A powerful, existentially-complex, dazzlingly-ambitious panegyric to musicianship and 9-5 vs. dreamers exposition w. the loftiest philosophical thematization ever in animation: Pixar in ~complete mastery of its craft like jazz experimentalism. 9.2/10.
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Category: Kids/Family
The Croods: A New Age (2020)
Despite juvenile humor, elitist Betterman schtick, not even remote anthropological accuracy, and weirdness, Croods 2 is prehistoric fun for the family with committed voice acting & meta-gags – and some of the most beautiful animation to-date. 6/10.
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Sonic The Hedgehog (2020)
One of the best campaigns the internet has ever done, the SEGA legend is here on the big screen in gloriously-CGI rendered, humorous, Easter Egg-filled majesty with 80’s-action feel, buddy-duo’s, and one of Jim Carrey’s best characters. 7.1/10.
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Aladdin (2019)
Although culturally dazzling, majestic in (swing-infused) score, and optically sumptuous, the live-action Aladdin suffers from a miscast Jafar, shaky romance escalation, and poorly-CGI’d WS-Genie lacking Williams’ comedic bijoux. 4.2/10.
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The Lion King (2019)
Visually breathtaking in groundbreaking mocap/animative stylism with a stirring Zimmer score, efficacious voicework by its superstar cast, and preservation of the original’s Victorian/life-cyclical thematics – despite poor facial expressions. 7.6/10.
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Detective Pikachu (2019)
A cyberpunk feel, buddy-cop dynamism, magnificent CGI, fandom service, mystery, & *perfect* Reynolds-Pikachu comedy effectively-introduce (despite woefully-bad Tim & bizarre-choice for opening-film) to the Next Big Cinematic Universe. 7.6/10.
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Finding Nemo (2003)
A craftsman’s tale of underwater-odyssey bursting with resplendent tropical marine animation juxtaposed by magnificent characterization, FN is a beautiful reaffirmation of Pixar’s status atop the food-chain of children’s adventure. 8.9/10.
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Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban
The most visually-striking film of the series and tonal necrosis injection we craved back in C.O.S., Azkaban is a parental-themed maze of complex storytelling – a bold Cuarón evolution that grows up the franchise overnight; The Best H.P. Film. 9.3/10.
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Harry Potter And The Sorceror’s Stone (2001)
A wizardry cinematic adventure for the ages with magnificence in orchestral score, world-building, aesthetics, magic, & once-in-a-lifetime cast of child performances, HP&TSS is a book-faithful escapist fantasy experience for a new generation. 9.2/10.
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Journey To The Center Of The Earth (2008)
Though the world-building and set-pieces are fantastic, JTTCOTE might be the most unrealistic and plot-be-damned non-scientific [posting as scientific] movies.. well, ever – and one of the few and kitschiest miscast-fires of Brendan Fraser. 4/10.
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