was quite literally the star of every show in Hollywood after all. If they ever made a sequel, I could see her returning as a villain. She’s clearly no hero yet by the end of the film. We also get a timeskip where we see that the animals have really overtaken the humans near completely as they star in all of the movies. So there are a lot of interesting things you could do with a sequel. That might not be the direction they go with though but it’s an idea.

The music was one of the strong points of the film and was actually a bit better than the average musical. It’s all pretty fast paced with a whole lot of instruments going on. It reminded me a bit of Aladdin at times. The opening song about Hollywood may have been my favorite one but in general they were strong.

The songs also match the really fast paced, crazy action of the animation. It’s all very expressive and the kind of animation style that you miss from the old days. You could probably watch the movie on mute and generally understand each of the characters personalities. That’s always a good sign on the animation front. There are a lot of strong colors and they didn’t spare any expense here.

The ending is a bit sudden which isn’t all that rare for these classic animated films. The idea seemed to be to tell a good story and get a message across, then just end real quick. The film is shorter than half an hour so there isn’t a whole lot of time. While the story is good, I do think having the film be a little bit longer could have helped give it that hook I was talking about earlier.

That or make the characters stand out more. While I thought that the characters were good, none of them quite have enough character to make them pop out the way someone like Aladdin does. You just aren’t going to remember these characters too well by the end. It doesn’t take away from their quality at all but it can be the difference between a good film and a very good one.

Overall, I would recommend checking this film out. It is a fun film and there are no serious weaknesses to it. It’s a very safe film and one that anybody could watch at any time. The pacing is good and there is a solid amount of replay value. The messages hold up as well as the technical aspects, that’s just about where its limit is. Maybe throwing in more of a real fight against Darla could have helped. Doesn’t have to be a physical one but maybe a fight of ideals or something. That might have helped give the film some extra closure. These re all fairly minor points though, we’re just talking about the difference of a single star. As long as the film is a good one, that’s still the most important part.

Overall 6/10

Sneakers Review

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It’s time for an Oceans 11 type of film that I hadn’t really heard of before. This one has aged well and I just enjoy these kind of heist stories. There is a good sense of danger throughout even if the ending is perhaps a bit more optimistic than what would likely be happening here. The important thing is that the movie wasn’t going to end on a super sour note and I definitely appreciate that.

The movie starts with Martin and Cosmo using their hacking skills to steal a ton of money from rich people and reallocating it to their favorite social causes. Cosmo ends up being captured by the cops while Martin escapes and changes his identity. Many years pass by and now the NSA has caught up to him. They blackmail Martin with his past and say that they will keep it quiet if he steals something from them. A powerful new kind of hacking equipment that can get decrypt any security system in an instant. Martin gets his team ready for this but should he really give such a powerful piece of equipment to the government?

A big theme in the film is about not trusting anyone. Everyone has some kind of an angle here and you’ve got quite a few factions running around. The Russians are behind every corner of course and all the letter agencies would be interested in this as well. Just stealing the thing won’t be easy either as Martin runs into his past on this adventure. That said, Martin isn’t as indecisive as you may expect with these stakes. He just can’t let the blackmail get out under any circumstances and so he is ready to play ball with the government right from the beginning of this story. He never looks back either and just gets to completing the mission.

Something I appreciated about the film is that all of his teammates are important. The film balances them all rather well. First up we have Whistler who is blind. You may figure this will make him ineffective in most situations but he actually does really well and even gets the MVP spot. He’s the reason they find the enemy base, the reason they had an escape route, etc. Without him they would not have lasted long here. His senses are virtually superhuman.

Then you have Donald who used to work with the CIA. He has a lot of connections as a result and is the most professional member of the group. He has a gun at the ready and bails Martin out from a trap. Definitely the muscle behind the team and he keeps Marin from being too impulsive. Martin does well as the leader but he absolutely does tend to be pretty emotional and lose his cool.

After that is Carl who is the youngest member. He tends to do a lot of the grunt work like hacking at close range or being the guy to pull off social engineering. Carl can be the most annoying one as well though as he gets distracted on the missions and tends to be a little girl crazy. To an extent they all are, but the others at least try to hide it. By default the smallest role would be Darren who handles all of the tech. He makes sure that everything is working well on the ground which is why his codename is “Mother”. So he’s very important but gets a little less to do in terms of individual scenes.

There’s also the main heroine Liz who used to date Martin but managed to get out of that situation. Well when he asks her for help, Liz can’t really bring herself to refuse. She probably should have to be honest though. She’s stuck with the worst tasks like seducing someone to get his voice on record. That’s always a very tired spy trope that never really works without the victim just looking bad. In this case Liz got super sloppy though which put her in a tricky spot.

