M3GAN 2.0 (2025) *SPOILERS AHEAD* I went into this movie with high hopes but low expectations, considering some of the press I’ve heard about it. But to my surprise it was really pretty good. It wasn’t a re-tread of the first movie, but almost a different genre; going from horror to more of a sci-fi theme. The movie kept me enthralled almost all the way through, which surprised me because I’d heard that they were trying to make M3gan into a good guy, which I didn’t like, and I don’t think most moviegoers did either. But to be honest I didn’t mind it as long as they kept M3gan’s attitude, which they did for the most part. I don’t mind if she joins the good guys against a common enemy as long as she retains the attitude that made M3gan so ‘endearing’ in the first movie. Unfortunately, by the end of the movie she went a little too good, which pretty much takes away everything that makes M3gan who she is. She can be good or bad but that doesn’t mean her personality has to change; she can still be a little sh*t and do good things. I can see a definite Terminator 2 vibe going on here, but let’s face it, M3gan is best when she’s bad. The movie got a little bogged down at the end too; some convoluted story elements that lost a lot in translation. In the long run, the creators of this movie got too ambitious, and released it against all the biggest movies of the summer. The previous movie did well in January, and this one would have had similar success without the competition. I hope the failure at the box office doesn’t spell the end of this series, because it has so much potential, but time will tell. 7.5/10
How to Train Your Dragon (2025) *MORE SPOILERS* Watching this, I found myself wondering, how can a movie that’s almost a scene-for-scene, word-for-word remake of the glorious original, be such a total pile of crap? Dean DeBlois directed both the original animated movie (along with Chris Sanders) as well as this live action version (without Sanders). And yet, despite the fact that every scene is almost an exact duplicate of the original, right down to the smallest details, the new movie completely lacks all the sharp, clear storytelling of its predecessor, and its characters are completely devoid of charisma or talent. They apparently cast their movie from the vast talent pool of the local high school and left it at that. With the exception of Stoick the Vast, played by Gerard Butler in both movies, the cast was flaccid and desperate. I guess when they decided to make their ‘Vikings’ more socially and racially diverse, they typically destroyed the integrity of the performances and deference to the characters. and the rest of the movie tanked along with it. The result was joyless, dull and irritating, with many of the scenes ranking as pale shadows of the original animated counterparts. I’m not even sure why they re-made the original, considering it had the most realistic CG animation of any animated film I’ve seen, and looked better than the live action version. If this was just a (successful) money grab, fine. But Get Chris Sanders back because Dean DeBlois was not the apparent talent behind the first, if this new movie is any indication. 4/10
The More the Merrier (1943) This is a great screwball romantic comedy with an excellent cast, and story all expertly orchestrated together. The writing is sharp, the direction inspired, and the acting hilarious. This still ranks among my favorite screwball comedies and it was nice revisiting it. 9/10