Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers: The Return Of Monstrous Sonic

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Yet another classic Disney property gets the reboot treatment.

I will preface this review by saying I did not grow up watching Chip an’ Dale and that this film was my first introduction to the characters. In that regard I felt like I understood who everyone was and what was going on so I appreciated that, there is nothing worse than watching a reboot and being entirely lost because it was based off an obscure property from a few decades ago.

Moreover, I did think this film had a few solid laughs, I enjoyed Ugly Sonic, voiced by Tim Robinson, and thought the film got a hell of a lot better when he was in it, I also thought J. K Simmons proved once again how great his comedic timing is and really shone as Captain Putty. The human characters fare far worse and really don’t need to be there at all, if KiKi Layne’s police officer character wasn’t in the film it wouldn’t really change it much at all.

I thought that the story structure and character arcs were a little generic and also far too overly familiar. I understand that expecting quality writing from an animated film aimed at children might be too much to ask for but I am still going to point it out.

Overall, it was a slightly above average film with a few good laughs.

Pros.

Ugly Sonic

Simmons
Samberg is always likeable

Cons.

Layne

The characters across the board feel generic and fairly two dimensional

If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReview

Everything Everywhere All At Once: Mothers Can Be Saviors Or Destroyers

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Evelyn Quan Wang, played by Michelle Yeoh, is a dissatisfied wife and business owner who becomes alerted to her multiversal significance.

In many respects the idea of multiverses in cinema is quickly becoming played out, a trend bound for death. However, I won’t be so cynical to say that the multiverse formatting can’t yet provide us with some interesting ideas, insights and emotions. This film proves that through the idea of a multiverse greater philosophies can be debated and explored, and the inner workings of the human mind can truly be taken apart and examined.

I really enjoyed the character work in this film as well as the mother daughter focus. Yes, I did think that having Evelyn’s daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, being the villain was a little obvious and on the nose, however, I also thought that despite this the film used their relationship to create fantastic emotional stakes and to nicely examine the concepts of motherhood.

The thing that many people will take from this film is how strange it is, there are often abstract and surrealist elements featured throughout the run of the film, and I think in many cases you aren’t supposed to fully understand what is going on so that you can form your own interpretation of events. I appreciated how strange this film got.

Overall, a fun film that won’t be for everyone but is well worth your time all the same.

Pros.

Yeoh

Hsu

The broader themes

The abstract strangeness

Cons.

The pacing, the film is on for way too long

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Ghosts Of Illyria

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A virus makes it aboard the Enterprise which leads to the crew desperately craving light, also there is something about genetic modification.

Did the writers go on strike or something? What was this episode? It felt like barely concealed filler, even in the worst episodes of Doctor Who they could come up with something better than a light crave virus, it is just lame.

Moreover, I am glad to see Rebecca Romijn’s Number One get more fleshed out on screen but this was not the way to do it. I felt like with the genetic modification point they were trying to convey some broader political or philosophical message but if they were it past right by me.

Furthermore, this episode seems afraid to give us any time with Pike, played by Anson Mount, and has him and Spock, played by Ethan Peck, marooned on a planet together, but for the most part just ignores this side plot.

Overall, a lame filler episode by definition.

Pros.

Romijn manages to keep the episode together

Pike and Spock have some fun banter in the short time we see them

Cons.

The main plot feels like it was made on the fly by people just writing down random words

The message and or point is missed

The ending

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: i’M a USA Bae

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, is turned into a doll.

I actually found this to be a fun episode, it made me laugh a lot and I thought the idea of the sexy doll and the lets call it the medieval peasant doll worked well and I liked the message at the end that people are complicated and can’t be easily defined. When the episode first started I thought it was going to be a long drawn out lecture on left wing American feminist ideas, but it didn’t go that way as this show could not handle a topic like that with any proper reverence or nuance.

Moreover, I enjoyed the Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, b-plot wherein he worries that his relationship is in trouble so employs the help of a monkey to try and save it. Yes, the idea is gimmicky and there is no real need for the monkey at all but it al ends up with a sweet ending and that is enough for me.

A downside of this episode is that it brings back Josh Peck’s manager character really just to use him to set up the plot, and to remind us that he and Cosgrove used to star in another show together. I hope that if the show continues to use him it finds a more organic way to include him as currently it feels incredibly shoehorned.

Overall, a fun episode that is a markable high point for this season.

