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Pokemon Detective Pikachu Review

“Welcome to Ryme City. A celebration of the harmony between humans and Pokémon.”

Called into Ryme City after the mysterious death of his detective father, Tim Goodman meets a talking Pikachu who claims to be able to help him investigate the crime.

Video game movies are infamous. From Street Fighter through to Super Mario Bros., it seemed as though anything translated from console to cinema was doomed to failure. And then came Pokémon Detective Pikachu. Here is a movie that not only understands and embraces everything about the source material that made it so popular, but is able to present it in a way that is fun, funny, and can carry itself on more than just a wave of nostalgia.

The pokémon themselves were animated flawlessly. Overwhelmingly cute, but intimidating or creepy when needed, it was a delight every time one appeared on the screen. And the film doesn’t shy away from using them, with dozens of the pocket monsters featured throughout. Part of the fun of the film is spotting all the pokémon in a scene, with many appearing in the backgrounds of shots, going about their lives in Ryme City.

The city itself is a treat to look at. With its grimy futurism, blending elements from New York and Tokyo, Ryme City is the kind of place you wish you could actually visit. Pokémon are blended seamlessly into the setting. Whether it be Aipom roaming the street, or a coffee shop using the image of a Noctowl, it feels like a place in which people and pokémon do actually live together. Effort was clearly made to integrate the pokémon realistically into the city, and it pays off.

Humour in the film also worked surprisingly well. There was some initial scepticism when it was announced Ryan Reynolds would be voicing the iconic and much-loved Pikachu. But his kid-friendly version of his Deadpool-style sardonic humour worked perfectly for the little electric mouse. Reynolds doesn’t carry the comedy of the film on his own, either. His human companions get in a few good lines of their own. But it is the other pokémon – most notably a Mr Mime heavily committed to his act, and a highly neurotic Psyduck – who will draw the most laughs from the audience.

Where Pokémon Detective Pikachu falls down, however, is in its plot. It finds itself in that unfortunate position of being both too simplistic for its adult audiences, and too hard to fully understand for children. The film also relies too heavily on an uninspired plot device to deliver information, essentially employing a flashback machine to show the audience important plot points. The emotional beats of the film never hit as hard as the movie wants them to, either.

While Pokémon Detective Pikachu was able to create a dynamic and engaging world, you can’t help but wish it was given as creative a story to pair it with. Despite this, the joy and humour the film exudes will be enough for new and old fans alike, and should even be enough for audiences who can’t tell their Raichu from their Raticate.

3.5/5

What movie has helped you through a tough time?

solarmorrigan

So. 10th grade English class. We all come in one morning to find a balloon and a perfectly sharpened pencil on each of our desks. No instructions, no explanation, which is strange, because our teacher is meticulous about that sort of thing. A couple of people try to ask her and she says we’ll get to it. She takes role and then announces that she needs to go to the copy room and she’ll be back in a couple of minutes

Kinda unorthodox, but no one is complaining because this is advanced English and the teacher usually goes kinda hard. So, y’know. Brief respite. We all sit and chat; one of the boys teasingly steals a girl’s balloon, but gives it back to her easily enough; it’s quiet and kind of a nice break. Then the teacher comes back, stops in the doorway, and just stares at us

After a long moment, she says, confused, “You didn’t pop the balloons.”

To which one of the guys about two rows over exclaims, “We’re allowed to pop them?” and immediately turns around and stabs his friend’s balloon with the pencil

There is a vicious revenge balloon-stabbing, and a few more people pop seatmates’ balloons or their own, and the whole time the teacher is just shaking her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t pop your balloons.”

