Tag Archives: Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review

Tags : Movie Review

Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own – a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.

Why did I come to this movie again?

Because it’s the Guardians of the Galaxy! I’ve really enjoyed this set of characters and was excited to see the last installment in their story. Also, I expected to laugh and cry. Both of those things happened.

5 of 5

Characters

It’s difficult to juggle a cast of characters this big, but I thought the film did a good job. I appreciated that each of the characters is at a different spot in their arc. Quill is still reeling from the loss of Gamora and continues to act like a bratty kid (which isn’t unexpected), but in the end he makes a choice that will change him.

Nebula has already matured and is basically running things. A far cry from the cyborg killing machine from the first films.

I loved what Mantis said about Drax. Yes, he struggles with social situations and makes some dumb choices in battle, but he truly likes himself, and in the end Nebula sees his worth as something other than a warrior.

Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that I was both drawn to and repulsed by Rocket’s childhood friends. Creepy? Yes. Did I cry about them? Also yes.

5 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes.

I cared what happened to Rocket, his friends, Quill’s feelings for Gamora, Nebula’s draw to help others, Mantis’ adoration of Drax (who is clueless), the poor creatures on the fake Earth, Groot, and even grumpy Gamora.

5 of 5

Plot Holes

This is a superhero film, of course there are plot holes. I’m going to poke at a couple of little things and ignore the rest.

How many times can Peter be exposed to the open vacuum of space and survive?

Why has no one tried to stop the High Evolutionary before? He’s clearly playing god, which isn’t good.

If the High Evolutionary can make entire species from scratch, then why hasn’t he fixed his face?

A few little things like that threw me out of the story.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

Not once. The hubby stayed awake the whole time too.

This film goes from 1 to 100 in the first five minutes and doesn’t stop after that. Sure, we get some moments to breathe, but in general, this one is intense.

5 of 5

Cool Factor

Effects were great.

One of the strengths of the Guardian’s films is that they have an almost perfect balance between funny and serious. This one did not disappoint. I chuckled plenty of times. The hubby is still laughing about the good dog joke.

The one thing I didn’t like was that they just put Nathan Fillion in a suit. He looked like he walked straight from the set of The Rookie over to Guardians. Why didn’t they do something interesting to him? Skin color, funny hair, a hat? He actually brought me out of the story a bit, which was sad. Not enough for me to say he didn’t do a good job, but I wanted more.

5 of 5

The End

I liked the resolution to the characters and plot. I didn’t feel like I’d been left hanging.

I liked the very end. It felt reminiscent to when the new generation of Avengers took over.

5 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I haven’t liked a Marvel movie this much since Infinity Wars. This movie sucked me in and kept my attention. I laughed. I cried. I was rooting for the team. James Gunn gets all the gold stars for this one.

5 of 5

Total: 39

That’s a Black Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves Review

Tags : Movie Review

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

Why did I come to this movie again?

First off, this is Chris Pine being awesome. That’s reason enough to come to the movie. The rest of the cast looked great, and the preview was funny. So either this was going to be a hilarious ride, or it was going to crash and burn and we could mock it. Either way, there would be popcorn!

5 of 5

Characters

I expected quirky characters, and I got that. Everyone did a good job. Each player had a little bit of a twist to their journey, so that was fun.

Was Hugh Grant over the top? Yes. It only bugged me a little because he embraced the cheese and ran with it.

If you’re looking for deep characterizations this isn’t the movie for you, but while each character was the embodiment of a trope, they were still likable and fun.

4 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Sure. Each scene drew me to the next one. I wanted the good *cough* guys to win and the bad guys to lose.

5 of 5

Plot Holes

This is a made up world with made up rules and for the most part the writers followed their own rules.

I didn’t love the main driver of the plot. This is a little bit spoilery, but a man trying to resurrect the woman he loved has, in my opinion, been done to death.

There were plot points that made it okay in this film, so it wasn’t awful, but I did roll my eyes at it.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

No yawning. I’m going to focus on something else here. The trailer made this movie look super funny. And it is, but 90% of the funny moments are in the trailer. That made me sad. I expected more.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

I’m not a huge D&D fan, but the theater was full of them, and I knew I’d missed something when the people around us pointed, laughed, or gasped. The easter eggs I did notice were awesome. This movie was a romp, exactly as promised, and even though I wanted more funny in it, I’d totally watch it again.

5 of 5

The End

Predictable, but that was to be expected.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

Like I said, this movie delivered on its promise of action, adventure, and comedy. Going on opening night was super fun. Listening to people talking after the show was hilarious. I’d watch it again because I love a good romp.

And yes, Chris Pine was awesome, as was the rest of the cast.

This doesn’t reflect on the score, but my popcorn kind of sucked, and I’m still mad about it! ☹

4 of 5

Total: 35

That’s a Brown Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Wakanda Forever Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T’Challa.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I didn’t love the movie, Black Panther. There were too many instances of lazy writing, and because of that the theme (what there was of it) of the film suffered. I wasn’t any more excited to see the sequel, which is why I waited until it was streaming. My expectations weren’t high.

