Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

9/10

In this film, Shang-Chi (played by Simiu Lu from the Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience) is an unambitious fellow working as a valet with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina). However, Shang-Chi's past comes to haunt him as he is pursued by the criminal organization The Ten Rings to which he has ties.

This film proves once again that the MCU is going to do just fine after the shakeup of Endgame. This is even a stronger entry than Black Widow. It's not one of those Marvel films that tries to switch up the tone a little. It is just a good ol' fashioned action-packed audience-pleaser. If you're a little tired of the Marvel formula, I'd like to say in defense of this movie that it is really well executed.

Some of the fight choreography is really impressive, especially the bus scene. And yeah we have the traditional big budget battle at the end that the MCU is also known for, but it's a very impressive final battle.

There are a lot of Chinese mythical creatures in this. I really appreciate the amount of detail and color that went toward them. However, it's clear the creatures are computer animated as the amount of detail is a little at the expense of realistic quality.  

The story in this has a different feel about it. It really is based around the main character's personal life and how it relates to his journey even more than the likes of Black Widow or Thor. The whole general backstory is really well thought out (especially when it comes to using the Mandarin/Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) without wandering into the general area of the Yellow Peril/Fu Manchu stereotype that the comics character originally was.) 

The script is one of the more humorous Marvel films and has two jokes that are just laugh-out-loud funny.

Though this movie makes good use of comprehensive flashbacks spread throughout to build the story, there are a lot of them and some could find them exhausting. I felt that the character of Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) wasn't always properly utilized in the last act. She needed more interaction between characters and it felt like her backstory didn't get a resolution in a way that would've felt natural. If you saw the character Death Dealer (Andy Le) in the trailers and thought he looked neat, be forewarned that he's basically Boba Fett, cool design but sadly underutilized. Plus, comics fans might be disappointed that they've significantly limited the abilities of the Mandarin's rings, which originally each had their own unique power.

Simiu makes for a likable lead. Think of Shang-Chi as kind of a goofy average Joe like Ant Man, except he's more sensible and a chill dude. However, it's Awkwafina who really steals the show. She's funny and entertaining, but she never feels like she's forced in and works well with the more serious moments of the film. Leung makes a good antagonist, one of the most sympathetic and sorta fleshed out villains in the MCU. 

Highly recommended, just an all-around entertaining movie.

Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage

9/10

This installment of the HBO documentary series Music Box looks at Woodstock 99, the third and so far last of the Woodstock concerts. It was intended hit to the zeitgeist of the nineties music scene by hosting a huge amount of big names at the time and had an audience of 400,000. However, it didn't properly plan for the heat, water and bathing conditions. In the end, there was massive violence/vandalism, including multiple counts of rape or other sexual harassment, and one man died of heat stroke. Eventually the police had to be brought in to clear it up and MTV News, which was covering the entire thing, had to vacate.

This is just a really well orchestrated doc. It carefully follows each day of the festival and does a great job of carefully building toward and explaining how things went nuts. This is one of those narrationless documentaries where everything is set up by the interviewees dialogue. 

I remember the MTV/news coverage of the chaos and this really brings it all back for me. (They even got MTV's Carson Daly to interview. Unfortunately Kurt Loder, the network's other major face to at the concert to the best of my memory doesn't participate.) It is also just an excellent all-encompassing glance into the nineties culture in general.

I thought this was a better done concert-gone-wrong documentary than those two Fyre Festival ones. This felt more comprehensive of the situation. Also, I felt it more interesting to see an ill-fated concert that should've worked in theory run by guys with experience than the overtly ambitious and untested dream run by guys new to concert promotion. 

Speaking of the organizers, co-producer John Scher makes himself the perfect villain. He goes out of the way point the finger towards anyone besides himself and just insultingly tries to avoid the blame in general. There is one remark from him that may have you yelling at the screen.  

The doc definitely earns its TV-MA rating. This is a very honest portrayal of what went on at the festival, by which I mean there is a crazy number of boobs and dicks. I mean a lot. There is one of photograph of the inside of the occupied women's shower, and I don't feel comfortable with it. I'm pretty sure that not every if not all women were aware and/or gave their consent for that. Cringey choice by the director. 

Highly recommended. Really covers the concert and its time period. Great for both people who remember it and the younger generation if they want to know more.

The Green Knight

7/10

In this movie based on the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain (played by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel), nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris), accepts a challenge from the mysterious Green Knight (Ralph Ineson). The challenge doesn't turn out to be what Gawain thinks it is and he ends up having to accept a second part of it that causes him to go on a journey on what may very well be a suicide mission.

This is one of those movies that are hard to rate. I mean it looks great. This is one of those Blade Runneresque films where it's really characterized by it's look; maybe the most visually arresting film of the year. Director/writer David Lowery (who also did the Pete's Dragon reboot) brings a great eye to this with wonderful shots of creative medieval architecture and clothing and sumptuous pastoral scenery. He is one of those directors that has a truly confident hold on all their shots. The treelike Green Knight is a great-looking design, imposing but in a fascinating way. Glad Lowery didn't go with CGI. The makeup still allows Ineson some facial expressiveness. (There is a little CGI in another part of this that feels dodgy, but it doesn't last long.) The medieval-esque music also really helps capture the feel of the film.

