Dragon Ball Super: Broly Review

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a treat for hardcore fans, but also provides enough information for most newcomers to keep up. This movie is about Goku and Vegeta who encounter Broly, a Saiyan warrior unlike any fighter they have ever faced. I want to start with I am a complete newbie and have never seen any episodes of the show or the other films. This is based off the English dub. Sean Schemmel gave an excellent voice performance. He is especially good at delivering the funnier moments. Christopher Sabat gives a great performance. He voices numerous people, but he makes them sound like their own unique character. Vic Mignogna gives a fantastic voice performance. He makes you feel for his character with minimal dialogue. Chris Ayres is having a blast hamming it up voicing the villain. Dameon Clarke and Monica Rial give good voice performances in supporting roles. Tatsuya Nagamine did an excellent job directing. The fight sequences, while almost too fast, are incredibly fluid and fun to watch. Akira Toriyama’s script does a great job telling a compelling story while also giving enough background so newbies will not be completely lost. The character development is surprisingly strong especially for Broly, who despite being the villain, we sympathize with. There is also a good amount of hilarious comedic relief in the right moments. The animation is some of the best 2D animation I have ever seen. The action scenes are truly visually incredible. However, they do occasionally mix CGI in and it becomes very distracting and noticeable when they do so. At 100 minutes the movie moves at a good pace though the non-stop action in the second half can be a bit tiring. Overall, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a fantastic movie for hardcore fans, but even most newcomers should still have a fun time. Just be prepared to not always know what is going on immediately.

7.5/10

Glass Review

Glass was a great end to the series despite some issues in its third act. This movie is about David Dunn, who after the end of Split, is hunting down the Horde while the shadowy presence of Mr. Glass looms over them. Bruce Willis gives a great performance. It's a quiet subdued performance at times, but it is easily his best performance in years. James McAvoy gives an incredible performance. The way he is able to switch between so many different personalities so quickly is amazing. Samuel L. Jackson gives a really good performance though he is mostly sidelined in the first half. The scenes between him and McAvoy are a real treat to watch. Anya Taylor-Joy gives a great performance. The direction they take her character is unexpected, but she plays it well. Sarah Paulson gives a decent performance though some of her scenes towards the end are too cheesy. Spencer Treat Clark and Charlayne Woodard give really good performances in smaller roles. M. Knight Shyamalan did a great job directing though he does overuse POV shots. The script is fantastic untill the very end. There are some creative decisions made in the third act that a lot of people will hate and I'm still undecided how I feel about them. At 129 minutes the movie moves at a consistent pace that will fly by faster depending on your connection to these characters. Overall, Glass has some minor issues and an ending I am still processing, but overall was a great movie that kept me invested from start to finish.

8.5/10

A Dog's Way Home Review

A Dog’s Way Home has a solid first act, but quickly becomes a massive bore. This movie is about a dog who runs away and treks across the USA searching for her owner. Bryce Dallas Howard did an okay job voicing the mental thoughts of the dog. However, the voiceover makes less sense when she's not interacting with humans. Jonah Hauer-King gives a good performance. You believe his friendship with the dog and they have some fun moments together. Alexandra Shipp gives a great performance. She has excellent chemistry with Hauer-King and their friendship is what makes the first act compelling. All the other small supporting performances throughout the movie are very poor but take minimal screen time. Charles Martain Smith did an okay job directing. His direction is perfectly competent but comes across like a tv movie at times. The script starts off good but turns terrible very quickly. This movie puts the dog through as much pain and suffering as they can. Without any human characters to attach to that becomes annoying fast. At 96 minutes the pacing is okay. The first act is enjoyable thanks to its human characters and I enjoyed the last ten minutes. However, the entire second act and most of the third act is a massive bore and drags on forever. Overall, A Dog’s Way Home has a good first act but becomes boring quickly. Due to this movie’s attempt to put the dog through an immense amount of suffering without a good story to make it bearable, I cannot recommend this movie to anyone.

4/10

If Beale Street Could Talk Review

If Beale Street Could Talk is well made and has some good acting but has no interesting story to tell and is just a giant bore. This movie is about a pregnant African-American woman whose fiancé is falsely imprisoned, and she sets out to prove his innocence. KiKi Layne gives a good performance. The script gives her very little to work with, but she does her best. Stephan James is easily the best part of this movie. Despite having very little screen time he makes you care about his character. Regina King gives an awful performance. The movie became borderline unwatchable anytime she was on screen. Brian Tyree Henry gives a decent performance but is severely underused. Dave Franco is insanely out of place in a small supporting role. Barry Jenkins direction is good, but he overuses close-ups to a comical amount. The script is poorly written and dull except for one very tense scene at the end of the first act. The cinematography is excellent. This is a beautiful movie to look at no matter what's going on. The score is extremely immersive and impressive and helps to prevent complete boredom. At 119 minutes the pacing is atrocious. This movie felt over three hours long and by the end, nothing had happened. Overall, If Beale Street Could Talk is a boring and poorly written film that I cannot recommend to anyone.

4/10

Reign of the Supermen Review

Reign of the Supermen is a great addition to the DC animated universe. This movie picks up immediately after The Death of Superman and is about four new supermen who all show up as the city figures out who to trust. Jerry O’Connell does a great job voicing Superman. He makes the role his own while feeling like a classic version of the character. Rebecca Romijn gives a fantastic performance voicing Lois Lane and her portrayal might be the best the character has seen. Rainn Wilson makes a shockingly fantastic Lex Luthor being equally charming and intimidating. Khary Payton gives a good vocal performance, but his character is severely underused. Cameron Monaghan gives a great performance voicing Superboy. He is very funny, but you also care about him in key emotional moments. Charles Halford and Patrick Fabian give fantastic voice performances in small but crucial roles. Rosario Dawson and Nathan Fillion are still absolutely perfect as Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, respectively. Jason O’Mara and Christopher Gorham are very good as Batman and the Flash in smaller roles. Sam Liu did a fantastic job directing. The action sequences are as thrilling if not more so than anything in their live action counterparts. The script is really strong with great character development and actual stakes that make you feel like everyone is in danger. The animation, while not on the same level as a big budget movie, is still really good and fluid. At 87 minutes this movie flies by. It starts almost immediately and never stops moving. Overall, I had a blast with Reign of the Supermen and am excited to see where the story goes next.

8/10

Replicas Review

Replicas has some cheesy acting and mediocre visuals, but is a fun throwback to early 2000s Sci-Fi. This movie is about a scientist who becomes obsessed with bringing his family back from the dead after a tragic incident strikes. Keanu Reeves gives a great, yet crazy performance. He comes across as an obsessed mad scientist, but it works well for the story. Alice Eve gives an okay performance, but some of her scenes come across unintentionally funny. Thomas Middleditch gives a good performance, but he is a bit too underused. John Ortiz is hilariously over the top and cheesy here and I still cannot decide if I like it or not. Jeffery Nachmanoff did a great job directing. The action sequences are all well shot and the movie just has a cool futuristic look to it. The script is fun with some good twists and we care about Reeves’ character. However, it is held back by some hilarious unintentional comedy, especially in the third act. The visual effects are a mixed bag. While the computer displays and technology are really cool, the robots that keep coming up through the movie look hilariously awful and would've looked bad even twenty years ago. At 107 minutes the pacing is good never slowing down too much, but allows there to be slow character moments as well. Overall, Replicas has plenty of flaws, but is still a lot of fun for genre fans and Keanu fans.

6.5/10

Ben is Back Review

Ben is Back is a good movie with great performances, but pales to last year’s similar and superior Beautiful Boy. This movie is about Ben, a 19-year-old recovering drug addict, who unexpectedly returns home for Christmas. After someone from Ben’s past comes back into his life, Mother and Son’s love for each other is tested as they undergo the hardest night of their lives. Lucas Hedges gives a subdued but great performance. As more is revealed as the movie goes, the more you care about his character. Julia Roberts gives a very good performance, but occasionally plays it too over the top to the point its borderline laughable. Courtney B. Vance and Kathryn Newton both give fine performances in smaller roles. Peter Hedges did a great job directing. He brings this uncomfortable tone to the film that he never lets up. The script is very good, but sometimes Julia Roberts’ character makes decisions that do not make sense and the abrupt ending does not work at all. At 98 minutes the movie moves at a good pace, but does slow down a bit too much during the second act. Overall, Ben is Back is a good movie bolstered by strong performances.

7/10

On the Basis of Sex Review

On the Basis of Sex starts off weak but picks up as it goes. This movie is about a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg who works with her husband on a groundbreaking court case about gender discrimination. Felicity Jones gives a great performance. By the end of the movie she completely embodies the role and reminds you of the actual person. Armie Hammer gives a fantastic performance playing Ruth’s husband. They have great chemistry with each other and he gets his own story arc alongside hers. Justin Theroux and Jack Reynor both give really good performances in smaller roles. Mimi Leder did a fine job directing, but nothing about it stands out. The script is overall strong, but starts off really weak. Once the main court case starts though, it is consistently compelling and even tense at times. At 120 minutes the pacing picks up in the second half, but the first half was painfully slow at times. Overall, On the Basis of Sex is perfectly fine biopic with strong lead performances.

