DCHybrid02 Reviews

Titans (I) (2018–2023)

Ehhh

[5/10 · 25 November 2018]

First, let me say that I'm not someone who has read the Teen Titans comics. Therefore, I don't know how this show compares to the comics. I saw and loved the 2003 show, though, so I wanted to give this one a shot. We're now 7 episodes in, so I think I've seen enough to add my two cents.

Regarding the tone, "Titans" is definitely darker than the original show. There's not really a ton of humor and fun. Every week, it feels as though the situation the Titans are in is dire. The stakes are always high, and there's little time for anything besides fighting for their lives. The show could perhaps benefit from relaxing the tension with more scenes that occasionally make the characters look like regular people rather than superheroes.

The biggest issue I'm finding with the show is that it digresses every other episode to focus on some side character (or group of side characters). So, episodes 2,4, and 6 were dedicated to Hawk and Dove, the Doom Patrol, and Jason Todd respectively. This would be fine if adequate time was dedicated towards our main quartet, but this isn't the case.

In each of the side episodes I've seen, a least one of the main four characters is sidelined in favor of our guest(s). Sure, the characters may appear, but we learn little (if anyhting) about their individual stories. Starfire and Beast Boy especially are getting the short end of the straw in this show. For example, you might think that the Doom Patrol episode would give some insight into Beast Boy's background. We got about 3 minutes of background and 40ish minutes of introducing the upcoming "Doom Patrol" show.

The only character who's getting good development is Dick. So much so that it feels as though this should be called "The Dick Grayson Show" rather than "Titans." You could make the argument that Raven is (sort of) getting decent development. There have been several allusions to her father, and the most recent episode introduced her mother. Plus, Raven's story seems to be driving the main plot for the season. Even with that in mind, I'd still say Dick looks like the protagonist of this series.

If Dick is your favorite Titan and you want to learn more about him, "Titans" is for you. If you're looking to see stories about the others, you may need to look somewhere else. Again, the series is only 7 episodes in, so things could change. However, as things stand now, the showrunners should probably focus more on developing the other Titans and less on introducing new side characters every other week.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I got what I expected.

[6/10 · 28 April 2018]

I didn't watch this movie expecting to be impressed. While I enjoy comic movies, they're typically shallow and seem to often follow the same format. Today, that means the more explosions, the better. So, I go in with low expectations and, thus, can't be disappointed.

I have to say that I'm surprised at how high the rating is for this right now. A 9 seems a bit excessive. This movie is basically the Avengers on steroids. There are WAY too many characters and WAY too many plots going on here. Perhaps I'm a bit slow, but I found it difficult to keep track of everyone and what they were doing.

Rule #1 for any film should be to know your limits. There's at least 15 major characters in this movie who aren't working as a collective, but splitting into groups to conduct their own missions. Sure, it was supposed to contribute to the overall goal of stopping Thanos. However, the reality was that there were about four or five different plots going on within this movie. Too many for a 2-hour movie.

Because I was juggling trying to keep up with the various plot lines, I ended up having trouble understanding what the characters were trying to accomplish in their individual groups. It just became a muddled mess. I sort of understood what the aims were near the end, but that made for a dragging movie experience.

Marvel is the latest in a series of studios who are trying to squeeze money out of customers through an unnecessary two-part finale. Honestly, whether it was Tony trying to save Strange or Thor creating some weird, mystical ax, most of the plots were too long. I would've been fine if they'd condensed this movie into the first hour or so of a single film.

This isn't to say the film has no merits. I enjoyed the duality of Thanos as a power-hungry villain and a sympathetic father. It makes for a more interesting bad guy, in my opinion.

This is still a decent movie. It's got plenty of humor and action for superhero fans who enjoy other Marvel films. However, I'd just advise watching it with caution. It could take more than one time watching to understand the unusual plot lines, and it may even lag at points for some viewers. But it's worth watching at least once.

Black Panther (2018)

Intersting movie

[8/10 · 21 February 2018]

Like many people, I enjoyed comics as a child (I still do). However, being black, most of the characters I saw didn't look like me. Of course, I didn't really think about that until I was older. About that same time, I realized that the same racial disparity seen in comics exists in Hollywood, as well. Thus, I was intrigued by the notion of a Black Panther movie.

