This was such a lovely movie. I enjoyed it a lot. It was sweet and emotional and heartbreaking and fun. Also, I have not read the book.

Before the movie started, we got a poster, a set of stickers and a necklace as promotional items. And then we saw footage from a live (I think it was recorded earlier in the day from a California screening) Q&A screening with the director and three of the four leads. McKenna Grace wasn’t there but she sent in a video. It was a nice conversation and the cast seemed to really get along. And they all had wonderful things to say about McKenna.

I of course have known of Dave Franco for years, and he did a great job as expected. In the Q&A recording, he mentioned that it was nice to play a good character and not a jerk as some of his other roles have been, haha.

Allison Williams did an amazing job at such a difficult character. Everything her character went through really was felt through her acting.

Mason Thames is certainly having a great year! As in his role as Hiccup earlier this year, I really enjoyed his work here. He portrayed this character in a real and vulnerable way. He was in a third thing recently and I didn’t know what it was, I’ll have to look into it.

McKenna Grace is such a fantastic actress. I’ve seen her in her roles as a kid in shows for years and I’m so glad that she was cast in this role. She did a brilliant job. She went through such a range of emotions during the movie and I felt them all. The joy, pain and everything else was masterfully acted. I can’t wait to see her in more things.

The rest of the cast was also great. The comedic characters were fun and I also want to see more from them. There were even a couple big names that showed up who I didn’t know were in this, so it was nice to see them show up.

Some plot was a bit easy to figure out, but it still hit hard when they happened. Dave Franco said that there will be times when you’ll want to be frustrated with the characters decisions and feel free to yell at the screen, haha. There were certainly moments where I felt like that. But I loved the journey that every character went through.

This movie is certainly good to watch during various times in people’s lives. You see the point of view from everyone and it’s relatable, even if you’ve not gone through the things that happen here, you can empathize and see where everyone is coming from. That remains the same for the mistakes that characters made. I would indeed recommend Regretting You.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene/more from the Q&A: Nope

Well, that was delightful.

I really enjoyed this movie! It certainly was just as good as the first movie. Even though there were two swaps, the pacing of being with each of the four characters worked pretty well.

Of course, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis did fantastic jobs again as the two youngest characters. And it was nice to see Mark Harmon and the other returning cast members. And Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons did great jobs as the daughters, both as themselves and during the swap. Also, Manny Jacinto did a great job as Anna’s fiancé!

Regarding the plot, basically the same as the first movie, so, nothing too complicated. And I think all the elements worked well together. There a number of call-backs and I enjoyed them all. I think there was even a small The Parent Trap (1998) reference too.

This was just a fun heartfelt movie. Plenty of jokes covering all ages. I was laughing at some moments really hard! And there’s also plenty of second-hand embarrassment to go around, haha.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope, but plenty of bloopers! (I miss those being in the mid-credits of movies!)

End-credit scene: Nope.

July 28, 2025

Before I start this, I will be making a SDCC post soon. Could be Wednesday or over the weekend, it’ll be a long post. And either way, my normal comic posts will be on Thursday or Friday.

Alrighty then!

FANTASTIC FOUR!!

That was a superb movie! I have similar feelings for this as I did for Superman. The themes were ones of life, change, hope and family.

The main cast, of course were all amazing. I loved each of the four. They felt like the characters I’ve been reading comics about for years. I can’t wait to see more of them as we go.

The antagonists were very well-done as well. The Silver Surfer was portrayed in a quintessential way. She was all that she had to be. Whether Shalla-Bal, or Norin Rad, the core essence of the character worked. Galactus was, well, Galactus. He was well acted, and the visuals of him were perfectly grand in scope as we’ve all wanted for 20 years since the cloud we do not speak of. He was menacing, something to be feared above all else. A commanding presence.

There were a couple side characters, but none of them were really focused on, and I was okay with that because of all that this movie was doing. Having said that, the story was relatively simple and that worked really well. I wonder if we’ll get more time with any of them in the future.

I mentioned the visuals of Galactus, but the visuals of almost everything else were just gorgeous!! There was only one visual that was odd to me, but it didn’t change anything about the rest of the movie. Plus, seeing this in RealD 3D was probably one of the best 3D experiences I’ve had in a while. Lately, IMAX 3D hasn’t felt as grand as it should. I don’t know if that’s because fewer movies are being shot with the intent on being in 3D, but this one certainly looked amazing. The depth of field was perfect!

As has been said elsewhere, this really is its own thing, so don’t expect references other MCU stuff. We’re not there yet, that’s fine. Just sit with the story and the world presented.

The music was also enjoyable. I have said in the past that the main theme would have to grow on me because it just felt so different than other MCU themes that I just was used to it, but now I am 100% with it. I wonder how it will develop over the years the way the Avengers theme changed over time.

I loved this movie, and I can’t wait to see it again, and I won’t have to wait long since I’m seeing it the day after I get back to DC! Doors have been opened and I’m excited for the potential of what’s to come.

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Mid-credit scene: Big yes. Certainly stay for this.

End-credit scene: Yes, it’s more of a fun one.

Well, I certainly enjoyed that!

It was both different and similar to the other movies. I liked the new characters. They had depth in short moments. And of course all the acting was great. It was quite a large cast but of course, as in all of these movies, that shrinks as we go. I was never really sure what would happen a lot of the time.

The actions scenes were fantastic. And the visuals were as good as they always are. I know about some of the practical dinos, but I wonder how many others were practical.

The plot was relatively straightforward. And the music was enjoyable too. Though I certainly feel like one or two of the first uses of the Jurassic Park theme were completely unnecessary. But the rest of them were well-placed.

There weren’t too many references to the other movies which was fine. This really seemed like mostly its own thing. I wouldn’t say no to a couple more stand-alone movies.

There was heart in this that I liked a lot with both groups of the cast. Certainly an enjoyable movie!

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Mid-credit scene: No.

Post-credit scene: No.

Well. I loved it, of course.

It did what it needed to do and it did it well! The visuals were fantastic, as expected. I was hoping for more shots that would look good for 3D, but I don’t think I saw many. But I’m fine with that. And I don’t know if there are 3D screenings of this.

The cast did a great job. Everyone portrayed their roles brilliantly. I loved that Gerard Butler returned for his role as Stoic.

This gave me all the emotions of the original. Now, there were some visuals, specifically the flying that looked smoother or better in the original movie, but that didn’t bother me too much.

If you enjoyed the original movie, you probably will enjoy this. They didn’t make similar mistakes that other live-action remakes have made in the past. It’s a fun watch!

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Mid-credit scene: Nope, but there are nice visuals.

End-credit scene: Yes, but it’s not really much of anything. I’m not quite sure why they picked to add it. I would have tweaked it a little to make it at least narratively useful. But eh. So, basically, you don’t have to stay to watch it. That can be done when it’s on digital.

(This is my 100th movie review/reaction post!!)

First off, I enjoyed the movie! It was certainly a fun heartfelt movie.

I liked the acting from everyone. Maia Kealoha as Lilo was amazing. She was just a perfect little girl acting like a kid would with all the crazy situations happening. I also was very happy that Chris Sanders returned to voice Stitch. He was the creator of the original movie. He wrote and directed the original movie while also being Stitch. I will say that I would have liked for him to have directed this movie too.

The supporting cast was also enjoyable to watch. A couple recognizable faces which I liked seeing. I know that the character David (Nani’s boyfriend) didn’t have a lot to do in the original movie, but he still felt important. In this movie, I feel like he did the same things he did in the original, but something felt left-out. There is part of one line of dialogue that he makes that had something cut out of it and that stood out to me. Though that’s a writing issue.

I enjoyed Billy Magnussen as Pleakley a lot. He seemed very much like the original version of the character.

I was excited for Zach Galifianakis to play Jumba, and still think he did a good job acting, but they made a couple changes to his character and voice that stood out a lot. And I think those were writing and directing problems.

For Nani, I think Sydney Elizabeth Agudong did a good job. But I think there was something missing in the directing that didn’t let her shine more. The characterization felt a little off, but I can’t place why. But in her big moments in the movie, I think she did really well.

I liked Courtney B. Vance’s portrayal of Agent Cobra Bubbles. They added in new aspects of the character that added to the original character which I liked. There was a bit less of him, but I liked what we got. Though I wouldn’t have said no to Ving Rhames reprising the role from the original movie.

There are three other cameos (besides Chris Sanders) in the movie who I at first didn’t notice because I didn’t know all of the cast of the original movie, but I looked up some and now I realized who they were and now I retroactively enjoyed seeing them in the movie.

There is also a main character from the original missing from this movie which I think hurt the movie. You’ll know if you don’t already.

The movie still had chaotic fun and heart that the original did, and I enjoyed those aspects. But there is something missing from it that I can’t quite place. I think it may be just as simple as the directing wasn’t quite right. But having said that, it was a fun movie to watch and the kids in the theater watching seemed to enjoyed it, so that’s good.

I certainly prefer the original movie to this, but it’s still a good movie for kids to enjoy and learn from. Oh and Stitch and the other aliens looked great!!

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Mid-credit scene: As with the original movie, this one also had photos and drawings continuing the story in a photo-album-like way. So, that was nice to see again.

End-credit scene: Nope. I thought there would be something suggesting more, but there wasn’t.

That was a fantastic movie!

I certainly understand why people have been saying they liked it. It was fun, funny, action-packed, and hit with the emotions.

Seeing these actors play off of each other was a delight. Everyone’s chemistry was amazing. Everyone did a fantastic job! We have a good amount of time with all the characters since they are mostly together for the whole movie.

The threat, while not unexpected, is complex and very well done. Considering what it was, how it was dealt with, it made sense. But there is still potential there in the future.

The movie sped by! I wanted to stay in the world for longer! Though, the next MCU movie is in July, so it’s not a long wait.

The humor was well-placed and well-timed. The heart of the movie was felt throughout it. Of course there will be comparisons to The Suicide Squad/Taskforce X, but I think they did find a way to play the concept a bit differently. And I think it worked well.

Oh and the visuals were great!

It was nice to catch up with these characters even if we didn’t get a lot of updates from some of them.

There was a big theme of mental health throughout the movie and I really liked seeing that.

All-in-all, I had fun watching this and certainly think most people will enjoy it.

*

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Mid-credit scene: A short funny one.

End-credit scene: Yes. Talking about things yet to come. I am intrigued by things hinted at.

So, first of all, I did enjoy the movie. It was fun, light-hearted and kids will enjoy it.

I liked the acting from everyone, I enjoyed the visuals, and the tone was wholesome.

The things that did bother me a little bit were the changes to the original songs. Some changes were lyrical, others were adding lyrics where there didn’t need to be any. I think there were around 5 songs on the original movie, and in this one, they removed at least two of those, the reasons for which make sense, but then that leaves them with 3 songs total. So, they created a lot of new songs. That makes sense, though they did make quite a few songs.

For me, I’m so connected to hearing songs from these classic Disney movies throughout my childhood and as an adult too, that hearing changes to the songs in some of these live-action versions has been challenging. Sometimes small changes work, but when the underlying rhythm of the song changes, it bothers me. One song here was essentially the same, but where in the original, there was only melody that would have been heard, there were unnecessary lyrics added.

Another musical change was that one song that the dwarves originate in the original movie, Snow White originates in this one, but that was in one of the trailers, so I wasn’t surprised by that. And some songs were not really necessary.

I know there was a big deal made about the dwarves between the first teaser we got which had them all as tall men to them changing the characters to looking like the cartoon versions of them instead of hiring actual little people to play those roles. While I do agree that the roles should have been given to the actors that clearly deserved those roles, I’ve always known dwarves in fiction to be mythical creatures, and thus, not necessarily needing to look like humans of any size. So, the cgi look of them in this movie didn’t bother me as it has others.

Some of the dialogue wasn’t the best, but that was only a couple instances.

The other major thing was to do with the Queen. I did enjoy Gal Gadot’s acting as the Evil Queen. But I didn’t feel like the characterization of the Queen was stable. Sometimes she was strong and menacing and scary, but at the end, she wasn’t portrayed as such. I’ve always seen that character as a scary person. The threat of her at the end didn’t really amount to anything whereas at the beginning of the movie and during the movie, she was threatening. It was just odd. The changes to how the plot panned out made me feel like there had to be some huge climax coming and there kind of was, but when dealing with the threat, it kind of fizzled out. I was a bit confused by that. Though the actual end of the Queen was pretty cool.

Okay, I think that’s enough negativity!

I really enjoyed the tone of the movie and the characterization of Snow White herself. She represents hope and kindness and doing what’s right. And Rachel Zegler did a wonderful job at portraying that. And of course her voice is as amazing as it always is. I understand the modernization of her character, and I think it worked well. The climax of the story worked in how she defused the situation, and I enjoyed how she did it. Though I think it would have been stronger with a larger scope with the same defusing. But I still liked what we saw.

And of course, the costumes were wonderful! And the sets were fun to see. I could certainly spend time at the dwarves cottage looking at all the details inside it. And I enjoyed the colors and visuals of the opening number.

Generally, it is a fun movie and I thinks kids will enjoy it. Some adults will too, and some won’t do much. But I don’t think it was a bad movie. I had fun watching it and hearing songs I remember from the original movie.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene: Nope

But, I really liked the art in the mid-credits. It was reminiscent of the original movie.

I know that this movie has had mixed reviews, but all the negativity seems unwarranted.

Are there some odd green screen moments? Yes, are they noticeable? Yes. But other than that, the movie was really fun!

Loved seeing Sam on the big screen again and as Captain America, instead of Falcon. Joaquin Torres being Falcon was nice to see. I enjoy his character in the comics. The action was great and I see them putting in those IMAX shots indeed. I do want to see this again in 3D.

Anthony Mackie and Danny Ramirez did great jobs in their roles and of course Harrison Ford did a fantastic job as Thaddeus Ross.

The plot was relatively simple. There was a lot of guessing who’s on whose side which was fun to try to anticipate. Knowing who the villain was already, I didn’t feel the mystery of that aspect of the movie, but how they were doing things and how the past was connecting was intriguing.

I’m certainly glad that this year will be giving us a lot more MCU than last year. Can’t wait for more from these characters!

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I’m posting this ad I’m waiting for my second screening!

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Mid-credit scene: No

End-credit scene: Yes. Looking to the future.