MOVIE: Megamind (2010)

by benmweilertNo Comments
MegamindYear: 2010Rating: PGLength: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours It's odd how few superhero movies ever look at the villain's perspective. Sure, modern villains have been written to be tragic figures whose descent into evil is justified based on their background and past trauma. However, taking all the tropes of the genre and flipping them on their head can expose how ridiculous some of these heroic premises are. As a satire of the genre, Megamind (2010) is surprisingly deep considering its animated and child-like appearance. The argument of nature versus nurture (and brains versus brawn) is front and center here as two alien beings voiced by Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell arrive on Earth and are given distinctly different upbringings. But once Megamind finally defeats his heroic counterpart, he sees how he tied his identity up in his role as a villain. And in creating a new hero to fight him, Megamind learns the difference between the contrasting hero motivations of altruism versus...
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MOVIE: The LEGO Movie (2014)

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The LEGO MovieYear: 2014Rating: PGLength: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours As a child, LEGO was my toy of choice. I collected it. I built with it. The endless possibilities it provided gave me endless hours of entertainment. In translating this toy to the big screen, the primary concept of imaginative play is front and center. The LEGO Movie (2014) benefited from an alignment of two forces that made it into an instant classic. First, the animation accurately depicted the feel of these plastic bricks. Second, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have created another comedic masterpiece for kids and adults. The debt that The LEGO Movie owes to all the kids (and adults) who used the bricks to make their own stop-motion films is unavoidably huge. The LEGO video games were a bit more flexible in their character animations...sometimes to their detriment. By keeping the models stiff and abiding by the blocky limitations of the medium, The LEGO Movie made each scene feel...
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MOVIE: Barbie (2023)

by benmweilert1 Comment
Barbie Year: 2023 Rating: PG-13 Length: 114 minutes / 1.90 hours I’ll admit that the only reason I watched Barbie (2023) was because Greta Gerwig directed it. I loved her style in Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019). Going into Barbie, I was prepared for a full commentary on feminism, especially through the lens of the “perfect woman” that so many girls grew up with. And while the casting was flawless, there still felt like moments where Barbie could have gone deeper with the subject matter but declined due to pressure from Mattel. Its writing was smart and snappy, but it’s also a movie about a beloved childhood toy. Of course, a lot of Barbie wouldn’t work if the cast was different. Margot Robbie is the epitome of the classic Barbie look. Ryan Gosling gnaws on the scenery and almost steals the show (thus enforcing the patriarchy, ironically enough). Other standout performances go to Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, and America Ferrera. That there are...
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