SmoreReviews Reviews

The Nest (2023)

I call this... THE NEST

[4/10 · 22 March 2024]

This is a nice short film that gets the job done. If you are looking for a 2000s-esque movie, this is the dose you need. The best part about this movie is that it's only 7 minutes long. Kwabena Ekuban played an excellent villain. I especially liked the part where we screamed "AAAAAAAARGH" and it took out my hearing. Everything in this is done in small amounts, which was the right choice. This did not need to be any longer than it already is.

Now for some of my critiques: the plot is rather generic; the acting is unconvincing and forced; and nothing really happens in the movie.

Also caleb hiii.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

A worthy sequel

[9/10 · 22 March 2024]

Watched this in a double-feature at a drive-in. The other film was The Super Mario Bros. Movie, so this was a refreshing pallet cleanser. Unfortunately, the poor audio mixing made it really hard to hear much of the movie. On the plus side, I had the tastiest cheese fries I've ever had! It also started raining which made the fries taste extra good for some reason?

Firstly, the animation is BOUNDS better than the first movie, which was already revolutionary, Somehow, this manages to take that and improve on it! The fight at the beginning with the Leonardo da Vinci-style Vulture is one of my favorite animated fights now. They really went all-out with the stylization this time, as they really made characters like Pavitr Prabhakar and Spider-Punk stand out visually. The colors go HARD, especially during the very end and the Gwen-father scenes.

Secondly, I must address my few complaints with the movie. 1. Miles feels... off throughout. They didn't seem to know quite what to do with his character in this, so he got sidelined by all of the new characters and Gwen. He has a good fight-chemistry with The Spot, but that plot gets tossed out the window halfway through, making it unsatisfying. 2. None of the characters from the original movie other than Miles, Gwen, and Peter B. Parker have a real role to play. I think Penny gets a few lines, but she had the most, and it was definitely around 10 at most. (I especially am upset at this because the Nicolas Cage Spider-Noir was my favorite character in the first.) 3. It feels very jumbled. They had at least 5 directions they were trying to take the story that all got their own segment in this. They sporadically pick up plotlines and set them back down, which leads to an inconsistent viewing experience. The first film is largely consistent: very focused on Miles developing into Spider-man and stopping Kingpin. This one has the Gwen-father drama, the idea of the Spider-verse, Miles continuing to grow into Spider-man, Miles trying to stop the Spot, Miles trying to escape from Spider-man 2099, Miles grappling with the betrayal of his friends, Miles getting trapped at the end, the consequences of the Spider-verse's collapse, etc - all making it a constant effort to keep up with. 4. The ending. Not a major problem, but I've never been a fan of cliffhangers where you actually have to wait a long period of time to get resolved. EXCLUDING mysteries. This isn't much of a mystery- we know Miles will escape somehow.

Thirdly, the score and sound design (NOT the mixing) are great. And hey, the songs weren't Sunflower! I liked Annihilate to a degree. The song during the fight with Vulture was creative.

Fourthly, Jason Schwartzman plays the sexiest character in the film. Most of the rest are children, so this is probably why.

Fifthly, I like the worldbuilding. I just think there's too much for one film. I really think a lot of my problems will be solved by the sequel to this.

Toy Story (1995)

More than just a story about toys

[8/10 · 20 March 2024]

This was the spider-verse of 1995. Absolutely groundbreaking technology that allowed this to become the first 3D-animated movie. That being said, that alone can only take it so far. But it helps that the movie is actually good. Great soundtrack, great acting, classic story. While this gets outshined by the sequels, make no mistake: this is a must-watch.

Woody, Buzz, and Hamm especially shine in their roles. I love how Woody goes from an incredibly flawed and jealous character into a super likeable one (throughout the series, but especially in this movie). Buzz also gets a character arc, which is rare for a secondary character. He goes from detached from reality and in denial to humble and willing to move on. Andy works perfectly as a motivational plot device that gives the characters purpose, which evolves wonderfully throughout the next two movies.

