Author: Adam

Back in February, I did a retrospective marathon of the three Batman: Arkham games developed by Rocksteady. Initially, I decided to do that marathon because I recently played through those games and wanted to write about them in anticipation for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, the next game to come from Rocksteady and their first one for home consoles since concluding the Arkham series in 2015 with Arkham Knight. While that turned out to be too soon/pointless as the game has been delayed yet again until February 2024, I certainly did have fun talking about those games and giving my perspectives on them.

When it comes to Batman: Arkham Knight, while a critical and commercial success, there were certain things that stuck out about the game that left many fans feeling underwhelmed. While I still found it to be a great game in it’s own right and a strong conclusion to the series, I did find myself agreeing with the two most common criticisms of the game that held it back for a lot of people. Those two main criticism being the addition of the Batmobile and the character of the Arkham Knight itself. Granted, the Batmobile itself was something that really only got on my nerves towards the last third of the game to where it became very tedious and bloated with too many tank battles. The Arkham Knight, on the other hand, I certainly had issues with.

During my Arkham Knight retrospective, I claimed I wanted to make an entire piece talking about the character of the Arkham Knight himself and why I don’t think he works in the context of this game. Ever since I first beat Batman: Arkham Knight, there was something about the Arkham Knight himself that just didn’t land with me. While the idea of having a mysterious opponent that knows Batman’s every mood is interesting on paper, the execution of it in the game was quite iffy. It was only in my recent playthrough that I was able to understand why the Arkham Knight itself doesn’t work for me and I imagine for many others as well. However, before we talk about the main issues with the Arkham Knight, let’s first discuss who the Arkham Knight really is.

(Spoilers from here on out! You have been warned!)

Who Is The Arkham Knight?

Right before the main confrontation with Scarecrow, it is revealed that the Arkham Knight itself is no other than Jason Todd. For those unaware, Jason Todd was formerly known as Robin, Batman’s sidekick, and also is know in other Batman media as the Red Hood. The two had a strong bonding together until one day, Jason was thought to be dead by Batman. However, his death was faked by the Joker and held him captive at an abandoned wing of Arkham Asylum for over a year to break his sanity. The Joker would torture him on a daily basis until one day, he filmed himself shooting Jason at point blank rage, supposedly killing him. Joker sent Batman the film of his staged execution, which made Bruce himself believe that Jason was in fact dead. However, once again, that was all fake.

Sometime after being left for dead by the Joker, Jason was able to survive being shot at and was able to escape from the Asylum. According to the prequel comic book of Batman: Arkham Knight along with a 6-issue miniseries titled Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis, Jason had planned his vengeance against Batman by spending years assembling and training his own militia in Venezuela with the help of deadly assassin Deathstroke. It’s then he would later transform himself into the Arkham Knight itself. Once he was fully prepared and trained, the Arkham Knight would team up with Scarecrow on a Halloween night to take over Gotham City and destroy Batman once and for all.

When looking at those ideas and set-ups, it sounds really interesting. However, once you play the game, I couldn’t help but feel the Arkham Knight itself left plenty to be desired. Here are the main reasons why:

No Build-Up

The first main issue is how the character of Jason Todd seems to come out of nowhere in the context of the Arkhamverse itself. At this point and time, the universe of these games was so well-defined and explained where you basically knew every single important character in Batman’s lore. From his allies to his villains, there was no more room to throw in any more.

That didn’t stop Rocksteady from wanting to add in the story of Jason Todd/The Red Hood and have that be the main hook of the game. Before Arkham Knight, there was little to no build-up towards a potential appearance of Jason Todd himself. Sure, some might argue there was a reference or two from the other games but that was clearly all that it was meant to be, a reference or two, and not setting up Jason Todd later on down the road in the series. The Bat family had already been introduced and defined with Alfred, Robin, Nightwing, and Oracle/Batgirl. There was nothing hinting about another member of that family that happened to exist in Bruce’s decade-plus run as Batman in this timeline.

It’s also hard to buy how Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective, wasn’t able to discover an abandon wing in Arkham Asylum and find that’s where the Joker has been hiding Jason all along. If it was another place in Gotham City, I could buy that. But the Arkham Asylum itself, where Batman frequently visits to lock up the major criminals, no chance whatsoever. Yes, I know it was technically over just one single year but that is still plenty of time for Batman to be able to discover a secret hideout of his greatest enemy.

The inclusion of Jason Todd this late into the series comes across as a giant-cop out from Rocksteady. Instead of being able to come up with a wholly original villain of their own, they just made a re-skin version of another well-known Batman foe except with a different grudge against the Caped Crusader. While one could argue that Arkham City introducing as much allies as it did that weren’t in Arkham Asylum was starting to push it, having Jason Todd come out of practically nowhere at the last second is where Rocksteady took it a step too far in that regard.

He’s Not Scary Or Intimating

This might be more of an subjective criticism but another main problem I had when confronting the Arkham Knight was that I was never scared or intimated by him. Throughout the game, he is constantly going on and on how he knows everything about Batman and how he’s gonna kill him. Whenever he talks like that, I don’t get afraid of him, I just want him to shut up!

I get the Arkham Knight is suppose to have a grudge and obsession with Batman but his constant gloating gets tiresome really quick. By the third or fourth time you confront him and he is still going on and on about how much better he is than Batman, you are over his threats and almost want to mute the game every time he shows up. The character always talks and acts like he’s intimating but he barely ever showcases it throughout the game.

The Arkham Knight doesn’t really do anything worthy of making him stand out as a menacing bad guy in his own right except for capturing Barbara. Sure, he leads his own militia forces that would take over Gotham but almost any other Batman villain could do exactly that so that’s not worth giving credit where it’s due. If anything, it’s basically Scarecrow that forces the citizens of Gotham to evacuate as unleashed the fear toxin is what helps them take control of the city.

Rocksteady was clearly motivated to make a mysterious bad guy that would get under the skin of Batman but it honestly felt like he more got under the skin of the players more, which I don’t think was the intention. Instead of the Arkham Knight being scary or intimating, he was mostly just annoying. And considering he’s suppose to be one of the two main villains and represent the title of the actual game, that’s not a good thing whatsoever.

Lack Of A Satisfying Resolution

When you are building a character throughout the majority of the story and keeping their identity a secret for a long time, you have to make sure you find the proper resolution for that story arc so that it does not feel like so much time was wasted on keeping that identity a secret. Unfortunately, Arkham Knight falls into that exact trap with the way it wraps up the story of Jason Todd, both with the campaign and the Red Hood DLC story pack.

Once Batman defeats Jason after he reveals himself to be the Arkham Knight, he tries to convince his fallen Robin to come back home and find redemption in himself again. Because Jason feels like there is no redemption left in him, he refuses and escapes from Batman. At that point, he had now fully accepts his identity as no longer the Arkham Knight but now as the Red Hood.

However, during the final confrontation with Scarecrow after he unmasks Batman and threatens to kill him, the Red Hood appears and frees Bruce from captivity, who subdues Scarecrow with his own fear toxin. And then, he disappears once again and that’s about it. He just stops by as almost a deus ex machina to save Batman to let him defeat Scarecrow and then screws off again.

We don’t get a resolution, we don’t know if Jason just did that because he wanted to help Batman or he just hates Scarecrow more, and we don’t even get a dialogue exchange between the two or even a word spoken of him. He just comes in as some last heroic act and then goes back to being whoever the hell he is now. Is he now a hero, villain, or anti-hero? Your guess is as good as mine.

And before anyone makes a comment, we should also talk about the Red Hood DLC story pack that was released sometime after the game’s official release.

Since I imagine everyone had similar complaints as I did, Rocksteady would later release DLC for the Red Hood which was meant to take place after the events of Arkham Knight where Jason Todd has fully embraced his identity as Red Hood and goes up against Black Mask. It’s during the DLC where you go up against Black Mask and his army killing them off one-by-one, which ends with Red Hood bringing Black Mask to his death by tossing him out the window. While the concept of taking control of Red Hood, who is basically Batman with no restrictions, is fun in terms of gameplay, it’s very unsatisfying in terms of story.

All of this basically means that Jason himself has learned nothing from his experience as the Arkham Knight. His noble act at the end of the main story of saving Batman basically means nothing as he just went back to being the exact same guy as the Red Hood as he was as the Arkham Knight. So much so, that it feels like there’s very little difference between the two. It makes you wonder why they even bothered to have Jason take on two different identities if he never really changed as either one of them. Sure, he’s more of a killer this time than he was as the Arkham Knight but the game itself basically states that the only thing stopping himself from killing Batman and those close to him is strictly due to Scarecrow wanting them alive and not because he’s too cold to pull the trigger. And yes, I know that’s technically faithful to the source material to have Red Hood going off and killing his foes but that further goes to show how little he fits in this story.

You would also think that Batman would have at least wanted to check in on Red Hood to see where he had gone before faking his own death. Did he just assume Jason would be the same Robin he had before after saving him or that Robin and Nightwing would just track him down themselves? It’s way too much of an important plot detail to simply gloss over and makes you wonder if Bruce had second thoughts on activating the Knightfall Protocol before letting the Red Hood become a thing?

With so much time focused on this character and the way his identity was kept a secret from the majority of the game, you had to have the most satisfying payoff to his story imaginable that perfectly tied everything together to make it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, the way that the Arkham Knight/Red Hood story concludes left me as empty as it possibly could have been.

Marketing Over Storytelling

Back in 2013, a blockbuster known as Star Trek: Into Darkness made it’s way to theaters. Up to that film’s release, the marketing campaign tried their hardest to keep the mystery of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character a secret. Right when the trailers debuted, many Trekkies figured that character, who at the time was named John Harrison, would be the well-known series antagonist, Khan Noonien Singh. Despite the efforts from director J.J. Abrams and Benedict Cumberbatch of trying to throw everyone off by claiming that wasn’t Khan, it was revealed about an hour into the movie that the character of John Harrison was in fact Khan himself.

Even to this day, it felt like such a bizarre marketing tragedy to keep his identity a secret. Not only was the reveal of Khan thuddingly obvious to anyone who is familiar with Star Trek, but it served no importance to the narrative of the movie. Characters such as Kirk and Spock have virtually no reaction to that reveal and him being Khan didn’t really seemed to change anything aspect about the character. When looking at it from a fan’s standpoint, the reveal felt pointless and obvious. When looking at it from a casual audience standpoint, the reveal likely had them scratching their head in confusion because they had no idea what John Harrison being Khan was suppose to mean. It came across as hollow fan service that I don’t think even the people who wrote the script understood themselves.

Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness was basically an incident of a character existing solely for the purpose of marketing and not because the character itself adds anything to the story. While handled in a different fashion, I can’t help but feel like Rocksteady fell into a similar trapping with the way they handled the Arkham itself in terms of the marketing for him and the story revolving around him.

To give credit to Rocksteady, the Arkham Knight itself was certainly MUCH better handled than with Khan in Into Darkness. At least the mystery of who the Arkham Knight is plays some importance to the narrative of the story and does provide some context from the source material as to who Jason Todd is and why him being a main villain is a shocking reveal to those not familiar with Batman lore. While the Arkham Knight is certainly more functional than Khan, I still can’t help but feel like the character’s main existence serves more from a marketing standpoint and not a storytelling one.

Similar to the lead-up to Into Darkness, Rocksteady did try to throw everyone off of who their mysterious character was. They even went on record that the Arkham Knight would be a completely original character created by themselves with collaboration from DC Comics. While that might technically be true from a certain point of view (*insert Luke Skywalker’s “A certain point of view?”*), from another view that basically comes across a blatant lie. Yes, the character of the Arkham Knight himself is an original one as this was the game that the character debuted in, but the identity of who he is not original in the slightest.

For those who are unaware of who Jason Todd was before this game, he was formally known in previous Batman lore as the Red Hood. In the film Batman: Under The Red Hood, he was a former apprentice of Batman who was left for dead, tortured by the Joker, was left dead again, and then survive to pursue his own sort of vigilante justice. Except this time, he would go a step further and kill his enemies one-by-one instead of sending them to jail. However, at a certain point in the film, the Red Hood reveals to Batman that he is no other than Jason Todd himself, his student who he thought was dead but is fully alive. If you are paying attention, the backstory of the Red Hood in the movie is basically the exact same as that of the Arkham Knight. However, there is one slight chance, his grudge against Batman.

In Under the Red Hood, Jason actually forgives Bruce for not saving him as he felt that he had every reason to believe he was dead. What pushed him over the edge was the fact that Batman had let the Joker live and never killed him despite the fact that the clown prince of crime may have been responsible for the death of his own partner. It’s then that Batman gives a fantastic speech as to why he hasn’t killed the Joker or any of his main enemies. Even though he has constantly thought about torturing and killing the Joker many times, he will not do it because if he starts to kill there, he may never stop once he starts down that dark path.

In the context of the Arkham Knight, Jason’s grudge against Batman is changed completely. They can’t have him being pissed at Batman for the Joker being alive because he’s now dead. So, they decided to make it to where Jason is in fact ticked at Batman for leaving him to die with the Joker and replacing him with haste. That in of itself might make for an engaging conflict for some but because Jason himself has had little to no build up in the series up to this point, the whole thing feels very tacked on and isn’t as important as the game wants you to believe.

Before the reveal, the only context we are given of Jason in the Arkhamverse is through these out-of-nowhere flashback sequences where we see the Joker torturing Jason Todd before he shoots him on camera, potentially killing him. Not to mention, these sections don’t appear until about a 3/4 of the way into the game and is inserted in the most forced and awkward way possible. I don’t know if it’s because Rocksteady thought that waiting that long to reveal Jason Todd would make it more appealing but at that point, anyone who hadn’t guessed who the Arkham Knight is yet probably had it spelt out for them during these sequences. Instead of feeling like smart foreshadowing, it comes across more as stalling an inevitable fate.

What makes it even worse is how little the Arkham Knight actually matters in terms of the story. The only main thing he accomplishes on his own that any other one of Batman foes couldn’t is that he captures Barbara and helps Batman at the very end. Just about anything else he does in the game is either a.) not important or b.) could have been handled by any other one of Batman foes. Despite being a part of the main title of the game and is suppose to be the main draw of the game, the Arkham Knight practically feels like a footnote in his own game.

This is where we go back to the marketing over storytelling claimed I made earlier. After Arkham City ended with Joker dying and having DLC later on with Harley Quinn attempting to get her revenge, Rocksteady likely found themselves hitting a brick wall on who the main villain of the next game would be. Because they felt like Scarecrow himself wouldn’t be enough to draw people in, they decided to make a mysterious “new” baddie for Batman to take down. Even if the character is basically a re-skinned version of another known Batman character, just change up his name and appearance so the marketing can set him up as being the main ultimate bad guy so that might get people interested in seeing how the Arkham series would conclude. While that makes for clever marketing, I don’t think it made for the best storytelling for the game. While it’s certainly not the worse version of this trend, the Arkham Knight plays with that exact trend nonetheless.

In Conclusion

Despite my main criticisms, I don’t think the Arkham Knight himself is a bad character or one that I hate. I just don’t think he works for this story.

The reveal of Jason Todd as the Arkham Knight is too obvious and on the nose, there’s hardly anything that makes him standout as being the next worthy foe of Batman, he’s not scary or menacing, there’s no satisfying resolution to this story, and he doesn’t have as much of a presence as the game thinks he actually does. While there are a few redeemable qualities to him such as the idea around him, his sick suit and Troy Baker’s performance, the character himself left plenty to be desired.

Above all, the Arkham Knight himself just seems like a character made for marketing purposes and not for story purposes. It’s as if Rocksteady was too caught up in trying to sell everyone of making their own badass villain that they never bother to put in as much effort into making sure he fits with the story organically.

This all makes me wonder how Paul Dini, the long-time Batman writer who wrote the scripts for Asylum and City, would have tackled the character of the Arkham Knight himself if Rocksteady had him return for this game. Would he gone the same direction as they did? Would he had Damian Wayne be the Arkham Knight instead? Would he had used a fully original character and find a way to make it fit in the context of the Arkhamverse? We will never know the answer to any of that but that is a question I imagine many Batman fans are still asking themselves to this day.

Let this be a lesson to future storytellers out there. When crafting a character whose identity is suppose to be a mystery and have that be the main selling point, make sure to put just as much (if not more) effort into the storytelling of the character as you do with the marketing. In order for a mysterious character to work, they have to be a character that makes sense in their own right and be interesting enough to where future viewings or playthroughs won’t be harmed once you know who the character really is.

While I still stand by the fact that Batman: Arkham Knight itself is a great game that ended the Arkham series on a high note, I also stand with the fact that while not necessarily being bad in his own right, the Arkham Knight just doesn’t work in the context of the Arkhamverse.

Time to try something new! I’ve recently got to see two movies early that have still yet to come out in theaters in the USA. Because of the fact these movies are fairly new and hardly anyone outside of critics or folks in advance screenings, I don’t want to go too deep into them. However, this does compel me to start doing some so-called mini-reviews whenever I’m able to see something early. In the sense, to where I won’t go that far into the movie itself and basically just be completely straight forward of giving the movie a thumbs up or thumbs down. Although I’ve already done reviews for movies that I’ve seen, it did feel like I went deeper into those movies than I really should have. These two movies I’m gonna be talking about are no other than Renfield and The Pope’s Exorcist. These are two movies that are set to open this weekend and I will let you know whether or not I think it’s worth your time. Again, I’m going over basic details and the pros and cons without digging too deep into any of it. That way, I can have more free time and you’ll know straight away if you should see it or not.

First off, Renfield.

To put it simply, Renfield is a mixed bag. On paper, it has the right ingredients to be an instant horror camp classic. You got Chris McKay, one of the funniest and creative guys in the entertainment business in the director’s chair, a cast of comedic talent such as Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz that have the range to carry the material, proving social/meta commentary on being in an abusive co-relationship, the perfect rating to show off it’s impressive blood, kills, gore, and over-the-top humor, and of course Nicky Cage as Count Dracula himself! However, despite being an entertaining time at the movies, it can never fully utilized it’s potential.

The ideas and character dynamics are never fleshed out as well as it can, most notably due to it’s relatively brief 93-minute long runtime. The potential intrigue of seeing a fully-formed relationship between Renfield and Dracula and the impact it has on others aren’t given the time it needs for proper depth because the movie is in such a rush to get from one set piece to the other. Which doesn’t help that the action for the first half is rather poor with awkward cuts, camera constantly shaking, and not feeling as stake heavy as it should. You also have Ben Schwartz that just disappear but then reappears whenever the movie needs them and the writers struggling to give Awkwafina’s character a real purpose to the story aside from giving Renfield a potential love interest.

While those that were expecting plenty of creativity in terms of story and depth will likely be underwhelmed, those that just come here to enjoy some brutal kills, campy humor, and Nicholas Cage killing it as Dracula will likely get their money’s worth. The rest of the cast is solid with Nicholas Hoult being engaging enough as Reinfield, Awkwafina being her usually charming self, and Ben Schwartz threatening to steal every scene he is in, even the ones where he’s with Cage. The make-up is convincing while gruesome and there is plenty of blood, gore, and dirty words to justify the movie’s R-rating.

Overall, Renfield is an enjoyable time but you can definitely tell the elements were there for a better picture. The ideas it has aren’t given time to flesh out, the characters, while fun, lack compelling depth and motivations, and the commentary that the movie constantly flirts with barely resonate because they mostly get pushed aside in favor of the movie’s humor and set pieces. That said, the humor and set pieces (at least in the second half anyway) still does it’s job and Nicolas Cage as Dracula is as much of a match made in heaven as you would expect. It’s a fun night out and makes for the perfect movie to see on a discount Tuesday but don’t go in expecting a classic because it never reaches there.

Next, we have The Pope’s Exorcist.

If you ever imagined a movie that felt like the worst and cheapest knock-off of The Conjuring and The Exorcist mix together with a laughable MCU franchise style ending, you basically get The Pope’s Exorcist. It’s a weak and poorly made exorcism film that does very little to stand out with the very best or even the very worst of these kind of movies. I can’t say it’s the worst movie of the year that I’ve seen but it’s certainly one of the most the least interesting and unremarkable experiences I have had of 2023.

It starts off well enough with an intriguing opening sequence and a premise that is set up rather well. Unfortunately, things begin to go off the rails right around the end of the first act and the movie basically feels like a betrayal of itself. For a movie that sets itself up to be a more serious and grounded exorcist movie, that ultimately gets undermined at a certain point as the film then commits to being as silly and over-the-top as possible.

The characters themselves are idiots who constantly do stupid decisions, the demons they fight are not frightening and beyond ridiculous, and it all leads to a climax and resolution so bizarre that I still don’t believe I actually saw it happen. You will also likely ask yourself certain questions about the demon towards the end. Most notably, why he waited until now to do something when he had all the time in the world to do it beforehand? Russell Crowe does what he can with the material and he does seem to be the only one aware of the kind of movie he is in but that is not enough to make this movie worth while.

The Pope’s Exorcist is ultimately a dud with no originality, entertainment, or scares to speak off. It’s a bad, disposable horror flick that doesn’t deserve your attention whatsoever. Russell Crowe is able to keep the whole thing watchable but nearly everything else falls flat on here. Feel free to skip this one!

Yes, this is the real review!

There are times where being a reviewer is hard. This mostly comes from reviewing something based off an IP that you grew up loving that is clearly meant to revoke the nostalgia in you and remind you why you loved that property in the first place but doesn’t really have anything else to offer besides that. In the case of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, this is an example of a movie that basically walks a fine line between the fanboy mindset and the cynical mindset.

The fanboy mindset tells me that this might just be the most faithful video game adaption (with the exception of Arcane and The Last of Us) to date with breathtaking animation, amusing worth building, fun action setpieces, an outstanding original score, plenty of easter eggs, callbacks, and references from the games, fan favorite characters that get at least one or two moments to shine, and a voice cast which despite being celebrities, surprisingly fit quite well in their roles. Then comes the cynical mindset which can go on about the movie’s by-the-numbers storytelling, forced gags, awkwardly insert tracks, sticking to certain genre cliches to a T, and probably doesn’t work for those who aren’t fond of the source material it’s based on.

While I can totally see someone leaning one way or the other, by the end of the day, you have to remember what you are getting yourself into and what kind of movie you are watching. If you are someone that goes into a Mario movie in hopes to have storytelling, character development, and depth on par with the likes of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, then you really didn’t know what you are getting into and will likely be disappointed. However, if you are someone that goes into a Mario movie for the eye popping visuals, fun set pieces, iconic tracks getting remastered, seeing some of your favorite characters using your favorite power-ups, and just enjoy finding the easter eggs in something you like, then you will likely have a good time. For me, I leaned into the latter and because of that, I quite enjoyed myself.

Is it a great movie overall? No! Does it contain some elements that I’ve grown tiresome with Illumination Animation? Definitely! But, is it a Mario movie that feels like it was made by fans for fans? Absolutely!

Plot Synopsis: Based off the extremely successful video game franchise from Nintendo, we have an origin story for the brothers and Italian American plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day). During accomplishing a job for their struggling plumbing business, Mario and Luigi are split up as they find themselves teleported to the alternate world known as the Mushroom Kingdom. It’s soon discover that the two find themselves entangled in a battle between Mushroom Kingdom, led by their princess named Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and the Koopas, led by the evil, menacing Bowser (Jack Black).

As Luigi find himself captive by Bowser himself, Mario is right outside the Mushroom Kingdom where he runs into Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) who takes him to Princess Peach herself. Peach, who has had plenty of experience in combat and adventuring, plans to stop Bowser by forging an alliance with the Jungle Kingdom led by King Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) and his son Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen). Once the princess meets Mario, she agrees to have him tag along to help save his brother, Luigi but must first teach Mario how to actually be the Mario we all know and love and be his guide across the Mushroom Kingdom.

We then see Mario, Peach, and Toad go on an adventure together to stop Bowser and save Luigi before Bowser himself is able to carry out his deadly plan to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom and force the princess to be his bride.

Let’s first get this out of the way since this has been a common criticism of the movie. Yes, the plot is very thin and straight forward with as much meaning as the scene in the original game where Toad says, “Sorry, Mario! Your princess is in another castle!” (which this movie references in the best way). Just like the games, it mostly exists just for characters to get from Point A to Point B and show off the amazing and colorful worlds that Mario and crew have to fight their way towards. There’s not much themes of the movie other than, the power of brotherhood and being an underdog can be cool sometimes, and most of the plots beats and character arcs are ones you can see coming from a mile away. However, isn’t that Mario at his core?

I’m not one to excuse lazy writing but in this case, it feels more like proper writing. Mario isn’t really known as a character with much depth and his stories tend to be lighthearted, straight forward fairytale-like plots where he needs to stop Bowser and save someone or something in the process. Is that much? No. Is it Mario! Absolutely yes! The story itself isn’t anything we never seen before but again, who really goes into a Mario movie for the story?

I imagine the elements that fans go into a Mario movie for is to see their favorite Italian plumber and his allies go on adventures together, performing platforming sections, unlock special power abilities, explore the ins-and-outs of the world, listen to some good tunes, ride a go-kart or two, and be amazed by the amazing visuals. If that’s what you are going into a Mario movie for, then you should be more than satisfied as the movie delivers all of that exactly as you want.

The animation as you would expect for any big animated movie nowadays is STUNNING! The worlds and characters themselves look incredibly gorgeous and feel like they were ripped straight from the games. So much so, there are times to where it feels like these could be cutscenes ripped directly from a Mario game in 2023 and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The way that each characters goes from different locations scattered throughout is an absolute treat for the eyes. If it wasn’t for the scenes in Brooklyn with the hilariously out-of-place looking dogs that looks it was ripped from The Secret Life of Pets, I wouldn’t even have guessed this was from Illumination Animation as well.

And as I’ve stated in the beginning, I don’t think I have seen a more faithful adaption in movie form than with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie is filled with callbacks and references to the games that it’s able to perfectly translated onto the big screen. Think about at least one noteworthy thing from your favorite Mario games and there’s a good chance it’s in this movie. We get the classic power-ups such as red mushrooms, blue mushrooms, red flowers, blue flowers, and even the tanooki suit! We get the castle that is taking directly from Super Mario 64! We get a Peach’s training course which is taking directly from Super Mario Maker! We get a rainbow road track that’s taking directly from Mario Kart Wii and 8! And we even get a cameo with *Spoiler!* from *Spoiler*!

While I’m sure plenty will claim that is too much fan service, but I honestly don’t know how the movie could have worked without it. I imagine most fans of the games will want the movie to remind them of the games. After all these years of folks complaining about how video game movies are nothing like the games, are we really now gonna complain when video game movies are actually similar to the games? I’m not a hypocrite so I wouldn’t do that.

When it comes to the voice cast, while it’s certainly full of recognizable celebrities, they do fit their roles quite well. First off, YES, Chris Pratt is just fine as Mario! Despite all of the controversy surrounding his casting (admittedly from me as well), especially with the fact that he’s not Italian or has an accent, he’s able to hold his own just fine as the Italian Plumber without ever become obnoxious or hard to listen to. It does take a moment or two to get use to his voice but once I did, I didn’t hear Star Lord or Emmet trying to play Mario, I just heard Mario. And for those wondering, yes the accent thing is immediately addressed in the movie.

Everyone else is just fine as well. Charlie Day is likable as Luigi and has great chemistry with Pratt, even if he doesn’t have nearly as much screen time as I would have liked. Anya Taylor-Joy brings enough charm and personality to this stronger version of Peach that felt like a mix of between her character in 3D World and Super Smash Bros. Keegan-Michael Key brings plenty of laughs as Toad and has probably some of the funnier moments in the movie. Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong sounds exactly what you would expect Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong to sound like. Charles Martinet, the original voice of Mario and Luigi, is able to shine on his own with the cameos he’s given to voice. Lastly, Jack Black as Bowser is absolute perfection as you knew he would be and that’s all that needs to be said about that!

In terms of the music, this is where I start to get into the negatives with this movie. When it comes to the original tracks and remixes by Brian Tyler and Koji Kondo, they are stellar. I can imagine those two had the time of their lives being able to take these iconic tracks that has help shaped the identity of Mario and make it something of their own. So much so, that this might be one of the few times where I actually want to buy the soundtrack of the movie because of how good it sounds. It’s the tracks from other things that are inserted in here that took me out of it.

While the songs they chose aren’t bad in their own rights, they don’t feel like they have a place in a Mario movie. Say what you will about the Sonic The Hedgehog movies having well-known songs but it made more sense there since it was live-action and meant to be taking place in the real world with real humans. For Mario, even when it technically takes place in a real world of Brooklyn, is not a world which well-known songs should be added in, just original tracks and songs from it’s own thing. That’s part of where the Illumination animation influence of the movie bothered me.

I’m gonna go on record of saying that I am normally not a fan of the movies by Illumination Animation. They often tend to make the most average, run-of-the-mill, kids movies imaginable that try to be as safe and disposable as possible just because it’s for kids. While I enjoyed the original Despicable Me just fine, I’ve had a hard time of connecting to any other movie that they’ve made since then. So the fact that I enjoyed The Super Mario Bros Movie should not be seen as a compliment on their part. If anything, it feels more like I enjoyed the movie in spite of Illumination and not because of them.

Much like other Illumination movies, there are times to where the movie is too gagged heavy, moves too fast, and doesn’t give you a lot of moments to breathe and get yourself sucked into the Mario worlds as we know it. It’s not as bad as in their other movies mostly because there’s just too many eye-popping scenes involving the Mario characters doing something we liked from the games, it’s never given a chance to bring the whole thing down. I give credit to Nintendo on that part as they clearly made sure that this doesn’t get screwed up.

The biggest negative of the movie has to do with the treatment of Luigi himself. While I’m glad they were able to keep the innocent and fraidy-cat personality that Luigi has always had, he gets quite sidelined throughout the good majority of the movie because he exists just to be a captured victim for Bowser. I get that the filmmakers didn’t want to make Peach the damsel in distress this time around and probably thought that Luigi getting kidnapped by Bowser would make Mario more motivated to stop the monster for their first ever encounter but it certainly doesn’t do the character or even movie any favors. There’s almost a good half-hour of the movie where the character vanishes completely and you almost completely forget he’s actually in it. I can almost forgive that because he is giving at least one awesome scene in the climax, but it certainly makes the title of The Super Mario Bros. Movie a tad misleading since it’s mostly just Mario with the focus and not Luigi. If anything, this movie would have been better off not having any damsel in distress except for toads or adorable looking creatures and just had Luigi join alongside Mario, Peach, and Toad to save the day.

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.

I understand we live in a time where movies with “fan service” are getting quite tiresome and “critic/fanboy proof” but this is one of the rare occasions to where it’s just find for it to be complete fan service and nothing more to justify it’s existence. Because it’s clear that the cast and crew were having a lot of fun making this movie and I had a lot of fun watching it.

If you want a recent animated movie with more effort put to storytelling and character development, go watch Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (which you REALLY should) or wait for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse to come out in June. If you want a Mario movie that feels like the most faithful adaption of the games possible, go watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Other comments:

• Yes, this is the real review and how I actually felt about the movie!

• Yes, there are two post-credit scenes!

• Ironic how a movie that has been described as an “Easter egg” movie is being released the same time as Easter weekend! Just all too fitting!

• There’s one scene in the movie with Bowser singing a song for Peach that is a perfect reminder that Jack Black has a lovely singing voice.

• I can’t be the only one that thought of Elsa from Frozen when Peach got her ice power-up! You knew darn well that Illumination purposely ripped that off because they just couldn’t help themselves. It was still cool tho.

• If you are expecting a lot of Yoshi or even any form of Yoshi, prepare for disappointment! And no that “tease” does NOT help either!

• There’s at least one scene in the climax that was about as goosebumps heavy as the scene in Sonic 2 where Sonic turns into his Super form! It’s just something the child in me as been waiting for my whole life to see!

• I might do a list of my Top 10 Favorite Mario Games this weekend because why not?

John Wick: Chapter 4 has been out for over a week now. I’m sure most of those that were wanting to see the film has already seen it by now. Because of that, now is a good time to talk about the big spoilers for the picture, particularly it’s rather surprising ending. While I haven’t seen too many thoughts about the the ending, I would imagine people are rather split down the middle of it or possibly even confused about it.

Although, I do think the one ringing question that anyone has about it is whether or not the franchise itself will stand by that ending? Despite it being the best way to wrap up story of John Wick himself and have his whole journey come full circle, will Lionsgate toss the ending aside and make it a footnote for the future just so the John Wick universe itself can keep going? First off, we have to discuss what the ending was itself and everything that has led up to it.

*Warning! The rest of this article contains MAJOR spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want anything spoilers, then you might want to click off the article right now! You have been warned!*

So, basically the whole journey of John Wick: Chapter 4 has to do with John Wick himself taking the entire High Table head on with the knowledge of having both nothing and everything to live for at the same time. While there’s not anyone too attach to himself that would scar him mentally as the death of his wife and their dog did, the thought of sucking down that one last breath without avenging the death of his loved ones is something that John Wick just cannot bear. Which is why we constantly see John pursuing himself beyond measures and not stop until the High Table is stopped which would granted his freedom.

After we go through one of the most thoroughly impressive stairwell fight scenes in any film, we see John and his old pal Caine come together for one last showdown, one which was arranged from that High Table that would take place at sunset. The one that is guaranteed to gain the freedom of whoever survives the encounter. With that freedom, their name will be cleared and whoever lives will no longer be hunted by the High Table ever again.

During the showdown, John and Caine suffer serious wounds after the first two rounds of dueling. The third round comes to a halt when Caine shoots John for a third time where John appears to have missed. It’s then that De Gramont is so eager to watch John die that he wants to take matters into his own hand and kill the hitman himself. But, as it turns out, John did not actually fire the third bullet yet and uses that shot he has to kill De Gramont point blank.

After that, the Harbinger grants Caine and John their freedom from the High Table while Wintson is reinstated. While Caine is able to walk away with his injuries, John is not so fortunate. Instead, he collapses on the staircase and reminisces the lasting memories of his life and marriage that he can now fully put behind him. Now that he is free, he can rest. And rest is exactly what comes next for John, permanently.

Once he takes that one last glorious moment to remind himself that he has avenged his wife, dog, and himself, John Wick passes way due to his injuries. Sometime later, Winston and the Bowery King send their farewells to John at a gravesite where he is buried next of his wife, Helen.

He’s Dead,……Jim?

So, yep John Wick is dead! Despite everything that John has survived throughout the course of these movies and his entire life as a deadly assassin, that is what kills him. A couple of gunshots to the gut that he just didn’t have enough time to recover from. While I imagine that can be viewed as rather anticlimactic by some people to have that be the end of John Wick, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.

I’m sure John himself could have pushed himself to survive those wounds and get it treated immediately if he wanted to. I mean this is a guy that was able to walk away after getting run over by a car repeatedly, smashed through glass walls, be thrown from one floor to another, and even survive falling down a building. If he could make it through all of that, why can’t he just do it again? The short answer: Because he had no reason to.

The main driving force for John and the reason he came out of retirement since the first movie was to hunt down his feared enemies had to do with the unfinished deeds surrounding his wife and the dog that she left behind for him. That’s why for all the stabs, punches, and gunshots he’s taken, he made himself recover from all of that. Why? Because he still had a purpose to serve, a job to serve, and a deed to finish. Without any of those, John Wick had no reason to continue doing what he does beat. However, now that he accomplishes everything he set himself out to do, he can now rest and is hopefully somewhere up top and leaving peacefully with his wife and their dog. Or, that’s at least what they wants us to think.

Will Lionsgate Stand By The Ending?

Of course, the big question is whether or not they will actually stand by that ending. After all, Lionsgate had already announced plans for a Chapter 5 before Chapter 4 was even finished, with the idea of shooting Chapter 4 and 5 back-to-back. However, that idea was eventually scraped as Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski wanting to just focus strictly on making the fourth movie. The two had also came out before the movie released that they were looking to take a break from the series and give themselves a rest for it.

However, after the early strong box office numbers for Chapter 4, there seems to be some motivation from Lionsgate to make a Chapter 5, when Stahelski even recently claiming that he would be open to return for another John Wick picture. It remains to be seen if we will get a Chapter 5 sometime soon but even then, I think we’ve gotten to a place within the universe of John Wick that it might be time to draw the focus on other characters outside of John Wick himself.

The Potential Future

We know that there is a Ballerina movie in the works with Ana De Armas that is set to come out next summer. That sounds intriguing, especially after seeing De Armas hold her own in her awesome extended cameo in No Time To Die, but that might just open the box for plenty of other interesting side stories that can be told in this universe.

There’s characters such as Sophia and Akira that have interesting backstories and connections to John Wick along with having perfect set-ups that could lead to their own movies or series. And if the post-credit scene of Chapter 4 is any indication, with Caine returning to Paris to reunite with his daughter but is approached by Akira, that could potentially be the direction that this franchise is looking towards. Whether or not Chapter 5 is made, there is still other stories that can be told without John Wick being the sole focus that could keep people interested in this franchise for the future.

I’m not gonna act like I know the future of John Wick as your guess is as good as mine. Even so, Chapter 4 does a great job of tying up the loose ends from the previous movies and having the entire series come to satisfying conclusive circle. Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahleski had a lot to be proud of with what they’ve accomplished with this series and I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with next.

Until then, I hope the two of them are enjoying a nice relaxing vacation in Hawaii. And make sure to go see John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters because it rocks!

Every year, there comes that one film that just blows you away. That one film that just speaks to you on a personal level and changes the way you think about yourself. You don’t know how or why but it just amazes you in every way. It gives you hope for not just movies but in humanity! When it comes to all the movies that I’ve seen this year, there is not one that has fit that description perfectly than Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey. It’s easily the best Winnie The Pooh movie ever made and definitely better than all of that Disney crap that didn’t understand the character. It’s the darkest Winnie The Pooh movie to date and finally gives the fans of the character the serious tone they have been looking for along with addressing all the complaints that everyone had about the Disney adaptions. It’s an instant horror movie classic that delivers the scares, kills, and gores that we’ve all been waiting for. And it’s the best movie of 2023! Take that John Wick and Marvel!

Premise: Christopher Robin is headed off to college and he has abandoned his old friends, Pooh and Piglet, which then leads to the duo embracing their inner monsters.

I would go further with the plot description but I don’t know if I can. Not because I don’t wanna spoil anything since there’s really nothing to spoil about the movie but I couldn’t tell you what the story is aside from that. It’s all over the place with it constantly cutting back and forth to the Winnie the Pooh characters, Christopher Robin, and whoever else is in the movie. There’s also the fact that there are undeveloped characters and tacky subplots that come in out of nowhere, then completely disappear for long stretches of the movie before reappearing again out of nowhere, and it all turns out to be complete pointless by the end of the movie. But hey, who cares about any of that right? If you want a good story or character development, go read a book or something. What anyone cares about in a horror movie is the scares and kills and oh man, do they deliver!

This is one of the most scary movies I’ve even seen in my life. Even though it’s basically the same cheap jump scare over and over and over again, I still fell for it every single time because of how well it’s done. Every time Pooh comes out of nowhere to scare Christopher Robin or his girlfriend, it was so terrifying that it made me look behind my back to see if he was right there about to get me as well. If a movie can terrify you so much that it makes you believe that the scary person is literally right there with you when you are watching it, then it’s definitely doing something right.

And don’t even get me started on the kills, this has some of the most bloodiest, goriest, and satisfying kills in any horror movie I’ve ever seen. It’s certainly better than the ones that was in Scream 6 where it didn’t even look real at all. This however, felt so real that I basically felt the character’s pain. During that scene where Pooh and Piglet are torturing Christopher Robin by whipping him repeatedly in his naked back, I felt every single bit of that pain. So much so that I nearly threw out my back trying to put lotion on it just to make sure that I didn’t too feel the pain. That other scene where Pooh is going around and murdering Christopher Robin’s friends with a hammer blows any killing scene in any Texas Chainsaw movie out of the water.

The best thing about this move however is how it accomplishes the one thing that all fans of Winnie the Pooh have always wanted to see, Pooh and his friends getting revenge on Christopher Robin for abandoning them. Unlike that Disney live-action movie that was too scared to go into that because they have to make it kid-friendly, this one is finally able to deliver the perfect story of vengeance that everyone has been wanting to see. Never mind the fact that Christopher Robin was getting older, had to move on with his life, and Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Owl and Rabbit aren’t even suppose to be real, that little bastard abandoned the only friends he ever had and deserves all the scorn he get. It’s such an empowering, uplifting story of time, loneliness, and abandonment. It reminds us that we are not alone and there is always someone that will stab us in the back. And when that happens, you can stabbed them in the back as well. It’s only fair after all.

From a directing and production standpoint, well, it’s quite shitty. The directing is all over the place, the editing is choppy, and the blood and gore just look like ketchup and spaghetti and meatballs. But then again, it was the director’s first ever big mainstream movie so he deserves some slack. Plus, he was only given a budget of 100,000 dollars, so it’s not like you can expect it to be actually good. Never mind the fact that well-known movies such as Clerks and The Blair Witch Project were made for even less of that budget but then again, who cares. Who watches a movie for that anyway? If you wanna watch something with good direction or production, go watch a Broadway musical or something.