6/10

The Upside Review

The Upside is a fun little movie thanks purely to the chemistry of its core cast. This movie is inspired by true events and is about a wealthy quadriplegic who needs a caretaker and ends up hiring Dell, an unqualified Parolee. Through many trials, the two learn to become friends. Kevin Hart gives a fantastic performance. He brings his typical sense of humor to the role, but also proves his dramatic chops as well. Bryan Cranston gives a great performance. As the movie goes you care more and more about him and his friendship with Dell. Nicole Kidman gives an okay performance as Cranston’s secretary. She does fine with what she's given, but the script never gives her a big moment. All the other smaller supporting performances are weak, but do not play any big roles. Neil Burger’s direction is passable, but occasionally kind of poor. The script is good but flawed; the dynamic between Hart and Cranston is what this movie survives on. The overall story is good, but the way they execute certain things is baffling. The cinematography and editing are really bad. The camera shakes way too much during simple dialogue scenes to the point it can be nauseating and the movie cuts scenes short way too often. At 123 minutes the pacing is okay, but definitely has some moments that cross into boring territory. Overall, The Upside is a fun passable movie for fans of its cast, but for everyone else stay away.

6/10

Escape Room Review

Escape Room is an extremely fun thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat This movie is about six strangers who get invited to a secret escape room. Once there they learn they are trapped in a situation and they cannot control and must work together or die. Taylor Russell gives a great performance. Her character is very quiet, but you grow to care about her as the movie goes. Logan Miller gives a really good performance. He is a jerk at first but you warm up to him over time. Deborah Ann Wolll gives a fantastic performance, but her character is severely underutilized. Tyler Labine gives a decent performance but, while he has a few strong moments, he never truly stands out. Jay Ellis gives an okay performance. He is playing the stereotypical corporate jerk and while he does it well, it just gets old fast. Nik Dodani’s performance is fine, but his character got on my nerves some. Adam Robitel did a great job directing. Each room has its own style and he keeps the tension high to the point I caught myself holding my breath numerous times. The script is good but pretty standard. The third act takes some twists that will not work for everyone, but I personally liked the direction. At 100 minutes the pacing is very fast, though the first 15 minutes of setup can be slow and boring to some people. Overall, Escape Room was an extremely pleasant surprise and I wouldn't mind seeing this become a series.

7.5/10

Vice Review

Vice is another great, political, dramatic comedy from director Adam McKay. This movie is a dramatization of true events and is about former Vice President Dick Cheney. Christian Bale gives an incredible performance. He is unrecognizable in the role and it might be his career best. Amy Adams gives a really good performance. She has good chemistry with Bale. Steve Carell gives a great performance. His role is smaller but is incredibly memorable thanks to the amount of charisma Carell brings to the role. Sam Rockwell gives a fantastic performance playing former President George W. Bush. The way he plays the role may be controversial, but it works for the movie. Jesse Plemons gives a good performance in a small, but crucial role. Adam McKay did a great job directing. He has a unique style that helps keep the pace consistent. The editing will not work for everyone, but the way it intercuts real life news footage and pictures helps you to keep up with the timeline. The script is great, filled with a compelling story and a hefty dose of dark humor. At 132 minutes the movie moves at a good pace really picking up in the second half.

8/10

Holmes & Watson Review

Holmes & Watson is a perfectly passable comedy for fans of the cast. This movie is a parody on the classic character and is about Holmes and Watson stopping a plot to assassinate the Queen of England. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly give good performances. Their back and forth keeps the movie consistently watchable. Lauren Lapkus gives a hilarious performance and might be the best part of the movie. Rebecca Hall gives a fun performance in a supporting role. She has very good chemistry with Reilly. Ralph Fiennes gives a great performance as Moriarty and I wish he could have played the role in an actual Sherlock Holmes movie. Etan Cohen did a competent, albeit, unspectacular job directing. The script is a bit of a mixed bag. I shockingly did not guess the mystery before it was revealed. The humor is hit and miss. While there are plenty of chuckle moments, the laugh out loud moments were few and far between. Also, the amount of political jokes became forced and unfunny. At 90 minutes the pacing is good, but due to the lack of huge laughs does not move as quickly as it should. Overall, I enjoyed Holmes & Watson for what it was, but it’s not for everyone.

6/10