And this is one of the best endings in animation. Even when all hope seems to be lost with the moving truck leaving and Buzz about to be blown to smithereens, Woody defeats Sid, rescues Buzz, and manages to catch up to the moving van with the lovely callback exchange "Woody: Hey, Buzz! You're flying!

Buzz: This isn't flying, this is falling with style!

Woody: (excitedly) To infinity and beyond!"

Wonka (2023)

Whimsical yet Hyperedited

[7/10 · 18 March 2024]

The best way I can describe this film is that it is uncanny valley territory visually and dialogue-wise. I swear on Pacific Rim this movie had heavy AI use in general from sets to dialogue. I understand this is a serious accusation, but note I only mention that as an explanation for most of my gripes with this.

Overall, this movie was very enjoyable. I found Chalamet to be a fitting-enough Wonka, however I found myself enjoying the movie far more whenever he wasn't on screen. I attribute this to not liking the songs he performed (all were far too similar) and him making questionable decisions at points because movie. I enjoyed the comedic bits enough. I liked the journey Noodle goes on throughout the movie. The set design feels... rather off. For example, many shots of locations have odd exposure and CGI is used far too often where it hits the previously mentioned uncanny valley.

However, if you came in as an older fan of the property, especially of the movie, you will likely walk away feeling rather empty. There is definitely a story here, just not necessarily one that needed to be told.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

This is the bomb (.com)

[10/10 · 10 March 2024]

Apologies for my lame pun. Anyways, this movie is one of the three Nolan 10/10s in my opinion (this, The Dark Knight, and Inception), however I have not yet seen Memento, Following, Insomnia, Tenet, The Prestige, or Interstellar yet, so that is yet to change.

On to the movie: firstly, as with most Nolan movies, this is not for everyone. This is a slow burn, but not boring a la Dunkirk. The audio mixing is MUCH better in this movie than some of his previous, excluding the actual nuke explosion which took out my hearing in the theater (in this scenario, this is not a detractor). The movie is full of very powerful dialogue such as Oppy's conversations with Einstein. Great cinematography, stellar acting. Weirdly, I have little else to say. Just please, if this interests you, give it the time of day. This is a film for the mind.

Dear Mr. Watterson (2013)

Good, but not perfect by any means

[6/10 · 9 March 2024]

I like the subject of the documentary, however, once 20 minutes had passed of the hour and a half, all that needed to be said had been said. I loved the behind the scenes looks into prototype art and realized I would much rather have watched a documentary about his work before Calvin and Hobbes, but alas, I sat through it. It was refreshing to see cartoonists I look up to such as Berkley Breathed and Stephen Pastis give the time of day to interview, but there weren't many questions to be answered, just sort of what most of us already know about Watterson dragged out. Don't get me wrong- I'm a die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fan, but they went for a "reflection" angle rather than the aforementioned "before Calvin and Hobbes" angle or even a "deep dive" angle.

No matter what you're looking for here, unless just hearing the words "Bill Watterson" and "Calvin and Hobbes", you probably will find very little of it.

Madagascar (2005)

Classic and Creative

[9/10 · 8 March 2024]

This is definitely the most "Early Dreamworks" movie other than Shrek (visual style, comedy). In that regard, your opinion can go either way, but I personally love it. The humor is bland in the best way possible, and the story is very much so against-the-grain anti-Disneyesque. There is also no crude humor from my recollection, which was unusual for Dreamworks at the time.

Firstly, I must praise the actors. Ben Stiller (Alex) and Chris Rock (Marty) have excellent chemistry, which is a driving force throughout and leads to very memorable bits (i.e. The beach scene), as do David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith (Gloria) and Sacha Baron Cohen (King Julien) and Cedric the Entertainer (Maurice). The penguins are an entertaining addition that are played to the perfect amount (unlike in the future movie), as are the monkeys.

Secondly, I must praise something I usually praise in more recent movies: the animation, particularly Alex's body movements mimic his comedic style. I also like the cartooniness of the scenes, and I especially love the whole sequence on the boat, which is a masterclass in visual comedy, particularly the clever use of lighting in the crates.

