Category Archives: Fantasy

04.07.23
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie assembles an all-star voice cast in the game-based movie in which Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach must band together to stop Bowser’s attack on the mushroom kingdom. The animation is colorful and lively, doing the vivid and imaginative world of Mario justice. Though the movie starts out with a sweet underdog charm due to its protagonist brothers, it soon trades any personality that makes the franchise stand out for the same flat characters and dynamics Illumination Entertainment has been writing for over a decade. The characters’ journeys aren’t all that intriguing besides some of the voice performances, and the plot, dialogue and even song choices have been borrowed from countless other movies. There are a few funny moments and the action is suitable for families to watch, but the movie never aims to have a heart that could impress teens or adults. Chris Pratt does an okay job as the titular character, though his turn is nowhere near as unique as what he brought to Emmett in The Lego Movie. Jack Black, Charlie Day and Seth Rogen perfectly fit their characters, so does Anya Taylor-Joy though Princess Peach’s characteristics are reduced to “brave female butt-kicker” and any character relationships or themes are brushed past, even the adventure feels incredibly rushed. Mario and Luigi’s brotherhood is the one thing that’s charming, though they aren’t together for that long.

The movie draws from and pays tribute to many corners of the Mario game franchise, but a lot of the game play references feel incredibly on the nose, when the point of a video game adaptation is to draw from the look and feel of the source material rather than strictly translate its gameplay. Though it does reward fans to see all parts of Mario’s history including Super Smash Bros and Luigi’s Mansion, it’s unfortunately not enough to warrant the price of admission. The film’s main strength is in the voice cast and colorful animation, as well as a few good jokes, but it’s really only worth going to to keep audiences 10 and under attentive, as most of the film’s story beats feel like an AI took Illumination’s past movies and wrote them into the Mario universe. Unfortunately, you’re better off rewatching similar movies like The Lego Movie or Wreck-It Ralph.

04.04.23
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

With the medieval action/fantasy epic genre being worn out to death in recent years, and a franchise with a less than notable track record, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the year’s most pleasant surprise so far. Sure, the conflict and world-building tread the line of “just enough” and the exposition isn’t that engaging, but Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley imbue the film with a well-meaning, heartfelt energy that provides unexpected laughs and charm. Unlike a lot of bland fantasy action films from recent years like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Warcraft or the countless Hercules reboots, the characters in this movie feel like they have actual souls and empathetic reasons for the audience to root for them, not just in the quest but in their personal journeys. Chris Pine reminds the audience why his charisma works so naturally for a leading man, even though his character is occasionally greedy and a misfit. Michelle Rodriguez also delivers a more hardcore but lovable character than Letty from the Fast and Furious saga, and Justice Smith also delivers a sorcerer learning to gain his confidence well. Rege-Jean Page and Sophia Lillis both play standouts as very well-realized characters that may one day deserve a cool spinoff. Hugh Grant is also a silly yet fun villain, though his character’s presence and writing do the bare minimum for an antagonist to face off against the main team, and with an actor less capable than Grant, the role would’ve needed much more to sustain the audience’s attention.

Though some of the visual effects and green-screen are obvious, the movie isn’t trying to remind too much of the Lord of the Rings films, but rather create a jolly and comedic journey that perfectly fits the imagination, playfulness and vast possibilities of the Dungeons & Dragons brand. The action and excitement are enough to make up for conflict and rules that seem cliche, not to mention editing, direction and humor that make this not a must-watch, but better than it had any right to be, and will make the audience have a smile on their face and want to spend even more time with these characters than they ever thought they would.

