Tag Archives: Comedy

The Devil Wears Prada Review

Posted on by
Reply


This film is a very well known romance/comedy title. Maybe drama would be appropriate to put in there as well but either way people know this one. It’s a classic story with a fun main villain and holds up fairly well in most respects. The romance itself has to be the weakest part of the film though. I’m not really into fashion so I could sympathize with the main character for a while because it all looks the same to me really. Just grab a good T shirt and you’re all set if you ask me.

The movie starts off with Andy showing up for an interview at a very prestigious fashion magazine. It’s not exactly her calling but she just needs something to pay the bills for a while so this will do. She surprisingly gets the job and now has to work for Miranda, the most infamous boss out there. Miranda is not afraid to put you on the spot and humiliate you for almost no reason just to remind you who the top dog is around here. Her demands are outrageous and she is impossible to please but Andy won’t be rattled so easily. Can she prove her own in this pseudo fight with Miranda and if she wins..will she have lost something important?

After all sometimes winning a fight means losing the war. You can win the fight to go to GameStop and buy every game but you’re going to lose when the credit card bill comes in and the IRS comes a knocking. In this case the cost is the respect of her friends as her boyfriend Nate and the crew are very judgmental about those who dress well and have a lot of sophistication. They’re basically the gossiping type and are quick to try and get Andy in trouble or make her feel bad when there’s a work obligation.

I should note now that I have 0 sympathy for these guys and Andy should cut ties real quick. They’re usually not willing to listen to her side of the story anyway and the friendship couldn’t have been so strong if they were so quick to turn on her. It’s just a really bad look for them and Nate deserves the lion’s share of the blame since they were together. Him pouting because she missed his birthday was absolutely the worst. Of course he claimed that he didn’t care…but didn’t act like it.

Now this was in 2006 so I forget how big cell phones were at the time but Andy had one so I assume Nate had something right? I could see him being a little upset that she didn’t text ahead of time but the problem is that they’ve been together for so long that he shouldn’t be causing such a scene over one little issue. Plus, she had even made the heroic call and decided not to go and meet the boss or stay late for drinks because she was hurrying home. It was only her normal job duties that caused her to be so late. So yeah there was no saving Nate and the friends here.

As for Andy, well she did good the whole time. The only instances you may use to go against her is when she goes to the big fashion event over Emily and when she starts hanging out with that desperate guy who was chasing after her. The first example isn’t a big deal if you ask me. Yes, Emily wanted to go but Andy was basically told by the boss directly that it wasn’t happening. Andy protested a bit but beyond that what is she supposed to do? Get fired just to prove a point? I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect her to do anything more than what she did.

For the latter, yeah that’s a big issue for sure. She was still with Nate when the guy started flirting and even afterwards they had just broken up so it’s way too early to be rebounding. That was a weakness on her part for sure but in the end she was one of the better characters here regardless. She put in the work and got really good at her job despite it being so extremely difficult. That’s talent and dedication right there. She earned every bit of her success.

As for Emily, she was more of an antagonist the whole time anyway. She was always taking shots at Andy for no real reason and just liked to feel superior. So when things don’t go well she starts complaining a lot. Ultimately Andy still takes the high road all the time which is another little thing I appreciated about the film. Andy never felt the need to get revenge or anything like that and so by the end she did win Emily over.

Then you have Nigel who was fun enough. He’s been waiting for a big promotion for a long time now and is finally close to the goal. He knows how Miranda works and so that puts him in a good position. He’s great at the job but he always has to be worried since one big mistake could be the end of him. His character arc goes down a more tragic path.

Finally we have Miranda who is fun because the film goes all in with making her the antagonist. There’s nothing half hearted about her. If she wants something done then you know that she is going to say that to your face directly. Additionally she is always on top of things and one step ahead of the competition. I may have seen too many Hallmark movies since for a minute there I actually thought she was going to turn good but then that didn’t happen and that was a good thing. She knew who she wanted to be and the film fleshes her character out so she’s still huma but will always put the job first. That’s just Miranda’s focus and it has turned out well for her. She is quite wealthy and powerful even if it came at the expense of having more time for family.

So the writing here is good and there’s a fun amount of humor as well. The fashion scenes can drag just a bit since fashion is like food. Usually the fancier you get, the more you lose sight of the main goal and don’t turn out as good. A lot of casual clothes easily top the more fancy attires you see in this film. A lot of Andy’s original clothes beat the ones that were made to look glamorous for example but fashion is in the eye of the beholder so at the end of the day you just have to dress in whichever way you think is best.

The film is at its best when we have some nice back and forth with Miranda giving orders and Andy trying to fulfill them. The scenes have a lot of impact and are just fun to follow along with. The film is at its weakest when the friends show up to try and slow Andy’s roll. If they just could have been supportive that would have been great but instead they are constantly in the way.

Overall, This was a good movie. I probably would have tweaked the ending just a bit for Andy and had her make a different choice. I feel like by this point so much has happened that she should see the path through or at least something similar. Still, the ending works out well enough and you will be satisfied by the time you finish the film. It’s a story that is tough to execute but this movie succeeded.

Overall 6/10

Kuroko’s Basketball – Replace Plus Review

Posted on by
Reply


This is a series I was reading for a very long time until it finally finished. The original Kuroko’s Basketball was excellent and I enjoyed the sequel a lot as well. This one’s more of an “Eh” kind of series though. It’s a comedic slice of life title that can be borderline 4 koma at times although usually it’s still traditional. It’s basically about the characters messing around and having fun the whole time. The only catch here of course is that the cast isn’t the most varied in terms of their personalities. They’ve all got their gimmick that is dialed up to 11 for the series but that’s about it.

There isn’t exactly an ongoing story for the series either but I have to say that it’s impressive how the series ran for 10 volumes. That’s surprisingly good and so there are a lot of different stories here. It’s a series that is very easy to just turn your brain off and check out at any time. I would say that is its biggest advantage. None of the stories are going to be bad either. Maybe some of them will be a bit dull but they tend to be very consistent. You watch the characters all overreact to classic situations and there are a whole lot of different scenarios you can put them in.

The artwork isn’t bad. It’s close enough to the original where you can easily recognize all of the characters so there’s no issue there. It’s not quite as high tier as the main series would be but I can’t think of a time off the top of my head where a spinoff beat the main title anyway. Additionally this series is focused more on comedy as it is so that’s where the focus would be anyway. As long as the art is good enough to be clear then I don’t have any issues on that front.

It feels like it can be a bit harder to go in depth about this series as well just because it’s all pretty straight forward. Either you like the anthology type stories contained in the series or you don’t. For my money I just don’t have much of a strong opinion on them one way or the other. They make for a fun enough read as you go through but it’s why the series is right in the middle. I wouldn’t have any reason to read it again but if someone wants more adventures with the Kuroko gang then this is a solid recommendation. They are all still in character after all and this works as a way to see them outside of the matches.

The main series had a good amount of character development either way but this one helps to take a step further by constantly having them hang out outside of the game context. It’s almost like you have a whole series that would usually just be a bunch of bonus chapters. It’s always a pretty interesting way to think about this. I could absolutely picture these chapters just being shown at the back of each volume. It’s almost like how the slime diaries could just be bonus comedy bits at the end of main episodes.

This one has no fanservice issues or any real demerits but at the same time there is also less happening here on a story level. Occasionally you will have a more serious mini arc like one where two of the characters go to an abandoned school to find some basketballs. That worked pretty well in context and was probably one of the more engaging stories. Other times it’s just a matter of finding somebody or getting part time jobs to help grab some money. The stories have a lot of variety in what is happening even if the tone and atmosphere of them are often the same. They make for easy reads but it’s probably not the best series to marathon because then it might get a little repetitive. Of course whenever someone tells you not to marathon something that doesn’t sound good because it will always feel like a bad thing no matter how it is phrased.

Personally what I would have done here would have been to give some kind of central focus that would make all of the stories more interconnected. I think the easiest way to do this would have been some kind of summer camp. So the heroes are all taken somewhere where there is no basketball and then all of the stories happen there. It would take them away from their comfort zone and even if the stories are anthology style, it feels like they are connected because of the new landscape. Of course alternatively you could have some kind of a big overarching plot as well. It’s not like these things are necessary but I do think the series would have stood out more as a result.

