#based-on-a-book — Public Fediverse posts

Practical Magic: Lesbian Sisters

Summary: two young women navigate the world of men and love by way of magic.

So let’s get this out of the way earlier, there are a number of scenes where it looks like the two lead sisters are going to kiss and it is weird. Throughout the history of witches in horror particularly when it is not the old crone there is implied lesbianism, and sometimes that’s okay, but other times it feels like male titillation. There is nothing wrong with titillation but when the two leads are sisters it’s weird. Kidman and Bullock’s sister characters are far too close.

The film itself feels as though someone couldn’t decide on a structural level what this was supposed to be. It is based on a novel so perhaps the issues are from that. You have essentially two competing stories you have the curse placed on the Owens women where if they find love they die and you have the fact that Kidman’s character is going out with an abusive guy who they then kill and he comes back. This doesn’t just feel like a film of two halves it feels like two different films of different genres sown together. It doesn’t work as tonally it is too mismatched.

The ending of the film wherein the town that had attacked and belittled the sisters for being witches turns around and helps them out doesn’t cut the mustard. Neither does the fact that in the final sequence of the film they jump off a roof using magic to not die and not one person goes wait what witches are real.

Overall, whilst there are some moments of cozy comfort it feels like a more icky and poorly thought through relic of yesteryear.

2.5/5

Pros.

It’s watchable

Kidman and Bullock

There is charm

Cons.

It totally doesn’t work

The creepy stuff with the sisters

The ending

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Practical Magic: Lesbian Sisters

Summary: two young women navigate the world of men and love by way of magic.

So let’s get this out of the way earlier, there are a number of scenes where it looks like the two lead sisters are going to kiss and it is weird. Throughout the history of witches in horror particularly when it is not the old crone there is implied lesbianism, and sometimes that’s okay, but other times it feels like male titillation. There is nothing wrong with titillation but when the two leads are sisters it’s weird. Kidman and Bullock’s sister characters are far too close.

The film itself feels as though someone couldn’t decide on a structural level what this was supposed to be. It is based on a novel so perhaps the issues are from that. You have essentially two competing stories you have the curse placed on the Owens women where if they find love they die and you have the fact that Kidman’s character is going out with an abusive guy who they then kill and he comes back. This doesn’t just feel like a film of two halves it feels like two different films of different genres sown together. It doesn’t work as tonally it is too mismatched.

The ending of the film wherein the town that had attacked and belittled the sisters for being witches turns around and helps them out doesn’t cut the mustard. Neither does the fact that in the final sequence of the film they jump off a roof using magic to not die and not one person goes wait what witches are real.

Overall, whilst there are some moments of cozy comfort it feels like a more icky and poorly thought through relic of yesteryear.

2.5/5

Pros.

It’s watchable

Kidman and Bullock

There is charm

Cons.

It totally doesn’t work

The creepy stuff with the sisters

The ending

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Practical Magic: Lesbian Sisters

Summary: two young women navigate the world of men and love by way of magic.

So let’s get this out of the way earlier, there are a number of scenes where it looks like the two lead sisters are going to kiss and it is weird. Throughout the history of witches in horror particularly when it is not the old crone there is implied lesbianism, and sometimes that’s okay, but other times it feels like male titillation. There is nothing wrong with titillation but when the two leads are sisters it’s weird. Kidman and Bullock’s sister characters are far too close.

The film itself feels as though someone couldn’t decide on a structural level what this was supposed to be. It is based on a novel so perhaps the issues are from that. You have essentially two competing stories you have the curse placed on the Owens women where if they find love they die and you have the fact that Kidman’s character is going out with an abusive guy who they then kill and he comes back. This doesn’t just feel like a film of two halves it feels like two different films of different genres sown together. It doesn’t work as tonally it is too mismatched.

The ending of the film wherein the town that had attacked and belittled the sisters for being witches turns around and helps them out doesn’t cut the mustard. Neither does the fact that in the final sequence of the film they jump off a roof using magic to not die and not one person goes wait what witches are real.

Overall, whilst there are some moments of cozy comfort it feels like a more icky and poorly thought through relic of yesteryear.

2.5/5

Pros.

It’s watchable

Kidman and Bullock

There is charm

Cons.

It totally doesn’t work

The creepy stuff with the sisters

The ending

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Practical Magic: Lesbian Sisters

Summary: two young women navigate the world of men and love by way of magic.

