The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review

 The Mario Brothers and friends are back, this time going on a cosmic adventure to save Princess Rosalinda and stop Bowser Junior from rescuing his father and taking over the galaxy.

Right off the bat, I got to give big props to all the animators who worked on this film. One of the most enjoyable things about the Mario world is… the world lol. All the different areas you explore and characters you come across all have a unique and appealing design, and this movie really exemplifies that. My favorite was definitely “Wart’s Casino," where all the different villains from the games come and gamble, and it’s one big square room, but each side of the room has its own gravity, so basically you could walk on the wall of one and then walk down and then walk on the floor, etc., and the way the animators played with color and all the different cameos, not to mention this really cool and inventive fight scene that happens there, was a lot of fun in a unique battle set piece that I really enjoyed.

Speaking of, all the fight sequences I thought not only had really smooth animation but also really well thought-out choreography, and how they kept escalating within the fight was pretty engaging, not to mention some funny strikes that Super Mario fans will probably get a big kick out of.

Speaking of, I am no Mario expert. I’ve played some games here and there over the years, but my knowledge of the character and the world is very basic, and this film originally was released during Easter weekend, which makes a lot of sense because this movie has a ton of Mario Easter eggs throughout, like I kind of wish I went with a Mario expert so they could sporadically throughout the movie turn and go, “OK, that villain right there, that’s for the second game," or “Oh, that costume right there, that’s from this game." Now, it never got to a part where I couldn’t follow what was going on in the story, so I have to give it points for accessibility with people who are experts in the game, but if you are one, I definitely think you’ll get some fun surprises throughout the film.

Ironically, my favorite character in a Mario Brothers movie is the bad guy, Bowser. Jack Black, as per usual, gives a very funny and jovial performance as Bowser tries to get over his anger and “galaxy domination” issues, and not only do I think he has a pretty interesting arc, but I really like his relationship with his son Bowser Junior. Those scenes are pretty sweet and sincere and have some pretty fun, almost dark funny moments as both bond over their dream of conquering the galaxy lol.

Benny Safdie plays Bowser Junior, which is a little ironic, seeing the guy who directs such intense dramas like Uncut Gems and Good Times play this video game character, that would be like getting Werner Herzog to voice Snorlax in a Pokémon movie… Which would actually be pretty awesome lol. But again, I liked his relationship with his father, not to mention he had a cool weapon with this paintbrush that he could make anything with; I thought that was pretty creative and led to some cool action set pieces.

So remember, when I said I liked Bowser‘s arc in the film, well, one of the big standouts of it was that it is the only arc in the film that any character has. Other characters seemingly have arcs set up: Mario wants to ask the princess out on a date, and Peach is feeling lonely because she doesn’t know where she comes from and might have a connection with this other princess, Rosalinda, but neither is given hardly enough time to get any development. The characters are so focused on the plot, and the plot is so focused on getting the characters from one place to another that we don’t get any real time for character development or breathing time, really. I mean, you can sort of say they get resolution, but in the most basic ways that if you blink, you might miss it.

I enjoyed Charlie Day as Luigi; I wish he had more to do, but he had some funny moments.

So as teased in the post-credit scene of the last film, Yoshi is in this film, and you think, being such an iconic and beloved character, he’d have more to do, but he’s just kind of there in the background to look cute and eat stuff; that’s about it. Now in his introduction there is a cool little montage that I thought had a very interesting and distinct visual direction and was a fun little sequence, but that’s about as much Yoshi development you’re going to get; like I said, he’s there to be cute and for the character recognition. Also, Donald Glover voices Yoshi, and honestly, you could not tell; his voice is so high-pitched, and he just says his name over and over, so this must’ve been one easy paycheck for Glover lol.

Speaking of, I don’t know if I want to spoil this, but heck, the marketing already spoiled this (which I don’t know why they did). It would’ve been much cooler and more surprising if they had saved it for the movie; it would’ve been like an "Oh my God, I did not see that coming” moment, but whatever. Fox McCloud from the Star Fox games is in this, and Glenn Powell does a good job voicing him, and I like the character, but this film has way too many characters as is, and while I did enjoy his inclusion and I hope this leads to a spinoff movie, I do think the film would’ve benefited from focusing on only a handful of these characters and really giving them more development instead of cramming them all in because the fans will enjoy seeing them all.