Overall, very tongue-in-cheek and has a great legacy and memorable characters. Truly one of the Dreamworks classics.

Sleep Deprived Podcast (2020 Podcast Series)

Sleep Deprived Podcast

[9/10 · 7 March 2024]

Sleep deprived podcast is a podcast run by Astrosist, Apandah, Jschlatt, and Mikasacus. The 'cast is now around 140 episodes long, and feautures many arcs.

The first act was the "Beginning Arc (1-6)" in where the podcasters were genuinely sleep deprived. Throughout the history of the podcast, "sleep deprived" has been referenced less and become more of a branding thing. Jschlatt and his friend Mikasacus were the first on the podcast, followed by Apandah and then Astrosist. The first episode was notable for the apparent sleep deprivation and Schlatt having to leave comedically early. Early on in the show, the mic quality was much worse leading to it being hard to distinguish between the crew, particularly Astro and Panda. Early running jokes included "Hillary Clinton globule", an infamous video in which Hillary Clinton spat a green blob into a cup of water, and "Burger Plane", where Mikasacus introduced the idea of a plane that could fly over impoverished areas, dropping burgers with parachutes.

The second arc was the "Golden Arc (7-90)" in where the show was at its' arguably best. The show featured many guests around this period and some of the best bits. The bits include the "Ninja Superbowl" bit in where they imagine a Superbowl in where Ninja performs on a cross, "Schlatt and Discord" in where Schlatt continues pushing back telling why he dislikes platform Discord until eventually whenever he agrees to do it the episode is mostly silent excluding occasional rustling from the podcast members, and their claim of being owned by Peter MSNBC. This arc makes up for all of the lousier bits.

The third arc was the "Transition Arc (91-101)" where Jschlatt left the show. The vibe began to slowly shift from more campy to professional (in the sense that the show became more structured and less spontaneous.) Astro has seemingly more taken over the role of host in Schlatt's place. Bits from this era include the introduction of "mewing" and "gooning".

The fourth and current arc is the "Season 2 Arc (102-present)" which was has waxed and waned in entertainment value. I found Astro initially a tad obnoxious, but I feel they have gotten better at sharing the spotlight with Mika and Panda, and the chemistry between Astro and Mika has gone from conflicting to understanding. Panda has unfortunately tuned out more as of recently.

As for the other content... 1. Gaming videos have been fun for the most part. I really enjoy the Mario Party series and Gartic Phone/Jackbox videos. 2. I'm unable to afford the Patreon content (which is embarrassing) and haven't watched the Mika/Astro spinoff podcast due to my disagreement with their music taste.

Overall, this is a very entertaining podcast with a lot of personality. If an SDP member reads all of this, I implore you to bring Moist back for another episode or do a collab with Chuckle Sandwich (Ted and Panda interacting is going to set off a chain reaction that destroys the world).

Edit: I had forgotten they already had Ted on because they rarely have guests. Regardless, would still be enjoyable.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

"The Legend" ended in The Dark Knight

[5/10 · 6 March 2024]

This is, without a doubt, the worst Christopher Nolan movie. Without a doubt, they should have ended this on the beautiful cliffhanger last movie.

My many, many complaints with this movie begin with the most common of Nolan's issues- the audio mixing. It is at its worst here for sure. Constant battle with the remote to hear the movie and not be blasted with noise.

Also, Bane, excluding the character design and voicework, sucks. He lumbers around and lets Batman go free at one point "because movie". You're also supposed to... feel bad for him? Which doesn't work very well, because he didn't do much to deserve sympathy. Granted, he had a bad childhood, but other than that... his character is made all the worse by the god-awful pLoT tWiSt that the woman is actually the evil mastermind, which feels SUPER shoehorned in for the sake of a plot twist. I swear, I could hear the writers saying "it just needs something else... AHA!" whenever the scene was playing. Also, Bane cries like a baby, which destroys his ruthless persona.