I wasn't going to see it in theaters, but I did a little digging to learn what the movie was about and it intrigued me, so I saw it during opening weekend. Since it's a comic book movie, I was apprehensive. They're typically enjoyable but have shallow plotlines.

Well, this movie managed to impress me. No easy feat. Why did it impress me? Because Ryan Coogler managed to incorporate everyday social issues into the movie. Most comic book movies deal with some supernatural issue. While that's fine, most of us probably can't identify with fighting aliens or other superpowered beings.

Before walking into the theater, I knew that Wakanda was supposed to be a technologically advanced country in Africa. A possibility of what African nations could be if they hadn't suffered the effects of colonization. So, I came in with a question. If Wakandans are so advanced, what are they doing to help their neighbors? I didn't actually expect the movie to address this question. Surprisingly, it did. When T'Challa considered breaking from tradition and sharing Wakanda's resources with others and admitting refugees into the country, one of his friends closed the matter by saying that refugees would bring their problems and make Wakanda just like any other country.

The villain of the movie turns out to be T'Challa's cousin. He believes that Wakanda should use its resources to arm the oppressed and help them defeat their oppressors. After a big battle, T'Challa decides that his cousin had a point about helping others rather than keeping the wealth to oneself, albeit he is less militant in his views. So, the movie ends with him pledging Wankandan aid to other countries during a meeting with the UN. It's an ending that I admired. So often, people are faced with the decision of helping others and we don't because we may not have as much as we once did afterwards. While Black Panther is a work of fiction, perhaps it will inspire people to pursue a more altruistic approach to life.

One of the things that I admired most about the movie was its casting choices. I hate to say it, but Hollywood has a tendency to cast white actors in minority roles. Thus, I was happy to see a predominantly black cast in a movie that's not one of Tyler Perry's. Not only that, but 4 of the characters we consistently see are women. Wakanda seems to be a society that views women as being just as competent as men. For instance, the royal guard is completely made up of women. It feels rare for me to see black women in roles that aren't tossed aside for the sake of a white character. Here, we see a quartet of women who act as T'Challa's closest advisors: a tech genius, a queen, a spy, and the head of his guard. I'd say that that they serve as examples of how black women can succeed in the world (if given the chance).

My only real qualm with this movie is the villain, Erik Killmonger. As I said, he presents a foible to T'Challa's pacifism. I'm fine with that. It actually reminded me of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Two men who have similar goals but different methods of obtaining said goals. I could sympathize with Killmonger right up until he killed and threatened people who were hesitant to do what he said. What's the point of lifting other Africans up if you're needlessly killing your own people to do it? Without this character trait, I would've still viewed him as misguided, but I could still respect his position and how he came to have it. However, being a sociopathic murderer made him look like every other bad guy I see in Hollywood. I don't even think Killmonger needed to be a villain. He could have simply served as the flip side of the coin on this debate over whether or not Wakanda should aid other nations. Then again, there probably would've been less action and this IS a comic book movie. Oh well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. If you're a comic book fan, I'd suggest seeing Black Panther. It deviates from the typical comic book formula of fight some aliens, blow stuff up, and end the movie without actually doing or saying anything important. I think Panther does have something to say. It shows us a representation that defies the Western expectations of what an African country looks like. Even more important, Black Panther demonstrates altruistic behavior that we can aspire to as human beings. Give it a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

What...was THAT?

[4/10 · 12 January 2018]

I'll start by saying that I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars. It's entertaining enough but not great, and it's the most overrated film franchise I've ever seen. Now that that's over with, I'm not going to mince words.

I paid to see TFA in theaters, and I wasn't too happy to realize that I paid to watch ANH all over again, which coincidentally was my least favorite of the original trilogy. Apart from that, though, I liked the movie, at the end of which I had multiple questions. But I figured that those questions would be answered, at least in part, in The Last Jedi, so I eagerly awaited its release.

How could I know how disappointing this movie would be? It was a trainwreck on so many levels. The plot went all over the place. Character development sucked. And I can't say that I enjoyed how the legacy characters were handled.