As for the main villain, well he is pretty good but definitely too indecisive. He can never seem to decide if his main goal is something really personal to him or for the greater good. He tries to use the latter as his reasoning a lot but it always tends to come off as a cover story. Really this guy just wants to prove that he is better than Martin and messes up a lot of his free shots by the end. He could have come out on top easily in this film if he didn’t make massive errors. I thought he made for a good villain overall though. He was certainly entertaining even if he wasn’t always very effective.

The pacing is pretty good here and the writing is solid. It does have the occasional miss when it comes to the jokes but nobody bats 1000. The end of the climax also may have been a little too goofy at the end. The film is part comedy but up to that point the serious scenes were mostly played straight. I suppose they just wanted to have a bit of fun with the ending and it’s a short scene so it’s not like I had any big issues with it. It just felt a little jarring with the timing and all.

The movie really made the most of the tech aspect of the heist. I enjoyed the challenge of Martin having to move really slowly to get past one of the security systems for example. There were a lot of things that had to go right for the heist but they all felt like fairly reasonable challenges without a whole lot of plot armor. There will always be a little bit of that in a film like this but it was never excessive.

Overall, Sneakers is a pretty good film. I had fun with it and it succeeds in being entertaining all the way. There may be a twist that you see coming a mile away but it’s still a good plot on the whole. The title of the film also stands out and is a really good pun. If you’re looking for a well balanced film then I would check this one out. It may not become your next favorite hit but there aren’t a ton of heist films out there and this one holds up with the ones that are already out.

Overall 7/10

Summer Rental Review

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It’s time for a short beach adventure film. This one isn’t even 90 minutes so you can imagine how quickly the whole adventure goes through. For the most part it’s a harmless film but there’s no real hook to go along with it. Throw in the usual fanservice shenanigans of a beach film and this one doesn’t quite get up to par. You’re actually rooting for the main villain during the final battle because the heroes aren’t given enough reasons for you to root for them. Sometimes that’s just how things go I suppose but yeah that’s just how these things go sometimes.

Jack’s had a hard life where everything always seems to go badly for him. Well, he aims to change that and takes his family on a big trip for the Summer. They can all just hang out as a family and get some much needed R&R. Sounds like a pretty good idea right? Well, unfortunately they run into a lot of issues like Jack entering the wrong house and then getting a huge heat rash during the vacation. He initially meant this to be a fun vacation for everyone and instead it is all blowing up in his face. Is it too late to turn this around?

I think you’ll be able to tell what kind of film this is after 5 minutes and from there you can just decide if it’s your kind of film or not. Jack really just bumbles his way through every situation possible. It has the feel of your average Adam Sandler film but a lot more family friendly in general. Some of the gags can definitely get iffy but on the whole this is very tame. You just have to see how funny Jack’s antics are for you.

I would say the film has a decent sense of humor but none of the gags are laugh out loud funny. They just tend to be all over the place and very hit or miss by nature. At least Jack does have a loving family who want to help but by the middle of the film he has decided to ditch them for an old guy who is helping to teach him about boats. See, Jack wants to really impress his son by becoming a master driver who can win the big boat competition.

That’s all well and good but making this a surprise is where he went wrong. He should be enjoying the vacation with his family. You know…the whole point of this vacation. Instead he just keeps on making excuses for why he can’t join them and just acts as more of a downer to the vacation itself. This all felt very counter intuitive to the vacation and makes this another example where Jack is really creating his own hole. They all forgive him of course and have fun with the boat race but I’d be mad if I was the rest of the family.

The film ultimately can’t help itself and adds in one crazy character who likes to flash men to get their opinions. Naturally this happens to Jack too and the biggest problem is that Jack put himself in this situation. The lady appeared with obvious ulterior motives to get him to follow her back to her place. He should have obviously said no because there was one reason for that. So no matter how much he protested later on, it was just a bad look.

In general it’s also why I never think it’s a good idea for the married couple to be flirting with other people for kicks. It’s treated as a joke where the wife and daughter are hanging out with the lifeguards and there are plenty of times where the reverse happens but it just seems like a terrible idea. Some people buy into a concept where if your marriage/relationship is strong enough then you should be able to joke around about crushing on other people and things like that but it’s always going to be in bad taste. It’s important not to overestimate your own defenses.

There is a bit of a possible romance going on with the daughter and it’s definitely another reason for Jack to want to bring everyone home. Clearly the beach is not the right environment for these guys. I think the best gag was when the characters realized that they were in the wrong summer house. If anything I would have made that part a little longer. A lot of fun jokes you can do about that. So the film had some good gags here and there but there were just not enough of them to keep this in the green.

Maybe the main villain could have used more screentime. All of his scenes were the best ones like when he would threaten Jack or talk about his own top tier boat experience. He won the big race many years in a row after all so it’s not like he’s just spitting out hot air or anything like that. His confidence is well founded and for good reason. It would feel undeserved for him to lose to Jack…..

