Shawn Brubaker

"That's NOT a commercial, That...is...CINEMA!!' - Luigi (Voiced by Charlie Day) I must admit, I was very apprehensive of this movie when it was first announced in September 2021. Mainly because of Illumination's reputation as a mediocre studio compared to Pixar and Dreamworks, in addition to Chris Pratt being cast as Mario instead of Charles Martinet (who voiced the iconic red plumber since 1992) and Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the creators of Teen Titans GO!, directing it. I initially feared this movie would be just as bad as the disastrous 1993 Live Action film with Bob Hoskins, or just a 90-minute commercial for all things Nintendo. Thankfully, after finally seeing "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" in its entirety, that was NOT the case! Instead, the finished film was something FAR better! It was a fast paced, but REALLY Incredible and entertaining movie! Thanks to Nintendo's direct involvement, it was very loyal to the source material! Sure, the story was rather simplistic, but it works since the Mario games it's based on also had simple stories. I especially like how they changed Princess Peach's character to be a no-nonsense warrior that fights back against Bowser alongside Mario instead of letting Bowser capture her and screaming for him to save her! I also like how Mario rescues Luigi from Bowser instead of Peach, it beautifully illustrates how Mario loves his brother and would do anything for him and vice-versa! Despite my initial animosity towards the casting, everyone did a fantastic job voicing their respective characters! Jack Black as Bowser was probably the BEST casting choice in an animated film since Tom Hanks as Woody in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story (1995)! He was just PHENOMENAL!! Charlie Day fits like a glove as Luigi (My favorite Mario character), Keegan-Michael Key takes the normally irritating Toad and makes him genuinely loveable and fun to watch. Anya Taylor-Joy gives Peach somewhat of a snarky infliction, but it's done in a way that keeps her pleasant, unlike *coughs* Mindy Kaling's Velma. Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong was unusual, but his trademark laugh suits the aforementioned Gorilla! We have Charles Martinet (Mario's voice actor from the video games) who voices Mario's father and Giuseppe (The WAHOO! guy at the beginning) and he truly shines! Last but not least, we have Chris Pratt as Mario himself. Even though I initially hated this decision, He did a surprisingly good job voicing the red plumber! I love how he gave Mario a Brooklyn accent like he had in the DiC cartoons. In fact, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day seem to be taking Mario and Luigi's voices back to their New York roots, and I'm all for it! Overall, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was WONDERFUL! It's gorgeously animated, the voice cast worked stunningly well, Brian Tyler's music score was BRILLIANT, it's game-accurate while still taking worthwhile creative risks, and above all else, it truly outshines that 1993 Bob Hoskins abomination and left me smiling from ear to ear multiple times! It's very clear the people who worked on this movie were HUGE fans of Mario AND Nintendo! There are even cameos from Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Chunky Kong, a stampede of Yoshis, references to Kid Icarus, Duck Hunt, and other obscure Nintendo franchises. Now THAT is how you do a beloved IP justice, by hiring people who are very passionate about said IP and want to be as loyal as possible to it, which this film ably succeeds at! I think it's right up there with "Lightyear" as one of my favorite movies of the 2020's thus far! My final score for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an "EXCELLENT" 9.3 out of 10!

I must admit, I am not a fan of Marvel movies, especially post-Endgame MCU films, but WOAH!! This one left me speechless! It is THAT Good! Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a mind-bending MASTERPIECE! It kept me alternating from laughing to being on the edge of my seat from start to (cliffhanger) finish! The story and characters were truly shined. My favorites were Miles Morales himself, Gwen (Ghost-Spider), and Pavitr Prabhakar (Spider-Man India)! Also, Peter Parker has a daughter named "Mayday" now, and their interactions are WHOLESOME ASF!! Honestly, I'm gonna start calling Peter's Spidey "Spider-Dad' because of this movie! Also, Spot is a pretty hilarious villain who ends up morphing into a terrifying beast! The animation is absolutely stunning! It's primarily CGI, but much like its predecessor, "Into the Spider-Verse", it also incorporates outlines on character faces as well as colored dots and cross-hatch shading, giving the film its "comic-book" aesthetics. It's not just limited to 3D animation either. The film also BEAUTIFULLY embraces 2D hand drawn animation, Stop-Motion, and even Watercolor backgrounds! I ESPECIALLY love how Gwen changes colors to reflect her mood when talking to her dad (Who oddly looks like Buzz Lightyear from "Lightyear") and the background actually "MELTS" when she gets emotional! It's like watching a painting come to life! It truly shows there's a LOT more you can do with Animation than with Live-Action filmmaking! Overall, despite not being a Marvel fan, THIS MOVIE WAS AWESOME! I can't wait to see "Beyond The Spider-Verse" next year! I was so thrown off by the cliffhanger ending, but I'm EXCITED to find out what will happen next! In the meantime, I've got to watch its predecessor, "Into the Spider-Verse!" My final rating for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is a "LEGENDARY" 10/10! This one is a MUST-SEE, even if you're not a fan of Comic-Book movies!

I've been a HUGE Toy Story fan ever since I was three. Initially, Woody (Tom Hanks) was my favorite character, but as I got older, Buzz Lightyear (originally voiced by Tim Allen) became my favorite, just like with Andy in the first movie! When I was ten, I frequently dreamed about seeing a proper Buzz Lightyear solo film in theatres! Many years later, Disney/Pixar finally made that dream a reality! I went to see the movie when it was released and my satisfaction is Immeasurable! I absolutely LOVED this movie! Sure, it's different from the main Toy Story Tetralogy, but it's different in a GOOD way! The story was very entertaining, thought-provoking, and fast paced, even during its slower moments. This movie is 105 minutes, but it certainly didn't drag thanks to the amount of EXCITING sci-fi Action and comedy! I found myself laughing and smiling multiple times and nearly choked up on several occasions! At one point, when Emperor Zurg (James Brolin) attacked Buzz (Now voiced by Chris Evans) and his new teammates for the first time, I JUMPED right out of my seat! Speaking of Zurg, there's a MAJOR twist involving Buzz's most diabolical foe that will leave you speechless! (Hint: He is NOT Buzz's father!) The animation and character designs are GORGEOUS, even by Pixar's standards! I especially like the redesigns of both Zurg's mech suit and Buzz's classic Space Ranger "Alpha" suit! All of the iconic design elements are intact, but are modified slightly for functionality reasons. Not only that, but there's a LOT of attention to detail, such as paint scraping off of metal, battle damage on space-suits, wrinkles in the human characters' faces, hair strands having different hues, and even jet exhaust being expelled from the various ships Buzz flies in! I loved EVERY single character! Aside from Buzz Lightyear himself and Zurg, there's also Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), her granddaughter Izzy (Keke Palmer), Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi), Darby Steele (Dale Soules), and of course SOX the Cat (Peter Sohn)! Alisha only appears in the first third, but she's very comical, wholesome, and warm! I REALLY loved Izzy's trait of being afraid of space, but eventually facing that fear! Many have said SOX steals the show, but the back-and-forth banter between Mo and Darby are just as equally hilarious in my opinion! The voice acting is Phenomenal, especially from Aduba, Palmer, Brolin, and Evans! Aduba did a wonderful job giving Alisha a humorous but very nurturing and motherly quality to her voice! Brolin's take on Emperor Zurg is genuinely TERRIFYING, but also has a human side to his voice! Of course, we have Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear himself! He knew he had HUGE shoes to fill, but he absolutely NAILED IT! While Tim Allen is the OG Toy Buzz, Chris Evans makes an GREAT successor! His voice has the right cadence, but with a unique twist! Overall, I don't care what anyone else says! This movie is AMAZING! In fact, I think it's one of the COOLEST movies I've seen in a long time! It's thrilling, it's heartwarming, it's hilarious, and it has lots of ironic twists and subtle Easter eggs! There is a LOT of passion, creativity, effort, and craftsmanship put into this film! My rating for Disney/Pixar's Lightyear is an "EXCELLENT" 9.7 out of 10! I highly recommend this one!