My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) - Movie Review

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a serious connection to all things associated with Cartoon Network, in particular growing up on the legendary Cartoon Cartoons block. From the pre-pubescent spy antics of Codename: Kids Next Door, to the superpowered comedy of the Powerpuff Girls, to the mad science capering of Dexter’s Laboratory, even the surprisingly emotional and poignant messages of Whatever Happened To Robot Jones?; these shows and others helped shape a lot of how I approach and appreciate media, and likely explains why I still hold a lot of respect for what children-centric entertainment is capable of.

 

Where am I going with all this and what does it have to do with anything? Well, considering my own liking for cartoons, including several that aren’t exactly aiming for my demographic, I have never really understood the disdain for bronies. And this isn’t even with hindsight; even at the height of its backlash, the seeming hatred for these people never made sense to me. Hell, I even joined in out of sheer social necessity, but it was always me playing to the crowd; even as the words “screw you, bronies” came out of my mouth, I still didn’t get the rationale of that statement.

With all that in mind, when today’s film was announced, I knew that I’d have to give my two cents on this whole thing before stepping into the realms that traditional masculinity seems to hate with a passion. Sure, I’m not all that familiar with the My Little Pony franchise myself, but I’ve watched a couple episodes of Friendship Is Magic and it’s honestly pretty good. Let’s get into this thing and see if there is something to it beyond “it’s based on a girly show”.

Spotlight (2016) - Movie Review

Over the last year and a bit that I’ve had this blog, I’ve talked before about people that are quote-unquote "easy targets"; people involved in films that, for one reason or another, it has become perfectly acceptable to mock. Sure, I still have my stable running joke of Jai Courtney being attached to mostly horrible films, but for the most part I am willing to let this kind of mindset go. The reason for that should be made most obvious by today’s film: Director/co-writer Tom McCarthy’s last film was the previously reviewed The Cobbler, a production that some people are still trying to insist is Adam Sandler’s worst film; and the other co-writer Josh Singer’s last effort was the much-maligned The Fifth Estate. Of course, maybe it helps that the above films are usually attributed as being an Adam Sandler and Benedict Cumberbatch film respectfully, meaning that they get the brunt of the blame for them despite the definite reality of things. In any case, now that they have a genuine winner on their hands, it seems like the need for scorn has ended… that is, until the next one comes along and the process starts all over again. Anyway, tangent, I have an actual film to talk about here.

The 5th Wave (2016) - Movie Review

If there’s one name that I have come to associate with sub-standard product, aside from our resident whipping boy Jai Courtney, it’s one all-time Hollywood hack by the name of Akiva Goldsman. Sure, he has a couple of winning films to his name like A Beautiful Mind and, depending on who you ask, I Am Legend, but as a whole, this man is responsible for a lot of shite as a screenwriter. Last year’s Insurgent, Winter’s Tale the year before, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, and let’s not forget the crowning jewel of bad comic book movies Batman & Robin; that’s a hefty platter for a single chef. With all this in mind, I look at today’s most recent YA adaptation with extreme scepticism; only this time, there’s more than definite reason for me to be so. But, given how lenient I’ve been with The Maze Runner and how much praise I’ve given to The Hunger Games, and knowing how it doesn’t get much worse than Divergent, I’m still willing to give this a chance. I’m holding out an idiot’s hope, aren’t I?