This was such an epic adventure!

It felt as long as it was, but I loved being in this world again in this new form. I may not know a lot of the history of this era but it was such a great story.

It did take a bit for me to get used to the animation mix of drawn art and digital art. But by the end it was fine. The voice acting was well done. It was also nice to hear one or two familiar voices.

The story was surprisingly simple but took hard turns that led to everything that happened. The characters were great, I liked all the main characters. The antagonist was a bit dramatic, but that’s ok. The battles were fun to watch.

And of course the music was fantastic. speaking of audio, I will probably watch this in Japanese if it’s available when it comes to home media.

There were a couple bits and pieces that connected to the future we know, but nothing that overtook what was happening in the slightest.

There was also a note made dedicated to the late Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden in the LOTR trilogy.

All-in-all, I liked this and hope we get more projects like this for LOTR.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene: Nope

Well, that was indeed a movie. It wasn’t as bad as most of the other SSU movies, but that’s not saying much at all. though as this was supposed to come out before Venom 3, it wasn’t supposed to feel like the final SSU movie, so that’s fine. Venom 3 felt like that.

The acting was good, everyone did a good job I thought. The visuals were pretty good too.

The story wasn’t too complex. When this movie was announced and was announced as R-rated, I had my hopes. But as soon as the character of Kraven was described, I knew it was a similarly Sony mistake. Making the character fundamentally different from its comic book characterization is always a mistake. He was essentially similar in what his skills are, but who he is as a person was changed. Making him a hunter of hunters is just a misrepresentation of who the character is.

There were a couple surprise characters that were fun to see. And we already knew one of them was going to be in a main role. They were decent. Though since this universe is essentially at its end, at least when it comes to stand-alone villain live-action movies, I don’t know if we’ll see these actors in these roles again.

It went by faster than I thought it would. But that was fine for me since I had another movie to watch right after, haha.

As a movie, it was fine. As a Kraven movie, it was tolerable. Though, the tag line of the movie talks about the Orin of a villain, but there isn’t really anything villainous about him.

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Mid-credit scene: No.

End-credit scene: No.

Seen on December 1, 2024

This was such a great expansion of the story we knew!

I enjoyed being in this world again of course. The old and new characters blended well together well. The movie did go by faster than I would have liked though. The new characters were fun to get to know.

I did think the music was better in the first movie, but the songs weren’t bad, they just didn’t hook me as easily as the first movie’s did. But I didn’t like that we got a lot more chanting and indigenous language use throughout the movie.

The visuals were of course wonderful. Some of the same cues as before, but also new things. And seeing it in 3D was nice too. There weren’t a lot of big 3D shots, but I enjoyed those we got.

The lore of the world expanded so much in this movie, I hope we get more at some point. Though, in December 2020, there was an announcement of a series spinning out of Moana, so perhaps they still mean to do that. This movie was going to be that series, and perhaps it would have been better to do that so that things would unfold a bit slower, but maybe that could still work. I feel like that would be enjoyed a lot by fans. That way we could sit with the aftermath of this movie in long format before a potential sequel. Similar to the How To Train Your Dragon shows in plot. We’ll see!

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Mid-credit scene: Yes, it connects to the future.

End-credit scene: Nope. But nice music.

Seen on November 23, 2024

Well, that was delightful! I had so much fun with this movie! Of course since most of those who seen it have seen the play or read the book before I won’t go into anything with that much. And again, I’ve not seen the musical since I saw it the first time (either during its initial run on Broadway or during its first tour via the Kennedy Center), so there was a lot that I didn’t remember.

First off, the music, visuals and acting were all amazing. The vocals were strong as expected. The visuals were colorful and emotive. And there were apparently a lot of practical sets which I noticed and liked. Everyone did a fantastic job in their roles, I felt all of the characters on screen.

I didn’t see it in 3D, but there were certainly some shots that I bet looked brilliant in that format.