It's the plot where my opinion of this becomes complicated. When this movie started I would've rated it higher, but my opinion got lower as it continued. Running at two hours and ten minutes, the movie runs feels tired out by the third act. This is a travel film where Gawain encounters many distinctive characters and unexpected situations on his way. They're hit and miss. Some things stuck with me, while others tried my patience. For an artsy film, I found this accessible at first, but as the movie goes on (again it's the third act where issues are really prevalent) the movie reeks of Lowery trying way too hard to be clever and adding psychological depth and modern sensibility to the original tale. (Don't get me wrong, this isn;t one of those art films that the average Joe won't be able to get into at all. You can tell where Lowery's going with this.) It just feels like a bit much.

Acting's good. Patel does a decent job of portraying a flawed character in contrast to the more noble Gawain of lore. Harris steals every scene as a sickly, thoughtful take on Arthur. Ineson really manages to give a partially mysterious, unknowable but oddly courteous feel to the Knight.

I can see some people being bored with this or at least a little disappointed with the third act. However, when you get a lot of films these days based on popular franchises or traditional formats or concepts, it's nice to see something that feels truly original with a distinctive director's voice. If anything, the visuals are worth seeing.

Candyman (2021)

9/10

In this sequel to the original Candyman that has the exact same name (it's the Thing prequel all over again; just add a subtitle to tell them apart!), Anthony McCoy (played by Aquaman's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), suffering from artist's block, turns to the urban legend of the Candyman for creativity, which leads him down a dark, deadly path.

First off, the scares and violence in this are really, really well done. There are clever and brutal ideas in this. There's a scene where I had to avert my eyes, and that doesn't happen much. Some of the best "slashing" kills I've ever seen put to screen are here. 

The camerawork is wonderful (including one kill you won't forget). There is a lot of use of mirrors and reflections and it never gets old. Has wonderful sets and locations, especially in the nicer part of Chicago. Some unique architecture choices are used to create a feeling of cold, urban uneasiness. 

Paper shadow puppets are used for the exhibition of the Candyman's history and they have their own creepy simplicity to them. Hats off to both the opening and closing credits and the musical choices for them. (Think about the opening to Us; they share that particular unsettling feel.) Also just kudos for doing an opening credits at all; you don't see those much anymore. We even get a rework of the music box/Helen's theme from the original that has its own special take.

The movie has a clever and surprisingly acceptable way of dealing with the fact that original Candyman Tony Todd is too old looking to play the unaging character. This new idea also comes up with a decent explanation for why he's called Candyman, which was never explained in the original. The film does all this, while managing to maintain continuity.

Whereas the original was a white director's views of the black experience, this movie is a direct source of the Black voice with both an African American director and screenwriters, including Jordan Peele. The film addresses such topics as gentrification and the treatment of the Black man in American history. 

The script has a few funny moments that manage not to feel out of place or betray the horror of the film.

As much as I was shocked by the movie or interested in what happened next, the story could've been tighter in a couple places. There are twp short character moments I think could've been cut as they didn't quite work. There are also a couple scenes that I felt needed to be handled in a more nuanced manner.

Fans of Tony Todd don't come into this expecting to see him. It's too bad, because the threat or threats in this don't have the gravitas Todd possessed and made the character famous. 

Cast in this pretty is good, especially Abdul-Mateen. He does a great job of playing a three-dimensional character that becomes selfish and self-destructive, but you still care about what happens to him.

I still prefer the original. It had a tighter script and more of a unique raw, bleak feel to it. This doesn't miss by that much, though. It still brings a bleak, urban eeriness to everything while also having it's own feel. The movie definitely leaves more of an impression than a lot of horror movies. Recommended, especially for kill fans. 

Descendants: The Royal Wedding

7/10

In this animated special, Mal (played by Dove Cameron) and King Ben (played by Mitchell Hope) from the Disney Channel's Descendants movies are having their wedding. 

It's an okay story, nothing big, but it does alright when it comes to the character relations and personalities. The ending comes from a positive place. The death of Carlos' actor Cameron Boyce is referenced to in a far more emotional way than you'd expect from the Descendants franchise. Also, they have Audrey (Charmed's Sarah Jeffrey) as a stressed-out, excessive wedding planner and she's probably the best part as she's funny to watch.

However, the special accentuates one of the cringiest parts of the movies: the insistence that two teenagers get engaged and then married. I think they're still in high school. Not a good message for kids saying you should find love and marriage at such a young age. 