Let's start with the plot. Half of the plot is dealing with the idea that the First Order can track the rebellion through lightspeed. Thus, Finn and the new girl, Rose, go to some casino planet to find a guy who can help them circumvent this problem. The guy ends up betraying them to the First Order (surprise, surprise), effectively ensuring that their mission fails. I don't care that the mission failed, but the whole casino thing bored me and Finn's entire plot line seemed to contribute very little to the story. It almost felt as if the writers were giving Finn busy work to do. On top of that, at some point in this weird plot point, the audience is supposed to believe that Rose fell in love with Finn. The most meaningful interaction between them occurred when she described how she hated her home planet, so I don't understand what the writers were going for there.

On the rebel ship, I really don't even get what was happening. I zoned out every time the scene moved back there. Leia got blasted into space but used the Force to fly back to the ship after she was just floating around for several seconds (and should have been dead). As a result, someone else was put in charge, but she and Poe didn't see eye to eye, so he led a mutiny against her. At this point, Leia woke up and shot Poe, but there doesn't seem to be any tangible punishment for treason. Again, I'm unsure of the significance of this part of the story. Are we meant to see that Poe is a hothead? Or will this disappear in the next film, just as some of TFA's points seemed to disappear in this one?

Meanwhile, on Luke's island, Rey is trying to convince him to rejoin the fight against the dark side, but he refuses to do so because he's apparently become a crotchety old man in the last 30 years. Finally, she convinces him to give her some Jedi training. However, most of it must have occurred off-screen because I saw very little of it. Yet, when she left the island to try to convince Kylo Ren to join the light side, she's remarkably skilled with a lightsaber AND the Force. Thanks for the five minutes of training Luke. By the way, did any of you have questions about Snoke or Rey's parents after TFA? Oh well. We learn that Rey's parents were drunks who sold her for booze, and Kylo Ren managed to cut Snoke in half with relative ease before we learned anything about him. Other than the fact that he was using Kylo, but everyone (except Kylo) already knew that.

I have to say that Kylo Ren is starting to really irk me. From what I understand, he's meant to be a character who is constantly caught between light and dark. But he strikes me more as a poser who's acting out for attention and wants to convince others (or maybe himself) that he's badder than he actually is. I didn't like him before, but I figured that Snoke was going to be the main villain like Palaptine, so I sat through his scenes in stony silence. When he killed Snoke, I was horrified. Why? Because that meant Kylo would be the new face of the bad guys, and I find it difficult to take this guy seriously as a villain. He's like the a rebellious teenager who never grew out of the phase, and it's less excusable for an adult to behave in such a manner, especially when you kill your father just to make a point.

Now, I could POSSIBLY get over the shoddy plot, Finn's useless foray to the Las Vegas of the galaxy, Rey's inexplicable mastery of being a Jedi, and even my extreme dislike of Kylo. However, I can't forgive how Luke and Leia were treated. Luke went from being a starry-eyed rookie to being a cynic who tried to kill his own nephew while he slept in bed. I understand that people change, but I don't know if they should change THAT much. I was relieved to hear that Mark Hamill was similarly displeased with how Luke was written.

As for Leia, she was in a coma for most of the movie. When she woke up, nothing reflected the fact that Carrie Fisher (may she rest in peace) will obviously not be able to appear as Leia in Ep IX. It's my understanding that she was finished filming her scenes for this movie at the time of her death. In the end of the film, she flies off with what's left of the rebellion, but what will they tell us to explain her absence in the next movie? I don't think that they should have killed her. That's too easy and, frankly, seems kind of disrespectful to the actress and her memory. I'm sure that there are good ways to write people out of the script off-camera, but this film didn't give me the impression that the writers, directors, or whoever are capable of doing that.

Star Wars was always overrated, but it still use to manage coming up with a decent story, even in the prequels. However, 2016's Rogue One and 2017's Last Jedi don't really feel like Star Wars movies and prove to me more than ever that Hollywood is all about the Benjamins rather than making a quality film.

