Kung Fu Panda 2 might be one of the biggest upgrades for a sequel throughout film history and feels like an outlier in an otherwise just fine franchise. The villain is legitimately scary, and the story surrounding him feels legitimately edgy, and not just in a "I can't believe this is in an American animated blockbuster" way. Visually, this film constantly stuns in how it uses the lighting and occasional artstyle shifts to really pack a punch. The fight choreography…
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Kung Fu Panda 2008
Kung Fu Panda was a phenomenon of a movie I never quite understood. It's slightly more sincere than the average DreamWorks film at the time, and when it aims to be spiritual or an action movie, it works well. Unfortunately, the comedy never really works and the story never rises above a typical underdog martial arts movie. Kung Fu Panda is a decent kids flick, but it's never worked for me beyond that. A solid watch that doesn't really transcend its demographic.
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Society of the Snow 2023
Please don't view this as a review; this is a log first and foremost because honestly, I think Netflix is becoming just an issue to me. Bayona's direction here is clearly top-notch and I should find this story fascinating, but the way the Netflix gloss and bloat clearly affect the film left me more bored than I should've been. I imagine that wouldn't have been an issue in theaters, where I would've gladly sought this out had it played at…
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Nimona 2023
Nimona is obviously made with love and care, with beautiful art direction and a well-realized fantasy world that feels genuinely like it's never been put to screen before. Unfortunately, the pacing is incredibly out-of-whack with the dialogue falling into the cliches that exhaust in American animation way too often. Riz Ahmed is the obvious highlight here; one wishes they could've found a way to tell his story with the titular character taking it over from him. Some might say that…
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The Emoji Movie 2017
Move over Christopher Nolan! The Emoji Movie is easily the greatest film of 2017 and a striking condemnation of all who have insulted its very existence. A brilliant commentary of how the modern world's over-reliance on texting and pictures to portray emotion, this film does exactly that. When Gene the Meh Emoji is denied the love of his father because he actually enjoys being alive, it's a perfect representation of how toxic masculinity prevents one feeling emotions other than raw…
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The Nice Guys 2016
The Nice Guys is ridiculously fun. There's no other way to describe it. It's a solid two hours of non-stop enjoyment, even with a couple of flaws here and there. Before talking about those issues though, let's dwell for a bit on what makes this a truly brilliant summer blockbuster - or at least, what would make it so if audiences had embraced it. Instead, it will have to be happy with being an underseen gem.
The fun of The…