Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

It goes without saying that Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) proved very popular and successful, so much so that it spawned two follow-up series, The Legend of Korra (Korra) and the upcoming Seven Havens. In the interim, however, it has had two divisive live-action adaptations, M. Night Shyamalan’s infamous The Last Airbender film and the Avatar: The Last Airbender remake from Netflix. Creative differences regarding the latter would inspire the formation of Avatar Studios, with series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at the helm, to expand the world of ATLA, starting with what would become the film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (Avatar Aang). This project would later receive more notoriety not just for a pivot from the original theatrical distribution to streaming directly on Paramount+, but also for someone leaking the entire finished film online months in advance.

Of course, release plans moved forward, with a premiere at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 (I attended the event, but didn’t go to the screening) and a limited run in only two theaters solely to qualify for the Oscars shortlist, despite protest from fans and members of the crew. Although I would have seen the film anyway as an ATLA fan, the increased awareness from the troubles surrounding the film’s production and release further piqued my curiosity. Although I found the film enjoyable, it did unfortunately fall short where it counted the most.

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

 

With the continuing success of Spin Master’s PAW Patrol multimedia franchise, the logical conclusion was the theatrically-released PAW Patrol: The Movie in 2021. This proved successful enough to warrant a sequel in 2023, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which revisits the Mighty Pups subline of the series. Having seen the original PAW Patrol film on Paramount+ and actually enjoyed it, I became curious about The Mighty Movie with cautious optimism for a similar level of quality, but opted to wait for its Paramount+ release since I didn’t feel strongly enough about seeing it in the theater. Upon getting the chance to watch it, I still found myself enjoying it even as a non-fan.

Good Burger 2

Although the original 1997 Good Burger film, itself based on a popular sketch from the Nickelodeon series All That, saw commercial success, it would only receive a sequel in the form of a book, Good Burger 2 Go, the following year. 25 years later, however, this book would become non-canon with the formal announcement of Good Burger 2, set for a direct-to-streaming release on Paramount+. Even though I had never watched All That, nor had I seen the original “Good Burger” sketch until very recently, I was still a fan of the original film, and so was curious to see the sequel after it received a big promotional push at San Diego Comic-Con, including a building wrap-around ad and an interactive Good Burger section of the larger Nickelodeon booth. After managing to watch the sequel through Paramount+ on its release day, in the midst of preparing for a Thanksgiving trip the next day, while it did induce a few laughs from me, it wasn’t quite as good or funny as the original.

Good Burger

Note: This review contains spoilers for Good Burger.

Back in 1994, Nickelodeon premiered All That, a live-action sketch comedy series that lasted ten seasons prior to its 2019 revival. Of the many sketches that appeared across the show’s nearly 200 episodes, the recurring “Good Burger” sketch, in which the clueless teenager Ed somehow always messes things up, proved popular enough that in January 1997, Paramount fast-tracked production of a feature film based on it. The final product released in July that same year to mixed critical reception, but proved commercially successful, grossing $23.7 million against its $8.5 million budget, and gained a cult following over time.

As someone who didn’t grow up watching All That, despite it airing during my childhood, I first saw Good Burger completely out of context through someone else’s VHS. Although I had no attention span as a child, Good Burger stood out and after sporadically rewatching it through a later DVD release, I could quote the movie even with up to over a decade between viewings. Naturally, with the release of the direct to streaming sequel Good Burger 2, we rewatched Good Burger once again and found that, while not a great movie, it had held up surprisingly well 26 years later.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

The success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has evidently had an impact on the animation industry, as it led to DreamWorks Animation taking risks with The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. This new wave of experimentation has now hit Nickelodeon, with the latest installment in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise, Mutant Mayhem, featuring a unique style not seen before in other TMNT media or even any major animated films of recent memory. As a TMNT fan whose entry point was the IDW comic (and whose personal favorite iteration is the criminally-underrated Rise of the TMNT cartoon), I had mixed feelings on the announcement due to producer Seth Rogen’s reputation, though the visual style and premise were interesting enough that I still went to see it on opening day, ultimately leaving curious to see more.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Note: This review contains spoilers for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Running alongside the original run of the Harry Potter book series was a series of 13 books written by Lemony Snicket (pseudonym for Daniel Handler) known as A Series of Unfortunate Events, which chronicles the story of the Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus and Sunny as they try to escape the evil Count Olaf, who is chasing after their family fortune. As a child, I grew up reading these books and I remember enjoying them, so I was excited when a film adaptation based on the first three books in the series (The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window), dubbed Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, was announced for a 2004 release. I liked the movie when it came out in spite of some noticeable changes to the story, though in the years since I have not seen it again that much, and I always thought it was a shame that it never got a sequel, which I discovered during research was due to corporate shakeups on Paramount’s end at the time. Well over a decade later, after deciding to revisit the movie, I found that the movie holds up pretty well and some of it hit me a lot harder as an adult than it did back when I first watched it.