A beach film is usually not going to rank all that high for me though. There are plenty of things that can always go wrong here without a whole lot of upside. I’ll take a winter vacation anytime. Jack is also just not likable enough as a main character. He’s just way too dumb the whole time so he is really getting himself into these messes and then aside from that going to the neighbor’s house shows a lack of resolve as well. No matter how you slice it, this is all very bad for the main character. To succeed in a film like this, you absolutely need to be giving us a main character to root for.

Overall, This is one of those films that makes for a very peaceful watch. You can really check it out at any point without issue. It’s not like there is a big plot to have to remember either. That said, there’s nothing particularly strong about it either. The film has some decent jokes. You can’t help but laugh at Jack sometimes but there’s not a ton of variety and it’s not super funny or anything. A film like this is banking the entire experience on being able to make you laugh after all. There is no other hook to grab you with. I feel like the film had a decent amount of potential that just didn’t work out for it. it’s one of those films where you can probably find dozens of similar titles and I would just say to try and find one like this title that seems to have had more effort put behind it. This is a film that you can safely skip.

Overall 4/10

Father of the Bride Part II Review

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It’s time for Part II of this saga. Unfortunately, it falls into what I call the Airplane II trap. This film decides to just reuse all of the jokes and gags from the first film before calling it a day. You ever know someone who told a great joke once but then they got too much praise for it so after that they began to keep on using the same joke over and over and over again? That’s usually not a good idea because eventually the joke’s not going to work and that’s this film in a nutshell. In general it’ll probably be a bit better if you haven’t seen the first film but I would make the case that the premise is weaker in general.

The film starts off with George explaining that he finally has some free time as Annie has left the roost with Bryan so now he can do all the fun retiree stuff. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last long as his wife gets pregnant and will be having her baby around the same time as their daughter Annie. George must now deal with both of them essentially being out of commission but he’s rather old at this point. Can he look after them and basically go without sleep until the babies arrive? George may have to work with Franck on this.

So right away we have all of the recycled jokes. Annie and Bryan have another 2 minute fight about some nonsense that doesn’t make any sense. George is all upset again even though having a baby is pretty normal by this point in the relationship. Then Franck show up for a baby shower event where he spends all of George’s money again. What did George do to deserve all of this? George is absolutely more out of line in this film but still does step up to take care of his family when it counts. He even got a fun new hairdo and everything but doesn’t really get any support. That’s gotta be rough. He just wanted to prove that he wasn’t so old yet.

The whole expensive baby shower part also doesn’t make any sense. That’s really not a super popular thing compared to weddings. Everyone does a baby shower, but an expensive one with a 5 course meal and all the same trimmings as a Wedding? Cmon that’s just not a thing and doesn’t make any sense here. You’ll just be shaking your head the whole time and for good reason. Franck did not need to return and his scenes tend to be rather painful.

I can’t really fault Nina or Annie much this time. Ultimately they are pregnant for a good chunk of the adventure and that does mess with the mind a whole lot. They’re naturally going to be sleepy and having random cravings for most of the adventure. Maybe Nina could have been a little more considerate when George was unable to get a proper place to sleep because of the two guard dogs but that’s about it.

Mainly the film’s problem is that it just isn’t all that funny. I thought the gags were a step down and of course the reused ones won’t hit as hard this way either. It’s the kind of film that’s not really going to have an antagonist so in that case you need a different kind of hook. This time the film was unable to come up with one and that became the problem here. Just a little hook would have gone a long way here like maybe Annie wanted to have a special doll for her baby’s birth. So George has to go on a journey and find it or something like that.

A little goal would have gone a long way. Or perhaps having more arguments with the In Laws about the baby’s name. That doesn’t end up being a big part of the film as George doesn’t care a whole lot. For once Nina would have been on his side otherwise though and it could have made for some fun tension. Maybe both families keep trying to outdo the other one and it becomes a crazy competition? I could see a lot of potential there.

In this film Bryan and the In Laws don’t actually get to do much anyway. The cast is pretty small and we also get a whole subplot where George sell the house and things go crazy from there. The joke being that George loses even more money when he has to reverse the charge and you realize that he can never possibly win. At least that was a different angle though so I’ll give the film that. It made for an interesting, albeit somber plot. I wouldn’t have minded the characters moving to a new house in the end to really show that a new chapter was beginning.

George had a point that the house is rather big for just him and Nina. Of course now that they have a baby that will be a little different but I do think that the overall point stands. They could downsize a bit and still be really comfortable. That may have been a better final goal to really go with. The emotional beats of the film also ring a bit more hollow as George already had his final goodbyes to Annie’s kid self. He had moved on so the extra flashbacks here don’t really do anything. I suppose I can use this film as an example of an empty sequel. It’s not bad by any means but just feels a bit pointless.