02.16.23
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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Scott and Cassie Lang, Hope and Janet van Dyne, and Hank Pym are all accidentally transported to the Quantum Realm and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Though this threequel expands on the scale of the last two Ant-Man movies to the massive possibilities of the Quantum Realm, the film lacks the charm and wit that a movie with Paul Rudd as a shrinking superhero should have. The green screen and visual effects are hit or miss in terms of blending in with the actors, and the sets feel derivative of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, almost as if the production asked James Gunn to borrow a Guardians set for a day but without following through with the weird and quirkiness of what we’re seeing. Instead, the adventure just feels like it’s going through the motions until we meet Kang, who’s played strongly by Jonathan Majors. The stakes when it comes to his character are engaging but still too vague to give his character the depth beneath Majors’ stellar presence. Whenever the actors do get the chance to quip off each other or interact with bonkers new characters they meet, it makes for funny moments, especially due to Rudd’s undeniable talent and Kathryn Newton’s performance as Cassie, but any meaningful character development is nonexistent besides the characters revealing secrets or reiterating their love to each other. The movie’s themes about heroism and “looking out for the little guy” are sweet but only take it so far because of the unoriginal execution. The action itself has some fun moments and laughs, but ends up a standard adventure that isn’t inspired or clever enough to do its titular hero justice or advance his arc besides showing him the MCU’s new big bad.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a watchable movie without enough quirks to make the tone satisfying or enough complexity to make the conflict fascinating. Even for the Ant-Man trilogy, it’s simply fine and only needs to be watched to collect important puzzle pieces for the future of the MCU.

12.17.22
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Avatar: The Way of Water

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

James Cameron created a monumental landmark in visual entertainment and epic storytelling with Avatar. A sequel so many years later with so much promise to top the first would send too impossible to be real, but The Way of Water manages to deliver that same ambition felt in every shot of the first film and then some. Years were spent to create new technology to film motion-capture scenes underwater, and I’m glad Cameron spent all the time he needed to get it right because the term “out of this world” has never fit more for anything else. The plot beats in the first hour are familiar, but everything from there onwards is breathtaking, grand, and mesmerizing to the eye. The underwater scenes are some of the most visceral visual cinema I’ve ever seen, with the detail and realism allows you to completely suspend disbelief as you feel you’re actually on Pandora. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are great in their roles again, and the script this time beautifully captures the depth of a parent’s love for their child. Sigourney Weaver returns not as the same character but in a different and inventive way. Jake and Neytiri’s children are as complex and poetic characters as their parents who carry across the story’s themes such as empathy, uniqueness, and selflessness.

Cameron manages to somehow expand on the scale of Pandora and this fictional universe that millions of audiences were already in love with, while finding the intimate moments beneath all the colorful CGI that often stick out and resonate. The cast ensemble may not be Lord of the Rings-level of memorable yet, but the world-building and storytelling certainly is. Not to mention, the love Cameron creates between the audience and the oceans of Pandora may hopefully bring attention to the way corporations and human actions deplete our oceans here at home, and the way of water the title refers to is the beauty of nature that our ancestors knew so purely that can give life and consume those who don’t respect it. The overall narrative has familiar beats but the emotion is heartfelt and thrilling, and the atmosphere and aesthetics are a once-in-a-lifetime experience that has to be seen on the biggest screen you can seek out and in 3D — I’d recommend IMAX 3D, which is how I saw it. Avatar: The Way of Water may have the lesser story of the two Avatar films, but it has a sensational awe and grandeur to its fusion of images, score, and weight that invites you to not only enjoy, but experience, behold, and never want to leave the forests and oceans of Pandora.

12.06.22
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Strange World

The legendary Clades are a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest and most crucial mission.

