Superman (2025)

Sometimes, it helps to be old. Just not this time. If you’ve been around a while, you’ve seen so many iterations of this character that you can’t expect anything particularly new in yet another outing for the Man of Steel. So going in, if you’re not a child, expectations for this flick are low. That actually works to this pic's advantage, as it means that, if nothing is really screwed up, the odds turn heavily in the movie’s favor. And that’s mostly how it works out here. There are enough fresh elements in this presentation—most notably, the expanded context of Supe's story, including some decent supporting work from some slightly off-brand heroes—that even the weariest viewer will get a few kicks out of these proceedings. The film does include a few missteps—today’s Lois is not quite all that, and there’s a notable bit of condescension in the depiction of the Kents as flyover yokels—but ultimately, the story gets back to the core of the title character’s appeal: his choice to be one of us, not one above us. That rap has played well for almost a century now and it never really gets old…even if those of us who have seen it all before keep putting on the years. Oh, yeah, and the dog is fun, too. 

Strange World

More like 'subtext world.' Man, are there layers of not-so-subtle meaning in this piece—and that’s in just the first 20 minutes. A lot of that messaging is the sort of stuff makes Florida governor-types flip their lids, so it’s no wonder Disney has some wrestling matches on its hands. The messages and motives in and of themselves are relatively innocuous (alternative lifestyles as normal, ultra conscious ultra diversity, environmentalism, rejection of past legacies), but they are, in this context, so obvious as to be distracting. It can be hard to judge a movie like this just as a movie, on its merits as an entertainment, when the viewer has to sift through so much signaling to see the tale itself. When the viewer does get a grip on the tale itself, he finds two very big problems with it: a large dose of predictability and a central focus on a set of characters who are, thanks to their interpersonal conflicts playing out and overweening the story, rather unlikable and often tedious. The whole father-son battle had been done before, and this telling breaks no ground (other than perhaps the wrinkle that, when the battle moves into a third generation, it will have nowhere else to go, thanks to one character’s specific persona). As for the big reveal, it actually comes as no surprise at all to anyone paying close attention to the visuals—or, for that matter, anyone who has ever heard of that old chestnut “Fantastic Voyage.” Thus, the viewer is way ahead of the filmmakers by the time the rather ham-handed message delivery that spins off that reveal makes its arrival. Those visuals throughout are impressive in a standard 21st century animated work sort of way, but there’s nothing here that comes across as revolutionary in this work (and as the story setting is an entirely made up milieu, the animators can’t even get points for accuracy or realistic depiction). Finally, lest we forget—as if we are ever allowed to—this flick features yet another annoying sidekick critter, a Disney-standard trope that, through its inclusion here, heightens the sense that this film is largely formulaic in its construction. Overall, there isn’t enough here to declare this a bad movie, but there isn’t enough to exactly recommend it either.

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Expansion is sometimes a good thing, sometimes not. This movie here is a case in point. Overall, the story is a bit too ambitious; when the characters achieve their originally stated goal, it seems like a good place to wrap up the proceedings and call it game over. But then things move in an altogether new direction, and not always successfully. The additional plot and resolution does not really add anything onto the story that needed to be there, beyond making an animated movie feel more cinematic by virtue of its being what is generally regarded as feature length. But that’s not to say that all of the story’s twists and turns are unwelcome. There’s good stuff in this flick, especially when the thing turns kind of twisted and starts sending up its own studio’s sacred cows, which leads to many of the movie’s laugh-out-loud moments. On the downside, one thing that looms over the entire tale is its vision of the internet, which includes a slew of major names (almost certainly paid product placements) and is hard to view without considering, from today’s standpoint, how much of all that has proven to be problematic, if not outright malevolent. That drops a bit of a buzzkill onto the presentation. Still, there’s enough satisfying entertainment here to get this flick just over the threshold for a PURR rather than a MEOW. One might accept another sequel with this cast, if someone comes up with a truly fresh idea—there were certainly possible story developments left on the table in this outing—and if the filmmakers can get everyone (including the studio) on board for the ride. If not, this would probably be a fine time for this crew to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

Moana

There’s a reason why people go on vacations to tropical islands. As represented here, such places are empirically gorgeous, and that fact is brilliantly captured in this movie’s animation, which is a visual feast. Even when the story moves to the ocean the look of everything remains impressive. And that story itself is captivating and well-told, and it puts its cultural concepts to excellent use, giving the viewer a glimpse into a relatively unknown piece of the human experience. The storytelling here gets tremendous help from the presence of Auli'i Cravalho's title heroine, who is lovely and charming and very easy to root for. Her sidekick, Dwayne Johnson's Maui, is fine, providing humor where it works and an entertainingly enigmatic emotional presence in the rest of the tale. The movie isn’t perfect; there are one or two weak points. One issue that pops up early in the story: it's a bit hard to buy the flimsy pretext for part of the plot's main conflict; in reality, no community of islanders in the world would be that reticent about sailing the ocean, regardless of any person's backstory. And the comic relief is somewhat overdone in spots (we could use a little less of the chicken). But those are quibbles. All in all, the film is a delight to watch and upholds the standards of the best of the canon. The girl does indeed know where she’s going, and you’ll be rewarded for finding the way with her.

Big Hero 6

Yeah, it’s one of those movies where the principal characters are geniuses, but nobody knows how to pronounce “data.”  Make of that what you will. What was made of this story and script by the producers was a decent action flick, though one that—true to the legacy of actioners—doesn’t stand up to a lot of scrutiny. So definitely don’t overthink it. Most of what goes on here is entertaining enough, but it is curious in a number of ways. Why the made up, mashed up city? Probably because it was that way in the original book, but that doesn’t necessarily answer the question. Why did someone think that out-of-control tech would be a source of comedy? In fact, that’s getting less and less funny with each passing day. And, again, why is Disney so damn obsessed with dead parents? Ultimately, it all adds up to an enigmatic movie, one that’s enjoyable to some extent—certainly so in terms of the visuals, which are impressive all the way through, and in the character of Baymax, who is about the most endearing robot in all of cinema. But it's also a movie that leaves the viewer feeling that the final product could have been better. The patient survives, for sure, but maybe isn’t quite completely satisfied with his care.

Peter Pan & Wendy

This movie must believe in magic, as it wants things to both  be and not to be. It wants sympathy for its devil, it wants both sides of the battle to win, it wants everything to be everything. None of that is really possible, even in the Neverland that is cinema, so the film’s inherent contradictions stand out as a distraction for the viewer. What redeems the proceedings to a great extent is the movie’s stylish presentation; visually and tonally, it gets everything largely right. (One might quibble about a touch of the modern invading the original Edwardian setting, but the discrepancy is not great enough to ruin the experience.) One of the sharpest decisions, and in some ways the most surprising, is to not make the secondary children characters too cloying or outright annoying; they stay reigned in for the most part and allow the principle characters--who are all strongly played, and include an almost unrecognizable Jude Law as Hook--to make the story theirs. I’m not prepared to call this the best version of the story on film--the 2003 version continues to shine for me--but this is a strong effort overall (and exceeds the studio’s 1953 animated version by miles). I believe this one can fly, at least, if not actually soar to the stratosphere.

Rogue One

This movie may be 'exhibit A' for the principle that limitations to your storytelling may actually be a good thing. The producers of this flick knew going in what their story was and had to be, based on the parameters established going in by the franchise's original backstory. So they went out and made exactly that story, without messing around and trying to do too much. The result? A film that is clearly superior to The Force Awakens, one which makes nods to the canon but does so without recycling previous content in an egregious fashion. The implication is that this franchise might have more going for it in the future by exploring the spaces in between, rather than completing the main story arc. I can definitely see taking on more of these missions.

Frozen

Cute, charming, and enjoyable. That’s pretty much the extent of it--not a bad movie by any means, but certainly not the manna from heaven that everyone (seemingly) was declaring it to be when it hit the theaters. It does get points for being mildly provocative in its denouement, and the songs are catchy enough (though they oddly disappear about two-thirds of the way through); but there are obvious shortcomings. Take the look of the thing: the landscapes and “effects” parts of the rendering look fine, but the characters seem to be almost lacking in detail. So it’s good, just not that good.

(Re-review from 6/15/23) I must be getting soft in my old age.. Perhaps I was affected by the overwhelming positive response to this one upon first release; I have so much trouble with the nature of popularity. My original critique of the graphics remains; the animation, while impressive in some ways, is also oddly light on details in the character's appearance. Nevertheless, the rest of the film is a lot better than I originally gave it credit for. Good story, solid relationships between the principal cast members, and the songs—where they are there; as noted before, they kind of vanish part way through the running time—are outstanding, with great melodies and terrific lyrics. Sometimes your cynicism can get in the way more than it protects you; mine led me astray back in the day. Now, I’m old enough to know better, and that shows in seeing that, on second viewing, this is a better movie than I had imagined. That’s all right; being wrong never bothered me anyway. 

Wreck-it Ralph

Unlike many contemporary animation films, this movie breaks the template in important ways; for instance, there’s a decided lack of ginned up, vaguely false sentiment here. Where the emotional beats come, they are well earned. Also, the film’s intelligence really shines through in the execution; the filmmakers create a world with its own rules, and they adhere to those rules all the way through. It’s just a very smart film. And, to top it off, watching this flick is an extra hoot for anyone old enough to remember the originals of many of these games. Strong stuff indeed. Drop your coins in the slot and play this one all you like.

3:10 To Yuma

For all the shooting and other assorted noise, this powerful film is subtle and nuanced--almost philosophical--when it counts. Wonderful performances by Crowe and Bale as polar opposite characters--on different poles, separated by the entire globe, yet still on the same planet--lay the foundation for the story's stunning climax. Not to be missed.

Serenity

Flawed but entertaining, much like its television predecessor Firefly. The biggest flaw: sometimes the main plot feels less interesting than the secondary shenanigans--the action, the wit, the developed character interactions--but the overall story works, and is never so subordinate as to ground the whole flight. And when this ship soars, it soars. I'd be on board for more movies with this crew.