Pros.

The dolls and the franken-doll at the end

The Freddie b-plot

The ending and the moral of it

It is funny

Cons.

Peck feels forced in.

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Disney Family Market And How Deadpool 3 Is Unlikely

Written by Luke Barnes

In this piece I want to talk about the state of Deadpool 3 and how I think there might be a problem with its production in the House Of Mouse. Please do bear in mind as you read this that technically the film is still being made and that supposedly it will also be R rated.

I think the recent release of both Moon Knight and the sequel to Doctor Strange provide valuable lessons about what a future Deadpool film may look like. With regard to the former, Kevin Feige said that they were going to go dark and not shy away from the violence which gave many fans of the character hope, however, what we got was far more family friendly and toned down then many were expecting. Yes, there was some violence and adult themes but for the most part it was fairly tame. This does not make the prospect of a hard R Deadpool film with violence and swearing likely. With the latter certain parent groups had an issue with the horror elements and went on to complain and kick up a fuss. There is this conception that even though the MCU films are not rated universal or to be watched by all that for some reason they have to appeal to families, maybe it is because Disney banks hard on the family market as such the MCU is hamstrung into what it can get away with without upsetting audiences who want to take their kids to see every Marvel movie.

I really do think that under Disney darker and more brutal characters from wider Marvel comics will suffer. The creator of Deadpool Rob Liefled has repeatedly indicated that there are behind the scenes issues on Deadpool 3 and that there is a disagreement within Disney about what the film should be. In my mind the main issue here is that due to the Disney branding everything is seen as being family friendly when that isn’t always the case, but never the less it has led to a certain expectation from audiences and crucially parents.

I think there is some strange parallel world wherein Deadpool could work toned down and for a more family friendly audience but then this would anger fans of the character and lose the comic diehards that make up Marvel’s most loyal audience. Basically Disney and Marvel are caught between a rock and a hard place, they don’t want to lose the diehards but they also don’t want to lose families either, think about the toys and merchandising.

Ultimately I think Disney will tone down these characters and then try and force them into the MCU and I think it won’t go down well.

If you enjoyed this piece, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Children Of The Comet

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A comet threatens to destroy an inhabited world, and as the Enterprise tries to prevent this they are contacted by a race of aliens that worship the comet as a God.

At the time of writing I have only seen the first three episodes of this show and I can easily say this is the best of the bunch. I think the reason for this is because there is a deeper philosophy at work within this episode that raises some interesting questions. Whether, Pike, played by Anson Mount, and co do the right thing is debated and openly questioned in the episode, I appreciated this as it felt nuanced.

However, the episode isn’t all great. A large part of the episode focuses on Uhura, played by Cecilia Rose Gooding, and whether she can cut it as a Starfleet officer, which as far as sub-plots go is incredibly cliched and overly familiar. What I think makes this worse is that compared to other cast members on this show Gooding is a noticeably weaker actor and as such struggles to convey this basic cliched storyline of feeling incapable and like an outsider. Her emotions barely change over the course of the episode and it becomes a noticeable problem as the arc continues.

Overall, I enjoyed the mature philosophical debate it felt like real Star Trek to me, however in some cases the novice cast of actors is continuing to drag the show down.

Pros.

The morality of the mission

The ending

The new alien race

Mount continues to shine as Pike

Cons.

Gooding

The cliched sub-plot

The humming/ singing

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Senior Year: Is Rebel Wilson The Female James Corden?

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Rebel Wilson plays a seventeen year old who falls into a coma after a cheerleading accident waking up 20 years into the future and having to go back to finish off her senior year.

Prior to watching this I thought it was going to be trash, almost every red flag a film can give you was presented up front, a Netflix original, an adult going back to high school, cliched teens and finally the fact it starred Rebel Wilson. However, once I started watching it I actually found myself somewhat enjoying it and thinking that it wasn’t all bad at all.

The things I enjoyed were three fold, I thought the sentimentality was just right and that it managed to nail the emotional appeal it was going for, I also thought bringing back Alicia Silverstone, of Clueless fame, to play Wilson’s characters prom queen icon who has fallen on hard times was a stroke of genius, and finally the film features Sam Richardson it is very hard to go wrong with him.

