Hello. I am still embarrassingly behind. If you've seen my list of movies that I have seen recently but have not reviewed yet, you'll know that it has been growing A LOT bigger recently. So, for my last “review” of the year here I have decided to quick review a lot of the stuff from them here so I could properly log them, with some exceptions, those being:

A Silent Voice, since it has been on there for so long that I don't even remember enough of it to even give it a quick review anymore. 😭 If I’m going to review it, it’s probably once I am able to rewatch it.

Toy Story 4, since I already have half of a big review of this in a Google Doc and I don't want to see it be wasted. I'll probably put it out whenever I feel like finally continuing to write my review.

Inside Out, since me watching that movie is very much tied to me moving and I want to use it as a retrospective on my move in a way. Also it's my favorite Pixar movie and it deserves an in depth review.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, since it'll feel weird if I don't give the big, new Marvel release a full review.

Father Stu: Reborn, because yes, I actually have a surprising amount to say about it. And yes, I watched this in theaters. Don't ask why. Also I promised the person I watched this with that I was going to review this, so there's that.

The Avatar films, because it feels wrong to skip out on having a proper review on such a major blockbuster tentpole like The Way Of Water, and at that point I might as well review the original as well.

The Dreamworks 2022 masterpieces with Spiderverse animation and badass wolves (aka my rewatch of The Bad Guys and my first watch of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish), since they are amazing and really deserve deep dives.

Anyways here are my quick reviews:

Hamilton: A captivating musical with fantastic performances, a solid emotional core and thematic message about legacy, and of course, insanely catchy songs. There was a point in my life where I was kind of obsessed with it, and even if I'm not as obsessed with it as much now I still love it to bits, although me being able to put aside historical inaccuracy if it has good storytelling helps it for me a lot.

Edge Of Tommorow: A great, fun action movie that is surprisingly deep emotionally. It uses its premise extremely well, and Tom Cruise is awesome. The character development is also very effective. In a way, I hope that the Mario movie is like this, since it's a perfect template on how to make the main character grow in skill via trial and error over a journey as if you were growing better at a video game as it goes on, which is what the Mario movie is clearly aiming for.

Nope: Absolute cinematic craft, made even more special on the big screen. Nope is an awesome deconstruction on our need for spectacle, and how we would mistreat others without us knowing due to us being distracted by the spectacle of it all. Ironically, it’s a true, amazing, cinematic spectacle in of itself, posting some intriguing imagery and juxtaposition. Really interested in checking out the rest of Jordan Peele’s filmography now.

Minions: The Rise Of Gru: CINEMA. That's why I watched it on National Cinema Day. Because it's cinema at its peak. Even without bias it's actually pretty fun, even if it's arguably a little shallow. But I simply just burst into joy whenever a Minion does Minion things so yeah I love it to bits. Also do you guys remember National Cinema Day? Watched Nope that day with the deal as well. That was fun.

Pinocchio (1940 Original): There’s a reason that this movie is still remembered as a timeless classic until this day and has enough potential for THREE adaptations of the same story. It’s just pure, iconic, Disney magic. Its themes are used masterfully here, and it’s surprisingly dark and very mature. (In a good way.) The songs are quite solid, with When You Wish Upon A Star especially being a standout, as it’s so iconic it ended up becoming Disney’s theme song. Overall, a really good time.

Pinocchio (2022 Lame Version): It's essentially the original if they messed it all up and made everything worse. A complete bastardization of the original. Doesn't deserve any more of my attention. Leave it rotting and forgotten, like it deserves to be.

Pixels: Saw this on cable and accidently made it my first movie in my new home lol. I used to love it as a kid but sadly it does not hold up. A lot of it is cringy and annoying. It's sad because it had a lot of potential and the opening and the scenes where they were actually fighting the video games, especially the Pac-Man and Donkey Kong scenes, were really fun. But anything that doesn't involve video games in this movie sucks. The romance especially. Oof, the romance in this is so bad it's embarrassing. And that goes for both the main ship and... the other ship.

Crazy Rich Asians: Really only watched this because it was on demand and my siblings wanted to watch something. It's a cute rom-com. The characters are enjoyable and there is some nice style to it. Nice tribute to the culture as well. It's also actually pretty funny while we're at it. Not the greatest or most memorable thing in the world but I liked it.

Bullet Train: It’s an insane joyride. It’s oozing with style and actual cool action, and the characters are all distinct and enjoyable. It’s very satisfying when things start coming together in this movie, as they connect all of the plot threads really well. There’s definitely much more style than there is substance, although its themes of fate are handled pretty well. Also the main character sometimes feels out of place and has some of the biggest plot armor that I’ve ever seen. (That latter part is fun ironically and does kind of fit the fate themes though) It’s really fun, although not too much to ride home about.

12 Years A Slave: A brutal film. I watched this in school for Social Studies and it was absolutely captivating. A movie that truly shows the horrors of slavery, showing you just how much despair it brought onto the lives of the slaves, while giving slight glimmers of hope that there’s the possibility that justice will be served and the situation will change for the better. The acting is truly fantastic and it made for a fascinating showcase of the heartbreaking history of America’s past misdeeds.

Klaus: It’s adorable. A great way to get into the holiday spirit, as it feels amazing to see the town become much brighter and kinder, and it feels so wholesome to see acts of kindness spark another. The animation is an amazing blend of 2D and 3D that works wonders, and the characters are all charming and lovable. (Except for the ones that clearly aren’t supposed to be charming and lovable.) I do find some of the music choices weird, and I absolutely despise the liar revealed trope in this, even more so than usual, but overall a wonderful watch.

Knives Out: It’s all pure brilliant subversion. A fantastic blend of atmosphere, humor, craft, and character work to drive for such a fun time. Rewatching this is interesting, as it really shows all of the clues in a different context, and it all makes the reveals even more satisfying. A great start to what will be a wonderful franchise of mysteries.

Top Gun Maverick: Rewatched in one of those hotel movie screenings, and I am so, so glad to say that it held up super well even without the theatrical experience. Just as wonderful and magical as it was all those months ago. It’s arguably a timeless movie, and one that I’ll continue to rewatch over and over again in the years to come, especially when I inevitably get the DVD and it could be used for long car trips.

And that is all of my catch up reviews! I’ll probably use each catch up review when I log it alongside a link to this when I log them. Hopefully I won’t have to be behind this much and need to do something like this again. Here’s to a hopefully not terrible 2023!