Tag Archives: Comedy

The Sandlot Review

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The Sandlot is one of those films that I would say has not aged very well. It ends up being more annoying than anything with all of the kids being rather obnoxious. The whole time you are waiting for them to change into better characters and it doesn’t really happen. Hey, they’re all rather young so you can cut them some slack but even so, I just expected better out of these guys. There’s also not enough baseball here which definitely hurts.

The movie starts with Scott moving to a new town again. It’s been rather tough for him to make friends as a result but he gives it his best effort. He heads to the local park where the kids are playing Baseball and tries to fit in but the problem is that he doesn’t actually know how to play. They eventually teach him and now they’re all one big unit. The question is, are they good influences…or bad ones?? Only time will tell.

Okay so right out of the gate the biggest problem here is that none of the kids are likable. They’re all super annoying and constantly getting into trouble. It’s quite telling that they were all super mean to Scott until he learned how to play. The main kid had to rig the game to have the others even give him a shot. It makes you wonder how many other kids they bullied. Yeah Scott was no good at the game but it’s still not a reason to be mean like that.

Then we have the whole lifeguard scene which is the low point of the film. The kid pretends to drown and tricks her which all of the other kids find to be hilarious and even something to be admired. No, that’s just an awful moment and shows that all of the kids are morally bankrupt. It’s just rough and you know that these kids could and should do better. So the film is ticking all of the wrong boxes here and it’s tough because they be getting away with all of this with no real repercussions. That’s another problem right here. If they were getting punished or yelled at then they could at least have some character development but that never happens.

The film also takes the low road of crude humor later on. We have kids barfing and it’s definitely not what you’re trying to see here. These scenes don’t exactly enhance your cinematic experience. Again, where’s the character development? Where are the fun scenes? They are nowhere to be found. To really show that the kids haven’t learned much about being responsible, Scot steals his step father’s baseball with a super rare signature. Things don’t go very well there and the whole thing was Scott’s fault.

I wasn’t super thrilled with how the ending played out. The chase scene with the big dog could have been fun but the whole time you are worried that the dog is going to get injured and of course he does. So that’s just writing in a terrible scene. The dog was really cool and I liked how much power he had in every scene but he should have ended the climax without any real injuries. Now that would have been a good way to close things out. At least I will say that the montage of coming up with ideas to get past the dog was easily the best part of the film. This was a time where the film was actually entertaining even if it wasn’t for long.

I already mentioned the most of the worst moments of the film so I guess all I can say about this is that otherwise the film just could get kind of boring. You weren’t as invested in the various characters and scenes as you could have been because of the characters. Even when they picked a fight with another group, I was rooting for them to lose because in the banter I felt like the main characters were being a lot meaner about it.

Another issue with the climax of the film is how things went for the neighbor. He’s a nice guy to be sure but losing his prized possession ball to give to some irresponsible kids wasn’t great. I know the step Dad will take good care of it but the neighbor is the one who really earned it. I know it’s supposed to be more on the heart warming side but I thought it was just plain annoying. The kids didn’t really deserve that.

Most of the film is also really focused on the kids so the subplot about Scott feeling awkward around his Step Dad doesn’t get a lot of focus. On one hand he is hoping to bond so they can be friends but on the other hand Scott is really bad at the whole Baseball thing at first. The fact that he can’t even throw is rather rough since he runs the ball over. I don’t think Bill hit Scott in the face with the ball on purpose though. Bill could have been gentler and better with the throws but I think generally he just wasn’t sure how to teach at all. He was also just shocked at how bad Scott was. Usually you at least have some fundamentals but this time he didn’t.

The only good kid in the film is Benny. He never makes fun of Scott and really helped him to fit in from the start. He stayed humble all the way through even though he was the best player. Benny was the only one brave enough to confront the dog in the end and he has a real sense of responsibility. He almost felt out of place next to all of the other kids who could only think about their own agendas. So yeah I wanted to give him a shoutout because in all fairness he was a legitimately good character.

Overall, The Sandlot isn’t really my kind of film and that’s to be expected. Generally I am not a big fan of coming of age type movies. Usually that’s because a film like this is pretty much guaranteed to have annoying characters. Part of the whole point is to have the characters learn some lessons about life as they grow up. That’s great, it means that the ending should usually be good but you will also have to be enduring the main cast for the whole film leading up to that which is a much taller order. It’s just not going to work because a film should be good for most of its scenes, not just at the very end. That’s where this one falters big time.

Overall 3/10

Robin Hood Review

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Robin Hood is one of those franchises that I’ve never really been into. The concept of a hero who steals from the rich to give to the poor is a fun one. It’s like a vigilante who is redistributing the wealth as he sees fit. Fortunately the rich people are usually super corrupt and awful or else there would be a lot of moral issues with this. That being said, the animated film has a lot more fun with the concept than the other movies. It’s easily the definitive Robin Hood film if you ask me.

The film starts off by introducing us to Robin Hood who has outsmarted the authorities yet again. He’s been doing this for years and is an expert at escaping although the cops are slowly getting a little better. Robin Hood intends to keep up this life for a while but he ends up falling for Lady Marian and wants to impress her now. What better way than messing with the corrupt royalty and embarrassing them at every turn? The dangerous part of this is the higher up he goes in the food chain, the more forces they will arm up to stop him. Has he just stirred up a hornet’s nest?

Right off the bat I thought the animation was really good. Everything looks sharp and super vibrant from the quick character motions to the backdrops. There is a lot of attention to detail here. There also isn’t a lot of songs for a musical type film but I did like one of the villain’s songs. That was definitely good. On a technical level this film holds up extremely well. It’s why I like this kind of animation style because it never goes away or gets stale. Instead in 20 years it will still look as good.

