Tag Archives: Drama

Rudy

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Imagine you’re getting ready to win a big Football season when all of a sudden a kid walks up to you and calls himself Rudy. You’re probably going to be a little confused and worried all at the same time because you life’s never going to be the same. Well that’s what happened in this film based on a true story. Rudy really turned the whole Notre Dame story on its head and he did so with ease!

The movie introduces us to Rudy who has always liked College Football. His family are really into it as well and so Rudy says that one day he will join the team. The problem is that he’s rather small and doesn’t have a very athletic build. He usually isn’t able to keep up with the other kids and this has been true even once he grew up. He’s now 22 and still hasn’t achieved his dreams. Well, he decides to head to school and give it a shot but does he really have what it takes to win?

Naturally it’s all a longshot, I’m sure many people tried exactly what he did and got turned away at the door. Ultimately you need perfect timing and a lot of heart to pull this off. So you’re rooting for Rudy and are glad that it worked out but you can definitely see why the coaches would be skeptical. Each Football game requires a lot of concentration and talent. All it takes is one wrong loss to start a streak of losses so you don’t want to mess with the flow. The film does a good job of showing just how unassuming Rudy is but of course the catch to that is that at the same time he just doesn’t feel like he’s Football ready.

It’s an uplifting story regardless as you are glad things worked out well for him. Socially it was tough as well as his family was rather hard on him the whole time and then he found himself single for a good part of the journey. He also had to try and be someone’s wingman in order to get the tips he needed to succeed at school. That’s a rough setup I have to admit because the whole thing is already a red flag for anyone he approaches. Why would you go out with someone who isn’t confident enough to ask them out himself? Fortunately the friend gets braver by the end of the film as well.

It would have been nice to have gotten more Football screentime though. I know this is Rudy’s story and since he didn’t take the field until the very end that would have been tough but seeing more Football action would have been great. That is some of the best stuff after all. We do get to see Rudy training though as he gets destroyed on the field a whole lot but never gives up. Now that is true dedication. He always had the heart for this even if he didn’t have the talent.

There was a nice employee at the field who also pointed out how things were looking up either way. Rudy got a great education thanks to this which is more than most people can really say. A lot of the time you have to choose between education or sports but in this case he got both so he will be pretty well set for after his very brief career ended. It takes him a while to really appreciate this though.

The movie tends to be on the unassuming side so don’t expect a grand soundtrack, dynamic camera angles, or any big splash type scenes that stand out. Instead this is all about the journey and it’s a well written one. The movie is fairly long but feels fast as you’re watching it. Because of how direct the film is, there isn’t a whole lot to say about it though. You more or less know what’s going to happen from the overall vibes that the film has but the execution doesn’t leave you with any problems.

If they ever did a sequel, maybe we could see what Rudy got up to after his career was over. I imagine it would essentially be a slice of life film but with this crew I think it would work out. It would still be interesting enough and at the end of the day that’s why writing is so important. Any film could and should be entertaining if it’s handled right and this would probably be one of my best go to examples. Because on paper you might think it sounds a bit boring but it’s good quality nonetheless.

Overall, Rudy is a fun film to watch. I would say there isn’t a whole lot to it next to other biographical films. You don’t have a ton of tragedies happening to the main character and the actual payoff is very fast. That said, it’s fun to watch a light film like this. Sometimes you don’t need all of the extra stuff. Just give me an entertaining film with a good story and I’m set. This film had both of those aspects so I felt pretty good on this end. If you like Football or enjoy a good story then I’d say to check this one out.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) 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

Whenever you’ve got a film with the word affair in the title then you know that you might be in trouble. Naturally the word doesn’t have to inherently be bad but it’s usually used in a negative context. The film is basically about someone trying to pull a James Bond and just the concept of that plan is usually funny to me. Still, it does actually work in the real world even so I can’t really talk much about that. Ultimately the film lacks the good characters to make this a success and the romance is particularly weak.

The film starts off with a rare painting being stolen from Thomas Crown’s museum. It was worth tons and the insurance company might have to pay for it. As a result they send in a lady named Catherine to oversee the whole thing. She will make sure that the company does not get ripped off here and she will locate the painting. She believes that Thomas did it himself. It seems a bit unlikely to the cops to put it mildly but she is convinced. So her plan will be to seduce him and then get the information. Will she really be able to reel in a rich guy who has everything so easily?

The first part of the plot that already starts you off on a skeptical note is Catherine’s idea that she can just seduce this guy like it’s easy. I have the same skepticism for many romance type titles and naturally the James Bond films as well. Sure there are some people that are extremely shallow like that but a super rich guy with unlimited options? At least have her break him down after several months or something but he immediately takes the bait hook line and sinker. Now you could argue that it’s just because he wants the thrills of a cat and mouse game but to me it seems like he liked her right away with how sharp her personality is.

Then the rest of the film continues the cat and mouse game while they mess with each other the whole time. There’s a subplot where Thomas has a psychiatrist who confirms how he can’t trust women and all that. Well the film seems to confirm his suspicions as Catherine tries to mess him over several times. If anything the movie seems to make the case for Thomas on why he can’t trust anyone too much. The instant Catherine feels betrayed she tries to completely ruin his life by exposing his theft.

I mean…that was her job the whole time but it’s clear by the end that it’s super personal now. She refuses to listen to him at all and just goes back to her own thing. Then by the end when the misunderstanding it cleared up she is desperate to be with him again. Catherine jus seems incredibly unstable and I don’t see things going well for the two of them. The original film had the much more satisfying ending as a result and I couldn’t stand by this one. The reason is because I wasn’t a big fan of the romance in general despite how much the film tried to present it as a decent one.

I do like the whole enemies to lovers trope when handled right but this one didn’t convince me. As much as I was going on about Catherine not being the most reliable or trust worthy, the same is true for Thomas of course. The whole film is happening because he was bored and wanted a thrill after all. You better hope he doesn’t get bored of romance either since he seemed like a real player back in his day. That is definitely one of the big downsides of being super rich. It’s a bit of a meme as everybody would usually like to be rich anyway but I can see how life can get dull if you don’t find anything to give you purpose.

