The Wild Robot

Amongst a number of major shifts within the animation industry at large, one was that DreamWorks Animation would no longer animate their films in-house beyond 2024, the last of which would be The Wild Robot, and afterwards pivot to outsourcing to other studios. The first trailer for The Wild Robot left a good enough impression on me that I read the original book by Peter Brown out of curiosity, with further trailers and learning of Chris Sanders’ (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) involvement only making me feel more confident in its quality. This would lead to me seeing the film in 3D on opening day, after which I was grateful this was the studios’ last in-house feature production and not Kung Fu Panda 4.

The WereCleaner

While the art style of a game can be enough to pique my curiosity, it can help for it to have a premise and gameplay that can really grab my interest enough to play it. The WereCleaner is a game that filled all three for me, which I found for free while looking through my Steam Recommended. This would also not be the first time I had downloaded a game made by student developers, as I found out later that this game had been published through the USC Games program. Upon playing the game, it not only met my expectations for a fun time, I was also surprised by the amount of replay value for such a small game.

Stubs - We're in the Money

 

We’re in the Money (1935) starring Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Hugh Herbert, Ross Alexander. Directed by Ray Enright Screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, Brown Holmes Producer Not Credited. Run time 61 minutes. USA Black and White. Comedy.

Warner Bros. had two young blonde comedic stars that they decided to pair together in a series of comedies. Together, Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell, billed as the blonde bombshell comedy duo, appeared in five films, including Havana Widows (1933), Kansas City Princess (1934), Traveling Saleslady (1935), Miss Pacific Fleet (1935) and We’re in the Money (1935). If the last one sounds familiar, it is named after the song "We're in the Money," music and lyrics by Al Dubin and Harry Warren, which first appeared in The Golddiggers of 1933.

The film was shot in a little over a month, between May 8 to June 12, 1935, the film was released on August 17, 1935.

Transformers One

The success of Bumblebee seems to have breathed new life into the Transformers films, resulting in the sequel Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and the prequel film Transformers One (TF One), which marks the franchise’s return to theatrical feature animation since 1986. Despite a more tempered reaction to the initial trailer, thanks in part to the mild confusion over the overall timeline post-Bumblebee caused by executive flip-flopping, I remained cautiously optimistic for TF One, enough to pick up an Optimus Prime popcorn bucket from a local Cinemark as well as jump at the chance to purchase tickets for an early TF One Fan Event for the Wednesday of release at a local AMC. Within that time, though I had heard positive word of mouth from previous early screenings, I also went so far as to hold off on buying any actual toys until I had seen the movie for myself to form my own opinion, regardless of availability. Upon finally getting the chance to see it, I genuinely found it to be the best piece of Transformers media I had seen (aside from the current Skybound comic) since Bumblebee.

A Celebration of 1600 Reviews

If it weren't for a miscalculation, this header
image would be Resident Evil 4 (2005).

Below is a list of links to every review from 1201-1300, broken up every 25 links for easy navigation. Each review will also be color-coded as such: Movie, Video Game.

1-300. A Celebration of 300 Reviews

301-400. A Celebration of 400 Reviews

401-500. A Celebration of 500 Reviews

501-600. A Celebration of 600 Reviews

601-700. A Celebration of 700 Reviews

701-800. A Celebration of 800 Reviews

801-900. A Celebration of 900 Reviews

901-1000. A Celebration of 1000 Reviews

1001-1100. A Celebration of 1100 Reviews

1101-1200. A Celebration of 1200 Reviews

1201-1300. A Celebration of 1300 Reviews

1301-1400. A Celebration of 1400 Reviews

1401-1500. A Celebration of 1500 Reviews

 

 

1501. Devil May Cry (Second Look)

1502. Haunting Ground

1503. Resident Evil 4 (2023) (PS5)

1504. Willy's Wonderland

1505. Resident Evil 4 - Separate Ways (DLC)

1506. Five Nights at Freddy's (Film)

1507. The Killer is Loose

1508. Robin Hood (1973)

1509. Tomorrow is Another Day

1510. Rohan at the Louvre

1511. TY the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Bush Rescue Returns

1512. The Land Before Time

1513. Three Strangers

1514. Good Burger

1515. Good Burger 2

1516. Elf

1517. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

1518. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)

1519. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)

1520. A Charlie Brown Christmas

1521. Fitzwilly

1522. Tron 2.0: Killer App (Xbox)

1523. Lady on a Train

1524. The Sword in the Stone

1525. God of War: Ragnarök - Valhalla (DLC)

 

1526. Wonka

1527. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

1528. Illicit

1529. The Last Kids on Earth - Book One (Film)

1530. The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (PS4)

1531. Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia

1532. Silent Hill: The Short Message

1533. The Holdovers

1534. Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition

1535. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

1536. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

1537. Leap Year (1924)

1538. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

1539. God of War (2005) (Second Look)

1540. God of War II (Second Look)

1541. God of War: Betrayal (Second Look)

1542. The Last Command

1543. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Second Look)

1544. God of War III Remastered (Second Look)

1545. Pompo the Cinephile

1546. God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Second Look)

1547. God of War (WildStorm/DC Comic) (Second Look)

1548. Kung Fu Panda 4

1549. God of War: Ascension (Second Look)

1550. God of War (Dark Horse Comic)

 

1551. God of War: Fallen God (Comic)

1552. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

1553. Doug Huggem

1554. Fast and Furious (1939)

1555. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

1556. Migration (2023)

1557. American Fiction

1558. Spy x Family Code: White

1559. Nanny McPhee

1560. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Second Look)

1561. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R (PS5)

1562. The Compleat Al

1563. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

1564. Smart Woman

1565. Let It Be (Second Look)

1566. The Sin of Nora Moran

1567. The Secret Six

1568. Speedway

1569. The Guardsman

1570. Pushover

1571. Little Kitty, Big City (Switch)

1572. Robot Dreams

1573. Inside Out 2

1574. Blondie!

1575. American Graffiti

 

1576. X-Men

1577. X2

1578. X-Men: The Last Stand

1579. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

1580. X-Men: First Class

1581. The Wolverine

1582. X-Men: Days of Future Past

1583. Deadpool (Second Look)

1584. X-Men: Apocalypse

1585. Logan (Second Opinion)

1586. Deadpool 2 (Second Look)

1587. Dark Phoenix

1588. The New Mutants

1589. Deadpool (Game) (PS4) (Second Look)

1590. Deadpool & Wolverine

1591. My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission

1592. Descendants: The Rise of Red

1593. You've Got Mail

1594. What! No Beer?

1595. High School Confidential!

1596. Chaplin

1597. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

1598. 20 Small Mazes

1599. The First Auto

1600. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

 

Movies: 73 (1,025 Total)
Video Games: 27 (519 Total)
Comic Books: 0 (28 Total)
DLC: 0 (26 Total)

Book: 0 (1 Total)

Stage: 0 (1 Total)

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Note: This review contains spoilers for Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake

Ever since the success of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the idea of remaking the original Final Fantasy VII (FF7) with the movie’s visuals had floated around at Square Enix. Fifteen years later, this idea manifested with Final Fantasy VII Remake (Remake), the first in a trilogy of games that would bring FF7 into the modern day. While the game received a mixed reception from fans, mainly due to its story changes, it nevertheless proved successful enough that Square Enix would release the second part of this project, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Rebirth) in February 2024 on the PS5, skipping the PS4 for the first time.

As someone who ended up loving most of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and felt cautious optimism after playing Remake twice, I wasted no time hopping onboard with Rebirth so I could see where they would take the story (I even played the demo beforehand for the unique bonus of skipping the first segment in the full game). However, the time it took for me to reach the end point grew exponentially, both in calendar days and in-game time, due to juggling other games and biting off more than I could chew with the in-game content. Finally finishing the game months later left me curious how the third game would handle the rest of the original FF7’s story, though the new twists in Rebirth’s narrative and gameplay left me confused and a little worried about the project’s current trajectory.

Stubs - The First Auto

The First Auto (1927) starring Barney Oldfield, Patsy Ruth Miller, Charles Emmett Mack, Russell Simpson. Directed by Roy Del Ruth. Screenplay by Anthony Coldeway, Jack Jarmuth. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Run time: 75 minutes. Black and White. USA. Silent with sound, Drama.

Made at a time when Hollywood, specifically in this case, Warner Bros., was experimenting with synchronized sound, the beginning of the end of the silent era, the studio was making a film about the end of the horse as the main mode of transportation, The First Auto. The synchronized sound, captured on a disc synchronized with the film, included music, sound effects and a few spoken words.

20 Small Mazes

I’m not much of a PC player in comparison to console, so it’s not often I play a game based on Steam recommendations. Recently, while getting free items from a string of Fests, I decided to take a look and was recommended the indie puzzle game 20 Small Mazes, which looked interesting enough to try, especially since it was available for free. While short, the amount of creativity on display makes it a fun time while it lasts, even with the limited replay value.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Is the Sequel as Good as the Original?

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe. Directed by Tim Burton, Screenplay by Alfred Gough. Miles Millar. Based on Characters by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson. Produced by Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, Tim Burton Run time: 104 minutes, Color, USA Comedy, Horror

Note: This review contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Sequels seem to be taking longer and longer to get made. The original King Kong's sequel, Son of Kong, came out the same year, but the turnaround has only gotten longer since. Two years ago, Top Gun: Maverick came out 36 years after its predecessor, Top Gun, and this year, Beetlejuice follows suit with its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While Maverick was an improvement over the original, can the same be said for Beetlejuice x 2?

Stubs - Chaplin

Chaplin (1992) Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin Dunn, Anthony Hopkins, Milla Jovovich, Moira Kelly, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, Penelope Ann Miller, Paul Rhys, John Thaw, Marisa Tomei, Nancy Travis, James Woods Directed by Richard Attenborough. Screenplay by William Boyd, Bryan Forbes, William Goldman Based on My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin, and Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson. Produced by Richard Attenborough, and Mario Kassar. USA/United Kingdom Color Run time: 145 minutes. Biography

Oftentimes when you learn the truth about your heroes, they become very human. Such is the case with Charlie Chaplin, one of the most influential filmmakers to have ever lived. If you’re not familiar with him, then you should be. Besides his genius, Chaplin had a fascination with young women, read that very young women, that would eventually catch up with him and be the excuse the U.S. government would use to ban him, for two decades, from entering his adopted country.

Since Chaplin was so influential in films, his being the subject of a film seems to be a no-brainer. Director Richard Attenborough, following his success with Gandhi (1982), had announced his plans to direct a Charlie Chaplin biopic, as part of his $75 million, three-picture deal with Universal Pictures. A longtime fan of Chaplin’s, Attenborough recalled seeing The Gold Rush (1925) at the age of eleven and credited the silent film star with inspiring his early acting career. He had also become friendly with Chaplin and his family in the 1970s while vacationing near them in the south of France. With the blessings of Oona Chaplin, Charlie’s widow, Attenborough acquired the rights to Chaplin’s autobiography, My Autobiography, and footage from his films.

For the title role, Attenborough apparently tested seven of the total thirty actors considered for the role, including Kevin Kline, Dustin Hoffman, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams. He was looking for someone between the ages of thirty and thirty-five, who was small in stature, as he believed the body likeness was more important than the face.