4 of 5

Characters

Queen Ramonda was the center of the story…until she wasn’t. Frankly, Angela Bassett was doing an amazing job, and killing her off (spoilers) disrupted the flow of the film. The writers could have left her as the main character. She had lost plenty and only had one thing left to lose. Her grief was palpable.

Until it wasn’t.

Although they needed a better set up to the queen betraying Okoye. The same clumsy handling of this kind of thing was in Black Panther, and I wish the writers had learned their lesson.

I might get some hate for this, but Princess Shuri isn’t main character material. She’s an awesome supporting character, and that’s where they should have left her. The actress did a great job, but once again, the writing wasn’t strong enough to carry her through. She could still have been Black Panther with her mom alive.

The bad guy was…flat. *whining voice* Bad men killed my people 500 years ago, and I’m still mad about it! Ugh.

The writers tried to mirror Shuri’s journey of familial grief with Namor’s, and while I give kudos for the attempt, the execution lacked.

3 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Somewhat. They brought Everett back, which I enjoyed. And until they killed the queen I was 100% invested in her. The plot itself was utterly predictable, so I didn’t even have that to keep me interested.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

It’s a Marvel movie with questionable writing. There were plenty of plot holes big enough to drive the Wakandan’s giant vibranium ship through.

My hubby pointed out a really good one…Namor’s people got snapped by Thanos. Did they not bother to figure out what had happened? If they were smart, they would have done some investigating, and when they found out there were beings and things MUCH more powerful than them, they should have come up to say hello to the rest of the world. Or at least make contact with Wakanda.

Also, in 500 years Namor has never had a teenager who wanted to be “part of this world?” Not likely.

3 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

I only got bored because the writing lacked. The action and pacing of the film itself was okay.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

Cinematography and special effects were top notch, as usual.

5 of 5

The End

Without a better setup between Shuri and Namor’s grief (it was there, but it wasn’t great) the end lacked.

I did love the very, very end when you find out about T’Challa’s son. I actually didn’t see that coming and was pleasantly surprised.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I gave Black Panther a second chance (it wasn’t better for me the second time) but I don’t think I’ll watch Wakanda Forever again. Is there some cool stuff in there? Yes. Do they deal with grief in an okay way? Yes. Was any of it good enough for me to kill almost 3 hours on it again? No.

3 of 5

Total: 30

That’s a Green Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

The Amazing Maurice Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

This story follows Maurice, a goofy streetwise cat, who has the perfect money-making scam. He finds a dumb-looking kid who plays a pipe and has his very own horde of rats, who are strangely literate.

Why did I come to this movie again?

Same reason as last week, I’d been wanting to go to a Sundance film, and saw this movie, which looked adorable, on the website, and it was playing at the theater with the recliner chairs!

Oh, and it’s based on a story by Terry Pratchett, one of the most brilliant authors ever.

5 of 5

Characters

In general terms the characters of this film were fun and delightful. Again, this story is originally by Terry Pratchett, so it would take a lot to ruin anything about it.

The rats were hilarious. When they told us where they’d come up with their names I laughed and laughed. Keith is adorable and very down to earth.

Maybe I was in editing mode, and therefore my brain was looking for issues, but I thought they could have done a better job showing Maurice’s true colors and how it was actually hard for him to make a different choice when it mattered. His arc didn’t feel very fleshed out.

The girl, Malicia, was a little over the top for me. It felt like they shoved her in there because the movie wasn’t quite clever enough on its own.

The bad guy was very cool. And creepy. Oh, and the piper was a real piece of work!

4 of 5

Did I care what happened?

I did. Most scenes built on the mystery and conflict of the previous one, which kept the story moving forward. Because I didn’t believe Maurice would abandon his rat buddies, there wasn’t as much tension as there could have been there.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

I don’t remember any plot holes. Nothing pulled me out of the film, which is good.

5 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

The movie only dragged in a few small sections. No yawning.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

In any Terry Pratchett tale, the cool factor is how stinking clever the man is. I loved that the rats were named after things they read on the garbage. Even though I thought Malicia was over the top, she did add to the fractured fairy tale vibe of this story. Each character was distinct and fun. The animation was top notch, and the voices were amazing.

5 of 5

The End

The bad guy was, as I mentioned, very creepy. His demise was both horrifying and satisfying. My only complaint was, once again, that Maurice’s arc felt flat and forced. His shining moment should have been more intense. His decision to put his friends over himself better grounded in his character.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

While I have a few complaints about the film, I did enjoy it. There were a handful of kids in the audience, and they thought it was great. Lots of laughs throughout the movie from everyone, and everyone walked out smiling.

4 of 5

Total: 35

That’s a Brown Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40