Wicked: For Good Review

 

Wicked: For Good picks up sometime after the first film and follows the Wicked Witch and her battle against the wizard for the freedom of Oz and her relationship with Glinda and Glinda wrestling with her own feelings between her loyalty to the Wicked Witch and her new position in the Emerald City as “Glinda the Good.”

Small nitpick right off the bat… The film could’ve done better at establishing how much time has passed between films. Like, they say it’s been “12 ocean cycles” since the Wicked Witch escaped, so I thought maybe it had been 12 months, but then I heard my friend say in the play it’s supposed to be four years, so I don’t know how long it’s been? I wish we had gotten a better indication about how much time had passed.

The best thing about the film, in my opinion, is the special effects and the color palette. This film is very bright and vibrant; it’s like an Easter party exploded in pastels lol. The film has a great deal of spectacle, although some sequences do feel a little bit wooden and undershot. Like, I thought the final big emotional number between the wicked witch and Galinda felt very undershot and kind of flat. It’s supposed to be like this big sweeping emotional number like defying gravity was, and I’m sure the filmmakers wanted to make it feel more personal between the characters, and that’s why they filmed it the way they did, but unfortunately it takes a scene that should’ve been more grandiose and just makes it feel a bit too undercooked.

I am no expert in musicals, but I thought the numbers were good. I’ve seen that some people aren’t as impressed as with the first, and while I agree they aren’t as catchy as some of the first one, I thought as a continuation of the story, the music fits with the other film perfectly.

I feel mixed on the characters. I think Grande and Arrivo’s performances are very strong and passionate, and Jeff Goldblum brings a lot of devilish charm as the wizard, but the wicked witch’s sister felt very rushed and almost manic in her emotional decision-making. Michelle Yeoh's character is fun in a conniving villain sort of way but felt underdeveloped as far as motivation. Plus, her resolution was very rushed and doesn’t make much narrative sense given exactly what she can do.

Unfortunately, one of the places the film wavers is the incorporation of the original Wizard of Oz characters into the film; they feel rushed and almost out of place with the rest of the story. It’s like the movie can decide if it’s going to be a direct tie-in to the original film or if it’s going to be its own thing like Maleficent or Cruella. It tries to have its cake and eat it too, and unfortunately the two melt together like peanut butter and oil.

Like certain characters have these big setups, but absolutely no payoff; some feel like an afterthought, and some feel like they needed much more explanation.

Also, they don’t spend a whole lot of time on the wicked witches’ “fight for animal freedom,” like it was a big driving force and set up in the first one, but it doesn’t play as big a role in the story as I expected.

This also affects the pacing as well; certain plot elements felt like they went on a bit too long, and others felt like they could’ve used more screen time. I do think the film is entertaining enough throughout to keep people’s interest, but the more you think about it, the sloppier the story seems.

I have mixed feelings on Jon M. Chu’s direction. Like, he’s good with the big crowded scenes, and I think it gets pretty creative with some shots like “the girl in the bubble” musical sequence. But others feel rather flat, like the final scene between the Wicked Witch and Glinda. It’s written and feels like this big emotional scene between the two characters and kind of a payoff to the whole story, but the way it’s filmed feels so underutilized that it takes away some of the emotional payoff from the scene.

I think whoever the costume designer is has a very good chance of winning the Oscar this year; the costumes are very well detailed and distinct, and for so many different background characters, they come up with a lot of interesting patterns and designs.

I wouldn’t say Wicked: For Good is a bad film; it’s creative, and you want to see how everything concludes, but it definitely doesn’t live up to its own potential as a sequel to the first film or as a tie-in to the bigger Wizard of Oz mythos. I give Wicked: For Good a high three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ it’s more like “Wicked: For OK”, but that’s not as catchy a title lol.

Marty Supreme review

 

Marty Mauser, an aspiring table tennis champion, is fiercely determined to prove his greatness and gets into a whole lot of wild situations in pursuit of his dream.

