Tag Archives: Comedy

Manhattan Murder Mystery Review

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It’s time for an old fashioned murder mystery. The film is a comedy first and foremost but does still manage to have a body count here. The writing could use a lot of work though and the film suffers from all the usual issues of a Woody Allen film. Namely that the dialogue is laughable at best and the characters are quite weak but at least the case itself is pretty interesting.

The film starts off with Larry and Carol returning home and chatting with their neighbors. Larry finds the whole experience to be painful but Carol doesn’t want to be rude. It turns out that would be the last time they see one neighbor as she died of a heart attack. The husband is taking this as well as can be expected…perhaps too well. Carol believes that he murdered his wife and now she wants to investigate the whole thing. Larry doesn’t really want to entertain this but has no way of stopping Carol. Meanwhile both of them are being pursued by would be suitors who don’t care about their married status. Can Larry and Carol stay strong here?

So right away the film does lose out on the technical elements. The writing only succeeds in making the characters as annoying as possible. The general plot about the murder mystery is solid enough but technically tends to be more of a backdrop. I do appreciate that it gives the film more of a plot in general though as a lot of the other Allen films just tend to be rather aimless. This one also does deliver with a pretty solid climax.

The strongest part of the film is the climax which homages the James Bond film with the Golden Gun. The shootout is solid and definitely more action packed than you may have expected. There is also no real cop out at the end so it’s not like the adventure was a bad dream or anything like that. I was half expecting the film to have some crazy explanation to distance itself from the story. Not a dream but something along those lines that would have resulted in a ton of misunderstandings. After all the film is always trying to go for a certain kind of realism that I ironically think makes it end up being less realistic because most people don’t act like these characters.

As for the characters, well lets start with the most desperate ones first. Marcia and Ted. So Marcia basically just wants some action so she tries to seduce Larry but is never able to get tough to him and settles for making Carol jealous by helping out with the murder mystery. While Larry never really faltered, I do think he needed to put more space between them. Keeping yourself in a tricky situation is always a recipe for disaster.

Then we have Ted who is far worse than Marcia with how direct he is. He basically confesses to Carol in the film aside from all the obvious hintings. This guy just has no class and honestly she needed to remove him as a friend. It’s one thing to have a friend who may like you deep down but one who is this upfront about it? That’s trouble and for that reason all of the scenes make Carol look extra bad as well.

Carol even goes as far as to try and make Larry jealous about this with how she keeps comparing his lack of enthusiasm in the mystery to how Ted is jumping at every opportunity. That basically forces Larry to have to get more involved when he knows that this is a bad idea. Also since the lady is dead, the situation is different than if they thought he had kidnapped someone. In that case then you have to act even without evidence.

Larry does still tend to get the funniest scenes of the film but his jokes still miss more than they land. I just enjoy the nervous, fast talking kind of humor that he has. With good writing then the film would probably be in a pretty good spot. Larry’s take on the situation is certainly more rational than the others. He has a point that heart attacks can happen for any number of reasons and jumping to murder feels a bit drastic. Even the lying could easily be explained by the neighbor just not being comfortable enough around the main characters to spill his beans.

Now granted, everyone seems to love giving way too much information to each other in these films but this could have been an exception. A neighbor is far from being a friend or a member of the family after all. Perhaps I’m just being anti social here but I wouldn’t want my neighbors barging in with snacks and drinks to randomly start talking. Especially in the evening I’d be relaxing and playing video games by that point.

It sort of goes without saying that all of the “romance” in the film is pretty weak. I’m not even sure if you could call any of it romance. The main leads are married here even if they seem to just love taking pot shots at each other the whole time. The side characters seem to just want to claim victory but I couldn’t detect any true passion there at all. Finally with the neighbors things obviously didn’t turn out well by the end and there was some extra drama after a twist or two.

The characters end up being too easy and just try to enjoy the moment without thinking of the ramifications. These are characters who might be fun to hang out with in a very limited time frame but you could not trust them as friends at all. They will always be putting themselves into dicey situations that are absolutely going to lead to dangerous habits and tempting arenas for cheating. If you were to stick with them then you’d be doomed. In some ways I could see these films being interesting watches for people who are stuck in areas outside of civilization like posts in the Arctic. It would give you a really interesting view of society if you didn’t live in it.

Overall, This is definitely not going to be a winning film. Even though it has a bit more of a plot going on than some of the other Allen films it still ends up being more noise than anything else. The kind of film that you might have on in the background while you’re doing chores or something. The film still needs more of a central focus for me to ever even begin to start calling it a solid title. Throw in some good writing as well and then we have a chance. If you really love the Woody Allen films then this one is worth watching. At the very least it does try to have a serious climax and to the film’s credit it really does play this straight. That’s the only real piece of credit I can give to the movie though because otherwise there’s just a lot of nothing going around. You are really better off with many other slice of life type titles.

Overall 3/10

Baby Boom Review

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It’s time for one of those films that tries to explain why you don’t want to be team corporate. Unfortunately, it does not make a strong argument and the film doesn’t live up to its full potential. The ending comes across as more tragic than wholesome and you will have a hard time rooting for the characters by the end. That’s just how it goes sometimes I suppose but you do feel like the movie could have really gone for a bolder ending that would have landed a better message for the film.

The film follows JC who has had a very solid career so far. She works for one of the biggest companies in the market and is getting close to being promoted as a partner within the firm. Her personal life is going well too and so JC feels like she has conquered life. Unfortunately a distant relative dies and now JC is inheriting a baby girl. Her boyfriend says that JC should give the baby away to an orphanage but she can’t bring herself to do this. Unfortunately this baby is quickly destroying her career and everything JC has spent her life building is being knocked to the ground. Her boyfriend runs off as well and so JC realizes that she may have to restart her life in a small town. Fortunately there’s a rebound guy here but can JC really be happy away from the rat race?

Unfortunately I am going to have to start this review by defending corporate here. Her boss actually seemed like a decent guy but of course he had to cut her off from the big projects. JC completely stopped being reliable after the baby entered the picture. JC would end up being late to meetings, forgetting deadlines, etc. At first the incidents weren’t major but they kept getting worse and worse so the boss had to give JC’s junior the position instead. Now it’s clear that this junior had been waiting for the day to get all the jobs over JC but at least he wasn’t cheating or anything.

He evidently still did the work and did it correctly. So JC just needed a better balance here. It makes sense that it would be tough to deal with a kid when she has absolutely no experience but that wasn’t the company’s fault. I won’t fault JC for wanting to take care of the kid so in this case there wasn’t really a villain. Things just went the way that they were bound to in a situation like this.

The small town plot tends to fall a bit flat though and in general the second half of the film is a bit weak. So JC heads into this town but unfortunately the house that she bought was a complete dump. Nothing works and so she has to spend an enormous amount of money to fix it. Then the local vet falls for her and they hook up rather quickly. I guess the relationship with the old boyfriend wasn’t all that strong eh? JC just goes a bit too quickly here and same for the vet.

He basically says that nobody else in the town is within his age range which is probably meant to make JC feel better but it sounds to me like he’s just desperate. JC is somehow able to make her own business in this town to start getting money again and that was good. It showed that she was still a creative genius who could continue to succeed in any environment.

Now where the next issue of the film comes in is when corporate calls her over and makes an incredible offer. JC basically turns it down to prove that she doesn’t need anyone’s help and this feels like a really bad decision. Striking out on her own like this just doesn’t make any sense. In the film it is portrayed like she made the right move and that would have only worked if the offer was more narrow. The problem here is that the company went above and beyond in making an incredible offer so it just makes her look bad for rejecting it.

JC just makes it a bit hard to root for her. She’s too quick to act like a victim in all of this when she gave corporate no choice but to sack her. The romance is really weak in general but only makes her look worse when she protests a whole lot only to quickly come over to Jeff’s side. (The vet) If that’s how it was always going to be, then maybe she shouldn’t have been so antagonistic the whole time.

Then while she may have made the right move in looking after the kid, the kid was not very likable here. She was constantly getting JC into trouble like with all of the crying and throwing the toys around. JC gets more of the blame for not being able to control a toddler but there is enough blame to go around here. It was just one of those very unfortunate things. The baby may not be the main character as that would be even worse but she gets enough screentime to be annoying. The film was at its best during all of the work scenes.

Ironically I would also just say that the movie makes small towns look bad. Sure, it worked out to get together with the vet but before that we see how the whole town is super unhelpful. Nobody is too bothered by the fact that JC bought a scam house where nothing works. They all just leave her alone to her own devices and barely even offer any sympathy. I would have ditched that town so fast because it just seems like an absolute nightmare. The whole point of a small town is the strong community and I didn’t see any of that here.

Overall, Baby Boom is not really my kind of film. It is going for the classic Hallmark feel to an extent but with a bit less of an upbeat attitude. It is going for more of the “realism” angle which can work sometimes but not in this case. I also have to admit that the baby brings things down at times too. She’s just too messy and causes too many problems for JC. If the baby had just been a bit older then maybe that could have been different but as it stands she just ends up being an obstacle the whole time. Check this one out if you want to convince yourself that working for corporate is a super terrible thing. Otherwise you can do better with any of the Hallmark Christmas movies.

Overall 4/10

Knuckles Review

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It’s time to look at the Knuckles spinoff show that came out a while back. This one definitely got pretty infamous online for a bunch of reasons. After watching it, I can say that the show was pretty fun. It’s definitely very comedic with a lot of slapstick and silly moments so you definitely need to keep this in mind. It’s absolutely not a big action thriller series or anything like that. How much you enjoy the series will probably depend on what you’re looking for in this title.

The story starts with Wade losing to a little girl in bowling so Wade’s best friend fires him from the bowling team. Their friendship is effectively over now and Wade has hit rock bottom. His father ditched him at a TJ Maxx a long time ago too and Wade never really got over this. The trauma has been too much and so Wade has begun to believe the people who call him a loser. Fortunately Knuckles shows up and declares that he will help Wade win the world championship of bowling. This will help Wade get his self esteem back as well as giving him a chance to defeat his father. Will Wade be able to pull this off?

If you’re wondering why Wade showed up, he was given this mission by the elder Echidna. Knuckles had been on house arrest but this mission takes priority. It won’t be easy though because Wade really does have serious confidence issues. Technically his bowling abilities are already elite but he just needs to find a way to not choke under pressure. It’s a tougher predicament than you would expect. Also there are some villains running around who want to get Knuckles’ power. Without Sonic to bail him out, Knuckles will need Wade to step up.

So like I said, none of this is played seriously. You’ll have a serious moment sandwiched in between 10 comedic moments. How seriously you take these brief moments is really up to you since the show doesn’t seem to really be all that concerned. I would say this is the definition of an irony show. For example Knuckles will say something heartfelt, then 3 characters jump in with jokes and witty banter. Then Wade will say something heartfelt and the music swells up….only for him to throw a joke in and then everyone groans in the show.

In that way you can say that even the serious moments are a form of comedy so that just makes the show funnier. You can absolutely pick up some good messages and moments in here but they are buried several layers deep beneath the humor. Sonic has a good speech in episode 1 for example as he sits Knuckles down and gives him a good talk. I definitely did miss Sonic after that since he was gone for the rest of the show. I would have liked to have had him at least show up near the end. The show finishes pretty abruptly without any screentime and guest star appearances from the side characters.

The fight scenes aren’t bad. They aren’t played super serious either but we get a fun fight between Knuckles and Mason. Mason’s gauntlets allow him to fight on par with Knuckles in terms of physical abilities which is really pretty impressive. Now there are a lot of power level issues with the series as a whole so you will want to keep that in mind. The speed rarely ever makes any sense because somehow these guys are tagging Knuckles consistently when by all accounts he should be much faster than them. It doesn’t make sense and in a way it’s not really supposed to. All you need to know is that Knuckles has the combat speed of an average human and while his strength is pretty good, it’s nothing crazy. As long as you keep that in mind then the fights make a lot more sense all around.

While Knuckles talks a great game throughout the show, he does take his share of losses. Even by the end of the series he is soundly defeated instead of coming out on top. As strong as he is, Knuckles tends to be overconfident a lot of the time. Fortunately he has Wade there to help him out. Knuckles may not always be quick on the uptake but he’s a fun character to have around.

As for Wade, he’s essentially an Adam Sandler kind of character. He’s not very good at most things and gets pushed around a whole lot but eventually he gets up and makes everyone take notice of him. His sister constantly makes fun of him and beats the poor guy up to which Wade has no real answer. He just goes off to cry sometimes and that’s not the best way to handle that situation at all. He has delusions of grandeur and at times displays a confidence that isn’t earned but those moments tend to be fleeting.

You sort of root for Wade to at least win in bowling but even then I would put some asterisks. For example he is quick to turn on his mom just to impress his father without taking any time to think about it. He was not making the right calls there at all. It’s fine for Wade to be gullible because that’s actually rather expected to a large degree but then you can’t also have him be rude or mean in general. That’s a combination that is just not going to work.

So he’s a fun character for the messing around scenes but definitely isn’t the guy you want to have for the serious moments. As for his sister Wanda, well she makes for a fun antagonist. She really puts him through the wringer at all times. She just constantly has to make a fool out of Wade which isn’t all that hard but even goes as far as to physically attack him at times. Wade has no real answer for this and so she tends to dominate him in all of their interactions. Her personality can be a bit one note so the screentime may be a bit much after a while. This is the kind of show that is not afraid to run a joke into the ground.

Then we have Wendy who tends to be a bit oblivious. She seems nice enough but doesn’t notice when Wanda is picking on Knuckles and likes to both sides every issue. That’s not the right way to handle these kinds of issues. If anything, you could say that is definitely the wrong way to do it since that is often going to mean letting the instigator off easy. She talks tough and actually backs it up during the kitchen fight so I give her some credit there.

Now the real standout character here was Mason. He is one of the main two villains who is after Knuckles the whole time. He is super cocky and loves to make one liners/throw out insults the whole time. You want a villain like that to keep Knuckles honest. This guy is also clearly having a lot of fun with the whole situation and isn’t taking things too seriously. Another good sign if you ask me. Mason is just on a different level from the others and really did come close to beating Knuckles.

His partner Willoughby is the more serious one of the group. She’s always trying to ruin his one liners and telling him to focus. She isn’t as lethal in a fight since she uses an energy instead of gauntlets but is good at throwing the ring portals to trap her opponents. That is a huge help for any big fight because you can ring out your opponent which is what she did to Knuckles. She’s also rather ruthless like how she murdered a Gun agent near the beginning of the show.

Then we have Jack who is a bounty hunter and turns against Wade when the chips are down. He has a lot of aura to be sure but doesn’t get the most dignified finish. By the time the show is over, he has traded in a whole lot of dignity and you can tell that he won’t be getting it back. I did like his confidence though, you always want to have that at least. A part of him just figured that he would never lose to Wade in a million years and in most cases he would be right. He just let his guard down.

The final boss is a guy who doesn’t even get a name. He has a good robot that actually takes Knuckles down but that’s about all that you can say for him. The guy doesn’t have any real super powers or anything and the lack of screen time hurts him. He works as a final boss but I would have much preferred Mason just show up. There is only so much you can do with a fight against a giant robot and so naturally the climax was pretty short.

Of course for the human final boss we have Wade’s father Pete. I like how antagonistic Pete is here. He’s not some guy who feels remorseful about what he has done. No, he is someone who really wants to keep on winning at bowling no matter what. His only loyalty is to himself but he has done a good job of crafting his public persona so that everybody loves him. That takes a good amount of dedication to his craft. He is also just very skilled with how many strikes he gets in a row. This guy was definitely more of a true final boss.

While the series may be fairly standalone, it was fun to still see some slice of life Sonic adventures. We learned Knuckles’ origin through song and the show also had a large variety of popular songs. Even the classic Hero song got to appear which was definitely nice. That song will always be a true classic. So the soundtrack gets a thumbs up along with the special effects here. On a technical level, the Knuckles show absolutely succeeds.

Ultimately as long as you like comedies then you should like this one. If you don’t like comedies then it’ll be a hard pass so that should make the decision easy for you. If we ever did get a second season, well I’d definitely be checking it out. At the end of the day a show like this is easy to watch and makes for an enjoyable binge. That’s the #1 goal of any show.


Overall, Knuckles is a pretty good show. I had a lot of fun with it and you can bet that you’ll crack a smile here and there. While not all of the jokes will land, most of the ones that miss will end up being funny because of how much of a miss they were. Wade’s whole gimmick is essentially that he’s not funny so every time he tries to do something, that is what makes it humorous. He tries to get Knuckles to enjoy a lot of his songs after all and they all fall flat. In a way that takes some skill because you’d think that you would land at least a few songs. This just wasn’t Wade’s moment. Hopefully he gets a bigger role in the next Sonic movie so he can actually use his vague super powers.

Overall 7/10

My Man Godfrey Review

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It’s time for another fun movie. This one definitely goes all out with the comedy and introduces a ton of crazy characters. It ends up being a really fun adventure and doesn’t overstay its welcome. That is usually the most dangerous pitfall for any comedy film but this one sidestepped it like a champ.

The movie starts with a bunch of rich folks doing a scavenger hunt. One of the items is to find a homeless person so Cornelia goes to a dump and finds one. She offers him $5 but he doesn’t like her approach and says no. Cornelia’s little sister Irene is really impressed and the homeless man, Godfrey decides to help her win. After winning the competition, Irene hires Godfrey as her family’s butler. Unfortunately her whole family is quite eccentric to say the least and so he is going to be in for a really difficult time. In particular, Cornelia wants revenge on Godfrey for causing her to lose the competition and to fall in the dirt. He will have to watch his back.

It’s already difficult enough to get a new job as well as to be working or a rich family, but one where a certain member wants to see you fired immediately? Yeah that’s going to be an incredibly difficult task. Fortunately Godfrey is very quick witted and right from the start he is able to hold his own in terms of banter. He also doesn’t let the other characters walk all over him.

Godfrey also takes a lot of pride in being a good butler and so he doesn’t allow Cornelia’s digs to get to him. I would say that a large part of what makes the film enjoyable is what a good main character Godfrey is. The whole thing would definitely not work without him, it just would not be the same. He gets to take on all of the characters and usually comes out on top. He manages to resist all of Irene’s advances which is good because a butler shouldn’t be mixing business and pleasure.

I really appreciated his subtlety and that was a credit to him throughout. By the end of the film you could argue that things were essentially out of his control, not to mention that he wasn’t in the same position so it wasn’t as much of a problem. Up til that point though, Godfrey did well in staying one step ahead. He was also able to foil one of Cornelia’s plans really well which may have really been the turning point in his journey. If he had not been able to stop her, well it would have been quite rough for him.

As for Cornelia, well she is the big villain here. She does well in constantly insulting Irene and generally making a nuisance of herself. It’s impressive just how dedicated she is. That being said, she does seem to actually fall for Godfrey later on which really weakens her as a villain. You aren’t allowed to just weaken like that. I would have preferred that she continued to double down to the end. Perhaps she would respect Godfrey as a worthy foe but not want to be his friend or anything like that. To me that was just going a tad bit too far.

Irene initially seems like she’s actually rather normal but as the film goes on you see that she is just as crazy as the rest. She gets incredibly possessive of Godfrey and basically wants him to marry her. She seems to not really be familiar with what the role of a master/protege is. Godfrey tries to put some distance between them but it’s difficult and Irene has to consistently put on a whole production to get his attention.

Those scenes tend to be pretty fun though like when Cornelia points out how fake this all is. Irene trades threats with her a lot but you get the feeling that this is a normal occurrence and nothing ever actually happens. That’s just how this family operates. Their mother is also rather eccentric as she takes care of Carlo as a protégé. The guy’s basically a free loader who is always eating and is allergic to the word “money”. He throws a fit every time and tends to panic a lot. Irene’s father doesn’t appreciate this and never wastes any time in insulting this guy. By the end of the film he even takes a decisive step to get rid of Carlo.

The father ends up being the only really normal person in the family. He essentially works as a piggy bank to the rest of the family until they eventually bleed him dry which forces him to revisit the dynamic. The film ultimately gives all of the characters a pretty happy ending though. This is an uplifting title after all and is certainly not meant to be a downer or anything like that.

It even goes so far as to allow Godfrey to essentially end the homeless problem in his neighborhood. Now that was a pretty impressive accomplishment and certainly not one that just anybody could have done. So how much you enjoy the film will likely depend on how funny you think it is. Fortunately for me I thought that just about all of the jokes landed. The movie was consistently funny from start to finish with a lot of fun characters.

Overall, The only character who gets a bit of a sad ending here is the guy who was used by Irene in a fake engagement to get Godfrey jealous. He probably should have known better but yeah that was still a rough situation for him. The others were all having a good time though and I definitely recommend this film if you’re looking for something light to watch. I dare say that the fast paced banter and marathon’s worth of insults are even ahead of their time here. The characters are speaking a mile a minute and the dialogue stays consistently good throughout.

Overall 7/10

Uncle Buck Review

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It’s time for a classic film about what happens when all of the normal babysitters are out of town. It’s time to call in the last resort and this will either be a complete success or a total mess. There is rarely any in between when it comes to that. The movie ends up being pretty fun and was better than I expected it would be. The title’s far from perfect but makes for an all around entertaining film.

The movie starts out by introducing us to Maizy, the oldest of 3 kids and the most rebellious. She always has a bad attitude and nothing ever makes her happy. It seems like she even takes pride in always having an awful time. Well, her parents have to head off due to a medical emergency so now Uncle Buck will be the head of the household. Unfortunately for Maizy, Buck knows how to handle troublemakers. Who will win in this clash of wills?

One of the strengths of the film is in how secure Uncle Buck is. He doesn’t let any of the many jokes and wisecracks get to him. Maizy tries her passive aggressive insults at him and he just laughs them off. They clash several times and he wins virtually all of the encounters. The only time Maizy scores a win, Buck doesn’t panic and just accepts the defeat. He was determined to do a good job of watching over the kids and he succeeded.

Buck has been out of a job for a while and tends to be a bit of slob but he didn’t let that stop him as the babysitter. While Buck may not know the best ways to handle things, he does his best and comes up with creative ways to make it all work. He also cooks actual meals for the kids rather than just ordering take-out or something. What I’m getting at here is that he put in a lot of real effort and that’s part of what makes him an endearing character.

By the end of the film he has to make a lot of difficult decisions and while Buck hesitates, he makes the right calls in the end. In particular he was good about chasing Bug away and keeping him from causing too much damage to Maizy. At the end of the day it is up to her to really make the problem go away though as Buck can’t be there 24/7. Unfortunately Maizy doesn’t have a lot of sense and is easily the worst character here.

She is basically willing to do anything in order to spite Buck which is a terrible approach. Her rebellious phase went really far with how she was using Bugs as a means to an end. She really knew that he wasn’t a good guy but just kept doing whatever she wanted even when it meant leaving her two younger siblings alone. She was completely irresponsible to the max. Definitely a character who was annoying the entire time.

There’s not much to say about Bug other than the fact that he’s basically just a creep. It was nice to see Buck interrogating him the whole time and really putting some fear into him. Bug needs to be fearful so he doesn’t keep on messing around. I like to think that Buck scared him straight here. Meanwhile Maizy’s two siblings don’t get as much of a role as you might expect. Initially I though that all 3 characters would get big roles but this was really Maizy’s film by the end of it.

Miles and Tia were quickly on board with Buck so I appreciated how they adapted to the situation. They are a bit too young to be true rebels and mostly just seemed to have been copying their older sister. I think they will be in a better situation now. In general the kids tend to have a bit of a potty mouth though and it’s where the film’s script tends to be at its weakest. The lines sometimes feel rather forced like it’s just there to be shocking without really adding to the story. There are some good jokes in here too though so you could say the film has its ups and downs in that area.

The film tries to squeeze in a romance plot as well as Buck and Chanice have been going through some issues. She wants to get married already while he continues to put up resistance. It feels like one of those forced issues and I’m more on her side here. Either you are going to commit or you aren’t but there’s no sense in dragging it out. She also gets messed with by Maizy so I can’t even get upset at her for going off the rails later on. The whole dancing scene was a rough look for Buck.

Generally speaking I’d say it’s okay to dance with anyone, however since it was obvious that the neighbor was trying to seduce him, Buck had to get out of there. There aren’t any good excuses for staying there and allowing her to play these games with him. Ideally things will go well for him and Chanice now but I don’t think the film really needed this plot. I felt like it was only there to give Maizy some ammo for her singular win. Otherwise she really would not have had anything on Buck.

Overall, Uncle Buck is a pretty good film. The first area where it succeeds is in being funny. That’s a super important factor for this kind of film and so it really needed to succeed there. Outside of that the pacing is good and Buck works well as the main character. Maizy’s just annoying enough where she almost starts to drag this down with her scenes but fortunately, they aren’t quite long enough to sabotage it. If you like comedy films that aren’t afraid to get rather crazy then I would recommend this film. By the end of the film you’ll see how Buck was a better parent than the actual couple who ran off.

Overall 7/10

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review

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Mario has returned with another epic adventure. The first film was a great experience from cover to cover and I can safely say that is true of this one as well. Now I do have the first film over this one in virtually every area, however I want to emphasize that it’s very relative. This film keeps pace very well, it’s like comparing an 8.4 to an 8.2. The first wins but it’s not a landslide and so I have high hopes for the next installments here.

I feel like the trailers were intentionally vague about the plot so I’m going to do that as well. The general story introduces us to Rosalina, the most powerful princess in the cosmos and one of the strongest Mario characters in the lore. She can use the Power Cosmic to take most opponents down but a new threat has arrived to the universe, Bowser Jr. Mario and friends will have to keep him from rescuing Bowser because then the universe will truly be doomed. Mario and Luigi have their adventure while Peach and Toad tackle things from a different angle. Can they succeed?

Separating the main cast into two plots is a double edged blade because that does mean that we don’t get to see many interactions with Mario and Peach for a while. I get that this helps to prevent Peach from upstaging Mario in a combat sense but they tend to have a fun dynamic when side characters aren’t teasing Mario all the time. Unfortunately this doesn’t completely work because Peach’s plot ends up being much more interesting than Mario’s. The stakes are higher and we have some really good fight scenes in there.

Lets zoom out a bit to the film at large. The soundtrack is very good as you would expect. We have a number of Mario songs that show up from time to time. You may not have the emotionally powerful Hero song like in the first title but the film keeps you energized throughout. The pacing is very fast for this film which is always a good thing since it lets the title cover a whole lot of ground in a very short amount of time. I’ve seen 2 hour films that couldn’t cram in this much content.

The animation is really excellent just like you would expect. The characters are true to life and look like they just came out of a video game. Characters like Rosalina and Peach always have a lot of poise and elegance in their actions as well while someone like Bowser gets to look chaotic. So the film looks good and I’d also say the script is generally fun. The film is prioritizing a good time over any serious developments so I wouldn’t expect many scenes of depth compared to the first one. Mario and Peach certainly had more heartfelt moments in the first film like when Mario was worried that he couldn’t be the hero that they all needed. There is a bit of an emotional plot going on with Bowser Jr. and Bowser though. I dare say that’s probably the only plot that really hits home in that regard.

The film doesn’t delve into the horrors of crude humor either which is always good. Yes, the film can be rather silly but it’s in harmless ways. The only jokes that just didn’t work for me is the film’s obsession with messing with characters’ eyes. I dunno there’s a scene where a character’s eye gets stretched and another where one is licked and I dare say it might make you cringe just a little because of how uncomfortable it feels to see that. Not in a content warning kind of way but just in a “That was strange” kind of thing. Not to make a mountain out of a molehill but yeah sometimes the film needed to take a bit of a step back.

If the film has any issues it’s really just that it tends to run the jokes into the ground. You may find it funny for a second when Bowser is trying to play nice but ends up losing his temper. Then the joke happens again within a few seconds and you might let loose a nervous chuckle. Then it happens a third time and you’re completely over it. A similar issue happens within the first after credits scene where you have a decent gag but it just keeps going on and on. Sounds a bit odd when the film itself is so short but maybe they just wanted to really make sure that the kids understood the joke. Not a big deal, but that’s the kind of thing that separates a reasonably funny film from a hilarious one.

In general Bowser’s portrayal is on the weaker side here. They lean way too far on him just being absolutely wishy washy. He goes through too many character arcs here to the point where it weakens him. The film needed to either lean one way or the other and as you watch the film you’ll see what I mean. He’s just trying to be too many things at once and is a decent reason why the Peach plot was more interesting.

Bowser Jr. is definitely a highlight here. This is easily one of his best portrayals and the guy can really fight. He’s shown to be considerably more powerful than Mario and Luigi. Based purely on this film he may be the most powerful character in the film series. Typically the heroes have to rely on him getting careless in order to really make a dent. There are some other villains like a snitch but for the most part this is Bowser Jr’s show with Bowser as more of a sidekick.
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For the heroes, well Mario is a solid lead as always. He’s your well rounded every man who is doing his best to save the day and be a hero. Mario is very confident at this point without being a braggart and gets the job done. In a way you sympathize with his just wanting to have good friends while everyone’s teasing him about getting a girlfriend. Mario isn’t in any rush no matter how much the other characters pester him.

Luigi is solid as well since his scaredy cat persona isn’t played up too much. Asid from a joke near the beginning of the film, it’s really not that relevant. He gets a good hit on Bowser Jr during the opening fight and in general gets a lot of great lines. He’s sort of portrayed as the witty bro in this dynamic with Mario and I like that approach.

Yoshi gets quite a lot of screentime and is a fun addition to the cast. I do wish he could talk though as it would open up a whole lot of other possibilities for the character. Regardless, I was satisfied here and he got a lot of good moments. My only nitpick would be how he is written out of the final fight. It would have made way more sense to let him get involved and even in a power level sense would have been good.

Power level issues don’t tend to hurt a film’s score and this one is no exception. However, it is certainly noticeable how the writers didn’t really care about power levels at all. Mario and Luigi consistently look very weak and out of their league in any encounters with the big villains and then suddenly in the climax they are looking way better than they should. If you always thought that Bowser was stronger than Mario, a decent amount would agree. Mario usually wins through his resourcefulness and agility. If you said Bowser Jr was stronger than Mario, well people would probably laugh, but perhaps not so much after this film.

I have to be honest though, Rosalina’s role is a little disappointing here. The character herself looks great. She has a lot of confidence and tremendous ability as you would expect. She has a ton of power and experience so I have absolutely no issues there. Unfortunately she just doesn’t get as much time to show off as she should and there is one scene that absolutely makes her look far weaker than she should be at this point in her career. From a plot perspective it makes sense to write her out but this was not the way to do it. There are two dicey instances for her, the first not being as bad as the second but they’re both rough.

Meanwhile Peach looks great but runs into a similar issue. She is simply too powerful. The films always have to find ways to avoid her being in the big rumbles so this one also has a reason to keep her out of the final climax. It’s a shame too because I feel like she would be able to dish out a whole lot of damage. In this film we see her take on a whole army and she has some of the best physical feats in the film. In terms of brute strength it’s almost like she is up there with Bowser. The film may be called Super Mario Galaxy but by the end you end up wanting a Peach film so we can really see her fight at length.

The film also has some guest stars and while Nintendo themselves spoiled this in a poster, I’m not going to do that. I’ll just say that the main guest star is a lot of fun. I was just a little disappointed that he did not get a single fight scene. That didn’t make sense. Yes, he’s far more powerful than any Mario character so you don’t want him to trivialize the whole thing but a single fight scene could have still worked. There are other quick easter eggs and fun characters running around so you should keep your eyes sharp. Each moment is a whole lot of fun.

The film has two after credit scenes here and as per usual you have the comedy one and the plot one. The comedy one’s okay, you might crack half a smile before the scene starts to drag on and you just shake your head. The second scene is excellent though. It gives me a lot of hope for the third film to the point where I dare say it will end up being the best one in the series. Unless the series really messes up, this will be tremendous!

If I had just one item on my wishlist for the next film, it would be for Nintendo to let the characters take more actual damage in the next film. While the fights look really good here, there does tend to be a bit of a floaty vibe throughout. You don’t really feel the damage half the time and the characters are more or less still at full power by the end of each engagement. Give us an emotional scene with Mario using the last bits of strength to deal the finishing blow to the opponent. I think you can do this in a way that’s not too scary for the kids while still being impactful. Just look at the Sonic films. They target a similar audience but are a million times more intense and have crazy good plot developments within them. I know it’s not realistic to try and pass the Sonic films but you can try to be on that track.

Overall, This is definitely a great film. Yes, it may be less ambitious than the first film in terms of adding in really emotional moments and serious stakes but it makes up for that with fun. Someone once said that the film has amusement park pacing and while that is usually seen as an insult, I take it as a complement. The movie is always moving forward and is not interested in taking any breaks. It will just keep on going full speed and you’ve gotta respect that. I’ll be here week 1 for the next film as soon as it’s ready and I definitely recommend watching this one right away.

Overall 8/10

The Emperor’s New Groove Review

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It’s time for a fairly quick animated adventure. The Emperor’s New Groove is what you would call a basic film that has a good amount of comedy in it and fun characters. You’re not going to get your next award winning classic here or anything like that but it’s all pretty good stuff. At the end of the day, the movie is satisfied being at this level and there’s nothing really wrong with that. It even beats some of the more ambitious titles.

The main character is Kuzco, the young emperor. He is incredibly spoiled and doesn’t care about anyone but himself. This allows him to easily fire anyone and displace whoever he wants in the various villages. So long as he is happy, then nothing else matters. It is easy to see why nobody likes him. One day, he fires Yzma, an old lady who had been getting a little too power hungry. Kuzco underestimated just how much she wanted power though as he gets poisoned by her and turned into a llama. Her assistant Kronk was supposed to murder him but instead Kuzco finds himself at the poor village where Pacha lives.

Kuzco had previously told Pacha that he was going to wreck the man’s village so that he could have a summer home. Yet now Kuzco must rely on Pacha’s generosity if he is going to survive the journey back to his castle. Can Pacha convince Kuzco of the error in his ways or will this emperor be stubborn all the way until the end? The character arc itself here is pretty straight forward. You will just need to see if the film can really convince you of his personality shift within 70 minutes. That’s a rather tall order after all, especially when he starts off by being so antagonistic.

Now, with Kuzco’s very life hanging in the balance you can choose instead to think that his big character shift is really out of self preservation. It’s not really the film’s message but it can work out. While Kuzco is a total jerk for a lot of this, he’s a pretty fun one so I was still able to enjoy him as the main character. He is also able to break the 4th wall on more than one occasion. It would have probably been good to have let him start having some heroic moments earlier on in the film though. That would have made the character arc a little smoother.