Alternately you could have more of the stories taking place at the same time so it all feels like one big adventure. For example you can merge the chapter where the club all gets jobs to raise money with one where the main heroine is trying to convince Kuroko to go out with her with one where there’s a big party going on. Just keep everything going as more of a serialized comedy as opposed to anthology. It’s no secret that I’ve never been a big fan of the anthology format. To me there is no winning there because each story is so short. Either the story is weak and drags the good ones down or it is good and then it ends before you can really enjoy it. By going with these short stories you are effectively always behind the curve and there just isn’t much opportunity to change that.

If you did longer stories that had more of a full continuity to them then the comedy would really have a chance to excel and soar to new heights. That is definitely the best way to go if you ask me. I also think it would make this easier to marathon. You can probably think of many comedy and slice of life titles where you’re eager to see what happens next because there are still dynamics that continue and some kind of goal at the end. This one doesn’t have that which is why it just feels like a bunch of bonus chapters all stuck together.

Additionally because of this the series will try too hard to be funny. Now the link is not necessarily true that being an anthology will have you try to hard but it does make sense to me. Because the stories don’t continue then they have to try and cram all of the random gags in as quickly as possible. Usually this just means repeating the same jokes like Kuroko being invisible. The main series does a better job of the comedy because of this as it gets to make the most of the little moments between games while this one is just trying to throw everything at you all at once. Some jokes may land but more often than not you’ll just keep reading without much of a smile. Fortunately the stories are still interesting enough where you want to get through them even if you aren’t laughing though.

Overall, Kuroko’s Basketball is a solid franchise and it’s always cool to see more installments but this one won’t be moving the needle for you much at all. It’s a series that you will read and then once you put it on the shelf that’s probably the last time you will think about it. There aren’t any deep themes to unpack or serious plots to have fun with. It’s not even super funny so at the end of the day while there are no negative aspects to the series and it is in no way bad….it’s just not going to be keeping up in the end. You should only check this out if you’re a huge fan of the franchise but otherwise you can skip this title.

Overall 5/10

The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Review

Posted on by
Reply


Slime is one of those series I always mention as having improved greatly from the start to be one of the premiere light novel adaptions. Well this spinoff is more like a return to the old days. It’s more of a slice of life adventure about the cast hanging around the village and having fun which can absolutely be a fun angle to have on this. The only issue is that when the series isn’t focused on the action it always gets real tempted to just focus on fanservice instead and….well this one falls into that trap as well. The fanservice is pretty much a constant in every episode and so this one was a bit doomed from the start. It can still be a lot of fun but it’s certainly not a title you would recommend to someone to enhance their view on the main show.

As the title would suggest this series is about adventures that Rimuru has written down in his diary. During the rare times when the heroes aren’t defending themselves from another kingdom or fighting off demon lords they get to have a whole lot of parties. The village loves their parties and why not, they’re a great way to build up morale and get everyone excited. Quite a few of these episodes have some kind of a party to the point where it is almost a running gag. As someone who likes making a big deal out of just about any kind of event I can definitely get that.

So the show is completely revolving around how interesting the day to day life of the characters can be without the fights. Because there are no big fights here, this is all about just having fun around the village. Slime’s cast is pretty solid but I would say they got more of the good characters to the cast by season 2. This one doesn’t have Veldora as a main member yet or Diablo but Milim is here a lot and she’s always a real highlight in the show.

The show’s humor is typically fun too. You have Rimuru having to teach the monsters about Christmas and New Year’s which results in some fun scenes. The holidays probably do sound a bit odd to someone that’s never heard of them before but simplifying things to just say that it’s a big party works for the cast. Milim is also a lot of fun because she can end the whole kingdom with a punch and is thousands of years old but she still acts like a kid the whole time so Rimuru has to be careful how he talks to her about anything really. If she gets the wrong idea or gets upset then it can all be over for them.

Now as mentioned the fanservice is the main issue here. It feels like quite a few episodes through in the obligatory hot springs type moment. Shion’s outfit has never been the most practical one but this show certainly makes sure to jump in with the zoom ins from time to time. Every episode will have some iffy fanservice moments like that. I wouldn’t say the scenes are ever super egregious and the light hearted comedic nature of the show ensures that it never gets too serious or anything. It’s just the sheer frequency with which they happen that really bogs this one down. It’s always the low hanging fruit, the easy way to try and generate clicks but the show should have more confidence in its own humor and characters to not have to rely on this. Instead of being another advantage it just works against the show.

It’s also been a while, maybe ever since I saw a show that had both Christmas and New Year’s in a single season. So that was nice to see. As a slice of life I wouldn’t say that the show is able to keep up with the bigger titles like Kanon or Clannad though. Maybe in part it’s because the characters are more suited for action and aren’t built for comedy or maybe it’s just that the setting doesn’t work as much. I’ve thought about this and a lot of times the best slice of life casts and circumstances are in worlds that are more like real life. Of course you could make the case that it just makes sense statistically because a lot of them take place there. It’s hard to make such a sweeping generalization there either.

So at the end of the day it just comes down to writing and character dynamics. There are a lot of fun dynamics within the cast and Rimuru is a good main character so that makes for a lot of good humor. I do think the show would have absolutely have been able to hold its own well enough if it focused on the humor entirely. Probably not an award winning show or anything but it had enough pieces there.

The animation is decent. I wouldn’t say that it’s great or anything but it’s good enough and you can always tell what is going on. I wouldn’t say they’re trying to make this an S tier title with animation and you can certainly tell that but it’s still good. Part of the show is about seeing the seasons in the village and you can clearly see the differences the whole time so the animation succeeds there. The soundtrack is much more on the forgettable side though. There aren’t any big emotional or action tunes to really focus in on.

In a way there also isn’t a whole lot to talk about in this show compared to most since there isn’t as much of a plot here. So you can expect this show review to be shorter than the last few. As it is when a show is only around 12-13 episodes like this one then it’s always going to go fast. It works in this sense though because then the show doesn’t drag on. I also think they would have had a hard time thinking of more ideas after a bit because it’s not like there are any other holidays to grab. If the show went too much further in the timeline then you would be questioning how they are able to have this much time before the next attack.

I don’t think the show needs to worry about continuity and being in canon too much to be honest but it’s still something they were probably trying to keep in mind. I do think that a season 2 would benefit from taking place later in continuity because then you can have Veldora as a main character and he could have a lot of fun interactions with Milim. That would be a recipe for greatness right away. As it is Milim does a lot of the heavy lifting here already. Throw in the fun Veldora and then things will get even better. After all he’s one of the only characters who can hold his own against her in power so they’re able to have even conversations.

Plus he’s another immortal who acts rather young but I feel like he’d end up being a bit of a father figure to her. Shion and Milim have a bit of a rivalry going but it’s so one sided in terms of power level that it just doesn’t work nearly as well. It does help to show that Milim is still fairly nice on the inside. No matter how heated things get it’s not like she blows Shion up or anything which would be easy to do even accidentally with how powerful Milim is. It was nostalgic seeing the old Rimuru though. He gets teased for looking like a girl quite a bit here as a result though and his old design could seem like that at times so it’s not super surprising. I feel like this pretty much stopped once he got the cool black leather jacket so in a season 2 if it takes place late enough then Rimuru can probably look forward to the teasing ending.

Plus later on he ends up being strong enough where he is finally in Milim’s league so he doesn’t have to be quite as nervous either. I mean Rimuru is a bit nervous just due to his personality so he’ll still be panicking a whole lot but it’s a different kind of panic. The village idolizes him so much that you’d think it would have improved his confidence more though. I get that it can be a bit weird to have everyone making statues of you and everything but Rimuru needs to either embrace it or find a way to stop it. By meekly accepting it, that just means that nothing will be changing anytime soon.

It doesn’t go to his head though so at least I don’t really see the harm. It’s something for the village to unite around and it gives them hope. Rimuru directly saved most of their lives from futures that would have been way more dire after all so this is still an upgrade. The average townsfolk is living a near perfect life in the village protected by powerful fighters all around. Who wouldn’t want to live there? None of them take this for granted.