However, by no means was this a great or even particularly good film. The mean girls rivalry between Wilson’s character and Zoe Chao’s Tiffany felt forced in and cliched. Moreover, the teen characters who become Wilson’s friends are all incredibly insufferable, they make constant references to contemporary political issues, social media and what it is not okay to say: to make matters even more on the nose in the final scene of the film one of these kids say that they are going to run for office- I groaned louder then I ever have in my life. I truly believe the trio of ageing male writers who put this screenplay together have no idea how kids talk, what they are interested in, or that not every single member of Gen Z is an activist.

Don’t even get me started on the ending dance number that feels like a throwback for the all the wrong reasons.

Overall, not as bad as you are expecting but still not strong.

Pros.

The sentimentality

Silverstone

Richardson

Cons.

All the teen characters

The ending dance number

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iDragged Him

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A bunch of pointless hijinks stuffed into an episode so that the season is long enough to meet requirements.

My, my in my last review I talked about how that episode felt like filler, well believe me I knew nothing then. This episode was a slog to get through and was the very definition of filler in almost every way. There is a flaccid a story about Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, and Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, going on a reality tv competition together only for Spencer to suddenly become competitive and a jerk. Again this season seems intent on ruining Spencer as a character, before this episode these uber competitive tendencies had never come up so why did they now all of a sudden? Simply put because the episode needed some mindless drama.

The b plots don’t fare much better, on the one hand you have Harper, played by Laci Mosley, styling some drag queens for some reason. I did enjoy the absurdity of the Reece Witherspoon theme and how they each wanted to be Reece from different films, however, the novelty quickly wore off. On the other hand there is a Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Millicent, played by Jaidyn Triplett, story about a model UN meeting. I think this was the best of the numerous vying plots in this episode as it had a nice message of being yourself and not changing for other people.

Honestly, even with a few redeemable features this episode is not one that you will want to finish.

Overall, if the episode number is too many for the producers and creatives of the show to handle they should cut the seasons down and produce less filler garbage like this.

Pros.

It is not offensively bad

The model UN sub plot has a nice message

Cons.

The continued ruining of Spencer

The aimless feel of the episode

It drags on

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Ghosts Of Borley Rectory: Britain’s Most Famous Ghost Hunter

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Famed paranormal investigator Harry Price, played by Toby Wynn-Davis, investigates the most haunted house in the UK, Borley Rectory.

In many ways this is what you would expect from a straight to DVD film, it is cheap, derivative and looks slightly better than what a decidedly average film studies student may create for an assignment. However, it is not all bad because in that see of roughness I did find some fun to be had.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this film and thought that it did have a number of good scares peppered in over the course of the runtime. The demon nun angle was a bit cliched and overplayed and felt a little bit too much like they were trying to rip-off better films.

I thought Wynn-Davis was a commendable leading man and managed to keep everything together and going in the right direction. I don’t know if I would say this is the best take on the life and investigations of Harry Price I have ever seen however, as I think Rafe Spall was better in Harry Price: Ghost Hunter.

Overall, a slightly above average horror film with a few good scares. However, it is lowered by feeling too familiar and at times a little predictable.

Pros.

A few good scares

The atmosphere

Wynn-Davis

Cons.

It feels like a knock-off version of other better films

It is deeply predictable

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill And Came Down A Mountain: Looking For Love In Wartime Wales

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two cartographers, played by Hugh Grant and Ian McNeice, visit a small Welsh town during World War 1 to measure local features, one of which is a large land mass that the locals say is a mountain -however the cartographers think is a hill. Hijinks ensue.

I think you can’t go wrong with young Hugh Grant, maybe Four Weddings but hey that was a fluke. Grant is at his charming best here and plays the tongue tied English man who of course falls in love with a local Welsh woman, played by Tara Fitzgerald, with gusto. You really end up caring about the central relationship but not perhaps as much as you do for the wider community who come together to turn there hill into a mountain. This is a community that has been ripped apart by war and suffering and to see them all come together to try and save their mountain is honestly heart-warming. There are a few moments wherein the sentimentality does feel a little sappy and American but for the most part the heart is just right.

One thing I would note is that it is pretty poor that none of the leading roles are actually lead by Welsh actors. The three leads are Irish and English. Now I am not going to go on a big rant about representation, but it is quite poor that they couldn’t have got an actual Welsh person for this film.

Overall, Welsh representation aside this film is a heart-warming delight.

Pros.

The romance

The emotion

The ending

It is a lot of fun

Grant

Cons.

The lack of Welsh actors

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer