I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of the biopic Michael. This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

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BUDGET:

• 200 million dollars.
• 217 million dollars after the first weekend.
• will need to make 500 million to break even.

SETTINGS:

We start in the 60’s and end in the 80’s. The representation of the times were the most accurate recreations I’ve seen to date. I was alive in the 70’s and grew up in the 80’s so I’m telling you what I know, not what I’ve heard.

CHARACTERS:

• Jaafar Jackson - Michael
• Juliano Valdi - Young Michael
• Colman Domingo - Joseph Jackson
• Nia Long - Katherine Jackson
• Kendrick Sampson - Quincy Jones (Flash & Supernatural TV series)
• Larenz Tate - Berry Gordy (he played Quincy Jones in the Ray movie)

HITS:

• The movie is a literal soundtrack of all banger hits!
• The acting is phenomenal.
• The directing is the best I’ve seen in the past twenty years.
• The set dressing and aesthetics are impeccable.

MISSES:

• The CG animals are a miss.
• I wanted more of the Motown vs Epic stuff (Jermaine stayed at Motown after marrying Berry Gordy’s daughter Hazel).
• No Rebbie, Randy, or Janet Jackson.

CHECK OUT MY NEW SHOW CALLED: Low-Budget Movie Reviews

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MOVIE SCORE: 9/10

DIRECTION: A+ Antoine Fuqua

WRITING: A John Logan

CINEMATOGRAPHY: A+

POST PRODUCTION (score/sfx/edit/color grade) A+

REWATCHABILITY: A

1 Awful content = Fails on every single level.

2-4 Poor = Terrible on almost every front.

5 Mediocre = Some of the content is worthwhile but mostly broken.

6 Average = Okay writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

7 Good = Solid writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

8 Great = Great writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

9 Almost Perfect = Very minor nitpicks but otherwise excellent.

10 Perfect = A masterpiece! No writing, acting or storytelling flaws. Would hold up against all time classics (e.g. M.A.S.H., Lost, Game of Thrones etc).

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

Synopsis:

Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.

BUDGET:

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has an estimated budget of $110 million dollars.

• It’ll easily surge past a billion dollars.

SETTINGS:

The world of Mario Galaxy is vibrant, busy and alive.

CHARACTERS:

• Glen Powell Fox McCloud(voice)
• Anya Taylor-Joy Princess Peach(voice)
• Chris Pratt Mario(voice)
• Jack Black Bowser(voice)
• Brie Larson Rosalina(voice)
• Benny Safdie Bowser Jr.(voice)
• Keegan-Michael Key Toad(voice)
• Charlie Day Luigi(voice)
• Donald Glover Yoshi(voice)

HITS:

• Throwbacks to the super scope 6.
• Luigi uses Super Mario Bros. 3's Frog Suit power-up to defeat a Big Bertha fish.
• The Gateway Galaxy information desk is manned by R.O.B. and he does the slow moving bit.
• Image of Slippy Toad from Star Fox 64.
• Baby Mario even plays the Mario theme on his teeth.
• Yoshi eats and expels Francis the dog from the first movie.
• Yoshi was a fun addition.
• Short runtime (99 minutes).

MISSES:

• I disliked the storyline for Bowser. The bad guy trying to be good is overdone in Hollywood. No more conflicted bad guys.
• The story overall is convoluted.
• Fox McCloud is a cool addition but unnecessary as the cast felt bloated.
• Welcome to the super princess world. Princess Daisy is up next! Yes, have princesses in the movie, but don’t make a Mario movie about them.
• The nihilistic Lumalee is back to ensure you're going to have awkward conversations about death with your 5 year old.
• The voices didn’t all land as well as in the first movie.
• This sequel lacked the heart of the first movie.

CHECK OUT MY NEW SHOW CALLED: Low-Budget Movie Reviews

LINK: https://feeds.captivate.fm/low-budget-movie-reviews/

MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

DIRECTION: B (four directors)

WRITING: D Matthew Fogel (convoluted story).

ANIMATION: A

POST PRODUCTION (score/sfx/edit/color grade) A

REWATCHABILITY: C

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of The Running Man. This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

CORRECTION:

• Predator Badlands dropped off the face of the earth and looks like it will lose money

BUDGET:

The Running Man has an estimated budget of $110 million dollars.

• Currently bombing

SETTINGS:

The world of The Running Man is a combination of grungy and futuristic. It blends perfectly with the concept of the movie which is both dystopian and a technologically advanced surveillance state. I really liked the dark grungy look of the rundown areas juxtaposed to the high-end studio we’re introduced to. I can’t say enough good things about the choices made.

CHARACTERS:

• Glen Powell as Ben Richards
• Josh Brolin as Dan Killian
• William H. Macy as Molie Jernigan
• Lee Pace as Evan McCone (the lead hunter)
• Colman Domingo as the game show host Bobby T. Thompson
• Michael Cera as Elton Parrakis plays a character with an axe to grind
• Scott Pilgrim!
• Emilia Jones as Amelia Williams 
• Her role is the worst part of the movie!
• We get a lecture on wealth and how wrong it is.
• Daniel Ezra as Bradley Throckmorton
• He’s an anonymous YouTuber type character exposing truth.
• Jayme Lawson stars as Sheila Richards
• She does fine acting
• However I don’t believe their relationship

HITS:

• Fun Twink cereal lifetime supply pay off
• Bold choices in direction and cinematography
• Cinematography when Ben matches the wanted poster
• BobbyT. is great!
• Josh Brolin is fantastic!
• Great reveal when it comes to the Lee Pace character
• The overall look and feel of the sets
• The YouTube style videos and conspiracy style content
• Resisting the establishment 

MISSES:

• Conflicted character actions
• Ben spares a vicious hunter after killing others
• Too much misdirection
• I don’t buy the relationship between Ben and Sheila. 
• There’s simply no chemistry
• The sick baby trope is uninspired
• Stop lecturing your audience!
• You can include themes without telling people what to think
• The movie is too long

MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

DIRECTION: C (Edgar Wright)

WRITING: C (Steven King adaptation) (Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright)

CINEMATOGRAPHY: B (Chung Chung-hoon)

POST PRODUCTION (score/sfx/color grade): B

REWATHABILITY: C

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of Disney’s Predator: Badlands.

This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

BUDGET:

Predator Badlands cost $105 million dollars to make. It would appear the 20th Century Studios (a Walt Disney Company) is going to make money. That hasn’t been a very common occurrence lately in film.

SETTINGS:

I didn’t like the scaled down look of Yautja Prime. From the lack of scale to the hazy look, I wasn’t a fan at all. When I say scale I don’t simply mean the size of the area. I like to see expansive worlds that are populated. There were parts of the planet Genna that felt expansive but it mostly felt like we were in front of a green screen for two hours. If your budget wasn’t $105 million dollars I’d let it slide.

CHARACTERS:

• Dek portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. The concept is universal so it works for the most part. I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around all the emotional dynamics of a human family coming from Predators.
• Thia & Tessa portrayed by Elle Fanning. The first several minutes of Thia’s appearance were like nails on a chalkboard! She was so annoying that I regretted going to the film. Over time, thankfully, that leveled off. That dynamic works in many different types of movies, just not a Predator movie. She was the comic relief that had a strange motivation that I didn’t quite understand because they didn’t give us any insight on how or why she was so connected to Tessa. The Tessa version was a one-note villain that doesn’t hesitate to lie to Mu/TH/UR.
• Father is portrayed by Reuben de Jong.
• Kwei is portrayed by Michael Homik.
• Bud is the baby Grogu style ripoff. She’s even referred to as a baby Kalisk. She’s funny and extremely important to the story but the comedy distracts from what a typical Predator movie should be. 

HITS:

• The concept of going on an adventure to prove your worth is tried and true. 
• The action sequences work well and are exhilarating in most instances.
• If they were going for a couples or family movie they hit the mark. I was about 20 minutes in when I said to myself, “oh, this is a couples/family movie.”
• The marketing appears to have worked as the first weekend was pretty solid.
• I like that they attempted to go in a different direction with the franchise even though it doesn’t work for me.

MISSES:

• This is a predator movie in name only.
• This is a human storyline portrayed by brand name that sells tickets.
• The overall look and lack of scale detract from the movie.
• I didn’t sign up for this style of Predator movie. Subverting expectations can work when you stay in the confines of the source material (which they didn’t).
• The father son conflict dynamic is pushed beyond belief.
• The brother references being saved by Dek but they don’t show it.
• The hunt seems irrelevant to the story which is simply a revenge story. Especially once Dek knows he won’t kill the kalisk. So why are we going on this adventure again?
• They borrowed from too many franchises and genres to list.

MOVIE SCORE: 5/10

DIRECTION: C

WRITING: D

CINEMATOGRAPHY: C

POST PRODUCTION (INCLUDES: SCORE, SFX, COLOR GRADE) : D

REWATCHABILITY: D

1 Awful content = Fails on every single level.

2-4 Poor = Terrible on almost every front.

5 Mediocre = Some of the content is worthwhile but mostly broken.

6 Average = Okay writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

7 Good = Solid writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

8 Great = Great writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

9 Almost Perfect = Very minor nitpicks but otherwise excellent.

10 Perfect =  A masterpiece! No writing, acting or storytelling flaws. Would hold up against all time classics (e.g. M.A.S.H., Lost, Game of Thrones etc).

I’m Hank, a nineteen year podcasting veteran, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of Disney’s Tron: Ares.

This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so if that’s not your cup of tea this review won’t be for you. Note: I saw this movie in 3D and I have never seen Tron: Legacy. I’m neither a Tron fan nor do I know much about the lore.

BUDGET:

$180-$220 million for production and another $100-ish million for marketing. We're looking at around $300 million dollars when it's all said and done. Three weeks in and we're at about roughly $125 million. OUCH! Profitability is way out of reach.

SETTINGS:

The world of Tron: Ares is pristine! The saturated colors jump off the screen even in the often dark settings. I found the visuals of this movie to actually match the inflated budget. Moreover, even the regular settings were shot with depth and attention to detail that is simply missing in most modern movies.

CHARACTERS:

I’m not going to reflect on all the characters, but I’ll talk about the main cast.

Jared Leto plays the one note Ares computer program that comes to life via the permanence code. I’ve heard a lot about how bland the Ares character is and I thought to myself how would I direct an actor to convey lines as a computer program made real? Probably just as stilted as his delivery. Could you have made the character be the one “special” character who delivers lines in a human way to set him apart from the others? I’m sure you could, but the way he delivered the lines, while bland, is probably the most logical course. I did like how he questioned what was happening, but those nuanced lines seem lost on many moviegoers. 

Greta Lee plays Eve Kim the CEO of ENCOM who is trying to find Kevin Flynn's "permanence code" to use for humanitarian purposes. While the character type has been done to death I did find myself having a soft spot for her based on her arc being tied to the death of her sister Tess. Her purpose driven story made sense but has been done ad nauseum. 

Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena seemed to finally be a role that worked for her. She’s basically a 3D printed Terminator and I liked that they didn’t stray from her mission and try to make her likeable.

Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger was where the wheels started to come off of this movie. This tech billionaire trope is even worse than the Eve Kim checkbox character.

Gillian Anderson’s Elisabeth Dillinger was a waste in my opinion. She should have played the antagonist and been desperate to cement her legacy and then let things go off the rails from there. I’d of yeeted Evan Peters from the film faster than my ex can make a box of Girl Scout cookies disappear.

Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn) is the white Samuel L. Jackson. He has devolved to a caricature. 

Arturo Castro as Seth Flores is simply miscast. That character has to be much younger in my opinion. Instead of a 40-year old, I’m casting someone in their early to mid 20’s. 

HITS:

The overall visuals are astounding! There’s simply too much eye candy to ignore. From the suits, to the literal hacking where programs fight each other, I was blown away by the look and style of the film.

I found the 3D printing insertion into the story to be both timely and cool. The effects for laser printing things in the real world were especially awesome.

The 29 minute time limit for Ares and the others coming through to the real world was an idea I really liked. It reminded me of the recording limits back in the early 2010’s where cameras that could record for 30 minutes or more were taxed at a higher rate than cameras that recorded for less than 30 minutes. It could be a nerdy deep cut or it could simply be a coincidence. 

As every other review you’ve heard notes, the music is good although I wasn’t a big fan of some of the 8-bit musical risers in this movie, however they fit the film.

MISSES:

The Permanence Code is simply a mechanism they chase because plot is needed. Honestly, why on earth did this genius woman go to Alaska searching for this elusive code but it actually was just in the boss’s museum office the whole time. That is pretty ridiculous and could have saved about 15 minutes of runtime which would have knocked off some of the massive budget.

The Grid seems more like a wasteland than a vibrant environment. It reminds me of how Marvel initially did Asgard. Where it was the bridge and the main location and that’s all you ever saw. I’ve heard that the Legacy version of Tron does a much better job but I haven’t seen it.

The characters have all been done far too often. There’s simply nothing new here. I would have loved to see a different take on all of these tried and true character types.

The invasion force consists of one recognizer and 3 soldiers. That’s it…

Where is Bruce Boxleitner aka Alan Bradley? He says he was never even asked to be in this film. What a shame! This movie is Tron in name only.

The exposition dumps were 1) obvious and 2) obnoxious. It can be challenging to give audience members information they need without it looking like it did in this movie.

Do you want to tell them or do you want me to tell them that a particle laser can’t create organic matter? We all suspended our disbelief together on that one.

MOVIE SCORE: 5/10

DIRECTION: C

WRITING: D

CINEMATOGRAPHY: A

POST PRODUCTION (INCLUDES: SCORE, SFX, COLOR GRADE) : A

REWATCHABILITY: C

1 Awful content = Fails on every single level.

2-4 Poor = Terrible on almost every front.

5 Mediocre = Some of the content is worthwhile but mostly broken.

6 Average = Okay writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

7 Good = Solid writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

8 Great = Great writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

9 Almost Perfect = Very minor nitpicks but otherwise excellent.

10 Perfect =  A masterpiece! No writing, acting or storytelling flaws. Would hold up against all time classics (e.g. M.A.S.H., Lost, Game of Thrones etc).

I’m finally back after my NDE from a month-long bout with H1N1 earlier this year. I’m Hank Davis, a nineteen year podcasting veteran, filmmaker, and soon to be musician (more on that in the coming weeks) and this is my review of Marvel’s Fantastic Four.

This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie and if you are overly sensitive to satire (that may or may not be funny) this won’t be the podcast for you.

SETTINGS:

When it comes to the sets and immersion I feel that Fantastic Four shines. This is the first Marvel movie in recent years (that I’ve watched anyway) that has areas which actually feel populated and expansive. Maybe there are simply more people on Earth-828. We’d need to see the census data compared to Earth-616 but I digress.

The retro design of the areas, vehicles, building interiors, clothing, and household items gave me a Jetsons meets Flash Gordon vibe. I thought they nailed costumes which are darn near impeccable.

The aesthetics coalesce to create a believable world that simply hasn’t been present in a Marvel film in quite some time. But a world is only as good as the characters you put in it.

CHARACTERS:

Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm is believable, balanced, and didn't overpower the movie like Marvel tends to do female leads.

Ben Grimm's portrayal is about as spot on as there's been in any incarnation of the character.

While not my favorite, Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm is likeable but not as punchy as the Chris Evans version. Thankfully, we didn’t get the awkward “how are they related” gymnastics like the 2015 version. 

Outside of the writing Ralph Ineson does a solid job of bringing Galactus to life on the big screen.

My sister's 8th grade sports trophy springs to life as Julia Garner attempts to give us a different take on Silver Surfer. While there's nothing like the original, Shalla-Bal didn't negatively impact the movie (outside of those initial concept renderings). Ultimately she portrayed a conflicted character that was believable. 

I laughed out loud when Stingray from Cobra Kai rolled in as the Mole Man. I guess Cobra Kai truly never dies! It’s just been driven underground.

Which unfortunately leads me to Reed Richards himself portrayed by Pedro Pascal. Pedro Pascal is as much Mister Fantastic as I'm Denzel Washington. I needed to see another Pedro lead like a golf club to the head (SFX). If you know, you know. He delivers amazing lines like "I don't know." and others that make you second guess the idea that he's the smartest man alive. I am suffering from Pedro fatigue!

HITS:

I’ll say it again, the costumes were excellent! Even though I couldn’t help but itch myself uncomfortably while looking at that material, the suits were incredible.

The Thing was done justice in this movie! I thought about how cool playing a video game would be as he smashed through the columns of that building. Can we get The Thing vs The Hulk please? That’s one of my favorite comic book childhood matchups.

I liked the blending of high and low tech items. Seeing physical records made me nostalgic but didn’t take away from the sophisticated feel the film delivers.

The message of world-wide unity in the face of extreme turmoil was a refreshing insertion that didn’t feel like a ‘nine iron to the head’ political lecture.

Who doesn’t love a superpowered baby? Although I wished they would have fleshed that out more in this particular movie instead of hoping I watch what’s next. A cute baby trumps an obnoxious dog any day of the week. I’m looking at you James Gunn!

MISSES:

Galactus is estimated to be approximately 440 meters tall. He stretches Mr. Fantastic not even to his full wingspan. If you apply that to human anatomy the average man’s wingspan is approximately 2” more than his height. In the comics Mister Fantastic can stretch a minimum of over 450 meters and in some extreme instances over 24km. Yet somehow, the stretchy guy is screaming in pain being barely stretched? I’m talking much, much less than Galactus’ wingspan. Unless his underoos were riding up, this makes zero sense. This is the reason that writers should always read and respect the source material. This is one of the dumbest misses in all of the comic book movie genre.

Just like you don’t want to see me on a Carnival cruise, I don’t want to see Pedro Pascal in another piece of entertainment. Well, unless it’s with a helmet on and he’s voice acting with an animatronic. This is the way. (SFX)

Mister Fantastic makes the area where Galactus needs to stand a literal caution area. You would have to be one over the shoulder tossed lightsaber short of a washed up Skywalker to fall for that. These are supposed to be two of the most cerebral beings in the universe.

Galactus is hyper fixated on a baby who is not ready to do whatever he thinks the kid can do so he can ride off into the sunset (which we’ll come back to).

Anybody else worried about Franklin Richards’ birth certificate? That’s gonna be awkward to explain. Mom - Dad where am I from? Uh, space… 

The brilliant Reed Richards can’t come up with another thing to say other than the actual truth about what Galactus wants? He would have had to run the numbers and know that, in reality, the governments of the world would offer up the kid if he didn’t want to. Instead one heartfelt speech is enough to get humanity to accept extinction. 

Pedro Pascal’s line delivery in some spots is awful (We will protect you SFX). He is simply not Reed Richards.

Lastly, what’s up with the villain retirement trope? I mean what else is this gigantic dude going to do? I guess snacking on solar systems would get boring over time, but seriously, is he going to head to the beach or find a gigantic woman to settle down with? Why exactly is he tired of this gig?

MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

DIRECTION: C

WRITING: D

CINEMATOGRAPHY: B

POST PRODUCTION (INCLUDES: SCORE, SFX, COLORGRADE) : B

REWATCHABILITY: C

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