What Movies Have You Seen Recently?

The Wild Robot (2024)

Last evening, I saw this film with my mom, as well as my eldest sister and brother. At the start of the film, a bunch of Rozum helper robots from Universal Dynamics accidentally land on an island inhabited by various aquatic and woodland creatures. While most of them stop working, one of them is activated by a group of otters, and comes to life. After escaping a tide by moving on a mountain like a crab, they begin adjusting to its surroundings. The animals are scared of them, thinking they will kill them. During this time, the robot learns the language of the animals and navigates the wilderness.

Roz comes across a goose egg and takes possession of it, but is pursued by a fox named Fink soon after. The robot chases after the egg, not wanting the baby inside to perish. Eventually, Fink gives up the egg and it hatches into a gooseling. After getting some advice from an opossum named Pinktail and her six joeys, Roz decides to take care of the gooseling for their next task, even though they are unsure of how to accomplish it. The gooseling has to eat, learn to swim, and by fall, be able to fly so it can migrate to warmer territory with the rest of its species.

Throughout the process of caretaking, Roz and the gooseling develop a close bond with each-other, while also getting some assistance from Fink, who becomes a father to the gooseling. Together, Roz learns about love and how animals and robots can co-exist at the same time. The gooseling is given a name, Brightbill. He learns to eat, and gets some guidance on swimming, but as he grows up into an adolescent, he is rejected by most of his kind for his small size and unusual behavior.

In an effort to calm the flock down, Roz stand ups for Brightbill, but accidentally reveals that they killed his parents. This causes Brightbill to feel heartbroken and leave Roz and Fink behind. Devastated at their actions, Roz heads out of the forest and finds the other Rozums stranded in the water. They manage to reassemble one and it plays a video showcasing how Rozums help humans and complete tasks. Learning of this, Roz takes the transporter device and runs towards a high peak, about to send a return signal. But upon seeing a flock of geese in the sky, they decide to set things right with Brightbill before it's too late.

The geese are preparing for their migration, which is approaching rapidly. Upon seeing Roz return, Brightbill doesn't want their help because of how their last moment together went. But after learning to look at the past in a positive light, he begins to accept Roz and Fink's assistance. At first, Brightbill tries flying amongst the flock, but is unable to control his flight. He eventually gets some help from a falcon named Thunderbolt, and after a boost from Rozz, Brightbill joins the flock and is able to fly on his own. Roz completes their task, but becomes worried for Brightbill's safety upon his departure.

On the way towards warmer territory, the flock takes a rest stop in a futuristic city. However, Brightbill's clumsiness causes a bunch of Universal Dynamics robots to panic and hunt the flock down. The flock eventually make their escape, and Brightbill's bravery allows him to lead the flock to their destination. As they get closer, he asks Longneck if Roz is still thinking about him. He tells him that people have conversations with their hearts when they can't be heard by others.

Back on the island, a cold winter storm is brewing. Roz is about to return to Universal Dynamics, but soon finds Fink, who's struggling to survive in the cold. Together, they gather up the animals into their home to protect them. However, the creatures' natural instincts turn them against each-other. After a few minutes of fighting, Fink reminds the creatures that even though they might be enemies, without Roz's help, they might not survive the winter alone. This calms everyone down, and the animals hibernate in harmony until the following spring.

When spring arrives, the flock of geese return and the animals, alongside Roz, come out of hibernation. However, their reunion is cut short, as an aircraft piloted by a squid-like robot named Vontra wants to return Roz to Universal Dynamics by force, as well as erase her memories. Roz stands with the animals, not wanting to leave them behind. This causes Vontra to send her troops after the wildlife and Roz, who make their escape. The flock of geese, including Brightbill, use their swift maneuvers to distract the robots. This causes them to self-destruct, allowing a forest fire to ignite.

The animals come together to protect not only themselves, but also Roz and the island. After making a dam with a big tree, the water extinguishes the fire. In the aftermath, Roz leaves the animals, including Brightbill and Fink, not wanting their presence to cause anymore destruction. After a tearful goodbye, Roz returns to Universal Dynamics, where they get repaired and learn to live amongst the other Rozum units. The animals begin to live together peacefully on the island. During the next migration, Brightbill sees Roz at Universal Dynamics HQ and embraces them one last time.

