Venom: The Last Dance

Sony's third entry in its Venom focused series with Tom Hardy, Venom: The Last Dance, sees Eddie Brock and his unhinged symbiote travel to New York to prove his innocence after being framed for what happened in the last movie. It won't be easy as they're hunted down by creatures sent by Knull, the creator of the symbiotes trapped by them in a prison that can only be opened by the duo, and the American military who wants to experiment and use the alien entity. By this point, taking any of these films seriously is not the best way to watch, and especially with this third entry with its rather thin plot compared to the last two but Kelly Marcel's writing and direction knowing it works best by being over the top, silly, and rather stupid. The action scenes are well done while also being incredibly energetic and unhinged at times, especially with some unique symbiotic abilities that give the film really great visual effects. Even when the films get stupider, Tom Hardy still gives a fun and engaging performance, equal parts portmanteau farce and near emotional breakdown. Newer cast members like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple also provide strong performances, but in a more serious way that makes Hardy really stand out. For a final entry in a trilogy, it does feel like not having Michelle Williams and Reid Scott return feel a bit empty. And by adding a big character like Knull with a post credit scene and played by Andy Serkis feels redundant for a final entry. Venom: The Last Dance may be a very stupid movie, but it's a very stupid movie that knows how to have fun. Over all: 75%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Saturday Night

4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

5. Deadpool & Wolverine

6. Transformers One

7. A Quiet Place: Day One

8. Inside Out 2

9. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

10. The Fall Guy

11. MaXXXine

12. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

13. Abigail

14. Monkey Man

15. Late Night with the Devil

16. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

17. Alien: Romulus

18. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

19. The Book of Clarence

20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

21. Drive-Away Dolls

22. Joker: Folie à Deux

23. Kung Fu Panda 4

24. Lisa Frankenstein

25. Argylle

26. Venom: The Last Dance

27. Mean Girls 2024

Saturday Night

Depicting, though with some liberties in terms of the show's history and production for story purposes, the 90 minutes before Saturday Night Live's debut, Saturday Night takes a look at the absolute chaos that occurred just before the show's live premiere. Jason Reitman's love letter to the long running sketch show, released a year before its 50th anniversary, focuses on Lorne Michaels as he goes through rehearsals, Chevy Chase's ego, NBC's meddling, and disgruntled crew members before the show went live on the night of October 11, 1975. Between Reitman's numerous uses of long unbroken shots with scenes of characters walking as they talk and his and Gil Kenan's quick back and forth dialogue, the film definitely has a touch of Aaron Sorkin. Seeing all the troubles the show went through really makes you appreciate how it all could have gone wrong, between the higher executives having no faith and John Belushi nearly quitting with just a few minutes left. The writing's biggest strength is how it managed to pull off a solution to these problems, many of them thanks to Lorne's quick thinking. Gabriel LaBelle's leads an impressive cast all playing the original cast and crew who all play them to perfection. While a decade younger than when Lorne actually created the show, LaBelle is astounding and captures a combination of the creator's anxiety and belief in what he's creating. Cory Michael Smith captures Chevy's ego to perfection, Matt Wood is perfect as John Belushi, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster is wonderful, and Finn Wolfhard has a fun time as a page trying to get people to see the show. The production design does an amazing job at capturing the look and design of how the show's original stage felt. Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid's editing definitely helps in giving the movie a very Aaron Sorkin-vibe to it. Serving as both the composer and a supporting role playing Billy Preston, the show's first musical guest, Jon Batiste gives the movie a two way in both a great score befitting the era while performing Preston's classic Nothing from Nothing while everyone prepares in the last few minutes before airing. Everyone involved with Saturday Night did a magnificent job in not only making a great movie, but a wonderful love letter to a beloved staple of American television. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Saturday Night

