Arthur Christmas: Getting The Same Present You Have Had For Christmas Over And Over Again

Summary

Arthur Claus, voiced by James McAvoy, the bumbling but well-meaning son of Santa Claus, played by Jim Broadbent, embarks on his own personal Christmas mission when he realises that a Child has had their gift left behind.

I have heard a lot of people sing the praises of this film, but personally after watching it for the first time this Christmas season I just don’t see what is so good about it.

To be blunt with you there was nothing here that hasn’t been done better before in other animated movies, from lessons about self-reliance to not judging a book by its cover to family relations all of these themes that the film tries to explore have been done better elsewhere. Adding to this the plot mostly feels cliched and entirely predictable, you know from the off how it is going to go and how it will end and whilst for some watching this that narrative safety might be an endearing feature of the film, for me I felt it was boring.

To further build out the list of problems facing this film, the characters have no charm to them at all, and this is in part because of the writing but also because of the incredibly timid voice work done across the board. Both Sony Animation and Aardman have put out better characters that are far more charming than these dozens of times in the past, so who knows why they think this would fly here.

Overall, a watchable film and one that is good to use to mindlessly distract kids in the run up to or even on Christmas day but not one that has any merit beyond that.

2/5

Pros.

It is watchable

It would entertain little kids and would make a good distraction for them if any parent is looking to have some time to themselves during the Holidays

Cons.

It is boring

It is uninspired

The voice cast are only in it for the pay checks

I’ve seen all of its ideas and situations before

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Scrooge A Christmas Carol: The Very Worst Seasonal Musical

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A musical take on A Christmas Carol, but without the talent or the charm needed to pull that off.

Netflix has had quite a good track record of bringing out really good animated Christmas films they’ve had Klaus and Robin Robin, both of those films have become instant classics that I want to watch every year, however, this film really missed the mark for me and left me cold.

The main problem with this film is that it did nothing new with the story, sure it added a few extra lines here and there and reworded some stuff to make it more modern but if you compare this film to Apple’s Spirited where there is drastically different new elements to the classic tale, this is just more of the same but with a few bad new lines and even worse songs.

Don’t even get me started on the songs, they range from irritating to truly tuneless and awful and it leaves you questioning if the musical numbers are this bad why didn’t they decide to just have it be a normal non-musical film and scrap them in post?

The voice acting cast should have been able to bring the film together despite all of its various problems there is a lot of talent involved, such as Jessie Buckley, Olivia Coleman and Luke Evans, however, not a one of them turn up and for the most part it just feels like they are there for the paycheck and nothing else.

Overall, A disappointing waste.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is unintentionally funny

It is relatively short

Cons.

It is a worse version of a classic

The few new changes make it inferior

The songs are awful

The voice actors clearly don’t care

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Eight Crazy Nights: Adam Sandler’s Actual Worst Film Ever

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam Sandler makes an adult animated film about Hanukkah and it turns out worse than even his biggest critics would expect.

This film is such a horrible stinker that in its relatively short runtime of 76 minutes I had to turn it off multiple times and take breaks from it just to be able to finish it. Honestly there is nothing funny about this film at all, which makes it highly problematic as a supposed comedy film.

I think the biggest reason why this is so awful is because of just how mean spirited the whole thing is. Obviously at the outset of the film Sandler’s character is supposed to be a jerk, he has written and sings a whole song about how much he hates the holidays and other people, but then the follow through would be that as the film gets further along he will be more and more redeemed yet that doesn’t happen here. Not by a long shot.

On top of that I don’t find anything funny about a grown man making fun of an overweight child or a kindly old man, or any number of other seemingly innocent figures around town that Sandler’s character mocks for being different to him. I want to clarify that I am no shrinking violet, I am not the sort that if they see something problematic in a film would immediately turn it off, but I think there is a clear line in the sand for everyone individually between good and bad taste and I think in my own personal definition of that this film’s jokes are firmly placed in cruel, needless and thoroughly in bad taste.

Overall, a horrible film that Adam Sandler should be ashamed of.

0/5

Pros.

None

Cons.

It is unpleasant

The whole thing is in bad taste

Sandler is hateable here

There is no character redemption

It may be one of the worst films Sandler has ever made

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Strange Worlds: Disney’s Fear Of LGBTQ+ Kisses Reaches New Heights

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

3 generations of a family of explorers go on an adventure to save their planet.

