February 6, 2020 – Birds. Of. Prey. ATFEOOHQ. Well, I definitely enjoyed it! It was fun as hell XD. A couple things I hoped would at least be there did happen, so, good good. There was a lot going on but it all eventually came together. I enjoyed the characterization of all the characters. There was one thing about Cassandra Cain that I hoped they’d do, but eh. There was one small allusion to it.

There was one reference to Suicide Squad, it’s short but obvious. I’m not sure how many people in the theater caught it, but I definitely noticed. There was also slight mention of all of her past (SS included) real quick.

I also enjoyed the music! Well placed. There were a lot of different than usual renditions of well known songs that it took me an extra second to recognize.

It was a fun movie. I enjoyed it more than SS definitely. Oh and the intro was enjoyable XD.

I feel like if there were a sequel to this, the characters would be able to be more themselves and I’d be happy to watch it. And it wouldn’t necessarily need Harley in it. Considering the end. But we’ll see what’s up with Harley in The Suicide Squad anyway (I can only assume it takes place after this).

There are no mid-credit nor end-credit scenes. There is an end-credit audio clip, but you really don’t need to be there for it. It’s just poking fun. Think the end of Ferris Buller but not like what Deadpool did with it.

Also this was the last movie I saw in theaters before the pandemic started.

December 18-19, 2019 – I bought the Star Wars marathon event passes again (like I did for The Force Awakens). All 9 movies!

The final episode of the Skywalker Saga. Wow.

SO MUCH HAPPENS. First of all, I loved it XD. Defo unexpected things. Good and bad. Enjoyed both. It does feel like an ending. 42 years in the making and seeing all the movies beforehand was nice. There are so many connections to other movies and answers given which people have been wondering about. Huge wow moments. Comedy was great. And the story, let’s just say, I’m glad I’ve read the books I’ve read.

Oh and the cameos were wonderful. And THOSE CAMEOS were the best. Keep your ears open. Gonna have to catch credits I missed the first time again. I do wish there were more specific cameos from things, but that’s alright XD.

All in all, I loved this ending to the saga. The crazy was crazy and, well, it was Star Wars. ^__^

May The Force be with you, Skywalker Saga, always.

November 22, 2019 – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. WOW. So, basically, the most feel-good, positivity-oriented movie ever. Also, very meta. I’d even say more meta then Deadpool XD. The way the story was told was both obvious and surprising. I loved it. It took me back to watching the show as a kid. I only knew that Mister Rogers started in the 60’s when I heard about this movie being made. So the episodes I saw when I was a kid were a little before this movie’s temporal setting.

Tom Hanks was amazing as Fred Rogers. I loved his portrayal. Hanks replicated Rogers’ mannerisms pretty well. The other main characters were also great. The other lead was a fantastic actor, his character had such a journey.

Seeing the sets of the show and the 90’s video camera footage replication was pretty cool too.

This film had so much heart. I feel like this is the type of movie the world needs. I’m really not at all exaggerating. Also, we need someone like Fred Rogers in the world again. Badly. Honestly, if shows like Mister Rogers, Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World, Full House, and Andi Mack were constant in the lives of children, I believe that we’d have a lot more hope for future generations. Programs like those show younger audiences better ways of dealing with life. They were afraid to push the boundaries and focus on content that was labeled difficult or not appropriate for children’s programming.

All in all, a fantastic movie. I didn’t cry or anything, but it was emotional and I of course was hit with all the nostalgia. If you’re feeling down, see this movie.

There is a mid-credit scene that is actual Mister Rogers footage. So, stay for that.

November 13, 2019 – Charlie’s Angels.

So, I dunno how, but I never saw the original 70’s series or the first two movies. I’ll have to rectify that at some point.

But I enjoyed the movie. It was as you would expect from a action, adventure spy movie. Fast paced, funny, unexpected things done by unexpected people, etc. though, some things were predictable from the start, but eh, it was still a fun movie. Kristen Stewart’s character was hilarious, Naomi Scott’s was witty but also, new to everything so she was a bit all over. But I didn’t mind that. Ella Balinska’s character was confident and a little mysterious. The rest of the cast was enjoyable. Some cameos as would be expected at the start of the movie.

The end of the movie and some mid-credit scenes held a bunch more cameos. Both of the past and, honestly, unexpected ones where I was like wait, really??? They got them?? XD.

It was a fun movie ^__^

October 18, 2019 – Jay. And. Silent. Bob. Reboot. (There will be cursing in this reaction/review because this is a Kevin Smith movie, of course there will be.)

Well, fuck. XD so, similarly to last night’s double feature, I’d not watched Strike Back in years. So watching it was lovely.