Overall, Father of the Bride is the kind of film that didn’t really need a sequel but I can see why you would want to explore what happened after having a kid. So nothing wrong there but the film didn’t really think it through much beyond that. The double baby angle may help to up the drama but there aren’t a whole lot of funny jokes to associate with it. This is a movie that you will watch and be fairly ambivalent about by the end. It happened and it’s not a bad film but nothing really stood out. There are many alternative plots you could think of like the kid being a few years older so George and Nina have to babysit him which means missing out on a fun retiree vacation or something. Well, if you missed the old characters then you should check this one out.

Overall 5/10

Father of the Bride (1991) Review

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It’s time for a remake of a very classic movie. The premise for Father of the Bride is pretty solid right away. Anyone can empathize with a father who wants to make sure that his daughter doesn’t end up marrying the wrong guy. Along the way we have a lot of crazy shenanigans going on but at its core this is an uplifting movie. I do think that the end of the movie becomes a little more mean spirited than it should have been though.

The film starts off by spoiling the ending of the movie which is always a horrible way to kick things off. George talks about how he was initially against his daughter’s wedding and it was a real tough event but he hopes to laugh about it in the future. It’s a rather long monologue that tries a bit too hard to be funny and you’re just really waiting to get to the start of the actual adventure. So from here we get a flashback where George’s daughter Nina shows up and explains that she is engaged. Moreover, she plans to marry this guy named Bryan right away. George’s wife Nina is super excited so it looks like George is the only one left to add some rational thinking to this situation. Can he do this without alienating his whole family?

Right away there is a big problem with this which is that I don’t understand why Nina was immediately on board with this. I get the whole trusting your kids judgment thing but you do need to put that into a bit of context. Annie and Bryan have not known each other for very long so you just have to be practical about this. The film could have still had Nina be supportive without being blind about everything. I’m betting they just wanted a strong contrast to George being 1 billion percent against the wedding but it does end up hurting Nina as a result.

She gets her big victory against George in the end while she forces him to make a long apology after he is arrested. After that George is still punished further by running into a string of bad luck and having to miss every important event. He also loses so much money as a result of this wedding and that’s where you just have to be rooting for him the whole time. The wedding planner is clearly a hack and is overpricing them on everything. George is the only one trying to stop him and it’s portrayed as a bad thing.

George made his share of mistakes to be sure like snooping through the in law’s checkbook, general snooping, and being a little overly mean to Bryan. The guy isn’t without fault but half the time he is saying some reasonable stuff and the film is making him out to be the bad guy. Bryan’s job definitely did sound fake and I would have assumed he was lying too. Bryan tries to say all of the right things but I can also see how it would all sound fake. Bryan didn’t make the best first impression.

At the end of the day it’s George’s job to look after Annie and I’d say that he did a good job. I also don’t see why he should have to waste so much money on such a fancy wedding. It doesn’t make sense and anyone can recognize that he was being used here. They were wrecking his house and making a true spectacle of things. Nobody was thinking about George at all during this and that’s what felt bad. He was cut out of the celebration in the end and so the film felt rather sad there.

Now while I have all this to say about how the film treats George unfairly, the film does succeed in being an entertaining experience. The dialogue tends to be really strong and I enjoyed the humor. George’s various internal monologues are handled really well. I thought they were definitely funny the whole time and the film’s absurdist style makes for a lot of funny moments throughout the wedding. The pacing is good as well and the writing is solid.

Also while some characters can annoy me, they are ultimately all still likable except for the wedding planner. Annie may seem a little overly emotional and defensive throughout the film but deep down she also knows that the whole situation is crazy and a little absurd so that makes sense. The scene where she and Bryan decide to break up was super rushed and completely unnecessary though. That made both of them look bad but mostly Annie for being the one to rush out. I get the feeling Bryan was no being aggressive or doubling down at all.

As for Bryan, well he seems nice enough. The guy is moving rather quickly which is usually a red flag but if you think that you’ve found the right person then it makes sense not to hesitate. No reason to go slowly at all from his perspective. So while it looks harsh to everyone else, it doesn’t make him a bad guy. Likewise I think Nina’s being naive here but I get that she wants to support Annie. So even the worst characters have motivations and actions that make sense from their point of view.

Overall, Father of the Bride is a pretty good film. It can be a little frustrating at times because there are several scenes and moments that could have been a whole lot better with just a little tweaking. At the very least you have to remove the opening scene because spoiling the entire movie is never a good idea. How can you feel any drama for when the wedding gets called off when you already know that it’s going to happen? This is really filmmaking 101. I would also have at least given George a small win at the end to show how he finally learned to let go and is rewarded by seeing the wedding up close. The writers had other ideas this time but either way I would recommend checking this one out. I’d give the older adaption the slight edge but this one is impressively close.

Overall 7/10