So let’s get this out of the way earlier, there are a number of scenes where it looks like the two lead sisters are going to kiss and it is weird. Throughout the history of witches in horror particularly when it is not the old crone there is implied lesbianism, and sometimes that’s okay, but other times it feels like male titillation. There is nothing wrong with titillation but when the two leads are sisters it’s weird. Kidman and Bullock’s sister characters are far too close.

The film itself feels as though someone couldn’t decide on a structural level what this was supposed to be. It is based on a novel so perhaps the issues are from that. You have essentially two competing stories you have the curse placed on the Owens women where if they find love they die and you have the fact that Kidman’s character is going out with an abusive guy who they then kill and he comes back. This doesn’t just feel like a film of two halves it feels like two different films of different genres sown together. It doesn’t work as tonally it is too mismatched.

The ending of the film wherein the town that had attacked and belittled the sisters for being witches turns around and helps them out doesn’t cut the mustard. Neither does the fact that in the final sequence of the film they jump off a roof using magic to not die and not one person goes wait what witches are real.

Overall, whilst there are some moments of cozy comfort it feels like a more icky and poorly thought through relic of yesteryear.

2.5/5

Pros.

It’s watchable

Kidman and Bullock

There is charm

Cons.

It totally doesn’t work

The creepy stuff with the sisters

The ending

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Practical Magic: Lesbian Sisters

Summary: two young women navigate the world of men and love by way of magic.

So let’s get this out of the way earlier, there are a number of scenes where it looks like the two lead sisters are going to kiss and it is weird. Throughout the history of witches in horror particularly when it is not the old crone there is implied lesbianism, and sometimes that’s okay, but other times it feels like male titillation. There is nothing wrong with titillation but when the two leads are sisters it’s weird. Kidman and Bullock’s sister characters are far too close.

The film itself feels as though someone couldn’t decide on a structural level what this was supposed to be. It is based on a novel so perhaps the issues are from that. You have essentially two competing stories you have the curse placed on the Owens women where if they find love they die and you have the fact that Kidman’s character is going out with an abusive guy who they then kill and he comes back. This doesn’t just feel like a film of two halves it feels like two different films of different genres sown together. It doesn’t work as tonally it is too mismatched.

The ending of the film wherein the town that had attacked and belittled the sisters for being witches turns around and helps them out doesn’t cut the mustard. Neither does the fact that in the final sequence of the film they jump off a roof using magic to not die and not one person goes wait what witches are real.

Overall, whilst there are some moments of cozy comfort it feels like a more icky and poorly thought through relic of yesteryear.

2.5/5

Pros.

It’s watchable

Kidman and Bullock

There is charm

Cons.

It totally doesn’t work

The creepy stuff with the sisters

The ending

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Rings of Power Season 3: What We Know From The Trailer

First up the show is finally giving us Celeborn despite originally casting him aside in favour of a romance between Galadriel and Sauron. Looks like the bad boys can be changed, S&M, arc is over.

There is a heavy focus on the forging of the one ring which as we know happens quite late in the timeline, which means season 4 will likely be the War of the Last Alliance. It is unclear how far into the prologue of the Lord of the Rings they can go. No doubt the forging of the ring will happen over the course of multiple episodes or maybe even cut back to.

The timeline is continuing to be muddied as the Balrog is playing a larger role with Durin’s storyline, it will be interesting to see where this goes as we know that he is refusing Sauron’s envoys. It is questionable why the Balrog needs a voice actor as the role isn’t really a communicative one.

There is a shot of the Nazgnagôl, so we are getting the precursor to the Ring Wraiths, this could be good if we get the Witch King and he is maybe the villain of this season with Sauron as the big bad. Within the books and the films the Witch King is somewhat of a Bobba Fett character he is a cool presence but not that developed, the expanded works add in some details but to see the Rise of the Witch King over the season could be cool.

We don’t see that much of Galadriel in the trailer and I think that’s good, I think what needs to happen is for the established characters from the second age to take more of a prominent role and the characters the show has been developing need to take a step back. Galadriel and Sauron both have roles to play in the War of the Last Alliance obviously so where that is relevant the characters can’t take a step back.

Two things that are red flags is the amount of Gandalf we are seeing, he is another one of these characters that needs to step back. As well as this a lot of this stuff with the Blue Wizards in the east seems like it has no relevance to what is going on with the main plot with Sauron so it should be cut back. The second is the kissing/sexual scene that is shown with Galadriel, this isn’t a YA show, this is a show about increasing, the War of the Last Alliance, why can’t we stick to the point: bloat is why and the idea of luring in women even though they definitely aren’t watching.

The early ring wraiths, Witch King stuff and possibly some of the War of the Last Alliance stuff could be good, but the East stuff, Gandalf and Galadriel and her wandering eye are major red flags.

If you enjoyed this TV trailer reaction then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Rings of Power Season 3: What We Know From The Trailer

First up the show is finally giving us Celeborn despite originally casting him aside in favour of a romance between Galadriel and Sauron. Looks like the bad boys can be changed, S&M, arc is over.

There is a heavy focus on the forging of the one ring which as we know happens quite late in the timeline, which means season 4 will likely be the War of the Last Alliance. It is unclear how far into the prologue of the Lord of the Rings they can go. No doubt the forging of the ring will happen over the course of multiple episodes or maybe even cut back to.

The timeline is continuing to be muddied as the Balrog is playing a larger role with Durin’s storyline, it will be interesting to see where this goes as we know that he is refusing Sauron’s envoys. It is questionable why the Balrog needs a voice actor as the role isn’t really a communicative one.

There is a shot of the Nazgnagôl, so we are getting the precursor to the Ring Wraiths, this could be good if we get the Witch King and he is maybe the villain of this season with Sauron as the big bad. Within the books and the films the Witch King is somewhat of a Bobba Fett character he is a cool presence but not that developed, the expanded works add in some details but to see the Rise of the Witch King over the season could be cool.

We don’t see that much of Galadriel in the trailer and I think that’s good, I think what needs to happen is for the established characters from the second age to take more of a prominent role and the characters the show has been developing need to take a step back. Galadriel and Sauron both have roles to play in the War of the Last Alliance obviously so where that is relevant the characters can’t take a step back.

Two things that are red flags is the amount of Gandalf we are seeing, he is another one of these characters that needs to step back. As well as this a lot of this stuff with the Blue Wizards in the east seems like it has no relevance to what is going on with the main plot with Sauron so it should be cut back. The second is the kissing/sexual scene that is shown with Galadriel, this isn’t a YA show, this is a show about increasing, the War of the Last Alliance, why can’t we stick to the point: bloat is why and the idea of luring in women even though they definitely aren’t watching.

The early ring wraiths, Witch King stuff and possibly some of the War of the Last Alliance stuff could be good, but the East stuff, Gandalf and Galadriel and her wandering eye are major red flags.

If you enjoyed this TV trailer reaction then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Enola Holmes 3: The Filler/Botox Queen Returns

Summary: Because Sherlock Holmes is a silly man rather than a genius detective he goes missing and it’s down to Enola to find him.

Right from the off you have the cheapening of male characters to try and raise up the female ones. Moriarty Sherlock’s legendary foe doesn’t even care about Sherlock the whole point of capturing him was to lure out Enola. They couldn’t have given her, her own nemesis they had to take Sherlock’s, they also had to gender flip him. The question remains if you were going to gender flip the character why not just have a new character.

Then you have the fact that Milly Bobby Brown’s face is noticeably off, there has been much made of her acting in the last season Stranger Things when she could barely move her face. Here it is less severe however, they really need to cast someone else. It is a shame someone so young felt the need to do that to themselves.

There are irritating modern dayisms a-plenty they have the film set during the British “occupation of Malta” and show Maltese freedom fighters as the good guys. In historical reality Malta liked the UK and wanted to become a formal part of it like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and voted for it in a referendum. When this became too costly Malta set out for independence, this was not at armed struggle but rather a fairly bureaucratic process. The film goes oh colonialism bad, whilst getting most of the history wrong. Of course they say that Britain stole a bunch of antiques from Afghanistan of all places, and of course Enola and co make sure Afghanistan gets it’s antiques back and the evil British go to prison. It’s so whiny and on the nose that it makes you think the film thinks you have a mental age of 2. The love interest character is so upset by the stealing of these artefacts done by his father, not him, that he renounces his landed title and seat in the House of Lords, a not at all hysterical reaction and one you could imagine from the short of folks to lie down in roads and block the streets.

