Same Shift, Different Night. Love the tagline!

Disney's got some good things going on again.

I'd heard the business was in a risky state of being lately. Finances not great see. But with movies like this it seems they still have a gold on the mainstream. Still a golden a taste see.

This was great. Adventurous, fun, with an animated style that feels both expressive and comical in nature - but in a good way. Everyone's eyes are round and open and innocent to the world in a way. Only the bad guys have a bit more slanted ones. Or are there exceptions...? Not sure, but the protagonists do have lively eyes. It's a nice style.

The story follows Nick - son of the previous watchman in a magic museum where statues and exhibits come to life at night thanks to an ancient Egyptian relic - who's dealing with certain issues of confidence, but gets the chance to take over his dad's job for the summer, and of course the first night turns into a grand adventure! A potentially end-of-the-world type one no less, but... well I shan't spoil it.

Go watch it.

It's both feelgood and exciting, with a suitable villain and sidekick - they're nefarious in a cartoonish kind of way, and definitely add to the excitement, but without making anything feel overly violent and dark.

The Night At The Museum movies all have that effect really.

They reel you in. They're adventurous and imaginative, and the very idea of exhibits coming to life as soon as you're not watching them, like they were frozen in time only for a moment... it's a nice one. It breathes life into your imagination too.

Good fun. It's a little simple and predictable sometimes, but I don't mind. They've paced it well, and the cast is one masterful weave of varied but noble individuals gathered through the ages.

I was expecting a live-action movie here btw, and was originally a little disappointed it was animated but... it doesn't disappoint at all after all.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

Bruce Willis is back at it again!

I'm a little baffled, since he does speak, and seems to speak decently when he does. Why not more lines? Why can't they piece together something that seems like a natural conversation? If he has difficulties they manage to hide them well, but it does halt the flow of conversation sometimes. It feels like one of the things this movie lacks: proper dialog.

The other part is believable pace and script. Like how did Conlan not have a better safeguard for the family? Why did he let his B-team get busted if he overheard the conversation?

It's a little disappointing they bring back the one guy from the dead - who was clearly shot to death in the last movie - just so he can die again.

It's a little disappointing we don't see the female detective again at the end too, and hear her redeemed opinion on Knight as well.

It's a little disappointing the vault of the 1% wasn't a little bit bigger too...

It started so promising, but leaves off unfortunately disappointing. Again.

Like with the latter it feels like it could've built to a better showdown considering how brutal the intro was, but alas it's more like a TV soap opera after all. I'm still happy to see Bruce Willis, and it's nice things all work out in the end, but the wholesomeness of this movie...?

Not 100%.

 rated 3/5: not bad

What makes us human? Is AI really a threat? Is it the thing that will save us? Are they intentionally portraying USA as the ultimate evil here - or are they highlighting the human error? That just like how the original catastrophe was started in error so is the reason we keep fighting. That maybe we could resolve all our wars if we just set our differences aside and changed the way we see the world...

These are questions that swirled through my mind after I watched this... though I didn't really have time to let them circulate properly since I saw Avgrunden right after - at the cinema too. It was equally jostling. Well maybe not equally, but similarly.

I'm glad they're starting to let good characters die.

I mean I'm not glad, but it amplifies the sadness so much. When some of the ones you become the most attached to meet such an untimely demise. When you don't expect it, especially. I mean maybe after a while you start suspecting but... you still wonder if by some miracle chance they won't scrape by and make it unscathed after all.

This ain't the eighties though huh? Things are different now. Things are deep. Things are tragic. Things are real.

The sci-fi world they paint up here feels strangely real too. Both special effects and sets are impeccable - I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that starred sceneries that weren't real to the extent this one does and still managed to make them look good! And I mean they REALLY look good. They don't hide things either - they don't simplify things as to remove the margin for error, or ease up budgetary limitations. You see all, yet you see no flaws. They went all out with the CGI.

The style reminds me a little of Alita: Battle Angel. Though wasn't that one animated... partially, was it...? Gotta check back.

I'm also reminded of Elysium, which is a great movie too if you haven't seen it - and not so similar you wouldn't enjoy both - and notice the similarities between them when you have.

There's a similar theme of self-sacrifice for one. But also the great thing up in the cloud. With Alita, too.

Another thing to praise and highlight: The soundtrack.

Like the music that plays when they're embarking on their mission, to find Maya, and the ultimate weapon? God damn man. It's otherworldly. I don't recognize the language. I don't know if that just makes it even better. It's alien and futuristic in the best possible way.

The characters don't always speak English either. And they don't ALWAYS translate - even if they do have those handy tools to automatically translate key items. And that's real. And futuristic. And the design of some of the other tech they use...

This movie blew me away for real. It reignited the sci-fi realm in my book. It refreshed my interest for the genre.

It came with such a turbulent and potent mix of emotions too that I... think I need some time to process it all.

Plus the backstory itself is pretty damn interesting! And intriguing. And relevant. And every single notable character has such a strong persona and/or memorable appearance. AND they managed to make those flashbacks in the beginning so real! I'm impressed with that too. Not just with the filters but with the actors they chose there too. How they articulated speeches and commercials. How perfectly everyone and everything seem selected for their role.

Both the premise and structures here are bigger than life on so many levels.

Whenever I feel like I'm starting to fall into critique mode and notice inconsistencies or scruples with the script they blow me away again with the designs, or the unexpected comedy, or strength of character, or a raw punch of emotion that makes me tear up and lose my direction of critique...

Best sci-fi movie in a while! Maybe one of the best ever.

I can't wait till I forget this enough to give it another watch and see if I still stand by it - cause this was grand.

What an experience. It excels in any way I can articulate it.

Probably even more so at the movies.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

It's all about the spice, and the houses, and the heritage and coloization of space... Dune runs deep here.

I never realized what a complex story lay behind the game with the same name.

I hoped this would be a full movie, but unfortunately it wasn't that. It seems like it's just the beginning.

It's good though. Captivating minimalism. The mood reminds me of Blade Runner, though the atmosphere's something different entirely. But similarly majestic.

And it's a tale of kings, and sons, and struggle. But though war is uncompromising, fear is something you overcome.

I don't feel like they took a wrong step anywhere here. The visions lead the way, and the way is captivating.

Honor. Something lost in our world. They have it among the dunes.

Really looking forward to the sequel.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

I already reviewed this one.

Went pretty thorough too, analyzing in what ways this might've been better and in what ways it might've been worse than the former, and then I hit the publish button, and then WP spit out a 'you do not have permission to edit this post' error, and there was no way I could get around it, or to retrieve my earlier writing...

When you can refresh a page to re-submit the content of a particular form though - even if you can't hit the back button in browser to go back and actually retrieve said form content - maybe there actually is a way to retrieve said content via the browser cache? If anyone knows a way I'd be very intrigued to know about it!

I don't feel like typing up a long-ass review here again, so in short: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, but I did also feel like it was somehow a little superficial and simple compared to the first one.

There weren't enough bystanders around for the final fight either, or for any of the fights for that matter.

The cast seemed to be at a bare-minimum for the most part.

Maybe that's due to pandemic restrictions in the real world at the time of filming, but it makes me realize how much you usually rely on larger gatherings of people totally flipping out to convey a sense of true chaos.

Or in this case carnage. All the more relevant for the title.

I loved the performances though. Tom Hardy's great as always, and possibly even more so now than in the previous, with how seemingly all the more conflicted about his involuntary inner inhabitant he his.

The breakfast scene was amazing too. Their fight was good too. The dance club scene was inspiring. Little details like the Asian lady at the shop with venom eyes, or the girl cycling erratically with Venom waving a big F U behind her - things like that really liven it up too.

And of course Tom's constant conflicts and confrontations in the real world as he a bit too audibly confronts the black being in his soul... always fun.

The element of love didn't go the way i thought it would though. Maybe he'll finally find true love in the parallel realm?

But he does have Venom, so maybe it's all good after all.

It's an unconventional love story.

I don't think I even need to say this btw but Woody Harrelson was great. As always. He's a strong villain with unfortunately limited screen time. His girlfriend's great too - even if the scar around her eye clearly looks painted, and even if we know unreasonably little about her backstory compared to Kletus. Like she was never meant for a bigger role.

They make a great duo though. And a tragic one, the way this one goes.

I also really appreciate the eerie sceneries. The asylum, the cathedral - all those things. They're all perfect for this, and for release season.

The filmography's great, and I watched this one on IMAX (last time it was in 3D) so that probably made it even better. The fights do still sometimes rage a bit too fast, and the details of special effects get lost in storms and tornadoes of dust, but overall it works.

Venom's the kind of creature that doesn't fit well in with the real world anyway. His whole being, and texture, everything about him is just... artificial.

I wonder if they could've integrated him into this world in a better way, if he's depicted more like his comic counterpart than is necessary, or if that in a sense might actually make him more timeless.

As special effects that really do look good by today's standards age horribly in time, maybe he'll stand out in a way that's just timeless. His being not a matter of aging gracefully or no but more so standing out so much he doesn't age. The immortal Venom.

Other than that I wonder if I'm maybe tiring of the Marvel movie formula, or if there's just something missing here, because with the latest Marvel movies I'm just not getting the same kick as I used to. It seems to be going downhill since the Endgame.

Maybe that's natural. Maybe there's just no way to trump that. Or maybe I've seen enough of these movies now to tire of the way they do things.

Maybe they've changed, though. I'd like to think the earlier ones really were timeless, and these are just getting worse.

I might've actually written down more now than I did in the initial review. Seems a good time to conclude , and to copy this text before I hit the publish button this time, just in case...

Overall: It's not perfect, it felt rushed, but I did thoroughly enjoy this movie.

When they put out the first Venom they gave out small exclusive comic books after the movie. That was cool too.

No such luck this time.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

AKA The Abyss. Cliché translation hmm?

Frigga, who tries to balance her risky job as a security manager in the Kiirunavaara mine with her family life, has to fight for her life and the lives of her loved ones when her city starts collapsing into the mine.

Initially I felt like some of the guys might be overacting, but the emotions, man... they make the movie.

The special effects aren't amazing but they manage to make them surprisingly seamless, and the props are! The sinking ground. The sandbox. I wonder how they managed those scenes. What kind of equipment did they use...

I do feel like a lot of the characters meant to seem in shock - like the mother with the stroller, or Hampus outside the school - a few characters like that - overact. But not so much so it ruins the mood overall.

The main characters in particular do their job just perfectly, and in addition to it being a natural disaster movie it's also one that strongly focuses on family bonds. Which ain't bad.

I like the family - even the newcomer. I like him from the first moment he pops up! Is he just that likable a guy or did they really manage to give him that good a first introduction?

The bonding feels natural - and appreciative. There are some comical moments - with a focus on female empowerment - the main lady's a strong-willed woman. And there are some claustrophobic ones too - as you'd expect from a movie of the sort. Mine sort.

In the end it feels like you see disappointingly little inside the mine, considering the theme. But you do see a lot of the town! The drone shots are beautiful. The scenery is too.

The fact that this all takes place in an actual town, with actual issues, and actual dangers very much relevant to those here depicted, in a land that feels (feels? Is!) close to home for me... well that makes it all hit so much harder. I recognize the people too. Maybe not the individual actors or characters specifically, but the types.

The soundtrack was good too, as were the sound effects. The Lappish song in particular was beautiful. The movie overall took me by surprise. Gripping and wholesome, that's how I'd surmise it, even if some of the kids could use more acting lessons. Not Mika though. She nailed it.

Also appreciate the intro glimpse in an actual, factual historical mining disaster I did not know about! Dalarna, 1961... read up if you wish (you may need to translate though): https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idkerberget

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome