Movie Review: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A top notch Marvel movie that holds its own with the best films of the franchise.

If Black Widow was a return to the type of MCU stories I love, then this film goes beyond that by being just as good as the best of Marvel. This movie has a small scale and self contained storyline that functions extremely well on its own, but at the same time ties into the main storyline perfectly. Tie-ins  to Iron Man 3, Infinity War, Endgame and Doctor Strange make perfect sense even to someone that hasn't seen those films and never makes the story feel like just another episode of the larger story. Yet it perfectly complements these movies' stories (and in the case of Iron Man 3 adds much to) and gets us excited about what will come next. 

Of course the action scenes are fantastic. They perfectly combine the art of kung-fu movies with the big budget large scale action scenes that the MCU is known for. The action scenes are also extremely well paced and never drag or feel rushed. There is also quite a bit of comedy and drama present in these action scenes which is handled very well and keeps the action from become monotonous. Most of the best MCU films have a great sense of humor and this movie is no exception. Awkwafina has proven herself to be a very good comedic actress and she is in top form here. Her comic delivery is spot on and she delivers plenty of great laughs. Yet she does this without ever going to over the top to make her character a joke and let us take her seriously when we need to. The other comedic standout in this film is Ben Kingsley doing a fantastic job reprising his role from Iron Man 3. While his character is not called upon to do much dramatic, his comedy scenes are perfect and get some of the best laughs in the movie. 

The characters are excellent. Shang-Chi  (Sumi Lui) and Katy's (Awkwafina) friendship is surprisingly quite sweet and warm. Honestly I would watch a movie that is just these two characters hanging out, that is how much I love them together. This is perfectly helped by the sheer chemistry between the two actors. It is great to see such a close friendship (that does not develop into a romance) handled so perfectly in a Hollywood movie, and I wish I could see more of that. This film also contains one of the MCU's best villains to date (Tony Leung). This is not a simple cut and paste villain but one who has a lot more going on. He is clearly a villain but yet at the same time we can relate to and even almost feel sorry for him at times. Despite this he never becomes a "misunderstood good guy" or someone who are supposed to wonder whether he was such a bad guy. To walk this tight rope so well shows really good writing and a great performance.

If you are a fan of the MCU, this is a real must see. 

Movie Trailer: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Movie Review: Raya and the Last Dragon

Note: I saw this film in a theater and it is so great to be back. 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

This may not be top tier Disney, but judged on its own merits it is pretty darn good. 

I must get the most obvious thing to say out of the way first. This film looks fantastic. This is something that both people who like and dislike this movie would agree with. How could you not? The backgrounds are incredibly detailed and there is not a single moment in this film in which 

is not simply breathtaking. Yet through the magic of Disney filmmaking the backgrounds do this without ever taking attention away from the film's focus, the characters in the foreground. This is something I never actively think about when watching an animated Disney movie but one I am always impressed by it when I think about it after leaving the theater. It shows the pure mastery of visual filmmaking that the animation studio has without ever showing off  or calling attention to itself. Having mentioned what happens in the foreground, this film has great action scenes that are incredibly exciting and a heck of a lot of fun to watch. These may in fact stand among Disney animation's finest action scenes. This movie makes you feel like you entered another world. While the art is a major reason for this, helping also is this film's use of mythology. The filmmakers create a world for the characters to live in which magical things are not only possible but accepted as fact and in the best fantasy tradition, this world feels real to us over the course of this movie. It is a place we can imagine ourselves going to and living in. 

The characters themselves are definitely likable and relatable, even if they can be a bit underdeveloped. Because of this we connect and relate to them well enough to care about them and what happens to them throughout the film. At the same time they do not feel as real to us as some of Disney's best characters do.

Now for the faults of the film. The most troubling fault is in the dialogue. Often times the dialogue directly and plainly states what we have already seen or what we can easily infer. This can get a little repetitive and annoying. However this is not the major problem with the dialogue. This movie has a message about people coming together and seeing the good in one another. This is a good message but that doesn't mean the dialogue has to beat us over the head with it. The amount of times we are told the same basic message over and over again is simply way too many and the dialogue itself is too directly on the nose. This movie is also hampered by the fact that while it is very enjoyable it is also very familiar. It never truly finds its own separate identity for similar Disney films. Because of this it stands as a good movie, but also as just one of many of Disney's good movies.

This movie is accompained by a delightful animated short film, Us Again. This film is wordless and yet perfectly conveys a beautiful message and heartfelt real human emotion. This is Disney doing what Disney does best.

 

Movie Review: Jumanji: The Next Level

Michael's Movie Grade: B

Tons of fun.

