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.

June 20, 2019 – Toy Story 4. After watching the other three, I may be bias but I very much enjoyed it! There were references to the past and answers to some questions from Toy Story 3. I loved the new characters, the laughs were great, and the story was meaningful. Ohhh there was one reference to Star Wars that I saw in a very quick moment (there could be more but I mean a very specific one. If anyone catches it, let me know XD). Just no to the dummies. No. NO. XD. The story took some interesting turns, and the twists were well done I thought.

MANY mid-credit scenes.

Not an end-credit scene, but a moment at the end that was paid back from earlier in the movie XD. The people left in the theater and I cheered XD.

I wouldn’t need a Toy Story 5, but if it happened, I wouldn’t hate it. But I would rather this be the ending and leave possibilities open forever. Either way, this was a fun movie with laughs and heart and I’m glad they went through with it.

June 13, 2019 – Men In Black: International. Another movie that has been getting bad reviews. I enjoyed it. Maybe I was blinded by just being in the MIB world again, but I don’t care. It was fun, I enjoyed M and H. Some of the story was predictable, but for me at least, it didn’t take away from the movie. There was a certain music choice that didn’t deserve to be there AT ALL. And I was expecting an end scene like the other movies that expanded out. If you know, you know. But other than those two things, it was a good. I definitely want to see more.

No mid-credit scene

No end-credit scene

June 6, 2019 – Another double feature!

Alright y’all. Dark Phoenix. I liked it. It really doesn’t deserve the horrible reviews floating around. It was very different from the classic story. And different from Last Stand. I will say that it doesn’t have the feel of being the send off for all the Fox Marvel movies. It is it’s own entity. I don’t mind that really. It would have taken away from the story. Also, as I’ve said before, it’s difficult to care too much about what happens to characters that have only been around for 1 other movie. The action was cool, the Phoenix Force is interesting. A certain “group” was cool to see because it was from the comic event. I’ll say that Jean does end her story in a more accurate way than was portrayed in Last Stand. All in all, it was an alright movie. I enjoyed it.

As one would expect for a final film in a franchise, NO mid or end-credit scenes.

(Reading this again after a couple years does have me thinking I was a little too lenient on this review, it certainly was more accurate than Last Stand was but it had different faults. Though considering I’m comparing it to the near perfection of how the X-Men animated series depicted the story, I don’t think much could do better. But if the MCU ever gets to this story, even though I don’t think we’ll see this story again for at least 20 years, I think it will be done better than both these movies did.)

Secret Life of Pets 2. I laughed so much. There was a lot going on, but it wasn’t difficult to follow the stories going on. Not much else I can say about that. I will say some stuff. THE TURKEY. Also, it was nice hearing Harrison Ford ^__^ it was a fun film.

There is mid-credit stuff. Though that was released online a while ago, but eh. Still fun.

There isn’t an end-credit scene, but, there is an end-credit sound bite from Harrison Ford’s character.

June 30, 2019 – GODZILLA!!!! I very much enjoyed it! It had a much better ratio of monster to human story. The fights were epic. The big battles were gorgeous. There were a bunch of shots that will make amazing posters. The universe they’re building was present and I loved seeing things spread out across the world. I forgot we’d had two movies in this universe before XD. The ending suggests what the next movie is.

There is NO Mid-credit scene.

There is an end-credit scene. Suggestive of thingssss. Either of why the ending suggests or for something farther down the line.

Definitely enjoyed it. If I decide to see it again, I’m gonna see it at the air & space museum. Because it is of that type of spectacle. This was in IMAX too, but it really deserves a HUGE screen.