Mortal Kombat II (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat (2021).

Back in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Warner Bros. released their first film in a rebooted Mortal Kombat film series, simply titled Mortal Kombat (MK). As this release occurred as part of a day-and-date theatrical and streaming film slate for that year, I watched it through HBO Max and liked it enough (with a much more positive view on a rewatch), though I was unsure if it would ever materialize. Sure enough, this year saw the release of Mortal Kombat II (MKII), which received a better critical response (64% on Rotten Tomatoes vs 55% for the original), though with a shaky box office return that may put the prospect of a third film in jeopardy. Nevertheless, I actually watched this one in a theater, albeit a few weeks late, and walked away wishing for the potential third film.

The Black Cauldron

 

If there’s one film that could be considered the black sheep of the Disney Animated Canon, it would be The Black Cauldron, the studio’s 25th animated feature. Released in 1985, The Black Cauldron is recognized as the antepenultimate film in what’s colloquially considered Disney’s “Dark Age” and is notable as not only the first film from the studio to receive a PG rating and feature CG, but also the most expensive animated film ever made at the time. Unfortunately, it was also a box office bomb, earning a mere $21.3 million compared to its $44 million budget, and nearly bankrupted the studio, as well as sideline any further attempts at adapting the source material, Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain, for decades. On top of that, it didn’t get a proper home video release until 1998 entirely as a result of its failure.

In the years since, however, The Black Cauldron has developed a cult following due to the very elements that led to its initial failure at the box office. Disney themselves have even acknowledged its existence with a 4K Disney+ release in 2019, a 2021 Blu-ray release (though exclusively through the Disney Movie Club) and representation in the Disney Villainous tabletop game, as well as a small selection of merch for the 35th anniversary. This cult status also led us to finally check it out, as we sometimes do with other lesser-known Disney films. In this case, while it’s certainly not the best film the studio has ever released, it’s easier now to at least appreciate what they were going for at the time.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion

Note: This review contains spoilers for Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion.

When the Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM) anime first aired in 2011, its dark take on the magical girl genre made a big splash and received critical acclaim for its deep storytelling and discussions of the concepts of selflessness and hope vs despair, among other topics. The following year, animation studio Shaft would follow up their big hit with two recap films, subtitled Beginnings and Eternal, and then a third film in 2013, a sequel story subtitled Rebellion. For one reason or another, it would be about a decade before I finally watched PMMM, which I did through a cheaper UK Blu-ray set to avoid paying Aniplex’s notoriously sky-high US Blu-ray prices. After finishing the series, which I enjoyed but didn’t think was a flawless 10/10 masterpiece as some might be led to believe (I personally enjoyed works like Paranoia Agent and The Big O more), I grew curious about the Rebellion film and how it would continue the story. However, I had to wait until the release of a pricey 10th Anniversary movie trilogy Blu-ray set to watch the English dub, for lack of another legal option. Sadly, as much I liked a lot of the film, I wasn’t sure that it was entirely worth the money and effort required to watch it.

Second Opinion - John Dies at the End

John Dies At The End (2013) Starring: Chase Williamson; Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, Doug Jones, Daniel Roebuck. Directed by Don Coscarelli, Screenplay by Don Coscarelli. Based on the novel John Dies at the End, by David Wong. Produced by Brad Baruh, Don Coscarelli, Andy Meyers, Roman Perez. Run Time: 100 min. USA Color  Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror 

Having never read David Wong’s novel, John Dies at the End, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I sat down to watch this movie. The film is funny, crude, crass, gross and interesting, though I can’t say I was able to follow everything that goes on.

The film reminded me of The Monkees' Head (1968), the made-for-TV pop group that tried to go legit. Not that there is anything remotely like Davy Jones running around in this, but that the film has a stream of consciousness flow to it. While the movie has a beginning, middle, and end, I can’t say that any of it is expected or conforms to a standard three-act plot.

The acting is good by the leads Chase Williamson (David Wong) and Rob Mayes (John Cheese), who make a likable pair of recent high school dropouts who find themselves thrust into a battle with an alternate universe. (And no I don’t think I’m giving away anything to do with the plot.) David is telling his story to news reporter Arnie Blondestone (Paul Giamatti), who always looks like he’s slept in his clothes.

The world in which David and John reside has an unusual collection of fellow travelers: Dr. Albert Marconi (Clancy Brown), a Tony Robbins type motivational speaker; Robert Marley (Tai Bennett), a fortune-telling  Jamaican who will trade insight into your soul for a beer; Amy Sullivan (Fabianne Therese), David’s one handed love interest and assorted other friends, who play roles are either of little importance, Fred Chu (Jimmy Wong), or great importance, Justin White (Jonny Weston), depending on what moment it is in the script.

A lot of the action is clearly delusional, as our heroes have come under the spell of an alien drug called the sauce, which allows them to do things like making phone calls on bratwurst; talk to the dead and see the way to another dimension; one ruled by Korrok (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson). To discuss more would be to give away too much of the story.

The humor goes from being the truly inspired all the way down to dick jokes, the type of humor I’ve come to expect from the writer of the novel the movie is based on, David Wong. While I have not yet read this novel, I do know his work on the Cracked.com website.

For a low budget, the movie the special effects are just about right. They have a Dr. Who quality about them, which really fits the tone of the film. There really isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, but the movie is not about the special effects.

The film does sometimes get a little gross, which is not something I really enjoy. I will say that the gross scenes are surprisingly minimal and they never get to the make-you-squirm level. On the plus side, there is a little, perhaps gratuitous topless nudity, so I guess things even out.

The director, Don Coscarelli is perhaps best known for his film Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), in which Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) retired and living in an East Texas nursing home, teams up with JFK (Ossie Davis) to fight off a re-animated Egyptian mummy who is feeding off the souls of the elderly residents. Based on that film, it is easy to see what would have drawn him to this project. John Dies at the End shares the same sort of quirky unpredictable plot line.

If you’ve read David Wong’s book and enjoy the work of Don Coscarelli and have always dreamed of them teaming up, then you are certainly in luck with John Dies at the End. Otherwise, go know that you’re seeing a film that is not like anything else you’ve seen in a while. (I was gonna say this year, but we’re not even a month into it.) The film has its ups and downs, but in the end, I would say that it was better than I expected.