Hunt's Film Reviews, Should You Choose to Accept Them

  "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is essentially a collection of recognizable elements of the video game behemoth Nintendo. This isn't a bad thing per se. I've played as much Mario Kart in my life as anyone else my age and can value a film which is based on Mario games.  After the events of the previous, and better, entry "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) face a new threat with Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) looking to liberate his captured father Bowser (Jack Black) and restore the family legacy. Mario along with his old friends, and some new ones like Yoshi (Donald Glover), go on a galaxy-spanning quest in order to stop Bowser Jr. The plot isn't ground-breaking, nor are the themes and character moments all that deep. The movie hops from one thing to the next without much throughline and it feels like a mess at times. All that said, it's still an entertai...

  Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) on a mission to save Earth by stopping a substance that is killing the sun. While on this journey Grace forms an unexpected friendship with an alien named Rocky (James Ortiz) who is also trying to save his planet from the sun-killing substance. Project Hail Mary checks about every box you're looking for in a film. It has likable characters, an interesting story, humor, effortless charm, stunning visuals, gravitas, etc. This movie strikes the challenging balance of serious and comedic moments. Important story moments aren't undercut by cheap laughs. You're given equal space to laugh or cry depending on what's happening.  Unsurprisingly, a key reason why Project Hail Mary works is the star of the film. Gosling is a versatile actor and he gives a great performance. Not many actors can carry movies where they are often the only actual person on screen. While on this subject I must mention how the dynamic between Grace ...

  Is This Thing On? follows Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) as their marriage unravels. Alex starts doing stand-up comedy while Tess reflects on sacrifices she has made for her family and looks to get back to her roots as a volleyball coach.  I was impressed by how Is This Thing On? is such a grounded and honest film. It feels like you're living the lives of the characters. There's great acting all around and I didn't know Will Arnett could be so skilled as an actor. Before this movie when I thought of Will Arnett I thought of only his comedic roles such as Arrested Development and The Lego Batman Movie . Is This Thing On? isn't about stand-up comedy as much as it is used as a form of catharsis. I have a couple of gripes with Is This Thing On? starting with Peyton Manning. He's an actor in the film and isn't playing himself. It was very strange seeing Manning in the movie since while Is This Thing On? has a lot of humorous elements, it's more of a d...

  Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein is one of those rare films that you don't want to look away at all while watching it. The movie has your full attention and you're completely engrossed in the narrative. We all have at least some understanding of the story of Frankenstein , so I won't provide a summary of the storyline. Let's instead dive right into why this move is so effective. It's tough to know where to begin with Frankenstein , dear reader. I suppose I'll start with how the film looks. Frankenstein is true cinematic art. The set designs, cinematography, lighting, etc. are all impeccable. The visuals can tell the story as much as the characters and dialogue can. This is no shade to the people in Frankenstein to be clear. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I was impressed with all of the performances. Frankenstein (Oscar Issac), The Creature (Jacob Elordi) and Elizabeth (Mia Goth) especially are all characters that you understand very well. You get t...

  Predator: Badlands surprised me. I wasn't expecting much going in, but there's a good amount that works with this film. The story follows an outcast Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) on a journey to find the ultimate adversary to hunt down and get him back in good graces with his clan. Along the way, Dek forms a relationship with an unlikely ally in synthetic person named Thia (Elle Fanning). Synthetics, or androids to use another term, are common in the Alien / Predator universe. Speaking of the shared universe, you don't have to know the details of all the Alien and Predator movies to enjoy Predator: Badlands . So what did I like about the film? I was hesitant that a Predator would be the protagonist, but it's a nice change of pace. Dek has a clear motivation and is fleshed out pretty well as a character. Thia is a nice foil to Dek and she's the source of most of the humor. Predator: Badlands has some light and funny moments which thankfully d...

  Roofman is based on the story of real-life robber Jeffrey Manchester. Manchester earned the nickname "Roofman" because he would drill into the roofs of McDonald's locations to burglarize them. The majority of the film involves Jeffrey (Channing Tatum) living inside a hidden space of a toy store after breaking out of prison. During this time, Jeffrey develops a relationship with Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), who works at the toy store. Leigh doesn't know who Jeffrey is, and the relationship is quite the risk from the start. Roofman is a pretty entertaining movie. There's a lot of humor and hijinks involved with someone secretly living inside a toy store. Whether or not you know about the factual events that inspired the movie, you'll likely be invested in the characters. Tatum and Dunst have good on-screen chemistry, with Dunst bringing the standout performance of the film. There's a lack of high and low narrative moments, but the third act is tense and brings i...