The Genius Animation Behind Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse | Analysis

Film in 2018

Wins, losses, duds, triumphs, we had everything in the year 2018!

Every film released in 2018 that I saw will get a shoutout, so keep reading.

Movie I Thought Was A Humongous Improvement Over Its Predecessor: Ralph Breaks the Internet

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Movie That Tried Its Best - I Think: A Wrinkle In Time

This is apparently a very difficult property to adapt, and as I've never read the book, after about an hour and a half I was completely lost. The CGI is ugly. But it is diverse and has a nice message for black girls so, yay, small wins.

Movie that Ignored Solar Power to Great (Dis)effect: The Cloverfield Paradox

I don't want to talk about it because my notes are just as confused as I am - still.

Fun fact! There are still several movies, but I have no idea if I can get to them by the end of the year. So, here we are.

#75: Aquaman

The posters are so nice for this movie, I really couldn't decide which one to use.

They reflect the 80's, out under this world wild glow that Atlantis is surrounded by, and the score certainly helps.

Pitbull's rendition of Toto's Africa a bit less so.

The 6th movie in the much-maligned DC Extended Universe, and critically their second-best one to boot, although that's more a case of "Not as bad" and less "Genuinely good on its own merits".

Before DC fans whip out the doxxing - These people are insane - I'm one of you. And there are plenty of things I liked about this movie.

Besides "talks to fish" and "laughingstock", I'm not familiar with Aquaman at all; This movie raised some questions for me;

2018: The Year in Funko (For Me)

Funko did some good stuff this year. Some annoying stuff, like the very limited initial runs of Target's Pikachu, but mostly good stuff.

The Return of The Queen(s)

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#starbucks #starwars #funkopop

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Two of my favorite Disney girls, Vanellope and Padmé, got new POPs and new molds. There's not so much of a difference with Padmé, I think, but Vanellope is really nothing but highly improved.

#74: Isle of Dogs

This is a quiet movie.

Lots of pauses, considerations, moments. It seems like a very deliberate choice  - Maybe a nod to a slower style of narration in Japan - but it just gave me ample time to think "...This doesn't make sense."

It's never explained why the dogs don't understand Japanese but understand English besides "Well, most of our voice actors don't speak Japanese,". You could eliminate 80% of said voice actors to no real loss of the main narrative - A boy wants to find his dog that's been exiled.

The stuff with the humans and their government conspiracy is way more interesting than the aspect with the talking dogs. How do you make humans more interesting than talking dogs?

Until about 50 minutes in. Then the movie started to kick up into gear and grow on me.

It looks great, dirty and lived in while very clearly being fake - Bits of fire and steam are represented with fluff. I especially like how nothing is shied away from when it comes to seeing some light gore, or a sushi master prepare food by cutting up and pinning down fresh seafood. Desplat always has a great score.

With quite a few asides to one exchange student, we get to see the 'ordinary' side of this strange life.

There are a few questionable choices but I expected nothing different from a white man who loves the ~aesthetic of things.

It will come down to this vs. Spiderverse on the awards circuit. So far, in the smaller, local critic's circles, I believe Isle is winning by two or three.

#73: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey ("Rise of The Guardians") and Rodney Rothman - and who expected this, a Spiderman movie, to be the standout movie of 2018?

One that has the focus on Miles Morales, not Peter Parker (so much)?

We had faith in Marvel, and knew Black Panther would be great.

But Sony? They couldn't get their Live-Action Spiderman right without Marvel's help, though I enjoy those Sam Raimi films.

And Sony Animation? Emoji Movie Sony Animation? Excuse me if my hopes were just kind of...mellowed.

But with the rising positive word of mouth and repeated instances of this being not only the best animated movie of the year, but one of the best period - my hopes rose too.

Many great movies have come out, but only a handful have made me consider placing them in my #1 spot of favorite movie ever, a spot that has been held by Kung Fu Panda since it's premiere day.

I think this is the film to finally take the crown.

The Golden Globe Nominations 2019

You know me, we're only sticking with the film side because I truly could not tell you a thing about the television aspect besides "OMG Amy!" 

