Director: Mark Dindal Writers: Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, David Reynolds Stars: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham
The Garfield Movie (2024) Full Movie Review:
Our beloved cat Garfield, who loves lasagna and hates Mondays, is back on the big screen in “The Garfield Movie,” a brand-new animated journey. This exciting revival, directed by Mark Dindal, has a moving story and a voice cast of big names sure to please both old and new fa The movie follows Garfield, whose voice is done by Chris Pratt, on a surprising adventure outside after meeting his long-lost father, Vic, a scruffy street cat played by Samuel L. Jackson. Because he has to leave his spoiled life with his dog friend Odie, Garfield reluctantly joins Vic in a funny, high-stakes heist.
One of the best things about the movie is that it captures the essence of Garfield’s character while adding new things to the well-known series. How well Pratt plays the sarcastic, lazy cat is a pleasant surprise. He nails Garfield’s carefree attitude and dry wit perfectly. His chemistry with Jackson’s rough but likable Vic is one of the movie’s best parts. They make a tremendous father-son bond that drives the movie’s emotional core.
The supporting cast is just as good. Nicholas Hoult, Ving Rhames, Hannah Waddingham, and Cecily Strong all do fantastic jobs bringing the different personalities to life. The animation is bright and beautiful, accurately turning Jim Davis’ famous comic strip into a realistic world. The movie has some plot holes, but overall, it is a heartwarming and fun journey that stays true to the book’s spirit. The heist plot gives us a lot of chances for funny antics and exciting action scenes, which keeps the pace fast and enjoyable.
One thing that makes the movie stand out is how well it captures the subtleties of Garfield’s personality and behavior. From his love of lasagna to his dislike of Mondays, the movie is full of references and inside jokes that fans of the show will love. The music, which John Debney wrote, goes perfectly with the film’s silly mood. It mixes orchestral parts with catchy tunes that show what Garfield’s world is like.
Directors: Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Stine Writers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Darren Lemke Stars: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis
KUNG FU PANDA 4 (2024) Full Movie Review:
Kung Fu Panda 4 is the fourth entry to the Kung Fu Panda film franchise, the first instalment since 2016. This time around, Po is now preparing to become the new spiritual leader of the valley, meaning that his time as the Dragon Warrior is coming to an end and that he must now choose his successor to be the new Dragon Warrior. All while this is happening, a new shape-shifting villain, the Chameleon is planning to steal the kung fu abilities from all of Po’s former enemies, thereby making her an all-powerful kung fu master whom Po now has to confront.
The first three films make for a surprise trilogy if ever there was one. What could’ve been a goofy animated series made strictly for kids ended up being a quality trilogy with heartfelt stories, important life lessons, engaging characters, and a good look at the cultural side of kung Fu and how it’s more than just a bunch of fancy fighting moves. I really enjoy all three prior entries and found that they made for a solid trilogy. But with Hollywood being Hollywood, the cash cow needed a good milking and now we have a forced, unnecessary sequel. That said, a movie being superfluous doesn’t automatically make it bad. Toy Story 4 is a prime example of a completely unnecessary film that’s still an overall enjoyable movie in its own right, so now we see if Kung Fu Panda 4 can pull that off as well.
What worked in this movie, first and foremost, is the voice acting. Jack Black is back in the role of Po and he hasn’t lost a step. He’s clearly enjoying himself in the role and he’s a big part in what makes Po so likeable and enduring despite his bumbling and awkward self. Other supporting roles include Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Viola Davis, and James Hong, all of them doing good jobs with the work they’re given. There’s really only one weak link when it comes to the voice acting and I’m sure you already know what it is, but we’ll get to that later. I still want to focus on the positives here.
This movie also has a good message regarding change and how you can open some great doors in your life if you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone and just go for whatever big change you want to make in life. It’s a good message on paper and this movie has one scene where the message is laid out front and center and it makes for one effective moment in the story. Granted, the story as a whole doesn’t fully lend itself to said message, but it’s still an overall important message for a younger generation and I appreciate the movie’s attempts at conveying it.
The animation, for the most part, is good. Or at least, it’s good enough given the movie having a relatively low budget compared to its predecessors. The animation is at its very best when you’re seeing a big wide shot of a landscape in China or when Chameleon is shape-shifting in some really creative ways. That said, the animation does have some weak spots in my mind’s eye. There are times when the skin and textures on characters looks a little too smooth and not fully rendered. It’s slightly noticeable in some close up shots of Po’s face and even background extras have the issue of looking unfinished. I won’t go so far as to say that it’s straight to streaming levels of bad, but it was noticeable for me, especially having rewatched the first three films right before seeing this one.
The movie’s problems come into play once we really get the plot rolling and the big issue is that of Awkwafina and her character of Zhen, Po’s new sidekick on this journey. At this point, I’m really starting to get annoyed with Awkwafina and her typecasting as the smartass sidekick. The truth is that she’s not even all that bad in this role, but it’s just more of the same of what we’ve seen from her in other roles. And from a character standpoint, she’s not given enough development for us to really care about the predictable emotional payoff that the movie has with her. The Furious Five are mostly absent from this movie and Master Shifu is basically only in the movie for the opening and third act, which is what I also didn’t like about Kung Fu Panda 2. I’ll die on the hill that the first film is every bit Shifu’s story as it is Po’s and Zhen just isn’t a compelling enough side character to make up for the absence of series regulars.
There’s also a side story involving Po’s two fathers, played by Cranston and Hong, as they also partake in their own adventure in Po’s wake. This whole subplot reeks of something that exists only to pad time and give the actors something to do since they have the actor's back. There’s a half-baked attempt at an arc with Po’s biological father, Li Shan, learning how to be brave, but it goes nowhere and it just feels redundant.
For the villain, I feel confident in saying that Chameleon is easily the franchise’s weakest villain so far. Viola Davis is honestly quite good purely from a voice acting point of view, but the character is thinly written with a very tired motivation and a backstory that doesn’t even make sense the more you start to think about it. She feels like an afterthought when all is said and done and I think her name of just “The Chameleon” is just lazy. Po’s other enemies from the previous films won’t go down as some of the best antagonists in film history, but they at least fit with the themes of their respective films and they had their own identities. Hell, even Tai Lung makes an appearance in this movie for the sake of nostalgia bait and I wanted to see more of him than Chameleon. When it all comes down to things, the movie just feels tired and it’s clearly following a formula that doesn’t take any big risks. Po’s journey with Zhen to fight the Chameleon is a very straightforward, predictable adventure and it makes for an animated film that I found to be a little boring in some scenes. The pace doesn’t move nearly as quick as any of the other three films and there came a point where I checked the time on my phone expecting to see that we were nearing the end of the 90-minute runtime, only to see that the movie had just barely made it past the half-hour mark. For a movie that’s exact runtime is an hour and thirty-four minutes, that’s borderline unforgivable.
Overall, Kung Fu Panda 4 is a low point for this film series. While not a truly bad movie, it still just suffers from feeling like a generic animated adventure of the week with a story and jokes that feel as if they were marketed mostly for kids. The first three movies are animated films that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age, but this movie doesn’t have that broad appeal. It’s a forced sequel that can’t justify its existence and now I have to live in my own little headspace where I pretend that this story was neatly wrapped up in just three films.
Director: Shawn Levy Writers: Shawn Levy, Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Deadpool & Wolverine Movie Review:
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are back together onscreen as Deadpool and Wolverine. The two of them have been teasing for quite a few years that they will be coming together as popular superhero characters, and finally, for all the fans the dream is coming true. Just yesterday Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman announced that the trailer Deadpool & Wolverine would be released soon, and giving fans a massive surprise, they have now released the trailer for ‘Deadpool And Wolverine’.
People would be wondering that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine died in ‘Logan’, so how is he back alive now? Well, what’s interesting is that this Hugh Jackman is from a different multiverse. From what can be gauged in the trailer, this Wolverine’s world was destroyed, and reportedly, he couldn’t save anyone. That’s why when Deadpool reaches him and asks for help to save our world, Wolverine initially rejects his idea. But somehow or the other, the two fight it out and make peace finally.
What’s interesting is that the makers have used the multiverse concept and the concept of time keepers in order to bring Wolverine and Deadpool together in the same timeline. Also, this would be the first time the X-Men are going to become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Talking of the MCU, you can clearly see that a giant Ant Man is used as a cave by the villain, who is apparently Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister, Cassandra Nova. The giant Ant Man must have succumbed in this world and his body has been hollowed out and used as a hiding den by Cassandra Nova. Mind you, it’s not the Ant Man suit, it’s the actual skeleton of Ant Man. Let’s wait and watch how this mystery is solved about how Ant Man falls into the scheme of things in this world.
Overall, the trailer gives out very little but creates a lot of intrigue, and that’s good as it’s going to make viewers more eager for the release of the summer flick.
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