Month: November 2023

The Holdovers review

Posted on by jacobsonbblog

For my family the day after Thanksgiving is when we officially start the Christmas season. What better way to get into the Christmas spirit then reviewing a new Christmas (sort of) movie.  I mean “sort of” a Christmas movie in the way Die Hard or Gremlins are films that take place during Christmas. The Holdovers takes place during Christmas of 1970 and focuses on a prep school teacher named Paul Hunham played by Paul Giamatti who is forced to watch over students who can’t be with their families over Christmas break.

I first discovered this film from a trailer shown at Oppenheimer. What really hooked me was how the trailer was presented like one that was made in the 70s. This film really captures that 70s atmosphere thanks to the great cinematography. One of my favorite things in movies set in the past is when they used the old studio logo use in that time period. It’s a small but really neat detail that helps establish the setting. Since Focus Features and Miramax didn’t exist in the 70s, the people that made this film actually put in the effort of making brand new logos reminiscent of the 70s.

The writing in this film is hilarious and lot of dialogue got a huge laugh out of me. That said this writing is also very emotional. Director Alexander Payne’s films usually have a perfect balance between comedy and drama. The writing also goes great with the terrific acting. The biggest highlight has to be Paul Giamatti who is wonderfully as the jerk with a heart of gold teacher. Other standouts include Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb and Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully. I will admit that I felt that the other holdovers felt undeveloped since they leave by helicopter (makes sense in context) after 1/3 of the film. It’s kind of a shame because I thought they were interesting and it would’ve been nice to see them more fleshed out.

The Holdovers is a great “sort of” Christmas movie to start off the holiday season. It’s a perfect balance of laughs and emotional moments. Great acting, writing and full of 70’s nostalgia. Hope everyone has a great start to this merry season.  

Verdict:

+70s vibe

+The acting

+The writing

-Undeveloped students

Score: A

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off review

Posted on by jacobsonbblog

PRESS START

I wouldn’t consider myself a huge Scott Pilgrim fan. I’ve never read the graphic novels and have only seen Scott Pilgrim vs. the World twice. When I heard that Netflix would be doing an anime adaption of Scott Pilgrim in the same art style as the comics it caught my interest. What I got was a more faithful adaption………..OR WAS IT?!

SPOILER WARNING: The first episode pretty much starts out like the comics/film from Scott meeting Ramona up to when Scott faces off Matthew Patel…….and DIES! At first, I was like (was this something from the comics that was cut from the film?!”) It wasn’t until Matthew Patel defeats Gideon Graves where I realized this show was going in a different direction. Then it turns out someone took Scott. So instead of Scott fighting 7 evil exes, the story is about Ramona trying to solve the mystery of who took him which turns out to be his future self that actually defeated the evil exes and got Ramona. Basically this is huge deconstruction of the original story. Much like another recent “video game themed” Netflix show Captain Laserhawk I had no idea what direction this show was going.

This show is amazing to look at thanks to the amazing animation done by Science Saru. The whole show is exactly what it would be if the comics were animated. The character designs are well done and fit the character’s personalities. The fight scenes are also wonderfully animated. My favorite fight was the one between Ramona Flowers and Roxie Richter. Something I really liked about the 2010 film was the acting. Everyone felt perfectly casted and the fact that every actor from the film reprised their roles was a really huge and impressive feat. I can’t really picture anyone else replacing them. What I also really liked was that pretty much every character was fleshed out more than their film counterpart especially the 7 evil EX’s. I liked seeing them interacting more with other characters and I liked seeing Ramona reconcile with her exes.

The way Scott Pilgrim Takes Off deviates from the original kind of reminds me of Final Fantasy 7 Remake which is ironic because this an anime with a bunch of video game references. Honestly, I would say I enjoyed this so much more than the original film. I might even say this is in my top 5 favorite anime of all time. I may not have been a Scott Pilgrim fan in the past but this show might just have officially made me one now. It’s unpredictable and fun while still having the same charm as Bryan Lee O’Malley’s original story.

GAME OVER

Happy 10th Anniversary Steven Universe

Posted on by jacobsonbblog

We are the Crystal Gems, we’ll always save the day! And if you think we can’t, we’ll always find a way. That’s why the people of this world believe in Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl and Steven!

Happy 10th Anniversary to Steven Universe! It’s been 10 years since of my favorite cartoons of all time premiered. I’ve been writing about this show ever since I started this blog many years ago. Steven Universe is one of the most unique animated series I have ever seen and has been one of my biggest influences in my personal work. It has great animation, well written characters, beautiful music and songs, and mature themes that you don’t usually see in other cartoons. To honor this work of art I have updated my favorite characters/episodes lists and compiled a special new list of my favorite Steven Universe songs. 

Top 10 Favorite Characters

10. Lapiz Lazuli

9. Bismuth

8. Steven Universe

7. Greg Universe

6. Pearl

5. Garnet

4. Peridot

3. Spinel

2. Connie Maheswaran

1. Amethyst

Top 10 Favorite Episodes

10. Change your Mind

9. Hit the Diamon

8. The Trial

7. Alone Together

6. Back to the Barn

5. Rose’s Scabbard

4. Ocean’s Gem

3. Jailbreak

2. Sworn to the Sword

1. On the Run

Top 15 Favorite Songs

15. What’s the Use of Feeling Blue

14. Familiar

13. Let’s Only Think About Love

12. Happily Ever After

11. Strong in the Real Way

10. Something Entirely New

9. We Are the Crystal Gems

8. Love Like You

7. Drift Away

6. It’s Over isn’t it

5. Here Comes a Thought

4. Do It for Her

3. Other Friends

2. True Kinda Love

1. Stronger Than You

Thank You Rebecca Sugar and everyone who has worked on the show for making Steven Universe a part of our universe.