This movie does an excellent job making this sequel different from its predecessor, while still being enough like the first movie to please fans. There are more emotional moments this time around. While I could see them coming from a mile away, I still have to admit I found them quite effective. The before and after the video game scenes are a huge improvement over the first movie. While those scenes were easily the weakest part of the first film, they actually carry a surprising emotion poignancy here and speak to all of us who ever have drifted apart from close friends. These new emotional scenes do not mean this movie lacks any of the fun of the first. There is plenty of humor to go around and much of it is very funny. Once again the cast is fantastic and truly shines, making the jokes so much better by their delivery. Kevin Hart as an old man is especially funny. As over the top as they get for the humor they never get too much so that you don't believe them. The villain is a great improvement over the first movie as he is played as a bit more of a satire on video game villains, while also being more  The action scenes are fantastic and incredibly fun as well. They also feature more suspense than the first movie, which only adds to the fun. The world of Jumanji is also more colorful and fun this time around which I loved.

There are only two things that disappointed me about this movie. Jack Black playing Fridge is simply not as funny as him play Bethany and one can't help but feel that was a wasted opportunity. The other is that once we get into the video game world it takes a little bit for the movie to get going and shine again.

While it can be argued which is better this or the first (there are things I like better about both), I had tons of fun watching this movie and if you also liked the first movie chances are you will too.

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Movie Review: The Angry Birds Movie 2

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

To be honest I didn't care for the first Angry Birds Movie. I simply just did not find that film enjoyable. That is what made how much I enjoyed  The Angry Birds Movie 2 so surprising.

While humor plays a major part in most mainstream animated movies today, few of them turn out to be out and out comedies. This movie is completely an out and out comedy. This film throws everything but the kitchen sink at us to make us laugh and shockingly that works very well. The gags come at us at such a rapid speed that we never have time to except them. Because of this even the jokes that didn't make me laugh, still helped the film have such an irresistible comedic energy. There were plenty of times I laughed out loud though here. All the characters are given their turn to shine comedically and they do. I even found the hatchlings' side-story hilarious. All of these jokes are delivered fantastically. They are fast paced enough to constantly contribute to the comedic energy of the film, but never too fast to lose their comedic impact. The animation is fantastically energetic and hilariously cartoony. The voice work is fantastic as well. The cast delivers each verbal joke fantastically. It does take a little while until this film's comedic energy fully gets going but when it does, it never stops. Admittedly I am a huge fan of over the top slapstick cartoon humor  (something that sadly seems to becoming rarer these days), and so a movie like this feels like a fantastic change of pace for me.

I will not talk more about this movie as I don't want to give away any of its great humor. This is an excellent film.

-Michael J. Ruhland  

Movie Review: The Farewell

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A heartfelt, quiet movie that will certainly leave an emotional impact on you.

While this movie is not completely a true story, it based off director-writer Lulu Wang's true life. That is why this movie feels so real. Billi (Awkwafina) is a young Chinese-American woman struggling to make a living in New York. Though she never sees her grandma (Shuzhen Zhou) anymore, they still keep in touch over the phone and have a real connection with each other. However when her grandmother is diagnosed with lung cancer, the family in China decide not to tell her about it, so the woman can live her final months in bliss. This is difficult for Billi, who does not agree in the slightest, but when the whole family comes to China for her cousin's (Han Chen) wedding she hides her emotions. With this story the drama is constantly present. Wang realizes this and instead of going into forced melodrama, the film focuses on the little moments with the family. Since the drama is already there, these little moments don't have to do anything big to capture your attention and because of this it is these quiet and small moments that have the largest emotional impact. This movie perfectly captures a family getting together after a long time, especially one that comes from completely different cultures. Each member of the family is not only a well defined character, but their relationships with each other are perfectly well defined. Life is not just a depressing dirge and even in our saddest times, there are moments of humor and lightness. This movie captures that incredibly. There are quite a few light moments that definitely put a smile on my face. Nai-Nai (what the grandma is affectionately called) "fixing" the wedding photo, her and Billi practicing mediation outside and talk about giving the dead grandfather a cigarette are among these moments. Taking a true slice of life approach, this movie never preaches or tells us how to feel (a choice that makes the film all the more real).

 Making this movie all the more powerful are the master performances from the whole cast and especially Awkwafina and Shuzhen Zhou. I can't see anyone after watching this movie not taking Awkwafina seriously as a dramatic actress. She plays every emotion perfectly and with incredible subtlety.

This is certainly a must see movie. It is often quiet and subtle but never lets go of your heartstrings.

-Michael J. Ruhland