Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution (GUEST Film Review)

Written by my special guest and close friend Joel Coppadge!

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 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.

Zombieland: Double Tap (Film Review)

This is a treat.

The Dead Don't Die or: Jim Jarmusch Tackles the Zombie Genre (Film Analysis)

See, here's the problem.

Zombieland is Great (Film Analysis)

LINK TO PART 3: Zombieland is Wonderfully Surprising

Zombieland is Wonderfully Surprising (Film Analysis)

LINK TO PART 2: Zombieland is Hilarious

Zombieland is Hilarious (Film Analysis)

LINK TO PART 1: Zombieland is Influential

Zombieland is Influential (Film Analysis)

What if I told you that Zombieland is one of the key pieces that turned me into a film buff?

Una Noche or: An Escape Story so True to Life, Its Actors Followed Suit (Film Analysis)

Una Noche (aka one night) extensively explores the lifestyle that resides within Habana Cuba, the harsh and unfair difficulties such life presents to its locals, and the people that try to escape.  

Spider-Man: Far From Home (Film Review)

LOOK OUT! HERE COME SOME MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

Dark Phoenix (GUEST Film Review)

For the first time ever on Film Reviewer Jr., I proudly present GUEST FILM REVIEW!!!  The part of the blog where a guest comes on board and writes a film review.

Introducing my special guest and close friend Joel Coppadge!

Iron Man 2: Is it Good? Is It Bad? Could It Be Both!? (Film Analysis)

Since the conception of Film Reviewer Jr. and my first review of a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) property, Iron Man 3, I’ve consistently stated my dislike for Iron Man 2.  For a while, it was the only MCU film I gave a thumbs down to, though such placement has since been joined by the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel.  The thing is, the last time I saw Iron Man 2 was in theaters back in 2010.  That’s closing in on a decade, back when I was just getting into film.  My opinions have changed vastly since that time, look no further than my The Kids Are All Right retrospective.  As such, it stands to reason that Iron Man 2 deserves a second chance at redemption.  Is there a possibility I misjudged the film and it’s better than I remember, or is it still the subpar sequel to the MCU’s fantastic origin film?

Avengers: End Game (Film Review)

What can I say about the “finale” of an over twenty-part film series to an over decade-long franchise?  There’s a lot I have to say about End Game, and most of it has already been said by other reviewers.  Nonetheless, I figure I’ll give my own two cents on the film, yet with a slight twist to the usual formula.  Here are one-hundred thoughts, over the course of the summer, of the strengths, weaknesses, surprises, interactions, and nods to the comics I saw from by multiple viewings of Avengers: End Game.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:

1. The opening sequence featuring Hawkeye is a chillingly effective way to start Endgame, in addition to being a great way of bringing Hawkeye into the final film.

2. There’s so much Nebula greatness in Endgame.  I've never cared much for her character before, yet here she goes from zero to the film’s MVP when it comes to characterization.

3. The scene where Nebula and Tony are playing paper football is so charmingly adorable. Who would have guessed these two would have such surprisingly effective chemistry (I also love how Tony refers to her as the blue meanie and that she's only a “little sadistic”)?

4. I love the little extra touches where Nebula declines the extra oxygen so that Tony can have it, and when she caringly picks him up from the floor and into a chair during their seemingly last moments.  It really shows how far she's come from the sadistic killer she was in Guardians of the Galaxy.

5. Tony and Rocket’s humorous first interaction: 

• Rocket: Yeah, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but there's a lot of that's goin' around, ain't there? 
• Tony: Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear. 
• Rocket: Maybe I am.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Film Review)

Okay so, my opinion on Pokémon Detective Pikachu times four.

Monsters or: A Poignant, Highly Underrated Character Journey, Cinematic Spectacle, and Gentle Allegory (Film Analysis)

Things are not what they appear.