Wonder Woman (2017)

I'm actually a little disappointed

[5/10 · 17 June 2017]

First, I want to say that I never expect to be blown away by superhero movies. They all utilize the same formula that produces the same result every single time. However, I enjoy seeing the characters. Thus, I usually walk away from the movies feeling pretty content.

I don't know why, but I got my hopes up for this movie. I've been waiting for it since Gal Gadot was cast in title role. That was my mistake.

The movie begins well enough with the audience getting a taste of life on Themyscira for the first half hour. After that, it took a nose dive. It felt as though Diana's story was put on the back burner to allow for telling the audience about WWI. It reminded me of the first Captain America movie, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who got that vibe.

At the hour mark, I began to constantly check the time, wondering when the movie would end. I did enjoy watching Diana tear through the Germans on the battlefield. However, that felt like one of the few occasions where I actually got to see Wonder Woman, not simply Diana Prince.

The plot twist at the end was perhaps the most unnerving aspect of this movie to me. Since when is Wonder Woman a god? Sure, I'm no expert, but I've read some comics and watched shows and movies. In every incarnation, she's the princess of the Amazons, not some goddess. Of course, I learned later that Zack Snyder wrote the story, so perhaps that's why this made so little sense.

The acting was fine. I always enjoy Chris Pine and I've been enamored with Gal Gadot since Fast and Furious. I truly wish that we'd seen more of Etta Candy; she was pretty funny. I especially enjoyed the repartee between Gadot and Said Taghmaoui.

I can't say that I always enjoyed the lighting. It was way too dark. I felt like I was watching a Batman movie. The CGI wasn't the best, but it wasn't awful. Some of the fight scenes look pretty fake. I wish studios would try to rely more on actors than CGI, but we can't always get we want. I know you'll have some CGI for a superhero movie, but it doesn't need to go overboard.

If I'm being honest, I can't see why this movie's getting such great reviews. It's not a bad movie, but it could've been a lot better. It seems as though the thing nowadays is to laud every movie as exceptional, but then that takes away from those that are truly deserving of such an epithet.

At this rate, I don't have much hope for the upcoming DCEU movies.

Beauty and the Beast (I) (2017)

It actually impressed me

[7/10 · 17 March 2017]

I'll start by saying this. "Beauty and the Beast" is one of my favorite Disney movies ever. Probably only second to Mulan. Of course, I always enjoy the singing, but what I enjoyed most were the characters, especially Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts. I loved the dynamic between them and the Beast. And concerning the Beast, I was always impressed with Robbie Benson's ability to go from gruff and feral to sweet and gentle.

When I went to see this movie, I was cautiously optimistic; I didn't want one of my favorite childhood movies to be ruined. It was actually better than I was expecting it to be. It will never be the 1991 movie, but I still managed to get a lot out of the film.

My biggest qualm with this movie was Emma Watson. I love her to death, but I can't say that I enjoyed her singing too much. I was perfectly happy with the acting, but I think it would've been better to dub the singing parts with an actual singer or to have just cast a better singer. The quality of her singing versus that of others was starkly apparent. Other than that, I loved seeing her again.

The movie's also missing that back-and-forth banter between Lumiere and Cogsworth. There's some of it in there, but it's not nearly as funny as it was in the animated movie.

Now for the good stuff. I'm so glad that they brought Alan Menken back because he did it again! Even 20 years later, he manages to make such terrific songs. It's amazing! I'm pretty fond of the old songs, but the new ones are simply to good to ignore.

A lot of the stuff from the 1991 movie is in this one. There are also some new scenes that sort of give you a little more insight into certain characters. Lefou is certainly more respectable here than he is in the animated movie and seems much less deserving of his name.

I thought the CGI was pretty good with maybe the possible exception of the Beast. He didn't look horrible, but I wish he'd looked different. Certain features of his looked odd at times. Like his legs. They looked a little too big to me. But the CGI in "Be Our Guest"? That was amazing! A very entertaining show!