Also to make the romance even worse, we have the head cop in charge of the case, Michael. This guy is absolutely desperate for Catherine from his very first scene and it’s obvious that she is not into him at all. She gives him a pity kiss later but I wish the guy had been a little bolder and just created some distance after the first attempts failed. Lets keep this professional right? This film is the definition of unprofessional as nobody was able to really keep to the job but it’s probably the worst for Michael. Catherine at least had the excuse of this being part of her plan and Thomas was using this as a way to gauge Catherine but Michael should have at least been objective.

Now in terms of the heist itself, it does stretch your disbelief at times. I find it hard to believe that nobody noticed the CEO sliding under the door to steal the painting early on. The film’s excuse for this would be how crowded things were and to an extent I get that but it’s still a bit of a stretch. Likewise when the painting was returned later on. The ole switcheroo was pretty clever though and I didn’t really have any problems with that one. I did enjoy all the “magic” and planning even if the resources and time to pull that off are also tricky. Thomas obviously has the money but finding enough people willing to take a fall and potential jail time? With enough money you can pretty much do anything but you can also count on at least one guy to get cold feet and go to the cops.

I’m not really an artistic person myself so I always wonder how paintings can really go for millions of dollars. I’d sooner buy into the conspiracy that the whole art market is just a front for money laundering than actually thinking someone would value the piece so highly. Talent is talent and some people are truly gifted at it but millions for any piece of art seems absolutely crazy. I’m also not particularly entertained by walking around a museum to look at paintings. That seems like the kind of thing you would endure for good company.

So the main appeal of the movie is about the heist and the cat and mouse games. That is when the movie is at its best but the rough romance really holds it back. There’s just no way this will work out and the romance is more of a show over tell kind of experience. So not only was I not convinced but the movie spends a lot of time on the romance only for me to still be shaking my head the whole time.

Overall, I would still skip on this film. It’s an improvement over the first film but it’s still not a winner yet. At this point I think we need a live action version of Sly Cooper. That’s a film with a similar premise but 1000x cooler. You will still have the cat and mouse banter with the detective trying to catch the thief but it’s played in a much more interesting way. Until that movie comes out, I recommend playing through the games and you will quickly see why the Thomas Crown affair can’t quite compete.

Overall 4/10

The Lake House Review

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It’s time for a film that goes out of its way to shatter its own message time and time again. I suppose it is always harder to follow advice than it is to state it and that’s what happens to the main heroine here. At the end of the day the plot has to be held together by both main characters making the biggest mistakes possible at every turn but that’s how it goes sometimes. It may be very dramatic but I would say this is not a particularly good movie.

The movie starts with Kate leaving her Lake House and alerting the new tenant to make sure he sends any leftover mail to her. She is now working hard at a hospital trying to save lives but it gets off to a rocky start when someone is hit by a car/truck and dies right in front of her. She is not having a good day but then gets an odd message from the tenant. It turns out that their mail is reaching each other from 2 years apart. He is actually the previous tenant from 2 years ago. Their messages are floating across time and both are so desperate that they fall in love with each other through the pen pal system. How can they possibly meet up to express their feelings?

This won’t be easy. Sure it’s only 2 years and it’s not like she moves far enough away but they’d have to ask for each other’s phone number, names, etc. In a lot of ways it will be easier for Kate since she is in the future so she should be able to look him up with minimal effort. She doesn’t though because the film would be over basically immediately. For Alex it’ll be slightly tougher since she doesn’t know him yet but perhaps with his charm he can win her over too. Instead he just loses touch right away. Are they just really bad at this pen pal stuff?

This is yet another film that falls into the tragic trap of being better if they were just friends. It would be a really wholesome film if they could both just be encouraging each other the whole time. Alex would give her tips on getting through her current struggles at the hospital and maybe Kate would help him patch things up with his father. Instead going with the romance angle hurts both characters massively and I’ll get into that now.

Kate reveals that she really loves a book about two people always meeting up at the wrong time and the message is about patience. Waiting for the right person instead of rushing things. The book had a sad ending but she will be ready to wait and find the right man. Okay so now she potentially has Alex and just needs to find a way to meet up with him. Instead she loses confidence in him and immediately runs into the arms of Morgan who has been chasing after her for quite a while. She basically decides to settle for him instead of staying alone with seems like an absolute waste. Why would you possibly settle when the whole point of the book is to not do that?

Another problem is how quick it all was. She basically rejects Alex and then runs straight into Morgan’s arms. This isn’t someone who is serious relationship material. I’d also argue that Morgan should have higher standards for himself. They already broke up once in the past because she cheated on him (It turns out that she was with Alex at that time) and he is still content to be with her when she has no remorse? When he brings this up, she immediately gets defensive and gaslights the life out of the guy. She makes it sound like Morgan is being petty and should have gotten over being cheated on which is absolutely crazy.

So we’re definitely on a really bad start with both of these characters. I couldn’t support Morgan at all here but I can’t supposed Kate either since she is way too emotional. She feels like the kind of character who will revenge cheat or have a fling if she gets bored. That’s what happened last time after all. Meanwhile for Alex, he is moving a bit fast here. For starters he does initiate the cheating when he knew Kate already had a boyfriend. Not a very ethical position to take.

Then Kate gives him the silent treatment after one plan goes bad which seems incredibly immature. There should also be some pretty big implications if he couldn’t make it in two years. They should have explored those options together instead of Kate deciding that she needed a man right away. As you can see I wasn’t too sympathetic to her plight.

The whole climax also revolves around Alex not being able to track her down for basically 2 years which is really crazy. Given that the film didn’t seem to deserve the “happy” ending that it got, I actually think the should have had her fail the mission. Have the film end with her waiting as the credits start to roll. You could also argue that this is an open ending and perhaps that means he would be around soon. I just don’t see why he would be willing to listen after such a long amount of time.

Also he just didn’t answer for two years while waiting to surprise her after 2 years? The time travel definitely does have some issues which is probably a byproduct of thinking up such a unique premise. I do think it’s a really cool idea but turning it into a romance feels like it was a mistake. This film would work so much better with the friendship angle because then most of my issues would not end up applying.

