Puss in Boots the Last Wish

 

The year is quickly drawing to a close. The holidays are in full swing.  The weather is cooler to downright cold.  Stress levels are at an all-time high and patience has worn thin.  Aahhh, the perfect time to head to the movies and check out for a couple of hours. With fingers crossed and hopes high to finish my movie year on a high note, I once again grabbed my movie kit and struck out to the theater to see Puss in Boots the Last Wish. 

Getting straight to the point, yes!  Puss in Boots the Last Wish delivers.

Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek don’t miss a beat in reprising their roles as Puss and Kitty Softpaws and I was down for every moment of it.  Joining the “team” is Harvey Guillen as Perro and he’s a pure delight.  A perfect addition to their dynamic.  This time around Puss and company face off against three antagonistic parties featuring the voice talents of Florence Pugh, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Olivia Colman, John Mulaney, and Wagner Moura in an epic adventure that entertains and thrills from start throughout its entire hour forty-minute run time.

Great character arcs across the board.

Puss in Boots the Last Wish reminds me of Shrek but darker.  This movie has bite.  

The themes and language are mature and relatable, yet still assessable to kids. The skewering of Disney and Disney characters is a hoot, one in particular had me in stitches. Plenty of adult humor complete with bleeps to keep things PG for the kiddos. Puss in Boots the Last Wish contains lots of heart, angst, retrospection, and emotion.  

The animation is stunning.  A fantastic mixture of 3D computer generated graphics that are now the norm combined with highly stylized Into the Spider-Verse animation is beautiful to watch on the big screen. It also adds to the thrill factor in the action scenes bringing frenetic energy that many live action films fail to capture.  I will add that the intensity of the action combined with the darker aspects of the themes/characters may be a bit much for kids under 6.

Puss in Boots the Last Wish is a hard hitting, humorous, fun filled adventure that triumphs in every aspect.  An animated family film that delivers where so many as of late have failed.  Definitely theater worthy and I have this one marked for my personal collection so I can enjoy it again and again.

Puss in Boots the Last Wish gets a 10 from me.

Avatar: The Way of Water

 

After 13 years James Cameron invites us back to theaters to catch us up with former Marine Jake Sully and his family as a familiar threat returns to the extrasolar moon, Pandora. In all honesty I wasn’t overly excited to sit through this 3-hour 12minute of a film.  Don’t get me wrong, 2009s Avatar blew me away visually when it came out and while the story is fine it didn’t leave me clamoring for more with its predictability. I remember figuring out the entire film within the first 15 minutes and was able to recite the accompanying dialogue more often than not. With over a decade to improve technology and film techniques, I expected the visuals to be even more outstanding and worthy of a view. As for the storyline itself I wasn’t necessarily “feeling” the hype to see the newest film, Avatar: The Way of Water. The vagueness of the trailers kept me on the fence right up to an hour before movie time. Yes, I toyed with the idea of just getting a refund and waiting until I could stream this one at home.  

Damn glad I didn’t.

Avatar: The Way of Water is one of those rear sequels that is more of the same in many aspects, yet also manages to be entertainingly different. And better.  Yes, much better than the original.  I’m not sure how Cameron pulled it off, but he did so beautifully. 

Much like Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water is far from subtle or nuanced in its messaging or morality.  The plot is straight forward and simple. The good guys are practically saintly, and the bad guys are purely, unabashedly evil. Very black and white, little to no shades of gray. The dialogue can be eye-rolling cheesy and pedestrian. Even some of the acting of a couple of the new characters is weak.  

Here’s the thing... 

...None of those matters. 

Avatar: The Way of Water works, nonetheless.  It’s as visually stunning as expected.  I ended up seeing it in 3D and WOW.  Just W-O-W.  There’s one underwater sequence alone where I felt completely submerged in the world of Pandora and its sea life and it was worth the price of admission alone.  But yes, the visuals are spectacular and hold up throughout the entire film.  Slow clap and a chef's kiss for all the artists that once again brought all the colors and textures of Pandora to life.  And the underwater scenes?  Mind blowing!

But TwoW happily delivers more than just pretty pictures.  

The Soundtrack is as rich and dynamic as the visuals.  The action is thrilling to edge of your seat intense. I found myself quite anxious and holding my breath numerous times. The familiar is interwoven with the new world building/expansion seamlessly.  The characterization is meatier and makes for a more compelling story.  The focus of family kept me fully invested in who these people are and what happens to them (for better or worse).  At this point I just have to say, effing kids! Uggh. A phrase that became my personal mantra.  There are also some nice surprises to be had not only in the characters that pop up but in the actors behind them.  

Avatar: The Way of Water is not only worth the 13 year wait, but also definitely worth the trip to your local movie theater.  Yes, it’s a long film (skip the soda and get an Icee), but it certainly didn’t feel like it. My interest never wavered; my eyes never left the screen.  I never regretted seeing this one at the theater. Unlike so many of the highly anticipated, hyped films this year, Avatar: The Way of Water actually delivers an amazing, entertaining movie going experience.  This is a film meant to be seen on the big screen and should be viewed accordingly. Can't emphasize that enough.  Avatar: The Way of Water is good old movie magic and I thank James Cameron for delivering it to us once again.  Like the Na’vi, I see you Cameron and your movie is as badass as feral Neytiri.  

Can’t wait to see the next installment in 2024!

Until then Avatar: The Way of Water gets a 9.5 from me.

Violent Night

Violent Night

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, or is it?  That’s the crux of Santa’s (David Harbour) existential crisis in the newest entry in edgy Christmas movies, Violent Night. Not being a big fan of the usual touchy feely, saccharine holiday films this seemed right in my wheelhouse.

Admittedly, Violent Night wasn’t entirely what I expected.  It’s billed as a comedy and the trailers really lean into that. However, while comedic, it’s far from the laugh your butt off hilarious romp seemingly advertised. It’s definitely amusing to funny, but a bit of a letdown in that regard.  

Violent Night is also surprisingly more deep, sentimental, and emotional than expected.  Not a bad thing in and of itself, but the lack of follow through left me unsatisfied and wanting more. Getting a glimpse of who Santa was in his former life? Intriguing.  How did he become Santa? How does the magic work? Enough teasing, more answering. Are they saving things for a prequel?  

Harbour is perfectly cast as Santa, so you won't be disappointed. And the scenes with Trudy (Leah Brady) and Santa bring all the feels. Nicely done. Beverly D'Angelo is plain dreadful as Gertrude Lightstone and couldn’t be more fun to watch. The ultimate anti Ellen Griswold. Can you say wicked good!?  There’s no goodness or light to be had in her and I was all for it.  Not to be left out, John Leguizamo also shines as our big bad, Scrooge. The two of them (D’Angelo and Leguizamo) squaring off makes for big entertainment.

Violent Night goes all in on the violence and gore justifying its R rating, so not a film for the squeamish. Think Home Alone the Tarantino style. The action sequences are good, and the holiday flair adds a nice festive and demented touch. 

The pacing can drag here and there, particularly the first half of the film but isn’t terrible.  You feel it but it's bearable. 

When all is said and done, Violent Night works well but isn’t as strong a film as I hoped.  Some of the exposition is labored and most of the secondary characters are cut and paste cutouts that add little to the story.  Fairly predictable and expected, nevertheless a fun watch.

Violent Night gets a 6.5 from me.