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“All the Stars” (“Black Panther”)
“Girl in the Movies” (“Dumplin’”)
“Requiem For a Private War” (“A Private War”)
“Revelation’ (“Boy Erased”)

“Shallow” (“A Star Is Born”)

I've only heard of two of these songs, and I'm glad! I expected them to pick a Mary Poppins Returns song, glad they passed for some far less known fare.

PREDICTED WINNER: Shallow

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Amy Adams (“Vice”)
Claire Foy (“First Man”)
Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Emma Stone (“The Favourite”)
Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”)

This is probably our lineup for the Oscars as well, give or take a lady from The Favourite. Regina King has been winning on the localized award circuits for her performance, it would certainly be nice to see either her or Amy win.

Annapurna's "Vice" was the big potential winner of the morning, netting more nominations than any other movie, including it's sister movies (Which received 3 and 1 nominations).

PREDICTED WINNER: No idea.

Best Motion Picture – Animated
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

Oho! The Globes brought Mirai back from potential award irrelevance. Let's hope that Disney won't spend the money to push I2 or WIR 2 so it or Spider-Verse sneaks in the win.

PREDICTED WINNER: Probably a Disney movie.

#72: Paddington (2014)

While very charming, I'm not 100% sure how this is seen as one of the crown jewels of cinema in this decade.

As you know, the genre of "British books being made into movies" is not as old as time immaterial, but it has grown in recent years.

It makes me want a decent Madeline movie. The one from the late 90's was fine.

With no history or recollection of reading about Paddington Bear, going into this is a lot different than going into Peter Rabbit or A Monster Calls.

I like the breaks in standard camera work like rapid zoom-ins and sliding shots paired with voice overs.

The comical stuff with the villain (Nicole Kidman, who you will be seeing a lot more of this month) is kind of the downfall. I wish it was just this bear learning things (even if I get a little exasperated by it at times).

Trailer Tuesday: A, B, & Taking No L's

Happy Trailer Tuesday once again.

First up is possibly my most anticipated Disney release of 2019...and I may be the only one who is excited - Artemis Fowl is on the big screen.

I mean - In theory.

#71: Ralph Breaks the Internet

I'm not using the original convoluted title. You can lampshade it, but the title should have been Ralph Wrecks the Internet. I'm this close to typing Wralph Wrecks The Internet half the time.

The first Disney sequel in the Animated Canon since Rescuers Down Under. The next one, Frozen 2, is a sequel as well. I don't think Disney is doing a single original movie next year. It's either remakes or conclusions.

Dumbo, Aladdin, Lion King, Star Wars Episode 9, Infinity War II. Artemis Fowl (which I am very, very excited for) is a long-gestating adaptation of the once-popular book series.

Oh, right. Ralph.

tldr; I really, really loved it.

I did not expect to, I was just happy to see Vanellope again. But Disney movies have an unusual talent of being released when I need to hear the message.

SPOILERS

"The Currency of Human Contact"

AKA: A lovely Supercut;

She Ra and The Princesses of Power by Netflix E1/E2

So, a reboot. I never saw the original.

This is beautiful.

The character designs...it took some getting used to. There are some moments of oddness with movement.

#70: Mandy (2018)

So I have two movies rented here that I simply never started; Mandy and Upgrade.

I decided to go with the movie that was less seen by audience, and I am still not 100% sure which movie that actually is.

The overwhelmingly sad synth-rock score is the last released score by the late Johann Jóhannsson, who scored films like Blade Runner 2049 and Sicario.

Everything about this movie oozes the feeling of it being a late-80's music video about nothing in particular - Fitting, as it does take place in the 80's - but the sweet, lonely sensation of nothing is quickly overtaken by violence and revenge.

For something two hours long, it is very slowly paced, really amping up the anxiety. We see a twisted cult - arguably two. The catalyst doesn't happen until maybe 50 minutes in.

I'm very strongly reminded of Brigsby Bear - Uncomfortable things on the screen you'd rather not see, but you're glad the movie doesn't wimp out on you and shows it.

The movie is awash in completely gorgeous colors, gradients. The shots are lovely.

Trailer Tuesday - From A to T and Sometimes D

Yes it's not Tuesday and yes some of these trailers are old. But some aren't!