Of course Sherlock is against Enola’s marriage as it will reduce her “independence”, what year is it, is this the 1990s. Even within feminist circles views on marriage have softened, a woman can get married and still be independent the idea it removes all independent hasn’t been seriously considered in decades, it’s 2026. Sherlock is forced to apologise for his anti marriage views, and Enola of course refuses to take her husband’s last name although it would have been standard practice in that time period.

Netflix is one again forcing it’s anti-traditionist, critical race theory, alternative history down the audience through in order to appease a small group of people online.

Overall, cancel your Netflix subscription.

0.5/5

Pros.

Some unintentional humour

Cons.

Milly can’t act

The message is hamfisted and incredibly on the nose

It reduces Sherlock as a character

It doesn’t need to exist

It’s badly paced

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Enola Holmes 3: The Filler/Botox Queen Returns

Summary: Because Sherlock Holmes is a silly man rather than a genius detective he goes missing and it’s down to Enola to find him.

Right from the off you have the cheapening of male characters to try and raise up the female ones. Moriarty Sherlock’s legendary foe doesn’t even care about Sherlock the whole point of capturing him was to lure out Enola. They couldn’t have given her, her own nemesis they had to take Sherlock’s, they also had to gender flip him. The question remains if you were going to gender flip the character why not just have a new character.

Then you have the fact that Milly Bobby Brown’s face is noticeably off, there has been much made of her acting in the last season Stranger Things when she could barely move her face. Here it is less severe however, they really need to cast someone else. It is a shame someone so young felt the need to do that to themselves.

There are irritating modern dayisms a-plenty they have the film set during the British “occupation of Malta” and show Maltese freedom fighters as the good guys. In historical reality Malta liked the UK and wanted to become a formal part of it like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and voted for it in a referendum. When this became too costly Malta set out for independence, this was not at armed struggle but rather a fairly bureaucratic process. The film goes oh colonialism bad, whilst getting most of the history wrong. Of course they say that Britain stole a bunch of antiques from Afghanistan of all places, and of course Enola and co make sure Afghanistan gets it’s antiques back and the evil British go to prison. It’s so whiny and on the nose that it makes you think the film thinks you have a mental age of 2. The love interest character is so upset by the stealing of these artefacts done by his father, not him, that he renounces his landed title and seat in the House of Lords, a not at all hysterical reaction and one you could imagine from the short of folks to lie down in roads and block the streets.

Of course Sherlock is against Enola’s marriage as it will reduce her “independence”, what year is it, is this the 1990s. Even within feminist circles views on marriage have softened, a woman can get married and still be independent the idea it removes all independent hasn’t been seriously considered in decades, it’s 2026. Sherlock is forced to apologise for his anti marriage views, and Enola of course refuses to take her husband’s last name although it would have been standard practice in that time period.

Netflix is one again forcing it’s anti-traditionist, critical race theory, alternative history down the audience through in order to appease a small group of people online.

Overall, cancel your Netflix subscription.

0.5/5

Pros.

Some unintentional humour

Cons.

Milly can’t act

The message is hamfisted and incredibly on the nose

It reduces Sherlock as a character

It doesn’t need to exist

It’s badly paced

If you enjoyed this film review, then please head over to  Patreon to support the blog. All reviews, articles and interviews are free, with no early access, sponsorships, or content locked behind paywalls. If you value independent coverage of the entertainment industry, your support over there helps to keep it going. Become a member on Patreon below

patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Or if you would rather send a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to the Ko-Fi donation page below

http://ko-fi.com/anothermillennialreviewer

Ryan Gosling and Rocky Rule the Stars

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in ‘PROJECT HAIL MARY’ (Photo credit: Jonathan Olley © 2025 Amazon Content…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Movies #basedonabook #ChristopherMiller #DrewGoddard #Entertainment #PhilLord #ProjectHailMary #review #RyanGosling
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/534881/

Ryan Gosling and Rocky Rule the Stars

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in ‘PROJECT HAIL MARY’ (Photo credit: Jonathan Olley © 2025 Amazon Content…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Movies #basedonabook #ChristopherMiller #DrewGoddard #Entertainment #PhilLord #ProjectHailMary #review #RyanGosling
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/534881/

Nosferatu (2024) Movie Review | Eggers’ Nosferatu Balances Beauty and Terror

<p>Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a masterclass in gothic atmosphere, with visuals so hauntingly beautiful they could be paintings from another century. But does its mesmerizing aesthetic make up for inconsistent performances? This reimagining of the vampire classic both dazzles and stumbles in its quest to unearth timeless terror.</p>

https://wornoutspines.com/2024/12/22/nosferatu-2024-movie-review/

Nosferatu (2024) Movie Review | Eggers’ Nosferatu Balances Beauty and Terror

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a masterclass in gothic atmosphere, with visuals so hauntingly beautiful they could be paintings from another century. But does its mesmerizing aesthetic make up for inconsistent performances? This reimagining of the vampire classic both dazzles and stumbles in its quest to unearth timeless terror.

https://wornoutspines.com/2024/12/22/nosferatu-2024-movie-review/

Nosferatu (2024) Movie Review | Eggers’ Nosferatu Balances Beauty and Terror

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a masterclass in gothic atmosphere, with visuals so hauntingly beautiful they could be paintings from another century. But does its mesmerizing aesthetic make up for inconsistent performances? This reimagining of the vampire classic both dazzles and stumbles in its quest to unearth timeless terror.

https://wornoutspines.com/2024/12/22/nosferatu-2024-movie-review/

Nosferatu (2024) Movie Review | Eggers’ Nosferatu Balances Beauty and Terror

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a masterclass in gothic atmosphere, with visuals so hauntingly beautiful they could be paintings from another century. But does its mesmerizing aesthetic make up for inconsistent performances? This reimagining of the vampire classic both dazzles and stumbles in its quest to unearth timeless terror.

https://wornoutspines.com/2024/12/22/nosferatu-2024-movie-review/

Thursday on @heydidyouseethisone at 8PM EST on TWITCH (link in bio) we continue Fan-Cember aka Guest-mas, where the Guests pick the movies! Next we are talking about Starship Troopers (1997) with Guest: Arjun Trivedi.

Live at 8 pm EST every Thursday over on Twitch (link in bio)!

With your hosts:
Steve Waters @bobablackfly
Jason Phillips @spiderhero9000

With guest: Arjun Trivedi (@arjuntrivedi)

#starshiptroopers #paulverhoeven #scifi #adventure #basedonabook #heydidyouseethisone #comedypodcast #podcast #filmreview #movies #films #moviereviewpodcast #moviereview #explorepage #filmreview

Thursday on @heydidyouseethisone at 8PM EST on TWITCH (link in bio) we continue Fan-Cember aka Guest-mas, where the Guests pick the movies! Next we are talking about Starship Troopers (1997) with Guest: Arjun Trivedi.

Live at 8 pm EST every Thursday over on Twitch (link in bio)!

With your hosts:
Steve Waters @bobablackfly
Jason Phillips @spiderhero9000

With guest: Arjun Trivedi (@arjuntrivedi)

#starshiptroopers #paulverhoeven #scifi #adventure #basedonabook #heydidyouseethisone #comedypodcast #podcast #filmreview #movies #films #moviereviewpodcast #moviereview #explorepage #filmreview

Thursday on @heydidyouseethisone at 8PM EST on TWITCH (link in bio) we continue Fan-Cember aka Guest-mas, where the Guests pick the movies! Next we are talking about Starship Troopers (1997) with Guest: Arjun Trivedi.

Live at 8 pm EST every Thursday over on Twitch (link in bio)!

With your hosts:
Steve Waters @bobablackfly
Jason Phillips @spiderhero9000

With guest: Arjun Trivedi (@arjuntrivedi)

#starshiptroopers #paulverhoeven #scifi #adventure #basedonabook #heydidyouseethisone #comedypodcast #podcast #filmreview #movies #films #moviereviewpodcast #moviereview #explorepage #filmreview

Thursday on @heydidyouseethisone at 8PM EST on TWITCH (link in bio) we continue Fan-Cember aka Guest-mas, where the Guests pick the movies! Next we are talking about Starship Troopers (1997) with Guest: Arjun Trivedi.

Live at 8 pm EST every Thursday over on Twitch (link in bio)!

With your hosts:
Steve Waters @bobablackfly
Jason Phillips @spiderhero9000

With guest: Arjun Trivedi (@arjuntrivedi)

#starshiptroopers #paulverhoeven #scifi #adventure #basedonabook #heydidyouseethisone #comedypodcast #podcast #filmreview #movies #films #moviereviewpodcast #moviereview #explorepage #filmreview

The Amazing Maurice: The Pied Piper Was A Cat

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A cat called Maurice, voiced by Hugh Laurie, and his human companion, voiced by Himesh Patel, travel town to town working a racket wherein they pretend to rid each town of their rats when in fact they have brought them.

