Tag Archives: animated movie

Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Drifting Home (2022)

6 Comments

Image Source

Drifting Home is a cute coming-of-age story that deals with grief and loss. I wasn’t ready for the emotional journey this movie was about to take me on, but I am glad I was there for it. Even if you aren’t a fan of Anime, you should check out this film.

Kosuke and Natsume are two kids who lived together due to their circumstances. They were best friends and did everything together. This all changes when Kosuke’s grandfather dies, breaking up the long-existing friendship. Now they only speak to each other when necessary. Unknown forces whisk the pair and a group of friends away and drop them on top of an endless ocean, floating on top of the decrepit apartment they grew up in. The building floats aimlessly, and the kids must band together to survive till rescue comes. If it ever comes that is. Will the kids survive the journey and find a way back home?

I will be rewatching this film regularly. It has become one of my favorite animated films in recent memory. The art is beautiful, the dubbing is fantastic, and the story is cute and compelling. The endless drifting at sea is a perfect metaphor for the kid’s feelings, as they struggle to cope with complex emotions such as grief and loss. The journey acts as the catalyst that will help the kids work through their troubles. It is a well-written journey that will have you sobbing at points but ultimately leave you smiling. Drifting Home is a unique take on a human experience we are all familiar with, making it relatable to all audiences.

Above all, Floating Home is fantasy done right. This is a fun and fantastical world that is well-built and developed. It makes for a fantastic adventure that will have you at the edge of your seat. This isn’t going to be a movie you can only watch once. If you haven’t seen it, I ask you to add it to your watch list and thank me later. You can stream it on Netflix.

Now as a shameless plug, if this movie isn’t available for streaming where you live, I suggest using Atlas VPN. As a note, I am affiliated with them and will get a small commission if you choose to use it. I’ve been using it for a bit now, and it does what it sets to do.

Please consider supporting what I do by checking out my affiliate links. You might find some sweet deals:

Get 81% off on Atlas VPN

Start your free trial at Gamefly

Check out the deals at the Dell Outlet

Discounts for Bluetti Generators

Check out AVG Anti Virus

Or find some sweet deals on Groupon

You can always buy stuff from Amazon with my Affiliate links:

Buy an Apple TV to Stream this one, or try Amazon Prime Free

Or you can always just buy me coffee

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: Luck (2022)

1 Comment
Source

Luck failed to leave any impression on me. It isn’t a terrible movie, but it isn’t good enough to recommend. If you have to sit through this for your kids you won’t hate it. You will lose interest and forget you watched it, but it won’t be the worst kids’ movie you’ve sat through.

Luck is the story of the words unluckiest woman, Sam. Everything always goes wrong for Sam, but she manages to live with her bad luck. This all changes when one day she finds a magical lucky penny. Unfortunately, Sam is too unlucky even for magic, and she loses the penny. Now, with the help of a magical black cat, she must find a new lucky penny to help her friends.

The story is just predictable fluff that started as a cool concept. I liked the good and bad luck world, but I wish there was a bit more world-building. The pacing sucks. There are parts of this movie that drag so slowly that I almost gave up on this movie. I never give up on movies. The art is cute, but the animation is awkward and stiff. The voice acting is very inconsistent. Some of the actors are great, but most give very awkward line reads. This movie has its audience, and it is kids. 

If you have kids, fine, go for it. It’s cute, and you can tune out when you need to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. For those interested, you can watch this on Apple TV.

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

2 Comments
Source

I really wanted to like this movie because the mixed media style is great. Unfortunately, the interesting style does not hide how uninteresting and cliché this movie is. If you have to sit down and watch it with your kids, you will lose interest but there are worse movies out there.  

The movie treats Chip and Dale as actors dealing with the aftermath of their career in their hit cartoon. Dale still clings to his past, attempting to revitalize his career and be able to see his friends again. Chip has moved on and attempts to live a normal life as a insurance salesman. Both are brought together as an evil gang has been enslaving cartoons and using them to produce knockoff movies. The thrill of the mystery revitalizes a broken friendship and is the focus of this movie.  

This movie isn’t all bad. There are some fun visual gags and puns that made me laugh, and I thought the way they mixed different animation styles was brilliant. Unfortunately, the story is uninspired and lazy. Gags will go on a little too long, the voice acting is inconstant, and the interactions between real people and the toons is always awkward. This movie also tries desperately to be meta, but these jokes only highlight the blaring flaws of this movie.  

John Mulaney isn’t a good choice for this movie. His voice acting in this movie is stiff, and took me out of the movie. It is jarring to have him aside Andy Samberg because their energies never match. Samberg is fantastic, but no one in this movie is able to bring the same energy he does to their performance. I know that Chip is supposed to be this stale character to contrast Dale’s bubbly nature, but Mulaney’s  performance is too stale to be entertaining. There is a catalogue of fantastic voice actors who would have been a better choice, but instead they chose to be disappointing. 

There is a moment in this movie where the characters poke fun at how cliché the plot is, I think that was valid criticism. This movie never surprises or tries anything interesting outside of the art style and it doesn’t pay off. You get the same buddy cop comedy you’ve seen way too many times but this time there are cartoons in it. There are better examples in the genre, I suggest you watch those instead.  

Look if you have to sit through this for your kids, it isn’t going to kill you. You will probably lose interest, but it isn’t the worst kids movie out there. I assume the kids this movie was made for will enjoy it more than I did. The whole time I was watching this, I was wishing I was watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit or even either of the Sonics. If you are interested, it is available for streaming on Disney+. 

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

6 Comments
Source

If you haven’t yet seen The Mitchells vs. the Machines, you need to check it out on Netflix. In the past, I have always been critical of Netflix originals because they tend to be reskinning’s of other popular movies. NextGen, for example, is a beat-for-beat worse copy of Big Hero 6. I Was pleasantly surprised that this movie has a cute and unique story fit for the whole family. The Mitchells vs. the Machines is creative and quirky with a fun narrative.

The movie is about a Katie who feels like an outsider. She doesn’t fit in at school or with her family. Katie is an odd artsy girl and her dad doesn’t understand her process. As a result, they are often at odds. Katie gets accepted to an art school in California. She finally feels like she has found a place where she belongs, but drama with her family has made for an awkward goodbye. In the hopes of mending their relationship, her dad decides to take a road trip to California with the whole family. On their way to California, robots have begun to take over the world. Now it is up to the Mitchells to work together as a family and save the world. 

This story is cute. There are some preachy talking points about big tech, data privacy, and our dependence on wifi, but they aren’t overbearing. The main focus of this movie is the self-exploration that Katie and her family go through. Katie learns to appreciate where she comes from, and her bond with her family is strengthened. It is a great adventure full of laughter and excitement that is worth your time if you can spare two hours.

The best part of this movie is the animation. I love the different art styles and how they come together into one quirky narrative. Even if this is a story you might have seen elsewhere, it is unique enough to carry its own charm and claim a special place in your heart. 

If you need something fun to watch, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is your safest bet. Go watch it on Netflix today!