Month: July 2023

Every generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans has their own show or movie that got them into the franchise! For the 1980s and 90s kids, they had the original animated series or the original live-action film. For the 2000s kids, they had the 4kids show or the 2007 animated film. For the 2010s kids, they had the first Nickelodeon show or the Michael Bay-produced live-action films. And now for the kids currently in the 2020s, the main options for this generations of TMNT fans goes to the second Nickelodeon show in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the film it’s based on, and now, of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

A key reason as to why the Ninja Turtles themselves has resonated with so many people throughout many generations is knowing how to “modernize” the series in a way that’s appealing to the current generation it’s catering to along with still maintaining the spirit and heart that the turtles themselves as always have, save for the recent live-action reboot. And I don’t think there has been quite a TMNT flick that has captured that right balance of old and new along with it being the definite one for a new generation to follow than with Mutant Mayhem.

Of all the films that have we have gotten to date involving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mutant Mayhem is probably the one to get the most things right. The animation is top notch, the characters are all well-utilized and bounce off each other perfectly, the story feels fresh but yet faithful to the turtles lore, the score is absolutely killer, and it’s able to exist in it’s own sandbox as being the kind of castle that can stand proudly along with the best of what the Ninja Turtles have offered throughout their history. While I won’t go as far to say that it’s a perfect film, it’s certainly a perfect TMNT film and one that will likely be the one to get a new generation into this successful running franchise.

Plot Synopsis: After years of being shelter from the human world by their master/father Splinter (Jackie Chan), a brother band of turtles named Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Raphael (Brady Noon) look to get out of their comfort zone and set out to be accepted as normal teenagers through defining acts of heroism. During this process, they meet and collaborate a human girl who’s smart and has a desire in Journalism named April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), who also confidently has problems of her own with getting accepted by society after making a bad first impression in front of the camera in the school news.

As the turtles go on the hunt for a mysterious crime, they find themselves up against an army of mutants with Superfly (Ice Cube), Leatherhead (Rose Byrne), Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), Genghis Frog (Hannibal Buress), Wingnut (Natasia Demeteriou), Scumbug, (himself**) Ray Fillet (Post Malone), and the always memorable Bebop (Seth Rogen) and Rocksteady (John Cena). With the turtles believing this will be the perfect crime that they can stop to be accepted by humans along with April thinking this will be the perfect story to cover for school to be accepted by the rest of her school, both sides work to stop these army of mutants from accomplish their goals for the fate of themselves and New York City.

On the surface, it would be easy to say that Mutant Mayhem is to TMNT what the Spider-Verse movies is to Spider-Man or The Last Wish is to Puss in Boots but a more favorable comparison would be that of another animated feature, The Mitchells vs the Machines. And that’s not just because this film also happens to have the same writer in Jeff Rowe, whose the main director of this film, but because the animation style helps compliment one another with how rough and gritty it feels around the edges along with getting a feeling of pages in the book being ripped out right before your very eyes. And also tackling thematic elements such as acceptance, relevancy, and coming out of your comfort zone soon also helps too.

Even when compare to the recent surge of animated features that dare to use it’s medium as a brand of telling stories you couldn’t possibly do in any other form, Mutant Mayhem is still able to stand strongly as it’s own unique beast. It’s able to use the coming-of-age tropes and themes involving prejudice and discrimination that has been accustomed to the series while also able to blending it very well with modern times without going so overboard that it will become confusing for young fans and overbearing for adults. The arcs that the main turtles and April O’Neil go through involving trying to be accepted and finding your place in new uncharted territory is very engaging to watch and the parts of the story I can see engaging quite well with audience members.

What is also refreshing is how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actually feel like teenagers instead of just overgrown men cosplaying as children. Not just because all the turtle members are all played by teenagers respectively but they legit feel like real teens without ever becoming annoying or obnoxious. This is especially felt in the dialogue where they talk about the hot topics in the entertainment business such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the very best Chris in Hollywood. While it’s certainly there to give the case of the times that these turtles are currently living in, it also helps in the journey where they go from the end of being pubescence kids to the beginning of being young adults. While these might not act as the fully formed ninja turtles from past TMNT media, you do get a good sense by the end that there is still plenty of room for these characters to grow for the future.

Of course, the main talking point when it comes to the turtles themselves is of the kids actors themselves. While there are certainly times you certainly get the impression that these are child actors, they all do a fine job in the roles. Micah Abbey gets the wise and resourceful aspect of Donatello quite well. Shamon Brown Jr. shine as being the most charismatic and hearted of the bunch as Michaelangelo. Nicolas Cantu stands out perfectly as the leader and more honorable/responsible of the bunch as Leonardo. Brady Noon, while sounding a bit too pre-pubescence for my taste, still sounds as brave, strong, and courageous as Raphael.

As for the rest of the cast, it’s about as every bit of celebrity heavy as the animated film from 2007 was but they still seem like they are having a lot of fun playing their characters. Some of the biggest highlights of the cast include Ice Cube as Superfly, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Paul Rudd as Mondo, Seth Rogen as Bebop (And this is coming from someone who is normally not a fan!), and John Cena as Rocksteady. Ayo Edebiri is very good as the newer, diverse version of April O’Neil who shows enough sympathy and likability to get you invest in her arc of overcoming pressure and your greatest fear. Arguably the best performance in the entire film is given by Jackie Chan as Splinter. Chan does a great job at playing a wise but flawed father figure of the group who occasionally makes jokes and shows cracks of the armor when raising your kids.

The animation, as you would expect, is genuinely spectacular. Nearly every single shot in the movie could been seen as a page that leaped off a comic book and one that can be an easy pick for a screensaver. While comparisons to other recent animated films that are going for a more “out there” approach with their animations, it’s still able to stand strongly as it’s own thing just like the best of these films do. They masterfully help the action sequences by giving them all their own unique flare and style that compliment one another, with the main standout sequence being the one in the gateway. This is easily the best looking and stylist TMNT film to date and one that I can easily seeing aging well as the years go on.

In terms of everything else, this is quite a solidly put together film giving the 70 to 80 million dollar budget that was spend on it. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is very well done and captures the tone and mood perfectly along with being added by a very well-chosen hip hop soundtrack. It’s very well paced with a refreshing brief 100 minute long runtime, it’s filled to the brim with easter eggs and references that longtime fans will get a kick out off, and it ends on a note that will likely leave fans anxious to see new adventures with this iteration of the ninja turtles.

While Mutant Mayhem plays out as good as a TMNT film can possibly get, there are certainly some imperfections. There are times where the film looks too “dark” for it’s own good, not all the jokes/modern pop culture references land, and you are likely to see certain plot beats/story turns coming from a mile away. And while the looks of the characters themselves did grow on me as the film went on, April O’Neil’s design still feels more resemblance more of a young adult woman rather than a teenage girl.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an absolute blast and makes for an absolutely proper TMNT movie for this current generation. While certain opinions will vary, this is probably the best and most well down film adaption of the Ninja Turtles thus far. I can see this TMNT flick being the one that gets children into this series the way that prior movies and shows did before it along with being seen as a giant letter to the hardcore fans who are still around to this day. By the time we reach the end, you get the feeling that there’s a lot more to explore with this iteration of the turtles themselves and that a solid foundation has been set in stone. A sequel has just been announced is in the works along with a brand new 2D series. If they manage to be as enjoyable if not more so than Mutant Mayhem, than this new generation of TMNT fans will certainly have a lot to look forward to.

** Yes, really! That is literally what the credits says!

Other comments:

• There is a post credit scene btw. Even if I could see the obvious sequel tease coming, I still did get quite excited when I saw it.

• I can’t recall the last time I’ve been to a screening which was filled with kids and families that seemed like they were having the time of their lives. Movies are so back!

• This movie got the best Chris right!

• If you want to play a drinking game, take a sip every time a character mentions someone being “milked”. You will feel quite loopy in just the first thirty minutes of the movie.

• I don’t know if it’s just me but there has been quite an amazing run of animated flick as of late! Animation really is the future of cinema!

Last week saw an absolute explosion at the box office with the releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer. The kind of success that Hollywood hasn’t seen in 2023 aside from The Super Mario Bros. Movie. As we speak, Barbie has already made over 472 million dollars worldwide while Oppenheimer is at 231 million dollars. This of course was record breaking for both feature films. For Barbie, it was one of the highest grossing opening weekends in the history for Warner Bros along with the fourth biggest opening week in domestic box office history- just under Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. For Oppenheimer, it was the biggest opening for a Christopher Nolan film outside his Batman films along with the highest opening for an R-rated film since Joker. As much as it must’ve been hard for both studios to stay pat with their decision to released both of these highly anticipated films in the same weekend, it seemed to have paid off big time.

If you’ve been following the film industry and entertainment business right now, you probably know that things are not looking well in Hollywood at all. The strike between the writers and actors is still occurring which doesn’t look like it’s gonna get resolved anytime soon, so much so that films are likely looking to get pushed back because of it. This has also been a summer that despite releasing the most “big” films since 2019, has not fared well for theaters and the box office for Hollywood. Big anticipated blockbusters such as The Flash, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny were not able to make their money back whatsoever. Even the number of films that did make money at the box office such as Fast X and The Little Mermaid was still view as a disappointment due to how much both of those films cost to make. While the jury is still out on the likes of Elemental (which still has legs) and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning- Part 1 (which hopefully will still have legs), they were in desperate need of a guaranteed box office smash this summer that didn’t involve Marvel superheroes. And they finally got it!

To say that last weekend was important for cinema would be a massive understatement. This likely has been the first time that theaters seem to have brought a massive amount of audience to the theaters at once since Top Gun: Maverick. When seeing both of these films, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a theater so packed with tons of people exciting to see whatever film they were looking forward to seeing. It’s the kind of weekends that I remember with most big summer blockbusters releases before the pandemic hit. It was the kind of weekend that once again reminded everyone the importance of the movie theater going experience.

The big ringing question that I assume everyone has on their minds is that how did this happened? How were both of these films that had an insane amount of hype be able to meet and even surpass expectations at the same time where plenty others flicks this summer had failed? While I’m sure everyone has their own personal solutions, I think the answers is fairly obvious, there was a little bit of movies for everyone this week.

Regardless what your own personal thoughts on both of these films were, they had clear target demographics in mind that was able to appeal to both men and women worldwide. With Barbie, it was able to deliver the big budget flick that multiple generations of kids and those that grew up with the Barbie brand were finally given the chance to see. With Oppenheimer, it was able to deliver the R-rated biopic that adults and fans of Christopher Nolan were dying to see. And while these were far from “original” films, they felt like a refreshing change of pace over a year that been filled with interchangeable superhero flicks and franchises brand that have lost their appeal. These were just too good of flicks to just wait another few months for it become available through digital or streaming services to witness the experience. These had to be seen on the big screen because that was what these films were made for.

Of course, there are other elements you can mention as well, most notably the stellar marketing on both ends. Barbie was able to perfectly spoof all-time classics with the marketing along with showcasing trailers that actually didn’t show the whole movie for once but enough to get people interested. Oppenheimer was able to let people know of it’s existence ahead of time by starting it’s advertising campaign a year in advance and building upon on it until the film’s release, so much so that there was even an account on YouTube that literally had the trailer playing on loop for an eternity until the film actually came out. These were the kind of marketing you don’t get nowadays and was the kind of marketing I imagine most people missed with films. It was the kind of marketing that made you actually want to see the film instead of making you feel like you’ve already seen the film.

Above all, I think the think that sets Barbenheimer up top compare to many of the other big movies post-Covid is that it felt like an event. An event that is more satisfying to watch on the biggest screen possible rather than the comfort of your own homes. Just like with the other billion dollar grossers in the past three years with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Super Mario Bros Movie, these were simply can’t miss theater experiences. While a big part of that has to do with it being based off of a familiar property or a classic that many people loved, they were all distinct and different enough to where many people thought it was worth spending some hard earned cash to watch in a comfy theater when they released so they can watch it before their very eyes along with everyone else. That is something that most movies in the 2020s have several lacked but when the exceptions have come around, they’ve come around hard and proved their worth.

While no one is gonna suggest the right proper way to go about the success of Barbenheimer is to do one of these events every weekend, I think the lesson to learn here is for Hollywood to know their audience. Know deep down which kinds of movies and franchise installments that folks will actually want to see and not ones that they personally want to see happen. While more fun and competitive opening weekends are intriguing in their own right, this should not be the key for success for every big blockbuster going forward. We don’t need ten more Barbie sequels or five more R-rated biopics, what we need are a variety of films that feel fresh, unique, entertaining, and helps enhance the theater going experience. It’s then that perhaps we might see Barbenheimer as being a turning point for the future of cinema.

With the ways things are going on right now in Hollywood, Barbenheimer simply could not have come out in a better place at a better time. In a time where the strike with the actors, writers, and studios are at war with each other and where the summer movie season has been cooking up bomb after bomb, we needed a event like this to remind ourselves why movie theaters are important and why they are still worth keeping around even with digital and streaming services on the rise. While I highly doubt Hollywood will take the right lesson from this in the future, the fact that something like this was able to happen without it simply coming across as a forced meme is simply a miracle. And I could only hope we see a similar outcome in a few months when Saw X and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie come out during the same weekend.

This weekend saw the release of Oppenheimer, the newest entry to come from the great mind of Christopher Nolan. Although it unfortunately had to go up against Barbie at the same time as being one half of Barbenheimer (which I got a piece on coming soon), it looks as though it’s set to have a strong opening weekend in spite of it being three hours long and clearly NOT PG-13. As a result, time to rank every film in Christopher Nolan’s filmography thus far and see how it fares from worst to best.

It shouldn’t be unpopular to say that Christopher Nolan is one of the greatest filmmakers working today! He’s one of the few directors out there that everyone is aware of and his name attached to a film alone is enough to get people’s butts in theater seats. And coming at a time where there’s a strike going on in Hollywood and it’s in the middle of summer filled with underperforming/underwhelming big movies, leave it to Nolan to be one of the two directors this weekend helping to turn the tide on the narrative that people don’t go to theaters anymore. I’m sure this isn’t what the Dark Knight himself had in mind when he made it his quest to save theaters back in 2020 with Tenet, but hey, I still think he consider it an absolute win regardless.

Keep in mind that for this list, there’s really only one of these movies that I’m not the biggest fan off. Just about every other one I either like or absolutely LOVE! Heck, over half of the movies on this list were some of my absolute favorite films in the year they came out with some of them being on my list of favorite films every year. That’s why this list was INCREDIBLY hard to make! Regardless, I’m up to the challenge and let’s rank the great work coming from the Nolan mind himself.

12.) Tenet

I don’t know if this is a hot take or not but I have never been on board of the hype train for Tenet. While it’s well acted and looks amazing, this feels more of an intimation of a Christopher Nolan film than an actual Christopher Nolan film. The plot is a convoluted mess, the characters are completely one-note and even nameless, the sound mixing is ungodly atrocious, and while it’s central premise is a very interesting one, the execution of it could not have missed the mark as much as it could. The fact you have a film where the main protagonist name is literally referred to as the protagonist and you are expected to take it all seriously is literally all you need to know about the experience of watching Tenet. At least Nolan would get another chance of “saving” cinema later down the line.

11.) Following

The one that started it all. Christopher Nolan is able to make his first directorial debut with a very low budget and small scale flick about a young writer who follows strangers for a living in the hopes of being able to write something interesting for his novels. For a film that basically involves it’s main character trying to find an identity, Nolan is able to find his quite while here. The low budget is quite obvious and the 70 minute long running time can make certain elements feel rushed but for a film debut, it’s perfectly solid overall.

10.) Dunkirk

Nolan has always been a filmmaker that remained a loyalist on the experience of watching films in a theater. I don’t think there has been a film he has made to date that didn’t put as much emphasis on theater experience than with Dunkirk. A tense, tightly paced war epic about the battle that took place in the beaches of Dunkirk between Germany and France. While this definitely was an event worth seeing on the biggest screen in IMAX in July 2017, it’s lack of compelling characters and a needlessly complicated narrative really hinders the rewatch value and makes it fall short of being an all-time classic. Plenty will argue that this is the intention on the part of Nolan but that still doesn’t make for the most engaging watch for me. If Tenet was an example of a Nolan film that had great ideas but bad execution, then Dunkirk is an example of a Nolan film with bad ideas but ultimately great execution.

9.) Insomnia

The first film Nolan made that was disturbed by Warner Bros might just be his most overlooked feature to date. We have a very well done and engaging thriller about one man’s descent into madness and another man that is driven solely by madness. Al Pacino and Robin Williams turn in great performances and make for a perfect duology of the hero and villain of the picture. The film does a great job of showing the effect that constant daylight has on a character along with the passage of time that is scattered across the film. Tbh, the fact that this film is this low on the list says more about how good Nolan is at making films than the overall quality of Insomnia. Even if it doesn’t reach the ambition or scope has any of his films that came after this one, this still makes for a very good watch.

8.) Interstellar

What might be Nolan’s most ambitious film and largest in scope to date, Interstellar makes for one of the most interesting and intriguing sci-fi films of the 21st century. The film goes into great lengths about mankind’s place in the universe and what we are willing to achieve for the survival of the human race. The effects are a feast for the eyes, it’s superbly acted, the emotional core between Cooper and his daughter is very well done, and the first two acts is able to execute it’s themes to near perfection. It’s only the bumpy as hell ending and the way a certain subplot gets completely handwave by the conclusion that prevents this from being up there with Nolan’s very best. Even if it’s not able to stick the landing as well as it could have, Interstellar makes for one engaging ride that is worth experiencing at least one time.

7.) Batman Begins

Batman Begins was an absolute revolutionary when it came out back in 2005. Not only did it revived the Batman franchise that seemed long dead for eight years, but it help set the foundation that properties surrounding superheroes and comic books can in fact be taken more seriously and still be really good. It gives us an incredibly engaging Bruce Wayne in Christian Bale’s iconic turn as this iconic character along with providing a satisfying origin story that stands as one of the best ever put to screen. While it’s impact didn’t feel all the way felt until around the arrival of it’s sequel The Dark Knight three years later, this film’s importance to the Caped Crusader along with the sub-genre should not go unnoticed. Even before Marvel got their universe with Iron Man, it was this terrific first entry from Christopher Nolan that got the ball rolling with just how good a modern superhero movie can be.

6.) The Dark Knight Rises

Nolan’s final entry in his largely successful Dark Knight trilogy is his most daring movie of the lot. This is the one Batman film that actually dares to question the entire idea around the character of Batman: that perhaps Bruce Wayne becoming Batman was a mistake. Aided by a intimating villain in Tom Hardy’s Bane, a welcome supporting turn in Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman and a ending that brings the full themes of the trilogy together, The Dark Knight Rises made for an ending that is flawed but yet felt perfect at the same time. And especially in a age where superhero and movie franchises that constantly refuse to end, it’s certainly refreshing to have a series that was able to get a proper finale and stuck to it. Even if this film does have it’s detractors, I’m still a believer in The Dark Knight Rises…even if you’re not.