PAW Patrol: The Movie

One of the most successful toy brands in recent years is Spin Master’s PAW Patrol, about a group of pups with transforming vehicles who go on rescue missions, thanks mainly to its popular tie-in animated series on Nick Jr. While I fall well outside the target demographic, I have seen a handful of random episodes in the background while performing other tasks, and I can see why the show is popular with said demographic. When a theatrical film, PAW Patrol: The Movie, was announced, I was a little curious to see how they would adapt the formulaic nature of the series into a cinematic experience, however my curiosity was piqued when I read an interview in Animation Magazine about the production and the steps that were taken to make it worthy of a theatrical presentation. After watching the movie through Paramount+, I felt that it succeeded in this way, as I found it to be far better than I expected.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run

As a juggernaut of TV animation, SpongeBob SquarePants is no stranger to the silver screen. The first feature, aptly titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released in 2004 around the peak of the show’s popularity, followed eleven years later by a sequel, Sponge Out of Water. The third movie, Sponge on the Run (originally subtitled It’s a Wonderful Sponge), would have a comparatively rocky release, however. Though Paramount originally planned a full theatrical release, the global COVID-19 pandemic forced them to reconsider the distribution, including at least one release date change. Eventually, the film got a domestic theatrical release exclusively in Canada, followed by an international Netflix release a few months later and a US release in March 2021 exclusively through the Paramount+ streaming service (formerly CBS All Access). This is how we viewed the film once we could access the service, though we mostly did so since Paramount hyped it as their main draw. While an admiral attempt at expanding on the series’ lore, Sponge on the Run is ultimately underwhelming, especially for those who grew up with the show’s first three seasons.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Like other films we’ve reviewed, I have some personal history with Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. I have distinct memories of watching it in the theater when it originally came out, as well as the Nicktoon that spun off from it, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. I actually liked Jimmy Neutron enough that years later, I would get the DVD of the film signed by Debi Derryberry, the voice of Jimmy Neutron, at San Diego Comic-Con. However, my memories of the actual film had faded away with time. When I learned that it was nearly 19 years old, however, I decided to give it another look with a completely fresh perspective. While it isn’t perfect, I did remember why I liked it so long ago.

Wonder Park - Not An E-Ticket Ride

In 2014, development on an animated feature by Paramount Animation called Amusement Park began, eventually getting its name changed to Wonder Park. While I had been updated on its development, what got me interested in seeing this movie was a series of character designs and storyboards for older versions of it disclosed by two people that worked on it across two different seminars I had attended, one of which was a character design seminar hosted by David Colman, referred to internally as “patient zero” due to remaining on staff the longest through the most director/story changes before finally leaving (in the final product, he is credited as a Story Artist). When the film was finally approaching release, the trailers and critic scores didn’t exactly exude much confidence (not helped by it having a similar run time to the panned Sherlock Gnomes and The Emoji Movie, that being under 90 minutes), however I was determined to see it anyway to see how it all turned out. I ended up liking the movie, though it wasn’t exactly one of the best animated films I had seen.

Second Look - The Last Airbender

Note: This review contains spoilers for both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Last Airbender.

Thinking back on my original review of The Last Airbender by M. Night Shyamalan, I realized that it was a bit immature and didn’t really go into that much detail about the movie. In light of this, I have decided to re-watch the movie in order to give it a more proper review, this time after having actually watched the entirety of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon on which it is based, as well as Book One of its sequel series, The Legend of Korra.