Princess Rosalinda, voiced by Brie Larson, is another example; she feels more like a MacGuffin than an actual character. She lives on a spaceship where she is a mother to a bunch of stars, who are all voiced by kids, and she's pretty cute and funny, but they feel more developed, and they’re more like comedic relief and actual characters, and Rosalinda actually has a pretty significant connection to Princess Peach that could’ve been interesting to explore, but she spends most of the movie locked up, and the film could’ve had more emotional weight if they had done more with her character… Which again is a recurring theme with most of the characters and storylines.

Overall, the movie is fine; it’s enjoyable enough with stunning visuals, fun action, set pieces, and some good jokes here and there, but it’s very much so on a basic level. The film could use a lot more character development and not have so many different characters competing for screen time. Sure, Mario fans will enjoy all the different cameos and references, but the movie itself won’t have as much staying power or substance as it could’ve had. I give the film 2 1/2 stars ⭐️⭐️💫; like, kids and families will enjoy the film, but for something with this much potential and fandom, you wish they had done a little bit more with it to really make it something special.

The Drama Review

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya play Charlie and Emma, a happily engaged couple who, before a wedding, learn a secret from Emma’s past that throws their whole relationship into a tailspin.

I was very impressed with the tone of this movie because it starts out feeling like a classic Woody Allen-Nora Ephron type romantic comedy, very laid-back and sweet, then the secret comes out, and then it feels like you're in a psychological 70s movie like Taxi Driver or an awkward comedy like Being John Malkovich. Now these tones are very different and should not really work together, but I have to give props to the director Kristoffer Borgli for finding that perfect balance.

Zendaya is very good as Emma; she brings a confident charm and fun demeanor to the romantic scenes, but I was pleasantly surprised how well she was at playing nervous and introverted for the more dramatic scenes. That's something I haven’t really seen from her before, and she did an excellent job.

Robert Pattinson also did a good job playing the two different tones; the first part is very reminiscent of Hugh Grant in 90s movies, very charmingly befuddled. But once things get more tense, Pattinson doesn't do an effective job at leaning into the more awkward comedy bits and making the audience feel uncomfortable with his character but not lose empathy for him.

Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie play Charlene, Emma‘s best friend/best man and maid of honor, and they both give strong, supportive performances. Haim’s character also fluctuates a little between being sympathetic and being likable, but not in a way you don’t understand.

The film's topic is rather heavy and serious, but the film manages to explore this theme in a very empathetic and rather nuanced take that I haven’t seen much of, so I appreciate all the effort and mixing of tones. The filmmakers did; it was quite effective.

I quite enjoyed the directing throughout the film. Borgli injects a lot of creative montages in dream sequences to convey the story throughout, which I found very effective, not to mention a surprising amount of cameras throughout, which effectively conveyed the characters' rising insecurities and intentions in a very subtle, but effective way

The cinematography was very gorgeous, a lot of natural lighting and soft color palette, which fit the wedding aesthetic, but was also a nice position with the more serious elements of the film

A nice pleasant surprise was Hailey Gates as Charlie’s coworker, I feel like that role could’ve been a very straightforward and underwritten character, but Gates brought a lot of nuance and “character” to the part that was refreshing, felt like a real person‘s reactions, and a nice bit of subtle humor

I will say some of the awkward humor can get very “squirm in your seat” for certain viewers so be aware going in, but I think it’s nothing too outrageous that it will take away from the story

The film was well paced and had some interesting editing choices, very artsy and creative

The music/soundtrack was quite effective and was very diverse in it’s tracks and tone.

I would say the movie’s main theme is “Would you judge someone for the worst thing they ever did?" And as previously stated, not only do I think it was explored in a very nuanced and mostly believable way, but a story like this can really depend on the ending, and personally I think the story had a very satisfying ending that also fit with the characters and the overall story.

