JacobsonCinema

This year Disney released a short film called Once Upon a Studio which was suppose to release with Wish. Once Upon a Studio is about Mickey Mouse getting almost every Disney character from the studio (not counting Pixar) for a group photo to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Disney animation. Every character in this short is animated in their original art styles and. Every film in the canon gets representation and we see a lot of great interactions between these characters with a lot of the actors reprising their roles. The ending where everyone sings When You Wish upon a Star is very touching. Once Upon a Studio is the best thing Disney has made this year. It’s a funny, touching and of course wonderfully animated love letter to 100 years of animation.

Score: A+++++++

Wish takes place in the kingdom of Rosa where people come here to make a wish and once every year the ruler of Rosa King Magnifico grants one. The protagonist Asha wants him to grant her grandfather’s wish but is denied. That night she makes a wish which takes the form of a little star. King Magnifico gets word of this and decides to take him at all cost. Asha is a very standard Disney protagonist. She’s performed well by but she just doesn’t stand out compared to other Disney protagonists. The biggest highlight of the film is the villain King Magnifico played by Chris Pine. While he isn’t the strongest Disney villain it was refreshing to see a villain from Disney that wasn’t either a twist villain, a force of nature villain, or even a redeemed villain. Chris Pine really sounds like he’s having a blast being over the top evil and hammy.

Unlike previous Disney movies which kind of looked the same, Wish tried to do something unique with its animation. The backgrounds look like illustrations from a storybook and they look really neat. I do think it would’ve been cool if it was in 2D but that’s just me. The songs are kind of a hit or miss for me, there not particularly awful there just not really that memorable. Some songs I liked were “At All Costs” and “This Wish” because they felt quieter and epic. The other songs however feel too upbeat. This film has a bunch of Disney references for example in the end Star gives Asha a robe and wand that’s very similar to the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella and her friends are expies of the seven dwarfs. Unlike OUAS a lot of the references felt very forced especially near the end. There were a few touches I actually liked. One is in the opening which uses “a WALT DISNEY Feature Presentation” in the exact same font as from Snow White’s. Also, it’s kind of nice seeing Walt in. The other is the end credits which shows star shaped forms of characters from almost every Disney movie. They literally showed Aladar from Dinosaur and Chicken Little! It’s a really cute way to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Disney animation.

I kind honestly see why Disney decided to show Once Upon a Studio a month earlier so it wouldn’t upstage this movie since that short felt more like a better love letter. Disney’s Wish is as ok a run of the mill Disney animated movie can be. It’s a fine tribute to 100 years of Disney animation but I still wish (pun intended) it showed more of it’s potential.

Verdict:

+ King Magnifico

+ The Animation

+/- Songs

-Asha

-Forced references

Score: B

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

Part two of Barbieheimer. While I’ve said before that I’m not a huge fan of Christopher Nolan. I’m not saying I hate his films there just not my style. I do however respect him and his contributions to the film industry. His most recent film Oppenheimer is Nolan’s first biopic film. Pretty much my biggest nitpick is the long runtime. Much like Avatar: Way of Water my family and I went to a specific movie theater with recliner seats. It especially felt too long around the third half of the film after the trinity test.

Speaking of which, the main reason I saw this film was the Trinity Test scene which was handled very well. I hear that CGI was barely used during production so I’m very impressed with how they did this. I love how the explosion is shown in silence which gave it more suspense and the aftershock sound actually caught me off guard. It’s also kind of funny that Josh Peck plays the guy who presses the button. The film also delves into the morally ambiguousness of the bomb very well. What really made this scene and this whole movie in general great is Christopher Nolan’s terrific directing. The use of black and white for the present scenes is a brilliant idea.

This film has a huge all-star cast full of famous actors such as Matt Damon, Gary Oldman, and Rami Malik who all give wonderful performances. However, the two biggest highlights were Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. Cillian Murphy who is a regular collaborator in Nolan films is great as the titular character. I remember seeing a picture of the real Oppenheimer at the World War 2 museum in New Orleans and Cillian looks pretty much identical to the real guy. Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss is a great antagonistic foil to Oppenheimer. Both work off each other wonderfully and I love how both sides have good/bad points. Keeps it from being black and white.

If you had to make me choose between Barbie and this, I honestly say while Barbie is my favorite Oppenheimer is a stronger and better put together film. This is one of Christopher Nolan’s strongest films he has directed. Now if you excuse me, I got to get ready for this year’s “Barbieheimer” of video games which are Marvel’s Spider Man 2 and Super Mario Wonder.

Verdict:

+Cillian Murphy

+Nolan’s directing

+Robert Downey Jr.

+Trinity Test

-The runtime

Score: A-

Turtle Power!

Fun fact: I was introduced to the TMNT franchise through the 2003 show on Miguzi (aka Cartoon Network). What’s funny is that I didn’t know it was an older franchise until one day my Dad rented a videotape which had the first episodes of the 1987 show. Not even one year after Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie released on Netflix; Nickelodeon released another film this time theatrical titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem. Unlike other TMNT films this is more of a coming-of-age story compared to the others.