My only other applicable issue would just be that Alex’s subplot with his father seems rather shoehorned in. It didn’t have a whole lot of payoff and felt like filler in the movie. I didn’t think it had a noticeable impact on any of the characters’ development so if you cut it than nothing changes. Giving that a bigger role could have fixed that issue but then you’d have less time for the rest. So I’d probably have just substituted that for some more letters. Reading out the letters is probably the highlight of the film after all as it’s fun to keep jumping from place to place in the two eras.

Overall, The Lake House is definitely an emotional film. I think you’ll have a good time for the most part as the concept is explored fairly thoroughly. You’ll just see more and more of the cracks as the romance gets serious and the whole thing falls over by the end. This film absolutely needed better characters and I also have to suspend disbelief big time on the characters falling in love with each other. Through letters? That just seems really crazy to me. The writing is good and I hope more films try a premise like this. They just need to try and stick to the theme. If the characters are big on waiting then have them wait and not jump into a crazy relationship after one setback. That’s still the wildest part of the whole movie.

Overall 4/10

Morning Glory (1933) Review

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Morning Glory is one of those films where you question the overall point of it midway. It’s a classic journey about corruption and how hard show biz is but the main character holds the whole thing back. That does tend to happen a lot but since she folds almost immediately, there isn’t a whole lot of drama here. You know that she won’t be able to make a difference in the industry and so the usual drama just isn’t there.

The movie starts off by introducing us to a pathological liar named Eva. She is really determined to succeed in Hollywood but doesn’t have a lot of confidence and so she just lies about everything on instinct. Anything to give her a slight edge but it’s not really working. She eventually manages to crash a hiring session and make some influential acquaintances but then she fails in her first big show. Will she be able to still become a success?

Eva is a bit too naive for this world and the problem is that losing this trait will almost inevitably carry with it some big penalties. For example she is able to get back into the limelight briefly after getting super drink and having an affair with Louis for a night but that doesn’t help redeem her as a character at all. Instead it’s just another reason to show why she wasn’t ready for this level of competition. It may be something that a lot of would be Hollywood stars go through but she should have fought off the trend.

Getting drunk isn’t really an excuse that I ever tend to accept. Just don’t get drunk in the first place if you know that your true intentions are not going to be the best. It also feels like Eva’s delusions make her not practice or study nearly as hard as she should. She always comes across as incredibly unprepared which should not be the case when this is her passion.

I much preferred Rita who may have been super stuck up but knew her worth. She called Louis’ bluff at one of the shows and stormed out. It’s hard to say who will win in the long term but she is apparently till quite famous so I get the feeling that she will be just fine. As for Louis, he will probably do okay as well but the guy probably can’t count on someone like Eva to bail him out long term. So Rita was fun because she could stand up to the others and wasn’t going to break down at the first sign of trouble.

Louis is another character I don’t like. Obviously he should have been able to control himself when Eva was drunk. The guy is supposed to be a professional and has been in the business long enough to know better. So no sympathy for him later on when he was feeling awkward. Joseph isn’t much better either as the guy knows a lot of what’s going on and never gives Eva any proper heads up. He liked her so he needed to step up. Although I don’t blame him for taking a back seat once she was fooling around with Louis. At that point he may as well run off.

There aren’t really any big characters to root for here though which shows how aimless the film was. To an extent it is really about Eva failing over and over again until she gets her big break. Yes she manages to pull it off but at a great cost as she now has a lot of ammo to be blackmailed with eventually. Additionally, she just doesn’t seem to have the skills to remain as a main star. We don’t even know how she really succeeded in this role since everything we saw earlier would have implied that she’d be a big failure on the big screen.

Another problem here is that the big scene is about Eva getting drunk and making a fool of herself at a party. It seems to be meant to be impressive as the characters mention that she would be a huge hit if she could perform like that when she wasn’t drunk. It didn’t seem all that impressive to me though and if anything I’d be feeling second hand embarrassment if I was at that party. It’s why you never want to have too much alcohol at a party because inevitably there will be someone there who is a lightweight and ends up getting too drink. That’s bound to be a big problem. Not that any of these corrupt characters would really mind I suppose.

I guess the bright side you can probably say is that all of these negative movies about getting into show business probably did keep people from making rash decisions in order to be a star. Ditching your home town and everything in order to shine is definitely not the right play because then you’re already in a vulnerable spot. It’s had to negotiate for a great role and high pay when the other side knows how desperate you are. If Eva had a good manager and more skills then she probably could have fared a bit better. Alas, she went in without any real experience or connections and got trampled by the business.

Overall, Morning Glory is not a film I’d recommend checking out. It does have that retro tone that I enjoy with a fun script and good writing but it is really hard to succeed without a strong cast. A noir film could pull it off due to the really engaging story going on but a romance drama? That’s going to be a really uphill battle and this one was not able to pull it off. You can definitely do better within the genre.

Overall 4/10

Scarface (1983) 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 one of those iconic gangster films. In a lot of ways it tackles the classic rise to infamy type of story but takes its time with it. The film boasts a very impressive runtime of nearly 3 hours but as a result it can move rather slowly at times. I would also argue that Tony himself looks far less impressive in this version as he falls to the vices faster. Perhaps it is good in terms of not letting people accidentally look up to him but in the film’s context it does mean that he is considerably weaker than the original.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tony and Manny who slip into the USA. They’re going to be starting out as bottom barrel thugs but Tony has dreams of rising up to the very top. He continues taking more and more risky jobs as he moves up the ranks. His ambition knows no bounds, the guy wants to own everything. He also falls for the wife of his boss. If he’s told no about anything then Tony wants it, that’s the way he lives and how he plans to move until his death.

Obviously this does mean that this is one of those films where you are rooting for the cops to take him down. Tony is a villain through and through. He has some moral scruples compared to other gang members but the guy is still a mass murderer who does whatever he feels like. He gets addicted to drugs to the point where he can barely focus on anything. So he becomes someone whose personality flips on a dime. He’ll blow up out of nowhere and this makes him a very dangerous leader.