Strange World is incredibly visually vibrant, which is never an aspect Disney misses in, not to mention director Don Hall’s outstanding track record at Disney in the past with Big Hero 6 and Raya and the Last Dragon. The imaginative color palette in the titular world the Clade family journeys through is engaging and surprising, even when the story material feels a little hollow. Jake Gyllenhaal is perfect as the lead role Searcher Clade, and it feels long overdue for him to join the Disney animation family. His voice has an incredible likability and he delivers the balance between “frustrating (but devoted) dad”, “frustrated/traumatized son” and “reluctant adventurer” really well. Dennis Quaid, Jakoubie Young-White, and Gabrielle Union are all having plenty of fun in the recording booths as well as a dysfunctional family that all want to just get along and enjoy each other’s company, though the grandpa and legendary explorer Jaegar Clade (voiced by Quaid) has other priorities and is overly consumed with his duties to his pride and explorations. Though the style is always visually inviting, the substance behind the conflict doesn’t always click until the end, and the characters’ relationships are way more interesting than the action itself. The style believes it’s being very nostalgic, presenting itself as a tribute to pulp magazines, but it actually looks and feels very modern. Though the film is quite heartfelt due to the characters it develops, the actual themes of familial expectations have been done plenty in recent animated films, most notably in Encanto and Turning Red that are still fresh in all our memories. There are instances where it tries to even become self-aware of the cliches its indulging in, which simply makes it even more awkward. On the positive side, the movie has Disney’s most prominent representation of an LGBTQ main character in one of their animated films, which is a celebratory step forward for family films on the big screen. Gyllenhaal’s voice performance is outstanding, backed by heartfelt supporting characters, and the animation gives the film lots of energy, but not enough to rank it among other adventures from the modern era of the studio like Zootopia or Wreck-It Ralph, though it’s still sweet and a decent one-time watch for families.

10.23.22
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Black Adam

After using his powers for vengeance, the mortal slave Teth-Adam was imprisoned by the gods and trapped for centuries, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years later, Black Adam is freed and finds his unique form of justice challenged by the Justice Society of America (JSA).

If you’re familiar with the kind of blockbusters Dwayne Johnson is often a part of, this is no different — an action movie that tries to be as crowd pleasing as possible with as little brain energy as possible. And it’s very middle-of-the-road for his filmography — it’s not as fun as the Jumanji or Fast & Furious films but not as embarrassingly bad as Skyscraper or Baywatch, so right there in the middle with forgettable spectacle like San Andreas, Red Notice and Jungle Cruise. Johnson delivers a solid performance as Black Adam, whose humor this time around comes more from Adam’s “fish out of water” aspect. However, his character’s actual development in order to justify him turning into a more rageful anti-hero is pretty uninteresting and it says a lot that all four members of the Justice Society have no backstory or arc but are far more interesting than him. Aldis Hodge shows off his badassery as Hawkman, going toe-to-toe with Johnson and even managing to steal the show from him, along with Pierce Brosnan, who is also great as Doctor Fate, whose powers and presence are intriguing. Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell are also entertaining as the other two members of the JSA. Unfortunately, the movie is brought down by a bloated conflict, weak CGI and a script you’ve seen a thousand times before. The rapid editing of action scenes takes away lots of the grandiose, even when Black Adam fighting the JSA starts off fun. By the third act, it descends completely into a forced “good guy vs bad guy” CGI-fest of action that feels pulled straight out of Justice League. Though the style manages to occasionally have fun, it’s got too many elements working against it, whether it be the editing, Marwan Kenzari’s awful character, the lack of thematic clarity, or a willingness to take itself less seriously than it should.

Black Adam serves loud noise and huge action scenes — exactly what The Rock is known for — but unfortunately nothing more. The solid supporting cast and occasionally entertaining action and scale isn’t enough to save this movie from descending into generic chaos.

09.05.22
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Three Thousand Years of Longing

A lonely scholar, on a trip to Istanbul, discovers a Djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

George Miller’s first film since Mad Max: Fury Road allows him to let loose as expected, but doesn’t feel as rewarding as it could have. Tilda Swinton shines in a more fun, likable role than some of her more “chameleon”-like performances, and Idris Elba is great as a Djinn tasked with most of the film’s dialogue and monologues. The production design is also very noteworthy as is the score by Tom Holkenberg, easily his best music for a film since Fury Road. However, the CGI doesn’t look as grand or convincing as it attempts to be and could’ve used some more work.

