M.O.D.O.K.

7/10

M.O.D.O.K./Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, the Marvel villain who grew popular due to his distinctive appearance, he's got a giant head disproportionate to his body and moves around in a hover chair, gets his own stop-motion comedy on Hulu. In it, M.O.D.O.K. (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is faced with a tech giant buying his evil organization A.I.M. and his wife Jodie (Lucifer's Aimee Garcia) leaving him.

This is a mixed work. The biggest issue with this is that it exercises worn character types and their associated jokes without adding anything new to the table. M.O.D.O.K. is the typical selfish, kinda dumb, and oblivious character. The show goes all in on him, but his jokes can be soooooo predictable. The Super-Adaptoid (Jon Daly) is the guy who gets dumped on for no reason, a trope that is really worn out. You could leave him out and the show wouldn't really change that much. M.O.D.O.K.'s son Lou (Ben Schwartz) is the weird one. Usually that guy is the really funny one, but I've never seen this type fail so hard. Most of his lines bomb. He goes into these ramblings about magic or dancing, and they're so indulgent and run out their welcome.   

On the other hand, the show can be pretty funny at times. The first half of the show is finding itself. The humor hits its stride in the second half. There are approximately three jokes in this that are truly inspired. A.I.M.'s second-in-command Monica Rappacini (Reno 911's/The Goldberg's Wendi McLendon-Lovey) is rather fun. She's a little nuts and has an obsession with weird biological experiments like cyborg manatees.

Occasionally the show will get a little more serious, and those moments really work. Although M.O.D.O.K. can get tiresome, you can feel for him sometimes. Oswalt really nails these moments. The finale... Wow! It's really something. Not the usual type of finale. It'll keep you hooked.   

The stop-motion in this is pretty impressive given all the high concept superhero world stuff that happens in this. M.O.D.O.K. usually hovers and that must've been very hard to pull off.

I see this as one of those shows that'll get a lot of mixed reactions. Some'll really like it and some'll be turned off. Though I'm definitely coming back to the second season, I don't know if I can just recommend this to everyone as the writers often do coast and there are just so many stronger comedies out there to watch. Still, this can be an interesting watch if you so choose to stick through this.

Army of the Dead

8/10

Zach Snyder's first post-DCU film goes back to his roots. The movie that started his career was the Dawn of the Dead remake and after all these years he's back to zombies. In Army of the dead, the entirety of Las Vegas was quarantined and blocked off after a zombie outbreak. A typically ragtag group led by former soldier Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) is organized to retrieve a whole lot of money from a casino vault before the government blows the place up.  

There's been a lot of zombie movies over the years, and Snyder seems to realize that. He tries to tackle some new things with zombies (he definitely has the budget to), smart zombies and zombie animals. 

Movie looks good. The intro montage showing the start of the zombie attack is really impressive and the best planned part of the movie. Since this takes place out in the heat of Nevada, Snyder actually uses sunlight in his film, though it is still muted somewhat as is the director's wont. The zombie fighting is well done. It's especially fun to see the massive Bautista take down zombies with just a knife.

You get a sizable number of distinctive characters in this. The one who stands out the most is safe-cracker and comic relief Dieter (Matthias Schewighofer).

There are a lot of plot points you can question about this, especially the whole plan for the heist, but they weren't severe enough that they interrupted my just enjoying the film.

One thing that bugged me is that ending goes on a little too long past a good stopping point. It's not as long as Snyder's infamous epilogue to Justice League, but it feels inelegant. 

Overall, Army of the Dead is a pretty entertaining zombie action flick. Nothing more, nothing less. Recommended.

The Conjuring, the Devil Made Me Do It

 

8/10

In this third entry in the main Conjuring line of films, Lorraine and Ed Warren (played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) investigate the possession of Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor) who was made to commit a murder.

First, off this didn't have the same steady rate of scares as the first two films. There are decent ones, don't get me wrong, but they're spread apart. I didn't really mind as The Devil Makes Me Do It has an entertaining story. The movie moves away from focusing on one family being haunted (although I liked Conjuring 2, I admit it the plot did feel a little retread-ey) and is more of a supernatural investigation movie. Instead of constant scare there is a little more of an emphasis of general dark underpinnings.

This is the first time in the main films you actually see kills if that's what you like. However, one may also feel it gross to make a popcorn film based on a real manslaughter case.        

One of the best parts is just hanging with the Warrens. Between their dialogue and Farmiga and Wilson's performance, the characters are just plain likable. (Credit should especially be given to Farmiga. She really sells her reactions to the supernatural.) I could watch them ordering breakfast at Denny's and I'd be fine. The rest of the cast is good, too. 

What I like about the Conjuring sequels is that they always tweak a little what the main threat will be. The antagonist in this may not be quite the standout that Conjuring 2's The Nun was, but is fairly effective and he or she leaves more of an impression than the ghost from the first film.

The movie's just nice to look at. This was directed by Michael Chaves, who direct the Conjuring-verse's La Llorona. That was my second least favorite film in the franchise, and I must admit I had my reservations about the director. I'm happy to say that Chaves has really improved. He really has a confident control of the cinematography. This movie reverts to the first Conjuring's  lighting scheme, and shows you can have natural, sunny lighting and still be a horror film. Chaves also has a really good eye for scenery and set design.

The scary moments may not be as frequent or have the punch that of the Conjuring, but don't get me wrong there are some good ones, some of which maintain the style of the previous films. 

Overall, I'd recommend this. Again, not quite as strong as the last two films but that's just compared to them. Besides, they were directed by James Wan, one of the biggest horror directors of recent. It's a bit of an unfair comparison. It's just a good time if you like spooky stuff.

The Bleepin' Robot Chicken Archie Comics Special

6.5

The stop-motion comedy sketch show Robot Chicken has done both Star Wars and DC specials and now they've set their eyes on the Archie Comics characters.

There's some fairly funny parts. The writers are acquainted with the material and there are some apt jabs at the franchise, including one deep dive (how many people here remember Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space?)

However, this is Robot Chicken. For every hit there is a miss. The writers like to go blue or gross assuming the joke'll be automatically funny without having to put any effort into it. There is one particular sketch with Principal Weatherbee (voiced by Jared Harris) that goes waaaay too far. 

Voice cast is pretty good, and you get a surprising group of known names. (Seriously, how'd they get Jared "mostly drama" Harris to do this?) However, I thought Amy Sedaris was miscast as Betty. The voice just doesn't fit the character. 

Overall, it's an average Robot Chicken episode. Not the best entry point for newbies or re-entry point if you haven't seen the show in a while. Current fans will get what they want.

Cruella

 

9/10

This film follows Estella (played by Emma Stone), a small time con woman and aspiring fashion designer, who ends up working for powerful fashion designer Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson). Soon, a rivalry develops between the the two setting up the path to Estella becoming Cruella de Vil.

The best things to compare this to are Mouse Hunt or A Series of Unfortunate Events, a dark humor family film featuring a retro design style. The best way to describe this is as a heist film. Seeing the various plots by Cruella to upstage the Baroness give off an Ocean's 11 vibe. It's just fun seeing what she'll do next. 

Cruella is one o' those films where everything just comes together. (It's directed by I, Tonya's Craig Gillepsie.) The witty dialogue, the acting, cinematography, including one really impressive tracking shot, the song choices, and appearance all pop. 

The movie takes place in the seventies, allowing the film to go with it's own unique visual style that's really impressive to look at and keeps you as invested as the plot. The costumes in this are amazing! A lot of detail and creativity goes into these. This movie is definitely going to get a few production-based award nominations. 

The film had the difficult challenge of providing a villain that can live up to the same standard as Cruella de Vil, considered one of the most memorable baddies there is, plus the antagonist has to make her look better by comparison. However, they surprisingly managed the task with the Baroness. She is a commanding, disaffected, narcissist with a dry wit. Whereas Cruella's emotions run hot, the Baroness is differentiated by having hers run cold. She is a lot of fun to hate.

Years ago, when I heard Emma Stone was going to play Cruella, I just couldn't comprehend her playing it. However, now I see she was a great casting choice and absolutely perfect in the role. The very first time I saw Stone was in The House Bunny, where she played a nerdy sorority girl. She had such energy, and I knew that was someone's career to watch. However, a lot of her roles don't allow her to utilize that energy. Hear, she's allowed to chew the scenery and commands every scene she's in. She gets that Cruella's supposed to be a little nutty and even manages to include a hint of that  before Estella reaches her full potential. Though an actual English person may think differently, I found Stone's accent in this to be really good; she sounds like a completely different person and never breaks.

Of course there are the reasons why some people may be against this film. Cruella is changed from the notoriously evil villain who wanted to skin puppies to the sympathetic antihero. Whereas the first film implied and the original book straight up said she came from money, here she comes from poverty. (However, I've noticed more than one person complain about her hair being naturally black and white instead of dyed. I think that's a misconception. From what I've read, in the book her hair was supposed to naturally be that.) However, like Maleficent, I think it's best just to see the film as it's own thing, which ultimately doesn't take away from the original Cruella. 

This is pretty plot and dialogue heavy at points. Younger kids may not be able to keep their attention. 

I walked into this curious, but I didn't realize I'd end up loving this. It's one of those movies that really pull you. Next to Pete's Dragon, this is my second favorite of the Disney recent live-action remakes/spin-offs I've seen (haven't watched Mulan or Cinderella). Highly recommended.

Justice Society: World War II

6/10

In this film, the Flash (voiced by Matt Bomer) accidentally runs so fast that he ends up back in time in World War II where he encounters the Justice Society. 

JSWWII starts off promising enough. The JS members all have their personal stories, a few interesting things are thrown at us, and you get that old school war-era comics feel.   

Unfortunately, come the halfway point the whole thing becomes lackluster. The conclusion to the characters' arcs, though having weight feel a bit by the numbers, and you realize that they just do a lot of talking. Plus, everyone feels like they're going through the motions of the animated DC film formula.

The film loses the focus on the Nazi threat and the WWII theme that movie is supposed to be about. We end up with a villain that is terribly underwhelming and with hints at a background of his that is never actually revealed. 

The lack of originality to the ending really gets to me. Not one but two elements from the finales of two early 2010 DC animated films appear here and feel almost stolen. 

It doesn't help that since this movie takes place in the Forties, the movie resurrects a long forgotten plot point from the original forties' Wonder Woman run: Steve Trevor (Chris Diamantopoulos) constantly trying to get WW (Castle's Stana Katic) to marry him. This element doesn't age well. They give Trevor a better reason for this here than in the forties, but it still feels unhealthy. Also, out of the old forgotten plot elements, why bring back that one? I mean classic Wonder Women comics had the Amazons riding kangaroos. I want to see kangaroo riding, gosh darn it! (In fairness, there's a lot worse they could go with. The Wonder Woman comics don't age well. Practically every issue of William Moulton Marston's original run involved bondage and that is not an exaggeration.)

I have no complaints with the visuals. This uses the same rotoscope-esque animation style in Superman: Man of Tomorrow and it still looks pretty slick and good, especially for a made-for-DVD/streaming film. The credits go with a retro look that I liked.

Overall, I wouldn't say this movie is bad, but it ends up being forgettable. It doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the many other animated DC works.

Girls5eva- Season 1

 

8/10

In this show on Peacock, the four remaining members of the nineties one-hit wonders girl band Girls5eva decide to put the band back together after one of their songs is sampled in a popular rap.

Girls5eva is executive produced by Tina Fey and and created by Meredith Scardino, who was a writer on Fey's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. This has a very Fey style of writing, which might leave you feeling a little fatigued if you've seen the other shows she has made or produced. (You can only write so many jokes about New York.) That having been said, this style is still pretty funny with a lot of good, unexpected jokes. Girls5eva is definitely stronger than Mr. Mayor, Fey's own show that she recently created television season. What differentiates this program from others is a satirical look at the music industry.   

What also helps this show is that there is more of a dramatic backbone hidden beneath all the silliness. All the characters have their personal struggles. The band's manager and the industry haven't treated them poorly and you root for them as they try to regain success on their own terms. The last episode is surprisingly emotional.

The characters are good. The band includes Dawn (played by singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles, best known for "Love Song"), the straight man leader, Wickie (Hamilton's Renee Elise Goldsberry). the diva, and Summer (Cougar Town's Busy Phillips), the immature one. Yeah, they're tropes, but they're all done well. Phillips is probably the best cast member as she has a wide array of exagerrated facial expressions and manages to make the character feel ditzy while still able to make her three-dimensional. The fourth member Gloria (Paula Pell), a lesbian dentist who's learned from the school of hard knocks, is a more unique character. I'm glad Pell got a leading role. She started off as a comedy writer and has occasionally appeared in small roles in comedies, such as Ron's mother on Parks and Rec and the wife of one of the writers on 30 Rock. She's got a good aura of comedic energy and it's nice to see her get more attention.

Being a show about a band, there are a lot of songs in this. Now there are a few weak ones; the very first song gives off a bad first impression. Luckily, there are several pretty funny ones afterward. The show looks at how a lot of older songs are problematic, resulting some delightfully over-the-top cringeworthy lyrics here. The best song is definitely "I'm Afraid," which is just insane and delightfully dark.

This is definitely one of the better comedies I've seen this year. Recommended.