Tag: MarcMaron

The Bad Guys 2

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

The Bad Guys are back and they are set on turning over a new leaf. Life on the other side of crime isn’t easy as Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) struggle to find new jobs. When they are forced out of retirement, they need to decide if being good is what they really want.

I enjoyed the first Bad Guys film. The story was interesting and the animation had a modernized twist to it. I had no idea Dreamworks were making a sequel until recently. It would be fun to be reunited with this colorful cast of characters. It did end up being a bit of a mixed bag for me.

One of the ways in which the film excels is in its voice talents. Everyone is back for this adventure and this time they are joined by some new faces. Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), Doom (Natasha Lyonne) and Pigtail (Maria Bakalova) are The Bad Girls. They were welcome additions to the cast and I liked their various interactions with the gang.

Once again, the animation is vibrant and stylish with some new locations featured throughout. It also has a fabulous soundtrack that had me dancing in my seat. The theme of acceptance was heavily featured and I appreciated how it focused on who these characters really were as opposed to the choices they might have made.

Aside from that, the plot was a bit too convoluted. There was a lot going on and at times I struggled to keep track of it all. The actual job that The Bad Guys were roped into doing was too random for me to believe and it seemed like it had all this build up to just end in an anti-climatic way. I’m sure a younger audience wouldn’t have minded, but I couldn’t help but wish for more.

I do believe that The Bad Guys is one of Dreamworks better projects, but this sequel wasn’t necessary. From what I can remember the original was wrapped up nicely though in today’s day and age, I guess another instalment was inevitable. I guess after I was so pleasantly surprised by the first one, I had higher expectations this time around.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

The Bad Guys

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

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: ♥♥♥

Respect

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Based on the true story of Aretha Franklin’s life, the movie follows Aretha (Jennifer Hudson) as a child singing in her father’s (Forrest Whitaker) church choir to her rise to fame as an international superstar.

There was a lot about Ms. Franklin that I did not know and so I found Respect to be rather interesting. I had no idea that she went through so much at such a young age that my heart broke for her several times. I have always enjoyed watching biopics and this one was no exception. The few things that worked did so very well while there were other aspects that could have been better.

Jennifer Hudson, for starters, was the standout of the show. I had a feeling that she would be and while I haven’t been a fan of her work in the past, one thing is for sure and it’s the fact that she can sing! I don’t see how anybody else could have stepped into this role and I understand why Ms. Franklin handpicked Hudson herself. The fact that they spent such a long period of time working on this special project showed.

The other cast members such as Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Tate Donovan and Mary J. Blige all helped to bring their notable characters to life. In addition, I felt like I was transported to this time and was mostly stuck into the story throughout.

While the movie was capitivating enough, I have to admit that I felt there was something missing. I can’t exactly put my finger on it though. Maybe there needed to be better closure on some of the plot points. It seemed like we jumped around a lot and like things weren’t tied up properly. I definitely could have used some more singing as well. I don’t care that we’ve already heard Respect or Think, I wanna hear it another TEN times. It was also a little bit too long and the pacing too slow.

All that being said, I still think that Respect was a story that I won’t soon forget. JHud blew this out of the water and I loved seeing her return to the types of roles that she does best. I wouldn’t be surprised if this sparked some award nominations in the near future.

Rating: ♥♥♥. 5