Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2022-01-07 05:12 am
matt_zimmer) wrote2022-01-07 05:12 am
"Where The Wild Things Are" (Movie) Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episode of Star Trek: Prodigy, and Spidey And His Amazing Friends, a music video for The Simpsons, the latest episode of The Blacklist, and the latest issues of Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Two, and Justice League Infinity.
Where The Wild Things Are
I didn't expect to love that, but I DID expect to like it. So I'm even more disappointed that I didn't.
It feels very much like Fantastic Mr. Fox in being a movie based on a kids book that the indie director keeps throwing in your face that he's an indie director. However as self-indulgent as Fantastic Mr. Fox was as a vanity project for Wes Anderson, it was actually a lot of fun. I found Spike Jonze interpretation of Maurice Sendak's book a total downer. On brand for an indie film, not so much for a kids movie (or the book for that matter).
Still, it's clear Jonze was given a budget while Anderson's stop-motion looked incredibly choppy. It's weird Anderson still delivered the better indie kids film.
I get that Sendak was a producer, and I will not lie, I'm betting he responded positively to it very much based on the emotional beats. I just felt very unfulfilled by the end by them.
The film is ambiguous. It the adventure imaginary or not? I'm leaning towards imaginary because if Max had actually been gone for a couple of months, his mom would be far angrier and more relieved to see him at the end.
I think it fit in well thematically that the conflict of a movie centered around an over-emotional kid who can't control his behavior, is essentially about a group of monsters trying to cope and deal with their feelings of rage and sadness. Yeah, that's a great allegory. But it also means the film had incredibly low stakes. And it's also another reason the book probably would have been better off not made into a full-length film.
There were two bits I really liked. I like when Max is doing the dance Judith says, "Oh, I get it. It's stupid." Perfect line delivery there.
I also really love the vampire story Max made up to his mother. It hinted at a deep sadness in Max and was a perfect allegory for his feelings of alienation. Is it weird that I thought that specific moment between Max and his mom, that occurs SO early on, and before any of the monster stuff happens, is by far the best part of the movie? Because I think it was.
I'm very disappointed. I tend to be disappointed by independent films in general, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. But I did expect to enjoy this and I didn't. **1/2.
Star Trek: Prodigy "Kobayashi"
I don't think I realized until very recently (probably Star Trek: Picard) how much I need and love Star Trek and can't get enough of it. It is interesting to me (and a little bit shameful) that this shaky kids show is far more respectful to the canon than Star Trek: Discovery is. I would argue it's more respectful than Star Trek: Picard. It's weird it seems like only the animated shows are really allowed to use the classic designs and characters. Seeing Odo, Spock, Uhura, and Scotty was great, even if they had to use archival footage to make their dialogue work. It sort of worked because it sort of had the robotic monotone I think an unreal holodeck program should have.
In one of the show's best kept secrets they appear to have actually cast Gates McFadden and Robert Beltran as Dr. Crusher and Chakotay. Beltran is not actually a surprise, but it's amazing McFadden's association with the show wasn't leaked, especially because she hasn't appeared on Star Trek: Picard yet. This is her first real Trek role since Star Trek Nemesis.
I'm wondering if anyone ever got a lower score for the Kobayashi Maru test than Dal did on his first try. I somehow doubt it. I can't ever picture a Starfleet cadet advising retreat in that moment. They wouldn't be in the organization if that was their first response. What's interesting is how badly the holo-bridge crew reacts to that. I honestly think that's because in that specific test, it's the only way the captain's ship survives. And we can't have that. It defeats the purpose of the test. So formerly perfect Starfleet officers start talking about mutiny upon a reasonable seeming suggestion. It's not just that the test isn't playing fair. It's rigging the game and stacking the deck. I sort of understand now why Kirk hated it and decided to cheat it.
For the record, and just to clear up confusion, while it was great to see him, Odo was NEVER a Starfleet officer. Not even close. As a matter of fact Starfleet Command hated and distrusted Odo, not just because he refused to follow protocols. But because he was a Founder, the same species as the leaders of the Dominion, and they didn't trust him. On this last score their concerns were somewhat justified. Either way, the reason he was in charge of security on Deep Space Nine was solely because Captain Sisko liked, believed in, and fought for him. Starfleet themselves thought him an utter nuisance.
The one false move in this episode's simulation was the fact that Dal almost got out of it until his foot hit the wrong button. That's not how the test should ever work. The doom is built into it, not based on anything the captain does. I don't think the show should have shown Dal being as successful as they did.
That game with the hoops and discs worries me, and it should worry any Next Gen fan. Perhaps it's just an Easter Egg. More likely it's an upcoming complication in the making.
I think the show is a little TOO kid, but it's to this show's immense credit it finds a plausible situation to put a bunch of dumb kids in the middle of a Star Trek series. Star Trek is not built for dumb kids (to put it mildly) but that's all kiddie cartoons are built for. It took some work and it's still kind of far-fetched, but I think the show has believably put dummies like Dal and Pog on a Federation Starship. And regardless of the fact that I don't like dumb kid shows as a rule, it's actually interesting the amount of work they put into the concept to make it both Star Trek and a dumb kid show to begin with. People will sneer at it's dumb kid-showness without ever appreciating how hard it was to make a dumb kid show believable in the Star Trek Universe. And yeah, I feel this show is more authentic Star Trek at this point than either Discovery or Picard (both of which are show I love by the way, and I love them both far more than this). But it makes an extra effort with Star Trek authenticity that does not go unnoticed by me. Some people hate dumb kid shows reflectively. But this show proves it's possible to make an interesting and smartly premised one if you put in the work. There apparently ARE seem impossible seeming scenarios out there you can actually win. ****.
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Spin Rushes In / Bridge Bandit"
Spin Rushes In:
Spin's Arachno-Stings don't hurt? That doesn't sound right.
Like every preschool cartoon, one of the protagonists shows a character flaw they've never demonstrated before, that the writers randomly gave them just for this episode, and it's one that they'll never have a problem with again. A big problem with preschool cartoons is the unyielding formula of them. Will toddlers complain? No. Will I? Yes. **.
Bridge Bandit:
The closing joke is why all preschool shows outside of Sesame Street suck.
The vehicles are quite toyetic, which bothers me more in a show designed for toddlers. They are far more impressionable than the 10-year-olds toy commercial cartoons were aimed at when I was a kid. *1/2.
Episode Overall: *1/2.
The Simpsons X Bad Bunny "Te Deseo Lo Mejor"
It was kind of sweet but a little hard to follow even when I selected English subtitles. And the Spanish voices of The Simpsons just aren't the same.
That being said I loved them paying tribute to the meme of Homer disappearing into the bushes. That was funny. ***.
The Blacklist "Between Sleep And Awake"
It was a nice but imperfect episode. I thought the break from the main narrative was lovely, and I really liked the guest cast. It was also good to get some of the gaps filled in from between the end of last season and the beginning of this one.
My negative note is that Ressler is a jerk. And he has been since the first episode. For an episode with such high emotional stakes and pathos, I can't really get invested in Ressler's pain as long as he's such a buttmunch. And he always has been. And frankly I don't understand why he is. It doesn't make his character or the show better. The show needed an antagonist for the team, and it randomly picked him. And now emotional, touching episodes with him don't work as well as they should. That's on this show. To be blunt, there are ways to have a character be a group complainer without either the character being a jerk or the audience hating them. But that's actually difficult and requires a lot of work and writing skill, and Ressler was not a character the writers of this show believed was important enough to put in that effort. In my opinion, there is no character you should put more effort into than The Resident Complainer. They are often the make or break character for any given show. Brainy Smurf literally broke The Smurfs. My Complainer character in Gilda And Meek (Bernadette) is amazing because I care about her and put in the work to make her amazing. You can't just shove a butthole in the middle of the heroes and expect the audience to simply accept that character by osmosis. That's not how it works. And while I don't want to see that kid crushed or disappointed by Ressler leaving, I don't think the kid is worse off when he does, which is a failing of the episode and the show. That was not the intended moral. But because Ressler is a butthole, it's the one I got.
For the record there is no way in hell any doctor would knowingly prescribe Oxy to someone they knew had a drug problem. The only way the show could think to get Ressler back to being an addict is by making it not be his fault. But there is no doctor in the world who would actually do that so the show is being fake instead.
It was a very well-put together episode. Focused on the wrong character. ***1/2.
Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Two 7 "Mayor Mayhem, Part Three"
I thought the resolution was cheesy. But that's why I liked it. Mayor Mayhem seems utterly unstoppable in his madness and evil. But you know what? He lost the election decisively and his power is entirely gone. It's dumb, unlikely, and a moral that's sorely needed. Donald Trump seemed like an unstoppable menace to me for four years. Until we the voters stood together and stopped him. Maybe that's a dumb moral for a Batman comic. In reality it's the only political moral that is actually true.
I love it was Joker who delivered the news. He seemed to relish it. I personally hate the Joker but it's a point in his favor he's the only rogue who outright rejected Mayhem's offer. The Joker is a monster. But he's not entirely worthless or broken after all.
I like Poison Ivy calling Harley "Peanut". It's a very intimate nickname and I thought it was adorable.