A is for Aquaman, which comes out in December.

Dude kicks ass and talks to fish and tells his half-brother to chill the hell out.

This five minute trailer first debuted at Comic Con 2018, and wow what a treat they had. DCEU needs all the help it can get, no wonder this was released to the public. Glad we got to see it, because this definitely gets me hyped.

Starring a bunch of people to the point where I'm not sure who is good and who is bad. Is Black Manta good? I know Orm is bad. What about whoever Willem Dafoe is?

Book Look: Redwall

Here is something that made up a huge part of my childhood, the precursor to Mistmantle, but with a lot more black and white morality, happy endings, and monster horror. Redwall has 22 books with a 23rd one in development before Brian Jacques's untimely passing.

Which still bums me out like seven years later.

While this is the first book written for the series, it is chronologically number 9. I'm curious as to how many of them I can get through before either DirectTV or Xfinity restores our services.

Being the first book, there are some major things that stand out differently from the rest of the series; Hence, why this book is more or less considered Canon Discontinuity with the other 21.

Descendants vs. Ever After High

Most of the time, I'll compare if the character has a counterpart, though there are some instances where they simply don't and we have to improvise.

Daughter of the Dark Fairy; 

Mal vs. Faybelle Thorn

I was prepared to immediately give Faybelle the win by virtue of being my favorite Ever After High (EAH) character.

But Mal can turn into a dragon, and there's nothing in the EAHverse that suggests Faybelle can do the same. Mal is wholeheartedly trying to be a "good" person, while Faybelle is learning that her role as The Dark Fairy doesn't have to be her entire identity, and she can be a bit nicer without totally losing her acerbic personality.

#69: Jupiter Ascending

2015 in Film was so weird. The only outright good movies I remember were The Force Awakens, Shaun The Sheep, and Creed. Sponge Out of Water wasn't bad, I'm not a fan of Inside Out and Dope but they have their merits and Fantastic Four....exists.

Then there's this. I remember seeing Jupiter Ascending in the theater twice.

Mainly because I got there an hour early and walked in, was confused at all get out but just hung around, knowing there was context missed and to watch it from the start.

If you expected me to say "And I saw it from the beginning and was still confused", no. It's not confusing if you pay attention.

A alien-humanoid woman died and owned Earth because her alien race colonized it and basically use it to farm humans to live unnaturally long lives. She left it in her will to her reincarnation, a young woman called Jupiter Jones, on Earth.

Her three children find out because for some reason no one bothered to check her will closely, it seems, and they see how fond she was of Earth and scheme to take it for their individual needs.

Meanwhile, Jupiter is taken from Earth by a bounty hunter named Caine, a half-dog half-human man on anti-gravity rocketboots, to deliver her to the planet where the siblings live, and see if they can woo her enough to take her inheritance and kill her.

Ok, well, when you put it like that, it's a wee bit confusing.

#68: Wreck It Ralph

Dang, who ever thought we'd get a sequel to this? Not me - but I'm glad for it.

Also I love the teaser poster to both this and the second movie. The rest fall into that typical CGI cartoon nonsense but the pixellation of this + the cursor and searchbox of the sequel poster are awesome to me.

Let's get this out of the way; This could have gone badly. Every time Disney hint at putting some kind of semi-modern spin on its movies, people get into a panic that it'll be "too much" or "it won't age well."

This movie doesn't have that problem. Now, the sequel, dealing with the internet, very well might. But this isn't about that.

This is about a man who does a job and everyone hates him for it it both in and out of game. Kind of like job recruiting.

The overwhelming message here is...what is the aesop here?

Film in 2017; 10/10

#43; Persepolis & #44; Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders 

I scored both of these movies a 10/10

IMDB's description of Persepolis;

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life.

I can't tell you much about it because it benefits highly from watching it. I can admire how it's mostly monochrome, hand drawn - how often do you see an autobiographical movie told in this way?

Also, how often do you see an autobiography not about some uber-famous white person reach America and make this much of a splash?

On the flipside, Return of the Caped Crusaders is no biography, but a throwback to the original Batman show of the 1960s, which I have never seen, but the silliness is so permeated in pop culture that the jokes land.