Pacha is the other main character here as he tries to help Kuzco be more heroic but it is an uphill battle. It is really difficult to work with this guy but Pacha does his best to always be patient. He should have been honest with his wife about the possibility of losing their house at the start though. If he wasn’t able to pull off this journey then she would have been really taken by surprise. You always want to be representing a united front here. Pacha doesn’t have a ton of character beyond wanting to do the right thing though. It also feels like he isn’t quite as upset with Kuzco as he should be.

I get being good natured but he really takes it to some extremes. On the villains’ side we have a solid duo. The main villain is Yzma and she has been through a lot. Kuzco is always insulting her appearance and in her old age she doesn’t have much of a counter to this. She has lived with a lot of resentment for years and so she is finally making her move now. She can be distracted easily and has to put up with Kronk’s mistakes but still ends up being a compelling villain. She is rather effective with how many strides she makes during the film. She really took all of the characters to the brink and ultimately just needed to finish the emperor off herself. If she had done that near the beginning of the film then everything would have played out very differently.

Then we have Kronk who is a lot of fun. This guy may not be the smartest around but he has a lot of talents under his belt. The guy is a great conversationalist, has a terrific memory, and he is even a great cook. So while Kronk may not be the best at recognizing sarcasm or hidden nuances to a plan, he gets the job one. He’s also just a nice guy in general who unfortunately is loyal to a fault. If he had been working for a hero the whole time then I have no doubt that he would have made for a good ally.

Now it does feel like a bit of an excuse to say that he’s only a villain because of Yzma. At the end of the day he is still making his own decisions and is responsible for all of them. Hopefully after the events of this film, he will be someone that is more reliable as a hero or at least someone who isn’t actively helping in assassination planning.

The songs are okay in the film but I wouldn’t say that any of them stood out. They’re okay and catchy enough while you’re watching the film but you won’t exactly be looking any of them up on Youtube afterwards. I thought the animation was pretty good though. It’s all very smooth and consistent the whole time. The colors are also very striking outside of the animation itself. So on this area the film definitely managed to hold its own.

It’s a very safe style of animation. Like the rest of the film, it isn’t anything groundbreaking but is still solid all the way around. The writing is also solid with a lot of good banter and jokes going around the whole time. The pacing is quick and that’s part of what makes this an easy watch. It’s the kind of movie where you can just turn off your brain and enjoy it. There are no scenes that will make you shake your head or anything like that. It’s just a lot of fun and that’s the most important element of any movie.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film. There’s a lot of appeal here with just how fun and fast the humor is. I always enjoy a film with good banter and due to the premise you have the two main characters enjoying a lot of that throughout. The villains even have their own comedic dynamic going on. Naturally you do need to be a fan of a good comedy adventure in order to like this film but that goes with the territory. Since the film is well crafted, you never feel like you are missing out on a more serious adventure. We even get a reasonably intense climax here. So if you haven’t seen this film yet because you’re worried that it won’t be able to hold its own with other titles, I wouldn’t worry about that. The movie can stand on its own.

Overall 7/10

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Review

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I’m always up for a good romance title. When handled well you get to really enjoy seeing the characters get closer along with the solid pacing throughout. That being said, executing the story on a high level is always going to be the toughest part. I am glad to say that this anime was able to pull it off though. It is a well rounded show with a good cast and I didn’t really have any issues with it.

The story follows a guy named Rintaro who works at his parents bakery. He has had a tough time growing up as everyone was afraid of him. That made it extremely difficult to make any friends. Now he finally has some friends but still doesn’t really know how to open up to them. These things just don’t come naturally to him but one day he meets a girl named Waguri from a rival school and begins to like her. Rintaro now has a reason to break out of his shell and learn more about how to interact with people. Is Waguri the one who will brighten his life forever?

You might wonder why the rival school thing matters but its actually a pretty big plot point in this one. His school is seen as a place for violent delinquents while hers is for upper class women. Both schools are taught to resent the other one right away and so the students have learned this attitude as well. As the series goes on, the students realize that there isn’t a point to this rivalry and that the students from each school are actually good.

This series is also shamelessly optimistic at all times and that makes for a refreshing watch. Put it this way, if there is a dramatic scenario you can always expect the best possible outcome to happen in this show. It’s pretty nice as a change of pace since that’s not always the case. This is what you can really refer to as a comfort watch. Everything just works out and all of the main characters are very wholesome. They get to go to the beach, study together, etc. It’s the kind of life that many will find nostalgic from their childhood days or will be the kind of life that others have only imagined. That’s not to say there’s never any danger as we do get the occasional creep who has to be knocked out. Those instances are few and far between though.

This is a plot based show as Rintaro and Waguri get closer throughout the 13 episodes but it has a slice of life feel to it. Each episode will just continue their day to day adventures so there isn’t much more to say on the story side of things. Lets talk about Rintaro. He’s your classic nice guy who has a hard time sharing his own burdens. He’s always there to help his friends but they get upset that he doesn’t let them do the same. I can definitely sympathize with that problem because the whole point of helping your friends is to reduce their worries. It starts to defeat the purpose if you are adding onto them right after that. It may not be equal, but it does make sense.

Rintaro learns how to speak his mind as the series goes on like actually initiating a call with Waguri and asking his father how to bake a cake. Rintaro makes significant strides as the series goes on and it’s something that you always like to see. I’d say the final step would be to see him be ready to fight to protect his friends. Instead of always waiting for his friends to do it, there’s a time when you have to be proactive about that too. Still, I have no real problems with him on the whole. Rintaro is a good main character who really gets the job done as needed.

Then we have Waguri as the main heroine who is also a bit on the shy side but definitely has more bravery than Rintaro initially. She stands tall to defend him even when she is physically attacked and she was the one who kept on going to his parents’ bakery in order to meet him. She is the one who made sure that the pieces were all together and that’s not an easy thing to do. She still gets embarrassed which is normal when entering a relationship but is always able to come out on top.

I definitely like the fact that Waguri knows how to eat a good amount. She doesn’t try to hold back when in front of the others or anything like that. She just goes all out. It’s not that she is totally oblivious to things or doesn’t have her own insecurities but she pushes past them and always has on a brave face. So she gets a lot of credit there and without her making the first move in so many situations, the story would definitely not have progressed. This season is mainly about Rintaro’s friends so we won’t see most of Waguri’s until the next season. That said, her best friend does get to have a role.

Subaru has always done her best to protect Waguri. She serves as a shield to protect her from all things. It’s an especially tough thing to do because Subaru doesn’t feel comfortable around guys. So she steps out of her comfort zone in order to protect her friend. Subaru definitely ends up being one of the better characters as a result. Her character arc is also a bit similar to Rintaro’s in that she has a hard time speaking her mind. She tends to just follow the group and tries not to be a nuisance. Of course they’d prefer if she did speak and these issues mainly come from her own head. It’s another instance where it would be better for her to just speak up but it’s tough to overcome those mental hurdles.

Fragrant Flower does a great job of exploring these realistic scenarios. Some people just tend to get way too introspective and overthink everything. Then you have other characters who appear to just go through life without thinking much when that isn’t even the case. Often times from Rintaro’s perspective, it looks like Waguri is not nervous and just having a blast but when we cut to her POV, she is just as nervous as he is. They have different ways of showing their feelings is all.

Saku is one of Rintaro’s main friends who is around and is always ready to defend the main lead. Saku is a bit quiet himself but always finds his courage when it comes time to go up against any bullies. He’s another great character but of course just about every character in this series is great. So that should come as no surprise. He may be the most perceptive of the characters as he is quick to try and make Subaru feel like part of the group when she is lagging behind the others. He may not always have a ton of tact but he means well.

Then we have Shohei who is the most outgoing member of the group. He is constantly having a good time and is ready for endless parties. At first he may seem to just be oblivious to everything but really he is just good at looking at the positive side of things. It’s hard to actually get him down but when he makes a mistake, Shohei owns up to it. He’s the kind of friend that you definitely want to have by your side. You always want to have someone like that on your side to brighten up the room and cut through the awkward parts.

Yorita has the smallest role from the 3 main friends so far. In some ways he may be the most possessive friend as he goes absolutely nuts when people badmouth Rintaro. In another series you may expect him to be the friend who goes rogue but in this case I’d say it’s just to show how passionate he is. This is not a guy who will just turn the other cheek when it comes to his friend. He really treasures his friendship with Rintaro and is always glad to see it progress like when Rintaro finally starts to open up to him and the others.

Then we have Rintaro’s parents who are both really solid characters. His father doesn’t get too much to do until the end but we see that he quietly works very hard. He is passionate about the bakery and has always given Rintaro a very long leash. His family leadership style is all about trust and you can’t really go wrong there. Rintaro’s mother is also very supportive and was glad to see Rintaro making friends. She even dyed her hir so that he wouldn’t feel alone when Rintaro had made the decision to do so.

It’s easy to see how Rintaro became such an upstanding person with such great parents at his side. So like I said, the series is super wholesome. The characters all feel very real with their strengths and weaknesses while trying to do their best. Nobody is actively trying to hurt someone else and when there are misunderstandings, they talk them out. The series is a lot more mature than its average rival in that respect. Things don’t tend to get super dramatic and everything feels like a moment that you could experience in real life.

The only part of the show that feels completely out of tone with the rest is when Waguri is attacked at night by the bakery. The rest of the series is so safe that it feels weird to see actual villains like this running around with rather serious threats. It was good that they got taken down and were beaten up later on. The scene doesn’t ultimately change much so it’s not like you needed it there, but it was used as a way for Rintaro’s friends to know that he was still hiding things.

The animation for the show is pretty good. It’s nothing amazing, I would say basically average in all areas. Romance titles don’t need a whole lot of animation so that’s fine. Animation that is out of this world can help to enhance a title like with Kaguya sama but it’s not like this is really needed. So long as the animation isn’t bad then I don’t have any real problems here. The soundtrack is also a bit on the bland side. So the writing and characters have to carry the series on this journey because the technical elements aren’t going to do it.

The show has fast pacing throughout and so it never gets boring. That would be the only risk for a series like this and that never even comes close to happening. I would say a big part of that is just how likable the characters are. I also just tend to like wholesome adventures like this. Finally, the show’s romance is one that I can actually get behind. There are no rebounds here and the romance is a slow burn. The characters get to know each other first before officially dating. They don’t try to fake it as just being friends or anything like that. From the first meeting, it was generally with the mindset that they could become boyfriend/girlfriend if everything turned out well. Now I may get skeptical for some other romances that may pop up but this main one is really good.


Overall, The Fragrant Flower is a pretty good title. It has a lot of replay value and is just a fun show to watch. It executes on a good level across all areas. There isn’t really anything negative to say about the series and the premise is something that could be stretched across many seasons. When a show like this can even have a great beach episode without a hint of fanservice, then you know it is operating on a high level. The show doesn’t fall into any of the classic traps and is instead focused on delivering a strong story with quality writing. It doesn’t need any lazy hooks to get viewers in because the writer is confident on the product. I definitely hope this gets a season 2 soon and would recommend this to anyone looking for a upbeat show.

Overall 7/10

Violent Night Review

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This review is of the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a film thar really lives up to its name. If you wanted to watch a really violent Christmas film, well then you’re in the right place. It’s mainly played up for comedy but gets quite extreme as the film goes on. There are definitely a lot more misses than positives in this title but I really appreciated how some of the underlings performed in the fights.

The movie starts by introducing us to Jason and Linda whose relationship is on the rocks. They thought they could make things work but have now given up. This last Christmas party will be their last one together. The big issue between them is Linda feels like Jason always defers to his rich mother and worries too much about money. We’re not given a ton of context here since that part of the plot isn’t super important but Jason doesn’t deny any of it so this seems to be true. So the two of them head to the party with their daughter Trudy and have to tolerate all of their rich family members who hate each other. They are all just here for the mother’s money. Unfortunately a group of crooks with a whole lot of insider knowledge show up to steal all of the money. The only one who can stop them…is Santa Clause.

Yes, in this universe Santa Clause is real. He is very jaded with the job though and doesn’t really like humanity anymore. This was going to be his last job but unfortunately he is inside the house when the robbers attack and his reindeer fly away. Santa will have to find a way to escape but it won’t be easy. Additionally, his conscience isn’t too happy about this because Trudy is on the nice list and shouldn’t die here. Santa used to be a fighter over 1000 years ago…does he still have the skills?

Now you may wonder about how people don’t know that Santa is real when he is leaving presents. Well, the film actually explains that a little. He doesn’t give presents to literally everyone, just the people who really need him. I take that to mean families with a lot of dysfunction where they either wouldn’t notice a present or would assume someone else got it. As a result, the secret of Santa is safe. They don’t really get into the logistics of how he visits everyone in a single night but I guess we can go with the time displacement approach where every house is in its own pocket dimension on Christmas where these events happen simultaneously.

Santa’s magical abilities are a bit all over the place and in the film he mentions that he doesn’t really know how they even work. That is a good way to make sure that he isn’t too overpowered. As a result Santa is actually on the defensive for a good chunk of the film. He was being absolutely dominated by the first opponent and then also had a really tough time against the second one. I actually liked this because often times the minions are shown to be incredibly disposable when realistically they should be putting up some kind of a fight right? So that was pretty impressive and those fights had quite a bit of back and forth to them.

Santa’s character arc is also a classic although they may have went a little too far in how jaded they made him. He gets some pretty rough scenes early on like with how drunk he is and throwing up. There isn’t a ton of crude humor here but that was a tough scene for him to rebound from. The film’s writing can be a bit of a mixed bag as well here. The film has some great lines like “Santa’s coming to town” and when Santa is announcing all of his lines. Scrooge also gets some really good ones as the villain. Basically this is the kind of film that is going to wow you with some of the dialogue, but you do have to ignore that everybody talks like a sailor. They all swear up a storm constantly So that does make the script a bit weak even with all of the big moments.

Now where the film does unfortunately lose me is when the violence gets cranked up to 100. This is easily one of the most violent films I’ve seen in a minute, I dare say it may even pass John Wick in this area. Yes, the violence is played for laughs but there is still a whole lot of it and it is unrelenting. The whole climax is basically a contest to see how violently characters can die. It’s not even just Santa’s onslaught but the home alone subplot with Trudy goes for the most painful moments possible. You’ve also got one guy getting attacked by the nutcracker which was another brutal moment. This definitely hurt the film quite a bit with how excessive this is. It needed to be toned down.

The film is at its best when it’s just having fun with the concepts. Just letting people adapt to the idea of Santa and watching him crush everyone. The film doesn’t take itself overly serious and that’s a good thing. A wacky concept should have a wacky execution and that will let the whole thing flow really well. Without all of the ultra violence this would have definitely been a lot higher. Now if you’re not too squeamish, then this should still be an absolute W for you.

There are obviously going to be some power level issues here but of course you’re not meant to take it too seriously. Scrooge makes for a really good villain because after watching Santa massacre everyone, he is still prepared to fight to the end. Now that is a brave villain and it’s nice to see one who is willing to fight to the end like that. It’s something that you don’t see all that often in a film like this. He also does now how to fight pretty well considering how close he came to winning.

Personally I’m not too interested in Santa’s past so I’d prefer that the sequel focuses on the future but we’ll see how it goes. There are a decent amount of plot points ready for the sequel and there are a ton of different directions the movie can go. Maybe even introduce another legend for Santa to fight. This could be a proper cinematic universe if they want to go down that route although I imagine a lot of the companies will be squeamish about this.

Now most o the characters are annoying but I’ll give Trudy props for not ending up like the others. She’s still trying to be a good kid and do the right things. She knows how to defend herself and assists Santa throughout the movie. She surpasses most kid characters in this regard because they tend to get in the way while she is actively helping out. She definitely gets a passing grade in my book.

There isn’t really much saving the other characters. Jason may have had a big plan but he shouldn’t have let the marriage get to such a negative point in the first place. Meanwhile Linda is okay and we don’t know how much of this is on her but she wasn’t really helping matters. From all of the unlikable family members, Gertrude is easily the best one because of how smug and overconfident she is. I can really appreciate that in a character, particularly in a villain. She is able to hold her own with the banter for quite a while there.

Overall, Violent Night is a film that is having a lot of fun with the concept. The film is extremely violent and there are a lot of things happening at all times. On one hand I think the film does a pretty good job of living up to the name but on the other that is pretty much what doomed it. The film just gets way too excessive at different points. The script could have also used a lot of work. There is some novelty to be had with watching this film but ultimately, I would end up giving it a thumbs down. This will not end up being the next Die Hard classic.

Overall 3/10

Barefoot in the Park Review

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Uh oh, it’s time for a romance film. Usually that means you are about to be seeing a really weak romance but of course the film could surprise us? Nah that doesn’t really happen here. There is a good amount of humor within the film but it also gets hurt by some of the characters being really unlikable. It’s the classic example of a film that is pretty fun for most of the adventure but does end up running out of steam before the ending.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Corie and Paul who have just gotten married. Things are going really well for them and right away we see the contrast in personalities here. Corie loves trolling Paul and putting him in embarrassing situations while Paul pretends not to enjoy it too much and so they’ve had a great bond. Well, their bond gets put to the test when they move into Corie’s apartment on the 6th floor which has no heating, almost no room, and no elevator service. Paul isn’t in particularly good shape and so walking up the 5 flights is a real struggle. They also have to deal with an upstairs neighbor named Victor who is not particularly subtle with his flirting towards Corie. How will things turn out?

First off, I will say that the comedy in the film is pretty impressive. I enjoy the banter between the characters and also think that Corie has a good sense of humor. Yes, most of her jokes do have the potential to get Paul punched out or in serious trouble but the high stakes nature of the jokes are what makes them work. I also think those jokes are not really a bad idea at all in strengthening their relationship.

The film also gets a lot of leverage out of the 6th floor part. It’s hard to see why it’s such a big deal to walk up all those flights but I can overlook that because the various jokes are just funny. Then we have Paul trying to keep up with Corie’s energy even if it means trying strange foods. You definitely feel bad for him there because that is a real struggle all the way around.

Now for the romance, it starts out good but does take a tumble by the end. Their relationship should not have been so easy to crush. Surprisingly the film doesn’t really go for the jealousy card with Victor here but instead plays up that Paul feels like a stiff compared to Corie. When she basically admits to that, then they go through a lot of troubles which only resolve with Paul having to play the fool for a bit. Jestermaxing as the kids would say nowadays.

I didn’t think that was a good resolution. For starters, it does play into Corie actually feeling that way to an extent. I would have preferred her to come to the realization that she wants a guy who is very steady and not going to get drunk and such. Have her tone down her own behavior a bit. My biggest issue with the film was how she would act around Victor. It’s one thing to be friendly but I thought she was a bit overboard with him. Victor would really get away with flirting and the way he helped her get down from the AC was absolutely fresh.

The film is mainly content to never make Victor out to be the villain but I would have liked Paul to put him in his place. Boundaries are always important to consider. I say this as someone who does hold the unpopular opinion that you can have really close friends of the opposite sex at all times. Whether married or not, there are wholesome friendships to be had but that is precisely why you need boundaries. If your friend is genuine, then they will respect them and everyone will have a great time.

Then we have a whole subplot where Corie tries to set up her mother Ethel with Victor. Setting someone up on a blind date is always a bad thing to do here and then to see it work can be rather annoying. Victor is introduced as a character with quite the reputation of getting around so why would this possibly be a good idea?

You have to assume that it all works out but it is a strong assumption all the way through. Ethel was a good character though. Romance aside, she did her best to be supportive of Corie and Paul the whole way through. There were plenty of opportunities for her to complain about things like the way the apartment looked but she tried to find the positive side of things.

As for Paul, he mainly did good but unfortunately looks bad at the end when he gets super drunk. Essentially he was trying to prove that he could be fun but in that instant he lost the high ground. I would have preferred that he stuck to his guns and eventually Corie would realize why he was a good man. Some mistake the ability to get drunk and go to clubs as being a fun person when you don’t need any of that. The ability to have fun without being intoxicated is a much more honorable trait.

So the film was pretty solid but really just fumbled when the plot had to get serious. The film probably felt like it needed to have some drama to end things off but this was the wrong way to do it. It just came at the expense of both characters and that’s never a good thing. Additionally, pretty much every scene with Victor just came across as annoying. I would have much preferred that the film be built around the apartment and that’s where the fun comes from. You could have both characters arguing over how the apartment should look and that would easily have enough material for a whole film.

Overall, This is a film that’s pretty fun but does get hurt quite a bit by the end. The end is ultimately what will leave the biggest impact on you so that was a really rough way to go. If you do like a classic comedy-romance then you should probably still check this one out. Just be prepared to see a whole lot of wasted potential here as the film focuses far too much on Ethel and Victor who try to take over the film. You just want to get back to the main duo but they don’t get much of a chance by the middle portion since it leads right to the big fight for the climax. It was a fresh change of pace to have the characters married from the start though rather than waiting until the very end.

Overall 4/10