I thought this was quite a charming animated film, what’s more the setting in the wider world of Terry Pratchett opens it up for all manor of possibilities if there ever was to be a sequel. I found the film to be fairly easy to watch with some likeable characters, but that is not to say everything about it was great.

The film certainly has some lulls wherein it slips into being boring and this is made worse by the pacing of the film. Furthermore, this issue is compounded by the fact that Patel’s Keith is never given much in the way of personality and is fairly bland so any section focusing on him on his own away from Maurice drags on. This is somewhat alleviated by Emilia Clarke’s Mallica who serves as both the narrator of the tale as well as the female lead and is in every respect the stand out character of the film. Clarke makes the character have so much life and charisma that it is hard not to be excited when the film is focusing on her.

Hugh Laurie as the titular Maurice is fantastic but then again you always knew he would be.

Overall, a fun animated film though one that could have worked better if the pacing was tighter.

3.5/5

Pros.

Clarke

Laurie

It is a lot of fun

The world of Pratchett

Cons.

The pace

It drags at times

If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

Pinocchio: More Disturbing Then It Had Any Right To Be

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The classic tale of Pinocchio, voiced by Gregory Mann, but now with added nightmarish creatures and fascist leaders.

Well this film achieved the impossible, it managed to make the Disney take on Pinocchio, animated not the trash live action, look tame by comparison. That is no small feat considering the fact that the animated Disney film has it fair share of deeply unsettling moments, but this film pips it by having some truly quite disturbing moments. Whether it is Pinocchio’s frequent deaths wherein he goes to an underworld like land and has conversations with frightening looking creatures, in most cases voiced by Tilda Swinton, or in the design of Pinocchio himself that never quite lets you settle down. In all honesty I found Pinocchio himself and the way he looked and acted to be the most scary thing about the film.

Writing this review for you now I can’t honestly say whether I enjoyed watching this film, it was certainly an experience viewing it though I don’t think wholly pleasant. Instead of giving it slap bang in the middle marks I have given it an above average score as whilst a lot of things in the film didn’t work for me or I found a little jarring, I like how far Del Toro pushed the concept and the risk he took with it, the Mussolini stuff he did was really quite daring and funny and fit the film in a way I wouldn’t have expected it to.

The ending will also be a source of contention for many as it is not by any account a happy ending, if anything it is fairly melancholic, it reminded me of the stylings of Tim Burton if that is any indication for you, but hey Ewan McGregor does a great job as the cricket and mostly keeps things light.

Overall, I can’t say I enjoyed the film but it is bold and some of it works really well.

3/5

Pros.

A risky and more adult approach

The setting and time period

McGregor    

Cons.

It is incredibly sad

Pinocchio himself is hard to warm towards because he looks unsettling

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Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Disney Coming In To Ruin Another Franchise

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A new animated take on the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.

Where to begin on what went wrong with this film.

I think the most obvious place to start is that this film is a carbon copy of the much better live action version, it lifts scenes and lines of dialogue from that film and that just serves to remind you how needless this film really is, it is an animated reskin of a better product that came out just long ago enough for kids today to not remember it.

Speaking of the animation there is something noticeably off with it. I can’t quite put my finger on what is wrong, but there is certainly something going wrong with the lighting and the framing of it a lot of the time throughout the film. The animation style itself is fairly ugly, I understand they have chosen it to look closer to the books however it looks cheap and low rent.

The voice cast for the most part is doing their best to mimic the performances from the beloved live action films, and whilst in a few cases the effort is valiant, it never really rises to the occasion and lacks a lot of the charm and the warmth that made the performances in the live action films what they were.

Overall, entirely needless.

Pros.

It is short and if you close your eyes at times it feels like you are watching the live action version.

Cons.

The animation is off

It feels wholly unneeded and unoriginal

It is unfunny

It lacks any charm or warmth

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The Witcher Nightmare Of The Wolf: Netflix Needs A New Animation Style

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Vesemir, voiced by Theo James, becomes wrapped up in a frightening series of monster attacks that seem different to anything he has ever encountered before.

Why do all of Netflix’s animated offerings look the same? I am not saying the art style doesn’t work, but I am saying that I want more diversity and variation within their animated output. I don’t like the fact you can’t tell this apart from Castlevania.