Though Swinton and Elba’s conversations about how all the ways wishes could go wrong are interesting, the stories Elba tells about his past don’t feel as powerful or intricate as the film wants you to believe. The third act feels an abrupt turn of events and certainly drags, in a way feeling anticlimactic. Upon digging, Miller has a lot of interesting things to say, whether it be about longing, imagination, or love, but he doesn’t explore them deeply enough to deliver that unexpected blow of catharsis and fulfillment that the ending wants you to experience. Perhaps this is one film that constitutes a rewatch, but only certain parts feel inviting to revisit, while others, I feel I’d simply skip over if I ever saw this film again. It’s certainly bold and like nothing that’s come out this year, and its ambition is worth commending, but for most, this isn’t worth rushing to theaters to watch.

07.19.22
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Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.

Taika Waititi brings his signature laugh out loud humor and energetic storytelling style to Love and Thunder, as well as playing the lovable rock giant Korg who’s become Thor’s sidekick of sorts. Chris Hemsworth is as always having lots of fun, and Natalie Portman returns as his old flame Jane, who accompanies him along with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson kills it as always though her character doesn’t get as personal as Thor and Jane do) on the film’s journey. Russell Crowe is also quite funny as Zeus, and expect some great celebrity cameos as well. The standout though is definitely Christian Bale as the villain. He gets to go all out with his performance as Gorr the God Butcher, and his motivations make sense as well as his weapons and planets seeming cool, though I would’ve added a little more screentime with the character because in a way he’s still underutilized compared to the heroes. But also worth mentioning is the memorable soundtrack that gives the film a lot of life — and Guns N Roses hits.

Though Waititi’s style now feels synonymous with Thor’s solo journey, it also feels like the saving grace of the movie that Taika’s at the director’s chair. Since Thor’s already gone through most of his meaningful development from his first movie unto Endgame, there isn’t much left to develop with him and the movie is best enjoyed as a Waititi adventure comedy as a result. It’s also not as smooth or funny as Ragnarok, and the director’s weakest film yet. The script feels rushed and slowed down in the wrong places and certain nuances feel underdeveloped — a few more minutes of runtime wouldn’t have hurt. The final battle is also visually uninteresting though conceptually fun, the location and lighting of the action feels anything but exciting. Thor and Jane’s romantic chemistry is sweet but also nowhere near as natural of a pairing as Tom Holland and Zendaya in Spider-Man or Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in the Iron Man movies. It also feels like Thor’s journey concluded more naturally with Endgame, and as an epilogue to his story it serves the character fine, but I think Marvel should close his arc here because it feels like all of Thor’s most memorable moments and growths are in the past.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a solid 2 hours of fun visuals and laughs, though it feels like the character’s story is being stretched a little past its breaking point, go for the enjoyment and cast, especially Christian Bale’s villanous performance.

05.06.22
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange encounters multiversal threats once again as he goes on a journey across realities with America Chavez, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.

This sequel certainly lives up to the madness part of its title by providing a journey of visual marvel throughout alternate universes, a concept that’s been set up in other Marvel properties like Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home but is explored here in full effect. Sam Raimi’s direction provides what feels like a true creative vision, including amazing, adventurous grandeur and use of CGI as well as some horror undertones in certain scenes that is some of the darkest a Marvel Cinematic Universe film has gotten. But to add to that, there’s genuine excitement and thrills to be found in nearly every frame — the pacing is fast and wastes no time doing anything but moving the story forward. Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job as the witty Strange but also some of his more unhinged variants from other universes. Elizabeth Olsen, who was Emmy and Golden Globe nominated for her performance in WandaVision — which I’d call a required watch to understand the events of this film — continues her journey into Wanda’s darker side and wonderfully delivers the pain she experiences and the empathy she conveys with the audience even when her inability to properly grieve from the events of Avengers: Infinity War has gotten people hurt. Together with the preceding show, Olsen creates one of the most tragic and powerful performances in the MCU. Xochitl Gomez is a lovely addition to the franchise as the young America Chavez, who shares a lot of fun scenes with Cumberbatch.