Then we have the writing which has a lot of clever dialogue the whole time. The banter between all of the characters is really solid. The only one that is a bit try hard is the main villain who is super incompetent and that’s his entire gimmick. He gets suckered all the time while his poor snake ally is constantly trying to help him out. I would have liked the Prince to have been ever so slightly more competent. I get the dynamic they were going for here but it’s not the most entertaining one because it is so lopsided. Give Robin Hood a little more competition against a foe who is more skilled and then we can really be talking.

The Sheriff was a great villain though. He has a masterful scene where he really takes it to Robin Hood. So Robin is disguised as a panhandler and is asking for money. So the sheriff expertly tosses a gold coin into his cup at the perfect angle to also cause his second gold coin to fall out of the cup. So as a result the sheriff has both coins while Robin Hood has none. Hood had his own plan and gets his immediate revenge but I thought that was brilliant. It was the most memorable scene to me after I had finished the film. You just don’t forget a moment like that. I wish he had been the main villain of the whole thing.

John just couldn’t compete. I liked his snake partner though even if he was mostly just taking Ls the whole time. Robin Hood’s partner John was fun enough. I don’t think he ever becomes quite as entertaining as Robin Hood was but he’s still nice enough. It’s always important to have at least one friend on your journeys or you will really feel very alone. As for the heroine Marian, she was nice enough. I may say that the romance in the film was a bit cheesy at times but at least it wasn’t all that rushed. A lot of time passes by over the course of the film and it helps this romance to beat the average one. I still wouldn’t call it the gold standard of anything but it doesn’t bring the movie down.

I would say the most effective part of the film is just that it’s a lot of fun. A lot of times in a Robin Hood movie the main issue is that it can be a bit boring. Sometimes they will also fall into the trap of animal violence but the mot common issue is that it’s just not very interesting and that’s a really bad position to be in. When you’re boring then it is very hard to save the film. This one dodged that immediately with the really solid humor. Most of the jokes really land here.

I would say that the animation helps to back up the jokes because the really expressive style just works really well. It still would not be enough on its own but when you add everything up then it is really a winning formula. I still won’t be all that hyped if there’s an announcement for a new Robin Hood film but if the announcement is that this one in particular is getting a sequel then I would be on board with that. That would have some real potential and the premise lends itself well to sequels. There’s no reason you would ever really have to stop making Robin Hood movies. You could even have Lady Marian join in as a partner/sidekick on his future missions.

Overall, Robin Hood is a pretty good film and I would recommend checking it out. The pacing is on point and the whole movie really flies by. I suppose it helps that the film is really short in general so it’s not like it was going to drag on either way. The film is well crafted and a lot of effort was clearly put into it. It really does its best to try and convince you that Robin Hood is actually a good franchise. If all of the films were like this one then I suppose is would be a really good one.

Overall 7/10

The Day Naruto Became Hokage Review

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It’s time for a piece of Naruto history that was always rather controversial. What if Naruto actually messed up on the biggest day of his life and didn’t make it to his own Hokage coronation ceremony? The thing that he has been striving for his whole life! Surely the reason he couldn’t make it must be absolutely massive like an alien invasion right?….hmmmm. Well it was definitely an intriguing decision that’s for sure. I get it, his fans wanted him to get a nice W here and seeing the biggest moment pulled up from under you is rough. So while I understand it..I’m not affected all that much because I found the reactions to this irl to be rather funny.

So the special starts with everyone getting ready to see Naruto. Hinata heads out for the dry cleaning and Naruto prepares to head out. He will be accompanied by Boruto, one of the biggest stars in the next gen world. That being said, they also need to bring Himawari around and that’s where things get tricky. She wants to bring an animal but Boruto knows she’s just going to make him carry it so he tries to stop her. Unfortunately Himawari doesn’t take this well and starts beating everyone up. It’s definitely emotional, I can see her being a lot of trouble as a kid.

Of course Naruto getting one shotted by her in the special is just for the gag. You see it used as a real feat here and there but lets be for real here. It shouldn’t have done anything to Naruto except maybe make him laugh. I didn’t buy any of this and it was a forced way to have him stay home. You know what I would have done if you needed him to miss the ceremony? Have Himawari say she cooked her first ever ramen so Boruto and Naruto stay home to try it out. That could have been wholesome and worked well.

But this is a special about the vibes and finally wrapping up the journey. I’d say it does a good job with this. It’s only several minutes long so it finishes quickly but you won’t forget the ceremony here. It’s always nice to see a main character reach the end game like Ash Ketchum. Of course I’d have been cool with seeing a big fight scene here but that was never likely. The animation looks good enough and so you’ll have a good time here.

Overall, This is a shorter review but the OVA itself is only like 10 minutes long so it’s not like there’s a whole lot to cover here. It’s a fun little short and that’s really all you need to say about it. If you watched the Naruto series then you owe it to yourself to check this out as a true finale of sorts. If you haven’t seen this yet then you haven’t really completed Naruto’s journey now have you? That’s what you really need to keep in mind here.

Overall 6/10

The Night Before Review

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It’s time for a comedy title that gets a little serious so you can almost think about it like a dark comedy at times. It’s got some Twilight Zone vibes to it as well and it makes for an intriguing start. The problem is that as the mystery gets unraveled, the film gets weaker and weaker. So by the end I’m afraid that this film definitely gets the thumbs down. I like the concept but would have definitely approached it differently.

The movie starts off with a drunk Winston wandering around through the night. How did he gets here and what is going on? His memory is all in a daze. He quickly realizes 3 things. 1. He was on the way to prom with a girl named Tara but she’s missing so he needs to find her. 2. A gangster named Tito wants to beat him up for some reason so he needs to stay low. 3. His dad’s car has been hijacked and he needs it back. It’s hard to say how all of this could have happened to him but Winston better move fast because he needs to get Tara back home before her father notices.

Here’s the thing with memory loss cases like this, in most situations it means that the guy was drinking which is what caused this lapse in memory. Well, unfortunately that is exactly what happened here. Winston decided to have a drink at a super seedy place which wasn’t smart and the drink was spiked with drugs so he was out for a while. He makes tons and tons of mistakes throughout the film. He’s just not very smart at all and is like one of those characters out of dumb and dumber.

At first when we’re introduced to Tara you feel like she’s being way too mean to Winston. It’s uncalled for how much she is berating him and everything but by the end of the film you get it. This guy is in way over his head and has no idea what to do. Everyone keeps on suckering him over and over too. The way Winston loses the car was particularly bad but same for how he let Tara’s card and wallet get stolen. Basically if there was a way to mess up then he would. It’s a comedy film so you are expecting him to mess up a lot but it tends to be less in a charismatic way and more in an annoying status. You’re not rooting for him quite as much as you’re supposed to.

The guy even lets himself get dragged into a quick affair with another lady who was hanging around which doesn’t speak well to Winston’s loyalty. I don’t feel like he’s a very responsible individual and if anything he is just getting everyone into trouble the whole time. Definitely a thumbs down for that guy all the way. Tara was way more fun. Yes, she can be mean but she is a lot tougher and gets things done. She gives attitude to all of the characters without any remorse.

Winston tries to make a speech about how Tara is spoiled at the end but I’d argue that she is fairly down to Earth. She certainly has more street smarts than he had. Ultimately, the trouble she got into was basically unavoidable compared to Winston’s situations where he was the one making the mistakes. If anything she did well to keep her composure and everything considering what was happening. Her plot of being sold off from person to person was a bit dark for the film though. Using that kind of a plot point for tension as to why Winston needs to save her quickly is always a bit much.

It’s also the film’s excuse to have a lot of fanservice squeezed in at one point. The film could have taken the high road but opted not to. The shame is that there are a lot of scenes in the film that are actually really funny. Scenes that will have you grin a little and the over the top nature of the moments can work really well. Like when a crazy guy shows up and reaches into Winston’s pocket to steal his wallet. I loved how direct the guy was. He just wanted the wallet and wasn’t hesitating about it. The rough neighborhood was just as rough as it looked. The fact that there wasn’t a twist was almost the twist in itself. No moment where it turns out everyone’s just super nice and everything. Nah, this was just the heroes making a bunch of wrong turns.

The ending is definitely not satisfying though. It goes in the direction I would have preferred that it avoided because it doesn’t really make sense in this context. After everything that went on, only the opposite answer would have made any sense. At least if you ask me, that’s how I see it. It also deprives us of a funny ending where the father chases Winston around or something like that.

So in the end I generally enjoyed the scenes with Tara bashing Winston and Winston running around getting into trouble. I didn’t really care for where Tara’s plot went from there and of course the whole climax is more of a thumbs down. So this was a bit of a mixed bag but my main thing is, would I watch this by myself or recommend it to anybody? The answer to both questions is no so that’s the end of that.

Overall, The Night Before is an interesting film and one that has a lot of good humor thrown into the mix. It can definitely bring on some good laughs but at times it can also just be really annoying. I thought Winston got off way too easily considering how many mistakes he made. If you ask me, he should have lost in the end and there’s no way Tara should like the guy. You don’t have to go with the cheesy Hollywood ending when you’re a comedy film. It would have been so much funnier if she basically told him to get lost at that point. I don’t even think it would be mean spirited, it would just make sense if anything considering everything that just happened.

Overall 4/10

The Lost Boys Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited 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 some vampires. You already know that means the film is starting off at a disadvantage but maybe it can pull through and win anyway? Wellllll…unfortunately that is not the case so I still do have to give this one a thumbs down. The characters tend to be annoying and the film can drag on at some points. The main romance with the teens also doesn’t work so well.

The film starts with Michael, his younger brother Sam, and his mom Lucy moving from a nice place over to the murder capital of the world. They’re staying with Lucy’s father and at this point the goal is really to try and make the best of it. Sam is one of those guys who is very personable and he acclimates to the new place quickly even if it is odd how two kids keep telling him to watch out for vampires. Michael sees an attractive lady who is already taken but since when has that stopped him? He flirts with her which causes the leader of the vampire group, David to show up and mess with him. Michael succumbs to peer pressure immediately and gets turned into a vampire. Can he control his urges and stay on the path of justice?

There’s a lot to unpack here and unfortunately most of it is not good. As the lead character Michael makes too many mistakes. It’s not really good form to go after someone who is already in a relationship. Yeah it’s not the same as someone being married or engaged but at the same time it makes you look desperate. It was clear that Star was leading him on from the jump so the only right answer there is to just dodge the situation entirely. She manipulates him so easily that you’re just shaking your head. Their romance really was bad.

Meanwhile Michael was falling for the illusions each time and then not suspecting that something was wrong about the vampires was a real miss for him as well. He does control the urges well at least and I can tell you right now that I have no issues with taking out any of the villains. As far as I’m concerned that is full self defense and everyone was trying to murder the vampires in order to save the town so there’s no functional difference here. Something to keep in mind since the end of the film is trying to throw a message in and it doesn’t really work.

I liked Sam a lot more than Michael. He’s a likable kid who has a positive outlook. Again, if not for the vampires he was going to get used to the new town real fast. He had a good sense of humor and is also responsible. This is the kind of kid you can count on to make your life easier. He gets a big role along with the two vampire hunters but technically it’s not like he can fight all that much so I wouldn’t expect him to do a lot of damage. The villains are just too powerful.

As for Lucy, she’s definitely a sympathetic character. She’s also been through a lot with the divorce and all. It may be a little fast to get back into the dating game but at least it’s treated like an actual dynamic among adults. It starts off with a basic dinner and nothing crazy. Usually I’d say the romance subplot had no point being in the film but this time I suppose it justified its own existence. It’s still a bit on the weak side but as a character Lucy was solid.