Moreover, the storyline here is so trite that I question anyone’s need to watch this film as they have seen it all before. Hated group has to work with those that hate them and then those that hate them turn on them it is so played out. I am a big fan of the Witcher books/games/TV show and as such I know that this storyline could have been done better. The evil mage who is anti-Witcher is so clear cut the twist reveal of oh actually she is evil doesn’t work as you already knew it, and it feels like the film gives it away early on.

Whatsmore, the tag at the end that showed Geralt felt ham-fisted. We all know where the story is going, we all know that Geralt is coming, however stuffing him in here feels like badly done fan service.

Overall, deeply bog standard.

Pros.

The fight scenes

A deeper look into Witcher lore
Theo James as Vesemir

Cons.

The end sting

The animation style and its overuse

The bland story  

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Peter Rabbit: Stone Cold Killer

Peter Rabbit is a 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Will Gluck. The plot of the film takes inspiration from the Beatrice Potter books of the same name and sees Peter and his family trying to steal from the garden of Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson), whilst also trying to stop the romance developing between him and the rabbits beloved Bea (Rose Byrne).

What can I say about this film? The only positive I will give this film is the fact that there is nothing else quite like it, it is bizarre in both a good way and a bad way. The good way is due to the fact that Beatrice Potter is interacting with the rabbits she created, so that worked for me in a meta way. However, in the bad way we have baffling decisions like having their be a cockerel character, who openly says things to the extent of, ‘he only had kids because he thought the world was going to end tomorrow and that now he is stuck looking after them’ and ‘he hates his life’. Fear not by the end of the film he loves his life as a single father, but my question is why was this put in? The cockerel is not a main character he is incredibly throw away, so who were his ‘jokes’ aimed at, they certainly weren’t child friendly, so maybe the parents? However, I doubt parents very much would like a lot of what he was saying.

Moreover, the film decides to make Peter evil. I get that he is having a fun war of escalation with McGregor, and McGregor tries to kill Peter, but he is the villain, so it is okay for him to do it. However, Peter (James Corden), who is the hero of the tale tries to kill McGregor both by trying to make him die of an allergic reaction as well as by torturing him with bear traps, it’s sounds like I am joking, but I am not. Why is the hero of a kid’s movie doing this, why?

Furthermore, this film is aggressively dumb and teaches kid’s bad lessons. One of peter’s sister constantly throws herself of things, breaking her ribs, but it’s okay because she has more ribs to break her fall the next time she does it. In no way should this be taught to kids because not only is it not true, but it is the sort of things they might see and try and imitate.

This review has already gone long, so I am not going to go on about James Corden and how the world should leave him behind, he isn’t as annoying as usual here, but it is safe to say that still means he is incredibly annoying.

Overall, the only reason to watch this film is out of morbid curiosity, there are some hilarious moments, not a single one of them is intentional. I wouldn’t let kids watch this because it has a lot of harmful messages and because it is just trash.

Pros.

Funny when it is not trying to be.

Freakishly bizarre.

Cons.

Peter Rabbit tries to murder people.

James Corden.

Who is this film for?

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

When The Wind Blows: The End Of The World

When The Wind Blows is a British animated disaster film directed by Jimmy Murakami. The plot of the film revolves around an old married couple James and Hilda (John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft), who are trying to survive a nuclear war by building a bomb shelter in their front room. The film is incredibly dark and has themes of death, disease and hopelessness.

I had to watch this film for one of my University classes, so I didn’t really go in with much expectation, but I have to say this is a hauntingly beautiful film in many ways and it far exceeded my expectations.

The art design for this film is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It switches between different styles of animation quite often with each bringing a significantly different feel.  From an artistic viewpoint, colour is used very specifically in this film for a variety of reasons, to show loss and devastation as well as to show hope. This colour symbolism is very on the nose, but it is that way by design, this film knows what it is and knows what its message is, and it wants to be very clear about it. When The Wind Blow is an anti-war film through and through.

This film is from the director of beloved Christmas hit The Snowman, but this is very unlike his previous work. Despite having a low age rating, this film is definitely not suited for kids to watch, it is disturbing and traumatic, but in reality, that is how nuclear war would be. The film ends and if you don’t want spoilers skip ahead, with both of the main characters dying of radiation poisoning, this is incredibly sad, but realistic. This film is almost educational as it shows the effects a nuclear war would have on people as both character get sicker and sicker across the film, it also encourages people to be critical free thinkers and question what they are told: because ultimately a big part of the film is that James believed every word the government said to him and that is what killed him.