The character animation looks off and basic with simplistic clothes and movement. The lips don't even seem to match the dialogue. They kind of look like the cheap cartoons that appeared really early in the morning on Saturdays before the regular Fox Kids, Kids WB, etc. programming blocks came on, such as that Sherlock Holmes show that took place in the future, Liberty's Kids, Archie's Weird Mysteries. In fairness, the animators were going for a far more challenging type of character design than the basic Kalish style you find today. This is more the type of design you'd find during the eighties and nineties. The colorful backgrounds fair better.

A new song was written for this. Not memorable, but I felt it was a nice work.

The special seems to reunite all the actors from the films, but they're not all great at voice work. I think Jeffrey does the best work here, probably since she has the benefit of being the comic relief and getting to just have fun with her lines, while most of the other characters are expected to deliver the plot and the conflict. 

If you have a kid who loves the Descendants, they'll like this. Again, it's alright. Not particularly good or bad. 

 

Vivo

9/10

Vivo out on Netflix is about the titular kinkajou (voiced by Hamilton's Lin Manuel-Miranda) who travels from Cuba to Florida on an important mission to deliver a letter. (I know that synopsis is a little vague, but the trailer is also keeping certain things vague, and I don't want to spoil any particular parts of emotional impact.)

This tries to copy the Pixar formula, and I mean that as a compliment. Okay, this doesn't have quite the writing strength or ingenuity of Pixar, but it comes so much closer than most other film studios when it comes to echoing the style, and probably comes the closest to recreating the emotional gut punch that the is known for such Pixar films as Up. The story the creators up with for this is a truly unique and touching one. 

I've seen complaints that the middle is your basic odd couple/road trip children's film. Personally, I'm not hating it. Yeah, it's the type, but I think it's a pretty well done road trip that's boosted with a good sense of humor and adventure and a fun cast. Plus, it's surprisingly well paced; there was one part particular scene that didn't wow me, but that was quickly over and on to the next thing.

I got to admit that Vivo is overshadowed in his own film. The scene-stealer here is Gabi (Ynairaly Simo), the young girl who accompanies Vivo on his quest. She's a wild child and fills the screen with her enthusiasm and jokes, plus she also has some pretty emotional underpinnings behind what she does and her relationships. We also get an amusing trio of girl scouts, each having distinct personalities, whose goals conflict with Gabi and Vivo's. The lead scout Becky is voiced by Scandal's Katie Lowes, while all the other child characters are voiced by kids. Odd choice, and it kind of sticks out.   

This may not have a Pixar or Disney level budget, but this is a really well designed film. There is an excellent use of vibrant color that brings the world to life. Can't think of any children's films off the top of my head that take place in Florida. This really got the general look. But it's during three of the musical numbers that the movie becomes a real visual delight, just some very creative choices and really well animated.

I rather liked some of the character designs in this are pretty good, but a few seem odd. (There's something about the shape of Gabi's mom's head that seems off.) However, it may be unfair of me; the movie does seem to be making an effort of showing different body types. 

Manuel-Miranda wrote the songs in this as well, and they're all good. Nice variation of styles.

Highly recommended. Again, not quite Pixar or Disney but close. A touching story that is enjoyable for kids and adults.

The Loud House Movie

6.5/10

For the unfamiliar, Loud House is a Nickelodeon cartoon going into its sixth season about Lincoln Loud (voiced by Asher Bishop) who lives with ten sisters, each with very distinct personalities. In this movie on Netflix, the family travels to a Scotland town where they discover they're the heirs of the rulers to the place.

From an adult perspective, this movie is just alright. It feels like a very basic daily cartoon story. (Also, it's sorta like the plot to the first Munsters movie.) It's not like anyone behind this is slacking, but there are no big swings either (like compared to the first Phineas and Ferb movie or the Recess movie, which managed to justify the switch from show to film). It's just basic cartoon antics and a lot of stuff that is just thrown at you. Not to mention a few songs that are alright, but you probably won't remember them. (I couldn't remember the first one right after it endend.) The adult mind will probably question a lot of stuff that happens in this that you're just supposed to accept. Basically, the movie doesn't stand out when compared to a lot of its animated brethren and definitely won't have much of a multi-generational crossover.

But the kids, especially the fans of the show, will probably like this. A lot of this feels right up a child's ally. The film definitely has an old school family comic strip feel to it. The various sisters and other characters amuse with their unique quirks, especially the baby Lily (voiced by Grey Griffin) who is frankly an adorable, spirited girl. I also rather liked a new character in this, Angus (voiced by Doctor Who/Broadchurch's David Tennant), the guy who introduces the Louds to the town and its lore. He's just really nice and supportive.

I wouldn't say the animation is big budget theatrical quality, but it definitely feels that the animation is a step above show quality. Going back to the comic strip comparison, the design also really has that feel, and I rather like the line work in this.

I can't recommend this to any adults (it's one of those kids films that will be forgotten amongst all the other ones out there), nor is it something a parent might want to pay attention to when their kids have it on. But, I don't think it'll drive parents crazy. It's a child-pleaser and in that regards I think it succeeds.