Disney has not released two Disney movies in one year since 2002. Those being Lilo and Stich and Treasure Planet which the directors of Moana also directed.

The characters are really likable. Moana is a good main protagonist and Maui is a great deuteragonist. It’s also great that they don’t end up being a romantic couple at the end. Friendship is enough. Hei Hei is enjoyably stupid and Tamatoa while not in the movie that much is entertaining and even has a great reference to another Disney crab after the end credits. Even things like the ocean and Maui’s tatoo act like characters. There interactions with Moana, Maui, and Hei Hei are a lot of fun.

The songs are very catchy and Oscar worthy. The best songs to me are How Far I’ll Go, You’re Welcome, and Shiny. The Polynesian scenery is beautiful. I love it because it reminds me of my trips to Hawaii. I went on a vacation to Maui this year. I was vacation on Dwayne The Rock Johnson! LOL. The movie does have a surprise villain much like the last four Disney movies before this but it’s cleverly subverted.  Instead of having the innocent character being revealed to be the villain in the last third Te Ka turns out the be Te Fiti (who was mentioned in the beginning). Te Ka’s not really the main villain, she’s just an obsticle that Moana and Maui go through on their adventure much like Tamatoa.

The only problem I do have with this movie is that it’s not really groundbreaking compared to the animated movies this year. It’s not as creative as Zootopia, or as emotional as Finding Dory, or even original as Kubo and the Two Strings. But it’s a nitpick.

I should also talk about the short Inner Workings. It’s kind of like Inside Out if it focused on the inner body parts like the brain and heart. The comedy is funny and the characters designs are creative too. It’s a really fun short to follow before a fun Disney movie.

My brother said that this is Brave done right and I agree. Moana is a very fun Disney movie and one of the best animated movies of 2016.

Verdict:
+ The characters
+ The songs
+ Beautiful scenery
+ Surprise villain subversion
+ Inner Workings short
–  Not really groundbreaking

Score: A

It’s like what Bandit Kieth from Yu-Gi-Oh this is Harry Potter in America.

Harry Potter is my favorite movies series of all time. I love the world it takes place in and I love the overall story. It still bugs me that the series has not won one Oscar. Now we have a new movie based on a Hogwarts text book. That might sound odd for a adaptation but it does work.

The film has the same magical feeling that the Harry Potter series has and it was nice to return to the wizarding world again. The movie literally starts off with the famous Harry Potter theme. The magic surround New York City is creative and reminds me a lot of wizarding world back in England. There are however some subplots that don’t really shine well with the film’s plot like Graves and Credence looking for some ghost like monster that turns out to be Credence the whole time.

Eddie Redmayne does a good job at playing the author of the Hogwarts text book Newt Scamander. However while he’s good the rest of the characters while not bad are not very memorable compared to the cast of the original Harry Potter series. Colin Farrel’s character Percival Graves seems to change character throughout the movie. The twist with Gellert Grindelwald at the end while cool is a little odd. Especially since Gellert is played by Johnny Depp.

The beasts are really impressive and are the highlights of the movie. My personal favorite beast in the movie is the Occamy. Just so you know who it is it’s the blue bird snake like beast that  can grow or shrink in order to fit in available space. It looks so cute and the way they capture it is awesome.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a good follow up to the great fantasy series we know and love. I would say that this movie ranks in between the 8 Harry Potter movies. I can’t wait to see where J.K Rowling takes this series.

Verdict:
+Same magical feel
+Creative beasts
+Eddie Redmayne
-Meh characters
-Meh sub plots

Score: A-

I will be doing a ranking of the Harry Potters movies.

“Forget everything you think you know”

Doctor Strange is the next movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now it’s time to check out the trippy world of Strange.

Let’s talk about the best thing and that’s the visuals. They are so trippy, imaginative and mind blowing. There’s one part where Strange’s fingers turn into little hands and those fingers on the little hands turn into little hands and so on. I know it’s called Doctor Strange but this is ridiculous. The climax has Doctor Strange use the Eye of Agamotto to reverse time and while there fighting Kaecilius everything is going backwards. The trippy visuals help make the action scenes very creative and awesome to watch. I can see this movie getting nominated at the Academy Awards for best visual effects. I’d even goes as far and predicting this movie to win.

There are also other great stuff too. Benedict Cumberbatch is a fantastic choice for Doctor Strange. The comedy is also fun. I think one of the funniest scenes was where Doctor Strange uses his powers to take some books while Wong is listening to Beyonce. The way Strange defeats Dormammu is also clever and funny. The cloak of levitation reminds me a lot of the magic carpet from Aladdin. It’s a object that feels like a character.

The movie however does have the same problems that most Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have. One is the formula. This rich successful guy gets into an accident and is permanently changed. He uses this change and becomes a superhero. Notice how similar that is to Iron Man? The other problem is the villain. Kaecilius is just your typical “I want immortality” type of villain.  He’s not even the main villain, he’s just a henchmen to Dormammu which thank god he wasn’t this some giant space fart like Galactus. At least Dormammu looked cool.

The post credit scenes are really nice. The one with Thor sets up Thor Ragnarok. I hope Doctor Strange will be in Thor Ragnarok.

If I were to rank this movie I’d rank it near the same level as Ant Man. I can’t decide which one is better but there both really good movies.

Verdict:
+ Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
+ Great visuals
+ Fun Comedy
– Same Marvel formula
– The villain again

Score: A-

Spoilers: Who else knew ahead of time that the Eye of Agamotto was an infinity stone? Because I did.