Finding Nemo Pixar #5

2021-10-23

Finding Nemo is a delightful children’s movie. It’s the story of a worrying dad (Marlin), a son (Nemo) trying to grow into his own self, the trouble that causes, and the lengths family can go through for one another.

Shazam!

2021-10-21

That was not really what I expected. On one hand, it’s got the heart of a super hero origin story, with Billy Batson gaining powers, learning to use them (and not lose himself or his friends/family while doing so), and fighting the big bad.

The Rescuers Down Under Disney Animated #29

2021-10-17

Well that’s an absolute blast of childhood nostalgia. We had this movie on VHS when I was little and I remember watching the heck out of it, although I haven’t otherwise seen it in decades now. Truth be told, it wasn’t until recently that I realized it was even a sequel… In any case. The Rescuers (Down Under) is the story of a worldwide society of mice that take it upon themselves to rescue human children in need of help.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Marvel Cinematic Universe #25 MCU Phase 4 #2

2021-10-09

Well that was a surprisingly delightful movie. It takes a character I’ve at least barely heard of1 with a cast pretty much unknown to the western world2 and turns it into a wonderful combination of human drama, Lovecraftian baddies, and awesome action scenes. It’s well among my favorite MCU movies to date (only Captain America beats it out among introductions and a few others overall) and well worth the watch. After how big the MCU has gotten recently, it’s kind of nice to see a movie that almost completely stands on it’s own3.

Black Widow Marvel Cinematic Universe #24 MCU Phase 4 #1

2021-09-08

The first time I’ve been to theaters since… Avengers: Endgame. Man it’s been a weird few years. Which actually wraps up Black Widow pretty well. On one hand, it’s a fairly solid action/spy movie. There are a number of spectacular action scenes, a deep dive into Black Widow–it’s akin to an origin story, but filling in a character we already knew a decent amount of back rather than introducing someone new, which was nice–and the introduction of a few new characters I expect we’ll see more of.

Palm Springs

2021-09-02

Who doesn’t love a good time loop movie/episode? Especially a crude (at times) time loop + romantic comedy. Nyles: I guess you followed me. It’s one of those infinite time loop situations you might have heard about. Sarah: That I might have heard about? Nyles: Yeah. I think that’s pretty much the best part about the movie: there is more than one person trapped in and aware of the loop and Nyles at least is perfectly genre aware.

Avengers: Endgame Marvel Cinematic Universe #22 MCU Phase 3 #10

2021-08-29

Wow. That’s one heck of a climax. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos won. He snapped and half of the universe died–let’s ignore the logistics of that. In Endgame, there’s a chance–a very small chance–that they can fix it all. All they need is a little – Tony Stark: [discussing the “Time Heist”] I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise. Scott Lang: Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel.

Captain Marvel Marvel Cinematic Universe #21 MCU Phase 3 #9

2021-08-28

Captain Marvel is a bit of an odd movie. It’s a straight up superhero origin story with a bit more of a cosmic twist than many we’ve seen (other than Guardians of the Galaxy… and Thor…) It’s something of a prequel–in that it’s chronologically set before any of the other Marvel movies other than the beginning of Captain America. It’s got a hero in Captain Marvel with a grab bag of vaguely defined glowy energy powers with memory issues who has to go on a journey and power up to her final form.

Ant-Man and the Wasp Marvel Cinematic Universe #20 MCU Phase 3 #8

2021-08-25

Ant-Man and his daughter are adorable. Especially with Luis’ help. Luis is wonderful. Everyone playing Luis as he describes everyone. And Paul Rudd playing Janet van Dyne. Add to that the interactions with/introduction of Jimmy Woo. Scott Lang: Come on, Woo. I’ve got three days left. Why would I try to escape? Jimmy Woo: Sorry, Scott, but rules are rules. You trip the perimeter alarm, we search the place. Keel to stern, soup to nuts.

The Suicide Squad

2021-08-24

Oh, that is a glorious movie. Exactly what an R rated half-satirical superhero movie should be. I haven’t actually seen the first Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey (yet), so it’s not quite as strange that they apparently kept some of the characters/actors while ignoring some events and keeping others. Other than that… it’s just so enjoyable. Starting right from the opening: You have the Suicide Squad. Super powered criminals, given the chance to take a few years off their sentence if they’ll use their powers to do the jobs that the ‘real’ heroes are either too busy or too ‘good’ to do.