Timothée Chalamet gives a pretty phenomenal performance. He brings a lot of energy, charisma, and charm to the character, which is needed because Marty is definitely a prickly character. Marty has such a huge ego about his dream and his own greatness that he will do whatever and screw over whoever to achieve it; he’s downright unlikable at certain points, and he takes advantage of a lot of people around him. He kind of feels like he could be the uncle of Adam Sandler’s character in Uncut Gems. I could see audiences being split on how they feel about Marty at the end of the film, because you go back-and-forth between sort of liking him and mostly hating him. It’s very much a “to the viewer’s discretion” type of thing, but either way you land, I think everyone will agree Chalamet brings a lot of humor and complexity to Marty.

I like the way it was directed. First of all, the 1950s New York sets are very realistic and convincing. That, mixed with a lot of the handheld directing and the director’s knack for finding extras who feel like “Joe who lives down the street,” makes the filmmakers great at making you feel like you’ve been transported back in time and the world feels very fleshed out and real. It’s one of the highlights of the film.

Gwyneth Paltrow brings a lot of charm and a grounded sense to the film as a famous actress who has an affair with Marty; their dynamic is rather interesting, and I like the actors' fiery back-and-forth interplay, although I do wish her character got a better wrap-up because she just kind of disappears from the movie at one point, and I think she deserved a better conclusion.

The movie is also very manic and truly “wild,” like you’ll be watching, and things will be moving along in a normal place, and then it’s like someone flips a switch, and then something pops out of nowhere and happens and escalates things incredibly quickly such that it takes a minute to even realize what happened. I know some people who have seen the director’s previous work, like Uncut Gems, say they get very anxious watching the movies because they’re so tense and high energy, and well, I don’t think it’s as intense as Uncut Gems. I would caution people who are very sensitive to that when going to this one because it definitely has its big blowout moments.

Odessa A'zion plays Rachel (another love interest for Marty), and I think the actress brought a lot of emotional pathos to the character that might not have been there on the page, but she is definitely one of the more likable and sympathetic characters in the story.

Apparently, Chalamet spent years practicing table tennis for the role, and you can really tell in the match scenes, the back-and-forth energy, and all the different special moves. They do; it’s really impressive.

One of my favorite parts was Géza Röhrig; as an older table tennis player and role model for Marty, the actor is very down to earth and likable, although his story does go into an odd direction. I won’t spoil anything, but… That was an odd scene; you’ll know it when you see it lol.

Fran Drescher plays Marty’s mom, and while it’s not a big role, I think Drescher did great with the part, and it’s always nice to see her pop up in projects.

The film also stars Kevin O'Leary, who in real life is a businessman and plays… A businessman, who helps Marty. And for someone who isn’t

an actor who has to act, O’Leary gives up a surprisingly strong and layered performance as someone you develop mixed feelings on, so I have to give the actor and director big props for that.

Tyler the Creator plays Marty’s friend in the film, and I had never seen Tyler the Creator in person before and didn’t even know it was him until after the movie, so I can tell you, he gave a very funny and down-to-earth performance and definitely helps you acclimate to Marty and his character.

Abel Ferreira has a supporting role in the film, and he’s always fun to watch. I do think the movie runs a bit too long, and I only really bring that up here because I thought how they wrapped up his story felt a little odd in the overall pacing of the film, but that’s more of a nitpick on my part.

I really enjoyed the soundtrack. Usually I’m not a big fan of movies when a period piece uses songs from a different era of time; it can take you out of the movie. But the way they were woven into the scenes and the overall songs chosen were fun and fit the tone of the film. Not to mention the original score was very mellow and easy to listen to, which was a good juxtaposition to the tense and wild antics of the story.

Like I mentioned before, I like how the director cast regular people or seemingly regular people as extras; it really makes the scenes feel real. Not to mention there are scenes that take place in New York City and scenes that take place in Japan, and the way they capture both cities and cultures felt very authentic and well detailed; it really immerses you into the film.

Overall, Marty Supreme is a very well-made movie. The story and pacing may not be the tightest, and the characters may frustrate you, but Marty’s journey of following his dreams and coming to peace with himself and his goals in life is enjoyably well told, and I think we’ll be sympathetic to most people, despite Marty’s assholishness lol. I give Marty Supreme either a low three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ or a high four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️… Depends on how I’m feeling about Marty at the time 😂

Avatar: Fire and Ash review

 

This time on Pandora, Jake Sully and his family are reeling from a personal loss and must deal with a new fire-based threat to their homes and planet.