#67: A Star Is Born (2018)

I make an effort to watch the movies that look like they will win Best Picture.

You know, there are a lot of singers and models who try to make the leap into acting. I've not seen Epic or Obsessed, and we'll have to wait until next year for The Lion King, so I have nothing to say against Beyonce in the acting department.

Didn't see Battleship, but I did see Valerian; It could have been worse for Rihanna. Besides "Space!", "Wow cool CGI", and "kickass worldbuilding!" the saving grace of that movie was Cara Delevingne.

But Lady Gaga is really talented here, so stand down Little Monsters.

*Spoilers*

FALL OUT BOY: How did they get so big??

The only band I still listen to from my childhood (Sorry Maroon 5).

#66: The House With A Clock In Its Walls

While we are in the midst of Film There and Back Again, there haven't been too many movies in the August- September months to watch, and October isn't looking any better.

So let's continue our Jack Black marathon!

I was curious about this movie because I have a weak spot for the "orphaned brunette white boy does magic in a movie adapted from a book" genre (See; Hugo, A Monster Calls, give or take The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Harry Potter) even if I've never read the book.

Anybody can learn real magic in this world, you just pop a squat, open a textbook, and put your own flair on shit. 

Though, it still seems to be a hidden mystery to the populace at large, a unusually-diverse town in middle America, circa the 50's.

(My mother was born in 63 and went to a segregated school for a year. This school would be segregated out of the ass, but hey, magic!)

This film is directed by Eli Roth, the man who brought us Hostel ten years ago. I wish this movie had come out ten years ago so Universal could have entrusted him with the Cirque Du Freak novels.

And you can see how he knows just the right amount of uncanny creepiness to inject so this isn't completely trite nonsense.

Trailer Thursday: If Beale Street Could Talk / Ralph Wrecks The Internet

The follow up to Barry Jenkins' iconic Moonlight is finally, almost upon us with If Beale Street Could Talk.

The second of four movies being distributed by Annapurna this award season - The other two, Vice and Destroyer, come out in December - it's the one with the most power behind in it's story so far. Just the trailer alone was enough to make me cry, and really root for these people.

The synopsis push a lot of emphasis on "The American Dream", which has never been anything helpful to black people, so we shall see.

The original is one of my favorite movies in the Disney canon, giving me my favorite Animated Canon Disney girl in Vanellope.  When they announced a sequel, I could hardly believe it - Finally, some decent merchandise.

I know people are concerned re: the amount of pop culture references, but trust Disney. You can't trust them to not make a black woman into a frog, but maybe we can rely on them to keep the time-sensitive jokes to a minimum.

Book Look: Star vs. The Forces of Evil; The Magic Book of Spells

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Featuring fourteen entries of fourteen Queens of Mewni, with plenty of beautiful illustrations, lore, and clear, distinct voices for each.

My Hero Academia

I'm not a big anime fan, more from the format and story layout. Many of them are very, very long with only a vague description that doesn't quite entice me to keep watching.

The Last Airbender? Not an anime, but there was a clear goal to get to. I like that.

Cowboy Bebop? Great anime. They putz around in space. Didn't finish it. I did watch the movie.

Something with a very rhythmic title? "Yours is the drill that will pierce the heavens!"? It was pretty cool. Watched it all and it was concise enough to keep me interested. But it clearly left no impact.

Gatchaman Crowds?  Tiger and Bunny? Even Evangelion? Didn't last too long with me.

Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt? Absolute adore it. I've even got merch. I want a sequel.

Kill La Kill? I love Satsuki. Point blank. I enjoyed the hell out of this.

Hm.

Film in 2017: Fish Fry

#41: The Final Destination & #18: Ponyo

After a young man's premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.

It's the same as the other five or six movies. People die, people evade death, who cares. The only highlight is a man who says a racial slur being killed immediately afterward. Wish it was like that IRL.

A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.

There is something extremely charming and cosy about this movie, a modified telling of The Little Mermaid. The bit where she runs on the waves is always super beautiful.

News: Dwayne Johnson is Kamehameha in Epic "THE KING" From Robert Zemeckis

.@TheRock to play Hawaiian king in epic from Robert Zemeckis https://t.co/d5tdm4svKl pic.twitter.com/b6KqAQKAKT

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 29, 2018

While we all know that The Rock puts a lot of effort and time into his movies, one where he has such a strong connection to the source material means there's going to be extra passion and effort here.

Johnson, who is of Polynesian decent, has been hoping to make a movie about Kamehameha for the better of the past two decades.

And the companies involved seem to have zero problem footing the bill - We know Warner Bros loves throwing vast amounts of money at people, directors, and characters who have proven themselves before, and while the time for epics may or may not have passed (When was the last one? That people saw?), the time of Johnson, Zemeckis, and amazing effects and CGI focused on a part of history most people do not know, have not.


Unfortunately, Deadline reports that the film should start shooting in 2020. That's a long time to wait, but The Rock is a very busy dude, so it's understandable.

source: THR/Deadline

#65: 2001: A Space Odyssey in IMAX

I have always wanted to see Interstellar in IMAX, and arguably this is a far better option.

Once again, in the modern day, this movie falls victim to a lot of people feeling that a movie needs a story 100% of the time.

This movie isn't even set up narratively - The first fifteen minutes or so is showing us the Dawn of Man, and that sequence ends with them learning how to use tools.....to beat the shit out of opponents.

When an ominous black rectangle shows up (twice, once far before anyone could reasonably record it's existence, and later in the "present day" of 2001), humans on the moon are trying to figure out what it's deal is.

It's aliens. I spoil it because it's not a big deal.

What is a big deal is the sheer scope, beauty, and technicality of nearly everything.

And, today I learned that the main song is only the opening fanfare of a song called Also sprach Zarathustra.

#64: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

East Asian people bringing back the rom com!

It's subdued but also cheerful in it's way. I'm happy to see that Lana Condor has a role where she can speak more than two lines, let alone being the lead!

Also, when did Netflix originals get such high production value.

Lara Jean has two sisters - The distant and capable Margot and possibly my favorite character, the snappy and smart Kitty.

She writes letters she never plans to send to crushes - Five letters, to five guys, though only two have a large role in the story (Though one turns into the Gay Best Friend!)

I don't think this should be clocking in at an hour and a half. Maybe 1:15.

As someone who doesn't feel strongly about wanting a fairytale romance - or any at all - I didn't fall head over heels in love with this film.

#63: Crazy Rich Asians

As a huge fan of the 2013 novel, I was happy to see this was being shopped around as a film, and happier still that Kevin Kwan, the author, did not allow them to whitewash it - and Warner Bros. agreed.

I can't touch upon any of the cultural nuances simply because I'm not Asian. I read the series several times, but that's all I did - Read about it.

I'm genuinely proud and happy that this is sweeping the nation. The preview screenings (Which we did not get) were nearly sold out across the country on August 8th! Some theaters had to add another one!

Did I like it? Overall, yes, it's a big improvement over this year's earlier rom-com.

It's astonishingly well made (except for poor sound mixing - Why is this such a trend these days). A lot of the music, score, and camera choices were amazing and really elevated an essentially simple story.

The wedding scene alone was perfection.

Did I like all the changes from the book?

Well.

Spoilers for both the book and the film.

#62: Santa Jaws

Okay, I tried to write a synopsis for this, but I think the official one says it best;

Trying to survive the family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.

Seriously. It's Krampus but a lot uglier and with a shark. I mean, it is a Syfy movie.

The acting is surprisingly not awful from the main character, but his uncle's wife is really hamming it up. Some parts are absolutely hilarious, and everyone's pretty aware that this is not to be taken seriously.

There's an eleventh-hour switcharoo that tries to make the comic book store owner the bad guy but you don't really know why, as if they couldn't just share the magical pen that bought the shark to life.

Film in 2017: YASS, QUEEN!

#25; Chicago & #36; The Handmaiden 

These were my two favorites of last year. Point blank.

Book Look: Artemis Fowl #5: The Lost Colony

I think one day,when someone asked Colfer, "In a world with fairies, pixies, sprites, goblins, trolls, and centaurs, where are the demons?", he said "...Good question."

They're in an island out of time, of course.

I am no stranger to the Artemis Fowl series. Hell, the movie adaptation, despite multiple casting fails, is one of my most anticipated of 2019.

While my personal favorite of the series remains The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony is right up there.

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear that they could not win, all of the faeries moved below ground—all except for the 8th family, the demons. Rather than surrender, they used a magical time spell to take their colony out of time and into Limbo. There they have lived for decades, planning their violent revenge on humans. 

Book Look: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C Pérez

I saw this in Books a Million one day; Seriously, how can you not be curious at this cover;

So I bought and read it.

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.

Film in 2017: Disney Darling and Disaster

# 64 Pinocchio & #74: The Princess and The Frog 

Film in 2017: Mystery Music

#72: The Sound of Music & 94: Mystery Men

The Sound of Music is one of the greatest movies of all time. Point blank. I'd love a remake of it, I really would. Make it as timeless as you can but redo it.

You probably have never heard of Mystery Men, a 1999 film that ran with the foolishness of superhero movies instead of trying to make it super serious. The heroes are people with plates, mining equipment, anger, talking bowling balls. It's both a curious oddity and something could be brought back into the modern day with it's weirdness.

Because, it's not a wry, Deadpool-ish smartassery. It's people working with what they're given and taking it very seriously.

Film in 2017: Fable Fury

#27: American Fable #30: Kung Fury

American Fable had gorgeous cinematography. Absolutely beautiful. And while it semi-focused on the imaginary world of a rural girl in the 80's, her life is falling apart, as the local farms are being foreclosed by bankers.

And unfortunately that just isn't so cool to watch when it's not heavy on the fable part. She finds her father is holding a man captive who would foreclose the farm and...that's about it.

Kung Fury leans heavily on the sillyness and that's really about it.

Film in 2017: Kids Not Living Their Best Lives (Also; Deliver it like You Stole It)

#10; Sing Street & #33; Kiki's Delivery Service

Film in 2017: I Just Can't Wait To Kill Aliens

#62: Lion King Sing Along &  #34: Attack The Block

You don't need me to tell you the story of THE LION KING.

The sing along is kind of strange, the text is bulky and awkward and far less seamless than the one for the MOANA Sing Along earlier in 2017.

It was certainly a pleasure to see it on the big screen once again.

A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.

Surprisingly, the film only has a 6.6 on IMDB. While some parts are a bit slow and muddled, that's unusually low, I think.

The debut film showing of one John Boyega proved that this young man was one to watch, but we wouldn't see him again until...2013's Half of A Yellow Sun. Which is not a great movie.

But then Star Wars came along so yay. Besides him and Jodie Whittaker (Who is your present Doctor in Doctor Who), I'm not sure most of these kids have done anything else that's crossed to this side of the pond. They capture the spirit of youth very well.

With simply shot, engaging in the dark action offset by the aliens' glowing teeth against a ripping soundtrack by Basement Jaxx, if you haven't seen this yet, give it a try.

Film There and Back Again

What did I tell you?

Pictured: Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Challenge

So, I've actually shortened the name for round three, mainly because a lot of these are sequels, and also involve people playing similar roles that they've played before.

Other names I've toyed with;

• Same People, Different Day
• Filmmatically Correct 
• Fishing With Oscar Bait

Instead...Welcome to Film There and Back Again! This is looking a bit harder, a bit easier. This list used to be about eleven movies deep, but between moves and other nonsense (I seriously thought The Woman In The Window was this year), it's down to seven. Less than Winter/Spring, more than Summer.

Fun Fact; I wrote the initial draft in May.

You know the rules, one fourth are eligible passes.

Round Three will include;

#61: Brigsby Bear

Art by a maniac turns into meme culture.

A young man watches a show on a ratty, old television. He's maybe in his mid-twenties, sitting in a darkened room that's stacked with VHS tapes. On the screen, two young women and a person in a bear costume are fighting a snarling sun with a face - The titular show.

Next, you see the young man eating dinner with his family, everyone talking animatedly about the show. The father says that his son's essay about a particular story arc is highly implausible because of various show mechanics. At the end of the meal, everyone stands up and shakes hands.

Kind of weird, but whatever.

Outside, you see they live in a bunker in the sands of the middle of nowhere, hidden behind a clear layer of plastic or glass, watching the outside world. The young man firmly believes that the outside air is dangerous, and that's it's death to go outside.

Minutes later, the bunker is raider, the parents are arrested, and the young man is taken into captivity to meet his real family.

#60: Teen Titans GO! To The Movies

Stan Lee cameos as himself. Also, it's time for self-referential animated movies to end.

From what I've seen of this show, I actually enjoy it a great deal.

It's not like the original, or dark as The Judas Contract. It fills a niche, and not one aimed at people who watched the original, although there is something for them too.

The art style and direction is mostly by one Mr. Hipp, who I followed on Tumblr way back when. Man it's a delight to see it on the big screen, peeping at the cameos - Plastic Man (!), Miss Martian, Zatanna (Who we saw a bit of in the DC Super Hero Girls 2.0 short beforehand).

No Booster Gold or Star Sapphire, oddly enough.

The plot is "Everyone else and then some has a movie in development at DC, except the Teen Titans, more specifically, Robin."

As a nod to the real-life Warner Bros. situation, they have The Flash constantly at the lot but never actually filming a movie, perhaps a nod to the "Will they, won't they?" Flash stand-alone film.

No one is really concerned if the other four want a movie, but it doesn't seem like it.

It seems that WAG can only make good movies if they're self-aware (No, Storks was not a good movie), between this and the Lego Movies sans Ninjago.

It's self-referential-ness come from itself. How everyone thinks the new cartoon is a joke, even five or so years later since it started. They play with that and they play it up.

The entire movie can be summed up as "Yeah, you think we're stupid? We sure are! Let's go!"

Film in 2017: I Rolled the Dice and got THREE Guy Ritchie Movies in A Row

#80: Sherlock Holmes, #77: The Man From Uncle & #35: Rocknrolla. 

Why did I watch so many of this man's movies?

The only one that wasn't a rewatch was Sherlock Holmes.

I liked it well enough, the twist on the titular character, though I did spend a lot of time wondering what it would be like if Jude Law was Sherlock instead. Let's be honest, this was Tony Stark with a sweater and a pipe brawling in the alleyways, what's so different about that.

But it's a twist on the original material that makes a lot of sense and fits Ritchie's style wonderfully. This is possibly the only film of his where he adapted some material and it really fits nicely.

 I can't attest for King Arthur, but let's be honest.

Film in 2017: DCeased

#45; Wonder Woman (2009) & #38; Green Lantern

A modern man's trespass of the island of the Amazons enables an imprisoned war god to escape and Princess Diana wins the responsibility to recapture him.

There's a section in this movie which is so awkwardly animated that it's hilarious. She and Steve Trevor are fighting in an alleyway and, in two frames, she lifts up her leg and nails the person in the chest.

Other than that, the entire movie is spent gaslighting Diana. When Trevor tries to get her drunk, he's stymied that he can't - Diana knows about people's bullshit, it happens to her, so basically she's proven right every time. And yet, she's supposed to be seen as narrowminded and looking down on humanity when the one person she's constantly in the company of is a grade-a skeeve.

Reckless test pilot Hal Jordan is granted an alien ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers that inducts him into an intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps.

Taika Waititi is in this movie. That's all I remember, besides the CGI looking odd, but not totally hating it. 

If you haven't seen the Cartoon Network CGI Green Lantern Cartoon, you should.

Film in 2017: Who Killed The Little Mermaid?

#97: The Little Mermaid & #32: Who Killed Captain Alex?

A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain with an unscrupulous sea-witch in order to meet a human prince on land.

You know it, you at least love the music, it's the girl who kicked off the Disney Renaissance, and in  2018, people still misunderstand a children's movie and think she traded her voice for a man.

This kinds of reminds me of Brave, where a woman who is supposed to be a big part of the story is muted, but unlike that, this doesn't anger me because it's on Ariel's on volition...sorta kinda.

Under The Sea remains a banger.