INTRO:

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

Synopsis:

Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.

BUDGET:

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has an estimated budget of $110 million dollars.

• It’ll easily surge past a billion dollars.

SETTINGS:

The world of Mario Galaxy is vibrant, busy and alive.

CHARACTERS:

• Glen Powell Fox McCloud(voice)
• Anya Taylor-Joy Princess Peach(voice)
• Chris Pratt Mario(voice)
• Jack Black Bowser(voice)
• Brie Larson Rosalina(voice)
• Benny Safdie Bowser Jr.(voice)
• Keegan-Michael Key Toad(voice)
• Charlie Day Luigi(voice)
• Donald Glover Yoshi(voice)

HITS:

• Throwbacks to the super scope 6.
• Luigi uses Super Mario Bros. 3's Frog Suit power-up to defeat a Big Bertha fish.
• The Gateway Galaxy information desk is manned by R.O.B. and he does the slow moving bit.
• Image of Slippy Toad from Star Fox 64.
• Baby Mario even plays the Mario theme on his teeth.
• Yoshi eats and expels Francis the dog from the first movie.
• Yoshi was a fun addition.
• Short runtime (99 minutes).

MISSES:

• I disliked the storyline for Bowser. The bad guy trying to be good is overdone in Hollywood. No more conflicted bad guys.
• The story overall is convoluted.
• Fox McCloud is a cool addition but unnecessary as the cast felt bloated.
• Welcome to the super princess world. Princess Daisy is up next! Yes, have princesses in the movie, but don’t make a Mario movie about them.
• The nihilistic Lumalee is back to ensure you're going to have awkward conversations about death with your 5 year old.
• The voices didn’t all land as well as in the first movie.
• This sequel lacked the heart of the first movie.

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MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

DIRECTION: B (four directors)

WRITING: D Matthew Fogel (convoluted story).

ANIMATION: A

POST PRODUCTION (score/sfx/edit/color grade) A

REWATCHABILITY: C

INTRO:

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of The Running Man. This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

CORRECTION:

• Predator Badlands dropped off the face of the earth and looks like it will lose money

BUDGET:

The Running Man has an estimated budget of $110 million dollars.

• Currently bombing

SETTINGS:

The world of The Running Man is a combination of grungy and futuristic. It blends perfectly with the concept of the movie which is both dystopian and a technologically advanced surveillance state. I really liked the dark grungy look of the rundown areas juxtaposed to the high-end studio we’re introduced to. I can’t say enough good things about the choices made.

CHARACTERS:

• Glen Powell as Ben Richards
• Josh Brolin as Dan Killian
• William H. Macy as Molie Jernigan
• Lee Pace as Evan McCone (the lead hunter)
• Colman Domingo as the game show host Bobby T. Thompson
• Michael Cera as Elton Parrakis plays a character with an axe to grind
• Scott Pilgrim!
• Emilia Jones as Amelia Williams
• Her role is the worst part of the movie!
• We get a lecture on wealth and how wrong it is.
• Daniel Ezra as Bradley Throckmorton
• He’s an anonymous YouTuber type character exposing truth.
• Jayme Lawson stars as Sheila Richards
• She does fine acting
• However I don’t believe their relationship

HITS:

• Fun Twink cereal lifetime supply pay off
• Bold choices in direction and cinematography
• Cinematography when Ben matches the wanted poster
• BobbyT. is great!
• Josh Brolin is fantastic!
• Great reveal when it comes to the Lee Pace character
• The overall look and feel of the sets
• The YouTube style videos and conspiracy style content
• Resisting the establishment

MISSES:

• Conflicted character actions
• Ben spares a vicious hunter after killing others
• Too much misdirection
• I don’t buy the relationship between Ben and Sheila.
• There’s simply no chemistry
• The sick baby trope is uninspired
• Stop lecturing your audience!
• You can include themes without telling people what to think
• The movie is too long

MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

DIRECTION: C (Edgar Wright)

WRITING: C (Steven King adaptation) (Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright)

CINEMATOGRAPHY: B (Chung Chung-hoon)

POST PRODUCTION (score/sfx/color grade): B

REWATHABILITY: C

INTRO:

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of Disney’s Predator: Badlands.

This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

BUDGET:

Predator Badlands cost $105 million dollars to make. It would appear the 20th Century Studios (a Walt Disney Company) is going to make money. That hasn’t been a very common occurrence lately in film.

SETTINGS:

I didn’t like the scaled down look of Yautja Prime. From the lack of scale to the hazy look, I wasn’t a fan at all. When I say scale I don’t simply mean the size of the area. I like to see expansive worlds that are populated. There were parts of the planet Genna that felt expansive but it mostly felt like we were in front of a green screen for two hours. If your budget wasn’t $105 million dollars I’d let it slide.

CHARACTERS:

• Dek portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. The concept is universal so it works for the most part. I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around all the emotional dynamics of a human family coming from Predators.
• Thia & Tessa portrayed by Elle Fanning. The first several minutes of Thia’s appearance were like nails on a chalkboard! She was so annoying that I regretted going to the film. Over time, thankfully, that leveled off. That dynamic works in many different types of movies, just not a Predator movie. She was the comic relief that had a strange motivation that I didn’t quite understand because they didn’t give us any insight on how or why she was so connected to Tessa. The Tessa version was a one-note villain that doesn’t hesitate to lie to Mu/TH/UR.
• Father is portrayed by Reuben de Jong.
• Kwei is portrayed by Michael Homik.
• Bud is the baby Grogu style ripoff. She’s even referred to as a baby Kalisk. She’s funny and extremely important to the story but the comedy distracts from what a typical Predator movie should be.

HITS:

• The concept of going on an adventure to prove your worth is tried and true.
• The action sequences work well and are exhilarating in most instances.
• If they were going for a couples or family movie they hit the mark. I was about 20 minutes in when I said to myself, “oh, this is a couples/family movie.”
• The marketing appears to have worked as the first weekend was pretty solid.
• I like that they attempted to go in a different direction with the franchise even though it doesn’t work for me.

MISSES:

• This is a predator movie in name only.
• This is a human storyline portrayed by brand name that sells tickets.
• The overall look and lack of scale detract from the movie.
• I didn’t sign up for this style of Predator movie. Subverting expectations can work when you stay in the confines of the source material (which they didn’t).
• The father son conflict dynamic is pushed beyond belief.
• The brother references being saved by Dek but they don’t show it.
• The hunt seems irrelevant to the story which is simply a revenge story. Especially once Dek knows he won’t kill the kalisk. So why are we going on this adventure again?
• They borrowed from too many franchises and genres to list.

MOVIE SCORE: 5/10

DIRECTION: C

WRITING: D

CINEMATOGRAPHY: C

POST PRODUCTION (INCLUDES: SCORE, SFX, COLOR GRADE) : D

REWATCHABILITY: D

1 Awful content = Fails on every single level.

2-4 Poor = Terrible on almost every front.

5 Mediocre = Some of the content is worthwhile but mostly broken.

6 Average = Okay writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

7 Good = Solid writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

8 Great = Great writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

9 Almost Perfect = Very minor nitpicks but otherwise excellent.

10 Perfect = A masterpiece! No writing, acting or storytelling flaws. Would hold up against all time classics (e.g. M.A.S.H., Lost, Game of Thrones etc).