This Netflix original is nothing mind-blowing, nor does it approach Pixar’s heights, but it’s still pretty entertaining in its own right (especially John Cho as the voice of the titular dragon). There are definitely worse things to watch on a family movie night.
My Cultural Diet
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Curse of Chalion is one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. This novella is set in the same world, though a century earlier. It’s a nice return to the World of the Five Gods, but does pale in comparison to Bujold’s novels set in that mythical world.
When is a Godzilla title not a Godzilla title? When it’s Godzilla Singular Point. Sure, there are plenty of kaiju and even a version of Jet Jaguar, but it’s bogged down with technobabble about ancient prophecies, extra-dimensional lifeforms, time-bending supercomputers, and something called an “Orthogonal Diagonalyzer.” I guess I want more spectacle from a Godzilla title, and less labyrinthian, Evangelion-esque mythology.
I liked the film’s concept and the first half is filled with delights not too dissimilar from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Unfortunately, the script feels unfinished. Several story points just end and aren’t explored to a satisfying degree despite being presented as really significant. As such, the film founders about halfway through. I did appreciate its underlying anti-elite message; I just wish more had been done with it.
I’m pretty sure that if I’d seen this back in high school, when I was discovering anime, it would’ve blown me away and seemed really radical and subversive. As it stands, it’s a decent hard sci-fi film with a dystopic bent and some bizarre mecha designs, though the mid ’80s animation and gratuitous content haven’t aged too well.
I’ve always found classic serials from ’30s and ’40s fascinating. This one’s a bit less exciting than its premise — a hotshot pilot must protect an anti-gravity device from smugglers — might otherwise suggest, but it has the requisite damsels in distress and ridiculous cliffhangers. That being said, the real aerial stunts are pretty cool to watch.
I wanted to like this way more than I did, but I could never figure out the tone. Was it a black comedy like Four Lions, a parody of spy thrillers, or a spy thriller in its own right? Not that it couldn’t be a mix of those, of course, but not knowing how to react to, say, Gary Oldman’s scene-chewing was frustrating.
I watched the original Rescue Rangers quite a bit as a kid, so I suppose I was the target audience for this modern spin. Its barrage of post-modern pastiches, pop culture references, and self-referential humor were, by turns, amusing and annoying. But mostly amusing.
I mainly watched this because it’s from the director and star of Netflix’s Lupin, which we really enjoyed last year. As a buddy cop movie, The Takedown has its moments, but it really just made me want the third season of Lupin to get here even sooner.
Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham are a pretty strong combo, but this felt like it was trying to be a lot moodier and more intense than it actually was.
Aviation-themed anime from the early ’00s. Cool aerial sequences but a muddled plot about artificial intelligence, alien invasions, and PTSD (among other things).
I liked this better than Black Helicopters, but I still think Agents of Dreamland is the best of the trilogy.
I know Zio’s makes good pizza, but it doesn’t really travel well for takeout. Plus, they got our order wrong this time.
Is there such a thing as a too-sarcastic Ryan Reynolds? This might be it. I had high hopes going into this, given that it was by the same team that gave us 2021’s Free Guy — which was honestly way better than it had any right to be. But while The Adam Project is enjoyable enough, it wasn’t as interesting, novel, or enjoyable as Free Guy.
It pains me to rate a Jackie Chan movie so low, but compared to the first Police Story, this one feels underwhelming. The cafe and playground brawls are still topnotch Jackie action, though.
Really enjoyable action scenes, but the comedy was too broad and over-the-top. Still undecided as to whether I’ll watch the sequel or not.
I enjoyed this well enough when I was reading, but it didn’t leave much of an impression.