Don't Look Up (2021) - Movie Review

I wanted to like this. I want to like just about everything I watch, but especially this. After Adam McKay found an interesting new direction with ensemble-cast satire based on real-world events with The Big Short, and then slipped in my favour after Vice, I wanted to see him come back on top. This kind of production, a close-to-the-bone allegory for the modern discourse involving man-made climate change and what it’s doing to the planet, is something that could use a bit of levity to clear things up. A splash of comedy to help drive home how important the issue is, and how important it is for us to take it seriously. But that’s not what we get. In fact, for as iffy as I was about Vice, I am all kinds of done with this fucking thing.

A Fall From Grace (2020) - Movie Review

Well… since I’m still in isolation, looks like I’ll have to subside my hunger with VOD and streaming. Not entirely sure why I decided to go with this release in particular, but now that I have a better idea in my head about who Tyler Perry even is as a creative, I feel like I can approach this with more certainty than I did A Madea Family Funeral. See, when Tyler actively sets out to make a comedy, his weak-ass sense of character and comedic timing makes the more overwrought, melodramatic aspects shine through more so than the supposed selling point. But when he tries to make a thriller, you start to wonder why he ever had trouble making people laugh.

A Madea Family Funeral (2019) - Movie Review

Always good to start checking out a trend right when it’s supposed to be ending, right? Yeah, I haven’t really discussed Tyler Perry’s work as a filmmaker on this blog before; hell, I’ve only seen one film he’s directed other than this one with Acrimony, which was basically Gone Girl except every single wrong decision was made during production. As such, I don’t have a whole lot of experience with the character that basically made Tyler Perry famous, save for a few stray clips here and there from videos made by other critics.

However, since this is apparently the guy who’s been dominating a sizeable amount of black cinema in the United State for the last decade and a half, and a lot of my reviews this month have been looking back at what’s made this decade’s cinema what it is, I figure this would at least give me some material to work with. And to its credit, it certainly did… along with the feeling that I was better off just leaving these things alone.

The Star (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: Grain mill donkey Bo (Steven Yeun) dreams of being part of the royal caravan in Jerusalem. However, once he notices a particularly bright star in the sky, he realizes that something special is about to happen. With Dave the dove (Keegan-Michael Key) and Ruth the sheep (Aidy Bryant) in tow, he sets out to find Mary (Gina Rodriguez) and Joseph (Zachary Levi), who are about to be parents to the saviour of all humanity.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (2016) - Movie Review

At the beginning of last year, I briefly talked about the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie… and how I honestly liked it while the rest of the world seemingly didn’t. And you know what, after watching it again fairly recent in preparation for this review, I stand by it. I don’t have the greatest personal connection with the franchise, only watching a couple episodes of the original cartoon and the Kevin Munroe TMNT film, but from what I understand of the series ethos, this seemed alright. It’s not great, don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of comedic dead spots, the CGI takes a bit of getting used to (although, again, I have no real issue with it) and there is a very definite feeling that the filmmakers weren’t sure of how seriously to take the idea of large humanoid turtles as the main characters. But, considering how badly Platinum Dunes had done up to that point with pre-existing material, it was a decent watch. Hell, I am probably one of the few people on Earth who honestly wanted this sequel to happen. All aboard the karma train.