I'm glad that I saw this. I was having doubts, even while sitting in the movie theater, but I was very happy with what I'd seen when I left.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Good, but not great

[6/10 · 6 May 2016]

I just got back from seeing this movie. As is usual when I see a hyped-up film like this, I wanted to look at what others had to say after I'd seen the movie. I usually don't write reviews for a movie unless I really liked it or really hated it. However, upon seeing all of the glowing reviews, I felt the need to say something.

I feel as if many times people give a movie great reviews because of the hype associated with it. Very rarely do I find a movie that actually deserves an overwhelmingly good review. This movie doesn't fulfill my requirements.

I liked this movie, but it was nothing special. It had the potential to be something else if they had stuck with the plot from the comic more. Instead, it seems as if the writers, directors, or whoever used the basic story and took the liberty of rewriting the rest. I'm generally fine with that because everything doesn't translate well across different mediums, but this was a little too much.

My main issue with this movie was that I agreed with Steve a lot more than Tony while I watched it. Why is that bad? Because I didn't agree with either more than the other when I read the comic. I thought both sides had good arguments to present, but I didn't swing one way or the other.

In this movie, Tony clearly was the one who was wrong. He started out fine with the reasons for signing the contract. Then, it's like he was turning a blind eye to what was going on. He was "protecting" Wanda by keeping her under house arrest. Maybe that was true, but it felt like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince others. Then, he refused to listen to Steve when he described the plot involving the other Winter Soldiers. The fight at the end was the last straw for me. I know he was beyond angry with Bucky for killing his parents, but he let his anger get in the way of taking down the bad guy. Thank goodness Steve ended the fight in a reasonable manner. Tony's behavior just bothered me in this. I didn't always agree with him in the comic, but I rarely did in this movie.

Besides that, the movie was worth watching. The actors are always a delight to see. I wasn't in love with the casting choice for Spiderman. Something about his acting rubbed me the wrong way, but I guess he was alright for the minimal screen time he got. The action sequences were cool, especially the chase involving Bucky stealing a guy's motorcycle. Civil War is an overall neat flick, but it takes a lot more than that to earn a raving review from me.

Les Misérables (2012)

It was cool.

[6/10 · 26 April 2016]

Before seeing this movie, I'd heard of Les Miserables, but never knew what it was about. Wow! Very interesting story. It's sad, but with a title like Les Miserables, I don't know how one can expect anything else.

Now, I have to share my opinion regarding the choices for the production of this movie. I could rant on and on about how a city full of French people sound like their English because an English accent is apparently the default accent for anyone who isn't American. Sure, that's annoying, but I had bigger concerns.

I felt that this movie had some serious casting issues. Les Miserables is supposed to be an opera. The people who were cast in this movie are NOT opera singers and didn't show in any way that they were capable of singing in an opera. That isn't to say that the actors and actresses can't sing. I know some of them can, like Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. But they don't have the voices needed to pull this type of singing off.

After watching this, I decided that I had to see a live production. A few months later, I got my chance. I was blown away by the talent on the stage. But this talent just further emphasized the shortcomings of the actors in the movie. They would have been fine if they were just acting in a regular movie, but they weren't. At times, it was if they were acting while they were singing, such as in "I Dreamed a Dream." It isn't exactly pleasing to the ears when I had to hear Hathaway cry while she sang. I couldn't even understand all of the words at first. Points to her for good acting, though.

The only members of the main cast who sounded as if they had the chops to do this the way it's supposed to be done were Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit. I know Barks played Eponine in the 2010 version of Les Miz. She was phenomenal then and phenomenal in this. The guard at the barricades who spoke to the rebels after Gavroche died also sounded as if he was supposed to be in this movie. Excluding Colm Wilkinson as the bishop (he was the original Valjean on Broadway), the other cast members seemed as if they should have been replaced with lesser- known actors who actually have the range to do this kind of singing.

Anyways, I had to get that off my chest. I only gave this movie a 6 because I liked the story, and I've read about how hard the actors worked on it. I'll always appreciate that it opened my eyes to the world of Les Miz, but I've preferred basically every other version of Les Miz's songs over the ones in the movie.

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Not as good as the second, but still enjoyable

[6/10 · 6 February 2016]

So, I've been waiting for this movie since I saw the second in 2011. I figured that this one wouldn't compare to that one, but I knew I'd be content if I just enjoyed it more than the first. I did.