One more thing that is worth mentioning are the performances from these actors and actresses who I have never heard off and don’t remember their names from the credits. However, that’s a good thing because it allows themselves to completely embody their roles without having you think of any well-known actor that it completely takes you out of it. Unlike in say Christopher Robin where I never bought Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin and I just saw Obi-Wan Kenobi pretending to be Christopher Robin. The fact this cast is so unknown that they don’t even have their own Wikipedia article makes it all the more better because it makes you realize that anyone can act professionally. Sure, the moments where they have to cry and be scare fall flat because you can tell that they are either inexperienced or not being directed very bell, but then again, who cares. If you wanna watch something with good acting, go watch a play or something.

Overall, Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey is about as pitch perfect as movies can get. It’s scary, terrifying, contains plenty of scares and kills, takes itself incredibly seriously, and finally gives Christopher Robin the brutal death that asshole has deserved for all these years. Sure, it’s poorly made, written, acted, and does basically nothing new or interesting in it’s premise but who cares when it’s a literal masterpiece.

Hollywood should take notes from this movie! It’s then they might realize that it’s time to stop making these movies based off of children properties and make them strictly for adults. The kids have had their chance but it’s the adults that matter now! And if Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey is anything to go by, then the future of cinema is safe. It’s the best movie of the year and the best movie of the decade so far! Forget about that Dungeons and Dragons crap or that new woke Mario movie, this is what movies are about!

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April Fools btw!

How much John Wick is too much John Wick? That has to be the one question that everyone behind these movies has had to ask themselves after making each each new installment. As much fun as it is to watch Keanu Reeves kicking ass acting like he’s still one of the best action stars out there (He still is!), there comes a point where that will no longer be as impressive or exciting. Even though we will always cheers on the heroes to win every battle, none of that will mean a thing until someday they are able to win the war. Which was perhaps the one big fault of John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum, a movie that by design set itself up to be the concluding chapter of the story only to reveal itself towards the ending to being another big piece of a glorified puzzle. The same thing can’t be said for Chapter 4, a movie that takes all of the build up from the previous three movies and have it all pay off in a way that gives the complete sense of finality. Whether or not this will actually be the final chapter in the story of John Wick remains to be seen but if it is, then I can’t think of a more magnificent note to go out on.

Not only is John Wick: Chapter 4 perhaps the best movie in this franchise, it essentially joins the list of some of the best action movies ever made and perhaps the best action movie overall since Mad Max: Fury Road and Mission Impossible: Fallout. Yes, the action has never been better choregraphed and executed than it has been here. Yes, the cinematography and pure scope have never looked and felt better than it does here. Yes, just about every noteworthy person in the cast get a moment to shine and scenes that stand out so well you can’t wait until someone uploads them to YouTube. Yes, the near three-hour runtime does not feel daunting in any way. However, what is most impressive of all is how it is able to wrap up the four-movie arc of John Wick in a way that just feels complete and right.

Synopsis: Taking place sometime after the events of Chapter 3, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is still hiding underground with Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) as he prepares to take vengeance against the High Table. Once he is ready to head back into action, his first step is to go to Morocco and kill the Elder there, the only individual member above the High Table. Shortly after that deadly deed is done, the word gets outs quickly of the Elder’s death which makes the High Table realizes that John Wick is in fact still alive.

Due to his failures to kill the infamous assassin despite shooting him off of a rooftop, Winston Scott (Ian McShane) is excommunicated from the High Table by the senior member of the High Table known as Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard). By making his mission to stop John Wick once and for all, Vincent de Gramont hires a handful of highly trained assassins such as Caine (Donnie Yen) and the Tracker (Shamier Anderson) to exterminated the hitman along with promising a handsome wealthy award to anyone in the world who is successful in killing him.

With the price on his head being as large as it has ever been, John Wick must take the fight against the High Table while seeking out his most powerful allies across the globe. Will John finally gain the freedom that he and his wife would have wanted or will the number of assassins be too much for him and lead to his sudden defeat?

The character of John Wick himself has always been the one main component that makes this series stand out along with the other action-heavy franchises out there. Not just because we get to see Keanu Reeves kicking more ass than he did in all four Matrix movies combined but more because of the crystal clear reasons as to why he’s doing it. It adds the human nature and drama to the character that always ties into his intriguing yet tragic backstory. While all the John Wick movies have got that up to this point, I don’t think there has been a movie in the franchise to get that just as well as Chapter 4 does.

The main goal that always drive John Wick in this series is freedom. Not just the freedom of no longer having a bounty on his head but the freedom of not letting the ghost of his late great wife haunt him forever. No matter what the fate comes from his allies or even himself, John will always fight for his freedom to avenge his late great wife, his late great dog, and even his later great self. It doesn’t matter how many hits he takes or how many enemies he has to kill, John Wick is someone that simply will not stop until he gains his freedom. Not only because he has nothing or everything to lose but precisely because he has nothing and everything to lose at the same time. If there was any sort of doubt of that in any of the previous movies, then Chapter 4 proves that to be 100% the case.

John Wick himself takes more damage here than he does in any other movie to this point. Even if it’s not likely he would have survived at least a good portion of fights in rea life, he still finds a way to fight back due to his determination and dedication to his own goals. Sure, go ahead and push him down as many steps as you want or run him over with your car as many times as you can but he will eventually come back and kill you all the same. It’s only when his goal is complete that he will allow himself to lay down and rest until death arrives. The action has always been a standout in this franchise but it’s always been the simplistic but intriguing character study of John Wick himself that adds the extra icing on the cake.

That’s not to say the action scenes aren’t worth talking about because they absolutely are. I can’t recall a franchise in recent memory other than another certain one staring Tom Cruise which the people behind the movies are able to constantly top themselves in the action department. Just when you think they can’t go any bigger or better, Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves will always say to hold their beer.

The action in this film is absolutely spectacular all around. Every fight and gun scene is a standout in every sense of the word. They certainly required a significant amount of suspension of disbelief but that’s what makes it all of the more fun and memorable. There are plenty of great ones that stand out greatly such as the one with John riding a horse, one where John is driving a car, the one where John’s facing off against Killa, the one with John being armed with a freaking Dragon’s Breath shotgun, and the one that takes place in the museum where the characters played by Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rina Sawayana are giving their own badass moments. However, the scene that stands out the most, which will likely go down as one of the best action sequences in recent memory is the one taking place at the staircase.

That is the moment where the film’s overall action, stunts, choreography, and stakes are at it’s absolute best. This is the action scene that provides just about everything you could possibly want in any action scene. The right amount of excitement, tension, and badassery with whoever John goes up against. Once you think that sequence is all over, the film pulls the rug from underneath him and the audience. I can’t remember the last time an action sequence that got me and the audience I was with enthralled but also gasping in horror with what they had just witnessed. If it feels like I’m just scratching the surface when describing that scene, that’s because I don’t want to give too much away and believe it is worth experiencing for yourself.

Another thing that helps Chapter 4 raises the bar on the franchise is having some of the best side characters in the franchise played by a tremendous supporting cast. You could honestly seem almost every one of these characters being able to carry their own feature film and you might even be asking for one after seeing the movie. Some of the returning characters from the previous movies do make a welcome albeit brief return. Laurence Fishburne is just as much fun as Bowery and has just as much chemsity with Keanu Reeves as he always has. Ian McShane is still an enjoyable presence as Winston Scott whose character is given a bit more of an interesting direction here than the previous movies, even after his sudden turn towards the end of the last movie. And if you are wondering how Lance Reddick as Charon is handled shortly after the actor’s recent passing, you might be fairly disappointed and that’s all I will say about that.

However, it’s the new cast of characters we get that help make this movie shine even brighter. They don’t just simply exist to add more badass characters for the sake of it in this franchise but some of them even have their own intriguing stories and arcs that I wouldn’t being seen continued in future movies. Donnie Yen as Caine is marvelous and is able to stand out even better as being a blind badass than he did in Rogue One. Shamier Anderson as the Tracker manages to fit right into this universe and be more compelling than I think the original script originally had him has. Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu Koji is able to greatly carry his acting chops and marital experience from his international films to this movie with absolute ease. Rina Sawayama as Akira is giving a more brief role than I honestly wanted but she does make for a good first impression in her intital acting debut. Scott Adkins as Killa makes for one of the most intimating threats that John Wick has ever come across against in any one of these movies. Bill Skarsgard, while might not necessarily be the most scary bad guy in appearance, is arguably the most deadly main foe that John Wick himself has ever come across against as he is a man who wants to do everything in his power to end the man for good. And did I even mention Clancy Brown shows up here along with Natalia Tena playing John’s adoptive sister. Despite having such a massive cast, nearly every single important player is giving a moment to themselves.

If there’s another feature to these movies that don’t get nearly as much praise as it’s should is the way that it’s shot, lit, edited, and directed. Even for a simple action movie, there is as much love and effort put into them as you would expect for a movie trying to win a Best Picture. It’s clear that director Chad Stahelski and cinematographer Dan Laustsen wanted to make Chapter 4 the best looking and made John Wick movie to date and it shows perfectly on the big screen. There are so many shots in this movie that look so good that you will want plenty of posters of those exact shots. There’s plenty of gorgeous location shootings that it would fit greatly on a painting at a museum. Every single frame and shot is a genuine work of art in it’s own right.

The editing by Nathan Orloff is very well done whether it’s for an action scene or a scene where characters are talking. The score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard is about as good as it has always been in this franchise. The stunt team, who I imagine have one of the toughest tasks of any big movie to date, do stellar work and certainly makes a strong case that the Academy MUST have an Oscar for the greatest stunts. It’s thoroughly entertaining and engaging throughout, it’s paced must better than you would expect for these kind of movies, and even the 169 minute long runtime feels earned without the experience becoming too tiring. This film has about all the love and care one could possibly hope for when it comes to the craftsmanship and filmmaking.

I do imagine that this movie will be written off by some as being too over-the-top, too unrealistic, and containing too many action scenes. Than in of itself is fair and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, if you were not expecting any of that, then why are you watching a John Wick movie? Why watch a movie that makes it very clear what it’s goals are and how they are willing to accomplish it but still complain about it? Not everything has to be realistic or make complete logic sense. Sometimes it’s okay to let known veterans such as Keanu Reeves kick ass as he approaches his 60s, letting him live in his own fantasy world as being the most deadly assassin in film history. Some might complain about that but for me, as long as it’s damn entertaining to watch, then bring it on.

If I had to give a grip, it mostly has to do with the way that Lance Reddick’s character is handled. It’s not necessarily the movie’s fault as the beloved actor died just one week before it was going to hit theaters and no one could have predicted his death would be so sudden but I would be lying if I said that last scene with him left quite a sour taste in my mouth and took me out for at least the next three to five minutes. Again, I’m not blaming anyone on the creative team of this but I imagine even they would have preferred to give the character a better conclusion than what he’s given if they could go back in time and do just that.

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.

I’m not one that likes to claim when a movie is “perfect” but when it comes to John Wick: Chapter 4 and is able to deliver the goods with an absolute bullet point, it’s hard to bring up any flaws that bring the experience down. Even the cracks in the armor one might bring up may possible not be seen as cracks in the armor to another person but more of a upgrade to that armor. Nevertheless, no matter where this series goes next, I’m willing to stick with it until the end of the line.

Let’s see what you got Ballerina!

Oh…and Tom Cruise with that Mission Impossible thing coming out in July!

Other comments:

• Yes, there is one post credit scene! Stay through the credits!

• As much as I am looking forward to Ana De Armas kicking more ass than she did in No Time To Die in Ballerina, I honestly think I would prefer to see a movie with Donnie Yin’s character. His character just seems so intriguing and his backstory seems more personal than even John Wick’s! Plus, we can use more Donnie Yin in our lives!

• I might do a separate spoiler post but whether or not I think they stand by that ending, my answer is Yes and No! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

• I will be doing a ranking of all of these movies soon so look out for that!

• Of course, RIP to the late great Lance Reddick! You will be forever missed!

It’s interesting to see Shazam! Fury of the Gods coming out around the same time as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Not just in the sense that they both act as sequels that aim to go bigger, better, and wider scoped than it’s predecessors, which were mainly smaller scaled, lighthearted adventures. Or that both movies tend to put more emphasis on the main villains this time around that could factor into the future (or not). And of course, both movies have received a rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, scored less than an A- from Cinemascore, and on track to perform even less at the box office than their predecessors.

It’s safe to say that we now live in that time where critics and mainstream audiences don’t seem to be overly impressed with the superhero movie sub-genre anymore. Whether it’s because they’ve gotten worse or that everyone has seen just about everything it has to offer is up to you, but a comic book movie that’s just a simple B or B+ just doesn’t seem to get a free pass anymore. And just like with Quantumania, I’m baffled that out of all the recent superhero movies to come out, that and Fury of the Gods seems to be the one to have broken the camels back. Not just because neither properties have proven to be the most successful brand (at least financially) but because they really aren’t that bad.

To be sure, Fury of the Gods is certainly better than Quantumania and, if we are going by recent DC superhero movies, Black Adam. However, I would go as far to say that Fury of the Gods itself is a pretty solid sequel that gives you most of what you would expect a Shazam! sequel to consist of. No, it’s not as good as the original but I really don’t think it’s falls short by that much. If we’re going by some of these reviews, you would assume that Shazam 2! is to the original Shazam! what Mean Girls 2 was to the original Mean Girls. If anything a better comparison would be to that of Deadpool 2 and to some extent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In the sense, that both sequels deliver most of the same goods as the original and it all still works but lacks that freshness and “Wow!” factor that the original had. Back in 2017 and 2018, that seemed to be acceptable but five to six years later, I guess not.

Premise: Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson (Zachary Levi/Asher Angel) and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with their adult superhero alter egos. When a vengeful trio of ancient gods arrives on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Shazam and his allies get thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of the world.

(Yeah, I’m not going to go too deep into the description because the movie has already been out for a few days and don’t want to delay this review any further. Even so, I don’t think there’s a ton in this movie that you won’t be able to predict except for a cameo with a certain someone that WB apparently already spoiled in the TV spots. That honestly would have been cool to not know about going into the movie but oh well.)

The main thing that Shazam! Fury of the Gods makes sure to deliver is the one thing that was teased the most at the end of the first movie, which is the family of superheroes fighting alongside each other. There are certain ones that don’t get as much screen time as others (*cough* Eugene) or get as much time in their kid form (*cough* Billy Batson) but they are no doubt fun to watch whenever they are screen. Whenever they are dealing with their own personal family dynamics in their kid forms or their everyday superhero lives in their adult forms, it’s always engaging. While a big portion of that has to do with how lovable the characters themselves are, the one main factor to it as to do with how charming the cast themselves are.

The cast who were great in the first movie are still great here. To start off with the elephant in the room that is Zachary Levi, I think he’s still fine and enjoyable here. Yes, there are times throughout the movie where he comes close to developing the personality of a full-on man child and the less said about his anti-vax views the better but he still has a likable screen presence that it’s easy to ignore whenever you are watching the movie. The downside to so much screen time given to Shazam! strictly is that Ashel Angel gets much less time as Billy himself this time around. While putting more focus on the superhero family itself was definitely the right way to go, there’s not nearly enough of a balance between the kid and adult forms this time around as there probably should be.

As for the rest of the returning cast, they all fit quite well albeit in their kid or adult-like forms. The ones that shine the most is Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Grace Caroline Currey as Mary, and Meagan Good and Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley. Graze in particular is the one that gets the most interaction with the other cast members outside of the family themselves and he’s steal about every scene he is in. His dynamics in particular with Djimoun Hounsou as the original Shazam! and the other new villains are major stand-outs. Hounsou himself gets more to do this time around and definitely is where the film’s biggest laughs comes from. The other returning members do good but don’t have as many standout moments as the ones already mention.

When it comes to the new additions, particularly from the antagonist side, that’s where the movie falters. While there is more focus on the villains this time around with the daughters of Atlas, there’s not much to their characters other than they are powerful goddesses that want revenge on Shazam! and his family. The actresses are all good in their roles with Rachel Zegler being a delightful presence as Anthea, Helena Mirren being a ton of fun as Hespera, and Lucy Liu chewing up the scenery every opportunity that she gets. If anything, it’s largely the entertaining performance from the actresses that helps add the non-existent depth to the characters they were playing. As being the mere bad guys/girls of the picture, they are functional but certainly not on the list of greatest villains in superhero movie history.

When it comes to carrying the heart, tone, and resonating family themes of the first one, the movie is able to do that quite well. It’s probably more “funny” than it should be but it does help make it for a very feel-good time. I still enjoy the lighthearted nature of the whole thing that felt reminisce to classic superhero flicks I grew up with such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Christopher Reeve’s Superman. I like how it puts a big focus on the majority of the family members on the verge of becoming fully grown adults. And man, does it ever feel nice to see superheroes act like actual superheroes by saving civilians every chance that they get.

If you are someone that was just looking to spend more time with this cast and characters for the sequel, then you should definitely get your money’s worth. So much so, that I would have a hard time imaging someone that thoroughly enjoyed the first movie won’t enjoy their time here. Everything that folks loved about the original is still presence here, even if it’s not as “fresh” as before.

That’s not to say the movie itself is perfect because it’s clearly not. The third act does evolve into the same CGI and action-heavy tropes that most superheroes movies have grown accustom too which goes on longer than it should, there are times where the green screen shots composite are quite obvious, and while there’s a certain cameo towards the end that was welcome, the way the character was implemented mostly came across as a glorified deus-ex machina. And as I’ve stated before, if you have become familiar with the majority of the beats of a typical superhero flick, you will likely see certain beats coming from a mile away.

While Shazam! Fury of the Gods certainly doesn’t break any new ground for the superhero sub-genre and doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first movie, it still makes for a solid albeit formulaic sequel. Director David F Sandberg is able to deliver the exact goods that he delivered in the original Shazam! had even if it’s not able to deliver much else that feels as fresh. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but with movies that are this lighthearted, fun, and just has it’s own warm tone to it, I really find it hard to be overly critical off.

I can’t help but think that the negative reaction that this movie is receiving is not so much of the quality of the movie itself but with the either the feeling of superhero fatigue or the studio politics behind the DC movies itself. And there’s of course the obnoxious fans that have been whining over the fact that because this universe is about to get rebooted, that this movie is now “pointless” because it’s no longer “canon”. My response to all of that is who cares?

When reviewing any movie, judge the movie on it’s own merits and whether or not it works on it’s own terms. Don’t take out your frustration on the movie based off the genre/sub-genre it’s a part off because of your fatigue or because the folks behind these movies won’t have it as “canon” in the future. Sometimes it’s okay to allow yourself to be sucked into the movie going experience and enjoy the time you are having at the moment you are watching the movie without worrying about the aftermath of it. Only then will the world might be able to enjoy perfectly enjoyable movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods once again. If that’s so wrong, then who in their rights minds would want to be right? Certainly not me!

Other comments:

• I wonder how in the world the foster parents couldn’t tell that Mary Marvel was the same person as Mary Bromfield when the took look EXACTLY alike. Guess it’s the same logic as no one figuring how that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person.

• Speaking of parents, I’m just gonna say that Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez is a MILF. Just saying!

• I do like the way the film addresses a certain character’s sexuality. It’s quick but also funny and earnest at the same time.

• This is my baseball fandom speaking but I find it odd how even though the Phillies are mentioning on multiple occasions, that the movie never bothers to make a joke about there also being a Freddie Freeman in baseball and not just in this universe.

• I feel really bad for David S. Sandberg. Not only because of the film’s underperforming at the box office and the negative reviews but how the media is trying to twist his words on the movie like it always likes to do just to create their own narrative. I really hate that and it has to stop! Even if he’s no longer going to be a part of superhero movies, I wish the man all the best luck for whatever awaits him in the future, especially in horror!

Another Scream movie is out and is proving to be a good hit at the box office in it’s first weekend. As a result, it’s time to rank all six Scream movies to come out!

While I’m sure people have their own personal opinions on them, I still believe that this is one of the most consistent horror franchises out there. Although nothing that has come after the original as been able to top it (*mild spoilers for my rankings*), this series has driven successfully from mostly good sequels which may not be as great as the original but it’s always do damn entertaining to watch them try!

Anyways, let’s rank them from worst to best!

6.) Scream 3

Scream 3 tends to get a bad rep for two reasons: for being the “funniest” of the Scream movies and the blood & violence being reduced following the Columbine High School massacre. While the later element is underwhelming, the former one actually fits quite well with the series. After all, this series has always tended to be spoofs of other horror movies along with providing meta/self-aware commentary on the horror genre and movies in general.

