For some reason I thought this one was called Frozen Christmas, and was going to say it'd have been better to call it Frozen Birthday.
Cause that's what it is. Elsa celebrating Anna in song and dance in whimsy, celebratory festive fashion with the cast y'allreadyknow.
It's a nice little short. Well-animated. Well-voiced. A not too particular but not bad, uplifting little Birthday trip with a red thread that's easy to follow. Literally.
rated 3.5/5: not bad at all
This one was really not what I was expecting.
Forget a story, it's more so a collective showcase of song, accompanied by oftentimes badly animated either Christmas or snow-related characters, like Santa, a bunch of reindeer homies, black and white gingerbread (we call them peppercookie though) figures, a polar bear with swag, a penguin, a few other similar apparitions... sometimes they're backed up by a simple, snow-based backdrop, a town, or a cozy in-house scene with actually thoroughly atmospheric fireplace and Christmas setup.
It feels a bit simple though... Christmas entertainment on a budget. I could see myself enjoying this in the same way I'd enjoy a performance at school if my kids were in it, if I had any, but as it is... not really what I had in mind.
Why am I watching a Christmas-themed animation in the first place though now that Spring approaches in all its sunlit splendor?
Who knows. It's an uplifting little dose this one but: nothing remarkable or dope.
rated 2/5: decent
Former special operative MacGruber is called back into action to take down his arch-enemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who's in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Washington, D.C.
SNL comedy gold right here, and apparently the last legit Saturday Night Live feature film. After a couple blockbusters and a lot of movies that didn't do so well (this one almost broke even on box office revenue) it seems they might've decided to close shop with these. For shame...
I think I watched this one back in the day too, but I had no idea then that it was a movie spurred by a collection of skits. I had no idea who Will Forte was. SNL was an at the time a maybe seen but if so unrecognized abbreviation of which the implications to me were not known.
I went into this with an older mind now and way more background knowledge thereof, and just like with Popstar (Are SNL features back? New studio? Standalone production?) you appreciate it all the more when you know who's in it!
Though that applies to everything. Of course. The more background the better. Usually.
Anyhow: Unfortunately this movie suffers slightly from the too-much-hype-in-beginning-of-movie syndrome, they build it up depressingly well, and though I know that's a part of the comedy it's still a disappointment when the rest doesn't maintain standard. Though it does get better again, eventually, and it ends well.
If you've seen the sketches you'll appreciate the bomb scene in particular, and MacCruber's relation to Vicky, and all those things, but overall... I'm not totally sold. It's fun, but it's not as fun as I expected it to be.
In the end I feel the sketches had more of that. They were all the more ferocious with the limited time allowed for each, whereas this one spans a whole movie... span, and it feels like they have to drag things out a little as to fill the duration thereof.
I didn't think Ryan Phillippe would really do the celery thing though! Wonder if he joined in the movie voluntarily or no. And getting people like Val Kilmer, Power Boothe and Chris Jericho involved, not to mention SNL icons like Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig sure amplify your expectations. And the number plate thing. I love how far they took that.
Good watch, just overall not as good as I hoped. Could they have had a bit more explosions? A bit more action? Been a bit more like a Machete of comedy, maybe? Maybe that'd have been more as I expected?
But it definitely was a blast, with a limited but solid cast.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle
If you've ever listened to The Lonely Island you might want to see this!
Samberg and the boys got together and made a movie! About a pop star's career that spirals out of control, a test of friendship and ultimately a catapult back to the top... though that's where it stops.
It was great. It was crazy - as you'd expect, but not too much so, and the various famous people cameos are all the more entertaining when you know their prior collaborations and connections, like Timberlake the carrot chopper, and Bolton the show stopper at the end.
I'm not sure I really prefer the fake documentary form over a real fictional movie with the same story though, and though they had a few really catchy tunes I also wish they'd had more. Feels like they did have room.
The attention to detail's great, it has its moments (that flamethrower scene comes to mind) and comes across a thorough watch, but not the most ferocious; not as musical as I expected considering their track record...
I wish they'd upped it just a little.
Watching promo material and cut scenes before this I feel like they missed some good material. it could've all been here.
Can't knock their attention to detail though, and the message:
friendship over all.
It ends well, and was fun to see, just not as amazing as I hoped it'd be.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle
A teenage girl's life gets turned upside down when a new school friend turns out to be a pop star.
It's a little cheesy, it's a little easy, the main girl looks way older than the boy she's dating and I'm not really the right audience for this movie at all but... it ain't all bad.
Janitor spitting facts. People falling in love. Learned a new term: testophobia! It really is a real thing, not just a real thing in the movie! Which enhances the realness of an otherwise not-all-that-real-seeming movie. There's a phobia for everything huh.
In the end it's superficial and simple but feelgood, from an era where everything just looked so bright and warm and friendly. How far have we gone from these early twothousands? Not bad.
rated 3/5: not bad
And yes btw that is Aaron Carter.
You gotta know the power of your quiet.