Introduction There are lots of films that are political metaphors (including some this year). Some are more successful than others, with the most successful probably being the Hunger Games films. However, they usually have one thing in common: they come from a coastal, left of center perspective. Twisters is different in this regard; in that [...]
Introduction The true story sports drama is a tried-and-true genre, with Disney being the most prolific. Starting with Cool Runnings (Jon Turteltaub, 1993), they have released them regularly as part of their theatrical slate. These films often make my top ten films of the year, mostly because of how inspiring they are. I think most [...]
Introduction It’s been a wild ride for the Despicable Me franchise over the years. None of the films ever got to a Pixar level (although even some of their films have disappointed as of late). However, there’s no denying how ridiculously popular they are. They have all been profitable, with almost all of them making [...]
Intro It's no secret that Pixar has been in a bit of a slump, both creatively and financially. They haven't had a financial "hit" since 2019 with Toy Story 4 (which I still dislike). It arguably hasn't had a genuinely great film since 2020's Onward (my favorite film of that year). There are lots of theories as [...]
Introduction Animation studios seem to wax and wane in both the tone and quality of their films. An interesting example of this is how DreamWorks started out with a really serious tone with Prince of Egypt and then shifted to irreverent genre benders like Shrek and then really taking off (no pun intended) with the [...]
It’s easy to forget that Trolls World Tour was one of the first pandemic films, in that it was the first major studio release during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Universal, who is the owner of the Trolls studio DreamWorks, decided to experiment and release the film directly to Premium Video on Demand (VOD), much to the chagrin [...]
Original animation is in a pretty bad place. And by “Original” I mean stories that have not originated from a well-known piece of media like being a sequel or a spin-off or a book. The last original animated movie to do reasonably well was Encanto in 2021, but even that only took off when it [...]
Robert Eggers has a unique gift for storytelling, an uncommon trait in common land. Eggers is uncommon in that there are few modern directors working today who can keep an audience captivated with a sublime heady story while paying attention to the innate details behind crucial details of a movie: performances, set decorations, cinematography, music; [...]
They say everything comes better in pairs, and never have I ever seen a film like Daniels' wonderous experience that is "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Experience is a keyword, and while I'll get gruff for suggesting that not every film is an experience rather than an event, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is both [...]
Werewolf movies have been a part of the cinematic lexicon for as long as I can remember. Sean Ellis’ “The Cursed,” which hits theaters this weekend, doesn’t add to the mythological nature of this type of story. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. "The Cursed" manages to elevate itself above its station through inventive [...]
