Frozen II (Quick Review)

Frozen II is one of those strange examples where a lot of stuff occurs yet it feels like very little happens.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Film Review)

To quote Emperor Palpatine: Augghhhh!!!

Ford vs Ferrari (Film Review)

Ford vs Ferrari is a good film that's structure has been seen many times before.  It adheres closely to the Hollywood biographical drama formula just with a new setting of the titled auto manufacturing companies competing to win a car race.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Revisited or: A Sequel that Succeeds on Multiple Levels and Exceeds the Original in Certain Areas (Film Analysis)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a very anticipated film for me back in the summer of 2014.  I went so far as to avoid all trailers and spoilers so as not to sully the experience, including avoiding looking at McDonald's cartons that had pictures of what Hiccup and friends looked like as young adults.  Sounds crazy, definitely kind of crazy, but that's just how hyped and determined I was to see this film with a fresh mind.  I had seen and loved the first film and watched both seasons of its TV series DreamWorks Dragons that had aired at the time.  This wasn't just a sequel to a previous film for me, but rather a continuation of a story I had become genuinely invested in.

Note: This is my second review of How to Train Your Dragon 2.  Here's my original review from 2015, written back when the film first released.

How to Train Your Dragon Part 2: How Visual and Sound Turn a Good Story into Something Amazing (Film Analysis)

LINK TO PART 1!!!

Using the knowledge gained from his time with Toothless, Hiccup succeeds in passively defeating and/or befriending the training dragons in fighting class.  Despite such successes gaining his peers’s praise (aside from Astrid, who grows jealous over Hiccup becoming the new star student), Hiccup is more preoccupied with getting Toothless back in the air again—for a more accurate lesson Hiccup was taught is that a downed dragon is a dead dragon.  Being the inventor that he is, Hiccups begins designing a tail flap to replace Toothless's missing scale.  Hiccup discovers, however, that the artificial wing will not remain open when Toothless flies alone.  As such, Hiccup builds a saddle for him to ride and help assist Toothless in flying.  The film’s excellent pacing is shown off here with a split montage of Hiccup building the flying device while training at classes.  I love how naturally the scenes move from Hiccup just trying to build an artificial scale for Toothless to saddling up to fly with him.

How to Train Your Dragon Part 1: How Visual and Sound Turn a Good Story into Something Amazing (Film Analysis)

Take a story about a boy’s bond with his dog.  Turn the dog into a wild animal the boy needs to tame.  Turn the wild animal into a mystical species the boy’s family is at war with.  Make the family a tribe of Vikings, the species dragons, and the boy the mediator for the two groups to finally end their differences, and you got the core construct to How to Train Your Dragon.  

The Lion King: 2019 (GUEST Film Review)

Written by my special guest and close friend Joel Coppadge!

If you were a 90s kid, then The Lion King is what comes to mind when you think of great 90s Disney movies.  Not only is it apart of the Disney Renaissance, but it had something for everyone, both kids and adults.  Fantastic animation, great, catchy songs, and a compelling story that is still relevant to this day.

Joker (Film Review)

Despite being set in a superhero universe focused on one of the most iconic supervillains of all time, Joker departs extensively from its genre’s usual constructs.  It overtakes The Dark Knight Trilogy as the most grounded film set in the Batman universe.  There’s no magic, special abilities, herculean feats of strength, advanced technology, over-the-top schemes, or anything unrealistic that has become engrained within the superhero genre.  Joker has little need for suspension of disbelief and is so set in reality that I, at times, forgot I was even watching a Batman film—earnestly thinking Gotham City was New York City—only to be reminded when the Wayne family or Arkham were brought up.