The four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) lived in harmony, until everything changed when the Fire Nation began to seize control over the other Nations. Years later in the Southern Water Tribe, a Waterbender (one who can control water) named Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) happen upon a boy who was frozen underwater for over 100 years. This young boy, Aang (Noah Ringer), turns out to be the last of the Airbenders (ones who can control air) as well as the long-disappeared Avatar, the only one who can control all four elements and who is destined to bring balance to the world. While Aang seeks to master the other elements in the cycle, starting with Waterbending, Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) from the Fire Nation seeks the Avatar for himself to regain his honor.

Aang (Noah Ringer), both the Avatar and the last surviving Airbender.

The general story of the movie covers the events of Book One of the source cartoon. In theory. On its own, the movie has sort of an odd pacing, often feeling like a lot is happening and at the same time not, causing it to at times come off as slow and boring. Sometimes scene transitions seem non-existent, filled in occasionally by narration, though it’s to the point where it may as well have made liberal use of a “Scene Missing” title card as a placeholder. Further exacerbating this is events being brought up that either weren’t shown on-screen or just come out of nowhere, as well as things just simply being explained very poorly. At one point on their travels (the reason for which goes unexplained until after they’re already at an Earth Tribe village), Aang mentions seeing maps that we’re only told Sokka has and a raid on a Great Library is only spoken of and never shown. At another point there’s suddenly talk of a Moon Spirit that only gets explained later, as if you’re supposed to already know what it is.

As an adaptation, the movie feels like what happens if you press “Play All” on the Book One DVD and then just skip random episodes for no discernable reason. Many of the aforementioned scene transitions feel like important events or even entire episode plots were skipped, leaving some plot holes and abrupt time jumps. Some plot holes are introduced by events that were either added for the movie or were altered from their original context. For example, the movie introduces an Avatar Test that allowed the Fire Nation to figure out Aang was the Avatar by having him bend the other elements, yet he later says he can only Airbend, leaving one to wonder how he was able to pass the test in the first place.

Zuko (Dev Patel, left) and Iroh (Shaun Toub, right) giving Aang the
(unnecessary) Avatar Test.

One scene taken from the cartoon has a group of captured Earthbenders (ones who can control earth) unable to Earthbend, leaving Aang to raise their spirits again to fight back against the present members of the Fire Nation. The problem with this scene is that, whereas the Earthbenders were captured on a metal ship in the cartoon (as Metalbending, an extension of Earthbending, wasn’t discovered yet), they are instead captured on land (aka Earth) in the movie, making it seem as though Aang is instead calling them out for being idiots (not to mention the infamous “pebble dance”, more on that later).

There’s also an alteration in how Firebending (controlling fire) works. In the original cartoon, Firebenders are able to create and control fire out of thin air, or even simply channel heat through their hands. In this movie, Firebending instead requires fire to be already present, with General Iroh’s (Shaun Toub) ability to create fire treated as a major plot twist. Not only does this make the Fire Nation seem like much less of a threat than they were in the source material, it also creates another small plot hole since Zuko is at one point seen being able to channel heat into his hands to break through ice.

Casting choices aside, the acting in the movie leaves something to be desired. Either through inexperience or poor direction, the acting comes off more often than not as being somewhat stilted or wooden, leading to the idea that the movie is just going through the motions in regards to the original story. Many scenes in the movie lend to this idea as well, such as a bit from the show where Aang is captured by the Fire Nation and then rescued, as though the movie felt like it “had to” be in there as opposed to making it feel more like part of the story.

The special effects also leave something to be desired, as though the effects themselves wanted to get things over with. The Fire- and Waterbending effects are somewhat decent, though the Earthbending was a bit disappointing. While the Earth Tribe is able to perform moves displayed in the show, the most impressive effect is making a temporary wall of earth while a very laughable sequence is the aforementioned “pebble dance” bit; the fact that a wall takes only one Earthbender to create while a small rock requires at least six to manipulate seems to make the Earthbenders look as weak as, if not weaker, than the Firebenders in the movie. I can’t say much about the Airbending, since the usage is rather minimal, though the effects seen were at least okay.

Did this really need six people?

