Wai Keong Lim

I was not that aware of what Astro Boy is like back in the day, but seeing this movie adaptation I was blown away. As a kid, I didn't exactly click with the movie as the emotions go all over the place like a rollercoaster, but as I got older I see that as a good thing. It makes the movie like an emotional ride for the audience. Full of hilarious quotable moments, tear-jerking scenes, and awesome action scenes, this movie is a masterpiece, and to me, it aged like a fine wine.

This show was MLP: FiM before it was a thing! I was skeptical of watching a show starring girls, but after watching some clips I fell in love with the show. The action scenes are amazing! The voices were great, especially Tom Kenny as the Mayor and the Narrator, and Tara Strong as Bubbles. All three of these characters are amazingly performed, especially Bubbles. Many villains are very memorable as well, though the monsters attacking can be a bit boring and redundant at times, but other times they do fit in the writing depending on the episode. Many moments of the show are very hilarious, but sometimes the show can be a little scary and tense. Some of them could be so scary it would stick with the audience, in both good and bad ways as some shows tend to do. The creators clearly weren’t afraid to get a little dark and tense with their writing, and that’s a good thing. What makes a good show is some contrast and complexity in the show’s formula, and tone. That kind of well crafted writing is not to be taken for granted.

If there is one word to describe this show, it would be “horrific”. The girls themselves and the professor don’t behave like they would in the original show. It’s good to see the original villains, but at what cost? Their appearances don’t do them any justice, and the new villains don’t carry the show as well as the old ones. The exclusion of Ms. Bellum in one side is understandable, but I wouldn’t be the first one to say that her exclusion for being sexually offensive is the dumbest reason of all. Ms. Belem is a little sexualized, but she is her own person. If anything she is the most level-headed person in Townsville. The narrator’s exclusion also loses the reboot’s authenticity as he would be considered as a main character next to the the girls, Mojo Jojo, and the professor. There is an addition of a forth PowerPuff girl, but she feels forgettable and out of place. It’s like adding a 3rd member to Pinky and the Brain, which happened in one episode of that show but showed how it will not work. I guess people are too stubborn to listen. On top of the character nitpicks, the show’s writing is also horrible. The dated memes for jokes is a poor choice to appeal to new audiences. I would give them credit for trying, but that would also lose the interest of the old audience. Speaking of internet memes, there are a few episodes where the girls them selves become fat, or bloated. When I seen those episodes I can tell the creators were looking at pretty fetish driven content. They are suppose to be Kindergartners, and that is how you get your sick kicks?! I’m not gonna assume this is the case, but it does feel so. Stay away from this show, and stick with the classic show.

As a kid I really got into Legend of Korra when it debuted, but as I kept up with the story my feelings go all over the place. While it doesn't exactly ruin the franchise, I mostly have issues with what's going on in this series. For starters, Korra is an okay protagonist. The idea that she can manipulate three out of four elements at a younger age than Aang did is impressive. Unfortunately, she is no Avatar Kiyoshi in my eyes. It's not that she is not as in tune with Airbending as Aang was, it's that she had many more points of weakness compared to others. One time a few times it puts her in a weak mental state, other times she gets into physical sickness, and worst of all one of her fights managed to do permanent damage. And speaking of, Korra has only used the wisdom of her past lives about one time only, and it was in the most controversial season. Korra as a protagonist is not the only thing I have issues with. The writing is also an issue. There are so many missed opportunities and potential moments that could have kept the previous series alive. For example, it is clear that Korra is the reincarnation of Aang, but he's only interacted with Korra twice. Aang had more interactions with Avatar Roku. Heck, both Roku and Kiyoshi had more screentime in The Last Airbender than Aang did in this series. Another thing that could have shined some light on would be what happened to Sokka and Suki. It would have been cool if Korra turned into Aang like how Aang turned into Kiyoshi during one of the fights with Unalaaq. Flaws and all, the show does have some good things. Desna and Eska were good side characters in season 2, despite Eska being a toxic girlfriend to Bolin. And speaking of Bolin, he's kind of like a reincarnation of Sokka in the form of an Earthbender with the childishness of Aang. I also like Asami as she shows how Non-Benders can be strong fighters. Overall, the series is just okay, just be prepared to get some tissues, you'll get your heart broken more times than in the last series.

It’s a well written story about growing pains, but I’m not a super big fan of the art style. Like Luca, the art style and animation looks similar to Hotel Transylvania 2 and 3, which I’m also not a big fan of. And the movie’s exaggeration is a bit over the top. I get it’s suppose to be based on anime exaggerations, but to me It looks odd when in 3D CGI. On top of that, I actually do like some aspects of the movie. I know how it is like to have a helicopter mom, and the movie well reflects how tough adolescent years can be.

If you ask me, this is basically The Thundermans, and Wizards of Waverly Place fused together as it follows a family with supernatural powers, with a bad boy protagonist star. And compared to Wizards of Waverly Place, the humor is pretty dry and boring. Sure it's a unique perspective to follow a family of supervillains trying to be good, but just like in The Thundermans, they are trying to blend in with an average civilization. Despite a unique perspective, the execution was pretty dull and uninspired. After all, people already follow through with these "fitting in with normal people" issues in many superhero stories. Good for some pleasure watch, but not good for following a brand new story.

Forrest Gump is a real treasure of a movie. From what I can take away, I believe it perfectly reflects the flow of life. Like a box of chocolates. It’s heartwarming to see no matter how many times things go sour for Forrest, he just keeps on going, he keeps on running. I believe Forrest Gump to be one of Tom Hanks’s most pure and inspirational roles. I don’t believe I’ve seen such a heartwarming movie quite like this.

Even though this movie is not based on a real game, it was still a ground breaking Disney Movie exploring things outside fairytales, legends, and musicals. I’d say this movie would attract anyone outside of the mainstream Disney fan base. The title character, Ralph has a lot of depth as people don’t get him being his game’s “bad guy” is not how he is in reality. And the idea of self acceptance is a message worth spreading. The characters were pretty colorful and entertaining. And outside of Ralph’s story, I enjoyed Felix’s subplot with him and Calhoun. This movie is quite entertaining, and goes all over the place. It was worth sitting through in the big screen.

I never watched The Little Mermaid, but I tell you, this movie feels just like it. The story is quite the same, the title character, Luca wants to see the world above the sea, and goes through conflict with his parents and humans from above water. I do like the setting however, I like how the movie took place in Italy instead of something imaginative like the human mind, or a world ruled by Monsters. Though it is not the first movie that also takes place outside the USA. Movies like Brave, and Coco explored other cultures too. And I admire that creativity and open mindedness. I’m not a big fan of the design to be honest as it looks pretty unrealistic in animation. When you see past movies like The Incredibles, Toy Story 3, and WALL-E, the animation and designs look realistic and another. This animation feels like something else. And it looks like they decided to do the same thing in their future movie, Turning Red. Furthermore the movie was average, but it was worth watching