The movie was amazing. I laughed in multitudes. The camels and references to movies in general and other Askewniverse movies were peppered everywhere. Loved it all of course.

And having been at Kevin Smith’s panel at SDCC this year where he talked about this movie and showed us two scenes in the movie, it just gave everything a bit more meaning than just watching the movie.

So of course, funny is expected, but there’s also a lot of heart in this story. There are emotional moments and I’m gonna say, because just deal with it, Ben Affleck’s scene before the climax of the movie is a lovely scene. It really is a movie for the fans. Not only of Kevin Smith movies but of superhero movies and other Hero’s Journey type films. It makes you think about life and purpose.

I enjoyed the fuck out of Reboot. I can’t wait for Clerks III when it comes out. And I still would have enjoyed the Mallrats series that didn’t go through.

Ok.

I don’t know if y’all will get this when this comes out normally, or maybe it won’t matter if you go see the tour that’s gonna happen for this and get to watch it with Jason and Kevin, but there was a 7 min intro to the movie which was fun.

STAY THROUGH THE WHOLE CREDITS. There are little scenes throughout the credits. As Kevin Smith promised us in Hall H. And there were some end credit footage but we didn’t get to see that because that was for the Tuesday people.

OH. Right. During these, we get to see Stan Lee. It was during the IMDB boat footage from whenever it was shot. That was lovely. And there is a small Stan moment in the movie but it was quick and it was close to the start in Brodie’s comicbook store.

I definitely feel like bingeing the rest of the Askewniverse soon XD

October 16, 2019 – Zombieland 2: Doubletap. (this was a double feature screening of both the original and the sequel)

First of all, I had an eh day. So I totally needed both of these movies.

Having not seen Zombieland in so long, it was as good as the first time I saw it.

It’s sequel? I laughed SO HARD at so many things. It had the same tone as the first one and had various references to the first one. They were fun and, at least, I didn’t think were overbearing. The new characters were enjoyable and even things I saw in the trailers were still funny. They power went out for a bit before a scene and then they started the movie a few mins before we’d cut out and it was such a great scene that I didn’t mind seeing it again.

And. Just saying. Other than Abigail Breslin, the other three have barely aged!! XD the first shot of them all had me like a decade since? Are we sure? XD

I’m gonna be honest. I hope that we get a third and final addition to this in 2029. Really though.

It was hilarious and the story was simple, not unlike the first one. There’s only one thing that had me like ummmmmm y’all live in a zombie world and y’all did that??? But eh, it led to things, so that’s fine. Oh and the music was fun. And there were a couple meta references which I enjoyed.

Yes. There is a mid credit scene. and IT IS UTTERLY WORTH IT. So sit y’all’s butts down and wait!! XD.

And there is an end-credit scene. It is related to the mid-credit scene, but it’s just for fun, not necessary to stay for it. But if you have the time, go for it ^__^

October 3, 2019 – Joker.

This is going to be different from usual. I will do my best not to spoil anything. Maybe sprinkle of spoiler perhaps, but nothing big. But I have a lot to say.

First off, to get the easy part done with, it was a well crafted film. It was cinematic and intense and disturbing and dramatic. As a film, I think it did its job and will be successful.

However, that’s not the point.

The moment the idea of a Joker origin film (canon to the rest of the DCF’s or not, which this wasn’t of course) was brought up, I was immediately against it. The idea of trying to explain The Joker is never a good idea. It’s unnecessary.

Further down the line of learning more about the movie, things seemed to also suggest that this would be the kind of story where the audience sees him and feels sympathy for him and then we should later not feel that when he makes the switch.

It’s at that point where I was worried about the story itself being told and also, what story would be told and how others would see it.

I watch a podcast that talks about DC comics movies and shows, and one of the hosts brought up many points that I agreed with and had me thinking a lot. She also wrote an article about her thoughts (if anyone wants me to send it to them, dm me). The main hosts saw the movie yesterday and they posted their reactions and they said it was disturbing but it was a great film.

For me, I expected that. I knew that as a film, it would probably be very good. But, like I said before, that’s not the point.

Two things. (This includes the light spoilery stuff I mentioned up top)

First. As characterization goes, The Joker should never be humanized. He is never someone the audience should feel sorry for. There is no exception to this really. He is a man, but his character has (more or less) always been that he is the personification of random, chaotic crime. That’s what makes him such a challenging adversary for Batman etc. he’s somewhat unpredictable and can’t be understood.

Before I get to how he was portrayed in the movie, here is some related context. In the show Gotham, they introduced a joker character. It’s more complicated that just that, but that’s not important. In the end, he did what he did for a purpose, but it was basically whatever he wanted. His followers followed him because he represented chaos. That is why makes him dangerous. Inspiring chaos for chaos’ sake.

In the film, his “followers” followed him for a more specific and not really Joker related reason. And he was portrayed in a very specific way which I think is dangerous.

He was portrayed as a hero to the marginalized. He was portrayed as someone who was invisible and who found a way to be seen. Someone who was overlooked in society and eventually found a way around his hinderances.

This is not why the Joker is and not how he should ever be portrayed.

He is not an underdog that deserves praise. He is not someone the downtrodden should look up to. He is not a hero to some or an anti-hero to anyone. He is chaos. Now, yes, his followers in the film were inspired by him to be chaotic, like in Gotham, but, the followers in the movie did it because he made them feel represented and seen as undervalued citizens. He supported the poor and lower middle class and middle class. From his first action on his way to becoming The Joker, some see him as a hero to Gotham.

And second, but related to that last paragraph (so forgive me if I repeat things) This is an inaccurate and poor representation of the character. But more than that, the same way he inspired the followers in the movie, this film may inspire the same types of actions in some people who watch this film. Throughout the story I saw many aspects of him that were relatable to the average person and I knew that they would later play a part in inspiring followers in the film, but I also was nervous that it could inspire some members of the audience around the country. That is terrifying.

And I know that some articles or people have been saying stuff like that it won’t inspire violence because of he violence in the film, look at all the other violent action movies!

And that makes sense, but that’s not why this movie would inspire it. It doesn’t inspire through violence, it inspires through making this character a hero for the marginalized, the underdogs.

A few days ago there was an article mentioning that the army heard that there had been whispers of a mass shooting tomorrow (4th) somewhere in the US related to this movie. I hope that it ends up not being true. And if something like this happens tomorrow, maybe the person (people) carrying it out won’t have seen the movie and it’s not related to what the film shows, but perhaps after seeing it the party becomes even more inspired. I don’t know. But there are so many people in this country who probably have similar feelings to the followers of Joker in the film and could be inspired to do who knows what. The feelings I saw portrayed were very real, very relevant feelings. I just hope tonight, tomorrow, and this opening weekend go off without something terrible happening.

That’s basically what I have to say. I know this is vastly different from what I normally write up after a movie, but I needed to say it all.

So, if you want to see it, see it. Maybe wait till opening weekend is done or just be careful if seeing it this weekend.

I will say that this is the first time I’ve been a bit nervous about watching a movie in a theater. At one point close to the end of the film the projector went out and I honestly just held my phone just in case I needed to use it. It was just an error, but still.

Oh, also, no mid or end-credit scenes.

September 27, 2019 – Abominable. Such a lovely movie! I loved it. I did think there would be some traditional Chinese music somewhere in it, though I might have somehow missed it if there was. But I enjoyed the characters and the story. The visuals were brilliant. The Magic was fabulous. Many cute moments and some emotional moments.

There isn’t a mid-credit scene

There are polaroids throughout the actual credits that take place after the movie itself, so if you want to stay for those, it’s nice. Nothing after the credits, not that I expected anything.

July 24, 2019 – The Lion King. Yes, honestly it’s basically a 99.9% carbon copy of the original movie. Do I care? No! I enjoyed seeing the story in a CGI format, still loved the music and everything else. I did want Scar to have his full “Be Prepared” song, but eh. Lol. So yeah generally I enjoyed it very nearly as much as the original. Yup. ^__^ oh, I did like seeing the scenes of Nala deciding to leave etc. since we didn’t see how that happened in the original movie.

No mid or end-credit scenes.

July 2, 2019 – Spider. Man. Far. From. Home. Well. I thoroughly enjoyed that XD just got home. It was fun and funny and cute and emotional and tragic and lovely. I feel as though it replicated the tone and feel of the first movie in a different way and I loved that. There are twists and turns and some you could expect, others, woah. And at the beginning of the movie there is talk of the snap. The name they give what happened, XD odd but eh. Hugs to Peter Parker for obvious reasons. All the characters get a decent share of screen time. I loved Happy’s interactions with like everyone XD.

Ok, so people aren’t ready. Most of the the stuff in the trailers is from the first half of the movie. So the rest had me guessing XD. Didn’t expect some things.

I really had fun watching this movie. Happy I’m seeing it again on Friday! XD

Alright. Alright. Jeeeeeez. Yes there is a Mid-credit scene. It follows on from the last scene in the movie. But OMFG. Two huge things. I mean first of, HE DID THAT TO HIM?!?!?? How’s that gonna resolve?? And OMG. HIM. Yaaaaay!!!

There is an end-credit scene. HOLY CRAP YA’LL FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS MARVEL, STAY TILL THE END!!! XD. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!!!! I mean there were whispers of that, but not this specific. Definitely more surprised by the mid-credit scene. But only slightly. They both blew me away XD.