When the comedic elements are used when talking about trilogy capers, it’s hilarious. However, what makes the comedic element come across as tone deaf is when dives deep into the misogynic nature of Hollywood during a pre-#MeToo era time. And while that commentary is still more than relevant today (and that’s not even mentioning the fact that Harvey f***king Weinstein is the actual producer of this film), it doesn’t fit well at all and should certainly not be treated as a joke.

There’s also the reveal of Ghostface which is easily the worst killer reveal in the franchise. Not only does it come out of no where and is just plain ridiculous, it falls into the same trappings that the movie claims it’s avoiding since this twist help making this entry easily inferior to the first two and all of the other entries in this franchise thus far.

Despite it’s shortcomings, there’s still quite a bit to like about this one. When the humor hits, it hits quite well. The kills themselves despite being watered-down is still fun. And the original trio of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are all always great to see together on-screen!

5.) Scream (2022)

This entry contains some of the bloodiest and most brutal kills in the whole series, the most likable new characters this series has had in a while, and has hands down the best and haunting opening sequence since the original! The meta commentary on “re-quels” and fandom is spot on and shows just how well this franchise has stood the test of time with what it’s trying to say with every entry that comes out at the right time!

Where it falters is the returning of the original characters which feels more forced and underwritten than ever before and feels like they’re here just because it’s a Scream movie and they gotta be involved in it somehow. There’s a lack of a personal conflict with Sidney and the rest of the legacy characters that makes their returns not as engaging as it could have been. And it also contains probably the most predictable killer reveal in the whole franchise, one that you will see coming from at least the second or third scene which that person is in.

An enjoyable outing in it’s own right and delivers what you want and expect out of a Scream sequel but it lacks the proper balance between old and new that some of the other sequels did so well!

4.) Scream VI

I basically flipped a coin between this one and the last one but because it’s more recent, I find myself siding with this one a tad more.

While the third act is worse than the previous one, I found everything up to that point to be just as engaging, if not more so. The new cast (especially Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) equipped themselves admirably and don’t need the legacy characters themselves to carry it, the kills are still effective and satisfying, the returning cast involving Courtney Cox and Hayden Panettiere are better utilized here than the last movie, and it does give you a brighter sense of the future that lies ahead for these kind of franchises that actually dare to move forward without their main lead.

Next time however, I do hope the spoofs and meta commentary are more effective and it finds more of a fresh voice without needing to cling on it’s subtext surrounding legacy characters. Maybe play around with the multiverse concept or something. Even so, I had fun but you probably have to break the mold even further for VII so you don’t feel the fatigue.

3.) Scream 4

I still find this movie to be mistitled. It feels like this is the installment that should just be titled Scream instead of the newest one. It would fit perfectly as a title since this one is exclusively about reboots, remakes, and such. Like why have it be about that but still called it Scream 4? Beats me!

Aside from the questionable title, this is easily the second best Scream sequel for me. It tackles many of the similar themes that is presented with 2022 but does a better job of it. Going deeper into the themes of legacy, it’s commentary of reboots/remakes (so much so that there’s an argument to be made that this is the first real movie that can be described as a “requel”) and finding the right balance between the new and old cast than any of the sequels up to this point. The new teenagers themselves are easily some of the best of the series (especially Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed, who’s an easy fan favorite) and does a great at showcasing the social life of both teens and adults in the age of social media and smart phones.

This also has my favorite killer reveal of the whole series. It’s the most unpredictable and ridiculous reveal but yet also the most absolutely genius and smartest reveal imaginable. Unlike with 3, the reveal itself isn’t so ridiculous that it makes it unbelievable, it’s the casting of the killer that makes it remarkable. It was the last possible person I would imagine but the actor/actress is able to sell it so well that I never would have guessed it would have been them.

Similar to Halloween 2018, this just feels like an entry that could be the very first entry for someone and it may have just as the same impact as the original. It’s the only follow-up I feel makes for the perfect parallel to the very first Scream.

Seriously, though, you should have just called this one, Scream or Scream 2011 or something like that. It just doesn’t make sense for this one to be called Scream 4.

2.) Scream 2

How exactly do you follow-up one of the best original horror movies ever made that plays and subverts horror movie tropes people back then were grown accustom to, by playing and subvert tropes about horror sequels of course!

Part 2 does a better job than any of the sequels of standing as it’s own thing. It knows that it can’t match the original on it’s own merits so instead, it creates new merits of it’s own to match with. This second installment creates a sandbox all by itself offering enough of it’s own witty meta humor, unique scares, and bloody, badass kills to make this good enough to justify it’s own existence than most horror sequels out there.

It’s not quite as clever with playing by/breaking the rules of horror sequels as say the original was with playing by/breaking roles for original Horror classics but it does enough to make this sequel worthwhile.

And I haven’t talked a lot about it up to this point but man, is the music and the score in these movies quite something special!

1.) Scream

But yep, the original is still the best! This is one that absolute redefined the genre is was based on at the time that it came out and continues to do so to this very day!

This is one classic that it could come out today and you wouldn’t even notice the difference. All you have to do is remove a couple of pop culture references along with mixing in some new ones and you wouldn’t guess for a second that this came out the time it did with all it has to say about horror and movie making in general. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

It’s also plays perfect as a spoof than most movie out there. Unlike with most of it’s sequels, it’s able to make fun of the tropes and clichés that horror has grown accustom to without actually MAKING fun of it! It acknowledges the tropes and clichés for what it is and it’s importance but it’s more interest in being something completely different from that.

There’s not a single moment here that falls flat for me. Just about everything that it tries to accomplish works as good as it could! The twists, the turns, the reveals, the blood, the gore, the kills, the cast, the themes, the commentary, the score, and the best Screen queen herself, Neve Campbell! Everything here works so well that it’s actually scary and makes me want to scream!

It’s interesting how not only are we getting a new Scream movie just 15 months after the last one but it’s coming out just one week after Creed III. What I mean by that is that both of these movies serve as sequels to long-awaited franchises that could’ve been laid to rest many years ago but are somehow still going. However, both now have to figure out how to keep their respective franchises going without their main face of the franchise carrying it forward due to their sudden absences involving feuds with producers. While the circumstances surrounding Sylvester Stallone and Neve Campbell is deeply unfortunate, it might just work for the better for the Rocky and Scream franchises as they continue to grow and evolve. Especially in the sense that the previous installments left their stories off on a pretty favorable note and made for the right stopping point for their characters.

Now, that the main character of Sidney Prescott out of the picture (at least for now), it’s time to see what the new kids can do on their own without the parents. While we do see a few familiar faces returning such as Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers and the welcome return of fan-favorite Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed, there is now a main focus on a new group of young, energetic adults that the film describes as the “core four”. Can this core four pick up the momentum from the previous entries or is it time to laid it all to rest?

Plot Synopsis: Taking place several years since the events of Scream, the survivors of the previous film are now living on their own attending college in New York City. We have Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) still trying to process the trauma of her prior Ghostface encounter, her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) is trying to party her way through her troubles, and their friends (Jasmina Savoy-Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) are coping just fine as they focus on their own personal and love lifes.

Of course, things can’t remain too well for our new cast as there’s a new Ghostface on the loose once again. After a clever and subversive opening that does a perfect job of throwing off a potential suspect of the killer, Ghostface is back and whoever that is, plans for revenge against Sam and the ones she cares about. With the help of new police officer thrown into the mix with Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), and the return of the lone survivor of Woodsboro murders in Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiiere), Sam, Tara, and their friends must find a way to stop Ghostface before it is able to accomplish their mission of vengeance.

The big question that everyone had for this movie was how this movie would address the absence of Sidney Prescott and if the movie would suffer because of it? To answer the first question, it is handwaved in the best and most meta way possible. To answer the second question, it doesn’t suffer whatsoever. While I can’t say for certain that this new core four will be as iconic as the main core three of the other Scream movies, I did find myself engaged with this group without feeling the need to cut to a legacy character every two minutes. As much as I enjoyed Neve Campbell’s return in last year’s Scream, you really got the sense that the writers really struggled in figuring out an organic way to include Sid in the story and give here a reason to be there other than because she’s been the main character for the past four movies. While there are certainly folks that will miss Campbell’s presence, I was more than fine with following the main characters we are given.

A good reason for this has to do with the energy that the younger actors bring to their characters and are able to shine much better than they did in the last movie. Melissa Barrera is given much more to do this time around as Sam Carpenter and is able to stand out well here without the forced connection to Sidney. Mason Gooding is fun as one of the love interests in Chad Meeks-Martin who even makes for a nice subversion of being the one lone male lead in a mostly female group (and I’m certainly speaking with experience). Jasmin Savoy Brown is as much of a riot as she was in the last one, if not more so, as Mindy Meeks-Martin. Dermot Mulroney as Wayne Bailey is basically a reskin version of David Arquette’s Dewey but he’s fine. Liana Liberato and Jack Champion as Quinn and Ethan makes for entertaining new additions and do get their own individuals moments to shine. Lastly, the main standout of the entire cast is no other than Jenna Ortega.

This should come as no surprise as Ortega herself is starting to emerge as the next big actress to watch for. Whether it’s as the next Scream queen with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis and Neva Campbell or just as the next Hollywood star such as Florence Pugh or Jennifer Lawrence, this girl no doubt has a bright career ahead of her. Her best scenes are with her co-star Melissa Barrera who have good chemistry with one another and make for an engaging sister bond ship. It’s also helps that Jenna Ortega is roughly around the same age that Neva Campbell was when she first started this franchise, showing that this is a franchise where horror women are just born in.

With the other two legacy characters returning in Courtney Cox and Hayden Panettiere, they don’t shine as well as the newer cast or as they did in their other films but they still make for nice returns. It’s hard to get too deep into their characters as that would be flirting with spoilers but just like with the way the legacy characters were handle in the previous movie, I suspect it will either leave fans delighted or pissed off with no in between. They still do play more of a role here than the legacy characters in the previous movie did but the movie makes it fairly clear throughout that this is not strictly their story but that it belongs to the young blood.

The kills here are still as satisfying and effective as ever. The biggest standouts include the opening scene with Ghostface, which makes it easily the most under predictable and twisting opening of any of the Scream sequels, along with the one that takes at the climax that helps hide the obvious storytelling flaws with that third act. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it my favorite kills in the series or even that this is the franchise as it’s most bloodiest and goriest but the ingredients for effective stabbing and killing in this series is still here and still works. All these and more is what helps Scream VI stands out as another good sequel but not quite a great sequel.