The drama is an interesting work about a couple's relationship and is good at presenting a dilemma to the audience and prompting them to explore their own thoughts and feelings on the subject in a very nuanced and almost darkly silly kind of way. This is helped with a great cast, wall, strong performances, creative film techniques, and a surprising amount of heart and understanding. I give the film four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, although I definitely don’t recommend this movie as a first date flick, not unless you want a slightly awkward car ride afterwards 😂.

They Will Kill You Review

 

Zazie Beetz plays Asia Reaves, an ex-convict who is searching for her younger sister, which leads her to a mysterious New York apartment building filled with satanic residents that she must fight not only to save her sister but also to survive.

I was quite impressed with the action throughout the film; the fight was very frenetic and well choreographed, not to mention the filmmakers get very creative with all the different camera movements and styles. Like certain scenes are perfectly symmetrical and have this quirky aesthetic that it feels straight out of a Wes Anderson movie, but you’ll have masked bad guys getting chopped up, so it feels like The Grand Budapest Hotel meets The Raid, which doesn’t sound like it should work as well as it does, but the filmmakers managed to pull it off. So good for them.

Zazie Beetz does a very good job; her character is pretty straightforward and focused on her mission, but there are a few scenes that she’s able to give her a more comedic or dramatic performance. Not to mention she’s very impressive with all the action scenes; I could tell The Bride from Kill Bill was a big influence on this character.

There was a very interesting chase scene in some tunnels that was pretty creative, and the way it was shot almost felt like stop motion, like it felt like I was watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for a few seconds, but the way they were moving

Tom Felton and Heather Graham play satanic henchmen, and they both do a good job and get some good comic moments, although I wish their characters were a little more fleshed out and had more to do, but for what they were given, both actors are enjoyable. Again, props to them for all the fight choreography.

I really enjoyed this one fight scene in a ballroom that involved fire; the weight was shot, and the choreography mixed with cinematography was very impressive and cool, definitely a standout scene for me. 

Patricia Arquette plays the manager of the hotel and has quite an impressive Irish accent; she’s very good at seeming intimidating, but they also give her character an interesting moral complexity that I do wish had been explored a little bit more, but what we got was interesting at fleshing her character out.

This movie is much gorier than I was expecting, like it’s nothing too brutal or skeezy, but they were definitely scenes that I was not expecting to go as hard as they did and leave off practical effects, especially with one little creature that was pretty impressive and a little bit cute in one instance.

Myha'la plays the sister, and I found her relationship with her sister interesting. Some parts were a little cliché and heavy on drama, but some of the twists and turns with her character were actually pretty interesting and added to the tension of the story of how these two girls were going to get out of all this.

I do think the world of this hotel has been streamlined a little better; it’s not bad, but there were a lot of different ideas that were thrown at you when explaining it at once, and there are one or two times. I felt like I should’ve had a note so I could double-check to make sure I knew what was going on, but it’s not overly complicated enough that you don’t get it, but certain things will take you a second to connect certain dots together.

I was pleasantly surprised with Paterson Joseph's character of Ray (who is Patricia Arquette‘s husband in the movie); his character had some interesting moral complexity to him and turned out to be the heart of the film.

This movie is more heavy on action than it is plot or character moments, so be aware of that going in, but like I’ve said, the action is both very well executed and creative, not to mention ratchets up perfectly so audiences will still be pretty engrossed.

I did not expect the climax to go the way it did. I can see some people thinking it is a little over the top, but I thought it was pretty fun and kind of original.

I do find it a little odd that they released this movie one week after Ready or Not 2, another movie involving sisters with a strained relationship on the run from Satanists, like they were certain points. I’m like, "Were they writing these scripts next to each other at the same time, and did the writers copy off one another lol?" Like, each film has enough unique qualities to differentiate them from each other, but there were definitely certain parts. I’m like, “I just saw this last week"; definitely an odd coincidence.

They Will Kill You may not be the most original movie; you can see a ton of influences from Wes Anderson, The Raid, Kill Bill, Ready or Not, and a little Rosemary's Baby, but the filmmakers were able to take all these elements and blend them in a way that you get a fun, thrilling action story with likable characters and creative and unique story elements. I give the film three and a half stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫. 

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Reviewed

Picking up right where the first one left off, we follow Grace after she escaped being hunted by her new husband‘s family on their wedding night… to now being hunted by five different families in order for them to gain some ultimate satanic power and rule the world. And to make matters worse, they kidnap Grace’s strained sister, Faith, forcing the sisters to work together to try and survive.

To me, the best thing about this movie is the cast; there are a lot of recognizable faces, and everyone gives a great performance, all balancing the tone of horror and comedy well.

Samar weaving takes the lead, and this is a great showcase for her talents. She gives a very realistic and scared performance (as anyone would be in this situation), but she also has a strong dry sense of humor, which she was able to infuse into the performance, and she gives really good facial reactions during the action parts.

Kathryn Newton was also great as the sister Faith; her more bubbly and naïve personality worked well off of Grace's more weary and panicking performance. Not to mention both actresses have really good chemistry and do feel like sisters with a lot of baggage to them.

I also liked the sisters' dynamic together; it felt very realistic and went in some surprising directions. Some of it did feel a little bit contrived and overdramatic, but it was never far-fetched and does fit given the characters' history together.

Sarah Michelle Gellar & Shawn Hatosy play the lead villains/twins; both are good at being intimidating and are a little more sympathetic than you would expect at the beginning, although Gellar's character towards the end does go in some directions that felt a little out of character, like it didn’t feel properly set up, but it wasn’t that distracting or took away from the film in any big way.

David Cronenberg also appears as the twins' father; it's always good to see him pop up in films, and he gives a very solid and foreboding performance.

A fun surprise was Maia Jae as one of the extended family members, who has an interesting tie to the first film. She and Weaving have a fun, almost Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck type rivalry, and they probably have my favorite sequence in the whole film, which was very creative and a good balance of action and comedy.

Another standout from a relative newcomer was Varun Saranga; his character was so ridiculous and in over his head, not to mention the actor gave some great facial reactions. I could see him getting some of the biggest laughs from audiences.

Elijah Wood, Nestor Carbonell, and Kevin Durand always give good solid performances, and this film is no different. I especially like how Wood was so calm yet creepy and funny at the same time.

Not really a complaint, but something I noticed is the way the game is set up. You have a lot of the comedic characters in one location and the more serious characters in another location, and your cut back-and-forth between something serious happening and then we get the reaction from the more comedic characters for the punchline, and I just wish they had incorporated the community elements between the two groups a little more, some other characters, and a couple of comedic moments, but that’s more nitpick than anything, and I don’t think we’ll bother most people in their enjoyment.

The special effects were quite well done in the film, and for such a gory and bloody movie, it never felt too over-the-top or took away from the funny elements of the film.

The film also has a good pacing, starting off strong and getting to the action quite fast, which I appreciate. Towards the third act, it does slow down a little bit, but it does lead to a nice twist, and the final part is a good payoff.

The color greeting was also very well done, and I liked some of the lighting choices.

The director‘s next film is the new Brendan Fraser movie. In certain parts you can definitely feel like they’re doing test footage with certain sets to train capture the right feel of a creepy mummy movie, but it never feels out of place in this film, and they did a good job at it, so it does make me a little more excited for the new Mummy film.

Also, big props to the fight choreographers; they had a lot of fun, and creative action ended with a good balance between harsh fight moves and almost Three Stooges antics.

Ready or Not 2 is a very solid sequel. Personally, I prefer the first because I liked the dynamic of the evil family, but I liked how they fleshed out Grace’s character with her relationship to Faith. A lot of the comedic characters got good laughs out of me; the action set pieces were very creative and exciting to watch, not to mention cool set design, and I’m always a sucker for seeing Sarah Michelle Geller kick ass in something funny and supernatural. I give the film a low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️; it’s definitely a fun time at the movies.

Project Hail Mary Review

 

Ryan Gosling plays a molecular biologist who wakes up in space with amnesia and slowly discovers he is on a mission to save Earth from the dying sun… And on the way discovers an alien, who is on a similar mission.