The fights suck in this. If you're going to watch this for the action, spare yourself. The fights between Batman and Bane I'll get into in a minute. As for general action- the Batmobile physics are... wonky at best. There's a big fight in Gotham between the police and Banes' goons at the end, which sucked for reasons you can see for yourself should you choose to endure this. The movie tricks you in the beginning where you get this incredible airplane fight, but it gets worse and worse from there. This movie is genuinely the most frontloaded Nolan movie.

The pacing is horrid, as with Dunkirk- but even worse. After Bane takes over Gotham, you enter this realm where time passes SUPER slowly for the sake of unnecessary padding. Batman gets put in this hole-prison thing where (everyone is mean?) and Bane intends to keep him for the rest of eternity. That part of the movie is AGONIZING, bc Batman heals suuupeeeeer slooooowly: it's supposed to be around 2 months in movie time.

Batman is a weakling in this for whatever reason. NONE of his attacks do anything to Bane, and he looks constantly out of energy (which is fair, because he gave up being Batman for a long time). BUT this makes for really disappointing scenes where he just... gives up. Also, Alfred is an a-hole to Batman and expects him to get married so he can gawk over Batman and his wife eating food. And they do.

The ending... well, it's an ending. Batman flies the nuke Bane was going to detonate into the ocean, {killingmillionsofsealife} and they live happily ever- wait, there's MORE?! Yeah, so people who watched the previous movie will remember the whole Harvey Dent coverup thing- they make a speech to the public about how Dent was a bad guy... for some reason. I forgot. I'm so done with this movie.

Dunkirk (2017)

Disappointing, but got the point

[6/10 · 5 March 2024]

If I were to list out the Christopher Nolan movies from my most to least favorite, this would be my second-to-least. It barely squeaks ahead of The Dark Knight Rises due to minor factors I will now get into.

My first problem is that the movie is far too long for the story it wants to tell. In movies, this lends both disadvantages and advantages. Namely, it allows time for the fear of being trapped on Dunkirk to set in. I feel as though it also stretches this too far to the point where my ADHD attention span begins to reach its breaking point and become bored.

Secondly, I do want to congratulate this movie for its effort with cinematography, setting, and serviceable acting. As for the acting, it was still probably the weakest of Nolan's yet, but since the characters talk very little it didn't matter much. Also, the movie was very entertaining in the beginning and end- I found the cold open of letters falling from the sky with "we surround you" to be very fitting of the Nazi Germans at the time. The constant fear of being dive-bombed while on the claustrophobic dock or the open beach is readily available, in abundance. This is where my opinion turns negative again- there are probably around 4-5 separate 8-15 minute long scenes where someone is drowning. This works in the beginning, but as a plot device it gets old very fast.

Thirdly, the point of the movie: war is not meant to be entertaining. Nolan beats us over the head with this message, so I have a message in return: what is the point of making a movie about it then? Yes, violence should not be nearly as glorified as it is. Should a boring movie be made out of it then? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Heartwrenching and classic

[10/10 · 4 March 2024]

This movie is incredible- I can think of few other movies other than some Hitchcocks and 12 Angry Men that could tell such a complex story relying on raw emotion. While outdated in some scenes (mainly questionably sexist dialogue and a child-beating scene) this does not detract, and in fact adds to the fact this movie is willing to pull no punches to dilute the message. And what a heartwarming message it is- the main character, George Bailey, is forced into an awful situation where he is stuck between wanting to live the life of his dreams and fixing the mess after his father's death. His emotions go from his upbeat self to slowly more jaded throughout the movie, until the breaking point where his uncle forgets the money they needed to save his bank. In the climax, he decides on suicide which is avoided by the Christian God sending an angel down, who shows him the beauty of life- what would have happened if he hadn't been there- and when he finally decides to live, it leads to the most RAW emotion I have ever seen in a movie: the whole town gathers at his house to shower him in the money he needs. This is compounded by other factors too numerous to mention, but mainly the jovial song the crowd breaks into, followed by the iconic line "Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets it's wings." Please watch this if you haven't already.