Month: April 2022

The Bad Guys

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Have you ever felt misunderstood because of the perceptions people have of you? That is the case for Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Tarantula (Awkwafina), Shark (Craig Robinson) and Piranha (Anthony Ramos). Infamous criminals, when they are finally caught after a heist gone wrong, they are given a lifeline: become model citizens to avoid a prison sentence. With the help of a guinea pig named Mr. Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), our villains will do whatever they can to fool the world that they have changed.

My expectations going into The Bad Guys were low. Nothing about the trailer stood out to me except for the voice talents. But with Dreamworks being behind the likes of Shrek and Shark Tales, I figured I would give it a chance.

Though the story was nothing groundbreaking, it is still worth a watch. The colorful cast of characters were fun to get to know. You want them to succeed, whether in their crimes or for them to redeem themselves. I do wish some of the backstories were expanded more, though overall they had a solid friendship base which I liked.

A lot of the jokes were smart and witty. One that stands out to me the most was when Mr. Wolf was dressed in a sheep onesie. It gave the saying ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ a whole new meaning. I also thought it was smart to have another stereotyped animal in Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) playing a protagonist opposite the others.

With every good story, there is a moral. And what I liked most about The Bad Guys was that it sheds importance on not judging a book by it’s cover. Just because we don’t know what is going on with somebody doesn’t mean we should jump to conclusions about them. Not everything is what you see is what you get and that was refreshing.

Rating: ♥♥♥

Everything Everywhere All At Once

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Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) runs a failing laundromat with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). The laundromat is currently being audited by the IRS due to Evelyn having incorrectly filed her taxes. On top of that, Waymond wants to serve Evelyn with divorce papers, her father Gong Gong (James Gong) is now living with them and Evelyn is struggling to find common ground with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). When there’s a rupture in reality, Evelyn becomes an unlikely hero to take on the multiverse in order to save the world.

Everything Everywhere All At Once must be the most bonkers movie I have ever seen. I went into it completely open minded and spent most of the time trying to figure out what on earth it was that was unfolding before me. There was a lot for my brain to unpack and while I don’t think I will ever fully understand what I watched, I am still so glad that I went to see it.

Michelle Yeoh gives an incredible performance as the main character. Her portrayal of different genres from one scene to the next; it shows just how dynamic of an actress she really is. Another big stand out for me was Stephanie Hsu. Familiar with her work in The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, she stepped things up this time around and I look forward to seeing whatever it is she does next.

The special effects and various worlds that were illustrated throughout added to my overall enjoyment of the film. It really was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I loved how some of it was completely crazy while others just didn’t make any sense at all. I don’t think I will ever forget those hot dog fingers!

Overall, Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the most out there films that I have ever seen before and that is precisely why I liked it so much. Would I watch it again anytime soon? Probably not, as I feel like my brain is still recovering. At the root of it all, the moral of the story had to do with the importance of family and that is something we can all relate to. I highly recommend checking this one out.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥.5

As They Made Us

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Abigail (Dianna Agron) is a divorced mother of two. She’s estranged from her brother Nathan (Simon Helberg) and trying to help her micromanaging mother Barbara (Candice Bergen) to look after her ailing father Eugene (Dustin Hoffman). Barely having time for herself, she puts herself out there to find new love.

As They Made Us is a character driven film about a dysfunctional family. The highs and lows of life are depicted in a relatable way. These people are easy to connect with and that enhances the enjoyment while watching.

It is brilliantly acted; the cast have a chemistry that makes you interested in their life journeys. Dianna Agron gives an emotional performance that is unlike anything I’ve seen her do before. I hadn’t watched Simon Helberg in anything aside from The Big Bang Theory, but I was impressed with his portrayal of Nathan. Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen are such household names and were certainly in top form here.

First time writer, producer and director Mayim Bialik did a great job. You can tell she really put her heart and soul into creating this piece. I only wish we could have gotten more backstory on Nathan and his relationship with Barbara as well as more on Abigail herself. She was such an anchor for the family, but she could have been fleshed out more.

As They Made us is a film that makes you think about your family and your upbringing. It will hit you where it hurts, but it will also make you smile. Choosing to focus more on the family dynamics and characters may not be everyone’s cup of tea yet I still think it was worth the watch.

Rating: ♥♥.5

Morbius

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After many reshoots and delays, Morbius hit cinemas this weekend. The story follows Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), a doctor who has suffered from a rare blood disease his whole life. Working on a cure for himself and his best friend Milo (Matt Smith), he accidentally turns himself into a vampire when his experiment goes wrong.

This movie is getting a lot of hate. On some level, I can see the problems. The script was stilted at times. A lot of the lines were corny and the few jokes that were attempted didn’t land. The special effects, for a superhero movie, were mediocre at best. And the plot dragged at times. It started off strongly enough for any origin story and I thought okay, I can really get into this. However, by the third act, I was bored and wondering when something new was going to happen.

With that being said, I think the critics are being a bit harsh. There were some aspects that make this film worth watching. Jared Leto single handedly carried it on his back. I’ve always found him to be a dynamic actor and I think he did a great job as the titular character. Matt Smith, in yet another antagonist role, was fun to watch. He did get annoying after awhile, but you could tell he was giving it his all. I would have appreciated more from Adria Arjona as Martine though I suppose they are setting up a bigger arc for her in the potential sequel.

I also liked the way in which the echolocation was used. This form of heightened hearing was really interesting to watch and I thought it was one of the more impressive effects.

Is Morbius the best superhero movie I have ever seen? No. It’s not the worst one either though. I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to flesh everything out. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here, especially since those post credit scenes didn’t give us much to go by.

Rating: ♥♥.5