This film has my favorite interpretation of the turtles. Why? Because unlike other adaptions where the actors playing the turtles sound more like adults trying to play teens, these turtles sound and act like actual teens. What really helps it that they hired actual teens to play them which I think is very refreshing. All four are very enjoyable and work off each other wonderfully. Speaking of which the voice acting in this film is so good. Everyone sounds like there having a lot of fun and not one of the characters felt miscasted.

When I found out Nickelodeon would release another TMNT film one year after Rise I was neutral on it, but once I saw the animation in the trailer I was immediately hooked. This film is amazing to look at. I love that while it has the same animation style as Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots the Last Wish it still has its own unique look and identity. The action scenes are awesome and thanks to its fast and unique animation. The character designs are great especially since they were inspired by the director Jeff Rowe’s old sketches he drew as a teen. New York City is also amazing to look at because of its great comic bookish look.

I will admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of the TMNT franchise but this film might just have made me a fan now. I don’t think any TMNT movie before has ever had this much passion or heart. You really feel like this was a story that Seth Rogan and Jeff Rowe really wanted to tell. Mutant Mayham is the best TMNT film by a long shot and my favorite adaption in the whole franchise. Grab a piece of peanut butter, and hot fudge pizza and enjoy.

Verdict:

+Action scenes

+The animation

+The voice talent

+The turtles

Score: A

Malibu Barbie, the nightmare, the nerve

Barbie 2023 is directed by Greta Gerwig who’s also directed acclaimed films such as Ladybird and Little Women 2019. It is also the first live action adaption of the popular doll that’s both not animated or direct to video. I first thought this would be a meh live action toy adaption much like the Transformers movie but it turned out to be a clever deconstruction on Barbie. When I saw the trailer for this film, I was won over by the production design of Barbieland. Every house in Barbie land is literally a Barbie doll house. This film did not have to go this hard. Apparently, there was a pink shortage because of this film.

Everyone in this movie gives a great performance but the two biggest standouts were Margot Robbie as “Stereotypical Barbie” and Ryan Gosling as “Beach Ken”. Both roles are absolutely perfectly casted. Margot Robbie really nails the typical barbie we all know while also making you feel for her when she goes thought such a huge identity crisis.  Ryan Gosling was absolutely entertaining as Ken. Spoiler: I was surprised that Ken becomes the villain of the movie after he learns about toxic masculinity. I also thought Will Ferrell was really hilarious as the Mattel CEO. When the duo enters the real world, I was worried it would be that typical real life sucks trope I’ve seen, but was surprised that there was a lot of comedy during their time there. It’s kind of like season 3 of Amphibia in which Anne’s home has characters that have just as much life and energy and humor as the frogs in Amphibia. There are so many great jokes that poke fun at the history of Barbie. The journey to the real world gag is absolutely hilarious.

The best movie I can compared this to is The Lego Movie. The trailers made them seem more like fun movies just to sell toys but turned out to be very thought provoking full of wonderful writing, self-poking comedy and deep themes. Barbie was the biggest surprise of 2023 so far. I want a Depression Barbie for Christmas now, make is happen Mattel!

Verdict:

+ Deep themes

+The casting especially Margot and Ryan

+ The comedy

+ The production design

Score: A

Nimona was originally being made by Blue Sky studios who are known for Ice Age. After Disney bought Fox they shut down the studio thus cancelling the film. Fortunately, Annapurna Pictures revived the film and it released on Netflix. The film is about a former knight Ballister Boldheart who was framed for murdering the queen and is branded a bad guy. He meets a shapeshifter named Nimona who wants to be his villain sidekick even though he doesn’t want to. Both join forces to find out who framed him. SPOILER: The director being the one who framed Ballister was kind of obvious from the start, even if you didn’t read the book. At least the reveal wasn’t at the very end of the movie like most twist villains.

The biggest positives of this movie are the animation and voice acting. The animation in this film uses a lot of cel shading similar to the Spider-Verse films and Puss in Boots: the Last Wish. It gives the character designs, action scenes, and setting a more cartoonish feel. Speaking of setting I really like the world this film takes place in. It feels like a mix between futuristic and medieval. The voice acting is really good and each one in this movie gives such a tremendous performance.  Standouts include Riz Ahmed as Ballister and Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin. The VIP of this film however was the titular character herself Nimona no contest. Chloë Grace Moretz is having such a blast playing this character that has so much energy and life to her.

If this were still a Blue Sky film, I’d say this was there best film and a great swan song for them. It’s beautiful to look at, funny, and touching. I have never read the original graphic novel but after seeing this I might have to find a copy at Barnes and Noble.

Verdict:

+Great animation

+Nimona herself

+Voice acting

+The setting

-Obvious culprit

Score: A