An issue commonly brought up in regards to this film, which I will cover for completeness, is the many changes in pronouncing character names compared to the cartoon. While some (ex. Katara, Zuko) get to keep their names intact, many others get their names pronounced differently than how fans of the series would expect. This includes Aang (rhymes with “gang”) becoming “Ong”, Sokka (“Sock-uh”) said as “Soh-kah”, Iroh (“Eye-roh”) being read as “Ee-roh” and, perhaps most gratingly, the word “Avatar” being pronounced inconsistently; half the time it’s said as “Ahvatar” for some reason. Another like alteration is Sokka’s characterization, losing his ability to make wisecracks in translation. I will also say that, while many things from the movie look somewhat screen-accurate to the cartoon, with some occasional liberties taken to make it more cinematic (ex. Aang’s Air Nomad tattoos go from simple arrows to more intricate designs), the characters often do not fully resemble their TV show counterparts in terms of costume design; for some this also includes skin tones, which is all I will say about that.

As a movie, The Last Airbender is not that great. As an adaptation of a highly-regarded Nickelodeon cartoon, it’s even worse. Adaptation gripes aside, it’s easy to see why this movie bombed M. Night Shyamalan’s career, though his ultimate comeback would come with the movie Split (2016), to seemingly make a full recovery with the upcoming Glass (the long-awaited sequel to Unbreakable). To summarize (quoting Avatar: The Last Airbender S3E17 “The Ember Island Players”):

Zuko: That ... wasn't a good play.

Aang: I'll say.

Katara: No kidding.

Suki: Horrible.

Toph: You said it.

Sokka: But the effects were decent!

I would not recommend this movie to Avatar/Korra fans, nor even to M. Night Shyamalan fans, unless they really feel the need to experience it for themselves. Otherwise, if you’re not familiar with the source material, just watch the cartoon instead.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

After the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), directed by Jonathan Liebesman, it only seemed natural that a sequel would soon follow. This sequel has now materialized as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, directed by Dave Green. As seems to be common with blockbuster franchises, Out of the Shadows has a much larger scope than its predecessor, featuring a larger cast and clocking in at nearly two hours. Though the end result feels sillier in some ways, it does somehow manage to balance these elements into an enjoyable viewing.

One year after the events of the previous film, the evil Shredder (Brian Tee) is being transported, by corrections officer Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) to a higher security prison along with the prisoners Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Sheamus). The Foot Clan attempt to break Shredder out of the transport vehicle, only for the Turtles to thwart the effort but fail to capture Shredder themselves. After this escape, Shredder collaborates with Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) to enact a larger scale plan than simply taking over New York, also enlisting the aid of Bebop and Rocksteady. Meanwhile, Casey Jones sets out on a quest to redeem himself by tracking and capturing Bebop and Rocksteady, as they had escaped his custody with Shredder. At the same time, April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and the Turtles work to investigate TCRI, where Baxter Stockman works, and bring down Shredder while resolving a family dilemma. While Leonardo (Pete Ploszek) and Donatello (Jeremy Howard) are content with staying within the shadows, Raphael (Alan Ritchson) and Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) long to be accepted by the humans outside of their small circle.

Casey Jones as portrayed by Stephen Amell.

The general story seeks to embrace the inherently silly nature of the Turtles brand while also striking a balance with the more generally serious aspect of the Mirage and IDW comics series. Overall it seems to succeed, taking itself just seriously enough to further develop the Turtles and deal with their struggle to remain silent protectors of the city while remaining lighthearted enough for the many situations and character interactions to be more upbeat and fun. Despite the numerous subplots and new character introductions, the movie also manages to be pretty easy to follow and maintain the viewer’s attention. However, at least a couple of smaller scenes fall apart a little when you think about them and at least one plot thread seems to go unresolved, though perhaps a potential third installment would take these into account.

One area which received improvement is the special effects, which are rather impressive and contain plenty of small details, including a humorous moment where Bebop, as a mutant Warthog, is finishing off a strand of spaghetti; you can see the strand unwind twice around one of his tusks before whipping his eyes and finally ending in his mouth, complete with sauce stains. In addition, there are some small Easter eggs for fans, including a subtle use of a turtle head from the 1987 cartoon. The designs of the Turtles also seem more streamlined this time, with less bulky equipment, and the action is fast paced, featuring more application of ninja moves. There are also some creative setpieces, which are woven pretty naturally into the context of the story.