4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

5. Deadpool & Wolverine

6. Transformers One

7. A Quiet Place: Day One

8. Inside Out 2

9. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

10. The Fall Guy

11. MaXXXine

12. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

13. Abigail

14. Monkey Man

15. Late Night with the Devil

16. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

17. Alien: Romulus

18. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

19. The Book of Clarence

20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

21. Drive-Away Dolls

22. Joker: Folie à Deux

23. Kung Fu Panda 4

24. Lisa Frankenstein

25. Argylle

26. Mean Girls 2024

Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips's sequel to his 2019 hit, Joker: Folie à Deux follows Arthur Fleck's time in Arkham and his eventual trial after the events of the first film. This time around Fleck meets his match with the arrival of Lee Quinzel, a fellow inmate whose infatuation with each other turns this entry into a musical at times. One can't deny the uniqueness to this movie, both as a sequel and a comic book adaptation, whether or not it helps or hurts it. Whereas the original was a psychological crime thriller, this followup acts more like a prison drama with bits of a courtroom drama alongside big musical numbers akin to Broadway shows. Instead of focusing on Fleck committing crimes and finding ways to get away with them, we're instead given a look into his infamy and psychological state, and whether or not he's truly the legendary lunatic he made the people of Gotham believe he was. The writing from Phillips and Scott Silver is both fascinating and often frustrating at times due to a combination of factors like not just going in and redoing what came before, their method of not always giving straight answers can often feel alienating, all the while their way of telling the fans of the first movie why they were wrong to connect with Fleck at all does often try too hard to get its message across, and how it handles the returning characters alongside new ones is definitely strong though with rough flaws. Returning as Arthur, Joaquin Phoenix still gives a strong performance and manages to add a touch of vulnerability even when Arthur tries to go back to his Joker persona to seem tough. Lady Gaga's take on Harley Quinn is really good, making her manipulations seem so believable while having pretty good chemistry with Phoenix. What helps this entry be memorable is its musical moments namely for the combination of popular songs that fit what's happening onscreen alongside Hildur Guõnadóttir's score, the choreography by the cast, the atmospheric cinematography from Lawrence Sher, and the patient editing by Jeff Groth. Yes, Joker: Folie à Deux is a very unique movie, but often that uniqueness is often what hurts it in its favor. Over all: 89%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

4. Deadpool & Wolverine

5. Transformers One

6. A Quiet Place: Day One

7. Inside Out 2

8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

9. The Fall Guy

10. MaXXXine

11. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

12. Abigail

13. Monkey Man

14. Late Night with the Devil

15. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

16. Alien: Romulus

17. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

18. The Book of Clarence

19. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

20. Drive-Away Dolls

21. Joker: Folie à Deux

22. Kung Fu Panda 4

23. Lisa Frankenstein

24. Argylle

25. Mean Girls 2024

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot is an adaptation of a 2016 novel about a service robot named Roz who gets stranded in an island and in an attempt to fulfill its duty by befriending the animals, ends up taking care of a gosling that Roz accidentally orphaned. This DreamWorks feature is an absolutely beautiful work of art all thanks to everyone involved in its production. While DreamWorks announced this will be their last animated film made in-house, they at least gave it their all with CGI that captures a very traditional and watercolor style similarly to classic Disney and Hayao Miyazaki. Chris Sanders as director and writer manages to take story elements that have been told numerous times before in such a way that neither feels cliche nor forced. Both the story and characters are well fleshed out, are given time to establish themselves, and tell great themes regarding families and individuality. The cinematography from Chris Stover does an incredible job at showing off the incredible animation regardless of how much light or darkness there is. While the editing done by Mary Blee doesn't do the usual thing of most animated films and go from one scene to another, as instead it lets you take in scenes by not cutting from one angle to another until it's necessary. Kris Bowers's score is an absolute delight, being able to seamlessly change from comical to tough drama when needed. And of course the cast, led by Lupita Nyong'o alongside Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Hsu, all give such powerful vocal performances. With the book The Wild Robot is adapted from also having sequels, they're gonna have to pull off a miracle considering how incredible this movie is. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. The Wild Robot

3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

4. Deadpool & Wolverine

5. Transformers One

6. A Quiet Place: Day One

7. Inside Out 2

8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

9. The Fall Guy

10. MaXXXine

11. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

12. Abigail

13. Monkey Man

14. Late Night with the Devil

15. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

16. Alien: Romulus

17. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

18. The Book of Clarence

19. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

20. Drive-Away Dolls

21. Kung Fu Panda 4

22. Lisa Frankenstein

23. Argylle

24. Mean Girls 2024

Transformers One

The first theatrical film in the franchise since the first one in 1986, Transformers One is separate from the live action films since 2007 and tells an original story of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became who they are. While Michael Bay still serves a producer, the feel and tone are absolutely different from the previous entries that came before. The animation from Industrial Light & Magic is incredible, especially with its mix of modern and Generation 1 era character design from when the franchise first started. Director Josh Cooley puts together a well crafted and thoroughly enjoyable love letter to the origins of these characters. The script is put together thanks to Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari who manage to take an overdone franchise and give writing that makes the now 40 year old characters seem fresh, an often untold aspect of the franchise's mythology an epic take, and manages to know when drama and comedy should be well placed. But the biggest praise to their writing definitely goes to Megatron as so much of his fall to evil is so complex and very mature in ways no one would have expected from an animated family film. It wasn't just the writing though, as without Brian Tyree Henry's performance then it wouldn't have worked as well. He makes the role his own, while adding certain inflections from Frank Welker's original as the movie goes. The same goes for Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, who manages to grab that special charm that Peter Cullen is best known for. While the rest of the cast, including Jon Hamm, Scarlett Johansson, and Keegan-Michael Key all give great supporting performances. While the live action films can often be fun, Transformers One easily outshines all of them and needs to be seen as a step in the right direction for the franchise. Over all: 100%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

4. Transformers One

5. A Quiet Place: Day One

6. Inside Out 2

7. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

8. The Fall Guy

9. MaXXXine

10. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

11. Abigail

12. Monkey Man

13. Late Night with the Devil

14. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

15. Alien: Romulus

16. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

17. The Book of Clarence

18. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

19. Drive-Away Dolls

20. Kung Fu Panda 4

21. Lisa Frankenstein

22. Argylle

23. Mean Girls 2024

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

After numerous attempts to get a sequel made since the 1988 original, Michael Keaton finally returns as the over the top bio-exorcist in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Keaton returns alongside cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara with director Tim Burton while introducing new characters played by Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe. The sequel sees Winona's Lydia return to her old home after the death of her father, alongside her stepmother and daughter, Astrid. With Betelgeuse aware of Lydia returning and his ex-wife being freed and seeking him out for revenge, he must figure out a way to escape his ghostly confines by once again trying to marry Lydia. The sequel definitely keeps the gothic and darkly comedic feel and tone of the original while still feeling fresh and unique from it. Burton's style has not lost its touch and he can still capture that over the top and weird feel that made the first film work so well. One strong aspect that keeps the movie from being stale is that Burton chose to do the effects more practically, alongside stop motion, rather than overdo it with CGI, which it still uses but when it's needed. The writing from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar does capture a lot of what made the original script by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren so special. They were smart not to overuse the title character similarly to the original and keep him minimally instead of just wholly focusing on him as one would expect due to his large popularity. Most of the story is pretty good and Gough and Millar both manage to make the characters memorable and have such fun moments, but certain storylines, such as Lydia's boyfriend taking advantage of her abilities and Betelgeuse's ex looking for him, often feel like they needed more time to them. All the while, the returning and new cast members all give strong performances and Keaton hasn't lost his physical prowess even in his 70s. Two strong aspects that also perfectly capture the essence of the '88 original are Haris Zambarloukos's cinematography and Danny Elfman returning to do the score. The movie wouldn't be as memorable without their work not only keeping the original's style and look but also further expanding on Elfman's music by incorporating instrumental versions of songs the first film used and newer songs this entry introduced. It can be agreed that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may not reach the highs of its predecessor, but still manages to be incredibly entertaining on its own. Over all: 93%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

4. A Quiet Place: Day One

5. Inside Out 2

6. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

7. The Fall Guy

8. MaXXXine

9. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

10. Abigail

11. Monkey Man

12. Late Night with the Devil

13. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

14. Alien: Romulus

15. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

16. The Book of Clarence

17. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

18. Drive-Away Dolls

19. Kung Fu Panda 4

20. Lisa Frankenstein

21. Argylle

22. Mean Girls 2024

The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28

A lot of well known DC Comics characters were introduced in various anthology books meant to gauge whether or not they were popular enough to come back and maybe lead their own series, and The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28 did something similar by introducing the Justice League. While the comic sees the first appearance of the League, it isn't an origin story to how the team was formed as they're already established and well known. With the exception of Batman and Superman dealing with their own things, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Aquaman have to contend with an invasion from Starro the Conqueror. The comic definitely has the rather dated elements of its time and certain flaws of the Silver Age, but still manages to be fun and engaging. Gardner Fox knew that for the writing to be believable he had to challenge each of the heroes in a way that would mean working together would mean Starro's defeat. Now sure you have the rather silly conclusion of Snapper Carr being able to be immune to Starro's mind control due to being covered in lime, but that's par for the course of this time and the rest of it works much better. The art of the era is pretty good, but since DC knew this needed to hit differently the look for this one definitely needed a big push. And thanks to the work of artist Mike Sekowsky and the coloring of Bernie Sachs, Joe Giella, and Murphy Anderson the comic has a more livelier and detailed style to it. The world of comic books definitely changed in 1960, and all thanks to The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #1 introducing the Justice League. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

2. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

3. The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28

4. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

5. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

6. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

7. Amazing Adventures Vol. 1 #1

8. Barbarella Vol. 1

9. Aquaman Vol. 1 #21

10. Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #48

11. Deadman: Love After Death #1

12. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

13. Blue Beetle Vol. 5 #1

14. Showcase Vol. 1 #75

15. Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441

16. Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 1 #18

17. Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978))

18. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

19. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

20. The Yellow Kid

21. Sabrina the Teenage Witch Vol. 1 #8

22. Archie and Me #132

23. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

24. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674