Overall, this film won’t be for everyone, it is upsetting and depressing, but it is also important to see because it has a lot to say about war, about society and for that I will say it is a must see!

Pros.

The message.

The music.

The animation.

The ending.

Cons

It is incredibly bleak.

4/5

Justice League Dark: The Mystical Side Of DC

Justice League Dark is an animated science fantasy superhero film. The plot revolves around a team of DC Superheroes, the more mystical ones, who have to investigate a pattern of strange behavior that has turned fatal. The Justice League themselves can’t understand the problem, so it is down to Batman (Jason O’Mara), and his strange collection of allies to save the day.

*Justice League Dark is one of my favourite DC comics, I have read many runs of the team over the years, so when I heard about this project, I knew I had to check it out. I was disappointed, this was an incredibly average film, nothing more, nothing less.

I will admit it was nice to see the team of Constantine (Matt Ryan), Zatanna (Camilla Luddington), and Deadman (Nicholas Turturro), get together; furthermore, it was nice to see Matt Ryan return to play Constantine, he is fairly synonymous with the character to me. However, my issue was the overall story just felt flat. The best issues of the comic have strong horror elements, but I didn’t get that here, other than the shades and a few other things it was mainly without horror.

What’s more though I liked Constantine I felt that a lot of the other characters were short-changed so that he could have more screen time. An example of this would be Swamp Thing (Roger Cross), who has been a major part of the team before in the comics, here only gets a few lines. Worst of all after he gets defeated, he just goes away and we don’t see him again, which feels like a big unresolved plot thread.

As I said before, this film is everything I would expect from a Justice League Dark film, a group of the more mystical DC heroes fighting against a supernatural opponent, but that isn’t enough to sustain my interest across the film’s runtime, I wanted more. More depth to the characters, more scope to the narrative, I don’t know exactly what but, something that felt better than bog standard.

Overall, this film fell short my expectations,  it didn’t wow me in anyway, in fact it annoyed me a lot of the time. I wish they had put more time and energy into the characters and the story overall, if they had this might have been something special.

Pros.

Matt Ryan.

It is nice to see all of the characters team up.

A solid foundation.

Cons.

Other than Constantine and Zatanna very weak characters.

How they handled Swamp Thing.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Redefining The Word ‘Fantastic’

‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ is a stop-motion animated comedy film, adapting the Roald Dahl beloved children’s book of the same name. The plot follows Mr Fox (George Clooney), as he tries to get back into the business of stealing from the local farmers; after he had given up that lifestyle when his first cub was born.

‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ both the book and the film have a special place in my heart and, the film especially is amongst my favourite animated films of all time. There is so much life and vibrancy in the animation that it brings the book to life in the most beautiful way; this is in no small part because of the decision to use stop-motion animation, which not enough films do.

Many people prefer Wes Anderson’s other stop-motion animated film the ‘Isle Of Dogs’, but personally I don’t think that film has anywhere near the same level of charm as this. Yes, a lot of that charm comes from the voice cast Clooney is a great Mr Fox he has both the easy confidence for when things are going well and the steely determination/ gravitas for when things get serious. As well as Clooney the voice cast is also made up of people like Willem Dafoe, Billy Murray, Meryl Streep and, Jason Schwartzman. All of these big stars not only give it there all but also really make the characters memorable. Dafoe plays a Rat that serves as a sub-antagonist for Mr Fox, though he only has very limited screen time Dafoe not only makes us care about this character but, also gives him a personality.

There are several changes made to the story that keep it from being a fully faithful retelling of the book. However, I believe these changes serve the film well as they are often used to create character depth, which helps the characters seem more realised.
The best things about this film are because it has a very keen sense of identity, as well as a very specific sense of style. I truly believe that both of these things are owed wholly to Wes Anderson, who does a great job here and elevates this film into almost a masterpiece.

Overall, this film not only captures the nature of the book but also adds to it. Fantastic Mr Fox will make you care about foxes and badgers while also giving you a laugh or two along the way. This film is a testament to two things firstly the star-power of George Clooney, and secondly what a director with a sharp eye and a firm idea can do.

Pros.
Wes Anderson.
The Voice Cast.
The Beautiful Stop Motion Animation.
Making A Classic Out Of A Classic.

Cons.
Minor Pacing Issues In The Second And Early Third Act.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke