In the Heights

9/10

In the Heights is a film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first musical. (Although Hamilton made him a household name, this is what got him on the scene.) It follows the lives of of several residents of the neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan.  

A lot of the musical numbers of movie musicals of the more recent decades lack a little something that those from the technicolor age of Hollywood had. Back then you had elaborate dance routines with large numbers of dancers. I'm very pleased to say that In the Heights recaptures the feel. The musical numbers are really, really good. Director Jon M. Chu, best known for helming Crazy Rich Asians, has had a history of dance in his works and he clearly knows what he's doing here. The intricate choreography is impressive. The sense of grandest is there with huge ensembles, and colorful, engaging settings. Plus the editing is very tight. A lot of effort went into meshing all these elements together. I'm really impressed with how the opening number was crazy ambitious with the the sheer number of locations they shot at. Though most of the numbers rely on the more grounded setting of the barrio, a couple of them get imaginative visually as well. 

The movie does a good job of telling the immigrant experience while keeping the characters individuals and not speaking points. I also rather liked the framing device of the film's lead bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) telling his story to a bunch of kids more than I thought I would as it blends in with the main story nicely. However, I don't know if everyone will have the attention span for this. The movie is two hours and thirty-two minutes long and between the songs a lot of this is just people talking with each other. 

The cast is great all across the board. This is actually a big break for a bunch of new talent who haven't gotten the chance to shine. Anthony Ramos in particular manages to sell his role. There are a couple known actors in here as well. NYPD Blue's Jimmy Smits gives a strong performance as father who wants what's best for his daughter, but disagrees with her on what that is. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz is part of a trio of salon owners along with Daphne Rubin-Vega and Dascha Polanco who serve as the show's more lighthearted characters. Though 99 viewers are more familiar with Beatriz's tough, reserved performance, she's got range and probably does the best facial expression work out of the entire cast. 

Overall, I really recommend this. I think this is one of the best put together movie musicals in recent years. 

P.S. Make sure to stay through the credits.

Love, Death & Robots- Season 2

9/10

It's the return of the adult animated anthology show that's the modern equivalent of Heavy Metal. (The show in fact initially evolved from the creators' original attempts to create a new Heavy Metal movie.) 

This season has been cut a little under half with only six episodes, unfortunately. Would've liked more, but can't complain with what I got. A lot of people have been complaining about the episodes this season, but I haven't had any trouble. I thought the shorts were interesting enough. I love how varied this show gets and no two stories are alike. My favorites are the future dystopian tale Pop Squad, the horror installment The Tall Grass, and the macabre Christmas story All Through the House. The Drowned Giant, about a dead giant found washed up on the beach, has a truly original concept, but I admit this segment suffers from a narration that tries too hard to be philosophical.

The largest difference between this season and the last is that the nudity and hard violence just for nudity and hard violence have been cut. Some people may miss that content, but this still isn't family fare if that's what you're worried about.

The show is as visually impressive as the last season. Money is clearly put into this as all the segments look great. There is a a lot of variation in style.

Highly recommended. Another creative season and something different from other animated TV fare. Even if the episodes aren't to your taste, they're short, so you're not wasting much time taking a chance on them. 

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.