What keeps VI from being one of the better Scream sequels mostly ranging from the meta commentary that the franchise is known for. This installment claims to be about when a successful series becomes it’s own money-hungry, never-ending franchise that the studios will try to milk until the cows go home but it never goes as far with it as you might hope. If anything, it feels more of a continuation of the commentary of the last one (and to some extent Scream 4) with the way franchises handles their legacy characters rather than what happens when you have to now move on from them. I was expecting more, “Oh you can’t kill that character off because they are needed for their own Disney Plus/HBO Max series or spin-off movie” rather than more of the “It’s okay to kill legacy characters off because they are now old and we have new characters to focus on” that the last movie already did. Despite a handful of moments that display that well, it’s doesn’t feel much of service to it’s commentary rather than just for the sake of throwing in more kills.

I’m also not fond of the direction of the third act. No spoilers of course, but you got the sense that the writers had no idea how to actually end it or have a really effective Ghostface reveal. As a result, you get a climax that ultimately feels like a cop-out and don’t stick as bluntly to it’s choices that it has made up to this point. While the kills were just as good as you would expected, it’s the resolution that left a sour taste in my mouth around the time the credits roll.

I would say I enjoyed Scream VI about as much as I did the last one. While the third act is worse than the previous one, I found everything up to that point to be just as engaging, if not more so. The new cast equipped themselves admirably and don’t need the legacy characters themselves to carry it, the kills are still effective and satisfying, the returning cast are better utilized here than the last movie, and it does give you a brighter sense of the future that lies ahead for these kind of franchises that actually dare to move forward without their main lead. Next time however, I do hope the spoofs and meta commentary are more effective which can places itself up with Scream 2 and 4 as the very best sequels in the franchise. Maybe play around with the multiverse concept or something. Even so, I had fun but you probably have to break the mold even further next time so you don’t feel the fatigue.

Other comments:

• Yes, there is a post credit scene! Stay for the credits!

• The first two cameos of the movie are probably my absolute favorites in the entire franchise. If you don’t know who they are, please don’t spoil yourself! It will only make it even more entertaining when you watch it.

• I’m not even joking on relating to being the only male in an all-female group. From babysitting kids during teacher’s meetings in high school to having a Spanish class where I was the only man in class, I would fit comfortably in Chad’s shoes.

• Okay, Chad is not the only male character of the group for the whole movie but he is for the majority of it. So, I can still relate.

• Hard to believe it’s already been about 15 months since I published my first movie review on this site with Scream (2022). Time sure does fly the older you get!

Another year, another handful of Best Picture nominees to talk about. I’m not gonna lie, I honestly had no idea the Oscars was coming this week mostly because the way that last year’s Oscars took place at the end of March as oppose to in the middle of it. I have no idea why the Academy Awards feels the need to always change the time stamps with each award show every year but here we go again. Not gonna waste any time and let’s get down to ranking!

10.) Elvis

Each year there comes at least one “WTF!” nomination for me and this year, that award for me goes to Elvis. I’ve already never been a fan of Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby aside) so imagine the horror of having to suffer through 159 minutes of all the most Luhrmann’s tropes imaginable. Glorified aesthetics, pretentious imagery, virtually no substance, convoluted plotting, and actors that feel like they are in a completely different movie.

Austin Butler is fine as Elvis himself but even his Best Actor nomination is as much of a head scratcher as Rami Malek’s was in Bohemian Rhapsody. Not even Tom Hanks can help him or anyone in this bloated mess, feeling like a rejected character from the universe of Cloud Atlas. This just feels like a movie that was added in just for the sake of having a tenth entry for nominations and not because it was actually deserving of it.

9.) All Quiet On The Western Point

Every year or so, there comes a war movie that finds it’s way onto these nominations. Sometimes they are warranted such as Sam Mendes’s 1917 but other times, you get some like All Quiet On The Western Point. While certainly well-made and acted with a handful of standout moments, there’s not much here that leaves that big of an impact or differs itself from any other war movie. Not to mention, it pulls a Hacksaw Ridge where it claims to be an anti-war film that preaches pacifism only to contradict that message in favor of gloriously over-the-top gore and brutality.

Considering there always exists a better version of this movie with the original 1930 film along with a very well-written book that this movie is based on, there’s really no reason to watch this movie when other, better material exist. Not the worst war movie to ever be nominated but certainly one of the more forgettable.

8.) Triangle Of Sadness

Arguably the most “feel good” movie on this list, Triangle of Sadness walks a fine line between between grounded and plain absurdity. The cast are fun, the cinematography is top notch, and the first two thirds of it are intriguing enough. It’s once we get to the third act where the sluggish pacing and bloated runtime becomes apparent that the movie can help but limp itself onto the finish line.

This is one of those movies where the highs and lows practically balance each other out and it’s up to you to decide which end you find yourself leaning towards by the time the credits roll. While I lean somewhere in the middle, this does find itself on the lower half of the list because of it.

7.) Women Talking

Regardless of one can say about this movie, it certainly does live up to the title. Women Talking does indeed have a lot of women talking, along with Ben Wishaw on occasion. Even so, this is a solid watch overall which is carried by a bunch of talented ladies giving great performances who are giving compelling dialogue involving issues back then surrounding feminism and gender equality. I just wish I found a more emotional connect or it intrigued me the way Greta Gerwig’s Little Women did a few years back.

There’s certainly nothing problematic or even particularly bad about it, but it never rises above it’s basic and surface level when it feels like it’s trying to be anything but that. Still, Sarah Polley goes good work here with her cast and should be an intriguing name for the future

6.) Tar

I can’t say I’m in love with this one the way the rest of the world is. Yes, Cate Blanchett is amazing like always, it’s beautifully shot, the score is great, and the subject matter is tackling is certainly some that we need in this day and age. However, just like with a number of films on this list, the pacing and length really hinders the experience for me.

For a movie with this length and material in it, I was at least expecting something more creative in terms of it’s storytelling and structure instead of just something so basic and straight forward. If it was an hour shorter, this might have made it higher. But since it’s not, it’s just off of the upper half. It still has Cate Blanchett in it. And Cate Blanchett can make any movie good or watchable no matter what it is about.

5.) Avatar: The Way Of Water

The fact that this movie is THIS high on the list says more about the nominations this year rather than the quality of Avatar: The Way of Water itself. It’s really difficult for me to say whether or not this is better than the original as a whole or that it was worth the 13-year long wait. The stuff is better is better and the stuff that works does in fact work very well. I love exploring the worlds of Pandora and being able to witness this amazing imagery on the big screen while even find some of the family elements engaging. However, the things that don’t work such as the dialogue, plot points not being given a proper resolution, and not having a cohesive narrative still stick out like a sore thumb.

No doubt that James Cameron has a strange passion and love affair for Avatar and it’s world but I’m still not sure if I’m fully on board with it yet.  Just like the original, only time will tell. It’s only then that we’ll see whether or not if better is the new worse or worse is the new better.

4.) The Banshees Of Inisherin

This is probably the one entry on here I find myself right in between really liking it and absolutely adoring it. The performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are stellar, it’s shot extremely well, the score is outstanding, and it has the beating heart and soul throughout the feel that makes the whole thing feel genuine. It’s mostly the second half that didn’t grab me as much as the first half and the downer ending kinda felt like a betrayal to the movie that it was building itself up to be.

There’s still a lot of good stuff here and is something I can see myself watching again in the future. However, it’s the direction that it takes by the second half that perhaps makes this movie just short of an all-time classic. Regardless, it’s still worth a watch and one of the better nominations.

3.) The Fabelmans

This is Steven Spielberg’s newest coming-of-age feature that is a part autobiography and part fictional tale of Steven’s early years as a boy and as a filmmaker. While The Fabelmans is not the biggest or most aspiring film in his filmography, this is easily his most personal one. The one that feels like he has waited his entire career of making up to this point. The one that honestly feels like that everything has come full circle from in. The one that symbolically and thematically should be his final one or at least the beginning of an end to one of the most influential directors of all time.

Not only is this one of the best films of the year, it easily stands as one of the top-tier works of Spielberg and possibly my favorite film of his in the 21st century thus far. I’m sure many of you reading this will find that all to be hyperbolic but just like the film itself, I find it to be aspiring. I didn’t buy The Post or West Side Story as being worthy for being real best picture nominees but I totally buy this one.

2.) Top Gun: Maverick

I’ll admit a part of me does respect this movie more than I actually love it. Not just for what it has done at the box office (grossing over a shocking billion dollars worldwide) but what it does for these kind of sequels. However, I still love this movie all the same. You can say what you want about Tom Cruise as a person but he definitely knows his own reputation as an actor and will do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. Whether it’s Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, or Top Gun, he still act as the best kind of action hero that anyone can except. Unlike other legacy sequels, this seems to give the notion that it’s titled main character can still be on top form with what he is still able to do even if he can’t seem to do anything else. He can still best the best at what he does even when it’s time to pass the baton to a new generation.

Sometimes it’s okay to let Tom Cruise be the Tom Cruise that audience knows and loves about him without the need for anything else. And if the 1.6 billion dollar signs at the box office has anything to say about it, I think mainstream audience would agree. This is the one I imagine the mainstream audiences will be rooting for and it’s easy to see why. However, there is just one movie I like a little more than this.

1.) Everything Everywhere All At Once

My favorite movie of last year is favorite of the best picture nominations! This is a movie that feels like existing at all seems like some sort of miracle. It’s proof that there are still movie directors out there that aren’t afraid to put their own stamp on filmmaking. It’s proof that creativity and surprise is still possible for movies out there. It’s proof that you can take a concept that is sure to get tiresome soon or later by can still make for something completely worthwhile. It’s as if the Daniels are taking a great look at the future of films and decided to make a movie with a familiar concept, not to simply mock or critique it, but show the best possible version of it without the need to neglect or devalue the ones that come before it or will after.

This still stands as one of the most creative, inventive films I’ve ever seen with some of the best execution of any idea or concept on film that I’ve ever seen. I love films that is able to give me an experience I’ve never had before and this excelled greatly at that. This was the best movie of 2022 and is the best of this year’s Best Picture nominations. This is Michelle Yeoh’s universe and we are all living in it. Also, Ke Huy Quan’s world as well. And Stepheanie Hsu.