Overall, Slime Diaries is a reasonable show to pass the time by. The fanservice is what keeps me from giving this one a positive score and being able to recommend it though. It would be interesting to see this get a season 2 though and if they can build on the good aspects of the show to make it better. Imagine a jump in quality similar to the main Slime seasons 1 and 2? That would be great and also a fun coincidence. I also think there is an audience for this kind of a show as just a very calm slice of life title. You can watch it as something peaceful in the background or something to watch before bed. A show filled with good feels can be fun so I’ll be rooting for the series to surpass its limits.

Overall 5/10

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Review

Posted on by
Reply


All right it’s finally time to dive into the She Hulk show. I saw this one a while back so the review’s been on the backburner for a while but hey it’s time for the hype. She Hulk is a character that I haven’t actually read a ton of comics for. I’m well aware of her just because she is a big character but this is really the first time seeing her on the main stage for a while. This show is going for a full comedy approach as opposed to more of an action/comedy mix. It can land some of the comedy elements at times but ultimately I would have to say that this is the weakest of the Disney+ shows that I’ve seen and a lot of that is ultimately going to come down to She Hulk herself who makes the villains’ job very easy in the show.

We kick things off with Jennifer grilling Hulk about Captain America and generally being annoying so they both get distracted from the road and a UFO smashes them. Their blood ends up mixing and so Jennifer gains the abilities of the Hulk. She is now the She Hulk and quickly wants to go back and resume her legal career. Hulk wants to train her but she has no time for that and runs off. After defeating Titania her legal career seems to be at an end but fortunately there is one company still willing to hire her as an attorney. They are even building up a whole super hero division. She Hulk accepts of course as this is her last shot but it means that she will have to be representing the Abomination! Additionally there are a group of Keyboard warriors led by HulkKing who want to drag her down into disgrace. Can she stop them?

The series is only 9 episodes long so it goes by really quickly. I thought the first episode was really solid and I liked the start of the last episode a lot but it does tend to fumble a lot midway through the show which prevents it from being higher. Lets tackle this one aspect at a time though. First up I’d say is the comedy for the show which will be hit or miss depending on how much you enjoy the style here. She Hulk breaks the 4th wall a lot which is absolutely her gimmick and those scenes work well enough.

It’s been a while since I watched a show where the character talks to the audience. When the show is trying to be funny within the the 4 walls is when it’s not quite as solid. She jokes around with all of the characters a lot but more often than not they tend to just look concerned because if she is their attorney then all hope might be lost. Crashing the wedding as She Hulk felt petty even if it was to upstage the bully and she hits up the bar quite a few times to drown her sorrows.

At the end of the day She Hulk isn’t one of the most mature heroes and this is how she really gives the villains ammo. So of course one of the big things the keyboard warriors are trying to do is to discredit She Hulk. Well, she has one unfortunate habit that is easy to exploit which is that she’s a huge flirt like James Bond and will have affairs really quick. You can probably imagine what the villains use to get some dirt on her and it’s just a shame that it was so easy. Now on one hand it’s fairly unique to see this happening to a girl as it’s usually a character flaw for a lot of male characters.

Captain Kirk, James Bond, etc, these are the characters you expect to easily get seduced and then open themselves up for blackmail after that. I can’t think of a time I’ve seen this with a main heroine so it’s different…but it doesn’t help her character. It’s a massive shot against her character to be honest as you also can’t picture any relationship working out now because she moves on way too fast. She also has their overconfidence which leads her astray at times.

Hulk tries to help her on several occasions and each time she just waves him off or yells at him with some speeches. Usually they are all incorrect as well like saying that she’s had it harder than the Hulk or that she can control her temper better than him. Both things are demonstrated to be false within the show itself. I would actually say this isn’t bad writing though but you’re actually meant to realize that she is too overconfident at the moment. At least that’s how I interpret it because often times the show will depict how she is a bit out of her depth here.

I like the idea of a superhero show with a lot of court scenes but unfortunately they are few and far between here. I wanted some really extended court scenes with fun back and forth but the only time we really get that is when Daredevil shows up and easily dominates her in the case. I wouldn’t expect anyone to beat him of course but it wasn’t her best moment to be sure. She Hulk is more of a fun character than one that you think is actually a really good attorney. Perhaps the show should just drop the sub title and focus on making this more of a fun action show where she is a hero for hire or something. We’re getting close to that anyway.

Then of course I did like the climax a lot as everything gets really crazy. You have every hero and villain showing up with a bunch of gamma powered fighters ready to mix it up. I thought that the fights were going to be great but unfortunately we don’t get that. What we do get instead is pretty interesting. You probably know a lot about the 4th wall breaking since it was trending everywhere but if not I won’t go into details. It was a cool thing that you could probably only do in a show like this or Deadpool and it works well. As long as you accept it as a fun gag it’s not like it breaks the universe itself because it’s likely also not an ability that she can use at will. Part of me did miss the actual climax that we missed out on though. That actually was going to be a whole lot of fun but now we’ll never really know.

As for the villains here, Titania probably has the most screen time. Unfortunately her power level isn’t remotely close to She Hulk’s so she’s more of a joke here. She almost literally goes down in a single hit initially and it never gets any better for her after that. I was glad when she showed up for the big wedding but unfortunately the fight was super lackluster. You almost forget that you have two fighters with super strength going at it because they fight like humans. Titania deserved a little more than that.

Leap-Frog shows up though and that was cool. We don’t really get to see him fight all that much but I thought that the gags really worked. If you know anything about the character at all then you’ll appreciate the references and how much the show is just going along with this. It was great to see him without a doubt. As for HulkKing, well I liked him on the message boards but that’s about it. His whole group is meant to be a bit of a joke the whole time or at least I’m 99% sure you aren’t meant to take them seriously.

I liked seeing them post online as a sort of poverty version of Reddit though. Having a hero deal with social media could actually be a lot of fun as a whole main focus because there’s a lot to unpack there. It’s only a minor part of this show but I did enjoy those moments. Honestly I would have liked She Hulk to have created a burner account to start defending herself on there and we get a bunch of flame wars. Ah well, maybe another time.

For the most part the episodes tend to have scenes after the credits but it’s a real coin flip as to whether it’ll be something really cool like a reference to the future or more of a gag that ends up becoming rather infamous later on. One dancing scene in particular will probably make you roll your eyes. Any scene with her parents is fun though. There’s at least one after credits scene with her father that was fun. I like how nonchalant they take the whole thing because it makes sense. At this point superpowers are almost normal within the verse if you think about it so why wouldn’t people be more natural at this point right? You just take it in stride and having her parents be so supportive was great.

Hulk looks pretty good here. Even when She Hulk is being rather meant to him, he’s always ready to help. He’s even okay with her representing Abomination even though the way she asked was more like informing him. I’m telling you she tries to be rude almost every chance she gets but Hulk is always willing to take the high road. He also shows up in the climax to help out immediately even though he was light years away. He’s just a great hero as always and has really done well to master his strength and not lose control anymore.

A big guest star that got a lot of hype before the show even came out was Daredevil of course. He gets a lot of good moments here and in particular his introduction was amazing. The theme music that played was really sharp. I have to assume this is from the Daredevil show but the tune is so good that this is one scene I actually replayed quite a few times. He shows off great aerobatics in dodging She Hulk’s attacks and the car she throws. He almost fights a bit like Spider-Man here and shows off how athletic he is.

I think any Daredevil fan should be pleased with how he’s portrayed. He’s excellent in the court room and can hold his own in a fight. Of course She Hulk can beat him at any time she pleases since he’s weak against sound and one clap would take him out but it’s still nice to see him hanging in there. He even makes sure not to attack her at any point in the fight since he knows that she is a fellow hero. So all of that was a lot of fun and you don’t expect great music for live action shows most of the time so it was nice to see this. Of course the Marvel shows have all had really good soundtracks so far so in that sense this wasn’t as surprising.

I really could have done without the romance though. This was rushed even by the usual rushed romance standards. It’s like they met up and got together right away. By this time in the show She Hulk has already liked several characters and of course the same is true for Daredevil in his series. So this is really just a rebound fling for no real reason. Romance is really one of the weak points of the series because none of it ever even comes close to being believable. It just doesn’t work. Was still nice to see Daredevil show up and get some fights though.