5.) The Prestige

Fresh off a year after reviving the Batman franchise, here we have an absolute mind bender of a film with a strong emotional core, twists and turns that are not just surprising but makes complete sense, and a film that overall doesn’t have a clear protagonist or antagonist. The Prestige offers Nolan’s most packed film in terms of themes, craftsmanship and it’s twisty as hell narrative. With the way everything unfolds through the entire picture, the whole experience plays like a manifesto itself. Making you wonder if one day Christopher Nolan will acts as a professional magician himself once he retires from making films. While not quite his best work, The Prestige is arguably Nolan’s most underrated film to date with how little the film gets talk about when it comes to top-tier Christopher Nolan.

4.) Memento

If you want to see a textbook example of how to make a film within a film, look no further than Memento. This is the kind of mind f**k that very few directors could pull off but Nolan is somehow able to do it. Guy Pearce is at his absolute best here as a man suffering from a rare memory loss that is trying to find the man who raped and killed his wife. The score is great, the mystery is able to build perfectly with each previous scene, and it’s just one of those rare films that will reward you every time you watch it regardless of what way you prefer to watch it. There’s not many films that constantly wants to keep me coming back for more after each viewing but Memento is one of those rare films. This is a film that might give you a headache when first watching it but it’s certainly the best headache you will ever have.

3.) Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is yet another masterfully made and directed film by the great Christopher Nolan himself. It’s able to tell exactly the kind of sprawling epic story that it aspires to be by acting as a character study first and a biopic second. Every single member of it’s highly recognizable cast is able to completely disappear into their roles and captured their performances perfectly, it does a good job of exploring the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer (played perfectly by Cillian Murphy) as not just “the destroyer of worlds” but as an impactful man himself, the three hour runtime is put to good use, and is able to deliver fully on the theater experience in ways that no other filmmaker can do. While may not quite be my very favorite from Nolan himself, this is certainly one of his most impressive work to date and one that I wouldn’t fault anyone who declares it as their new favorite.

2.) The Dark Knight

I know it’s become cliché to claim that The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies ever, but many people said that for a reason, it is just that damn good. It just works perfectly is at being an unique, distinct story about Batman being challenged mentally, emotionally, physically, thematically, and symbolically. The two other main characters throughout the picture in Joker and Harvey Dent represents both the hero that Batman so desperately wants to be along with the villain that he fears that he will one day come. It’s a Batman movie that perfectly mirrors itself with out it tells this identical tale of crime, corruption, and vengeance in the most complex and fascinating way imaginable. There are definitely Batman movies out there that people have liked/disliked more than others but I don’t think anyone can argue that there hasn’t been a Batman movie that has a much of an impact as The Dark Knight. From the twists and turns to it’s resonate themes to Heath Ledger’s amazing turn as Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight, even 14 years later, still stands strong!

1.) Inception

I always go back and forth on #1 and #2 depending on my mood but for right now, I’m gonna go with Inception. This is easily one of the very best sci films every made and one of the rare films where it’s brilliant ideas is able to be brilliantly executed in every way. The creativity on display is astonishing, the premise involving Inception is put to perfect use, the world building is some of the very best I’ve seen in any film, the action is top notch, the effects are breathtaking, the characters are all compelling and engaging, every actor is perfect in their roles, the score is absolutely mesmerizing, and it has one of the most satisfying endings I’ve seen in any film. This is one of the films where no matter how many times I watch it, I still get a fresh, unique, and intriguing experience out of it. This blew mind when I saw for the first time in 2010 and it still blows my mind now. Inception is the best film by Christopher Nolan to date and is one I can recommend to anyone that is a lover of films.

You ever have that one that you fully expected to be good because of all the talent involved with it yet it still manages to surprise you in the best of ways? In regards to Barbie, I think any film fan was anxious to see how this particular film turned out with Greta Gerwig at the helm, the director behind the marvelous Lady Bird and Little Women along with co-directing the not very well known but still very good Nights and Weekends. You also can’t overlook the big names attached to the cast such as Margot Robbie as Barbie herself, Ryan Gosling as Ken, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Simi Lu, Will Ferrell, and even John Cena (for one scene anyway). With a lesser known or proven director, there’s a chance that expectations would not have been as high. However, with the right people working on this project, it seemed like it can achieve another level of creativity and quality storytelling with a movie centering around a successful toy brand that is on par with The L.E.G.O. Movie. Suffice to say, Barbie is as much of a no-brainer winner as many expected to be.

It’s as every bit of clever, funny, and creative as you would expected but it is still able to subvert your expectations in a very intriguing way with a thought-provoking narrative, relevant themes surrounding feminism, patriarchy, gender roles, and identity, and some completely bold turns it takes with the story. The world-building is as strong as it could possibly with a movie surrounding a toy brand that everyone is aware off, each cast member are clearly having the time of their lives, the soundtrack is one you are likely gonna have stuck in your head as soon as you leave the theater, and it feels so refreshing to see a new summer blockbuster that seems to have to same love and passion it does from both in front and behind the camera. It doesn’t all work 100% and there will certainly be plenty of folks that will take issue with the way it handles it’s themes and messages but for the most part, Greta Gerwig is able to make lightning strike a third time in a row and has made herself a new name to look out for.

Plot Synopsis: Barbie (Margot Robbie) is enjoying the perfect life of a woman with her other variations (Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cuz Kayne, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, and Marisa Abela) in Barbieland, a matriarchal society where women are self-confident, self-sufficient, and successful. Ken (Ryan Gosling) is also enjoying his life with his counterparts (Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, Rob Brydon, and John Cena) as they spend their days engaging with each other on the beach while the Barbies hold all the important job positions such as doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Ken constantly keeps trying to win over Barbie’s hearts but she keeps turning him down in favor of independence and spending time with their female colleagues. During a dance party one night, Barbie suddenly starts questioning her own mortality and brings up death. The next day, she discovers that she can no longer do her own usual daily routines and no longer has flawless hair or skin. It’s then that Barbie, who is constantly referred to as Stereotypical Barbie, meets with Weird Barbie, a local outcast, who informs her that the only way to cure her mysterious affliction is to travel to the real world and find the child who play with her.

Stereotypical Barbie along with Stereotypical Ken go on an adventure together to find Barbie’s kid. However, as the two enter the real world, they end up exposing themselves to CEO of Mattel (Will Ferrell, the toy company who creates the Barbie dolls, who order their capture. Circumstances get more complicated when Ken learns of the American patriarchal system, where he feels important and accepted for the first time. Returning to Barbieland on his own, he persuades the other Kens to take over and turn what was a previously a matriarchal ran society into a patriarchal ran one.

Barbie must team up with her former owner and Mattel employee named Gloria (America Ferrera) and her bitter daughter named Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) to find her true identity and save Barbieland before it’s too late.

When looking at the film on the surface, it’s easy to see why Barbie seems to work as well as it does. The costumes, set designs, world building, and pure aesthetics that are on display feel like they are ripped straight out the fantasies of any young girl that has ever played a Barbie doll in her life as well as any typical Barbie commercial. However, it’s the top notch script from Greta Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach, who also happens to be Gerwig’s husband as well, that’s able to make Barbie an almost certain instant classic. It’s able to deliver in ways that you want but also in ways that you didn’t think you want.

The film takes very clever and subversive takes on each kind of genre tropes it attempts to tackles. From coming-of-age to fish out of water to finding your place in the world to gender roles to modern feminism to old school patriarchy, there’s not a single stone that Greta Gerwig leaves unturned and is not afraid to deliver her commentary on each and every one of these topics. It’s able to use the IP of Barbie, a property that has always been known for being by in large for delivering the perfect power fantasy for any young girl, and uses it to craft a story that greatly examines the classic gender roles, comparing and contrasting the real world with the “perfect” world, and how life is basically meaningless when you are someone who is flawless.

The film is able to successfully uses it’s IP to say something about the impact that Barbie has had on pop culture, the pros and cons of that impact, and what that impact can mean for everyone going forward. Even if it doesn’t quite examine it in a family-friendly manner the way The L.E.G.O. Movie did, it is able to prove once again how making a movie involving a brand should NOT affect the quality of the motion picture. So much so, that at times, the film acts as a response to the way films of this kind are made. Almost as if Gerwig is stretching the point that there are ways to be more inventive and complex with your work instead of just sticking to the typical stereotypical tropes.

Barbie is able to operate on so many different levels to make it one of most multilayered blockbusters in recent memory. Even if you are someone that doesn’t care for or isn’t comfortable with the themes and messages the movie is openly trying to convey, there is plenty of amusement to be found with the picture with the amount of meta humor, references, and quips the film constantly throws at you. It can be dark humor at times (This is a PG-13 movie btw!) but it’s very clear that Gerwig is inviting the audience to laugh along with her and have fun along the way.

Margot Robbie is about as pitch perfect as Barbie as you would expected and nails the role about as well as she nailed Harley Quinn. Her iteration of Barbie is as multilayered as she is three-dimensional and that’s in large because of how well she is able to deliver every single beat of her character where it counts the most. She handles the comedy greatly and easily sells the emotional and dramatic moments with ease. If this doesn’t prove that she’s more than capable of holding her own feature film and isn’t getting work in Hollywood based strictly on her looks, then I don’t know what will.

The rest of the cast is able to shine very well and it seem like they are enjoying themselves immensely. Ryan Gosling is brilliant as Ken, stealing nearly every scene he’s in. As much as he is funny and can be the butt of many of the jokes, he still does does have humanity and dimension to him that comes full circle towards the end. America Ferrera holds well on her own as being Barbie’s former owner and the adult who still has the heart of the child. Michael Cera and Simi Lu gets some laughs as their own versions of Kin. Kate McKinnon is as enjoyable to watch as she always is. Not to mention, Helen Mirren makes for one perfect narrator! It’s a big credit to Greta Gerwig as a director that she is able to find new ways to make a very familiar and well-known cast stand out well in their own ways.

Production wise, it’s very clear a lot of love, heart, and passion has been put into everything. It’s a very colorful and beautiful film to look at with sets, costumes, backgrounds, and visuals that look right at home of what I imagine most would want a Barbie film to look like. The soundtrack by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt is very well done with song choices that are incredibly inspired and will likely will have folks want to buy the soundtrack whenever they can. Greta Gerwig’s vision is perfectly realized throughout the entire picture and proves through every minute of frame that she was the perfect choice to direct this movie.

There are a few things that hold Barbie back from being a complete masterwork overall. As entertaining as Will Ferrell is when he’s on the screen as the CEO, the film doesn’t really know what to do with his character after the first meeting with Barbie and even completely disappears for at least a good half an hour. Not every joke lands as it should, some relationships between certain characters could have used more development, and has moments with it’s commentary while meaningful and well intended, feels like it would have better off showing instead of telling. Then again, this is suppose to be a mainstream movie and sometimes a little spoon feeding is needed for them.

Barbie is another triumph from Greta Gerwig, who is quickly turning herself into not just perhaps the best female director working today but one of the big names to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future. It’s very entertaining, immensely funny, cleverly subversive, and not afraid to be feminist in the slightest. Margot Robbie is perfect as Barbie and Ryan Gosling steals every scene he is in as Ken.

Between the releases of this and Oppenheimer, it’s proof that Hollywood should considered more events such has Barbieheimer going forward. Perhaps then movies will start to actually feel like events made for the big screen and proves that theaters still have a place for cinema. Although, with the recent announcement of Saw X and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie releasing the same weekend later this year, this weekend might actually be the start of something special. If that’s the case, then maybe their is hope for films going forward!

At least, until the strike finally ends!

Other Comments:

• This might be the most pink screening I’ve ever been too! Barbie might just also be the movie that made pink cool for everybody!

• I’m not kidding when I said this movie is clearly PG-13! The words penis and vagina are used at one point!

• No spoilers but I do love the way that one person is used in this movie. About as perfect of a reveal as the one near the end of The L.E.G.O. Movie.

• Who would’ve imagined that a Barbie movie would likely be a bigger summer hit than Transformers, The Flash and Indiana Jones combined? The power of women I guess!

It’s July 18th on the day that I saw Oppenheimer and starting writing this review. That was the day that The Dark Knight came out back in 2008 and exactly 15 years ago on that day (Can’t believe it’s already been that long!). It was during that weekend which also saw the release of Mamma Mia!, directed by Phyllida Lloyda, a movie that was by design entirely different than that of the dark and gritty Batman movie that would change comic book movies for better and worse (mostly worse) for the next 15 years ago. Yet, here we are again in 2023 where we see another flick made by the Nolanminer himself (I promise that’s the only time I’ll use that term) releasing on the same weekend as another flick made by a female director which by design is suppose to be a much different movie tonally and likely aiming for an entirely different demographic.

I bring all of this up is because it’s always nice whenever you have two big movies opening together that is of high quality, completely different from one another, and is able to appease the kind of audience they are going for. (I haven’t seen Barbie at the time of this writing but if the early stellar reviews are any indication, we’ve hit another jackpot.) It’s weeks such as the upcoming one with the Barbieheimer are ones that are greatly needed for theaters to keep going strong. Just constantly giving mainstream audiences reasons to want to see a movie that is suppose to be seen for the big screen instead of just waiting another two to three months to show on their favorite streaming service. I know studios don’t like to release big movies on the same weekend because of how badly it could affect the box office during the opening weekend but the fact that Universal and Warner Brothers committed to releasing their highly anticipated films in the same weekend is something I greatly admire.

As for Oppenheimer itself, it’s once again another masterfully made and perfectly directed film by the great Christopher Nolan himself. It’s able to tell exactly the kind of sprawling epic story that it aspires to be by acting as a character study first and a biopic second. Every single member of it’s highly recognizable cast is able to completely disappear into their roles and captured their performances perfectly, it does a good job of exploring the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer as not just “the destroyer of worlds” but as an impactful man himself, the three hour runtime is put to good use, and even the sound mixing is actually quite good for once even if it can be a bit too loud. For just about everything that it sets out to do, Oppenheimer succeeds greatly.

Premise: Oppenheimer is a feature documentary based around the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). It explores how one man’s brilliance, hubris and relentless drive changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria, and how, subsequently, the same man’s attempts to co.

(I’m not gonna go to deep into the plot since this is an early review and also this is based off of a true story.)

Like with plenty of Nolan’s films, Oppenheimer is one that certainly leaves a lot to unpack. It’s during it’s 180-minute long runtime that it constantly moves along from scene to scenes and throws as much characters and dialogue exchanges at you as possible. With a lesser director at the helm, this could make for a very overwhelming and even unsatisfying experience. Once again, Christopher Nolan is able to work his magic and skills behind the camera to make it all work and have it fire on all possible cylinders.

As I stated near the beginning of the review, the movie feels like a character study first and a biopic second. The documentary aspects are still there and (likely) completely faithful to the true story it’s adapting but it makes sure to make Oppenheimer stand out in a compelling way that feels justified in spending three hours with him. The film does a good job of going into great details of who J. Robert Oppenheimer is, where he came from, why he got to where he was, and how what he accomplishes was able to impact the world and himself mentally. Showing how not only creating the first nuclear weapons in the atomic bombs was able to make Oppenheimer the destroyer of worlds but how it might’ve destroyed himself in the process.

It’s not necessarily in the sense that the film tries to go the whole “good man turn evil” thing like some have claimed but it’s more of how the very desire one has in accomplishing their goals can get the better of them and those connected to him. Whether that person is good or bad, the ambition with what they are trying to can bring the death and destruction of themselves and others. The story of Oppenheimer is always one that met those metrics as one man’s mistakes lead to dire consequences for everyone else. This is always interesting subject matter to tap into and Nolan is able to make the ideas he has with this work in the best ways possible.

Of course, we have to talk about the cast here. This might have the most celebrity-heavy cast I’ve ever seen for a movie that was not directed by Denis Villeneuve or Rian Johnson. There is so much talent in front of the camera that it could easily come across as a distraction. As if the director doesn’t have faith in the film itself and has to bring in as many big names as possible to get people’s interest in it. However, not only is it not a distraction in the slightest, every single notable cast member is able to fit their roles perfectly and feel exactly like the characters they are suppose to play.

The man leading the charge is that of Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer himself. This is easily the best performance Murphy has ever given and is basically the first Christopher Nolan film which he is able to stand out as being among the film’s absolute highlights as oppose to an afterthought. He’s able to capture every single aspect of the man that J. Robert Oppenheimer was and never just feels like some actor playing him. He’s engaging and mesmerizing in about every scene he’s in, perfectly conveying every emotion he has to and will likely have an Oscar nomination come the next time the Academy will actually be able to host the Oscars. Some of the standouts scenes with him include the drama he deals with his personal life, the detonation of the atomic bomb, the aftermath of it, and ESPECIALLY the final sequence of the film. Even if the film didn’t have an all-star supporting cast, Cillian Murphy would be able to carry the whole thing perfectly on his back with no help needed.

However, there is a fact an all-star supporting cast and every single one of them are equally flawless in their roles. To go through every single notable actor or actress would take an eternity but the two main ones that stand out the best is Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer. Robert Downey Jr. is extraordinary as Strauss, completely escaping the mindset of just being an elderly Tony Stark and able to fit the role flawlessly as being as the chairman of the AEC. He has great chemistry with Alden Ehrenreich when the two appear on screen, is an absolute delight to watch on screen, and will certainly bein in the running for a well deserved Oscar nomination. Emily Blunt is also able to stand out greatly as Kitty Oppenheimer with at least two scenes that seems solely design to give her an Oscar nomination as well. Florence Pugh is also a great standout early on as Jean Talock, even if she is a part of the scenes that likely gave this film it’s R-rating. The entire cast is brilliant over all and it’s to the true strength of Christopher Nolan as a director that he was able to use their talents to perfection without it ever taking you out of the movie.

From a technical standpoint, this could very well be the very best from Nolan to date. The craftsmanship is on full display without anything going to complete waste and everything feeling completely real no matter how you may spin it. The cinematography is spot-on and is able to capture the era that this move is set in incredibly well. The sound design is effective, especially during the sequences involving the atomic bomb. The editing will likely get plenty of awards as it’s able to beautifully translate from scene to scene without much confusion. And thank goodness for once that I was able to completely hear ever bit of dialogue that the characters were saying without unnecessarily added music getting in the way. Finally, although it is weird to have a Christopher Nolan movie without Han Zimmer’s presence, Ludwig Goransson is still able to provide great work here with his score that is able to capture the tone and the mood of the film perfectly. It’s so refreshing in a summer filled with blockbusters that cost so much money to make yet so little of it is shown on the big screen that we got to see what a true cinema is suppose to look like with a hundred million dollar budget.

When it comes from a cinematic perspective, Oppenheimer is basically perfect at everything it sets out to do. So much so that the only flaws you can poke at it are mostly minor little details that I didn’t even really think about until I had to come up with some negatives. First off, there are times during the scenes involving the atomic bomb or Oppenheimer’s PTSD that it feels too loud. Thankfully, they don’t come during parts of the film where you are suppose to hear what the characters are saying but for those with hearing problems or troubled ears, you might want to bring some earplugs with you. There are also some odd directional choices made, particularly with nearly every scene with Downey Jr.’s Strauss being completely in noir while the rest of the film is in full color. None of those are enough to bring the film down in the slightest but I do feel those things are worth addressing, especially in regards to how loud this film can get.

Oppenheimer is yet another marvelous addition to the filmography of Christopher Nolan. It’s able to tell the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer in an interesting way that will delight those that known the history and possibly even intrigue those that don’t know the history. It’s beautifully made, the entire cast is perfection, the three hour runtime is used very well without any scene being wasted, every single penny of the budget is put to good use, and is able to add the notion of how important the overall theatrical experience is along with why theaters still serve a purpose. I’m not quite sure where I ranked it among Nolan’s other films (I will have a ranking very soon!) but this is certainly one of the very best, most well made and expertly crafted films the man has ever made. As someone who didn’t care for Tenet and was lukewarm at best on Dunkirk, it’s so nice to see Nolan return to stellar form and prove once again why he’s one of the greatest directors working today!

Better watch out Across the Spider-Verse! You might have some competition for best film of 2023!

Other comments:

• I was considering having the subtitle of this review: Nolan Drops a Bomb of a Movie but that would honestly be quite a dishonest take on the movie.

• Btw, there is no action in this movie to speak of. Despite this being about a man’s actions during the war, there are no actual war scenes in it. There’s only one main sequence with the atomic bomb along with only a few other scenes with it acting as hallucination sequences. This might seem obvious to some but for those unaware, just don’t expect a movie like Dunkirk and be more in for a thriller like Bridge of Spies.

• We also need to have a discussion one day of Bridge of Spies being one of Spielberg’s criminally underrated/overlooked films. It’s just great!

• It’s cool to not only see Josh Peck in big movies but also that his character is the one that gets to activate the bomb.

• I sure can’t wait to hear stories about high school teachers showing their students this film during history class and how it took literally weeks to finish the whole thing!

Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1 is now out in theaters. Because of that, it’s time to rank every single entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise thus far from worst to best.

Mission: Impossible has to be one of the most reliable and consistent action series out there. This is a franchise that is able to deliver exactly what the audience want to see and always find new and exciting ways to deliver those wants. It’s able to always find that perfect balance of a tongue-and-cheek tone, over-the-top action, intense stakes, and Tom Cruise being an absolute madman to keep the fans entertained almost every single time. So much so that out of all seven installments released this far, there’s only one that I would argue is legit bad. That makes six movies here that range from very good to fantastic. With the exception of John Wick and Rocky, there’s not many franchises out there that has able to consistent the deliver that level of quality for so long with virtually no signs of slowing down.

To prove all the previous points mentioned, let’s rank all seven Mission: Impossible movies from worst to best. Starting with….

7.) Mission: Impossible II

This is probably the only movie in this series that fit the definition of bad. John Woo has made plenty of great movies before but he was not able to deliver here. The plot makes zero sense, there’s more slow motion shots than necessary, too many ridiculous moments even for a Mission: Impossible movie, and the editing and song choices is WAY off. Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton both do what they can to make the experience salvageable but this felt more on par with one of the bad Fast & Furious sequels than one of the better Mission: Impossible ones. While far from the worst franchise sequel ever, Mission: Impossible II certainly the worst that this franchise has gotten so far. The good news tho is that things can only go WAY up from here.

6.) Mission: Impossible (1996)

The original Mission: Impossible deserves points for starting it all and introducing many of the common tropes that would become a stable to the franchise along with being very influential on pop culture. That being said, the first entry that came out in 1996 has certainly shown it’s age and lacks the entertainment value that most other movies in this series have. The hanging from the ceiling is iconic, the third act is great stuff, and Tom Cruise is able to fit into the role of Ethan Hun near perfectly but everything else feels very service level and there are some changes made that fans of the original tv show have likely not reacted kindly too. Still, director Brian De Palma does a good enough job of starting this franchise on a fine note and leaving a solid foundation for many years to come.

5.) Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol

Here is where the franchise would be taken things to the very next level. Brad Bird is able to make a stellar first impression in his live-action debut by delivering a Mission: Impossible installment that at the time in 2011 was the biggest the franchise has ever gotten in terms of action, scope, and delivering the most impossible mission imaginable. This is also where you would certainly feel the fantastic chemistry that Cruise would have with his cast members such as Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton (who I’m still awaiting her return ot the franchise). The main highlights are the opening sequence in prisons and the intense, breathtaking sequence in Burj Khalifa. The main downsides is that this has easily the weakest villain in the franchise, the third acts drags on too long, and the film easily reaches it’s peak halfway through after the climbing scene. Nevertheless, Ghost Protocol still greatly succeeds at keeping the series fresh four movies in and Brad Bird should certainly consider returning to directing live-action (even if Tomorrowland didn’t work out).

4.) Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part I

Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie are able to prove once again that they are up to completing the impossible mission. While we will have to wait and see how this specific story wraps up next year, Dead Reckoning- Part 1 is yet another superb entry in this franchise. The action is bigger, crazier, and much wider in scope, the stunts are out of this world, the tone is perfectly controlled throughout, the runtime doesn’t feel intimating, and the social commentary on A.I. is well implemented that surprisingly doesn’t take you out of the movie. All of the new cast members fit into the world of Mission: Impossible with absolute ease, most notably Hayley Atwell, and the returning players are able to get back into the swings of things without much haze. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of some of the other sequels in this franchise and there’s one story decision that I was not fond off but it’s certainly a nice change of pace of a summer filled with mid to low-tier blockbusters that don’t remotely feel like it lived up to it’s 300 million dollar plus budget. The fact this is only ranked #4 says more about how mostly great these films are than it does of it’s actual quality.

3.) Mission: Impossible III

The very first one that I really loved in the series, Mission: Impossible III made for a great introduction for many newcomers to Mission: Impossible along with evaluating the quality for these movies down the road. This is where we see Ethan Hunt as his most human and vulnerable, getting a glimpse of what a life outside of being an IMF agent looks like and what happens when she just wants to settle down with a woman he loves. Not only is this movie easily the strongest in terms of giving Ethan a complete character arc but it also hands down has the best and most intimidating villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian. While it does fall into the same directional trappings that would later be accustomed to his other films (most notably the shaky cam and too many bright lights) , J.J. Abrams is able to provide the perfection tension and claustrophobic feel to make this one of the very best in the franchises and even a satisfying end to the first three movies. This has been the installment that has been the most debated among fans but for me this would be the start to a very beginning road of consistently great quality follow-ups that is consistently great to this very day.

2.) Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation

If you want to talk about the one Mission: Impossible flick that has the right balance of just about everything fans love about this franchise, look no further than Rogue Nation. Just about everything you come to expect with these movies is all here and is able to be delivered beautifully. The action is absolutely jaw dropping, with the biggest highlights being the opening plane sequence, the underwater infiltration set piece, and perhaps having the best motorcycle chase scene in any film. The tight, espionage plot gives the perfect excuse to introduce all the classic M:I tropes that’s in the book. The villain played by Sean Harris makes for a perfect equal to Ethan Hunt along with the Syndicate making for the perfect mirror to the IMF. The team members of Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell get their own moments to shine as a part of the group. Even the third act, which some found underwhelming, is refreshingly small-scaled and more personal as it shows Ethan finding ways to cleverly outsmart his opponents. And of course, the main thing that makes this entry stand out greatly is the newcomer of Ilsa Faust, played by the absolutely mesmerizing Rebecca Ferguson, who is perhaps the best female companion that Ethan has ever come across. While this may not quite be my favorite Mission: Impossible movie, there is a strong argument to be made that Rogue Nation it’s the very best one of the lot or at least the one that has the right mix of everything that makes a Mission: Impossible movie.

1.) Mission: Impossible- Fallout

However, there is no Mission: Impossible movie released up to this point that has been as impressive and as much of a cinematic achievement than Mission: Impossible- Fallout. Words can’t describe how incredible of an experience this film was to witness in theaters and still so much fun to sit through to this very day. It’s just an non-stop action thrill ride with plenty of twists, turns, and reveals thrown into the mix while featuring Tom Cruise at his very best as Ethan Hunt. The tension is felt in every second of it’s 148-minute long runtime as this truly feels like the mission up to this point that might be the most impossible for Ethan and his friends to complete. The action and set pieces are some of the very best I’ve seen in any film with just how every action beat able to top the next one, the way it’s able to callback and tie-in to the previous five entries felt organic and right, Henry Cavill makes for one entertaining new player, the music is superb, the pacing and structure is as airtight as it can be, and it’s just about as perfect of a sixth entry to a franchise as one could possibly imagine. As great as most of the Mission: Impossible films as been, every single one of them is mere child’s play compared to Fallout. While it is certainly more action heavy than any other installment and doesn’t quite have that same mix of everything like Rogue Nation did, Fallout still stands as this series as it’s very best and most thrilling. Not only is it the best Mission: Impossible movie to date, it’s one of the very best action films of all time period.

Because we live in a world where only the worst possible things can happen, another strike in Hollywood has begun. This time, it’s with the SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The strike involved an ongoing labor dispute between the Hollywood actor’s union, the SAG-AFTRA I just mentioned, and the AMPTP, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. This officially started today, July 14th, 2023, after a failure to negotiate a deal with the studios that both sides could agree to.

The main causes for this strike involved mostly two key components. First, lack of agreement on a new contract between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, mostly involving the amount of pay for the actors. Second, for the intense use of artificial intelligence where it will scan actor’s faces to generate performances digitally which the studios can use to their benefit at anytime with no payment required for the actors. If you read both of these reasons carefully, especially the latter one, you can certainly see why there is a great divide right now between the writers and actors of Hollywood and Hollywood itself.

As a result of this strike and the writer’s one that is now about two and a half months in, Hollywood is basically shut down now for those in the writing or acting department. Scripts for movies and television are not being written and actors cannot show up to set for either a film or show. It’s only director working through post production related stuff and things involving A.I. which work is allowed to continue. Having the writers and actors go on strike at the same time is something that hasn’t happened in Hollywood since 1960, over 60 years ago. Needless to say, there hasn’t been a disconnection between both sides in Hollywood for a very long time.

As I said before, a large reason for both strikes happening at the same time involves studio wanting to push A.I. further than ever before but doing so at the expense of the writers and actors themselves. Firstly, there was the notion of using A.I. to create scripts for said films and shows while the writers would mostly be tasked with simple rewrites and patches to those scripts. Secondly, as recently stated, there’s the proposal to SAG-AFTRA that A.I. will be use to scan a background actor’s likeness for one day’s worth of pay and then be able to use their likeness forever in any form without pay or consent. If there is not a sense of being more technology advance to the point where you are literally trying to replace literal human being in favor of A.I., this is it.

Of course, the reasons for this push with A.I. isn’t simply to be more technology advanced, it more has to do with money. With being able to use A.I. more often with handling scripts and actors in the background, this would likely lead to studios not having to pay the writers and actors as much. After all, if you can just simply use A.I. to get things done, then why bother paying much for other people to do your work for you when you save dollar signs by using more advance technology? Never mind the fact that A.I. will never have the look, feel, heart, or soul of an actual person’s writing, as long as it saves a few extra bucks, it doesn’t matter with the studios. Even if the push for more A.I. involves taking a new step forward with tech, it’s very clear the main objective with it is to save more money for the future, especially if Bob Iger’s comments are anything to go by.

If you basically want a perspective from the studios themselves, look no further than Disney CEO Bob Iger, who recently reprised his role as CEO in November of last year and has just been extended to remain CEO until 2026. As a response to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Iger claims that the actors’ demands with payroll were “not realistic”, with the notion that “they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.” Also, a reminder that according to Huffpost writer Marian Fang, Iger’s annual yearly salary as CEO of Disney is $27 million. I don’t know about you all but that is basically a sign that the studios are basically living in their own reality and are nowhere close to being on the same terms as the writers and actors.

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that neither side has any intention of negotiating for the next several months and the studios are looking to drag this on until the other sides comes crawling back to them. I’m not even joking on that.

The studios and streamers reportedly have no intentions of negotiating with the Writer's Guild for several more months.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive tells Deadline. pic.twitter.com/vKXR8lwzYu

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 12, 2023

To put it all simply, we are in the middle of what will likely go down as the biggest strike in Hollywood history. It’s the kind of the strike that will determine the direction that movies and shows will look like going forward, the payroll that will go into them, how far they will go with A.I., and whether or not this will be the defining moment that makes or breaks Hollywood from here on out. I never like to be Mr. Negative but if recent history is anything to go by, Hollywood tends to always learn the wrong lessons and this will likely lead to them cracking like an egg. I have no idea what that will mean for the future of cinema but no doubt, changes will have to come.

A.I. can be useful and resourceful with anything but it should never be used to replace human beings entirely. That’s the kind of messed up future that the Terminators films have tried to warn us about for decades. It may not be killer robots but investing too much into artificial intelligence can lead to technology taking over humanity in many departments, including writing and filmmaking. It’s ironic how the big movie at the moment in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 is literally about Tom Cruise facing off against A.I. and the consequences of artificial intelligence if you go too far with it. While it’s all fiction, it’s fascinating how Hollywood has no self awareness whatsoever and it could lead to a bigger collapse than ever before.

In conclusion, the actors have now joined the writers on strike. Because of that, many productions in Hollywood will have to be put on hold due to no scripts being written and no actors being on set to film. Until there is some form of agreement, this will how things being rolling in Hollywood until further notice. To quote a well-known actor who just turn 81 years old, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Here’s article links involving the studios proposal to the SAG-AFTRA and Bob Iger’s comments:

• https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/actors-strike-sag-artificial-intelligence-hollywood-studios-background-1234788191/

• https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bob-iger-writers-actors-strike-disney-ceo-1235669169/

I can’t recall a blockbuster in recent memory that seems to come out at the absolute perfect timing than Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1. Not just because this has been a summer thus far of underperforming popcorn flicks that don’t involve Marvel superheroes and relying on Tom Cruise to work his “Top Gun: Maverick” magic to get butts in theater seats but the subject matter of what is the internal plot of the picture. That subject matter being no other than being the main villain that is known as the Entity. The Entity doesn’t act as an actual person but strictly as artificial intelligence, A.K.A. A.I.

It’s no secret that A.I. is on the rise more than ever. Although not quite the Terminator or cyborg level threat we come to expect, it is something that if not too careful, it could led towards the end of creativity and artistic integrity. That could also be a big reason why a writer’s strike is currently happening, using A.I. to create scripts with real writers giving soft patches to them so it could save the studios some money in the future. While I’m sure that was strictly convenient timing as the movie itself was suppose to come out in 2021, at least two years before serious progression of A.I. or the writer’s strike even happened, but no doubt director/writer Christopher McQuarrie saw some sort of writing on the wall and decided to make at least two Mission: Impossible movies out of it, with Dead Reckoning Part 1 releasing now and Part 2 set to arrive next summer.

Thankfully Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie are able to prove once again that they are up to completing the mission. While we will have to wait and see how this specific story wraps up next year, Dead Reckoning Part 1 is yet another superb entry in the very consistent and reliable Mission Impossible franchise. The action is bigger, crazier, and much wider in scope, the stunts are out of this world, the tone is perfectly controlled throughout, the runtime doesn’t feel intimating, and the social commentary on A.I. is well implemented that surprisingly doesn’t take you out of the movie. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of Fallout but it’s certainly a nice change of pace of a summer filled with mid to low-tier blockbusters that don’t remotely feel like it lived up to it’s 300 million dollar plus budget.

Plot Synopsis: Taking place sometime after Fallout, IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) embarks on a new mission to recover half of a key from his ally Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), whom the IMF puts a bounty on her head. After briefly reuniting with Ilsa and telling her to lay low, Ethan travels back to the US to meet with the Community, led by former IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who informs him of a new threat in Artificial Intelligence that is known as the Entity. Originally designed to sabotage digital systems, the A.I. itself went rogue and was able to expand itself to infiltrate all the major defense and military systems along with intelligence networks. The power which the Entity possesses is one which plenty are wanting to control and even ally with.

Ethan Hunt and his allies of Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames) and Isla go on a mission to recover the keys that can unlock access to the Entity. However, other folks are looking to recover the key for their own benefits such has a mysterious figure named Grace (Hayley Atwell), the White Widow in Alaana Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby), and a powerful terroist and possible former adversary of Ethan named Gabriel (Esai Morales) along with his side assassin, Paris (Pom Klementieff). There’s also some enforcers for the Community known as Jasper (Shea Whigham) and Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) that are tasked with bringing Ethan in for infiltration.

With the power of the Entity becoming deadlier at every minute and the world at great stake, a deadly race around the globe is set. Ethan sets out for what is likely his deadliest mission yet, one that puts himself and those he cares about in greater danger than ever before along with introducing a new potential ally who he may not be able to trust. It’s now that he must come to the realization that the mission matters more than his friends and defeating the Entity might indeed cost him dearly.

When it comes to what one would expect from a Mission Impossible movie, it’s mostly four things: Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise in action, Tom Cruise doing absurdly crazy stunts, and of course, Tom Cruise running like the wind faster than Bullseye. Even after seven movies, the golden Hollywood superstar is able to find new and exciting ways to push beyond his limits in that department and then some. There’s a lot you can say about Tom Cruise as a person and an actor but there’s no denying that the man will doing everything in his power to entertain his audience, even if it involves putting his own life in peril.

As much as this movie involves Ethan Hunt facing off against A.I., it’s also about Tom Cruise trying to save Hollywood from himself. I think it’s safe to say that Ethan Hunt is the character that Tom Cruise has felt the most comfortable playing him. Ethan Hunt represents the kind of figure that allows Cruise to explore his own ego and self awareness along with playing a self insert version of himself that can always saves the world at every turn. Just as much as Ethan has to go through extreme measures to get his mission accomplished, Tom has to go through extreme measures to make sure the movies that he’s in are ones that everyone wants to see on the big screen. It’s a mission that both characters can constantly chose not to accept if they don’t want to but they will always accept it because it’s just who they are. Because of that, we get to see them both fly, jump, run, and go crazier than ever before.