So with a synopsis like that, one man has to stop people freezing and starving to death in 30 years, the stakes sound as high as a bovine playing blackjack, but almost right off the bat the film itself is actually pretty funny. Ryan Gosling’s character (Dr. Ryland Grace) is very quirky, nervous, and antisocial, almost a California beach bum at times. So you’re wondering, how is this guy going to save himself, let alone the whole world? But that’s kind of the heart of the film: watching Ryan Gosling go from this nebbish oddball to this risk-taking hero for the sake of humanity, and Gosling does a very convincing and fun job with that arc. I would say it’s the heart of the film.

And the humor itself is very crowd-pleasing; it’s very dry (which I personally always enjoy), but other parts, especially when he meets the alien, feel like something out of a Pixar movie, so I think people of all ages will find something to enjoy in the humor, not to mention Ryan Gosling has fantastic comedic chops, so his delivery is also hilarious.

The film was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and I was very impressed with their style. At first, they shoot everything in an almost claustrophobic, symmetrical, and boxed-in sort of way, which is a great way of putting you in the headspace of the main character, but it almost mimics the way the spaceship moves, so again, I liked how the filmmaking fit and almost mimicked the material.

Throughout the film, we get flashbacks to Grace on earth, and we lead up to him being in space and how they juxtaposed the flashbacks to what was going on on the spaceship throughout. I thought it was very well done and had nice bits of levity.

I also enjoyed the performances of Sandra Hüller and Lionel Boyce; both are very dry, like Hüller is as dry as a sand dune lol, but there’s an underlying heart to both characters, and they work well off Ryan Gosling.

I liked the design of the alien (who goes by Rocky); it’s very creative and unique. All the little details and mechanics of how it moves, communicates, and even sees are quite impressive, and his spaceship is very cool as well.

The movie did a good job at taking big and complicated science and streamlining it in a way that was very understandable and easy to digest.

I was surprised once Grace and Rocky got together how much the movie felt like a Pixar film, with the cute and silly creature not understanding our customs and the person trying to explain it to them and getting flustered; it’s like something you see with the Mandalorian and Grogu or Sully & Boo from Monsters Inc., but again, the humor and Ryan Gosling's delivery make it enjoyable.

Once they get into space, I like how they play with a scale and some of the cool space visuals we get, it’s very colorful and psychedelically, majestic points, this film probably looks gorgeous in IMAX.

I do think the film runs like 20 minutes too long; like, the film feels like it’s wrapping up and it has a big climax, but then there’s another climax on top of it, which is a bit much, and I wouldn’t say you’d have to cut much of anything, but trim scenes down because certain humorous parts go on for quite a longer time than they need to.

I was quite impressed how the movie balanced both humor and drama and how they were able to switch between them very seamlessly, and props to Ryan Gosling for all the heavy lifting, although for me, it does get a little unintentionally funny because almost every 20 or 30 minutes he has like a little crying scene, and it’s the same thing where he like has the whole bag of emotions and his eyes water and his mouth quivers. I was sitting there thinking, "Man, this dude cries a lot," lol.

There were some other astronaut characters who I wish got a little bit more development; without spoiling anything, these people are on a very serious and gloomy mission, and they’re about as relaxed and upbeat as you can be. They sort of explain it, but even more so they have stuff going on in their lives that I would appreciate one scene of acknowledging, but it is always nice to see Ken Leung and Milana Vayntrub pop up and do things, and they make good use of their screen time.

Another strong point of this film is the cinematography and soundtrack; the way they capture and show space is both very scary and beautiful. It's very reminiscent of things like Interstellar, The Martian, and some of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Project Hail Mary has to balance a lot of things: humor, stakes, science, heart, wacky aliens, shenanigans, and the entire cast and crew managed to take all these elements and optimize them, so I think audiences will have a very fun and enjoyable time with the film. It can be a bit much at times, like eating too much Thanksgiving dinner and being stuffed afterwards, but the creativity and Ryan Gosling‘s performance really carry the film and make it something special. I give the film four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.