She Hulk has another ally in Nikki for when she needs emotional support though. Nikki is a good friend who is always loyal and has She Hulk’s back. She lets her know when things are getting dangerous online even when others tell her not too. So Nikki is someone that’s super dependable and she gets a good role here. There’s another guy who wants to help out in the group but he’s not as smart so he doesn’t get as much to do. At least he has one infiltration mission where he gets to try and help the cause though.

Wong also has some cameo appearances but doesn’t do a whole lot here. I like his overall disdain for court proceedings though. He has magic so he figures he can do whatever he wants and…well he’s not really wrong. As the Sorcerer Supreme he can do a whole lot and it’s hard to ever capture him since he can warp around. I liked how his plot with the Abomination ended up concluding as well.

Meanwhile the Abomination is a bit different than you might expect. He’s really mellowed out a whole lot to the point where he is a pacifist and he has a whole group therapy business going. It’s definitely a big change from how he used to be so unfortunately you shouldn’t expect any big fights out of him as a result but it’s an interesting take. Some of the scenes with him and the therapy sessions drag on for wayyyyyyy too long but as a concept it isn’t bad. The final episode also really makes this plot worth it with how things play out.

While the special effects may have gotten a lot of shade, I thought they worked well. She Hulk looks great in the green form to the point where I would have been cool with her staying in that form 24/7 for the show. The GTA cutscene comparisons were fun but I don’t think that’s even a bad thing per say. Yes it is surreal to see She Hulk walking around like CGI into a live action film but it works and the character model is on point. This is how I would picture She Hulk to look for example.

Now with the fight scenes being underwhelming that’s just a choreography issue. None of the fights tend to have any real damage or feeling behind them. Of course the show mainly has 0 stakes as a comedy so you’re not expecting anything too serious but more hand to hand or damage effects would be good. The best fight was easily between She Hulk and Daredevil and that’s extremely short. The rest of the fights are just missing their impact for the most part.

What the show needed was more of a focus on the ongoing plot or a little more danger. The middle episodes just feel like you could almost cut them and not much would change. It was nice seeing a random case in the middle because you should have that as an attorney series. Defending the immortal guy who kept offing himself to avoid taxes and start a new life was interesting. We needed more cases like that and less romance and wedding stuff. The counseling session also didn’t need to pretty much be a whole episode.

Now if you do want to focus on being a full comedy show then you just need to be funnier. For me a good gauge of how funny something is during the slice of life scenes is whether I would really be able to watch the show on my own and have a good time. She Hulk was really on the fence for that a whole lot of the time. It’s just never as interesting as the other Marvel shows and as a main character Jennifer lags behind the others. She’s great as She Hulk but the human alter ego can’t hold her own stories quite as much.

Maybe it’s in part because the humor can be more based around the romances or awkward moments which doesn’t generate as much of a laugh as things being wacky or fast paced dialogue. Regardless, the action at the beginning and ending isn’t enough to really throw this into the positive side of the fence. I ended up feeling like it’s at about the middle for me. I wouldn’t be tempted to watch it again and there is very little replay value. The episodes are interconnected enough where they aren’t quite stand alone but not connected enough to keep you engaged on the wider story. Of course whether you like it or not will completely depend on how funny you find the show to be.

Like there are so many aspects of being a superhero attorney that you can explore. The whole supers division is a great concept as well but Jennifer is more interested in how more people will date her now that she has a super form than in thinking about the other repercussions more. Like embracing the She Hulk name before people can use it as an insult or how daily life is just so much different now that she has become a celebrity overnight. Exploring all of this could be a show in its own. I always just go back to the first episode which ended perfectly though. She takes out Titania and embraces her role as She Hulk. Marvel’s always been good about removing the secret identity from the equation immediately. Having a really confident She Hulk just take the stage and start winning cases would have been great and we didn’t need to go away from that path to greatness.

Overall, She Hulk took some gambles and that’s good for a show to do. You do want to try new things even if they don’t work but in this case making She Hulk more of a traditionally fun main character may have worked better. I’d say you can drop the constant affairs angle in the next season just like how James Bond has almost completely dropped that in the new movies. Keep in the 4th wall breaking but lets get in some real villains next time or extended cases. You could easily make this more like Detective Conan or Sherlock Holmes where you have a good case that lasts every 2-3 episodes where she has to gather the clues and prove someone’s innocence/guilt. I tend to love court scenes in movies and shows so building a whole show around that would not just be a good idea but a great one. It would immediately raise the show up to the next level.

Overall 5/10

Romantic Killer Review

Posted on by
2


Romantic Killer is a bit of a different romance title but you can probably guess that from the title. The main heroine isn’t going to make things easy and that’s why she refers to herself as the Anti-Heroine. It’s a nice spin on things which you’ll see once I get to the plot. The ending doesn’t drop the ball on this either so it stays true to the plot and I would say this is a pretty good adventure.

So the show starts by introducing us to Anzu who is really having a great life so far. She has a nice pet cat, her collection of video games, and a whole lot of chocolate! Yeah life is pretty much perfect but one day a fairy named Riri infiltrates Anzu’s home and announces that Anzu’s top 3 possessions in life will be taken away from her. Anzu can no longer eat chocolate, her cat has been taken away, and her video games are also gone. The only way to get these back is to fall in love with a guy. Yes, Anzu is being blackmailed into falling in love by this fairy who basically says that she is doing it for Anzu’s own good. Anzu refuses and says she will not get a boyfriend no matter what happen and Riri puts this to the test by using her magic to summon a bunch of guys in the most contrived situations in order to break Anzu. Can she stay strong?

I think part of the big thing that separates this from the other shows is how Anzu is so completely against getting a boyfriend. In a lot of these shows the heroine technically wants to find a guy but it’s either tough to confess her feelings or things just weren’t working well. Here, Anzu is against this but you are supporting her because of the situation.

If a fairy shows up to ruin your life and said you would only get it back by getting a boyfriend, wouldn’t you want to rebel? You want to control your life and how things go but letting yourself get manipulated is not a good idea. You’re completely rooting for Anzu because of this without a doubt. You could even say that there is a tragic angle to this as it means that Anzu really can’t give any of the guys a fair shake as a result. I can’t say I felt bad for them though…this is just how it goes sometimes.

The show’s almost like a competition between Riri and Anzu or you could also think of it like a video game. Every time Anzu stops one guy she is met with an even tougher challenge in the next level. Since Riri has magic it’s also not like there is any chance of this stopping anytime soon. The game is set up against Anzu for sure because there is no end date to this. In theory Anzu could be doomed to not have her possessions forever which is pretty rough to think about. So time is on Riri’s side as Anzu’s resolve could theoretically start to shake the more the days/months/years go on.

It goes without saying that I don’t like Riri for this reason. She is just trying to force Anzu into love which is absolutely the wrong approach. I know Riri is merely an employee working for some really tough bosses who will do whatever they want but Riri still has a choice not to do this. The only possible way I could defend Riri is if she gave Anzu some kind of a chance and a reward to even things out. For example, declaring that Anzu has lost her 3 possessions for a full year and if she makes it through that period without a boyfriend then she will get something extra. I dunno, a million dollars or something. That would really raise the stakes.

I’d say Riri is also annoying because you can’t count on her when the going gets tough. Things get serious near the end of the series as we get a real villain and some life or death stakes and suddenly Riri’s magic isn’t so helpful. Either the wand is dirty or she’s too slow to help but it’s just annoying. Seriously what’s the point of magic if you can only show up in time to annoy everyone?

Riri also sometimes acts against her best interests by getting Anzu into tricky situations that make the other guys a bit wary. I suppose the long con here is getting the other guys jealous enough to make a move but eh…..doesn’t seem worth it. There’s really no point in Riri shapeshifting into a guy except to make things tough on Anzu and cause misunderstandings. At least Riri does one nice thing by the end but that’s about it.

Now for Anzu, well I was quite pleased with her character from the start. You absolutely empathize with her because her top 3 hobbies are very relatable. Who doesn’t like to just enjoy time with their pet, video games, and eating some chocolate on the side? Those are the top 3 hobbies out there and so when they are taken away you can understand her anguish. The fact that she immediately takes such a hard stance against having a boyfriend was brilliant.

Throughout the show she conducts herself well. One thing I appreciated is that she isn’t rude about it. Anzu is quite straight forward about not wanting to get romantically entangled with anyone but is still willing to be their friend and just a nice person in general. It would have been so easy to make the main heroine a jerk but the show doesn’t do that.

Anzu is also potentially putting herself at a disadvantage by letting herself be close to these guys but she just wants to do the right thing and that’s great. Doing the right thing is its own reward after all. Anzu can also fight a little bit as needed even if she doesn’t get to go hand to hand against the main villain. That would have been nice but she stood in there and didn’t give up.

She is also able to talk back to any bullies and defends her friends. We get a quick flashback later on in the series with her best friend Saki and see how Anzu just squashed all of the bad rumors. Anzu doesn’t let any injustice happen on her watch and this continues into the present when she tells off the girls who were going after Tsukasa.

A lot of times when a girl asks if the heroine can let her meet up with the main guy, the heroine relents. Usually it’s a mix of “Well, he’s not my boyfriend so I don’t care.” or “Sure, I don’t see any harm in that.”. This was better as she just said she wouldn’t be a party to any of this and wouldn’t set up anything since Tsukasa obviously didn’t want to hang out with these characters. Anzu speaks her mind which is a big upgrade from many characters.

Her friend Saki doesn’t get a whole lot to do here since most of the show is about Anzu meeting up with the various guys but she did good in her limited screen time. She had a really rough backstory that also shows why she is so close to Anzu now. She really rebounded from how things used to be to still be popular and nice in the present instead of jaded about everyone.

Now lets talk about the guys. As they’re all effectively boss battles, I’ll describe them like video game fighters. I should note that Riri does make sure to mention that she isn’t mind controlling anyone. That would have been a very dubious moment after all so while she dos create circumstances to play matchmaker, the characters all do actually like Anzu of their own accord. This was a good move by the way as all of the romances would have really been doomed otherwise.

Of course I can’t say that I was really on board with any of the romances here either way. I stand with Anzu in staying strong against these guys since the fairy is trying to play matchmaker with blackmail the whole time. So without that then maybe they’d have a chance but nah that’s game over until the deal is over.

So first up we have Tsukasa. He’s the cool guy in school who is mega popular but really cold to any girls that are around. He’s got a tragic backstory and his best asset is the fact that he is always around. Put it this way, Riri flooded his house so now Tsukasa has to live with Anzu for a while. That means since they are together a whole lot there isn’t a way to really avoid him.

It would be difficult not to become friends after that and so keeping the line drawn is the tough part. For Tsukasa it’s easy to see why he falls for Anzu because up until now he’s always been around a lot of very judgmental people. Anzu is the only one who treats him as just an ordinary guy and is super casual around him instead of putting on a persona.

Then you have to also factor in Tsukasa’s childhood tragedy involving a stalker named Yukana. basically Tsukasa was traumatized by her because of how unhinged she was. She would buy him clothes and follow him around and ultimately even drugged him. He was very fortunate that things didn’t escalate past that. So he’s unable to really feel free outside as he doesn’t want her to find him again.

He easily has the most amount of screen time and development so even though there are a few guys here and it’s more of an ensemble show, it’s fair to say that he is the main guy here. The climax even revolves around him so at the end of the day you figure that while he is the first boss battle of the show, he also works as the final boss. Anzu has to be careful around him.

Then we’ve got Junta and his biggest attribute to watch out for is that he’s the Childhood friend. He moved away for a while but he’s back now and is ready to try and make a move. He’s loved Anzu for many years and never got over her but of course she never really noticed this. I mean that’s on Junta for not saying anything though. When you’ve got a crush you have to either silently get over it or let the other party know but staying silent is the only way to really lose.

Junta is great at sports and is a super nice guy. As the nicest member of the guys that is another aspect of his to watch out for. He gives everyone a fair shake but can be stern when needed. He lacks self confidence which may make it easy to give him sympathy points though so that’s something else to watch out for. On one hand, the fact that he’s liked her for years helps in the romance angle because it’s not super sudden like Tsukasa. It’s more of a believable romance even if Anzu never noticed him before.

Of course at the same time ending the plot as an unrequited love while tragic always makes things a bit more compelling as you get to see him slowly accept that just being a normal friend really isn’t that bad. If he was a bit bolder then I would like him more but I rarely like the characters who really aren’t confident like this. He tends to throw in the towel early until he’s given a motivational speech.

Then you have the third main guy here named Hijiri. Well he’s rich which is always a very tempting attribute in any character. If Anzu ends up with him then she will be set for life and will never have to worry about anything ever again. You should never marry for riches of course…but it is probably the single most tempting thing aside from pure love.

Hijiri is used to everyone throwing themselves at him so of course the fact that Anzu isn’t interested at all just makes him want her even more. He has a tough time acting normal though and tends to throw around insults by mistake and can be generally annoying. Showing him how to live life as a normal person is something Anzu might feel instinctively so she has to worry about that. Of course she also has to be careful that she doesn’t just feel bad for him since he’ll be crushed. Pity dates are never a good idea.

Those are all of the main guys. There are a few supporting characters like Tsukasa’s friend Makoto who is around but it’s not like he’s ever involved in the romance. There is one extra guy for romance but his role is really small. His name is Ryuya and he’s really just annoying. He’s another childhood friend who liked Anzu but unlike Junta who was too shy to make a move and stayed quiet, he ended up teasing her a lot because of his crush.

You don’t see that happening as much nowadays but I do remember it being a really big thing for a while where they say you would tease and bully the person you like accidentally because you didn’t know how to interact with them normally. I gotta admit I always thought this was a super lame excuse. Seriously, your way of dealing with your feelings is to be mean to the person you like?

That’s just awful so nah I wasn’t going to root for him. Ryuya is super petty and nearly messes up the reunion for everyone by getting into his feels like this. It’s just not a good look for him at all. Maybe a tiny part of you feels bad for him…but it’s a super tiny part that is almost nonexistent. Anzu didn’t take any of it seriously at least and barely even remembers him so he should have just taken it in stride and kept it moving. They could totally be friends in the present without all the awkwardness but he really makes a spectacle of himself for a while there.

Finally we have some of the supporting characters from Tsukasa’s plot like his sister Arisa. She’s probably the only super nice member of the family. His father is a bit crazy as he blames Tsukasa for everything and unfortunately his mother tends to be a bit more passive about the whole thing. This really forced Tsukasa to have to move out and live on his own.

In part this would help him avoid the stalker but it’s also because he wasn’t getting any real support here. His father seemed to have a very old fashioned idea that if there were issues with a girl then it means that the guy led her on. He never even tries to hear Tsukasa’s side of the story and blames him entirely. This even continues on to the present. I wasn’t expecting him to stay as a villain in the present but it gave Anzu another really good moment.

Considering how much he went through, Tsukasa definitely turned out well. I also can’t say that he really made any big mistakes with how he handled the stalker situation. It’s really hard to know just how to handle something like that but he tried ignoring her, talking to her directly, but nothing would work. With someone like that who is clever enough not to break laws too openly escape can feel like the only real option. Especially since even once the courts get involved it doesn’t deter her.

Yukana is the stalker and the final boss of the series. It was nice to have some action at the end here for sure and when she took out the knife you knew things were going to get intense. It is crazy that with such a big cast, one person can make so many waves but the whole situation is handled pretty realistically. The show is mainly comedic but the whole stalker situation is handled super seriously. Riri at least helped a bit in summoning everyone at one point to deal with some bullies (Who had the least believable redemption arc in the franchise. They looked awful and were actually going to beat up Anzu so they shouldn’t have been forgiven so easily. I thought they should have been arrested personally) but Riri’s reasoning for not taking down Yukana directly was really weak.

Riri does need Anzu alive and well to get the mission completed so Yukana is an active threat. Ergo it should be reasonable to take her down but Riri is not convinced and can’t make a move without that confirmation. It’s definitely annoying and feels a bit contrived since otherwise there would not really be a big climax like this. With magic ending it all would be easy.

The humor in the series works well. I would say that it is rarely laugh out loud levels of funny but you can appreciate the humor. I liked how fake they made the first dating sim look which helped to illustrate just what Anzu thought of the whole thing. A whole show with those graphics could actually be rather fun. You can also appreciate this from the guy’s point of view here as well since they all like her and she just has no interest in returning those feelings.

Think of it like everyone falling for the popular girl in school. Usually in the movies there is the main guy who ends up breaking past the pack and they get together so this show is more like if there was no guy. Everyone here are the bit players in the average movie who are doing their best to get her to notice them and it’s all to no avail. None of their feelings are being returned and that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Meanwhile the animation for the show is good too. I get the feeling that it wouldn’t work too well with a lot of movement because it feels a bit rigid but at the same time the colors really stand out. Everyone has eyes that are really sharp and the colors are on point. For a show like this where there won’t be big action scenes I think it makes sense to focus on the artwork than on pure animation. Because of that the visuals will really age well even several years from now. It’s why all of the screenshots look so sharp here as well. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I really couldn’t recall a single tune by the time the show was over but I want to say that it did work well while watching the show.

There is an interesting gimmick where any bugs are turned into different cakes in the show. It’s super random but I’d say that it works because of that. It’s almost like the show is throwing in some photoshop and you can’t go wrong with that. I guess Anzu needed one weakness as well since otherwise she was shredding all obstacles. So since she is scared of bugs that throws the guys a little lifeline to use.

Overall, Romantic Killer is a pretty fun show and I definitely had a good amount of fun with it. It succeeds by focusing more on the challenge and comedic aspects than the actual romance. The serious stuff was handled well too but to me the comedic moments are when the show is at its best. I’d be down with a season 2 to see how this continues on and if they stick to those fundamentals then I think it would be in good shape. In theory Anzu should still be trying to stay strong and it would focus more on the guys doing their best to win her over. It would make for a fairly unique spin on the whole romance genre and if it balances in the humor like this one did then I think it would be a success. Of course the ending is always really important for a show like this as well so they do need to make sure to stick the landing. I believe the show can pull this off though. The ending here could have easily been dodgy but it wasn’t so that worked out.

Overall 7/10

In the Good Old Summertime Review

Posted on by
Reply


This film will probably seem really familiar if you saw the original or the other remake later on down the line. It’s not really doing anything different except to add in some extra songs. The story has a fun angle with the main characters being pen pals but in real life they don’t get along at all. It’s almost like a Superman/Clark Kent dynamic with Lois but a little different. I like the idea of it and if this were a TV show you could absolutely milk the premise for quite a few seasons. As it stands you’ll have a good time with this one although I would not say that it is the definitive version of the story.

The film opens up with Andrew having a rather tough first meeting with Veronica as he drops her stuff and then keeps making matters worse the more he tries to get away. They meet up again later on when Veronica is trying to get a job at the store he works at. Andrew doesn’t think this is a very good idea but he is overruled by the boss Otto. Veronica never quite forgets this though and the two are off to a rocky dynamic for the rest of the film. Still, both of them don’t care too much since they are pen pals with someone of true romantic integrity. Little do they know that they are each other’s pen pal. Who will find out first?

So you’ve got a fun plot idea here with the secret romance. You also see how Andrew and Veronica don’t get along due to that first encounter which was rough. I do think that they could have been a little kinder the whole time though. Particularly Veronica as it seemed at least that she was always the one picking fights and starting trouble. She insulted his intelligence on more than one occasion and apparently would make fun of him through imitations to the other co-workers. While you can say that maybe he did things to jump-start this in each instance, all we see if her attacking him and rarely the flip side.

So it almost goes far enough in the other direction where you wonder why he still likes her. It doesn’t seem like he could possibly still like her after all of this right? Fighting is a part of the rom-com formula of course but since it’s more one sided it always just feels off the whole time. I think Veronica is still a good character and gets a lot of fun moments though.

Meanwhile Andrew may have made a mess of things in the opening scene but otherwise he seems to be pretty good at the job and you can see why he was promoted. Ultimately he probably should have stood up for himself a bit more when being asked to do two different things by Otto and Nellie though. Either you help one or you help the other but don’t try to say that you’ll help both. That’s just not going to work, it can’t work because they want completely different things and it just ends up with him being in the middle.

There’s a lot of fun dialogue during the banter between Andrew and Veronica. The supporting characters tend to vanish a bit in this version though so they really aren’t very memorable. Otto has to hold it all together on his own as far as the side characters go. He’s a fun boss who is super selfish and will gladly ruin everyone else’s day if he thinks that he is going to have a bad one. So much for teamwork, it’s his way or the highway. He certainly won’t admit to making any mistakes either, he figures that if he did something then he definitely did it right. This leads to a whole plot of his buying a lot of harps and not being able to sell them because they just weren’t popular.

Otto never really learns a lesson here either so he actually ends up in the same place that he started. This movie is part musical so you’ve also got some songs now and again but honestly not as much as you would expect. The songs weren’t bad, I wouldn’t say they were really my style but they don’t take away from the film as much as a bunch of songs could have. It’s balanced well enough where this doesn’t become a big worry which is good.

The humor isn’t quite laugh out loud funny but you won’t be bored which is really the important thing. This is a very low key film that is entertaining all the way through. I’d say it survives on solid fundamentals like good pacing and just never stopping. Something is always happening even if you feel like they could have taken the premise a bit further. Have one of the characters figure out the pen pal’s identity sooner so you could spend a good part of the film with some fun manipulating going on in the background. Alternately, have more scenes about each of the main characters talking about the pen pal and that could work too.

The movie does a good job of really showing why it’s impractical to fall in love with someone that you’ve never met though. At the end of the day it’s just impossible because you don’t truly know the person. Looks may not be everything but it’s certainly not nothing either. It’s also real easy to be writing just about anything but to get to know someone you have to hang out with them IRL, at least if you’re planning to be more than platonic friends. It may be played for laughs with how different each character is compared to their written self but it also makes sense because people do talk and write very differently. I like to think this shows in my blogging style as well and if I were to ever start video streaming or something then it would be a fun comparison. Don’t see that happening anytime soon though so you’ll just have my written reviews!

Overall, In the Good Ole Summertime is a bit of an odd title for the film. I mean it’s not like it’s completely unrelated but you would really not have as much of a clue as to what the film is about. Film titles don’t have to match the plots but ideally there should be a bit of a stronger connection. I’d assume this was more of a laidback slice of life. Either way I do recommend the film though. It’s not particularly ambitious but it’s a good movie and that’s all it needed to be.

Overall 7/10

That Touch of Mink Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time for a classic romantic comedy film. It’s been a little while since I’ve seen one of the Cary Grant/Doris Day combination films and this is a solid one as you’d expect. It’s maybe a tad weaker than the average film because the film tries to be a little more grounded this time. It’s not quite as crazy as you might expect although you can still expect a lot of shenanigans to be occurring. It may not be near the top but at the same time it is quite timeless so you can really watch this at any time and have fun.

The movie starts with Cathy heading to a job interview. It’s been a trying time for her as she has to deal with an annoying clerk to cash in her unemployment checks named Beasley so she really needs things to work out. Unfortunately she ends up getting splashed with a bunch of mud by the rich Roger who is so rich that he doesn’t even stop to help out. Instead he sends his lackey Roger to do the damage control. Roger has watched as time and time again Philip got his way due to a mix of being handsome and rich. Now that he has someone as upset as Cathy at his side, he figures this is the perfect time to watch someone really let Philip have it. So Roger escorts her up but unfortunately it doesn’t end up working out that well.

See, she has a change of heart as everyone else always does and as a result she accepts his offer to go out with her. Now Roger’s plan is foiled and he may have just helped Philip get another win accidentally. With his mind slowly breaking he starts to seek some help from a psychiatrist which kicks off a whole lot of misunderstandings.

Back to Cathy she is a bit unsure of how to proceed. On one hand she does like Philip but she isn’t sure exactly how serious he is. Does he actually want to marry her or is he just trying to pull out some moves so that she will go all the way with him. For Philip he also starts to see Cathy a bit differently than most of the ladies that he has gone out so he starts to have doubts on if he should break the whole thing off. Both of them are just never on the same page which always leads to a lot of drama and issues. Can they make this work?

So at its core this is a classic romance film and you can probably see how that’s going to play out. In the short term what sets this one apart is that both of them want to be together but have doubts on the other one’s intentions so they play it safe. This results in both characters going in a circle a whole lot which drags things out but there are fun scenes with this as well. I appreciated Cathy having a good friend in Connie who was defending her the whole time. Connie has a bit more of a cynical mindset when it comes to these guys but you really can’t blame her. If a rich guy showed up and then 5 minutes later you found out he was going out with your best friend you’d also feel like this is suspiciously fast. It just doesn’t really add up so you would start to think that it’s some kind of a desperate play.