Even though it’s been almost 20 years since I saw it, I still felt the emotions I felt when I experienced it for the first time and I suppose even more so since I’m an adult and have more complex experiences now than I did back then. Most of the characters are relatable, watching them go through what they go through is intense and enjoyable.

I also forgot that this was part one till earlier today. So I was trying to remember at what point the movie would end. It was certainly a memorable point! It’s a bit of a wait till part two, but I’ll be excited to watch it when it arrives!

If you’ve seen the musical and/or read the book, obviously you’re gonna be seeing this movie, but even if you’ve never done either, I think this is a great movie to watch. Watching the characters grow as you go, is fantastic.

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Mid-credit Scene: Nope

End-credit Scene: Nope

October 27, 2024

Well. That was much better than Venom 2, as predicted.

And, I also liked this better than Venom 1. So, that makes this my favorite SSU movie, which of course isn’t saying a lot, but still.

It had its funny moments and the emotional ones too. It started fast with the main threat and that I was most excited for. I liked how they utilized it.

The acting from everyone was decent. It was a smaller cast than I thought it would be. It did bring aspects of the other two movies into this one, which was nice.

I watched it in IMAX 3D, and it was certainly an enjoyable way to watch the movie. There was t a ton of 3D scenes but the ones we got were fun to see. It went by faster than I thought it would. But I still felt the time. I liked that balance in pacing.

There were one or two surprises that I should have seen coming which I liked. I had a good time with this movie, I actually would see it again.

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Mid-credit scene: Yes. I am curious about what it suggests. It seems to suggest a lot, but I’m not sure what to think. But if it does manifest, I will be extremely excited for it. though I would love it more if Marvel Studios were doing it. But who knows since Sony didn’t do a bad job with this.

End-credit scene: Yes. but it’s not that interesting. I thought there’d be more to it.

July 11, 2024 –

That was indeed a fun movie. It made me want to do research on the days before the Apollo 11 launch with all the funding issues to see if there were fears of not getting it before lift-off.

The cast did a great job. All roles, both fake and real were done very well. There was a lot of heart throughout the film. Other than being in a theater for Star Wars back in 1977, I think watching Apollo 11 launch would be another choice if I could go back in time to see a big event like that.

There have been a couple movies that took place during the launch both fictional stories and more concrete ones founded in reality, and I’ve always enjoyed them. Every time you see the people in the control room anticipating the successful launch, landing and return, you always feel it. You hold your breath, you let it go when it all goes well even though you know how it ends. And I certainly felt that here too.

Yes it was also a romcom, and it worked in each scene with the two leads. There was humor and serious moments, it was just enjoyable to watch the two mesh. The music was also fun, I think almost everything was of the time but there were a couple modern day choices.

I had fun watching this movie and will probably watch it again when it comes to a home release. If you want a uncomplicated enjoyable experience, go for it!

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene: Nope

June 17, 2024 –

Well, that was a pretty good movie. It was based on a real biker club that one member decided to take photos and recordings of for eventual college.

The cast was mostly unknown to me other than a few of the main characters. But all of them did a fantastic job. Tom Hardy and Austin Butler we’re brilliant. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie based on real events that didn’t have a structured plot to it. It was essentially just telling a story of how things happened and how they ended. It took place during the late 60’s into the 70’s.

The music was well-picked and scored. The set and costume design were great. The emotional hits, hit. It went by faster than I thought would. Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was a well made movie that I would suggest anyway.

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Mid-credit scene: Nope

End-credit scene: Nope

June 13, 2024

I saw articles loving this and others not being a fan. I enjoyed this movie a lot!

I still like the first one more, but this was more complex, giving the new emotions. The story wasn’t overly complicated in what was actually happening, but the emotions were all over the place since there were new ones.

The new emotions were very accurate to what we all feel like when they set in. Very well written. The visuals were amazing of course. And there was heart at the core of the movie just like the previous one.

I felt so many feelings, as expected and I’m happy for it. I’m so glad this sequel was made!

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Mid-credit scene: No, but there are some quick scenes at the start of the credits.

End-credit scene: Yes. It’s nothing big, but it’s fun.