Parsnip

Note: This review contains spoilers for Parsnip.

If you think the oddly-specific horror game subgenre of “cute game turns out to be dark” has been oversaturated by now, you’re not alone there. In a sea of games included in a massive itch.io bundle, Parsnip stood out to me mainly due to its appealing art style, to where I thought to download and play it along with its two follow-up games included in the bundle. Once I finally got around to playing Parsnip, I was legitimately unaware that it was one of those types of aforementioned horror games, and while it is effective on a first playthrough, the game is not without flaws.

Stubs - Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia (2009) Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond. Directed by Nora Ephron. Screenplay by Nora Ephron. Based on My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, which was based on her blog The Julie/Julia Project. Produced by Nora Ephron, Laurence Mark, Eric Steel, Amy Robinson. Run time: 123 minutes. Color. USA. Biographical, Drama, Comedy.

For someone who has been dead for nearly 18 years, Julia Child is hot. Not only is there a successful series about her TV Series, Julia on HBO Max, but recently CNN ran a special about her, also called Julia, in May of last year. No better time to rewatch Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron’s final film and the first film to be based on a blog, though one step removed.

Julia Child is best known for her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her long-running public television series, The French Chef (1963–1966; 1970–1973). Not only did she change cooking in America, but she also was a larger-than-life personality. She got into cooking because she loved eating and loved eating French food. When she couldn’t find a French cookbook in English, she took classes at the Cordon Bleu. A chance meeting with Simone Beck, who was writing a French cookbook for Americans with her friend Louisette Bertholle, lead to Child’s involvement with the project.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Following the success and positive reception to the 2018 Bumblebee film, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro began to rethink the direction of the live-action Transformers universe, including a mix of live-action and animated films. Around this time, following a period of G1 oversaturation, Hasbro seemed to collectively remember that other portions of the brand exist and that not everyone started with or has nostalgia for the 1984 version, and so the first of these films, the live-action Rise of the Beasts, borrows characters and concepts from Beast Wars, the first new iteration of Transformers from 1996. While I do have some experience with the Beast Wars cartoon, as well as the Beast Machines sequel series, I will admit that I don’t have any clear memory of it, since I watched it on DVD when I was a kid, and out of order at that, plus it was not my gateway into the franchise (for me it was the 2001 Robots in Disguise series). Still, I became curious about it due to how good the last film was and that the director, Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), is a fan of Beast Wars, giving me some hope for its quality despite trailers presenting an increasingly-worryingly complex plot. After getting to attend a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Early Access Fan Event screening at AMC, my fears were assuaged and it turned out far better than I could have expected.

Second Look - Transformers: The Last Knight

Note: This review contains spoilers for Transformers: The Last Knight.

When I first watched Transformers: The Last Knight (TLK), I was able to view it in a theater one day early as part of AMC’s Optimus Prime Time event, which included a special lanyard and a T-shirt, both of which I still own even after having since downsized my Transformers collection. My original review of the film, which I wrote that night and posted the following day, was a lot more positive, likely influenced by having seen it in a theater that appeared to be filled with other Transformers fans. After having rewatched Age of Extinction (AOE), I decided to give The Last Knight another shot to round out my reevaluation of the live-action films prior to Bumblebee. This time, however, my view on it is a lot more negative.

Second Look - Transformers: Age of Extinction

Note: This review contains spoilers for Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Three years after Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a fourth live-action Transformers film, subtitled Age of Extinction, was released with the intent of kickstarting a new trilogy. When I first watched this film in the theater, and on subsequent viewings, my outlook on it was generally positive, as I had found it to be vast improvement over the first three installments to the point where I saw it as the best of the series. After Bumblebee proved to be a genuinely good movie in its own right, I decided to go back and reevaluate how I felt about this movie, viewing it through a Blu-ray release that featured the presentation of the IMAX version. While I still like it on some level, I noticed more of its flaws this time around.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Note: This review contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Of the more well-known superheroes from Marvel and DC, Marvel’s Spider-Man is one that’s no stranger to adaptations across TV and film. Some have had a lasting ripple effect, like Japanese Spider-Man inspiring the giant robots in Super Sentai (aka Power Rangers) or how the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man (2002) movie helped make superhero films more viable at the box office. Recently, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse made a huge splash in the world of animation thanks to its well-written story and its unique art style that perfectly replicated a living comic book and demonstrated that a CG film with such an approach could succeed at the box office. Into the Spider-Verse’s success has inspired experimentation in other animated productions, as seen in Sony Animation’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines and DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, as well the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, to name a few.

While time will tell how well other films inspired by Into the Spider-Verse will age, the film itself has remained enjoyable every time we’ve seen it, thanks in part to the continued discovery of new details in both the animation and story. Naturally, we immediately had an interest in the sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, from the millisecond we saw the original trailer (the one that initially labeled it “Part One” before that style of release fell out of favor), leading us to do what we normally haven’t since COVID-19 and watch a film on its opening weekend. Fortunately, Across the Spider-Verse proved itself worthy of its pre-release hype, though its nature as half a full story does affect the experience.

Stubs - Five Star Final

Five Star Final (1931) Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Marian Marsh, H. B. Warner, Anthony Bushell Directed by Mervyn LeRoy Screenplay by Louis Weitzenkorn. Based on the play Five Star Final by Louis Weitzenkorn (New York, 30 Dec 1930). Produced by Hal Wallis (uncredited). USA Run time: 89 minutes. Black and White. Drama.

Warner Bros. was a studio that didn’t shy away from social protest films. No other studio would have released such films as I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), The Public Enemy (1931) and Heroes for Sale (1933). Five Star Final represents a different kind of protest film, that against tabloid journalism, an issue that seems as fresh today as it did in 1931.