I’m Feeling ‘Elemental’

July 1, 2023

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Like Water for Fire (CREDIT: Pixar/Screenshot)

Starring: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McClendon-Covey, Catherine O’Hara

Director: Peter Sohn

Running Time: 109 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: June 16, 2023 (Theaters)

For someone who often reviews movies by asking, “Do I want to be/do what’s in the movie?,” Elemental is a dream come true! A love story between a Fire Person and a Water Creature? Yes, please! Personally, I always feel like I’ve got flames and waterfalls swirling around inside myself. So maybe what I really want is a love story between two fire-water hybrids? In the meantime, though, this works perfectly well enough.

P.S.: Fern Joe Pera talks with us about bureaucracy.

Grade: 4 Conflagrations out of 5 Cascades/4 Monsoons out of 5 Blazes

Does ‘Lightyear’ Come to Our Rescue?

June 18, 2022

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Pixar/Screenshot

Starring: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Isiah Whitlock Jr., James Brolin

Director: Angus MacLane

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: June 17, 2022 (Theaters)

I went ahead and saw Lightyear with my dad on the day before Father’s Day. You can certainly celebrate Father’s Day all weekend, after all! I think I also saw the first two Toy Storys with my dad (plus the rest of my immediate family) way back when, so this was a pretty cool way to sequelize that. As the credits were playing, I scrolled through the RunPee app, and then I explained to my dad what RunPee is. Kind of funny that he’s never heard about it before now even though it’s been around for years. That must’ve been what it was like for Buzz Lightyear when the other characters explained how he was affected by all the time dilation. I enjoy cinematic discussions about time dilation! (Even if they don’t hold up to the scrutiny of real-life physics.) The robot cat was also pretty cool, even though he wasn’t terribly feline.

Grade: 400 Lightyears out of 300 Rescues