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First Strike (1996)
They thought they possessed the ultimate weapon. They hadn't counted on Jackie Chan.
Filmmaker(s): Stanley Tong

Hong Kong cop Chan Ka-Kui returns, working with Interpol to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer. Chan later realizes that things are not as simple as they appear and soon finds himself to be a pawn of an organization posing as Russian intelligence.

Step by Step Watching Jackie movies is sometimes a real challenge, especially the English language ones. This barely qualifies as English, but is the best one. What he does with ordinary objects is absolutely amazing. There’s a classic ladder bit here. Ignore the plot —...
Published May 13, 2022
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Jabberwocky (1977)
Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it
Filmmaker(s): Terry Gilliam

A medieval tale with Pythonesque humour: After the death of his father the young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster?

Bonecrushing Display of Phosphorescence Rest assured that there is little relationship between this film and Carroll’s poem about his father’s crusade against French etymology. Instead, we have the first chapter in Gilliam’s quest for an appropriate vehicle for his imagination. That imagination isn’t comic in...
Published May 13, 2022
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Cruella (2021)
Hello Cruel World
Filmmaker(s): Craig Gillespie

In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

Princess Leyline One way to look at this is why it was made. Clearly, Disney marketing has found a princess niche not served by the direct approach. You have to admire the art of discovering and mining a market. Perhaps no one can do what...
Published May 13, 2022
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The Willoughbys (2020)
A family story for anyone who ever wanted to get away from their family
Filmmaker(s): Kris Pearn

When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.

Evil Hair What used to be a side episode in larger stories has now grown to centre stage. In Cinderella, Snow White and such, we have a cruel stepmother. In recent films, we have dozens that mirror that and add inept father. But those use...
Published May 13, 2022
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Captain Underpants (2018-20)
Filmmaker(s): S. S. Rajamouli

Fourth-grade friends George and Harold have a shared love of pranks and comic books -- and turning their principal into an undies-wearing superhero.

Underawares I actually steer my kids to this area rather than ordinary fare. It has silliness and poor production values. While the stories are vacuous, they are refreshingly free of messages and morals. But the value to me is the incredible fun they have with...
Published May 13, 2022
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The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Saving the world can be a trip.
Filmmaker(s): Jeff Rowe, Mike Rianda

A quirky, dysfunctional family's road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity's unlikeliest last hope.

Meme Film School I am a filmsfolding guy. That is where films understand they are films and engage the viewer on multiple levels. Devoted some of my life to thinking about them and appreciating the meta-art. I should like this. It is essentially a story...
Published May 13, 2022
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Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
Their idea of fun is killer!
Filmmaker(s): Kevin Lewis

When his car breaks down, a quiet loner agrees to clean an abandoned family fun center in exchange for repairs. He soon finds himself waging war against possessed animatronic mascots while trapped inside Willy's Wonderland.

Mechanical I am interested in the projects that successful artists design for themselves. It often shows that they are less interesting than they appear. Actors in particular depend on surrounding artists that remain invisible. Cage’s work is all over the place, but this is pretty...
Published May 13, 2022
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Turning Red (2022)
Growing up is a beast.
Filmmaker(s): Domee Shi

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

Transitions When narrative transitions occur, they sometimes follow the world and seem smooth, or they try and engineer the future and are jagged. I think this is the latter. Superficially, this film extends the Disney effort to cover all ethnicities with princess characters. It makes...
Published May 13, 2022
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Overboard (2018)
A riches to rags story. If only he could remember it.
Filmmaker(s): Rob Greenberg

A spoiled, wealthy yacht owner is thrown overboard and becomes the target of revenge from his mistreated employee.

Organic Endearment This is formulaic in the basics: two people repel each other, fall in love, have a complicating development, profess love in some public, dramatic way and are reconciled. Such things usually depend on the appeal of the characters and the supporting comedy. But...
Published May 13, 2022
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Christopher Robin (2018)
Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing.
Filmmaker(s): Marc Forster

Christopher Robin, the boy who had countless adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood, has grown up and lost his way. Now it’s up to his spirited and loveable stuffed animals, Winnie The Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and the rest of the gang, to rekindle their friendship and remind him of endless days of childlike wonder and make-believe, when doing nothing was the very best something.

Stuck in the Box The story is conventional Disney, and in the trend of expanding the reach of established properties, with as little actual drama as possible. Three things are notable to me. This was shot on video, with a deliberate nod to cheap TeeVee...
Published May 13, 2022
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