This film is fine, just fine. In terms of family adventure films it hits all the areas you would expect it to, but it doesn’t do anything new or exciting with the concept. Likewise in terms of thematic narratives, the idea of fathers and sons being different and having to recognise and accept that difference in order to have healthy relationships is nice to see repeated but again a message that a lot of other films have hit better before.

Moreover, this film does two things I really don’t like and that I think hurt it dramatically. Firstly it is gutless in its LGBTQ romance, it has a Gay male romance sheerly to use it as a smoke screen to show off how progressive as a company Disney are, but then when it comes to the big final moment at the end of the film where these chaps would kiss the film instead opts for an arm around the other instead. Why is that? Well frankly it is because Disney is gutless and wants to have their cake and eat it to, they want to appear progressive but also not offend the Chinese market or the right wing western market that might have a problem with this. It doesn’t cut both ways. I would have liked this film more and respected Disney more as a company if the two guys had kissed at the end.

Secondly, I dislike how the entire second and third act is an incredibly thinly vailed message about the environment, that not only reads as shallow and without anything new to add, but also as preachy and condescending. The vast bulk of the latter stages of the film just boil down to a lecture on how we are killing the planet, as though this is something the average moviegoer can change, it isn’t by the way that’s a job for world leaders but hey.

Overall, gutless and poor.

2/5

Pros.

It is watchable

There are a few endearing characters

Cons.

Disney is too afraid to have its same sex characters kiss

The environmental message is irritating and blatant

It has pacing issues

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Rick and Morty: Analyze Piss

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After seeing a therapist Rick decides to give Jerry a win and let him become a superhero of sorts, however, Rick then sees the result of these actions and becomes a hero himself to try and out perform him and to redeem the origin suit wearer he has taken over from.

I think that this was the best episode of Rick and Morty in a long time, it was everything I liked about the show it was funny, it had some real emotional depth and it didn’t feel gimmicky or as thought the writers were trying to show off some science fiction concept they had just learnt about.

I like that we are being show Rick as a character growing, he is talking to a therapist, he is giving Jerry wins, he is trying to redeem himself and be a better person and I think that highlights the character journey he has been on since season one, it has been long going but it feels rewarding to see.

My only complaint of the episode is the way the family turn on Rick at the end, yes he hands in the suicide note so they know his reasons for doing what he did were mixed but I would still say it didn’t warrant that response. The writers seem to be trying to redeem Rick this season whilst also making the family more and more unlikeable. Maybe the show is leading up to a point where Rick will leave his family and head out on his own again and we will follow him, I am imagining a science fiction version of Bojack.

Overall, a very good episode. Perhaps even a modern classic.

4.5/5

Pros.

Rick’s journey

The Adventures of Piss Man

The humour

The emotional depths

The return of the therapist

Cons.

The family as a group are becoming more unlikeable

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Rick And Morty: Full Meta Jackrick

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After breaking the fourth wall one too many times Rick and Morty fall into the meta and are imprisoned by Story Lord returning from a past episode.

I would say this is probably the best episode of the season, in some senses that is because structurally it is more like one of the earlier season episode, meaning more of a one off adventure wherein other episodes are mentioned but there is no heavy need to build the story up, also the tone is breezy and silly rather than brooding and depressed. Two keys wins in my book.

I thought the gimmick of the episode was fun and I liked that Rick and Morty had to face off against different story tropes and writing devices, I thought it was clever. The ending felt a little like the writers trying to self-deprecate themselves, which works in the narrative sense but isn’t very funny. It also feels a little Deus Ex Machina for my tastes.

Overall, hopefully we get more episodes like this going forward into the last few episodes of the season so that it can be salvaged.

Pros.

The concept of the episode

Rick and Morty facing off against various different writing tropes and devices

It feels fun and one off

A few good jokes

Cons.

The ending and its convenience

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Big Mouth Season Six Overview: The Lows Of Life

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Hearts are broken, families are changed forever, and a new hormone monster is born.

I was eagerly awaiting the new season of Big Mouth, it is one of my favourite adult animated shows and is usually consistently good. This season is good however, it is also far sadder than I was expecting it to be, yes primarily the comedy is still there and the jokes are funny enough to keep you laughing through all the sad, but I thought there was quite a lot of heaviness to this season of the show. Though I suppose that is reflective of life.

I enjoyed the theme of change and reconciliation this season, I thought that in a lot of ways it felt very natural and worked in many of the characters arcs. I think the show continues to delve to new emotional depths despite all of the rather gross out gags.

I only had two real issues with this season, firstly that Lola had way too much screen time and secondly that the Nick’s Grandfather storyline was given far too easy a tying up. Regarding the former, I think that though Lola has interesting moments and certainly still has some areas of exploration open to her character’s journey, often she is used in far too one note a way and the storyline she is given here shows this to the nth degree. In terms of the Nick’s Grandfather storyline I think that for the most part it is very bare bones and lacks a lot of the nuance and depth the show is known for, but also I thought wrapping it up simply by having the characters saying I love you to fix everything is lazy writing.

Overall, a good season on the whole but one that is surprisingly sad.

Pros.

The nuance

The sombre tone

Jay’s storyline

Andrew’s storyline

Cons.

Nick’s Grandfather is overused and underexplored

Lola is given too much screen time

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Tales Of The Jedi: Life And Death

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We follow Ashoka’s baby years.

Star Wars really is starting to get desperate, the content mine is well and truly running dry. Who thought a show about a baby Ashoka was what was needed to get people into this universe, worse yet it is the flagship opening episode for a new animated Star Wars series and honestly after watching this it makes you want to turn off from the series.

Honestly this is just a bad twenty ish minutes of TV as nothing of note happens and then at the end of it all they say that Ashoka is a Jedi for taming an animal which just feels forced in to try and get a reaction from the audience. The animated side of Star Wars has long been obsessed with Ashoka as a character but this is really starting to take the biscuit.

Overall, who wanted this?

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It is boring

It feels needless

It is a weak opener for the series

It is a slog to get through

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Lyle Lyle Crocodile: A Surprising Delight

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A singing crocodile, voiced by Shawn Mendes, enters a families’ life and changes it forever.

Is this the greatest film ever? No. Will this be the film that gets you into the music of Shawn Mendes? Probably not, but maybe.

Though this film will never set the world on fire I think it was a lot better than it had any right being. The best thing about it is certainly the energy and the heart that the film has, this film is a fun ride that is undeniable and during that ride it will make you feel things, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry and by Jove you might even end up liking the songs of Shawn Mendes. Before watching this I had never heard a Shawn Mendes song but now after watching it I can safely say I might listen to his music now, I feel like the film was a good taster for it.

I think the performances across the board were good, especially Javier Bardem and Constance Wu, both gave off real warmth and had us care about their characters. In the case of Wu this film really reminded me of the charm and charisma she had on the early seasons of Fresh Off The Boat I hope she keeps making films where she gets to have fun and show off that side of herself.

There are some rather obvious issues with the film such as weird CGI for the crocodile and incredibly blatant product placement, but to me I thought both of these added to the so bad it is good appeal of the film. Certainly it is more of a goofy watch then a serious film that you have to sit down and experience, it reminded me in many ways of the recent Sonic movies.

Overall, a lot of fun was had.

Pros.

It is a fun ride

It is very well paced

It makes you laugh and cry

Lyle is incredibly likeable and cute

Cons.

It is nothing new, but in a sense it doesn’t need to be

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Rick and Morty: Juricksic Mort

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Dinosaurs return to Earth and they are super advanced and basically force us all into a comfortable retirement.

So unlike some that I am seeing out there on the social media sphere I don’t mind that this episode laughs at and shuts down ideas around the shows cannon. The Dinosaurs fix the space rift and Rick’s portal gun, which he fixes again later in the episode, and most of these big things from the end of the last season are quickly and unceremoniously wrapped up. That doesn’t bother me, what does bother me however is the fact that this episode is no fun at all.

It is not so much that this episode is boring but that there is nothing to it, the Dinosaurs show up put us all out of a job then humans get angry and want them gone really there is nothing new or inventive to that premise. Everything goes as you would expect it to and there isn’t even any humour in the episode that can help to make it better, most of the jokes fall down in a big way.

The only thing I particularly liked about this episode was seeing Lisa Kudrow voice a T-Rex that was a fun addition.

Overall, I really hope the last few episodes can pick this season up because otherwise I might not come back for season 7.

Pros.

Lisa Kudrow as a T-Rex

It is watchable

A few nice Jerry moments

Cons.

It is boring, trite and predictable

It is too smug for its own good

It wastes a pretty good premise

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