Also good is the acting, particularly notable with the larger cast size. The four Turtle actors are very good at distinguishing the personalities of each character from each other as well as establish a unique and engaging dynamic between the brothers and their master/father Splinter (voiced by Tony Shalhoub; motion-capture by Peter D. Badalamenti). Gary Anthony Williams and Sheamus also do a great job portraying Bebop and Rocksteady as total bros who are able to stay optimistic despite everything that gets thrown their way. One interesting performance comes from Will Arnett, returning as Vern Fenwick. It would be easy for him to be portrayed in such a way as to get grating, but Arnett manages to play him in a more balanced way, remaining in character while not being obnoxious and making him a good source of the film’s humor.

Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Sheamus) share a humorous "bro" dynamic.

While not a fantastic movie, Out of the Shadows is an overall better installment than its predecessor. This is achieved by engaging performances, action which never leaves a dull moment and an easy-to-follow story despite the higher amount of new characters and subplots. What also helps is the improved special effects and the increased number of laugh-out-loud moments mined from the mostly smart sense of humor found in the dialogue and character interactions. Though not the best film to come out this year, it’s one which will entertain Turtle fans old and new, as well as those who simply want to have a good time in the theater this summer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) - Heroes In A Half-Shell

In 1984, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird released a comic through their Mirage Studios label titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT/Turtles/Ninja Turtles). Released with low expectations, the comic ended up becoming a massive mega-hit, leading to a highly successful animated series in 1987 that spawned a massive media juggernaut that continues to this day, which among other things has included a musical production, a plethora of video games, and numerous pizza promotions. Though there have been other iterations of the Turtles on TV over the years, including another animated series in 2003 and a new one that began in 2012, as well as the live action 1997 series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (do not bring this one up to Peter Laird), comics have continued to be published beyond its time with Mirage, including the likes of Archie, Image, Dreamwave and, currently, IDW Publishing. The Ninja Turtles are no stranger to movies either, as they have had a live-action film in 1990 that was followed up by two sequels (II: The Secret of the Ooze and III, the latter of which has been mistakenly referred to as Turtles in Time), a separate CG animated feature in 2007 called TMNT and a new one this year, simply named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the subject of this review.

As a bit of a disclosure, my personal interest in the Ninja Turtles brand began not with any of the cartoon series’, though I have been aware of them, but with the IDW comic series in 2011, which has heavy involvement from Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman. When I heard about this comic I became mildly curious about it, since at the time I was hearing a lot about the TMNT franchise in general. So when I saw the first issue of the IDW comic on the rack at my local comic shop, I decided to pick it up, managing to get covers A through D in the process since they go together, just to so I could see what all the fuss was about. To this day, I have yet to regret this decision. While the series also has a handful of mini-series tying into it in addition to one or two Annuals, it is actually a very well-written series that I would not only recommend to existing Turtles fans, but also to newcomers (like me) as an excellent jumping-on point; there’s another TMNT comic from IDW based on the 2012 cartoon from Nickelodeon, but I have not read it since I haven’t been watching the show. In any case, it is because of the IDW comic that I have grown somewhat interested in Ninja Turtles lore, and though I have become mildly curious about past cartoon series due to the positive feedback that I have heard about it and have since read and enjoyed a reprint from Comic-Con of the first issue of the original Mirage comic, I have decided to finally branch off into other parts of the franchise starting with the new movie, directed by Jonathan Liebesman. After seeing a free 3D screening of it at Paramount Pictures, I found myself actually enjoying it.

If you haven't already, go read this. (Pictured: IDW comic #1, Covers A-D combined.)

In New York, a mysterious group known as the Foot Clan has been causing a lot of trouble, making it a common news item. April O’Neil (Megan Fox) is a reporter for one such news station, Channel 6, though she tries to do what it takes to dig deeper into the case. One night while walking around, after reporting what she considered an underwhelming news story that day, April happens upon the Foot Clan committing a robbery and decides to try and get a closer look. As she tries to gather evidence, a mysterious group takes down the Foot, though she believes to have only seen one. In the end, the best evidence she can gather is a picture of a set of Japanese Kanji on the side of a shipping container; when April attempts to relay this experience later that night to her roommate and the next day to others at Channel 6, including her boss Bernadette Thompson (Whoopi Goldberg), they all think she’s crazy. Later, when driving around with co-worker Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) in a news van, April sees people running from the subway and goes to check it out. It turns out to be the Foot, led by Karai (Minae Noji), taking people hostage. When April tries to sneak a photo, she is spotted by the Foot and about to be shot, only for the mysterious strangers from before to emerge from a passing subway train and rescue the hostages. Not long after, April hears the group talking amongst themselves on a rooftop, climbing up the fire escape and taking a picture, causing them to take action and their appearance causing her to faint. When she comes to, the group of four, Leonardo (Pete Ploszek for mo-cap, Johnny Knoxville for voice), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), Donatello (Jeremy Howard), and Raphael (Alan Ritchson), introduce themselves to her as being “teenagers”, “mutants”, “ninjas”, and “turtles”, letting her go after erasing her evidence so long as she promises not to tell anyone.

April O'Neil (Megan Fox) meeting the Turtles for the first time (Leonardo pictured).

The story, while not perfect, is actually pretty well-written and does a good job with the Turtles’ origin story and the handling of familiar characters. Having read the IDW comics released so far, the backstory of the Turtles made me think of said comic, as well as how April O’Neil relates to them. The personalities of each Ninja Turtle are also very distinct and stay true to previous incarnations, as with characters such as Splinter (Danny Woodburn for mo-cap, Tony Shalhoub for voice). Aside from the lone instance of crude humor in the entire film (a single fart joke), the movie has a great sense of humor that helps keep the story from taking itself too seriously. Some of the jokes are small cultural references, but they are worked in such that they feel natural and add to the humor value without detracting from the experience. When it comes to important plot points, the movie doesn’t go out of its way to hammer them into your head; rather they feel natural and come up in such a way that they make sense. The story admittedly has a few minor issues though, but it is rather enjoyable anyway.

The acting is another positive, which aids the quality of the storytelling. Megan Fox does a pretty good job portraying April O’Neil and the voice actors for each of the Turtles and Splinter really sell their respective personalities. William Fichtner plays the human character Eric Sacks well (no spoilers) and Will Arnett does a good job portraying April’s co-worker Vernon Fenwick without taking away from the experience. It is a little odd that, of the five mutants present in the movie, Leonardo and Splinter are the only ones whose motion capture and voice actors are different, but this fact didn’t really bother me.

The special effects are pulled off rather spectacularly, with the Turtles and Splinter worked seamlessly into the movie, as if they had a physical presence rather than being obvious CG effects (the mo-cap work from the actors probably helps). This goes hand-in-hand with the action sequences, which are excellently framed and provide a good amount of thrills. A stand-out example is a sequence shown in the trailers where the Turtles have a battle with the Foot while sliding down a snow bank, which flows really well and has a good amount of creativity put into it. I also liked the effects applied to Shredder’s armor in this version of the story, though without giving it away there is one rather creative addition that has not been seen in previous iterations (from what I have seen).

Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) as he appears in the movie.
(Splinter is in the foreground.)

The music, composed by Brian Tyler (ex. Transformers: Prime, Thor: The Dark World, John Dies at the End), helps give the movie some amount of depth as it knows how to set the tone of a scene without becoming intrusive, something Tyler has shown he knows how to do well. There is also an original song in the movie called Shell Shocked by Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, and Juicy J feat. Kill the Noise and Madsonik, which, while not exactly anything to write home about, does admittedly kind of grow on you after a few listens. There’s also a rather hilarious use of a familiar song by The Turtles (see what they did there?), but I don’t want to ruin the context for anyone that hasn’t seen the movie yet.

While not perfect, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) is a good representation of TMNT lore and an all-around fun movie to watch. The story and acting are good, the action is amazing, and the humor gives the whole thing a more light-hearted tone (in a good way). Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in any capacity should give this movie a try, though it also proves a worthy jumping-on point for newcomers to the franchise (my parents, who also enjoyed this movie, had never had any previous first-hand experience with anything TMNT related). While I wouldn’t do so right away, this is a movie I wouldn’t mind seeing again, and if the inevitable sequel is made from this continuity, I wouldn’t mind seeing that either.

The Last Airbender - It Had Better Be

The Last Airbender is one of those movies where I have heard so much about how bad it is, that I felt a desire to watch it anyway to see for myself. To this end I decided to rent it, knowing I would be going in without having seen the Nickelodeon cartoon it was based on, Avatar: The Last Airbender (it would be called this if James Cameron hadn't used the name Avatar). For $1 I got everything I expected and more...in practically the worst way possible.

The plot can be summed up as M. Night Shyamalan attempting to stuff the entire first season of the show into an hour and a half (I have nothing to say because, again, I have no prior experience with the source material). By itself the movie is fantastically boring with unexciting special effects, plot elements that are shoved aside or simply come out of nowhere, uninteresting/seemingly unnecessary characters, inconsistent logic and reasoning, and acting that is almost universally on the same level as the Keanu Reeves School of Acting. Also, almost no one is able to pronounce the word "avatar" apparently. The only thing I actually liked about this film at all was getting to the end credits.

If you are not familiar with the show, skip this movie. If you are a fan of the series, definitely skip this movie. However, if your desire to see 103 minutes of bile kicks in, I would suggest doing what I did and pay $1 to rent it from a Blockbuster or something. On the bright side, you only have to pay pocket change to borrow it for a day. Now all I want to do is watch the show just to see how much better it is than this waste of film.

Rango

If you've kept up with movies for the last decade, chances are you've seen or heard of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. These movies were directed by Gore Verbinski, who you also might know as the director of the classic MouseHunt and the American remake of The Ring. If you've seen the Pirates series, you also probably remember Johnny Depp, who played the memorable Captain Jack Sparrow. This year, these two work together again to deliver Verbinski's latest outing, Rango.

The film centers on a pet chameleon, played by Johnny Depp, who spends his time performing to inanimate objects in his cage. After this brief view into his personality, the car he is riding on the back of hits a bump and causes his cage to crash onto the road. It is then he finds the bump was an armadillo, who was trying to reach the other side while seeking the "Spirit of the West," and advises the chameleon to search for his purpose in life. While crossing the desert, and narrowly escaping a hawk, he meets a female lizard named Beans, who takes him to a western town named Dirt, populated by other desert animals. Soon after getting there, the chameleon enters a saloon, where he adopts the name "Rango" while telling a story about himself; he took the name from part of the name of a bottle he drank from. What follows is a story revolving around a murder, linking to a massive water shortage in the town.

This movie was overall better than I expected, as I wasn't sure what to make of it from the trailers. The story was actually well thought-out and easy to follow, if a little slow at times. I should mention, however, that the majority of the plot is similar to the 1974 movie, Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski. While I haven't seen it yet, I don't think that's neccessarily a bad thing, since this film stands out on its own rather well. Some parts of the movie also include subtle references to other classic movies, as well as one to another Johnny Depp film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A notable reference is the appearance of Clint Eastwood as the aforementioned "Spirit of the West," though it was disappointing that the actual Clint Eastwood didn't voice him. These references didn't take away from the story either, rather serving as easter eggs for those who get them.

The effects of this movie were also rather superb, portraying the animals in a realistic fashion while also being very fluid in movement. While this does cause it to nearly dip into uncanny valley, it doesn't really distract from the story, and actually serves the movie well. On the acting side of things, Johnny Depp's performance as Rango is done fantastically, making the character more believeable. The other characters' voices match their appearances quite well, with excellent delivery, making their interactions with the titular character much better.

One thing about Rango that deserves special mention is the sound design. Everything in this movie is given the sounds of its real-life counterpart, from the animals to the environments, and even objects, making for one of the most realistically-sounding movies out there. This aspect helped to enhance the experience further, helping to make one believe its desert setting. One example of this design would a scene at the beginning of the movie, where the chameleon hero's cage shatters on the highway. You can hear every sound from the glass breaking to the shards scattering about and sliding against the asphalt.

But as with every good movie, there are a couple small issues with it. While the plot was straight-forward, there were some important things I could see coming from a distance, which would be better not to spoil. The only real issue I had with this movie, however, was the use of bats. There are scenes where characters are flying bats for transport in broad daylight, even though bats are nocturnal. While (at the time of this writing) there may be a species of bat that can fly in daylight that I don't know about, I decided to take it as willing suspension of disbelief.

The final verdict of Rango is that it's an enjoyable movie. The plot is a little slow, but easy to follow, backed up by great acting and realistic sound design. While this is a family picture, I would more recommend it to Gore Verbinski/Johnny Depp fans. Younger movie-goers should be accompanied by an adult tough, as this movie has some dark moments and really stretches its PG rating as far as it can. Aside from that, Rango is a must-see and delivers a memorable visual experience.