The message of the movie is somewhat repetitive the one from the second movie, dealing with that question of "Who am I?" But I was fine with that because I figured that Po would have a little soul-searching to do with the arrival of his birth dad.

I went to see this movie three times, one of which was a 3D showing, in order to make sure I noticed as much as possible. I have to say the visuals for this movie are really good, probably the best of the three films. I don't usually pay for 3D, but I thought it was a pretty neat thing to see.

The music was particularly fantastic. I was upset to discover that John Powell wouldn't be returning, but Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe made a great score, which touched a chord quite frequently.

On to the movie. It was funny. Not hilarious, but I never really watched these movies with the expectation that I'd laugh my guts out. It was still amusing.

I enjoyed the emotional parts of the movie the most. Mr. Ping giving Li a pep talk. The scene where it looked like Kai was going to take everyone's chi in the panda village after Po failed to beat him. The moment when Po almost became a jombie and is saved by everyone's chi.

One thing I'm impressed with is that the Furious Five actually speak more in this with the exception of Viper. I wasn't happy that they were sidelined and that Tigress was put in the spotlight again (although she is my favorite). But I thought they had decent lines for the amount of time in which they were present.

I only have one major concern with this movie. I found myself wondering why Kai all of sudden turned rotten and began stealing the pandas' chi. Was he always a little power hungry? Did something happen in the village that influenced this sudden turn of events. Maybe a little more background on him would've cleared this up a little more. Besides that, I liked him. Kai was funny and being a spirit warrior made him a challenging opponent.

Overall, it's a fun and visually-appealing movie to watch.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

A very pleasant surprise

[9/10 · 30 January 2016]

I heard about this movie when I saw the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It literally took me 5 seconds of watching the actual trailer before I thought to myself in disbelief, "They're not actually making another one are they?" Seriously! I heard Jack Black's voice and immediately knew what this was. Then, I forgot about it until the Super Bowl came around. And after that, I forgot about it again until a few weeks before the release date. But as the release date drew closer, I began thinking that this movie looked like it might be good. Eventually, I decided I would actually like to see this in theaters, so I went on Memorial Day.

All I could say after seeing this movie was "Wow". It was truly something else, something that I never would have dreamed of seeing in an animated film.

Where to start? Well, I was shocked at the beginning of the movie when we're learning some of Shen's background. The panda genocide wasn't surprising when I learned about the Soothsayer's prophecy, but it was surprising that we were discussing such a dark topic. I would've thought that the powers that be would consider it to be too "sensitive" for children, but I was impressed that it was being addressed.

This brings me to the villain who carried out this heinous act. Shen was a despicable being. He was cowardly, sadistic, and just delusional when it came to being "wronged" by his parents. I hated the guy and found Tai Lung to be a more likable character. But I believe that Shen presented more of a challenge to Po due to the negative psychological effect he had, whether it was from his feathers causing visions or his toying with Po before lying about the circumstances of his separation from his biological parents. Shen clearly got into Po's head. And he did something so terrible and traumatic that Po didn't even remember it for years. He did scar Po for life, but Po might not have found the means for progression as a kung fu master if it hadn't been for Shen's actions.

This is a big one for me. Tigress. Now, I'm not one of those people who fawned over this movie because they're in love with some pairing. No. But I did enjoy seeing Tigress open up more, and I was glad to see that her continual scowl from the first movie was replaced by a smile here and there. I noticed that she and Po seemed to be best friends, which had me wondering what happened between the first movie and this one to make her go from intense dislike to best friends. The hug she gave to Po and the reactions of the rest of the Five made me believe that her character development is somewhat attributable to him. This development came as a relief. I found myself wondering whether or not she'd treat him with a more mild form of her attitude from the first.

My only qualm was that Tigress' time in the spotlight meant that the rest of the Five took a place on the back burner. I noticed that in the first movie, too. However, considering the fact that they're with Po for the majority of this movie, they should either have spoken more or had lines that added to their characters or the plot in some way. Tigress is my favorite character among the Five, but there's a lot of talent among their actors, and I thought it was wasted by giving the characters 5 lines apiece.