I don't usually like this series but I thought that was great. ****1/2.
Justice League Infinity 6 "The Mirror Crack'd, Part Six"
Too dark and depressing and outside of the tone of the Justice League Unlimited I know and love. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but in technical terms, the issue was hard to read. The order in which to read the given panels and word balloons was not clear, and shockingly the words themselves offered little help. I greatly disliked this issue for all those reasons and a few more. *1/2.
Justice League Infinity 7 "The Mirror Crack'd, Part Seven"
This turned things around. The ending with Diana and Batman holding hands in the Kumbaya moment with the Life Equation may have been cheesy, but Amazo redeeming his counterpart at the end was not. I really like that James Tucker has stuck to the moral that OUR Amazo is a good guy. He's not in any other continuity but the Timmverse. But I like Tucker making sure to keep that delicate balance between Amazo being dangerous and Amazo still having good and understandable intentions.
Speaking of Diana, I love that that other Universe's Darkseid held the key to the Multiverse's salvation. He knew he couldn't use the Life Equation himself so he gave it to the woman he loved. I love that.
Lois is at the Watchtower which is a big clue she knows Superman's secret. I wish they'd come out and have her call Superman Clark. This suspense is killing me.
Batman saying he felt in over his head in the Justice League feels wrong, but I have to admit it sheds new light on the scene in Injustice For All where J'onn is being the cringiest drip possible and condescendingly telling Batman he's a vital member of the team even though he has no "special powers". The reason that pissed Batman off so much at the time wasn't just because it was insufferable. It's because that fear was true. And whether I agree with giving Batman that specific hang-up or not, I encourage and like any new development in an old property that fits the old canon well enough while also perhaps shedding new light on it. Good for this issue.
Mari dumps John for obvious reasons. Maybe he and Shayera can finally move forward again. Rex Stewart demands it.
Notice that James Tucker can break up John and Mari without killing off the black woman to make John and Shayera's ship easier. Have I mentioned the Batman Beyond comic was contemptible? Because it was.
I like that Overman, as regretful as he is, still must answer for his crimes. It's a true repentance, but that's as far as it goes. He can't actually be redeemed, or at least not only by apologizing.
My opinions on this title are all over the map. I liked some of it (and generally speaking I like it more than Batman: The Adventures Continue). But I feel it was too dark in places, and that the crisis was too dire to actually enjoy. If the next seven issues are about the League taking down Grodd and his gorilla army I'll be much happier. ****.
Where The Wild Things Are
I didn't expect to love that, but I DID expect to like it. So I'm even more disappointed that I didn't.
It feels very much like Fantastic Mr. Fox in being a movie based on a kids book that the indie director keeps throwing in your face that he's an indie director. However as self-indulgent as Fantastic Mr. Fox was as a vanity project for Wes Anderson, it was actually a lot of fun. I found Spike Jonze interpretation of Maurice Sendak's book a total downer. On brand for an indie film, not so much for a kids movie (or the book for that matter).
Still, it's clear Jonze was given a budget while Anderson's stop-motion looked incredibly choppy. It's weird Anderson still delivered the better indie kids film.
I get that Sendak was a producer, and I will not lie, I'm betting he responded positively to it very much based on the emotional beats. I just felt very unfulfilled by the end by them.
The film is ambiguous. It the adventure imaginary or not? I'm leaning towards imaginary because if Max had actually been gone for a couple of months, his mom would be far angrier and more relieved to see him at the end.
I think it fit in well thematically that the conflict of a movie centered around an over-emotional kid who can't control his behavior, is essentially about a group of monsters trying to cope and deal with their feelings of rage and sadness. Yeah, that's a great allegory. But it also means the film had incredibly low stakes. And it's also another reason the book probably would have been better off not made into a full-length film.
There were two bits I really liked. I like when Max is doing the dance Judith says, "Oh, I get it. It's stupid." Perfect line delivery there.
I also really love the vampire story Max made up to his mother. It hinted at a deep sadness in Max and was a perfect allegory for his feelings of alienation. Is it weird that I thought that specific moment between Max and his mom, that occurs SO early on, and before any of the monster stuff happens, is by far the best part of the movie? Because I think it was.
I'm very disappointed. I tend to be disappointed by independent films in general, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. But I did expect to enjoy this and I didn't. **1/2.
Star Trek: Prodigy "Kobayashi"
I don't think I realized until very recently (probably Star Trek: Picard) how much I need and love Star Trek and can't get enough of it. It is interesting to me (and a little bit shameful) that this shaky kids show is far more respectful to the canon than Star Trek: Discovery is. I would argue it's more respectful than Star Trek: Picard. It's weird it seems like only the animated shows are really allowed to use the classic designs and characters. Seeing Odo, Spock, Uhura, and Scotty was great, even if they had to use archival footage to make their dialogue work. It sort of worked because it sort of had the robotic monotone I think an unreal holodeck program should have.
In one of the show's best kept secrets they appear to have actually cast Gates McFadden and Robert Beltran as Dr. Crusher and Chakotay. Beltran is not actually a surprise, but it's amazing McFadden's association with the show wasn't leaked, especially because she hasn't appeared on Star Trek: Picard yet. This is her first real Trek role since Star Trek Nemesis.
I'm wondering if anyone ever got a lower score for the Kobayashi Maru test than Dal did on his first try. I somehow doubt it. I can't ever picture a Starfleet cadet advising retreat in that moment. They wouldn't be in the organization if that was their first response. What's interesting is how badly the holo-bridge crew reacts to that. I honestly think that's because in that specific test, it's the only way the captain's ship survives. And we can't have that. It defeats the purpose of the test. So formerly perfect Starfleet officers start talking about mutiny upon a reasonable seeming suggestion. It's not just that the test isn't playing fair. It's rigging the game and stacking the deck. I sort of understand now why Kirk hated it and decided to cheat it.
For the record, and just to clear up confusion, while it was great to see him, Odo was NEVER a Starfleet officer. Not even close. As a matter of fact Starfleet Command hated and distrusted Odo, not just because he refused to follow protocols. But because he was a Founder, the same species as the leaders of the Dominion, and they didn't trust him. On this last score their concerns were somewhat justified. Either way, the reason he was in charge of security on Deep Space Nine was solely because Captain Sisko liked, believed in, and fought for him. Starfleet themselves thought him an utter nuisance.
The one false move in this episode's simulation was the fact that Dal almost got out of it until his foot hit the wrong button. That's not how the test should ever work. The doom is built into it, not based on anything the captain does. I don't think the show should have shown Dal being as successful as they did.
That game with the hoops and discs worries me, and it should worry any Next Gen fan. Perhaps it's just an Easter Egg. More likely it's an upcoming complication in the making.
I think the show is a little TOO kid, but it's to this show's immense credit it finds a plausible situation to put a bunch of dumb kids in the middle of a Star Trek series. Star Trek is not built for dumb kids (to put it mildly) but that's all kiddie cartoons are built for. It took some work and it's still kind of far-fetched, but I think the show has believably put dummies like Dal and Pog on a Federation Starship. And regardless of the fact that I don't like dumb kid shows as a rule, it's actually interesting the amount of work they put into the concept to make it both Star Trek and a dumb kid show to begin with. People will sneer at it's dumb kid-showness without ever appreciating how hard it was to make a dumb kid show believable in the Star Trek Universe. And yeah, I feel this show is more authentic Star Trek at this point than either Discovery or Picard (both of which are show I love by the way, and I love them both far more than this). But it makes an extra effort with Star Trek authenticity that does not go unnoticed by me. Some people hate dumb kid shows reflectively. But this show proves it's possible to make an interesting and smartly premised one if you put in the work. There apparently ARE seem impossible seeming scenarios out there you can actually win. ****.
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Spin Rushes In / Bridge Bandit"
Spin Rushes In:
Spin's Arachno-Stings don't hurt? That doesn't sound right.
Like every preschool cartoon, one of the protagonists shows a character flaw they've never demonstrated before, that the writers randomly gave them just for this episode, and it's one that they'll never have a problem with again. A big problem with preschool cartoons is the unyielding formula of them. Will toddlers complain? No. Will I? Yes. **.
Bridge Bandit:
The closing joke is why all preschool shows outside of Sesame Street suck.
The vehicles are quite toyetic, which bothers me more in a show designed for toddlers. They are far more impressionable than the 10-year-olds toy commercial cartoons were aimed at when I was a kid. *1/2.
Episode Overall: *1/2.
The Simpsons X Bad Bunny "Te Deseo Lo Mejor"
It was kind of sweet but a little hard to follow even when I selected English subtitles. And the Spanish voices of The Simpsons just aren't the same.
That being said I loved them paying tribute to the meme of Homer disappearing into the bushes. That was funny. ***.
The Blacklist "Between Sleep And Awake"
It was a nice but imperfect episode. I thought the break from the main narrative was lovely, and I really liked the guest cast. It was also good to get some of the gaps filled in from between the end of last season and the beginning of this one.
My negative note is that Ressler is a jerk. And he has been since the first episode. For an episode with such high emotional stakes and pathos, I can't really get invested in Ressler's pain as long as he's such a buttmunch. And he always has been. And frankly I don't understand why he is. It doesn't make his character or the show better. The show needed an antagonist for the team, and it randomly picked him. And now emotional, touching episodes with him don't work as well as they should. That's on this show. To be blunt, there are ways to have a character be a group complainer without either the character being a jerk or the audience hating them. But that's actually difficult and requires a lot of work and writing skill, and Ressler was not a character the writers of this show believed was important enough to put in that effort. In my opinion, there is no character you should put more effort into than The Resident Complainer. They are often the make or break character for any given show. Brainy Smurf literally broke The Smurfs. My Complainer character in Gilda And Meek (Bernadette) is amazing because I care about her and put in the work to make her amazing. You can't just shove a butthole in the middle of the heroes and expect the audience to simply accept that character by osmosis. That's not how it works. And while I don't want to see that kid crushed or disappointed by Ressler leaving, I don't think the kid is worse off when he does, which is a failing of the episode and the show. That was not the intended moral. But because Ressler is a butthole, it's the one I got.
For the record there is no way in hell any doctor would knowingly prescribe Oxy to someone they knew had a drug problem. The only way the show could think to get Ressler back to being an addict is by making it not be his fault. But there is no doctor in the world who would actually do that so the show is being fake instead.
It was a very well-put together episode. Focused on the wrong character. ***1/2.
Batman: The Adventures Continue: Season Two 7 "Mayor Mayhem, Part Three"
I thought the resolution was cheesy. But that's why I liked it. Mayor Mayhem seems utterly unstoppable in his madness and evil. But you know what? He lost the election decisively and his power is entirely gone. It's dumb, unlikely, and a moral that's sorely needed. Donald Trump seemed like an unstoppable menace to me for four years. Until we the voters stood together and stopped him. Maybe that's a dumb moral for a Batman comic. In reality it's the only political moral that is actually true.
I love it was Joker who delivered the news. He seemed to relish it. I personally hate the Joker but it's a point in his favor he's the only rogue who outright rejected Mayhem's offer. The Joker is a monster. But he's not entirely worthless or broken after all.
I like Poison Ivy calling Harley "Peanut". It's a very intimate nickname and I thought it was adorable.
I don't usually like this series but I thought that was great. ****1/2.
Justice League Infinity 6 "The Mirror Crack'd, Part Six"
Too dark and depressing and outside of the tone of the Justice League Unlimited I know and love. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but in technical terms, the issue was hard to read. The order in which to read the given panels and word balloons was not clear, and shockingly the words themselves offered little help. I greatly disliked this issue for all those reasons and a few more. *1/2.
Justice League Infinity 7 "The Mirror Crack'd, Part Seven"
This turned things around. The ending with Diana and Batman holding hands in the Kumbaya moment with the Life Equation may have been cheesy, but Amazo redeeming his counterpart at the end was not. I really like that James Tucker has stuck to the moral that OUR Amazo is a good guy. He's not in any other continuity but the Timmverse. But I like Tucker making sure to keep that delicate balance between Amazo being dangerous and Amazo still having good and understandable intentions.
Speaking of Diana, I love that that other Universe's Darkseid held the key to the Multiverse's salvation. He knew he couldn't use the Life Equation himself so he gave it to the woman he loved. I love that.
Lois is at the Watchtower which is a big clue she knows Superman's secret. I wish they'd come out and have her call Superman Clark. This suspense is killing me.
Batman saying he felt in over his head in the Justice League feels wrong, but I have to admit it sheds new light on the scene in Injustice For All where J'onn is being the cringiest drip possible and condescendingly telling Batman he's a vital member of the team even though he has no "special powers". The reason that pissed Batman off so much at the time wasn't just because it was insufferable. It's because that fear was true. And whether I agree with giving Batman that specific hang-up or not, I encourage and like any new development in an old property that fits the old canon well enough while also perhaps shedding new light on it. Good for this issue.
Mari dumps John for obvious reasons. Maybe he and Shayera can finally move forward again. Rex Stewart demands it.
Notice that James Tucker can break up John and Mari without killing off the black woman to make John and Shayera's ship easier. Have I mentioned the Batman Beyond comic was contemptible? Because it was.
I like that Overman, as regretful as he is, still must answer for his crimes. It's a true repentance, but that's as far as it goes. He can't actually be redeemed, or at least not only by apologizing.
My opinions on this title are all over the map. I liked some of it (and generally speaking I like it more than Batman: The Adventures Continue). But I feel it was too dark in places, and that the crisis was too dire to actually enjoy. If the next seven issues are about the League taking down Grodd and his gorilla army I'll be much happier. ****.
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