Unfortunately Cathy usually doesn’t listen to Connie’s advice much but at least she tries. Roger is the equivalent for Philip but the guy isn’t quite as selfless as Connie. Honestly for most of the film he’s really just trying to keep Philip and Cathy from being together just to stick it to Philip. He sort of resents being the sidekick all the time and wants to do something about it but isn’t brave enough to do this directly. It’s definitely what holds him back as a character. He’s fun and fulfils the punching bag role rather well but as a character he’s not the kind of friend you would want to have.

Then we have Beasley who is really here just as a tool to try and make Philip jealous. You know that he never stands a chance here and the guy comes off as so desperate and annoying that he’s basically the villain. He really tries to take advantage of his position to get together with Cathy and that tells you all that you need to know about the guy. He’s far from being a class act that’s for sure. I’d have preferred that we got a real rival but that may have muddied the water here a bit. At least this way there’s no rebound but the climax involves tricking him into thinking he has a chance which is a trope I tend to dislike. Cathy should try to get to Philip without having to use anybody.
As for Philip, he is the kind of guy who never seems all that serious about a relationship. He’s certainly been through a whole lot of them over the years after all so why should this one be any different? Of course you’re meant to see that it will be different this time but I would be completely skeptical all the while. It just doesn’t really add up and it’s hard to change so quickly. Of course it’s possible but it’s not something you would typically bet on. He seems like a decent guy otherwise, Philip is just a chronic flirt. He does have the decency to try and break things off with Cathy when he sees that she’s serious about the whole thing at least.

By the end I can’t say I’m fully on board with the romance but at least there weren’t any real rebounds here compared to most films like this. A lot of times the middle act will have the characters going with a rebound to see if they can get over the other but that doesn’t happen here aside from Cathy pretending at one point. The scenes of each character getting super stressed out and breaking into hives was a bit odd but perhaps a creative way of showing how nervous they were. Philip getting sick at the end was a bit cheesy since he doesn’t seem like the type to get nervous at the end with all of his experience. That seemed to just be to even things up even if it didn’t make a lot of sense.

Overall, That Touch of Mink is a fun comedy film. It’s nothing great or world shattering but it gets the job done with that retro style of humor that works well. Things tend to happen quickly and the writing is on point. It’s a pleasant film that doesn’t drag on and even if some of the jokes may not land, most should. It’s a well balanced film and there aren’t any moments that will really leave you shaking your head. At the end of the day you’ll certainly be entertained all the way through and that is the goal of the film. So I’d recommend checking it out and you won’t be disappointed.

Overall 6/10

See How They Run Review

Posted on by
Reply


See How They Run was a really fun mystery film. It’s poking fun at the genre a bit while also delivering on a very solid murder mystery. You’ve got solid music here and a really solid opening. Throw in the good cast and this is a movie that you don’t really forget. You don’t see a ton of mysteries compared to other genres so it’s always fun to pick out a winner. I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

The movie starts off with Leo narrating as he talks about how the murders are always predictable and he takes a ton of shots at “The Mouse Trap” which is a play that’s being turned into a movie. The guy holds nothing back but then he ends up being bumped off himself. It made for a nice twist since the film had been leading him up to being the main character but that wasn’t the case. Instead Inspector Stoppard and Constable Stalker are the main characters as they take on the case. Yes, Stalker is actually her name which was another bit of fun by the film. Can these two solve the case or will their differing styles come between them?

The Inspector is a hardened detective type who likes to slowly gather the clues and figure things out. That’s his style and he’s rather good at it. Constable Stalker is more about quickly gathering the clues and jumping to the ending. She likes the thrill of the chase and means well but tends to jump to conclusions as a result which annoys the Inspector a lot. This makes for a fun dynamic with a whole lot of banter though so I definitely enjoyed that. A big part of why the film succeeds is because of these two characters who really steal the movie.

The Inspector has a whole lot of obstacles in his path like the police commissioner who is more worried about optics than what is actually going on. That guy is easily caught up in jumping to the end as well and gives promises that he can’t keep so he’s not exactly the highlight character here. The Inspector has to succeed in spite of him and does a good job. Even Stalker tends to get in the way sometimes but at least she also has a large list of contributions to offset that.

It was a bit underhanded that she wrote down a private conversation between the two of them and used it against him later on though. She nearly got the Inspector in a whole lot of trouble. Yes she was just trying her best to do the right thing but that’s why it’s important not to jump to conclusions. That nearly got very dicey for sure. At least she doesn’t let it get her down though, Stalker never lets her enthusiasm for the case wane.

Then we have Leo who may have died early but keeps a large presence in the film through a bunch of flashbacks. Basically every time the characters meet a suspect we get to see how this guy did something mean to them. Leo is basically as antagonistic as possible. He messes with the characters, tries to get characters to cheat with him, is full of himself, etc. He goes out of his way to antagonize every character in the movie which is impressive…but of course that is also what led to his end.

It was also fun to see Agatha Christie also get to appear here. For a bit there I thought they were going to keep her off screen throughout the movie but she actually has an active role in the climax and gets to interact with the characters. That was definitely a really intense moment and I like how she picked up a few things from her murder mystery novels. She actually came close to having the villain on the ropes.

As for the actual villain, of course I can’t say who that was, but the reveal worked well. The villain had a good motive so you can see how the villain cracked in the end and started bumping everyone off. There is something almost funny about the explanation too and how it led to all of this. It’s true that the reactions to the murders in a way incentivized them to keep on going because the intended effect wasn’t working. “The Show must go on!” is a powerful mantra that is used a lot but of course if someone is trying to stop the play then that means they will have to keep on going over and over again until it actually stops.

One thing I have to give the film a shout-out for are the visual techniques that are used here. You constantly get different boxes on screen at the same time so you see the moment from different perspectives. It’s almost like a comic book in some ways and it’s not overplayed. These moments always just help to enhance the scene and make it more memorable. It’s like going the extra mile for the actual mystery.

You also have a fair chance to try and guess who the murderer is. All of the characters have a good amount of screen time and have definitive personalities. If you’re really paying attention to the dialogue then you should have a good chance here. My pick ended up not being correct so we’ll see how it goes for you. The film is always ready to throw you a few curve balls as well.

Overall, See How They Run is a great mystery film. It’s got a lot of replay value and the fact that the movie is able to tie it into the original play while being different was very clever. The climax uses this really well and there was a lot of detail put into this one. The writing never falters and it works really well in being a bit self aware on what usually happens in murder mysteries while still taking itself very seriously. I was quite impressed with how this went and if we ever get a sequel that could be fun.

Overall 8/10

Dick Review

Posted on by
Reply


The concept here isn’t bad since you could think of it like an alternate version of Bill and Ted. The real problem is really just that the movie isn’t too clever. It goes for the obvious jokes right away but after that there isn’t much left. Even the obvious joke doesn’t work since I know a Richard who still goes by the short version so the name isn’t dead yet. There was a good amount of potential here but right from the jump you get the feeling that it won’t live up to that.

The movie starts with a flashforward as a news guy tries to trick Woodward and Bernstein into revealing their source for the whole Watergate scandal but they don’t fall for it and then we find out what happened. The movie revolves around two teen girls, Betsy and Arlene. They aren’t very smart at all and can’t keep a secret for more than 5 minutes. One day they happen to be near a heist which ends up becoming a big deal and the White House staff has reason to believe that they know more than they should about Watergate. So President Nixon decides that the best way to keep them quiet is to keep them close and hires the two to be his official dog walkers. They have fun with that since who wouldn’t want to walk a dog in such a prestigious place right? Arlene even falls for Nixon but little do they realize that he is as corrupt as they come.

The film has fun making Nixon as big a bad guy as you can imagine. He is practically making evil plans in every scene that he is in. The guy is always planning something negative at the very least but the girls just never notice. It would take a whole lot to get them to realize that he is the villain so of course he keeps pushing the envelope further and further until they have to notice. If he would just pretend a little harder and not make obvious mistakes like leaving the tape recorder active then he would probably have gotten away really easily. Ultimately he wasn’t the smartest character either.

It’s always intense to see how the White House used to look though. It’s hard to imagine people just walking in and going upstairs like you see in this movie. It’s just all very lax and Betsy/Arlene really have the run of the place by the end. One unfortunate subplot for the whole staff is that they start making spiked cookies unintentionally and of course everyone loves them. This even helps with global peace so it shows what a strong meal can do.

From the main two I would say Arlene is the main weak link. She just gets crushes on people way too quickly as she already had another crush at the start of the movie. Just jumping from crush to crush like that in an instant is definitely a bad move. Then for Betsy she is a lot more outgoing and aggressive but that can be a detriment as well like when she has an affair with a random guy just to buy time for the tape to be stolen. It’s a really desperate plan that’s for sure and one that’s not worth it. Better to even try knocking him out but otherwise he seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn’t mind if the two just ran in and stole the tape. He probably wouldn’t even realize that was happening at that point.

The main focus of the film is how the two girls manage to have a massive effect on the president’s office and how every big decision actually went through them but it’s not a premise that can stand on its own without any backup. I don’t even think you need to make the two girls smarter necessarily because you can absolutely have a fun film with the characters not knowing anything. You just need a really clever script though and this film doesn’t have that.

Then you have the two reporters. I actually thought Woodward was solid and he did a good job of getting intel and always trying to be on top. I liked that guy but his partner was on the annoying side. Bernstein never really helped on his own and would only show up to steal the credit. Seems like an annoying guy to have around and I can see why Woodward was always upset. Here he is putting in a lot of work to grab the biggest story of the century and he’s only going to get 50% of the credit. That’s rough.

In a way it worked out that Nixon was the villain because if the president was a good guy then he may have been in trouble with how the main two immediately started spilling all of their secrets out to everyone. They did not hold the secret at all and that’s a shame. It’s another moment where they look really bad even if that is part of their characters. This is exactly why you need more than just the two off them wandering around and having stuff just happen. Maybe throw in a paranoid White House worker who starts following them or have the girls live at the White House instead of going there part time. They could keep hearing new confidential topics over and over which would cause more issues to keep occurring.

You need something to keep the film fresh for longer than it was. Without the writing improving it’s possible that this would just drag the film out instead of saving it but that’s really the best way to try and start working on making this one better. There is barely a plot here beyond the original premise so there isn’t really a whole lot to discuss here either. Either you will like the main dynamic the girls have or you won’t. That will make or break the film for you and it’s really that simple. There just aren’t a lot of other things going on here and the film can largely be aimless.

Overall, This movie isn’t all that good. It may give you a smile once in a while but there was just so many more things they could have done with the film. It wasn’t nearly as funny as it should have been and that’s really fatal for a comedy movie. There really isn’t much replay value to be found at all here. This movie could absolutely use a remake to see if they can do the premise a little more justice. I definitely think they would do better this time but we’ll see. It’s always a fun line of making things funny without making it too forced.

Overall 4/10

DC League of Super-Pets Review

Posted on by
Reply


This movie seemed to get a whole lot of promotion when it was coming out. There were posters, tv spots, and trailers everywhere. I finally got to see it and it is a fun title. In some ways I thought it could have been even better and I remember feeling that way after watching it but that doesn’t take away from it still being solid. I’d definitely be up for a sequel.

The film starts off by introducing us to Krypto who takes great pride in being Superman’s best friend. He is always ready to smash up the villains and by day he tries to be a normal dog. He gets concerned when Superman and Lois start getting closer though as it means that he will lose out on some quality time. Additionally there is some kind of menace taking down the Justice League. Krypto may need to step in to stop these villains now but will he be able to pull this off or is it game over for him? Sometimes when one person is not enough to stop a threat then you need to bring in a team so get ready for some other pets to join the fray.

This film may be comedic first and foremost but we actually get some real fight scenes here. The movie does a good job with the Justice League fighting back to stop from being captured as well as the Super Pet fights. The battles themselves aren’t treated as gags and that was a good idea on the film’s part because that way you do have your serious moments as well to balance out the comedic bits. It makes for a movie that has a little of everything in it.

As for the animation itself, the film is CG so don’t expect it to hold its own with the hand drawn stuff but it still looks reasonable. The main issue I’d say is with some of the character designs, particularly the Justice League where it felt like not a whole lot of time was spent to make them really look good. As a result they just don’t seem all that impressive, certainly much less so than you would expect. The pets all have good designs though and the fights are good as I mentioned earlier. I don’t think this movie would change anyone’s feelings on CG animation but at the end of the day it’s not bad and will get the job done.

Where the film isn’t as strong as it could be is with the humor. It never gets quite as funny as titles like Teen Titans Go or Batman The Brave and the Bold. It might be that the jokes are just a bit too obvious and telegraphed as opposed to something unexpected happening that would really make you chuckle. Maybe it’s a character thing but either way it’s not cringey or anything which is good. Even if you aren’t laughing you’ll understand the joke and see how it was meant to be funny.

The film has good pacing and covers a lot of ground. I mentioned how the film balances out the comedic elements with the serious ones and so one of its strengths is the more emotional content. We get a solid character arc for Krypto and Ace. Those moments are actually really solid and even the villain Lulu gets some heartfelt moments. The writing can be strong when the film wants it to be and that’s something you will definitely notice as you go through the movie.

As for Krypto as the lead character, he does a good job. He’s a fun guy to root for and uses his powers wisely. Sure Krypto may not be a team player at first but it’s easy to see why that would be the case since he has incredible abilities while the others don’t seem like they’d be able to keep up. Teamwork is great and all but if you are many times stronger than the next member then it’s easy to see why you would have a very tough time accepting that message. It just wouldn’t make sense but the other animals ultimately prove themselves and Krypto’s not a bad sport about it.

Krypto has a nice sense of humor and he’s super loyal. I really didn’t have any issues with his character. Ace gets the next biggest role from the animals and he has his serious moments which are good. He’s not quite as amusing for the comedic bits though and I never ended up liking him quite as much as Krypto. Not saying he as bad at any point but he wasn’t quite my kind of character. PB tends to be more annoying than anything throughout the movie and would be the weakest animal.

Merton wasn’t bad. Less of a role than some of the other characters but you really can’t go wrong with super speed. It’s particularly ironic since Merton is a turtle which is kind of the point. Then you have Chip with thunder abilities. From all of the pets I felt like he got the least to do here but he still helps out in the fights and such. He was a fun one to have around.

The evil pets tend to be the highlights here though. First up is Whiskers who has an incredible amount of ammo on her. She can fire rockets, guns, energy blasts, etc. She is able to get all of the heroes on the back foot there for a while and did really well considering how outnumbered she was. Whiskers’ has a fairly small role but it was a very memorable one and she really stole the show there.

Of course you also have the main villain Lulu who initially just wanted to help Lex out but after he kept on giving her the cold shoulder it was time to become a mastermind. She does well and I was glad that she decided to strike out on her own. After a while if the boss is just going to ignore you and do his own thing anyway then you don’t really owe him anything at that point. Deciding to be your own leader is really the best play and Lulu does have a genius intellect. It makes her very formidable here.

As for the humans, while they aren’t the focus they mostly still look decent. I was glad that the Justice League put up a fight even if they got wrecked. Superman is a very nice guy here and still gets the job done. It may not be his story but he still keeps his personality and looks good. Batman also gets his quick moments of looking good and fighting opponents above his level. I’d like to see a movie featuring the league more in this continuity since they seem fun as always even if that might defeat the purpose of this spinoff.

Lex Luthor doesn’t look very good though. He’s not very smart here and if he had played things even a little reasonably then he would have easily ended up on top. Lulu would have still been on his side but instead he squanders everything for no real reason. The film probably could have handled his character a lot more reasonably and the movie would have been better off for it.

Overall, The League of Super Pets is a good movie. I do feel like there are a decent amount of missed opportunities here which keep it from being great but it’s a fun ride. You’ll still enjoy the battles here and there is a lot of room for a sequel if they want to do that. There are even two scene after the credits which are solid. One is more on the important side while the other one is a fun gag relating to another movie. They work well and help to end the film on a high note. If we do get a sequel you can bet that I will be there ready to enjoy the adventure.

Overall 7/10