I have to say that I enjoyed this movie way more than the first. I like a little darkness in my movies. I've heard some say that they didn't enjoy the movie as much for this reason, but being a movie geared toward kids doesn't mean that it can't address serious or even grim themes. I applaud the director and the writers for delving into this. Some of my praise must also go the composers, John Powell and Hans Zimmer, who managed to create a great score that perfectly matched the scenes in the film. I'd definitely say that this is one of Dreamworks' better movies. Regardless of whether or not you can empathize with what's happening in this movie, many can probably sympathize or even compare Po's search for the truth to their own experiences in some way. Kung Fu Panda 2 is definitely something that any person can potentially enjoy.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

It was okay

[6/10 · 30 January 2016]

I'm about 8 years late, but I've wanted to say this ever since I saw Kung Fu Panda.

I actually never had the desire to see this movie. I recall seeing a trailer some time in 2007, probably with Shrek 3, but I'm not sure. I just thought that it was too childish for my tastes. Then, the summer rolled around, and my brother dragged my mom and me to the movies to see this.

Honestly, I spent about 10-15 minutes trying to figure out why a panda had a goose for a father before I just settled on adoption. After that, I basically just dwelt on the humorless jokes and how irritating I found Po. He was a man-child who did and said the most foolish things. I couldn't keep myself from rolling my eyes.

Upon Po being chosen as the Dragon Warrior, I began to pity him. I mean, I was thinking that there was no way a panda could learn kung fu AND defeat the bad guy. But I thought that his treatment by the Five and Shifu was unnecessary and harsh. Plus, I thought it was upsetting that he possessed such a poor self-image. As annoying as I found him, I never thought he was a "disgrace" or some "thing" or anything else the others believed him to be. He just had a dream, albeit a seemingly unrealistic one, that he now had the opportunity to pursue.

Fast forward to his training with Shifu. I actually thought his combat scene before the keep-away thing with the dumpling was another dream and was shocked when I learned it was real. But I still thought that he couldn't beat Tai Lung.

At the end when Mr. Ping told Po his secret ingredient for the soup, I actually began to like this movie. I give it a 6 because, in spite of those poor attempts at humor, I saw something valuable. In spite of the incredulity expressed by the others, Po remained determined and managed to beat the odds. I think that scroll managed to dispel that self-loathing we saw earlier. That's a cool message to teach to people of any age and allowed me to appreciate some of what I'd written off earlier.

Overall, kids can enjoy the movie, and I know many members of older audiences did, as well. It's worth watching at least once.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Fun, but nothing I haven't seen before

[6/10 · 19 December 2015]

Let me just start by saying that I never intended to see this movie in theaters. I was going to just watch it when it came out on DVD, but I decided to see it yesterday. My co-workers were excited about it, and I thought, "What the heck."

Now, to address the reviews. Many seemed to either love this movie or hate it. While it didn't seem as bad as some say it is, The Force Awakens wasn't as great either. It lies in the middle.

I went into the movie expecting something along the lines of the prequels, which I liked, although they weren't better than the originals. I was even prepared for something worse. I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the characters and was excited to see that Harrison Ford wasn't in the movie for a mere 5 minutes that would serve as a cash grab.

However, this whole movie felt like a remake of A New Hope. There were plenty of examples, but I'll just name a few: droid being hunted because it has valuable information, planets that were reminded me of Tatooine and Endor (I genuinely thought that they were using the same planets until they said the names), and blowing up another Death Star in almost the exact same way (X-wings, internal sabotage, etc.). Blowing up the Death Star once was enough for me. The second time was excessive. A third is just annoying, even if this Death Star is bigger and badder.

Another odd thing. I recall thinking during Finn's fight scenes with a light saber that no one should be that good already. I mean, Luke sucked! But not Finn, who I don't think is even a Jedi. And then, he fights Kylo Ren. Either Finn was too good or Ren was awful because there's no way Finn should have almost beat a trained Sith lord in a fight.

This is still a cool movie to watch. But I'm a bit regretful that I paid to see a movie that I've pretty much seen before.