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Spirited (2022)
Funny, Intelligent Story Marred By Music
If circumstances were different, this could've been a Christmas movie that people willingly revisit every year.
While the story is pretty well written and the cast is enjoyable, the musical aspect of the movie is what ruined it for me.
A good musical has songs that drive the story forward, either by explaining the backstory of characters so that viewers can understand them better or by summarizing the events occurring in the story. A bad musical has songs that explain the characters feelings in one moment of time. The problem is many of the musical numbers featured in this movie are not driving the plot forward and instead over explaining a particular emotion in time (like love). Even worse, some of these songs are cute at first, but then wear on you (example is "Good Afternoon").
Another issue with the music is that the lyrics are hollow and simplistic, so much so that you could guess what they were going to rhyme the lyrics with. The instrumentals and lyrics makes this movie feel like they were trying to make a really good musical but instead they decided to make it like a modern pop album to appease audiences.
What really jumped out at me the most was hearing how robotic some of the voices are in between the note changes. It sounds like autotune was constantly sprinkled throughout the movie, and it really ruined the music for me (as if the music wasn't already bad enough). Bonus: the mixing on this was not good, you could barely hear the background vocals or instrumentals in many tracks.
One more small thing that really kinda bugged the hell out of me. It was kind of unbelievable how many times they showed an apple product on screen. You can constantly see AirPods, iPhones and even MacBooks as a reminder that Apple made this movie. The worst thing about it was when they decided to have a couple take a random selfie with the brand new iPhone 14 Pro, clearly visible to the audience, while Will Ferrell was singing. I do not want to watch a Christmas movie that constantly pushes products in my face. Even if this movie was really amazing, I think this would've totally held it back from being a Christmas classic.
The movie really was funny and had a lot of cute moments and a great story, but the music just made the movie uncomfortably long. There were far too many songs in this movie - with many of them being downright dull or terrible - and honestly, by the middle of the movie, my whole family and I were constantly letting out a huge sigh when each new song came on. If this was forty minutes shorter and maybe had two or three fun songs, I would've definitely considered revisiting this movie in the future. However that was most definitely not the case. Also, Apple if you're reading, stop pushing your products so much! You need to be more subtle!
Up in the Air (2009)
First half funny, second half interesting
First half was full of comedy and good story/setup. However the second half abandons much of the comedy for romance and drama. I suppose that's what happens when you make a story very dramatic and romantic, but I missed the comedy of the first half. It's almost like the first half hooks you than you're kinda stuck watching the second half because you've invested so much. I thought it was an interesting movie, but it continuously went in a different direction than I was expecting.
Ghost (1990)
Some thoughts for an actual review
Amazing film!
Best description for it would be: a blend between Sixth Sense and Heaven Can Wait.
You can tell that the comedy is uniquely Jerry Zucker. Really added to the film and made it even more enjoyable.
I expected romance but I felt it was a little overboard in this movie
I could spend all day thinking about the logistics of being a ghost in the real world, such as, how can the main character sit down (or even stand up) when he can't touch or kick anything and can walk thru walls? However, if you put that aside, this is a really fun and exciting flick, and all things considered, does a really good job explaining how a ghost would exist if they did really exist.
This is a mess of a review cause it's just notes for a future review but thanks for reading anyways!
P. S. How on earth can he jump from a train platform onto a train thru a wall and still land on the floor of the train??????
Written at 2:21 am
Good night.
The Accountant (2016)
Excellent action/spy movie
I love this film to death. I've seen it many times and love the action, drama, and subtle comedy. Ben Affleck does an excellent job in this role and the constant buildup of his character throughout the movie make his character all the more fascinating.
This movie isn't for everyone, but if you like action, violence, and spy movies, I think you will really enjoy this one.
Tom and Jerry (2021)
Tom and Jerry
This movie turned out to be pretty good compared to the awful storm of movies that the pandemic brought, but regardless, this was a pretty terrible movie. I'll give them points for trying, as it did have some cute Tom and Jerry moments, but I think this movie is definitely not worth your time.
Saturday Night Live: Rami Malek/Young Thug (2021)
The perfect encapsulation of the issues with this show
In this episode, we get the great Rami Malek, the actor known for Bohemian Rhapsody, Mr. Robot, and recently No Time to Die, the finale to the recent James Bond series. However, not once in this episode do we see any attempt to satirize his roles in Bohemian Rhapsody or Mr. Robot. This would be the perfect time to do a skit on either one, but SNL decides not to. As if it couldn't get any worse, Daniel Craig (James Bond himself!) makes an appearance on the show and is put in the WORST skit of the whole episode, perhaps even the whole entire show!!! Why the hell do they even bother with this show anymore? Come on SNL, you had the two biggest characters of the recent (and very popular!) James Bond film ON YOUR SHOW and you decide NOT TO DO ANY JAMES BOND SKITS!!??
This is exactly why I've grown to hate this show as of late. There is no doubt in my mind that there is talent amongst some of the cast of SNL and amongst many of the hosts (except for Kim Kardashian), but Lorne Michaels (and the other writers) have NO CLUE how to use them properly. This season has definitely been one of it's worst. I think it's time for SNL to take a step back and realize how far it has veered off course and maybe consider hiring new writers and getting rid of the annoying cast members. If this show doesn't get any better, I think it would be wise of them to hang up their hat and call it a day. This show has had a long (but rocky) run and if nothing changes soon (and they don't call it quits), I think the show is going to crash and burn (I know the ratings already have).
Silicon Valley (2014)
One of my favorite shows!
Silicon Valley is such an outstanding show full of hilarious moments. However, the ending leaves much to be desired. The show wrapped up so quickly that it caught me off guard when I finished the finale. I was so disappointed in how they wrapped things up. After six seasons of showing Pied Piper struggle, with continuous successes and failures (mostly failures), the show ends with a depressing finale in which the company breaks apart. But, if we put the finale aside, I would say this is one of the best comedies I've ever seen. I recommend that everybody (who has any interest in tech) watch this show.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Funny and brilliant comedy
Stranger Than Fiction was fantastic. The plot is brilliant, the comedic moments are great, and the choice of actors is excellent! I really like Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman, and they both do an outstanding job in this film.
Outer Banks: The Gold (2021)
A really rough start to the second season
I don't even think I want to keep watching. This is a far cry from the quality of the first season. Everyone just seems a lot dumber in this episode. The dialogue really dropped in quality, with some pointless moments that added nothing to the story, and there was at least seven minutes of useless scenes (mostly romantic) that really did nothing for the plot. I guess I'll try another but my hopes and expectations have fallen drastically.
The Pink Panther (1963)
Not as great as people say
This movie could've been a lot better. The hilarious moments with Peter Sellers and the final forty or so minutes are the only parts that really save this film. This movie is simply too long. The first half of the movie is the worst, mostly full of useless romance that barely drives the plot. The movie hits an all time low at about 36 minutes into the film. At this time, David Niven's character and Claudia Cardinale's character talk for 10 minutes. The entire conversation is boring and useless to the plot. If you really want to watch the best parts of the movie, then look up a compilation of all of Peter Sellers moments and watch the last 40 minutes (because it is hilarious). A Shot in the Dark and the Return of the Pink Panther are much better movies. Plus, it's not like the plot of the first Pink Panther movie is important anyways, because it's all erased in A Shot in the Dark.
Better Off Dead... (1985)
One of Cusack's best movies!
A fantastic comedy full of bizarre and funny moments. Truly a must watch for any Cusack fan or 80's comedy fan. The soundtrack is amazing and the writing is hilarious. I recommend that everybody see this movie at least once.
West Side Story (1961)
A fantastic musical that is longer than it needs to be
West Side Story is a fantastic musical with amazing music by Leonard Bernstein, however a few scenes are a little too long for my liking and the overall length of the movie could've definitely been shorter. Despite this, I think it is an important part of movie history and is definitely worth watching. I'm looking forward to Spielberg's adaptation coming in December of 2021.
The Internship (2013)
A cute movie with some typical romcom moments
I love Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, and this is a great movie with a great cast, but it's rewatchability is not the best and some of it's comedic moments are too simplistic.
Ruthless People (1986)
Starts really slow but then gets really good
I really liked this movie. It started really slow and remained that way for the first half hour or so, but then it just kept getting funnier from then on. Another fantastic movie by Zucker, Zucker, and Abrahams.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Splinter/Slide Whistle Stooges (2008)
Forever ingrained in my brain... in a bad way
When I was five, I watched the first part of this episode and was horrified by the splinter. Ever since then, the image of the splinter coming out of the flesh has been deeply ingrained in my brain. The second part of this episode isn't too awful but is very generic and hardly improves the episode. This episode and a few episodes from this season demonstrate why season 6 is when SpongeBob took a turn for the worse.
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
I adore the first three seasons and the first movie
This is such a fantastic show and I will forever cherish the memories I have of watching this. The first three seasons and the first movie are outstanding (my rating is only for the first three seasons), however, I stopped watching after season 7 because it grew stale for me. After Steven Hillenburg left, the magic was mostly lost. There are definitely episodes here and there that are worth watching beyond season 3 (mostly episodes in season 4 and 5), but if you want to watch the show the way it was intended, then watch the first three seasons and the first movie and stop.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (2021)
This Mighty Ducks show mighty sucks
I originally decided to watch this show because of my appreciation for the movie and Emilio Estevez's role in the movie. However, it started poorly and continuously got worse. I kept watching because I hoped the show would improve, but it kept drifting further away from the movie. The show tries too hard to be relatable to younger audiences and in the process, forgets who is truly watching: the kids (who are mostly adults now) that grew up with the movie. I can't help but cringe during the show because of the dialogue, which tries to relate to younger audiences, and the storytelling, which is extremely cliche. I don't really feel sympathetic for the characters because they constantly use predictable scenarios that I've seen in countless TV shows before. Maybe this show is truly meant for kids, but why would they bother using the Mighty Ducks name? I'm sure a majority of kids who would relate to this show are too young to have seen the original. Honestly, this show would be nothing without Emilio Estevez and even then, there's not much there. I really wanted to like this show, but all it did was prove that the magic of the Mighty Ducks is gone.
Mulan (2020)
Not a horrible movie if you haven't seen the original
If you have never seen the original then you probably won't be that disappointed. The problems with this movie are the stale acting, the lack of comedy from the original film, the removal of the outstanding soundtrack and the beautiful storytelling through singing, and the lack of care placed into making the characters. Is it weird that I don't really care what happens to the characters in this? If you've never seen the original, you'll probably think of this movie as okay (a lot of reviewers here have obviously never seen the original). If you have, then please skip on this movie cause this is a bitter disappointment like a majority of the live action remakes. PLEASE WATCH THE ORIGINAL IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!