Just like the last two movies, the biggest compliment I can give a movie is to the visual effects. They are incredibly realistic and so well detailed; not to mention all the different designs for the creatures and environment, the filmmakers do a phenomenal job at making Pandora feel like a real place. Not to mention James Cameron does a fantastic job at making everything look incredibly cinematic. I would highly recommend seeing this movie on the biggest screen possible; it’s definitely worth it.

I was quite surprised with Jake Sully and Neytiri's storyline; both characters are grieving for the loss of one of their sons from the last movie, and it goes to some pretty heavy emotional places. Both actors bring a lot of raw emotion and heart to their performances, and it’s a storyline you don’t see in many big-budget blockbusters, and I thought the way they explored how grief and anger can lead to racial bigotry was rather nuanced for a movie about giant blue space cat people lol.

The children’s storylines are more of a mixed bag. I liked some of Lo'ak's (Jake Sully and Neytiri’s second son) plot, how he’s dealing with his own grief in his relationship with the water tribe’s daughter, but he’s also hanging around with that whale from the last one a lot; all that stuff feels like it's written straight out of the 90s, like Free Willy in Space… I’m surprised they never once said “radical dude,” lol.

There are some interesting developments with Spider, but again, his character is written like a surfer dude from a Captain Planet cartoon, and well, I like Sigourney Weaver’s performance, but her whole “Pandora Space Jesus” storyline is very predictable and a little too Schultzy for my taste.

The biggest scene dealer is Stephen Lang as Quaritch, who’s still doing his tough, gruff, sarcastic, military thing, but Lang brings a lot of charisma, menace, and subtle humor to the role that’s fun to watch. Also, as Oona Chaplin Varang, the fire-obsessed leader of the evil Navi tribe, was fun to watch. Granted, her character wasn’t too deep; she’s mostly just crazy, flirty, and ruthless, but you can tell Chaplin is having a lot of fun with the role and is very interesting to watch. I’d say she and Quaritch were my favorite characters to watch.

The evil Navi are also pretty credible threats; they’re pretty much orcs mixed with hillbillies on crank, but their ruthlessness and deranged attitude definitely give them a strong menace.

Kate Winslet has a small supporting role, but I liked her and Zoe Saldana’s chemistry; they have a fun frenemies dynamic.

There are a lot of actors/characters in this, and while everyone does a great job, it does feel a little excessive at points, like there are so many storylines going on that while you never quite lose track of them, it can get a bit much at times, so not everyone gets as much development.

The human villains are very underwritten; Edie Falco is just a generic military hardass. Angie, Giovanni Ribisi is this money-obsessed corporate dude.

It’s not in the movie a whole lot, but I liked how they explored Quaritch and Spider’s estranged father-son relationship; it was very well written and let the actors give more nuanced and layered performances.

Another high point for the movie was the action scenes; they were very well paced, suspenseful, and had a very “epic” scale to them. Again, my hats are off to the animators on this entire film; they’re for sure going to win the Oscar this year.

For an over three-hour movie, I never felt the run time, and everything had a good pace to it, so that was really impressive.

A very light sort of spoiler… This movie has pretty much the same climax as the last one; like, as far as where it takes place and all the different fight moves and how things come together, it’s pretty similar to the last one. Granted, I think it was done better in this one, but just don’t go in expecting something totally new at the end.

So the information, the action, and the visuals are stunning, but the characters and story aren’t anything new and in certain cases can be a bit small and predictable, but there are some new wrinkles woven throughout that make this probably my favorite Avatar movie. No, I’m not dressing up as a blue cat guy anytime soon, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed the film, but I do think if you’re going to see this, you have to see it on the big screen; the detail work and scale were meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and I don’t know if you’ll get that same fact on home TV. I give the film somewhere between a high three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️… Granted, a lot of that is going to the visuals and action, but it is definitely worth the hype.

Hamnet Review

 

The film tells the story of the relationship between Anne Hathaway (changed to Agnes Hathaway) and William Shakespeare and how the tragic death of their son impacted their marriage and inspired Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

I really enjoyed the look of this movie; there are a lot of shots of nature and old-fashioned homes that are both very calming and well symmetrical. That, combined with the costumes and insects, makes the movie quite effective at making you feel like you’ve been transported to that time period. Especially with London and the Globe Theatre, it definitely felt like the camera crew had gone back in time with those scenes.

However, the biggest standout of the film is the performances.

Everyone is talking about Jessie Buckley's performance as Agnes and how incredible it is, and after seeing it, I tend to agree. Throughout most of the story, Buckley brings a gentle warmth and independence to the character, which comes across as sweet and charming. But once the character starts getting the grief, Buckley brings an incredibly raw vulnerability and powerful emotion that is very captivating to watch. Because I’ve been hearing nothing about this movie but “Man, Buckley is going to get the Oscar; there’s no way Buckley isn’t going to get the Oscar; other women don’t need to show up because Buckley is totally getting the Oscar,” so when I’m watching the movie, I’m like, “OK, she’s good, but I don’t know if it’s worth all that praise…” and then we get to a few scenes where I’m like, “Ohhhh, that’s what you were talking about… Yeah, she has a very likely chance of winning,” lol.

That being said, I think Paul Mescal gives an equally powerful performance as Billy Shakes lol. He brings a rogue, rugged charm and brings a raw sensitivity to his performance as a “struggling artist.” But like Buckley, he does a lot of powerful inner turmoil acting that is very emotional and very effective at making people feel empathy.

One of the biggest surprises was the kid who played Hamnet. For a literal 12-year-old, Jacobi Jupe is able to portray a lot of complex and nuanced emotions in his performance and has an incredible amount of talent for someone so young… It kind of pisses you off lol; you’re like, “You’re this good and talented at 12? Man, some people get all the luck,” lol.

Zhaogoes for a natural, almost simplistic directing style, which helps ground the film and helps you connect with the characters. But she also includes a few reoccurring visuals that help fit the themes of loss, solitude, and depression, but also peacefulness, togetherness, and renewal, all in a subtle and effective way.

Emily Watson’s character of Shakespeare’s mom, Mary, I found very interesting; your thoughts and feelings for the character definitely change and evolve throughout the story, and Watson is one of those actresses who is great in pretty much everything, and this is no exception.

There was a cool shadow puppet scene in the movie that was used for foreshadowing. It’s not a big part of the movie, but I just thought it looked cool.

I was surprised with how they dealt with the impending tension of the plot. Like, if you know the basic premise of the movie, you know what’s going to happen to certain characters, but how the film presents the story and the characters’ motivations and emotions go in some interesting directions that make you question exactly what’s going to happen and add a lot of nuanced motivation and nuance to the story. I doubt this is very historically accurate as far as what actually happened, but it does fit emotionally and is very effective in drawing you into the film and the character’s emotional state.

So as you can probably assume, this is not the happiest of stories. There’s a lot of heavy emotion and themes going on, so if you’re in a bad mood or feeling down, this might not be the movie for you, just as a heads up. However, once you get past that and are feeling up to it, Hamnet is a very powerful movie while also being very quiet and introspective, letting the actors give very captivating and top-tier performances that are easy to relate to and enjoy. And well, the film definitely has. It’s a downer moment, but there’s enough heart and hope throughout that you won’t leave the movie feeling too bad. I actually really enjoyed the final shot of the film; it’s one of my favorite parts in the movie.

I give Hamnet four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I’m sure I’ll be hearing about this movie a lot at the Oscars lol.

The Running Man (2025) Review

 

In a dystopian future, family man Ben Richards signed up for the reality show “The Running Man” in order to make enough money to support his family but must survive 30 days on the run without being killed, and all of America is looking for him.

Glenn Powell is very likable as Ben; he brings a funny charisma to the part but also a serious devotion when it comes to his family and motives for being in the games.

Josh Brolin plays the main TV executive villain, and while he’s not in the movie a whole lot, he brings a subtle, underhanded menace to the character, even when he’s acting friendly.