Apparently we were starting Lord of the Flies that day and she wanted to demonstrate the basic concept of kids turning on each other when there are no authority figures present and it was basically my favorite failed social experiment ever

loveharuokumura

Back in my 10th grade we did a similar things around Lord of the Flies, where we had a test scheduled for that day, and when we walked in, the teacher took role by looking through the window of the door and never entered the classroom. On the board were three tasks written and the teacher had brought in donuts. At first we all sat around and waited for the teacher to come in, but eventually we just started tackling the list of tasks. Task 1- the test. Everybody took it silently, no one cheated, everyone turned it in and we went on to Task Two: tidy up the room. So we did, we split into a couple groups and each one cleaned an area of the room. Task Three: Hand out the donuts. There were 12 donuts, and 30 of us. So we split the donuts into thirds, each took a third, and left the extras for the teacher. After this, the teacher came in absolutely FUMING. She was so upset we had followed all the rules and completed the tasks. Apparently she had been texting kids telling them to start some chaos but they all ignored it because they were too nice. She tried to dock our grades for not going absolutely wild because it meant her class didn’t get the point across

hookedonafeeeling

That’s because lord of the flies isn’t representative of humanity it’s representative of rich white male shitheads

Watchmen Review

“You’re going to try to convince me to save the world.”

When an old associate is killed by an unknown assassin, masked vigilante Rorschach attempts to convince his fellow heroes that a bigger conspiracy is afoot.

One thing that can’t be held against Watchmen is that it really does look like a graphic novel. From the over-the-top violence, to the dark and grimy urban setting, to the cluttered backgrounds giving us a glimpse into character’s inner lives, director Zack Snyder has put great effort into translating the visuals from page to screen exactly. Even our main character’s homes share the same dark hues as the apartments of villains or the streets filled with angry drunken citizens. The only time we’re treated to scenes with more pleasant lighting is in a flashback to the romanticised past of one of our heroes, which only serves to make the surrounding scenes seem darker in contrast.

However, while some fans may argue that lines were pulled directly from the source material, the dialogue was far less successful than the visuals. The way many characters speak resembles that edgy faux-intellectual discourse only teenage fanboys would see as cool. Rorschach suffers the most from this. His opening monologue in particular is full of cringe-inducing lines (“it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children”?). It’s the dialogue more than anything that makes the film’s tone hard to pin down. So many of the lines make the film seem as though it’s meant to be tongue in cheek, poking fun at itself and its own grand ridiculousness. And yet in all other regards, it handles itself with complete sincerity and even a tinge of self-importance.

With dialogue making up a large part of who a character is, based on the lines alone it would be surprising for the audience to form any kind of attachment to the cast. And yet the acting – for the most part – is convincing enough, and so much time is spent with them (a staggering 162 minutes for the theatrical release, and 215 for those dedicated enough for the ultimate cut), that these outlandish characters really do become human. By the end, I found myself genuinely scared for Rorschach, hoping for his safety. Small touches were added to most characters (such as the way in which Rorschach writes eloquently in his diary but speaks in broken sentences around other people) to flesh them out and make them sympathetic. Billy Crudup had the most difficult role in the cast, having to portray an all-powerful, glowing blue, and often fully naked Dr. Manhattan. His cool tone of voice was perfect for capturing this detached and incomprehensible being, with an ever-thinning layer of humanity underneath. The only character that never appealed was Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II. While we spend a considerable amount of time with her, she never feels fully developed. Whether it was the way in which the character was written, the acting, the direction, or a combination of all three, it was a great shame that the only notable female character fell so very short.

The shallow representation of Silk Spectre II speaks to a greater problem with Watchmen. While the film is capable of handling “comic movie” dark, it completely fails in presenting real life dark. A scene which involves the near sexual assault of a character focuses heavily on her attack, almost relishing in it, but the perpetrator is never fully condemned for his actions, nor the victim given any real exploration as to her decisions following the event. The same man also commits atrocious war crimes and other savage acts, revelling in his own power and violence. Other characters disapprove of his actions – but disapproval is as far as it goes. Many of his choices are even depicted as somewhat comic. While having a “hero” act in such a way was definitely an interesting plot point – and one I’m sure was explored better in the graphic novel – the film simply doesn’t know how, or even chooses not to, portray his violence as something separate to the other heroes.

One element that did fit fully with the tone of the film, and yet still came as a complete and welcome surprise, was the ending. Despite everything the film showed me, I still expected the world to be saved in the “right” way come the end. The movie was explicit in the fact that heroes aren’t always good, and people not always worth saving, and yet I had become so accustomed to the superhero formula that I could never have predicted the finale.

Watchmen is akin to a chef throwing everything in their kitchen into a big pot. There are some elements that work so well; the visuals, much of the characterisation, and the bleak ending were all handled with considerable care. Yet there’s an equal amount that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. While this mammoth project was clearly a labour of love for Snyder, how much it works for any individual viewer probably heavily depends on their original appreciation of the graphic novel.

3/5

sure i may not “read the player’s handbook” or “know what an aasimar is” or “calculate basic math” but im gay, im having fun, and im eating dice so really who cares

citric-crow

aasimar is that thing where you get real close to the microphone and talk right

oh yeah that sounds familiar! thanks!

@heythug

heythug

I put a dice in my mouth ONCE

😂 😂 😂 😂

sure i may not “read the player’s handbook” or “know what an aasimar is” or “calculate basic math” but im gay, im having fun, and im eating dice so really who cares

citric-crow

aasimar is that thing where you get real close to the microphone and talk right

oh yeah that sounds familiar! thanks!

@heythug

sure i may not “read the player’s handbook” or “know what an aasimar is” or “calculate basic math” but im gay, im having fun, and im eating dice so really who cares

citric-crow

aasimar is that thing where you get real close to the microphone and talk right

oh yeah that sounds familiar! thanks!

feministism

pissvortex

imagine waking up in the middle of the night to a large hairless gorilla making kissy noises and rubbing your stomach. that’s what your cat has to deal with every day

Gifted Review

“He’s a good person. He wanted me before I was smart.”

Frank, a boat repairman who has been raising his child prodigy niece Mary since her mother’s suicide, is drawn into a custody battle over the child with her grandmother.

One thing that Gifted can boast is its truly stellar cast. Chris Evans leads the movie as Frank, and delivers a subdued performance of a man dealing with a heavy amount of grief and regret who must mask it in order to best raise his niece. McKenna Grace is the niece in question, and plays the character with the perfect balance of self-assured precociousness and childish uncertainty. While it is clearly an early leading role for the young actress, she and Evans share enough chemistry to make the relationship wholly believable, and inject enough emotion to make them easy characters to invest in. The supporting cast is also excellent, and tragically underused. Octavia Spencer especially Is in a role too small for her talents. Despite this, she still plays well the role of a warm, maternal figure that Grace’s Mary was otherwise missing from her life.

It is the superb cast that elevates Gifted above simply being a clichéd Lifetime film. The beats of the movie are all entirely predictable, with not a single surprise offered by the storyline. A brief separation between Mary and Frank does elicit some emotion due to the pair’s performance, but their reunion is so obvious it’s difficult to generate the upset the film clearly wants you to feel. The soundtrack doesn’t help the situation, with lyrics all but telling you what you’ve just seen and how you should react. The script, at least, does offer some clever lines and amusing moments, providing the movie something other than just the performances to rely on.

While it is a perspective we’ve seen before, the film handles well the issue of a child’s well-being as something wholly out of their hands. Mary’s opinion on where she wants to live won’t be considered by the courts until she is twelve, despite having a clear understanding of what she wants already. In fact, there is so much out of Mary’s control in terms of how her life will be shaped. Spencer’s Roberta criticises Frank for failing to get a white lawyer, commenting on how the racism of the court system means the judge is likely to favour the grandmother’s side.

What Gifted finds more difficult is executing scenes clearly constructed to tug on your heart strings. Some work well, and combine good cinematography with cutesy dialogue to produce something winning. A scene of Mary using Frank as a climbing frame while they ponder the existence of God, silhouetted against a glowing orange sunlight, is sweetly funny despite how cheesy it may sound. A similar scene in a maternity ward, however, fails completely, coming off instead as uncomfortable and frankly quite odd.

Gifted needed to be far more consistent in its delivery to be something more than a casual Sunday morning movie. While the cast elevate the film substantially and often clever dialogue helps with the pacing, the predictability and awkward sentimental moments keeps Gifted from being anything other than mediocre.

2.5/5

Mary Poppins Returns Review

“You’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a child”

With the Banks children grown up, and Michael now a father himself, Mary Poppins returns to guide the family once more.