It’s a bad mix when you’re in a sudden death career like being a mobster while also being completely addicted to drugs. He’s basically taken in by all of the bad vices and is too far gone to ever go back. Meanwhile there is a subplot where he doesn’t want his siter to go down this path so he gets very demanding in terms of what she can or cannot do. He seems to want her to be alone for her whole life and to just stay indoors. It’s not a particularly reasonable position and so she makes things go pretty badly for him as well although I would have liked her to have finished him off. Instead she just completely cracks in this version which isn’t satisfying in the slightest.

Tony goes around betraying everyone all the time so he doesn’t have many loyal allies by the end. There’s his best friend but then Tony gets upset because of his sister being involved so that’s it for that. Again Tony is really burying himself at this point. Even his obsession with Elvira shows how bad Tony is at making the right decisions. Why would you ever want to get together with a girl who flat out does not like you? She only likes the money and status which isn’t a good idea for a relationship.

This even happens in real life as there are a few people who keep getting passed around in an endless cycle because I guess everyone wants to prove themselves but it seems like a terrible idea. With his influence Tony could have had a whole lot of options but no he wanted the lady who was already married. Elvira may not be a good person in the slightest but I still put most of the burden on Tony here for trying to break up the marriage from the start.

The film has some violent moments to be sure. It doesn’t mind having some blood spray during the gunfights and there is the axe moment. In this case you can count on people being shot in non combat situations as well like the scene where Tony shoots one of the passengers in his car. You probably shouldn’t double cross the leader of a mafia boss like that. Tony said he doesn’t murder kids and so he took steps to enforce this position. It was a good scene for Tony amidst a mountain of bad moments but we’ll take what we can get here.

I feel like the police had a smaller role here than in the original film despite the longer screentime. Yes we’ve got the corrupt cop but we don’t get the perspective of the main police force hunting this guy the whole time. That could have helped this film by giving us some tangible characters to root for. It’s why films based around the villains are always fighting an uphill battle. Unless the villain is super charismatic or has a goal that you can empathize with then you run the risk of the film just being too dreary. This one never really gets past that to make the case on why you should really be invested in the title. Just give me one really likable character and that could change things at least a little but the movie never really does that.

Overall, Scarface may be an iconic film but I wouldn’t say it’s all that good. It does show off the rough life of a gangster and it’s not like you have any real sympathy here because they are all bad apples anyway. This is a life that they completely chose for themselves after all. Now they have to contend with the dark side of their own career. The more that Tony loses, the happier you get as the audience. At the same time, this is just not a happy film. It’s a very serious one that just keeps on going and so when the film isn’t fun that takes a lot of the pop out of it. It’s hard to succeed under such circumstances. I’d recommend just watching the original one instead which handled the material a lot better.

Overall 4/10

Little Big League Review

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It’s time for a wholesome Baseball film. Imagine if you woke up one day and were the owner of a professional baseball team? There’s a lot that could go on from there. Admittedly if you’re not an ambitious person you may just immediately sell the team and collect your hundreds of millions of dollar. Nothing wrong with that but if you are a competitive person then it’s time to prove your skills on the biggest audience you have ever encountered. It makes for a fun film that does have some cheesy moments here and there.

The film starts off with introducing us to Billy and his grandfather. They would always go to the games together and since grandpa owned the Minnesota Twins, they got great seats. Well, one day his grandpa dies and leaves the team for Billy. Billy’s still just a kid but he is eager to continue his father’s legacy and get a good victory. As the film goes on Billy learns more about the inner workings of the sport but also starts to lose his humanity. Has the power and fame gotten to him?

Billy is probably the most annoying character in here because of how quickly the power corrupts. He doesn’t have a very strong moral compass as he forgets about his friends and even about his ethics. He is quick to use his newfound powers to rent movies that aren’t appropriate and doesn’t seem very apologetic the whole time. They say that money and power bring out the bigger version of you and this absolutely exposed Billy for the person hat he really is. It was an unfortunate situation on all sides. By the end he slowly starts to get better but it would have been really nice if he could have stayed strong the whole time. He could have shown that perhaps a kid can be a good owner.

His team certainly wasn’t the best though. A bunch of them were just total quitters the whole time. They punched in to do their jobs and then they dipped. Not the best way to go about things. I guess when it’s hopeless then you can see how people would check out but the fact that some of them were still throwing games just to spite Billy was pretty bad. It shows that they did not have the right priorities here at all so in a way you don’t even want to root for them. Perhaps they deserved the original coach who was always yelling at them.

The most important Baseball player here is Lou because he has a crush on Billy’s Mom. Sorry guys but this was a pretty bad subplot. You can’t be dating the owner’s mother. Yes, he likes her before Billy became his boss but by that point it was all over. He needed to break it off. There are way too many conflicts of interest here and of course as this is a classic rebound, it’s no a romance plot that I could really go for. For better or worse the relationship would need to wait until after Billy retired.

Additionally, Lou enters a slump around this time and while the timing might be coincidental, I’ve never really put much stock in coincidences. They’re just hard to believe if you ask me. Things tend to happen for a reason in most cases and in this case I think Lou was just too distracted. Too busy with romance instead of hitting the books and working on his batting swing. That’s a real problem.

Meanwhile Billy’s other friends weren’t really much better. They were quick to abuse their power as well to pick on the new kid once Billy left. Seems like a rather vicious cycle. Obviously this is all played for laughs but it’s still not a good look for the kids. They aren’t exactly the most humble kids out there.

The movie is at its best when focusing on the actual Baseball. It was nice to see Billy showing off his knowledge and the players actually getting to put it into practice. There are definitely ways you can help someone even if you aren’t a Master’s level expert in Baseball or anything like that. I can buy the kid being an owner to a degree since he would just have to hire the right talent who would take care of the day to day. Actually going out there and talking with the team? That would be more of a distraction for sure.

I think the movie could have even been more fun if they aged the kid up a bit. It would have allowed him to really contribute a bit more and you could still have the players being defensive about having to listen to a teenager. Yeah they would look petty but to be honest they already look petty here so it’s not like it would be much different. Good advice is good advice regardless of who is giving it.

While this is something you can always do for yourself anyway, it was really nice seeing the huge spreads that the Baseball players get after each game. It would certainly help take the sting out of the defeat for me. It wasn’t even anything too fancy, chips and sandwiches but the fact that they were endless was awesome. As the owner you would be able to partake in the meal each time too. Just another one of the endless perks of being an owner.

Overall, The movie is pretty fun and has solid pacing. I think it could have stood to have a little more fun with the premise and focus on Billy being a generational coach instead of letting all of the drama get more important. That said, the premise alone makes this a pretty fun film. Who hasn’t thought about being a boss while you were still a kid right? There would be a whole lot of things that you could do and you feel like you would be able to handle it better than the grownups. Whether that is true or not would certainly depend on the adult in question but that’s the idea. I’d like to see more films like this one. You could definitely do it without making the kid super unlikable though. Have him keep his confidence from the opening scenes without any of the drama and corruption later on. No helping throw water balloons at people or falling asleep during games. That made him look terrible.

Overall 6/10

The Return of the King Review

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Lord of the Rings is one of those series that never has a whole lot of luck with its movies. In fairness you can say that it doesn’t really have much luck in any form of media. The only exception are the video games which are actually pretty decent. This movie does not end the trend as it ends up feeling incredibly drawn out even though it is not the longest film in the series by a long shot. Get ready for a lot of recycled music tracks.

The movie starts in the future with an old Bilbo Baggins being told the story of Frodo and pals. This will be done through music as the story jumps back and forth but Bilbo can hardly even say awake for all of this. So then they talk about the Hobbit and try again to go through the Lord of the Rings story. Definitely not the best attempt at it if I’m being honest here. Lets go right into my biggest problem with the story though. Are you ready for this? It’s the annoying songs that pop up and have absolutely no variety. You’re going to hear the same tunes over and over again.

Like I said before, it’s almost impressive just how repetitive it can be. By the halfway point of the film you’ll be wincing every time the same song shows up. You just know that you’re going to be in for another long sequence. It would help if the songs were actually good but of course I don’t think anyone was expecting that. The idea of a bard singing about the glories of war and the legendary victory makes sense in concept, but the execution was never going to be there. It’s just not the kind of song that would really take a film to the next level.

The animation isn’t as weird as in the last film but I still can’t say that it looks good either. I would say it gets by as a cookie cutter type of cartoon you might have seen on TV in passing when trying to get to the channel you were aiming for. I don’t want to go too hard on the animation though because by default it’s probably the best part of the film. So credit where credit is due because it’s not like they had a whole lot to work with.

As always Gandalf just doesn’t look all that good here. He’s sending these characters on absolutely outrageous quests because he doesn’t have the willpower needed to handle the ring on his own. I didn’t really go on about the story much did I? Well basically Frodo and his best friend have to deliver a cursed ring into the legendary fires by Sauron’s castle. If they can do this, the ring can finally be taken out of the equation and the dark lord will lose a lot of his power. The heroes will have finally conquered evil once and for all. It’s a pretty good deal and at this point it’s not like they have many other options either. Every other character refuses to associate with the ring. Its corrosive nature is too much for them.

The ring essentially tries to break your will at all times as it corrupts you into turning to the darkness. It’s a serious problem and so on one hand you can say it’s good that the characters know their limits. At the same time, it’s still pretty annoying to see the whole time because these “heroes” should do better. Gandalf especially since he is supposed to be such a powerful sorcerer.

I think the most ironic part about all of this is that Frodo is heralded as being the guy with incredible willpower. The songs are all about him and how he saved the world and yet in the actual movie he spends most of his screentime bending to the ring’s will. Like what happened here? He’s supposed to be the one in control the whole time, not just allowing himself to get absolutely crushed at each station. No matter how you slice it, this was a rough path for him. In fact, Frodo straight up lost and Gollum had to take the guy out. Otherwise Frodo was going to doom the planet.

I never liked Frodo and this film just makes me dislike him even more. His friend did all of the hard work throughout the movie and never got the proper credit that he deserved. He was able to resist the ring through good ole fashioned common sense. Seriously he mentioned that this was all that he needed to resist its effects. He made it look and sound so easy while Frodo was absolutely getting dominated the whole time.

Meanwhile we still have the war and everything but it’s not all that interesting. You’ll be paying more attention to the villains having fun singing songs as they prepare for battle. Classic musical rules apply which means that everybody bursts into singing at the drop of a hat. I suppose it was a decently catchy song…compared to the usual Lord of the Rings tunes.

Now I can at least say this was better than the live action version. It’s not saying much but hey that’s a slight start. It’s just that the original story is already so flawed that any adaption will be doomed as well unless it takes significant liberties. That would be the best way and I don’t think most titles would feel brave enough to do that since the main story is well acclaimed. At least for me though, I don’t see any other way out. The films need to try something super different and then maybe…just maybe the Lord of the Rings can be interesting.

Okay let me squeeze out one more positive for the film. I did like one of Sauron’s top lieutenants. He was some kind of embodiment of death and so he talked a really big game the whole time. Something about how he can’t be destroyed and he will always return. It was an impressive amount of tough talk so I could really respect that. It is obviously all talk but I’ll take my cool points where I can get them. Make this guy the main villain and Frodo’s best friend as the lead and maybe we would have some potential as a film. The key is just to make sure the movie isn’t super boring this time.

Overall, The Return of the King is a film that I would recommend skipping. It somehow pulls off the impossible by making the film fairly short but still being as dragged out as all the others. That should not even be remotely possible and yet the film pulled it off. Really makes you think right? Sauron doesn’t even get to do anything here even if he would have just ben getting wrecked anyway. Let me at least see this legendary figure of evil in the present when he wasn’t getting one shot by the random fighter. If you were thinking about watching this, check out Star Wars instead.

Overall 4/10

Grace & Glorie Review

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It’s time for one of those emotional titles. This one definitely is working on hitting you in the feels the whole time but doesn’t bring a lot to the table beyond that. Glorie is a really good character but everyone else can be really annoying the whole time and so that limits the film a bit. There is also not really anything in the way of replay value so the film has to do its best to succeed in spite of that. It’s not a bad film but I would also say there aren’t many reasons to check it out.

The movie introduces us to Glorie who is a hospice volunteer. She moved away from the big city with her husband after tragic events involving her son and now she can try to put his death behind her. It won’t be so easy though. She meets an old lady named Grace who is slowly dying and not taking things too well. She is refusing all help and is determined to go out on her terms. She doesn’t trust other people like lawyers or doctors and is causing a lot of trouble by not letting anyone help her. Glorie is determined to help her but is she up to the task?

I’d say the toughest part for Glorie is that she is a volunteer so there is a point at which her hands are tied. She can only do so much here after all. Still she goes in with a good attitude and only crashes out once. The crash out wasn’t a great look for her to be honest but in a drama film you are expecting this at least once. All in all she was good and definitely one of the highlight characters in the film. Without her Grace would have really been in trouble. You never really get over the kind of trauma that Grace experienced here but you can do your best to at least make some kind of progress.

For that reason her husband could be a bit annoying here even if he did end up coming in clutch each time when Glorie needed him. He was just way too petty and sulky the whole film. Snapping at his wife real quick each time and being in a rush despite what she’s going through. The fact that he even wanted another kid after what happened to the last one is pretty crazy. You can float the idea once but if Glorie isn’t up for it then you definitely shouldn’t bring it up again. It’s a rough situation but that’s gotta be the last thing she would want to hear at that point.

Meanwhile Grace’s last direct relative looks awful here. His wife really wants some kind of inheritance and he shuts that down at least but he is really quick to turn on Grace and even Glorie later. The guy is completely self absorbed and acts like a jerk throughout the movie. He just needs to toughen up and get with the program. I understand that his role isn’t easy but it still doesn’t give him any reason to be acting like a child here. He should have explained things better to Grace and made his points without being so petty. Sending her back to the senior home would be good for him but certainly not for her. It’s an especially bad look when she was always talking about how helpful he was. He looks better by the end but it’s a bit late by then.

As for his wife talking about the money the whole time, that has to be one of the most annoying things you can imagine when you’re dying. The last thing you want is for people to be worried about your money. I’d have half a mind to change up the will and put it somewhere else to spite them after that. Not like they’d see the will until I was dead anyway. I was glad that the kid got half though because she was the only one who seemed to really care for Grace’s wellbeing the whole time. The fact that she wrote so many letters and was so consistent about this for years is really quite something. Definitely above and beyond what you would usually expect from a kid.

I think to really make the film more fun they should have made Grace a bit more fun. Instead of her being a little bitter and uptight the whole time, just have her be super optimistic. Maybe the reason she didn’t want to stay at the senior home was because she just wanted to explore a lot and make some final memories. Maybe have her talk Glorie through her trauma instead of just adding onto it. There are a lot of ways this could have gone like even fighting the construction crew in court a bit more. I think those would have all been a lot more interesting and would have really gotten you engaged in what was going on.

So with that and making Glorie’s husband more agreeable that would have been a nice combination. Also the picnic that she prepared could probably have had some more normal foods and it would have really been a hit. If I’m nearing my deathbed, the last thing I want to see is a lobster macaroni salad. Seriously that would just make me want to go back home. Brie cheese isn’t bad though. It’s hardly my favorite cheese but I would appreciate the gesture there. In the film Grace talks about how the conventional oven makes things taste better than electric. I’m skeptical that this is anything more than placebo but I can’t rule it out since soda out of a glass bottle does taste a lot better than plastic.

Overall, Grace and Glorie isn’t a bad film but it’s not the most energetic one either. At the end of the day it is about an old lady who is reaching the end of her life after all so you wouldn’t really expect it to be bubbling with energy or anything like that. Still, it can be a bit of a dreary watch so it isn’t super entertaining. I won’t go as far as to say that it’s boring or anything but it can be uneventful. The ending is satisfying enough but it is a film that feels long as you are watching it and that keeps the movie from really achieving greatness. I would sooner recommend pretty much all of the classic Hallmark Christmas titles over this film. Hallmark is still able to handle itself reasonably well with these films but they aren’t quite the all star hits that you have come to expect from the brand.

Overall 5/10

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day Review

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It’s time for a classic romantic drama. This one has a whole lot going on with all of the characters getting into complicated romance dynamics. It shows how just losing one person in a friend group can change everything drastically. That is definitely realistic though because friend groups work on the exact basis of everyone involved. So when you lose even one person then you get yourself into a whole new situation. The show is fun to watch and makes for a good title all around.

The show starts off with 6 kids as close friends. One day a few of them get together to put pressure on Jintan to announce if he likes Menma or not. He gets embarrassed and runs off so Menma gives chase but unfortunately an accident occurs and she dies. We cut forward 5 years and the group has really broken up. For the most part they’re on their own now except for Yukiatsu and Tsuruko. Jintan in particular is depressed and doesn’t do much of anything anymore. He just lounges around and watches the hours go by. Well, one day Menma suddenly shows up and only he can see or hear her. She figures that there must be some kind of regret holding her back and the logical conclusion is that the group of friends needs to reunite once more. Can they pull it off?

Reuniting after 5 years is of course a difficult task. Especially when your only real argument is that the ghost of Menma is asking him to do this. Now there is a massive plot hole here that the whole doesn’t actually address until the climax so I’m going to mention it right away. Menma is able to interact with the physical world. She is able to eat and move dishes around, cook, etc. So…..what better way to prove that she’s actually here than to have her move things while everyone is watching right? You’ll think of this in about 2 seconds while Jintan never does and instead has to listen to everyone doubt him. Of course they would doubt him, I would too.

They also should have come up with the idea but I can cut them some slack since they would be super skeptical right from the start that it’s possible. That’s totally fine and makes sense but I don’t see how the main characters wouldn’t think of it. Jintan gets punches and shoved several times for “making up lies about Menma” and this would be so easy to figure out. I kept thinking about that during the entire show’s run and as the viewer it’ll likely be at the top of your mind too.

Ah well, solution aside (and it would change the whole show) the idea of a ghost is always pretty fun. It’s like having an invisible friend and since this does appear to be the real Menma, it’s a chance for him to get some real closure. Since it’s established early on that he likes her, it does mean that he can be awkward at times but naturally having a good friend hanging out 24/7 is definitely fun. He may be reminded of the trauma but this also allows him to get past it as well.

So you’ve got a big storyline about healing here as every character has some scars from her death. This includes supporting characters as well like her parents and brother. Menma’s mother in particular really broke down by this point while the other two are doing their best to handle this in a healthier manner. It ends up making her a bit of an antagonist for a little while there as she just couldn’t let go. Losing your kid so suddenly would be traumatic so you can understand the pain there.

As the main character Jintan isn’t bad. He can be a bit oblivious at times though. The amount of times he casually talks to Menma while forgetting that anybody can see her is considerable. He also tends to have a lot of doubts with the plans and doesn’t see things through. As the series goes on he gets more confident and makes less mistakes but it’s a tough road for him to the end. All of the characters have their faults which is sort of the point though. It’s a fairly weak character cast so the show mainly has to succeed in spite of that and pulls this off with quality writing.

Menma is the main heroine here and she does her best to keep things light. In a lot of ways she stayed a kid even after being a ghost. Her body may have matured but her spirit is that of a kid so she can still be a little naive. She looks at things on the surface level and for that reason the idea of getting everyone back together seems a little easier than for the others. To her it just makes sense since they used to be friends and she does her best for that mission. Her optimism helps her be one of the better characters.

Tsuruko is one of the more petty characters I’d say. She tries to be the mature character of the bunch of she has disdain for the others. She does seem to put herself on a bit of a perch but then attacks the others in secret. This happened as kids as well when she went to talk to Menma in private. Then in the present she tells dark secrets about Yukiatsu to other girls. She felt like the fakest character in the series and it was all because she couldn’t talk about things in the open. I don’t have a whole lot of respect for characters like that.

She laments about how Yukiatsu never sees her as a girl but it’s not like she ever did anything about that. The fact that they were close friends for so long gave her a lot of chances here. Blaming this on the guy not asking is a very old fashioned approach and one I’ve never agreed with. Then we have Poppo who is mainly okay but in some ways seems like the most broken one. I thought it was a really bad look when he started chanting for Jintan to admit his feelings for Menma and relive the trauma of the old days. He may have apologized afterwards but it felt hollow. There are some things you can’t do and then apologize right afterwards because you simply don’t believe it. If he was going that far then he clearly meant what he was saying.

He did his best to be the friendly one but for a while it felt like an act. He really wanted to be able to see Menma too. Although most of the characters were jealous on that front. The biggest offender was Yukiatsu who is super jealous the whole series. It even leads him to dressing up as Menma at one point which was definitely his lowest scene in the series. The guy was crazy and otherwise had been one of the more responsible ones. He helps Anaru out of some jams although his randomly trying to get with her felt forced. The first time I thought it was almost like a joke or a way to get her past her trauma but then he got serious about it which was weird.

Definitely not a good look for him, especially if you take it as his trying to get back at Jintan. I don’t think that was the intent but either way he could have handled things better. He is one of the more interesting characters though and from the 6 I would argue he is the most irreplaceable. His aggressive nature spurned on some of the more serious conversations that would not have happened otherwise with everyone playing nice.

Then we have Anaru who in some ways is the most tragic character. A lot of it is on her though as she also makes the mistake of liking Jintan but not saying anything about it for years. She ends up losing her identity and trying to fit in with the cool crowd who were not really supportive when it counted. The show tries to make her friends look decent at the very end but they seemed fake for the rest of the show. The sudden final scene for them didn’t really work. Anaru does finally confess her feelings later on so that’s the one point I could feel bad for her since Jintan just runs off as normal. It’s definitely one of the absolute worst reactions you can possibly get to a confession like that. I felt like he never properly apologized for that either.

Anaru’s character arc is probably the clearest out of the 6 as she learns to make her own decisions and not just try to fit in with everyone. It’s a healthy character arc and so I definitely appreciated that. That said, I still couldn’t root for her and Jintan since that would be an obvious rebound. In fact, for that reason I couldn’t root for any of the romances in the show. I suppose Jintan and Menma would be fine but she’s dead so that’s not a realistic option either.

That’s why the show is best when it’s focused on the drama and not the romance. Some of it can be a little forced like Anaru being tricked into nearly going to a hotel with some random guy. Terrible look for her even leaving the club at all. Going was already a mistake but how do you not have any street smarts? It’s a good thing Yukiatsu was there at the time. The more normal drama is better with the friends arguing at their fort. At times the arguments can start to go in circles but it makes sense when you have a problem like this one that doesn’t have a clear answer. After all they can argue forever but there’s no way to really know why Menma is stuck on Earth except to keep on trying their best guesses.

The animation is a little better than I would have expected. The colors are striking and there’s a good amount of movement. It’s certainly more than you might expect for a fairly laidback show like this. The opening never really grew on me though and the ost within the show is okay but forgettable. This is the kind of show that needs to survive on the story as there is nothing else to really back that up on the audio front. For a romance/drama that is fine though, I think music is a much bigger deal for an action title but that’s highly debatable.

You’re here for the story of the characters reconnecting after all and that part is handled well. Sticking to a single season was also probably a good idea since it is the kind of show that would get tougher and tougher to pull off as it got more episodes. The longer you go, the more mundane the arguments would start to get. This one had a good balance with all of the characters being rightfully upset and pulling out the cards you would expect. Like thinking Jintan was messing with them or using Menma as a taunt of sorts. He definitely did seem crazy for a while there so that wouldn’t have been too surprising.

Will they stay friends forever? Probably not, friend circles come and go with the ages but it’s a natural thing. A lot of people that you even know well will eventually fade away. Maybe they go to a different school, get married, travel abroad, etc. So you just have to enjoy the friendships while they occur. This show gave the characters a chance to relive those days once more and it’s the kind of emotional beat that any viewer can enjoy.

The storyline about all of the characters effectively wearing a fake social mask is also on point. As the show goes on, the characters all realize that they didn’t know each other nearly as well as they thought they did. They all had different intentions and motivations at the time that was only realized later on. That makes sense as well as even close friends won’t know everything about each other. Even by the end that won’t be the case but it does help them all finally move on from how much guilt they had been holding onto from the past incident.

Overall, Anohana is a pretty good show. I had no real issues with it and it’s just a pleasant ride the whole way through. I’ll never forget how Menma didn’t just prove her existence at the beginning though. There were a good amount of plots going on at the same time here and they all got satisfactory endings. I didn’t feel like any character got shafted out of their trauma developments. As long as you like a more quiet type title then this will be a good title to look up.

Overall 7/10

A Whisker Away Review

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It’s time for a true romance film which I can’t say that I had really heard of before. I can safely say it’s one of the better romance titles that I’ve seen in a while. We finally have a main heroine who is really aggressive and going for what she wants instead of just being evasive the whole time. I love the confidence and that sets the film on a good start right from the jump. The movie’s attempts at being more action packed tend to fail but the film tends to be on point when it comes to the romance.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Miyo who is madly in love with Hinode. She does everything she can to get him to notice her like body slamming him, lunging at him, yelling about how she loves him, etc. He apparently told her off many times and so now he just completely ignores her which makes her sad. Fortunately Miyo grabbed a cat mask from a shady cat dealer and so she uses this to become a cat and become friends with Hinode that way. He loves the cat so that is how Miyo gets his love for now but she hopes to one day win as a human too. In the meantime though, is this deal a little too good to be true.

So like I said the weakest part is the whole cat salesman and the action going on over there. It’s pretty out there and weird which is fun because it’s so jarring from the rest of the story but I feel like it goes on for a tad too long by the end of it. We get a fairly long climax of running after the guy, tackling him, etc. The problem is that he seems to be all powerful with how he can shape shift, fly, etc. So the fact that they can do anything to him doesn’t really make sense. You have to suspend a whole lot of disbelief for all of the scenes involving him.

The cat world is interesting but also a little under developed. I guess everyone who gets turned into cats just sort of give up but you’d expect more general chaos and anarchy. Narratively it is satisfying to see the various characters make their declarations and fight back but the whole thing takes itself a little too seriously. I like the angle of Miyo turning into a cat and even the whole mask system and how cats can turn into humans. I would keep that but I would reduce the focus in the climax on the other world.

Back to the main story though, I really liked Miyo as the lead. I appreciated the fact that she always kept up a positive outlook and did her best to stay strong no matter what was going on. She certainly went through a whole lot of hardships and really had to tough it out on her own. Her parents split up and so she’s been trying to be fair to her new stepmom while also guarding herself from being attached. While she plays off her love to Hinode as a bit of a joke, it’s still really serious for her and every rejection hurts.

Through it all she never really takes it out on the other characters. Her loyalty is also nice like when she jumped off of a building to take care of some bullies. I definitely wouldn’t advise doing that for obvious reasons but she wasn’t about to let them bad mouth Hinode. They were sure talking loud to be heard from the roof though. Eventually Miyo isn’t able to get it together and breaks down by the end but she stayed strong for a real long time. Ultimately she’s one of the better main heroines that I’ve seen in a while and I will always give tremendous respect to any character who is able to properly charge forward and speak out her feelings.

I also really liked the step mom Kaoru who was also doing her best. She was trying not to be pushy but was naturally trying to bond with Miyo at least a little. Kaoru did her best throughout and also didn’t let herself get pushed around. When the old mother came to visit, Kaoru stood her ground and fought back really well. She was one of the better developed characters in the film and was a crucial piece in getting things to end well.

Her cat Kinako also ends up getting a pretty sizable role. At first I thought she seemed rather random the whole time but the pieces came together. She is fairly quick on the uptake all things considered and could bluff her way out of situations really well. I would have liked to have seen more of her initial meetups with the various characters instead of the 3 day time skip but it was a very intriguing part of the movie either way.

Then we have Hinode who is a solid guy but probably one of the weaker characters by default. He basically gets embarrassed by Miyo the whole time so he stays away. The guy likes to be quiet and stay out of the limelight which is impossible in this situation. I just have a hard time sympathizing with him when he doesn’t stand up to the bullies or defend Miyo in any way. When some bullies stole her love letter he should have been a bit more forceful and definitely shouldn’t have taken it out on her. That was easily his worst scene.

In his plot, it also seemed reasonable to close down the ceramics shop even though he liked it. Clearly it was not going over very well and his own skills were not enough to keep it afloat. Feelings and platitudes are all well and good but in the end they just weren’t enough. If he really wanted to keep things in place then he needed to work on his skills more. That would really have been the only way for him to have made a difference here. Instead he just got nervous too often and that came back to bite him.

Part of why I could get behind the romance more this time is because there were no rebounds or anything of the sort. Miyo liked Hinode from the start and while he was mainly avoiding her, it’s not like he had anyone else that he liked. It took a very long time so this wasn’t a sudden development either and so this felt like a well crafted romance. We got to really learn about both characters and their trials. I would argue that Miyo faced much harsher and greater challenges the whole time but they both did have their tough times.

Miyo also had a great friend who was really with her through all of the tough times. The friend was definitely not on board with the romance but it makes sense since she was trying to protect Miyo from what she saw as future heartbreak. She really wanted to avoid that at all costs which makes sense. In a way that’s what makes her such a good friend, it’s only natural that you would end up getting upset at the guy who keeps rejecting Miyo.

Meanwhile the animation is pretty solid and smooth. It’s not always the most colorful but it definitely doesn’t hold the film back. I like how fast paced it can all get. Then the soundtrack is solid like you would expect. We get a pair of emotional songs and the overall soundtrack matches the film’s cheerful energy. The movie was definitely on point with all of these technical aspects and the writing so I have no real issues here.

Overall, A Whisker Away is a pretty good film. It’s rare that I say this but it could probably have focused on the romance more and the supernatural less and it could have been even better. That said, it’s a film I would highly recommend you check out because it’s just so much different from your average romance experience. The guy isn’t chasing after the girl and things get all complicated. This time the heroine takes matters into her own hands and it’s just a lot of fun.

Overall 7/10