Coleman Domingo plays the host of The Running Man, and he steals every scene he’s in with

While he’s running, Ben meets a lot of characters along the way, and while I do like the characters and the actors playing them, none of them get a whole lot of screen time, so it kind of feels like you’re going from one character to the next, never getting a whole lot of time to connect with them until you’re on with the next.

Michael Cera is the standout for me; his character is both so serious and naturally silly that it brings a fun humor to the film.

I wish the film had played up more of the parodying of reality TV; they sort of do some at the beginning with game shows and things like Squid Game, but I wish they had gone into it more and done some more sharp satire. Instead, they do more of a traditional Kardashians-type parody, which is well done, but I think sticking with game shows would’ve made the satire more biting. And in line with the running man storytelling

I enjoyed William H. Macy, Katy O’Brien, and Lee Pace in the film; they took advantage of what screen time they had.

For fans of the book, from what I can tell, this is a very faithful adaptation, with a few changes here and there, but as far as book-to-screen adaptations go, it is pretty faithful.

Edgar Wright did a solid job directing; it’s not as hyper-crazy as some of his other films, but it had its moments and was overall very solidly crafted.

I like actress Amelia Jones, and it was nice to see her pop in with this, but her character felt a bit underwritten and could use a little bit more development for the choices she makes and really just kind of felt there for some overhanded social commentary.

It was a small Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo that I appreciated and that was cute; I always appreciate Arnold references.

The trailer advertises a lot of the action in this movie, and while there is a good amount, I don’t think it’s as “action packed” as people realize, but what you actually have is fun.

People might be a little split on the ending; it was OK, but it did feel truncated at the very end.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they were disappointed in this movie, and I feel like I enjoyed it more than most people. How do you understand and agree with some of the criticism? But I guess I walked in just wanting a good time and left with a good time, so it all worked out. I’ll give it a low four-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️; the fun and charm really pushed this one over.

Rental Family Review

 

Brendan Fraser plays Phillip, a struggling American actor living in Japan, who starts working for the “Rental Family” agency, which specializes in fulfilling surrogate roles for clients to help them meet emotional fulfillment. And the more time he spends with his clients, the more the line between personal and professional starts to blur.

If I were to describe this movie in one word, it would be "heartfelt." 💗 Brendan Fraser brings a quiet sensitivity and an enormous amount of heart to the film that conveys a lot without saying much.

I really enjoyed the way the director, Hikari, shot all the different areas of Japan; it really captures a warm and vibrant place that makes a great travel log and really makes you want to visit.

I was very impressed with Shannon Mahina Gorman, who plays Mia, a young girl whose father Philip is hired to play. For such a young girl, she brings a lot of charisma and heart to the role, so she was very sweet to watch.

Another standout was Akira Emoto, who plays an eccentric aging actor. Emoto brings a lot of humor and cooky energy to the role but ends up being the heart of the film, and his and Fraser’s scenes together are my favorite parts of the film.

Takehiro Hira & Mari Yamamoto (who own and work for the Agency) bring a grounded sense of realism and stability to the film while also having some pretty sweet and comedic moments in the film.

I appreciate how the film explores the importance of human connection and bonding in the film in a very sweet and realistic way without ever becoming too sappy; it strikes that perfect balance, and I would say this is probably the “feel good movie” of the year because of it.

I liked all the different ways they explored Japanese culture; as someone who doesn’t live there, it is very fascinating and interesting to watch.

The movie also has a very subtle sense of humor, and I got a lot of good laughs throughout.

the film, which is impressive since I wouldn’t describe this as a straight-out comedy

I also appreciated how throughout the film, the characters would switch between speaking Japanese and speaking American; it felt both authentic and also helpful since sometimes when you read, you sometimes feel like you’re missing part of the movie, and I never felt that with this, so that was a cool accomplishment.

Rental Family is a very personal film that explores a lot of emotional themes of connection, love, acceptance, hope, and the importance of loved ones around you. And through the heartfelt performances and simple, almost documentary-like direction, the movie manages to convey a lot of heartfelt moments that make you feel better and walk out in a good mood, which is always nice.

I give Rental Family four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, although I could see it getting higher on future rewatches.

Predator: Badlands Review

 

The film follows Dek, a young Predator who is considered an outcast in his tribe due to his small size. So in order to get his father’s approval and prove himself as a great warrior, he goes to the deadliest planet in the galaxy to kill an “unkillable” creature. Along the way he teams up with a robot (played by Elle Fanning) who is missing her legs to get the creature and fight another mysterious group on the planet.

So this is the first Predator film where an actual Predator is the main character, so we get to explore the Predator (or, as their species is known, “Yautja”) civilization and society, which, as a pretty big fan of the Predator series, was my favorite part.

Dek is a solid protagonist to follow. He lives up to “Predator” status, being obsessed with hunting and being the strongest and having a ruthless determination that makes Predators such fun characters, but he’s also very sympathetic with wanting to prove himself and his worth, and his story goes in some very interesting and sympathetic directions that I found quite engrossing.

It’s not getting as much attention as everything else, but I was really impressed with the soundtrack. The main predator planet theme had a very “low humming, guttural, throat singing” sound (like that one scene in Dune when all the soldiers are getting ready and that one dude’s doing the crazy throat singing); it’s like that, which adds a very alien field to the world but also enforces the tribal theme of predators.

Whoever was behind designing all the different aliens on the deadly world deserves a raise because there was an astonishing amount of creativity, distinct detail, and variety with all the different creatures. Like, if you’re an astrobiologist, you’re going to have a ball watching this movie.

I really appreciated how resourceful Dek was and how he would like to learn from the planet and use different elements to create his weapons.

The CGI in this is very impressive; now you can tell when something is CGI and when it isn’t, but it is so incredibly well detailed and has such strong texture that it is very impressive to look at.

There are some other franchise elements brought in (if you’ve seen the trailer, you know), but I thought they were well integrated and were a good way to do “fan service” without it overwriting the story they were telling.

The movie pacing is pretty lean and efficient. And I really appreciate the color grading on this; everything was very bright and well color graded, but even in the sunset scene you got a lot of different colors from all the cool landscapes.

I appreciate how deadly the planet is; like, when a Predator says it’s bad, you expect some really brutal stuff, and it definitely lives up to that title. Like even the smallest things like flowers or grass could seriously mess you up, so again, I appreciate the creativity from the filmmakers when it came to all that and the strong stakes that added to the story.

Elle Fanning plays two characters in the movie: Thia, the helpful legless robot, and Tessa, the main villain of the movie. Elle does a great job of making both personalities for each character very distinct with their own little quirks.

Tessa is a very ruthless villain, but there’s just enough backstory that you feel a little bit bad for her and it gives her a little bit of gray as a character, which I always appreciate.

This It’s much more fun and has more community character, which I personally enjoyed for the most part. Now I will say her character does feel straight out of the Pixar movie, like I wouldn’t be surprised if Elle Fanning used this movie as an audition for Joy in a live-action Inside Out movie. But I found her character likable enough, and she and Dek have some funny interactions together. With Dek being so serious and ruthless, he makes a great straight man to her bubbly personality.

Now there is something that the trailers are not showing you that I can see some fans not being thrilled with. It’s not too bad, and I think for the most part people won’t be bothered with it; even I found myself enjoying certain moments with it, but without spoiling anything… You can definitely feel the “Disney influence” with those parts, and I think it is an unusual element to introduce as part of a Predator movie. It also leans into some current thematic trends that, personally, I feel like are being used way too much. This one really leans into them, so how much you enjoy it will depend on how much you enjoy the trope. Again, for most people I’m sure it’s going to be fine, but I am a nitpicky dude 😅😂, and I wasn’t too crazy about where that stuff took the story.

There was one really fun and creative fight scene towards the climax that involved Thia's legs that was pretty creative and original-feeling, so that was a nice highlight.

Overall, I liked the Predator mythos stuff and Dek as a protagonist. The story is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, and while there are some more lighthearted community elements that I think clash with the darker tone of Dek’s story, I think general audiences will click with it more, and the story does go in the direction where I do want to see what happens next, so if that isn’t an endorsement, I don’t know what it is.

I give Predator: Badlands four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It’s a real… Killer flick 😂