It was inevitable that a sequel to a movie as beloved as Mary Poppins would have cinema seats filled with those doubtful of the second attempt’s success, or even necessity. Mary Poppins Returns, however, brushes aside such concerns almost immediately. Greeted by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s charmingly bad Cockney accent, we cycle through the early morning light of London to arrive at the familiar Cherry Tree Lane. In fact, there’s much about the sequel that seems familiar. Yet director Rob Marshall’s version is not hackneyed, but instead wonderfully comforting. Mary Poppins Returns offers the same blanket-warmth nostalgia of revisiting a childhood story fondly remembered.

The theme of nostalgia is a key element in the sequel. Michael mourns for his recently passed wife, the children their mother. Nostalgia hangs heavy over the house, which the Banks are under threat of losing. Then there is audience nostalgia. Older viewers, reminded of the original as the sequel treads the familiar beats, revisit the first time they met Mary Poppins. This could have tinged the film with an unwanted sadness, emphasised by Mary’s question “Do you ever dream or reminisce, wondering where to find what you truly miss?” But, along with the Banks children, we are reminded that nothing important is ever truly lost.

It is here with “The Place Where Lost Things Go” that audiences will first find themselves tearing up. With this song, the sequel truly cements itself as something special. Returns is just a shade darker than the original, but it is this that lets the sweeter moments shine through brighter. The music throughout is a success, in turns whimsical and fun, and touchingly sentimental. It’s unlikely any of the songs will be as iconic as those from the original – there’s certainly no “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” here – but they’re still catchy and enjoyable. While Emily Blunt’s voice isn’t quite as powerful as Julie Andrews’, she delivers the songs with far more theatricality and a little more bite.

Blunt’s Poppins has a little more bite in general. Taking more from P.L Travers’ original character than Andrews did, the nanny in Returns, while caring, is certainly not a woman you’d want to cross. Prim and proper, and very self-assured, Blunt plays the character with more of an air of sly mystery and a sharper edge. Miranda’s Jack (this movie’s Bert), is then the ideal balm to the arch of Mary Poppins with his warmth and sweetness. The fact that Blunt makes the character so decidedly her own, however, was crucial. It would have been unwise to emulate exactly what Andrews portrayed, and this Mary Poppins, while different, still seems a natural evolution from the first.

A further evolution from the original was the blend of live action and animation. It seems far more seamless in the sequel, and looks more appealing. The movie still employs hand-drawn animation, however, which lent itself once more to the embrace of nostalgia.

While there were a few missteps (such as the anachronistic inclusion of BMX-riding lamplighters, and an ending that went on slightly too long), Mary Poppins Returns was a faithful and playful sequel. A more perfect follow-up to Julie Andrews couldn’t have been found than with Emily Blunt, and the movie’s genuine devotion to the importance of childishness and joy is one that is sure to leave a smile on any fan’s face.

3.5 /5

Paladin™: when you’re kinda feeling cleric but also want to Stab

Sorcerer™: when you wanna be a caster but you don’t wanna be a nerd

Bard™: when you’ve never made a decision in your life and you don’t intend to start now

Warlock™: when you’re not quite ready to admit you’re into cryptids like that

Druid™: when honestly you’d rather be on the floor petting the DM’s cat but they made you play and this is the next best thing you guess

Fighter™: when all the weird puzzle shit bores the snot out of you and you’d rather stack dice til the fighting part gets here

feministism

reblog this with the most valuable thing you learned in 2018 (can be anything!)

I did this last year so I had to do another one!

btw mine is that sadness can’t last forever but that it lasts much longer if I’m not proactive about getting help ♡

peachyboy-studies

never feel embarrassed of something if it makes you happy

bipbopbeep-deactivated20230614

ahh I’m still trying to practice this one. but it’s so true!

It’s okay to be confused about what you want with life! Sometimes things will just work themselves out perfectly, and if they don’t—there’s time for them to.

wowowowow I relate so much to this one. I wanted a lot of things this year and none of them worked out. but there is always time!!

owl-cafe

Learning what I was capable of if Didnt doubt myself

skyeisconfused-deactivated20241

oh how powerful that is! keep believing!!

Learning that I can actually accomplish what I want! That my dreams aren’t all doomed to fail that I can do things!!