Movie Reviews from Chris

★ 1/2   out of ★★★★ Ghosted (2023) Runtime: 116 minutes MPAA:  Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence/action, brief strong language and some sexual content. "Ghosted" has a decent first act, setting up the plot, giving us over-the-top, hilarious action, and several nice but repetitive cameos. Had it consistently maintained its mediocre quality, "Ghosted" would have been so much more tolerable. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It's simultaneously overstuffed and undernourished, throwing in too many threats, characters, themes and stakes, yet never attempting to clearly convey its meaning. The action sequences are clunky, quite badly edited, and generic (mind you, I had a tough time figuring out what was happening at least half of the time), but that it starts off pretty solid and tells us that relationships are not so easy perhaps makes it not entirely terrible? This is essentially a 'Red Notice 2023 version', mixing in huge stars, luxurious loc...

★★★   out of ★★★★ Suzume no Tojimari (2022) [Japanese title:  すずめの戸締まり ] Runtime: 122 minutes MPAA:  Rated PG f or action-peril, language, thematic elements and smoking. "Suzume" works best as an interesting adventure story, and maintains a similar consistency compared to director Makoto Shinkai's previous works, and although the final act doesn't reach its full potential, the messages he has to offer is worth waiting for. Writer/director Makoto Shinkai once again shakes things up and presents to us a film so strange, I'm confident I haven't seen someone and a walking, talking chair chasing a cat across multiple cities in the past year or two. As usual, he never falters in the design section, presenting to us various landscapes, towns, and gargantuan creatures. While "Suzume" is an exhausting yet exhilarating journey about closing doors to prevent natural disasters, I didn't particularly care about whether Suzume and Souta would end up together. ...

★★★ 1/2   out of ★★★★ Weathering with You (2019) [Japanese title:  天気の子 ] Runtime: 112 minutes MPAA:  Rated PG-13 for suggestive material, some violence and language. Makoto Shinkai once again animates his follow up to  Your Name.  with great detail, but it's as visually arresting as conflicting. Weathering with You (which also takes place in the same universe as Your Name.), depicts Tokyo in a constant state of rain and fog, and sporadic moments of sunshine. Some scenes look brilliant, and the rain animation is as fluid and dazzling as you would expect. However, the mist, roaring thunder, and aggressively bright sunlight is admittedly sometimes too much, and makes fine little details in the background rather fuzzy, an unintended distraction. Otherwise, this is a very minor quibble in a film in which I thought punched about as hard as Shinkai's previous feature. Weathering with You is more accessible and as impactful, and while one may compare its more...

★★★ 1/2   out of ★★★★ Your Name. (2016) [Japanese title:  君の名は 。] Runtime: 106 minutes MPAA:  Rated PG for thematic elements, suggestive content, brief language, and smoking. The amount of detail writer/director Makoto Shinkai has put into his film is stunning yet terrifying. He does not need to go that far to animate the GPS pin's speed as Taki scrolls out of the map, or remove the tree beside the bridge in Itomori, in a later picture. The amount of care and attention to his work speaks volumes, and this is one of the best-looking animated films in quite a while. How he controls the shading, how he animates the mist for faraway mountains, and the tiny little billboards in urban cities are scarily on point. As for the film itself, movies like "Your Name." are a puzzle to review. How well "Your Name." works really depends on whether or not you believe there is a special connection between the two main characters. I understand people who disliked it, because on a ...

★  out of ★★★★ Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) Runtime: 84 minutes MPAA: Not Rated. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is of equal parts shocking and repulsive. Are you ready to get your childhood ruined? That's what writer-director Rhys Waterfield suggests, in this gory spin-off of the beloved novel series from A. A. Milne. I have fond memories of Winnie the Pooh, and his adventures with Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, and Tigger. I don't dare count the number of CD's and saved videos in the drawer of the store room, innocent memories preserved through time. With "Blood and Honey", Rhys Waterfield tries to shatter that innocence by making his characters feral, bloodthirsty killers, with not much success. Sure, the idea is so absurd and interesting, having beloved kids' characters turn into violent, sadistic murderers, but that's just about it they achieve. The most fatal mistake "Blood and Honey" makes is that the filmmakers are too in...

★★  out of ★★★★ Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Runtime: 130 minutes MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, and language. Because Billy Batson (Zachary Levi in superhero form) broke the staff Dr.  Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) held in  Shazam! , it led to this sequel. Because Billy Batson left a black apple on the table, the second-half of the film happens and drags. These are all irresponsible massive mistakes characters make that will probably set up another sequel, and another one. This is largely quite disappointing, because while Shazam! Fury of the Gods remains consistently watchable, it never reaches the heart, innovation and sharp writing of its superior predecessor. The main problem is that "Fury of the Gods" doesn't dare to take risks and ultimately tries nothing novel. It also carelessly puts in emotional moments that don't feel earned, though the message and evocation they send to the viewer ring with some truth. "Fury of the Go...

★★ ★   out of ★★★★ Shazam! (2019) Runtime: 132 minutes MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material. Perhaps we've got to think again about the word kid-friendly. Demons chomping on human heads, people thrown out of forty-something story high buildings, loud sudden sounds and ghoulish design on the seven sins is not my idea of a kids movie. Don't say that I haven't warned you, but parents should probably close their children's eyes during that office conference scene where Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) unleashes his power and massacres about ten people there. Other than that, "Shazam!" is a consistently fun superhero origin movie, that dispels most of its formulaic superhero narrative tendencies, by providing a different and unique take on how Billy Batson gains and learns of his superpowers, while it sometimes also pokes fun on its genre  clichés, resulting in sporadically roaringly funny sequences. There's also...