In many ways, Dead Reckoning Part 1 acts as both a love letter and culmination of the entire franchise up to this point, even more so than Fallout. You get homages to the original 1996 film with the return of Kittridge, a more mysterious spy plot, a certain character that has a connection to Ethan’s early days in the IMF, and the consequences to Hunt’s action as had as an agent from that film to now. While the franchise up to Rogue Nation had been relatively self-contained minus a few tie-ins, McQuarrie knows that things must come full circle for what could be Cruise’s final times as being the character that will be most represented in his autobiography and is able to do that very fluently in ways that don’t feel contrived or forced.

Of course, Tom Cruise is not the only one to shine brightly here as he is once again backed up by a tremendous supporting cast from all members old and new to the series. Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg are back and they still as enjoyable now as they always have been as Ethan’s companions/friends of Luther and Benji. Rebecca Ferguson, while not in it as much as I would like, is still marvelous as Ilsa Faust and does get a few moments to shine herself along with Ethan. Vanessa Kirby continues to be electric as the White Widow. And Henry Czerny has not missed a beat as Kittridge and his return feels genuinely worthwhile without feeling like a pointless cameo.

When it comes to the new cast members, they shine even brighter. Esai Morales, while playing a henchman that feels a tad underwritten, makes a genuine impression as Gabriel, the new foe that tries to get under Ethan’s skin. Pom Klementieff steals every action scene that she’s in as the insane and sinister Paris, even if she spends most of her screentime being entirely mute. Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis are great fun as the agents that are constantly chasing down Hunt and make for a perfect buddy cop duo. The biggest new player her is Hayley Atwell as Grace, a sneaky thief that gets caught in the middle of the action and likely will have a new role played in future movies. She is able to fit into this series like a glove, has perfect chemistry with Cruise, and is just absolute mesmerizing every time she appears on screen. Atwell has always been a great, underrated actress and hopefully her performance here will land her more big roles in the near future.

From just a technical standpoint, this film is pretty much perfect. While the action isn’t quite as impressive as Rogue Nation or Fallout, it is still absolutely superb and every single set piece manages to top the one that came before. The entire Rome chase sequence alone is worth the entire price of admission with how tense and over-the-top it is. You also can’t forget the motorcycle off of the cliff sequence and the tension-filled climax on the train. It’s all excellent stuff and Tom Cruise continues to prove he’s the best madman we have in Hollywood. The pacing off the film is airtight, the runtime doesn’t feel intimating, and the score from Lorne Balfe is another fantastic one and one of my favorites in the entire series. While the 270 million dollar budget might seem overboard like a lot of big movies this summer, this actually feels like every single penny of production was put to good use and makes the trip to the theaters all the more worth it.

It is unfortunate tho is despite how great Dead Reckoning Part 1 is, it does make one story decision that will likely not vibe well with fans, especially those of the last two films. It’s a sequence that comes around the end of the second act where we see the great power that the A.I. possesses and the influence it can have on someone as smart as Ethan. It plays out well and makes the antagonist all the more threatening but the end result of it will likely leave a sour taste in some folks mouth. Without getting too heavily into spoilers, it feels like it falls into the trope of one character getting shafted for the sake of leaving room for another. While it’s a decision that could potentially be backpedaled in Part 2, the way it plays out makes it seem like a pill that fans will have to swallow to properly enjoy the rest of what transpires throughout the series.

There are also times to where the exposition surrounding the Entity and what it does can become too much, especially in the earlier scenes with it. These pieces of dialogue aren’t the best written and are the few moments where it feels like the movie is on A.I.-pilot (See what I did there!). Also, be warned that this is in fact a Part 1, something which the title card clearly states. While the movie does takes a definite stopping point that doesn’t feel abrupted, it does make it clear by the end that only one half of the equation is solved and there is still another half to go.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 proves that this series has no signs of slowing down anytime soon despite being seven movies in. It’s able to continue to deliver the goods and thrills that people come to these movies for while also keeping that same tongue-and-cheek feel that makes these movies enjoyable. It’s yet another reminder why the theater experience is important and there should be nothing that should take away from it. In a time where A.I. is becoming more of a thing every day and a strike involving writers and actors is occurring, Dead Reckoning Part 1 is a reminder of why we all love going to the movies and how much of the movies we will miss once the impact of these circumstances will be greatly felt. No matter where you fall on in the state of Hollywood, A.I. or this franchise, make it your mission to see this movie on the big screen! I promise it’s a mission you will not regret accepting!

Other comments:

• Don’t let the release of this movie distract from the fact that the strike with the actors and writers is very serious business. Studios need to suck it up and pay them the money they deserve! A.I. will never be able to replicated what real living being can do ever do! I don’t care how good or bad a movie is, A.I. should never be the answer to that! So, just pay them the money they are owed!

• Btw, I will write a piece about this matter very soon!

• I’m sorry I couldn’t get his review out before the strike was official. I wanted to get it done before then but things got in the way for me. Apologies if the timing of the review comes across as tone deafed.

• I think you can all see why the timing of this movie’s release could not be any more confident.

• Even so, please go see Dead Reckoning Part 1 in theaters! It deserves your money!

2023 has not been a particularly great summer at the movies from both a quality and financial standpoint. Sure, there have been a handful of bangers such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and of course, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse along with a handful of movies that were better than expect (The Little Mermaid) but as a whole, it’s been about as underwhelming and forgettable as they come. It’s been filled with franchise installments that at once were reliably successful at the box office but have now really struggled to make a profit.

All you have to do is look at how each big movie that came out in June fared from both a critical and financial standpoint. Last month saw new releases for well-known franchises such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Flash, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. However, off all those movies, the only one of those that has been successful all around in terms of reception and box office is Across the Spider-Verse. The animated sequel where the original Into the Spider-Verse made barely enough to warrant a follow-up has manage to outperform nearly every other franchise this summer that have been more proven and successful in the past than Spider-Verse.

Let’s also not forget Fast X which is currently underperforming despite making over 700 million worldwide, The Little Mermaid not doing so hot despite making over 500 million worldwide, and Elemental due to be a bomb even with it’s strong legs and clocking in at 200 million worldwide. How in the world has it come to this? How is it that movies that are making this much at the box office and are still struggling to make a profit out of it? While the reasons to folks are fairly obvious, let’s break down the most simple reasons why summer movies are declining heavily at the box office.

Ridiculous Budgets

This is the one that everyone and their mother has pointed out but it’s certainly worth pointing out again. The amount of money that is being spend on these big movies is beyond ridiculous. Going past the traditional of $150 to $200 million budgets to big blockbusters in favor of now $250 to $300 million budgets. You have Elemental costing $200 million to make, The Flash costing up to $220 million to make, The Little Mermaid costing $250 million to make, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny costing $300 million to make, and even Fast X costing $340 million to make. And that’s not even including the amount of money that was spent on trailers and marketing which you could add at least a few more million with. The overconfidence in box office has certainly been Hollywood’s weakness this summer.

I’m sure many people will point out how the larger budgets may have to do with Covid-19 halting many of these projects while they were in development but that doesn’t excuse how others movies released this year which made either just as much, more, or even less than any of the big movies were able to be a financial hit. You have John Wick: Chapter 4 which made a franchise record, 432 million worldwide, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse making over 600 million worldwide, which is a record for Sony Animation, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 making over 800 million worldwide, and The Super Mario Bros Movie making over 1.3 billion worldwide.

When looking at those four movies, only Guardians of the Galaxy had a reported budget of over 100 million. The rest of those movies mentioned were reported to cause exactly that much or just slightly more due to marketing. It makes you wonder how in the world movies such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Across the Spider-Verse were able to have a cheaper budget than Elemental despite having more impressive animation and more well known celebrities in the cast. Even so, it goes to show you how easy it is to make back your money on movies if you keep your expectations and budget in check without going too overboard.

If a movie making half or 3/4 of a billion dollars is considered underperforming, the studios need to take a good, hard look at themselves and figure out what has allowed that to happen. If you need to make at or near a billion for your big movie to make a profit, then that just speaks volume how little connection you have with yourself or the general public. Even if Covid was a factor in some extra money being spent, that can’t be the only factor to do it.

Too Many Big Movies Released At The Same Time

This was something I had been think about before the summer even began. Whenever you release a bunch of big movies at the same time, there’s a good chance that at least a good handful of them will underperform vastly if they are not received well enough or has good enough legs in the limited amount of time they have before the next big movie comes along. That has been the story of the summer with only a handful of big movies being a success while others have been a failure.

As much as people have been in denial of it as of late, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything about theaters. Yes, there has been a handful of juggernaut hits since then such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and The Super Mario Bros Movie, but they have been few and far in between. Theater trips can be quite expensive, especially when it comes to seeing movies with your friends and family. Because of that, it’s becoming more common for folks to just pick and choose which movies they want to watch on the big screen and which ones they would rather wait to come out digitally or on a streaming service. This is something that Hollywood has been clearly taking notice off.

As a result, we are seeing more and more movies getting release on digital as soon as possible in the hopes of gaining as much of a profit as it possibly can. Not even after the first weekend of it’s release that we already got word of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken will be coming out on digital just EIGHTEEN DAYS after being released in theaters. Or how Shazam!: Fury of the Gods became available on digital and exiled from theaters just THREE WEEKS after coming out. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement of Dial of Destiny coming out on digital by the end of the month and Disney Plus in August. With digital streaming become more and more common nowadays, folks have become more patience with just waiting an extra month or two for a movie to come out so they could watch it in the comfort of their own homes instead of paying extra money to watch it in theaters.

That is why releasing so many big summer blockbusters at the same time was a suicidal move for a lot of studios. Whenever that happens, it’s only a handful of flicks that will be able to make it to the other side satisfied while every other one will suffer as a result. While Across the Spider-Verse was able to reign supreme, Transformers, Flash, and Indy all suffered as a result.

No Longer Accepting Mid-iocrity

While the other two reasons mentioned is a great argument of the amount of money studios spend on their movies and the amount of moment audience will spend to watch them, maybe the big reason as to do with the actual quality of the motion picture. Maybe it has to do with audience no longer wearing their rose-colored glasses and seeing how it’s become quantity over quality for a lot of franchises right there. Movies that just exist for the sake of existing and not because it’s something the audience actually want to see.

That would explain greatly how Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have been the two most notable successes of the summer thus far. Not just because they were names from a familiar brand but because of the strong impact they had on mainstream audiences which led to repeat theater viewings and strong worth of mouth. While those two might not have been the biggest box office success ever, it was able to exceed expectations, and possibly even surpass them due to how good those movies actually were. The same thing can’t be said about the others movies that have come out since May.

Fast X was more of the same, over-the-top nonsense that has become accustomed to this franchise at this point. The Little Mermaid was one of the better Disney live-action remakes but still not good enough to match up with the quality of the original animation to justify it’s existence. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was a passable if not disposable entry for a franchise that is still dealing with the aftermath of the overblown Bayformers flicks. The Flash was a ugly CGI mess made solely for course correcting and the hope that having Michael Keaton back as Batman along with Sasha Calle’s first and possibly only appearance as Supergirl would be enough to overcome Ezra Miller’s annoying and unengaging version of Barry Allen. Elemental was strictly middle-of-the-road Pixar that folks would be better off waiting for it to come out on Disney Plus. And Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was an unnecessary and forgettable finale to a series that already had two definite finales beforehand. While one or two of these might be enough to guarantee a solid three out of four stars ratings, they all did not receive the best reviews or the strongest word of mouth to make any of these worth buying a ticket for.

Which makes you wonder if this is the audience standing up to Hollywood and no longer allowing mid, bad, or even just “good enough” movies for franchises that they love. It’s a statement to the paying consumer to do better if they want their money in the future. Whereas movies such as John Wick: Chapter 4, Creed III, Scream VI, The Super Mario Bros Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has shown that audience will show up for big movies that try hard enough and succeed, just about every other big movie released this year has shown that audience will simply not show up from them if they don’t think it’s worth the time or money.

It’s been said plenty of times that the only fair to properly communicate with Hollywood is through box office numbers and I don’t think that has been made more clear than in 2023. The ones that have been successful have been the ones that the audience has been the most satisfied with. The ones that have been failures are ones that the audience were either not satisfied with or not interested to see if they would be. The mainstream audiences have real standards for their favorite blockbuster franchises. They have the power to reward those that succeed and punish those that fail.

A Necessary Evil

While the way movies have been underperforming at the hottest time of the year is a cause for great concern now, it could possibly be seen as a blessing in disguise later on down the road. Maybe this will inspire studios to everything in their power to fix the issues that I and many others have stated. Maybe this will lead to more budget restraints and money spent wisely on future movies. Maybe this will lead to big movies being more evenly spread out to give all of their their moment to shine without stealing the spotlight from any other. Most importantly, maybe this will inspire more quality pictures instead of quantity pictures. Is there a reason to believe that will happen right now? Not in the slightest but hey, there’s always hope isn’t it.

There are still some upcoming movies for the remainder of the summer that could help turn the tide of the season. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 will likely be a massive hit due to how well received the more recent installments in this franchise has been along with Tom Cruise still riding high off the success of Top Gun: Maverick. Barbie could be the next big successful IP based off of children toys that might be successful enough to star a new film series. Oppenheimer has the name of Christopher Nolan alone that will likely have folks interested to check out the next film made by the most notable and well-known director working to date. And perhaps Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem can ride the animation wave that Across the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish started. If all of those movies are seen as good enough to warrant a ticket price, then July and August could be the saving graces of the summer and help rewrite the narrative. If not, then that will just add more fuel to the fire and the narrative will be doubled down upon.

Things are not looking good now in Hollywood. From movies not meeting expectations to the writer’s strike that’s doesn’t seem like is making any progress, it’s a dark time to those that love film and writing about films. Time will tell if things will get any better anytime soon but as of right now, we can only look at the reasons why Hollywood has dug themselves in the whole they are in right now and see they are able to learn from it in the future. Only then might we look at the summer of 2023 as being a turning point for the better.

We are now officially in July! That means that the year is already halfway over. That also means that it’s time to acknowledge the best that movies have had to offer so far in 2023.

A couple of disclaimers first. I have, of course, not seen EVERY single movie that has come out this year. I mostly only watch movies nowadays that I have some form of interest in. That will most likely be my mindset until I’m actually able to get a paying job for reviewing movies. Also, there have been some well-received movies that I’ve not been able to catch up with yet such as Asteroid City and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret?. I promise I will get to do those movies whenever I can but for now, this list is what I have to offer. Finally, the movies that are placed on this list can change by the end of the year. Don’t think I’m all that strict on it’s rankings or rating that I gave each film (at least the ones I’ve reviewed on this site). Anyways, here is my list of the top 10 best movies of 2023 so far that I’ve seen.

10.) Megan

I’m sure a question someone will have reading this is whether or not M3GAN would be judge differently if it came out in any other month than January. While the flaws here are more forgiving than other January flicks, there is a certain warmth and heart here with some meaningful messaging that doesn’t feel forced or phony. It’s uneven and not the most unpredictable, but it definitely makes for a fun, engaging time.

9.) The Super Mario Bros Movie

I’ll admit, if I was not a fan of Mario or had no attachment to the character, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this movie as much and just see it as another “meh” kids movie from Illumination. But, because I am a fan, I was quite satisfied. If anyone that has been a fan of Mario at some point in their life, I can’t imagine they won’t have some sort of satisfaction with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Now, please bring Yoshi in the next one!

8.) Air

Air isn’t may not reach the levels of other films of it’s kind such as Moneyball but it’s good enough to stand on it’s own as a well-done biopic with a sharp script, great performances, and spot-on directing from Ben Affleck to make it worthwhile. It can’t quite escape it’s surface level feeling and certainly could have done with an actual appearance of Michael Jordan himself but it’s able to give anyone that is interested in this movie exactly what they want and expect with no interest in deceiving expectations whatsoever.

7.) Creed III

Creed III was always gonna have to face the inevitable uphill battle that the series would have to fight against to see whether or not it can keep going without the man that started it all in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa. Thankfully, Michael B Jordan proves he is up to the task to carry the baton forward in a respectful manner that makes Adonis Creed a compelling enough character to continue the Rocky tradition. While the movie does undeniably stick to the formula and traditions that the series is known for, it’s still able to feel fresh, unique, and satisfying all the same.

6.) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

If you want to talk about a movie that’s just a rocking good time all around, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves would fit that description perfectly. With a tone that is more than self aware, a cast that bring their A-game, and plenty of fun set pieces, this makes for one very enjoyable adventure that proves any IP can work in movie form if it’s put in the right hands. Even if you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons before, check this one out!

5.) Missing

On the surface, Missing plays out like a lesser but still largely effective version of Searching with it’s emphasis on strictly webcam monitors to tell it’s story. However, when diving into it a big closer, there is a very engaging thriller with enough creativity and inventive filmmaking along with plot twists and story turns that are nearly impossible to pick. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of Searching but Missing is still impressive and entertaining nonetheless.

4.) John Wick: Chapter 4

John Wick: Chapter 4 is an exceptional achievement of not just the John Wick franchise but for the action genre in general. Not since The Raid movies has there been a series of action films that dares to go as big, bold, and as over-the-top as this film does. Working perfectly as John Wick himself getting pushed beyond his reasonable measures along with director Chad Stahelski and crew of pushing themselves to make the most unbelievable and badass film imaginable. Even if Chapter 4 does bring a logical stopping point to John Wick’s story, it leaves plenty of room of other characters in the series to have their stories to continue if anyone wants to go that route.

3.) Nimona

Disney’s trash turned out to be Netflix’s treasure with the newest animated movie in Nimona. A movie made for kids that pulls no punches and will likely find a bigger audience with teens and young adults. It’s beautifully animated, incredibly engaging, has themes and representation that feels geniune, and Nimona herself is one of the most generally lovable protagonists in recent memory. If this isn’t prove how the evolution of animation is likely gonna have a big impact for cinema in the future, then I don’t know what will.

2.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is able to successfully hit all the beats it needs to give fans and audiences a satisfying ending to it’s trilogy along with showing off how Marvel can still find ways to deliver quality entertainment, even when it might seem like they’ve reached their limits. It’s able to be funny, dark, sad, engaging, and deliver the highest and most personal stakes of all the three Guardians movies. If you ask me, it was no doubt able to deliver a famously huge third.

1.) Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shows that the Spider-Verse can in fact make lightning strike twice. Everyone involved with the making of this movie wanted to take everything to the next level without holding anything back and they are able to exceed greatly. While we might have to wait to see how they stick the landing with Beyond the Spider-Verse next year, this is no doubt another important milestone for animation. Just like how these Spider-Verse movies prove that Spider-Man belongs to everyone, so does animation. And there should be no one out there that should say otherwise.

Honorable Mention:

Cocaine Bear

• The movie speaks for itself!

Thanks for reading and happy fourth of July! Enjoy the fireworks!