Then you have Max whose role is pretty fun. He is the character you will be thinking about a lot here and some scenes you can see in a different light. So he makes for a fairly solid character, certainly better than the vampire gang led by David who mostly just look like creeps the whole time. They’re not intimidating in a fun way and if anything they’re so overconfident and sloppy that this is what leads to them getting cooked all the time. As long as they remembered basic fighting techniques then they would have been okay here. The problem is they don’t have much of a goal except for spreading chaos.

I would have liked to have seen perspectives from more of the outside world. Not someone about to die but maybe a few locals talking about how people are always getting kidnapped and being murdered which seems weird. The film does establish this place as the biggest murder area in the world but doesn’t follow that up with anything. I’m sure the mayor and the cops would have something to say about that right? Adding them in with a big role would have been really fun.

Just something to give us more time away from the vampires. You already know that nobody can put up a fight against them so the nameless characters are doomed. The film doesn’t keep your attention the way that it should. It throws in quite a few jump scares involving the dogs. It’s a dangerous game since that could have easily tanked the whole movie but fortunately it avoids getting hit with the solid 0-1. The dogs end up looking fairly tough the whole time and Sam’s dog really saves the day more than once. So I appreciate that. Having a dog on screen always speeds up my heart rate a little bit but when you have a happy ending like this then that definitely helps out a whole lot.

Overall, The Lost Boys is a film that had some potential but it doesn’t live up to this in the execution. The comedic elements could have helped to raise everything up but at the end of the day it still focuses more on the vampire stuff than anything else. The characters created too many issues on their own and so in the end what you have here is a film that doesn’t give you much of an incentive to watch it. At least I did like the grandfather. His role was small but the confidence was nice. If the film had doubled down on more of the humor this could have really been a different ballgame.

Overall 3/10

The Great Mouse Detective Review

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It’s time for a fun little Sherlock Holmes homage. This is definitely a film that I was unaware of before actually seeing it but it is rather fun. The animation itself is sharp and the pacing is good. Even more so than the plot, I enjoyed this film because the animation and characters are pleasant. It feels like a very old school animated film with a charismatic villain and a solid hero. It’s not really trying to subvert your expectations or make for a lot of grand plot twists. Instead it’s really all about just delivering a fun experience.

The movie starts off with Olivia’s father getting attacked by something right out of a Gremlins film. He is soundly defeated although he does put up a fight. My main problem with this is that we see more of Fidget later on and the guy isn’t all that tough. He should not be putting up this level of a fight. How did the father lose here? It’s a really bad look for the guy, I’ve gotta be honest about that. Losing to the comic relief sidekick in a fist fight is the quickest way to lose absolutely all of your hype. There is no way back from such a moment. Still, Olivia finds Dawson and they convince the world famous detective Basil to help out. The 3 of them are now ready to dish out the pain but do they have what it takes?

Even though Basil is the genius detective here, I would argue that Ratigan tends to look like the most intelligent character in the film. He is always a few steps ahead of everyone else and his plan was actually really good. If not for Basil pulling off a plot armor infused miracle comeback, Ratigan really had this in the bag. His genius inventions are really impossible to match and then you have to factor in that the guy can fight as well. He was crushing Basil while they were fighting in the climax. This is the kind of villain who leaves a very strong impression in the film. He really made the most out of all his scenes.

His sidekick Fidget wasn’t bad either. His best scene was definitely in the opening though as he never quite looks as fierce as that again. The design is on point and he can fight so those are the two biggest steps needed to being a cool villain. Ultimately his lack of intelligence is what hurts him here since he can’t even see an obvious betrayal approaching him at warp speeds. I don’t think he could have won in a fight anyway but at least he may have had a chance right?

As for the heroes, well Basil is solid as you would expect. I wouldn’t call him ultra heroic as he nearly didn’t help Olivia out until it really concerned him as well. Once he is on the case though, Basil is a fairly loyal ally to have around. He gives up a little too quickly at one point but otherwise didn’t really make any mistakes. His sidekick Dawson was good too. He filled in the Watson role rather well. He always has a lot of enthusiasm even if he can’t quite match up to Basil in the brains department. They don’t need two super sleuths anyway, just one will be enough. Dawson helps to keep Basil grounded and is also a moral compass I would say.

Meanwhile Olivia is mostly here to push the plot along but she’s not bad. If not for her being brave enough to seek out some help then Ratigan would have definitely won. So she gets some props there. A character who does not get any props is the Queen because she didn’t really do anything here. She was allowing her country to be mowed over without putting up any kind of a fight. Definitely not a very smart move at all. I get that she was surprised by the robot but that’s not much of an excuse.

Like I mentioned earlier, the animation is really solid here. Everything is super smooth and fast paced. There is always a lot of action going on here. You can tell that a good amount of budget was put into the film. I can’t recall any tunes in particular so I suppose I can’t say the same about the soundtrack. It’s not bad I suppose but yeah it’s not what you’re going to be talking about. At the end of the day the focus will be more about the story and the film is able to hold that part up well enough.

Although while this may sound more like a back handed complement, it’s not the story in particular that really makes the film work so much as the fun atmosphere and quick animation. It’s a film that feels nostalgic even when it is the first time you are watching it. That’s where the film does well here. I feel like you will probably forget many details of the film very quickly but you won’t forget the adventure as a whole. In part I’d say it’s because there’s not a whole lot of mystery to the film. Yes, they have to track down Ratigan and figure out what he is plotting but at the same time we already know the villain and as the viewer we see what he’s doing so it’s not a super big surprise.

Overall, The Great Mouse Detective is a pleasant film. I had a good time with it. It may not go down in history as being one of the all time greats but it was good enough for me. It’s got a good blend of humor and excitement and you should be entertained all the way through. If you haven’t even heard of this film like me, then you should check it out because it’s a bit like a hidden gem. I could safely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun film to check out. It’s very short so it’s not like it’s a bit time commitment either. There’s no reason not to check it out!

Overall 7/10

Jewel Robbery Review

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It’s time for an old school heist film that really goes by quickly. It’s a film that lands the humor over rather well and will keep you entertained all the way through. The main character may be no good since she is a cheat through and through but the main thief here makes for an interesting villain. He’s definitely not someone that you want to underestimate or it will be all over. The surreal nature of the whole thing really does wonders for the story.

The movie starts by introducing us to Teri who is super bored and one of those characters who figures that the grass is always greener. She wants some excitement in her life and to break away from how monotone things usually are for her. Her husband is rich but he got his money the legal way. So she has various affairs and flirts a lot with her husband’s younger associate. This is already pretty bad but what gets worse is when the shop is hijacked by a bunch of thieves. The main thief wins her heart over rather quickly. He’s not just any thief though, he likes to rob places while being a gentleman the whole time. So he makes sure that nobody is harmed and even makes some jokes along the way.

He invites Teri to go along with him and for a while there she is a bit skeptical of this but then she figures it might be a good idea. It won’t be easy though as the cops are hot on the trail. Will she decide to go with the thief or ultimately stand up for what’s right and help get the stolen merchandise back? Only time will tell, this is definitely not an easy decision for her at least.

So like I said the film is mainly played for laughs so you aren’t to take these things too seriously. That said, it is the best case scenario if you are the one being robbed. The villains aren’t hurting anyone and you are fully insured so it’s not like you won’t get anything back. Your business won’t be the same ever again though. The thief uses laughing cigarettes to knock people out and he has a flair for the dramatic. His backup plans have backup plans so it is hard to get one over on him. You figure this guy is almost definitely going to win in the end because nobody seems to be on his level. He’s just too quick witted.

You can’t feel quite as bad for the victims of the robberies as you could either since they’re not the best characters either way. For the younger associate, he is going after a married woman so that’s a massive no no right out of the gate. Then for the husband, he’s really letting himself be made a fool out of by his wife the whole time. I liked the well meaning police officer though. He was talking tough throughout the film about how smart and capable he was. I definitely appreciated that. It may not have turned out all that well for him but the confidence was still good. It’s always better to be confident and fail than to not have had the confidence in the first place.

These are also humor scenes that just worked really well within the film’s context. I’m not saying that it’ll be laugh out loud funny but the scenes and writing in the film are consistently clever. We even get quite a few fake outs that are written really well. You’re always left guessing as to what is going to happen next. It’s really impressive just how much influence the thief has and apparently he has dozens of identities to fall back on as well. That is the hallmark of a true pro.

The main cast is fairly small but this is the kind of film that doesn’t need a whole lot of characters. You really just need the thief to punk everyone, the heroine to fall for him, and then the peanut gallery wondering what is going to happen next. The rest of the film is just executed really well with the fun writing and really fast pacing. There is always something going on and it certainly never drags. At most you may just wish it could go on a bit longer with the thief messing with everyone but the length works well. Sometimes you don’t need a film to carry on for very long.

By default the weakest part of the film here is the romance. After all it’s not like you can root for the heroine to get together with the main villain right? That would be a really bad idea. The ending is a bit happier than you might think but we’ll see if it all works out. Either way I doubt this will be getting a sequel any time soon. It just doesn’t seem like the type of film that would since it’s really a standalone story all the way through.

Overall, Jewel Robbery is a pretty fun film and I dare say it’s better than I would have expected. The opening robbery scene really set the tone right from the start with how easily the thieves broke in and took control. I always like it when villains have an honor code to fall back on as well. Naturally it doesn’t make him any less of a villain or anything like that but at least it does make it so that you don’t mind when he is dominating. The guy wanted his money and figured out the most efficient way to do it with minimal effort. You have to give this guy some props in creativity for pulling all of this off like that. If this sounds like a fun time to you then I recommend checking it out right away. You don’t want to wait and then forget all about this title after all. You can also see what you think of the burglary attempt in general. Should it have worked? (I’d say yeah. It seemed to be well thought out)

Overall 7/10

Heartbreak Ridge Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited 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 classic war film that’s pretty fun. You always like to see the gruff commander show up to get the younger men into shape. He really turns the Z squad into the A squad in a fairly short time. We still get the serious war scenes to be sure but a lot of the film is really spent on the build up to the war so we see how the training goes.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tom who has served a lot of time in the army and now life is rather boring for him. He gets himself placed into prison a lot for rather mundane reasons. Well, now he has been transferred to what is easily considered the worst division as a punishment. Well, nobody is going to mess with Tom. His toughness does get the team to respect him fairly quick though. Do they finally have a chance at greatness?

You see a lot of war films where the army platoon leaders are super cruel or just corrupt which can be annoying so it’s nice to see a leader who is tough but knows how to balance things out. He’s always in charge and can take care of himself without actually being mean about it. For example he gets his revenge on Stitch who stole his money early on but then from there on it’s all even. He’s not going to be vindictive about it or anything like that. Then when the squad calls in their big hitter Swede, Tom just shows him what’s up and keeps on moving. There’s no time for grudges in the army, he’s just trying to have a winning squad.

He set the tone immediately in the first scene when he beat someone up in prison and never goes back from there. Tom is easily the standout character in the film and all of his scenes are great. I also liked the main villain Malcolm. He could perhaps be a bit over the top but he works well as the foil. He’s corrupt and everything that Tom is not. This is the guy that you absolutely do not want to be your squad leader because he’s going to lead you into every kind of disaster possible. The guy absolutely puts his petty rivalries above the actual mission and he will do that every time. It’s certainly not very becoming for an officer, especially such a high ranking one. He had a bone to pick with Tom right from the start.

It gets worse when you find out that he actively sabotages the main squad so they can always lose to his squad. He sees his group as being the best and so the others don’t matter which is not effective in the slightest. The character who really steps up when it counts is Lt. Ring. At first he is way too inexperienced and reads everything out of textbooks. The guy doesn’t know what to do in a real fight at all. So this is his chance to really step out of his shell. I’d say that he makes the most out of the opportunity. He was annoying at first but was a good character by the end.

As for Stitch and the other soldiers, I wouldn’t say that I ever ended up liking any of them much. Yes, they assembled under Tom’s leadership but it feels like they are all easily swayed. If someone other than Tom had shown up then they would all still be delinquents. Of course their character redemption arc is the whole point of the movie but I just wasn’t as convinced as I could have been. Their scenes still tend to bring a lot of humor though so it’s not like that’s something that would bring the film down. I particularly liked it when Tom would troll them with the different shirts the whole time.

The only plot that wasn’t particularly good involved Tom’s ex wife Aggie. This is the romance subplot where they are trying to get back together but there’s just way too much baggage here. It feels completely unrealistic and at no point do you really believe that they even like each other. It comes across more like they’re both just lonely and desperate which isn’t a great reason to get back together. The romance isn’t a big focus in the movie but it’s still big enough to be mentioned. It’s easily the weakest part of the film.

Of course when you just have one general weak point then you are in a good position. The movie as a whole has really good pacing the whole time. There’s a good amount of action in the climax as well. I would say that the film is at its best in the first half with Tom showing everyone up with a lot of clever dialogue. He’s not exactly a big talker but always knows how to pick the perfect moments to deliver some killer lines. He really keeps the characters on notice there. The writing is really solid here and granted this is the edited version so the script might be a little more intense otherwise but in this version it was good.

Overall, Heartbreak Ridge is a pretty good movie. It is a war movie but most of the film is about the training so it almost feels like as slightly different genre. Maybe army training if that’s a real sub genre. Either way it’s a satisfying watch that feels like there was a lot of effort put into creating this one. It’s a well crafted experience. If you like a solid army film that has a good sense of humor then you should check this one out for sure. Whether you view it as an inspirational title or just a funny one, there are lot of lessons and morals to take away from this. Always bring your best and it’s never too late to improve yourself.

Overall 7/10

Fever Pitch Review

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All right it’s time for one of those classic rom-com films. It’s definitely got a retro feel to it because at this point the early 200s are actually rather old. It feels rough saying that but it is what it is. The film has some fun moments, there’s always a lot going on here and I do like that it keeps up the energy well. As always with these films, it’s at its best when the film is focusing on the humor rather than the romance. Still the film does keep the main characters more in check than other titles so it’s not like they ever hate each other which is good. That’s usually what makes the romance more on the unrealistic side.

The film starts off by introducing Ben as a super big Red Sox fan. He has really built his entire life around them. Well, one day when he is leading a school tour as the teacher, he meets a lady named Lindsey who is really smart and good with numbers. The kids tease Ben about her and so he decides to actually make a move and asks her out. This basically flies in the face of most titles like this so I have to give him some serious props here. The guy actually has a lot of guts. The two of them start going out but there is one big problem here. They both have very different priorities. Ben still wants to follow the Red Sox across the country and never miss a game while Lindsey is trying hard for a promotion so the two don’t have much time for each other. Can this really work?

Lets start off with the film’s stronger aspects here which are the characters. Both Ben and Lindsey have fairly successful lives going on right now. Neither one of them are creeps or just hopeless in life. They actually feel like real people who have made choices and everything. Lindsey has more corporate success but can be rather lonely. She does have some friends but it’s clear that Ben has the better support network. He may not be doing as well but he still has enough money to go to training camp with his friends and they’re always having a blast. So the romance is adding something extra for both of them but it’s not like their lives revolve around this.

It also makes the drama a bit more realistic since neither person wants to sacrifice parts of their life too easily. So Lindsey brings her laptop to the games and Ben picks the games over dates. Now I would put more of the burden on Ben here though. Lindsey is fighting for an active promotion right now so of course she has to give it her best effort. I absolutely get why she needs to be putting in overtime and everything. For Ben, hey I get that he likes Baseball a lot but he does need to make some concessions here. Baseball has over 100 games, if he’s going to watch them all then he’s not going to be available for her much at all.

He can barely go a day without the games. At one point he decides to skip one to make her feel better so they have a good date and everything but despite saying what a great day it was, he completely flips on this when his friends let him know that he missed the best game ever. He pretty much guilt trips Lindsey at this point when it’s not like it was her fault or anything like that. In this film naturally both characters will be at fault a lot of the time but I would say it was usually Ben’s fault in the end.

Ben’s friends are also solid in general. They actually do give good advice from time to time and their scenes can be funny. At one point for example Ben has them all dancing as a way to compete for who gets to see which game now that he has the season tickets. It gets rather competitive and it’s nice for a change to see the guys hanging out without the topic quickly being about which girl they like or things like that. They’re actually good friends that just have a good time hanging out so that was fun.

Unfortunately the film’s climax doesn’t feel very satisfying on Lindsey’s end. She ends up having to make way more sacrifices and I would have liked a more positive ending there. A lot of times the films like this act as if only one side can win but we could have had a scenario where she gets the promotion, Ben still has the tickets, and they just put in some boundaries/guard rails to keep things from being crazy. That would have been way more reasonable and a better ending. The ending itself could have definitely been worse but it’s just not nearly as good as it could or should have been.

As with any comedy film, I’m not saying that all of the jokes will land but on average you will like more of them than you don’t. The writing is good as well and at least tries to give you some reasons why the two characters would go out. For starters Ben asking her out at the start was a big move since he was more proactive than the average guy. He can still be rather immature at times but since Lindsey is always super serious, you could see her going with him to get back in touch with her inner child. There is actually a lot of time that passes by in the movie as we follow the whole Red Sox season so it also avoids my usual complaints about the romance being really rushed and unrealistic. A lot more care and detail went into this film compared to the usual experience and of course having the sports element in there was also a nice way to add a little boost for me since that’s always fun.

Overall, Fever Pitch is a good movie. It manages to avoid making the drama be too forced and doesn’t go as extreme as other comedy films go. You get the usual formula of the main two getting together, falling apart, and then getting back together but it’s done in a way that actually feels realistic. So by avoiding the usual pitfalls the movie ended up being more effective. The pacing is good and the humor tends to land so I had a good time here. It’s not exactly the kind of movie I would be clamoring to see again or anything like that but if you’re looking for a fairly wholesome romance movie then this is a good one to watch.

Overall 6/10

Delicious in Dungeon Review

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It’s time for a big food based manga that has gotten especially big lately with the show ongoing. Well, it’s definitely got a unique premise but given that it’s all about eating every monster possible, you can probably guess that this is not going to end well for the show. Even fans of cooking will probably have a hard time with this one since it’s not like you can actually copy most of these recipes but the series gets some props for sticking with the concept. Even to the end, cooking is always a primary focus of the series. Still ends up being a miss for me though.

The series starts with Laios and his party going through a dungeon when they are attacked by the legendary Red Dragon. Unfortunately it ends up eating Laios’ sister Falin and escapes. Half of Laios’ party disbands the remaining members are basically bankrupt. Laios doesn’t want to wait and go all the way out of the dungeon so he decides that they will just have to eat every monster they come across. Fortunately they meet up with a guy named Senshi who is an expert at cooking up monsters and he agrees to help. Is this really something Laios is doing out of desperation though or is using Falin as an excuse to eat monsters?

The series is fairly long with 14 volumes so you may wonder how all of that can be about finding Falin. Well, that’s not the whole plot. Things keep on going and you really have 2 main story arcs here. The second half takes a while for sure we the heroes have to learn more about what to do next and then work on their plans. The cast further expands here so there are a good number of characters to keep track of. The series also has a lot of world building which works well for including a bunch of characters into the mix.

As a little background here, the world connects to a massive dungeon that appears to get bigger and bigger every day. There is no upper limit to the dungeon and so people continue to go in and grab some money. You can use remains of animals to sell, different treasure chests, artifacts, etc. If you die in the dungeon then you have to hope that someone goes up to you and casts revive. Your soul is trapped when you are in the dungeon which is why you don’t die right away. On one hand that may sound good but on the other hand that also means it could very well be possible that you are stuck for all eternity. Jut think about that for a minute there, it’s not exactly a spot that you want to be in. It also means that several characters will die multiple times. Just because you can revive doesn’t mean that the pain goes away which is another thing to consider.

Basically what I am getting at is that living in this world feels really dangerous. You can just decide not to go into the dungeon and have a normal job but the series doesn’t go into that too much so it’s hard to say just how feasible that is. For all we know there are barely any jobs available so you would have to venture into the unknown anyway. Then you have the Elves who tend to be rather selfish and dangerous. They do not have your best interests at heart so you need to keep that in mind all the way and of course if you run into the mad mage then you may be put to sleep forever. Fighting between adventurers is completely forbidden but since when has that ever stopped anybody right? So you better keep your guard up at all times.

The art is pretty solid here. That doesn’t always work in the game’s favor but there is a lot of detail here at all times. The characters are easy to spot and while the series doesn’t have a ton of fight scenes, the action scenes that we get look pretty good. At most, some of the climax moments can be a little too cluttered with everyone running around but on the whole I would still say that things look good. The art is not a problem I have with the title.

So lets talk about the big issue right out of the gate which is naturally the animal violence. Yes a lot of these are fantasy creatures but we’re still watching the heroes slice and dice them to add onto a meal. This tends to be rather gross a lot of the time. A lot of these creatures also end up looking like real animals. It gets more and more twisted as some of the creatures get close to being humanoid. I thought that Marcille had a good point about at least drawing the line at humanoids but why would Laios listen to that? These are desperate times so it makes sense to do what you have to do but by the end everyone are eating various monsters.

So all of this eating is a big blow and that’s a main focus of the entire series so you’re not really going to be coming back from that. I usually like a lot of good food titles like Superman Meshi but this is one that I just couldn’t get behind. You would need to change the entire premise of the series to make this work or put them in a virtual world where these are just programs or something. By the end of the series it gets even more and more twisted about what’s being eaten. The whole climax is easily one of the most disturbing ones that I’ve read in a manga.

It’s not just about being eaten alive but how graphic and painful the whole thing is. The series is never afraid to be on the higher end of the violence side since characters can be brought to life. This is shown early on by the manor in which people die. They get stabbed or shot through the head and while they are revived later on, you feel like it’s a bit much. So just keep that in mind, this is a series that tends to be on the more extreme side in each aspect of the title.

Take away all of the animals and I would still have some problems there but yeah that’s got to be the biggest one here. I was rooting for Marcille and the various characters who didn’t want to eat these monsters to stay strong but ultimately they couldn’t. To an extent you may feel it’s no different from cooking actual animal so what’s the harm right? Well the first part is that cooking those after being hunted would destroy any series for me anyway, the monsters only dampens the blow to an extent but it all just feels wrong.

Part of the problem is how crazy Laios is. The more the series goes on, the crazier we see him become. The guy can barely contain just how twisted he is at different points and that’s really the main issue with him. I don’t like Laios as a character. He really does seem to be using Falin as an excuse half of the time. He’s super interested in trying out every monster, he basically wants to become one. This is mainly played off as a gag of course but he is still like this in the serious moments as well. So he’s not exactly the hero type and his twisted set of morals should have you concerned.

Marcille is easily the most likable member of the main crew. She has a rather intense backstory and really good reasons for wanting to save Falin. She’s the first friend that Marcille had after all. Yes, Falin also has her weird moments to be sure but on the whole she is a lot more normal than Laios. Marcille is always ready to do whatever she has to in order to save the day even if it means putting herself in danger so I can definitely applaud that. You want her on your side without a doubt. She makes a whole lot of sacrifices in order to get to the end and even her overall goal makes a lot of sense. Yes, she comes close to accepting a shortcut which wouldn’t work out so well in order to support her goals and dreams but you get why she would do this. So she’s an interesting character all the way.

Then you have Chillchuck who is a bit more jaded than the other characters and gets jaded a lot. He doesn’t have some grand master plan for the world and talks tough but at the end of the day he is here in the front lines fighting with everyone else to save Falin. So you can definitely give him a lot of credit too all the way through. He is good at avoiding traps and helping the heroes get through the dungeon so he is definitely really handy. Meanwhile Senshi may be the MVP for the group since without him they would have a hard time staying alive at all. While cutting up all of the monsters may not help the series as a whole, it definitely helped the main party conisderably.

Senshi has a ton of experience not just in cooking but surviving in general. He knows a lot of the different players in the dungeon and has formed strategic alliances that allow him to do what he does. Without him the heroes would have been murdered by the trolls, orcs, or other random creatures. Then you have Izutsumi who joins up later and is a solid addition. She has quick speed and can fight rather well thanks to her claws. She is cursed to be part cat which is tough in terms of having to live that way but it really comes in handy for fights which is what the main cast really needs in this situation. So that is definitely impressive and in general I liked her. She’s not going to fall for the usual illusions and traps that the others jump into.

As for Falin herself, I wouldn’t say that I was a big fan. She’s okay and seems like a nice enough person but she does suffer from a lot of the same issues as the main guy. It wasn’t great for Laios and she doesn’t fare any better either. If anything I would say the more she appears, the less normal she acts. I suppose because at that point everyone is a lot more familiar with her but she tends to be at her best when Laios is not around. Her abilities are certainly impressive though.

Then we have Namari and Shuro who I didn’t like because I consider them to be traitors. After Falin was taken out they both ditch the party. Yes, Shuro shows up to help later on but he makes a big fuss about the dark magic used to help Falin and is generally a pain in the neck. He doesn’t make things easier for the main characters at all and by making things tougher that just means that he’s in the way. Not a good look when you need everyone on deck right?? That’s what I thought! Namari is at least more sociable but it doesn’t change the fact that she ran off either. I still can’t forget that and it’s a really big deal. You can’t just run off, there is no coming back from that.

Kabru is easily one of the most interesting characters though. I’m not big on a certain plot twist he got in the end but for the most part he was a strategic figure who helped to add a little intensity to the plot. You never really knew hat he was thinking and he was a really good wild card. He kept all of the characters on their toes which is exactly what you would be expecting from a character like this. Kabru was always one step ahead of the other characters. He may not have had a great ending but I still enjoyed his character a lot and if anything he should have been the real main character.

Meanwhile the mad mage Sissel was a reasonably solid villain. I thought he had some reasonably solid goals and ambitions the whole time. He did start to get more and more unreasonable as the series went on though. I suppose you could say it was maybe because of the influences around him but that’s probably more of an excuse in the long run. This guy just couldn’t handle the power and didn’t think things through in the long run. That’s what really got him in the end. Still, this was a threat that made all of the heroes get up and pay attention which was nice to see. If anything they’re lucky that he didn’t press the attack more.

Then you have the main canary Mithrun who was a fun character. He’s seriously skilled and always goes for the lethal attacks in a fight. He desperately wants to stop Sissel but that’s hard since the whole dungeon obeys the mage. It’s really a one sided revenge tour since he doesn’t have much of a chance of really doing anything here. Still, he goes through a whole lot and is a likable character. The whole thing feels like he got the short end of the stick so you can feel bad for him there.

Finally there is the Winged Lion who is a very interesting character. His goals may not be as intense as Sissel’s but in a way that’s due to his nature. For the mot part he’s doing everything because he can, rather than having more of a specific ambition. He is absolutely able to play the long game though and has been strategizing for a very long time. He does a good job of manipulating characters so I give him a ton of credit there. Not just any character could manage to pull that off. He can also fight well so that’s another plus.

So the character cast here is pretty solid. While I had a lot of issues with the execution, I think the world building is pretty solid. For starters it is interesting to see a world where a dungeon is the primary source of income because of all the rare stuff in there. Death being suspended is definitely pretty cool since otherwise the body count would be massive. You’ve got the Elves and a bunch of kings running around as well to stir up some trouble. I would have liked some more fights between the factions but again this isn’t really an action series first and foremost. It’s more about the platforming and eating. We do get fights but they just aren’t the primary focus.

I still can’t help but think of how much better it would be if not for all of the animal stuff. Just have them eating off the land, lots of berries and things like that. That would have been so much better and would have made me proud. Seriously it would have been a really good idea al the way. Ah well, at the end of the day it is what it is. I can say that I will never forget the series, it really is quite memorable. Also while the humor around Laios doesn’t tend to land, the series does actually have some rather solid gags. I really enjoyed seeing the characters come to terms with how they’re seen by the rest of the party for example when they fight a bunch of shapeshifters. That was funny while also being very interesting. The characters tend to be very expressive and the series is rather light toned so there are lots of opportunities for fun scenes apart from everything being eaten.

Overall, This series definitely lives up to the name. There is a lot of food everywhere and the whole series does involve a dungeon so there is no clickbait here. Everything is as you’d expect it to be from the title except for the fact that none of the food actually looks delicious. The characters do say that it all tastes delicious though which I suppose is the important part even if I am super skeptical. So really if you can get behind all of the monster eating then this should be the story for you. If not, then consider this an experimental series that just can’t hold its own and give it a skip. There are enough good manga out there where you don’t have to force yourself to check this one out. Check out Superman vs Meshi as a good replacement.

Overall 3/10