This is new type of blog post that I’m calling Fatherly Quickies. I don’t always have time to fully review any new films I’ve seen due to my job and personal life, so to make up for full reviews. I will sometimes collate a couple films I’ve seen into a huge blog full of quick reviews. Hope you guys understand and thanks for supporting the site.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu – Warner Bros. Directed by Rob Letterman
A Video Game Film Curse-Breaker?
I had a little bit of anticipation for this film, mainly because I’m a casual fan of the Pokémon franchise and I’ve also loved Ryan Reynolds in almost anything he’s been in since Deadpool. After seeing the film, I was mostly satisfied with how it turned out. Ryan Reynolds carries the film with his performance as Detective Pikachu. I would say that Detective Pikachu is sort of like Roger Rabbit, except that he’s more knowledgeable and smarter than the latter, he had some funny lines and the way they talked about the World of Pokémon made me glad that I’m a fan of the franchise. What I also loved about the film was the live-action Pokémon elements and designs. Unlike the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie (I know they are changing the design of Sonic, but is that really going to help the film?), the production crew actually gave a crap and made sure that the designs of the Pokémon remained true to the artstyle of the games. Honestly, they did almost everything right in adapting the Pokémon game elements to real life, there’s only one choice I had a problem with and that was mainly with how Mewtwo’s psychic powers were handled. Really the only problems I had with the film were with the live-action actors. Justice Smith as Tim was okay, though now that I think about it, it seems like he was trying to be like a younger Eddie Valliant but with not as much personality (Honestly, a lot of parts felt like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, that’s why I’ve made two comparisons so far). The main girl protagonist was somewhat okay, but she was kind of bland throughout the film, she had a chipper personality, but it came off as cliched. Really, the only actor I liked seeing was Bill Nighy. He looked like he was invested into his role, especially since he’s revealed to be the villain. The other problem I had was with the generic plot, if you take out the Pokémon elements, it’s a detective story that’s been seen hundreds of times. Overall, I had a fun time with this film, is it good, mostly, could it have been better, well that depends on what you want more, Pokémon or Film-Noir? Either way, most Pokémon fans will like this movie and it’s a good one for the kids as well.
7.5 out of 10
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Booksmart – Annapurna Pictures. Directed by Olivia Wilde
Coming-of-Age Mostly Refreshed.
I had heard some good things about this film and decided to see this over Aladdin (2019), I was wondering how things were going to go with this film and I’m satisfied to say that this was worth seeing in the theater because it was one of the best comedy films of the year. Directed by Olivia Wilde, in her debut, and starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart tells the story of two bookish high school senior girls as they are about to celebrate graduation on the night before the ceremony. The girls, Amy and Molly have made it through High School without partying unlike their other classmates and are therefore considered pretentious. During their last day of school, Molly finds out from some of the partying students that they were also accepted to great colleges and later feels that both her and Amy have missed out on having fun during their high school career as they were both dedicated to getting their academic achievements and were not willing to break any rules at any point. On a side note, Amy has been out (meaning coming out as a lesbian) for two years and has been trying to ask another girl named Ryan on a date as she’s confident that she is also out. Molly later finds out that there is a huge graduation party that is being held by one of their classmates and everyone in the senior class will be there. Knowing that this is their opportunity to be recognized by their classmates, Molly goads Amy into going to the party as she explains that this would be Amy’s chance to ask Ryan out. There’s only one tiny problem, they do not know where the party is and are forced to find a few students that are somewhat questionable for their sanity or snobbish behavior and ask them for the party’s address, all while they run into some crazy antics. I had a blast with this movie, the two main characters Amy and Molly made this film work for me. I also like how simple the story was and how there were some funny moments and dramatically intense moments. I laughed so hard during the scene in the car (with Jason Sudekis driving, by the way). Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s daughter, is in the movie as a crazy woman, and I mean very crazy, almost like the Asian chick from Pitch Perfect, she stood out in a couple scenes that I laughed uncomfortably at. I will say that there are some problems I had such as some of the song choices and that not every joke sticks the landing. Booksmart was one of the best comedy films of the year and I hope to see Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein in more films.
8.0 out of 10
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Rocketman – Paramount Pictures. Directed by Dexter Fletcher
Goodbye Yellow-Brick Road, Hello Fame and Fortune.
I’m going to be very honest here, I do not listen to a lot of Sir Elton John, but I do like some of his songs like “Rocketman,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Benny and the Jets,” and “Crocodile Rock.” I already knew that Sir Elton John was flamboyantly gay and had an interesting choice of fashion whenever he performed, most of them are legendary. But what I didn’t know was that he was a classically trained musician, that he had a partner, Bernie Taupin, who wrote almost every one of his famous songs, and that he could remember any notes being played. After seeing Rocketman, I have a deep respect for Sir Elton John and an even deeper respect for Taron Egerton for nailing this role. Rocketman is a musical biopic that depicts Sir Elton John’s life and career through very well directed musical scenes and a fantastic performance from Taron Egerton as Sir Elton John. What makes this movie unique is the way it uses the musical sequences to transition between periods in Sir Elton John’s life and that every main character contributes a singing performance no matter what is being depicted. Seriously, Taron Egerton’s performance is what made this movie stand out to me, this guy can really sing, dance, and act. I knew that there was some potential from this actor ever since I first saw him in the Kingsman movies. One other thing to note, I’m usually not the person that likes seeing elements of homosexuality for an entire film such as “Call Me by Your Name,” but this I understood completely why Sir Elton John acted the way he did and loved that he was willing to share some of the reasons why he is the man he is today, this is a man who has been through some tough times but still continues to be an extremely good performer. Jamie Bell plays Bernie Taupin, who I mentioned is Sir Elton John’s main songwriting partner, and what I loved about his performance was that he convinced me that this man was willing to be there for Sir Elton John even when he had substance abuse problems or drunken rants. I really don’t have any problems aside with the minor nitpicks of long musical sequences and maybe too many songs, but that’s just me. Rocketman is almost just as good as Bohemian Rhapsody was and it’s worth seeing if you’ve been listening to Sir Elton John’s music for like forever. It’s a good biopic with some great performances and good musical sequences.
8.5 out of 10
Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!