With the vast possibilities of alternate realities comes lots of excitement as to what could happen, as well as genuine thrills and suspense weaved within the many magical rules of the world of the Sorcerer Supreme and the Scarlet Witch. Sam Raimi goes back to his horror roots with some of the dark undertones in certain scenes, that still blend in well with the cheerful and wondrous MCU tone we’re used to. The one thing that gets lost within the gigantic adventure is Strange’s own character arc — Strange’s growth through the film as an actual person has the right setup, but the payoff feels underwhelming and his internal journey needed more of a through line, which was felt more in his first solo movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor is fun to see as Mordo but his inclusion feels haphazard and incomplete. It’s also easy to get lost within all the explanations and world-hopping events that require some attention, with some exposition that ends up being unnecessary. Ultimately though, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of the most creatively rewarding MCU films in a while, though not the most emotional, funny or heartfelt, it’s filled with moments of edge-of-your-seat action, epic imagination, breathtaking visuals, campy horror, and insanity that have to be experienced in a theater, creating a sensory overload like no other superhero movie or blockbuster.

04.15.22
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Newt Scamander and crew join Albus Dumbledore in a quest to stop the evil Gellert Grindelwald from taking control of the entire Wizarding World and starting a war between wizards and Muggles.

Though the Harry Potter films have a fanbase that will stay strong for generations to come, the Fantastic Beasts films yet again fail to capture that same magic, and by now it feels like they’re not even trying to. The strengths still come in its production value and cast — the production design is very impressive and the musical score is top-notch. The cast is sufficient, especially Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander who was perfectly cast in the role. His bond with the titular beasts is very touching and gives the films an arc of compassion and heart. Jude Law also gives lots of nuance to the younger Dumbledore as his conflict with Grindelwald is explored deeper. Mads Mikkelsen also gives his fair share of menace and is much better than Johnny Depp, who came off as annoying in the last film. However, this is Jessica Williams’s first time as a lead in this film and she steals her scenes. Her charisma and energy are on another level and she’s going to be recognized by more audiences after this role, hopefully. However, Ezra Miller’s performance is still irritating, and feels rather deadpan and directionless. I don’t appreciate them giving Miller’s character so much screen time when they instead could’ve emphasized Katherine Waterson or Zoe Kravitz as main characters in this series (though Waterson still appears in a minor role).

The first one, though not amazing, still had its fair share of charm and excitement, but the following two installments became needlessly slow and gloomy when the Wizarding World thrives on being touching and cheerful; even in the darker Potter installments, the story is rooted in friendships and themes of goodness and courage. Thematically, these films suffer from a lack of direction in comparison. Though The Secrets of Dumbledore is a big improvement over The Crimes of Grindelwald, it still suffers from the same tonal issues, like feeling too much like a slow-burn drama for its own good and lacking thrills. The movie’s climactic battle is fairly thrilling but the buildup isn’t strong enough to give us much payoff. Where Warner Bros. really messed up here is writing this as a series of five films instead of a trilogy. The last 2 movies in the franchise were very dragged out and unrewarding from a story perspective and this way of pacing the story is costing the films a lot of excitement and coherence. The Harry Potter films were 8 movies and even the less eventful installments are memorable because of the nuances and world-building, but times have changed and having the same story and villain for five movies isn’t something audiences are looking for, as blockbuster films need to feel like a rewarding event when people buy a ticket — and here it’s once again evident that they should’ve stuck to the original plan and kept it at three films.

Though the potential for an exciting story and conflict are there, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore suffers from pacing and tonal issues that Wizarding World fans may be able to ignore for fantastical visuals and some strong performances, but it can’t bring the stakes and direction to the level such an epic-scale story needs to hit home.