I thought The Wild Robot was one of the most touching films I've ever seen. The art style is very beautiful, looking realistic, but also managing to have a cartoony feel without being uncanny. In some scenes, like the bedtime story, it looks almost like a picture book illustration, which is a nice touch. Roz and Brightbill's bond was quite emotional, and I almost cried a few times, especially during the climax. Overall, I would give The Wild Robot a 10/10. I recommend to any fans of Chris Sanders' previous works, as well as DreamWorks fans, and families looking for films with powerful, heartfelt stories.
 
Beauty and the Beast (1991)

So I watched this movie last Saturday and since I've never seen the 2017 remake, and it'd been so long since I previously saw the original - probably not since I was a little kid pretty much - I remembered nothing about it.

I thought it was okay overall, the strongest point of the movie by far being Gaston's song (which has spawned a lot of internet memes and parodies but is also an excellent song in its own right), I like Belle, Maurice, LeFou, and the Castle Servants especially Chip.

However, it has various major flaws, of which the biggest by far is that by making the Beast a downright evil/abusive person at the start of the movie (most of all he imprisons Maurice and leaves him to die in that cell even when he clearly needed urgent medical help, all for the crime of being desperate for shelter which is literally exactly how the Beast got transformed in the first place and heck Beast hadn't even locked the front door, and continues to hold Belle prisoner even though she did nothing wrong and was just desperate to save her dad), they completely spoil the moral of the story, which SHOULD be "don't judge a book by its cover" / "beauty comes from within" but instead becomes "if your man is aggressive and cruel you should persist with him rather than cutting him off because you can fix him." Beast's "redemption" arc felt so forced and rushed and it's not like he becomes that much of a great person rather than just stops being evil, for example the big thing he does to impress her is show her the library but he actually didn't do anything other than just letting her into that room (he can't even read let alone write books). Also, Beast never actually apologizes to Belle or Maurice for all his crimes even after his supposed redemption as far as I recall. All in all, I don't feel at all sympathetic towards Beast and I don't approve of him and Belle as a couple.

There's also the fact that the Enchantress' curse at the beginning was an insanely disproportionate punishment for a relatively minor wrongdoing by a literal child. (the last petal of the magic flower is supposed to fall when he's 21, and the castle servants say it's been 10 years, so he would've been just 11 when he was cursed.) I seriously don't think a kid of that age should really be blamed for not letting a complete stranger into his house, and I likely would've done the same at that age. Not to mention, the castle servants were cursed too when they literally did nothing wrong.

I also don't feel like the Beast's time limit really added anything to the movie, it only made the punishment more ridiculous and if anything adds to the toxic message that "you have to find love by the time you're X years old or you're doomed forever."

It also makes no sense why the townsfolk would just completely forget about their prince, given that they live so close to the castle and that it's only been a decade. Given his age, Maurice should easily be able to remember, and heck even Belle herself should arguably remember if we assume she's in her early to mid twenties.

In my opinion Ever After High did a far better job of the Beauty and the Beast story despite it being only a subplot of the Epic Winter special rather than its own movie, because Daring Charming is initially very vain and particularly obsessed with his own handsomeness, but he's not outright a bad person or anything, so finding out he was the Beast when he'd previously been convinced that he was meant to be Prince Charming was excellent character development for him as he greatly struggles when he loses the thing that he was most proud of, but thanks to Rosabella Beauty, he learns that being a hero at heart matters more than his physical appearance
which is ultimately what earns him his transformation back into his former self, plus it's not like he knew that would happen which makes it more deserved.
And he has a much more natural and convincing character development as he learns to be more selfless, humble, kind, and romantic while he and Rosabella Beauty develop their relationship. EAH is all about "do I want to follow my destiny or write my own" so Daring Charming being somone who does want his fairtyale destiny, but finds out his destiny is a different one to what he previously thought, is a great story.
 
Bad Boys: Ride or Die on the plane ride home from Europe because this guy next to me put on the movie and immediately fell asleep so I just watched it for him
 
Mean Girls (2004)

So I saw this film on Tuesday. I've been intending to see it for a while because I've had a few friends recommend it and it seemed like it was up my alley as I like a lot of other female-oriented franchises aimed at young audiences, including many set in high schools.

Although I found the movie takes a little while to get going at the start, once it gets going, it really pulled me in. I enjoyed the plot and writing almost the whole way, it had a lot of interesting twists and turns and plenty of funny moments, and the whole plot about navigating the complexities of the social world of teenage girls is something that really clicked with me in a way that no movie before ever quite has.

One thing I found very remarkable when watching this film is the very many similarities to the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls franchise, and in particular, the first movie. To the extent that when watching Mean Girls, I almost felt as if I could be watching a live action remake of my all time favourite movie, or I guess that should technically be the other way round as Equestria Girls came after Mean Girls.

Similarities between Mean Girls and the Equestria Girls movies in general:
  • Both Mean Girls and the EqG series are heavily female-oriented and have a majority female cast, including all of the main protagonists (Cady Heron, Twilight Sparkle, Sci-Twi, Sunset Shimmer), the majority of supporting protagonists (e.g. Janis Ian, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie) and all of the main villains (Regina George, Sunset Shimmer, the Dazzlings, Principal Cinch,
    Gloriosa Daisy
    ). The most prominent male characters tend to be love interests to the protagonists (e.g. Aaron Samuels, Flash Sentry, Timber Spruce)
  • Both franchises are aimed at young audiences.
  • Both franchises follow a largely teenage cast (with most adult characters being staff or parents) in a high school (or an off-site high school camping trip in Legend of Everfree's case).
  • Both franchises are a great balance between being mostly lighthearted and fun to watch but having occasional more serious topics or moments.

Similarities to Equestria Girls (2013):
  • Both movies have a central plot involving the main character (Twilight/Cady) moving from one place to a very different place and as a result struggling to adjust to life in a new school.
  • Both movies involve a villain (Sunset/Regina) said to be "the most popular" - and thus the most powerful - girl in school. Sunset and Regina have similar personalities, both being condescending and harsh to others, self-important, and deviously manipulative. Both villains have a history of being very mean to the people who would later befriend the main protagonist (Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash / Janis and Damian).
  • Both movies include as a major plot point that the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) must compete against the main villain (Sunset/Regina) to be crowned the queen of a major school dance
    • Both dances are named after a season: in Mean Girls it is called the "Spring Fling" and in Equestria Girls it is called the "Fall Formal."
      • Also, one of the previous dances that Sunset Shimmer ran for (and is implied to have won) prior to the events of Equestria Girls was also called the "Spring Fling" - Fluttershy says: "She'll make life awful for anyone who stands in her way. Just ask the girl who ran against her for Princess of the Spring Fling."
    • In both movies, the main villain (Sunset/Regina) is said to have been crowned queen of many such dances in the past with little to no contest, meaning the main protagonist is being very brave to compete against her.
    • In both movies, the crown is eventually won by the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) but despite this, the main villain (Sunset/Regina) still obtains it in some way.
  • Both movies include a conventionally attractive and charming male character (Flash/Aaron) who is both the ex-boyfriend of the main villain (Sunset/Regina) and the love interest of the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady.)
    • In both movies, the main protagonist is warned by a female friend (Rarity/Gretchen) that he's off limits due to being the villain's ex-boyfriend.
  • Both movies involve as a central plot point that the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) surpassing the main villain (Sunset/Regina) in popularity (or in other words, becoming the new Queen Bee) and rallying their peers to stand with them instead of continuing to submit to the villain's controlling ways.
    • Both movies involve the main villain realising this plan, and then going to great lengths to try to slander the main protagonist to try to stop this plan but ultimately being unsuccessful.
  • Both movies involve the main villain (Sunset/Regina) having two associates for lack of a better word (Snips and Snails / Karen and Gretchen).
  • Both movies involve the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) initially befriending one or two other social "outcasts" (Fluttershy / Janis and Damian) at the beginning of the film who introduce them to the school, the student cliques, the villain, etc.
  • Both movies involve a scene where the main protagonist (Twilight / Cady) is in the cafeteria and the students are sitting in their cliques at each table, and the camera pans over each table as one of the main protagonist's new friends (Fluttershy / Janis) briefly describes each clique to introduce them to her.
  • Both movies involve a scene where the main antagonist (Sunset/Regina) forge false evidence (the false photos of Twilight trashing the gym / the Burn Book) to frame the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) of something bad, then going to the (vice) principal and pretend crying whilst giving them the fake evidence and blaming the main protagonist for it, which then results in the main protagonist being called to the (vice) principal's office where they are confronted about it.
  • Both movies end with the main villain (Sunset/Regina) being defeated/injured and then - despite having a road to recovery whether moral or physical - redeeming themselves and becoming on good terms with the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady).
  • Both movies involve one brief scene focusing on a trio of younger female students (the human Cutie Mark Crusaders / the junior Plastics)

Similarities to Rainbow Rocks (2014):
  • Whilst Regina is most obviously comparable to Sunset Shimmer, she alongside Karen and Gretchen (i.e. the three Plastics prior to Cady) could also somewhat be compared to the Dazzlings, the trio of main villains in Rainbow Rocks. This includes the main leader who is the most intelligent, manipulative and mean (Adagio Dazzle/Regina), the dumb/comic relief girl (Sonata Dusk/Karen), and I guess Aria Blaze and Gretchen could loosely be compared as the more competent and level-headed associate who has more mixed feelings about following her leader, although Aria and Gretchen are also pretty different in a lot of ways, and in particular Aria is a lot meaner.
  • Both movies involve a talent show or battle of the bands (in Rainbow Rocks' case it was originally going to be the former but was then changed into the latter due to the Dazzlings' persuasion; in Mean Girls it is the former) involving musical performances.
    • Both involve a scene where, immediately prior to the main protagonists' (The Rainbooms/Cady) performance, we see a male musical group (Snips and Snails / Kevin G and the Power of Three) who try to perform rap music but are poorly received by the judges and audience.
    • Both have - immediately following this, still at the talent show - a scene where the main protagonist(s) (The Rainbooms/Cady) try to perform a song they'd been practising for a while,
      but they are deliberately sabotaged.
  • Both movies involve the main protagonist (Twilight/Cady) falling out with their love interest (Flash/Aaron) but later making amends with him and ending the movie on good - even mutually romantic - terms. In particular, both involve the main protagonist trying to have a nice conversation with her love interest, but he then says harsh things to her that upset her greatly.
  • Regina's deliberate efforts to spread the pages of the Burn Book in order to cause all the girls to chaotically fight each other is similar to how the Dazzlings use their magic and music to sow disorder among the students of Canterlot High School and cause them to be hostile to one another.

Similarities to Friendship Games (2015):
  • The main protagonist of both movies (Sci-Twi/Cady) is an exceptionally intelligent teenage girl who is especially good at Maths, but struggles with fitting in socially.
  • Both main protagonists (Sci-Twi/Cady) transfer to the school that the movie is mainly set in at some point during their respective movies.
  • Both movies involve a scene where two schools face off in a Maths contest, ultimately escalating in a one-on-one final, deciding round between two girls which is a very hard Maths question.
    In both cases, the main protagonist (Sci-Twi/Cady) wins due to the other girl getting the incorrect answer.
  • Both movies briefly show a spelling bee during a montage/flashback at some point.
  • Both movies involve the main characters (Sunset/Sci-Twi/Cady) doing something that they later deeply regret but own up responsibility to and make amends for. Sunset shouts at Twilight and makes her cry, Sci-Twi transforms into Midnight Sparkle and wreaks havoc before Sunset stops her, and Cady invents the false and defamatory rumour that Norbury possessed illegal drugs.

So yeah, that is a ton of similarities and I love this, because I adore Equestria Girls and especially the first movie, so it was cool to watch a movie that has so many similarities but still has enough of its own unique aspects to stand out as an excellent movie in its own right.

I generally don't enjoy live action movies as much as animated, especially for movies like Mean Girls that are mostly lighthearted and silly and aimed and young audiences, but I still enjoyed the movie a lot in spite of this and I do think that some of the actresses in this movie were great, especially Rachel McAdams as Regina George.

Interestingly, one of the actresses in this movie is Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Wieners, who would later go on to voice Zatanna Zatara in Young Justice (2010-2019). I think that's pretty cool as I always thought Chabert was such a fantastic voice actress for Zatanna, even if I still think that the best voice actress for Zatanna by far is Kari Wahlgren, who voiced her in DC Super Hero Girls, Teen Titans Go, and Lego Batman 3. I don't think I would've recognised that Chabert was Gretchen had I not seen her name in the credits though, as this is the first time I'm seeing her in a live action feature.

One complaint I do have about the movie is the whole scene where Regina gets hit by a bus and her subsequent redemption after she recovers. I'm pretty sure it's not realistic that Regina even survived that accident, let alone that she recovered so quickly without any life changing injuries. Also, the fact that it's just so extremely sudden was just too much of a shock for my liking, even if I can see what they were trying to do with it I just didn't like that. In fact, the movie even scared me into thinking Regina did pass away for about 2 seconds before revealing she'd survived. I also feel like the bus scene kind of felt forced, like they have her storm out to exactly the right place to get hit, and somehow neither of them saw the bus coming nor did the bus driver break, all so that they could end the confrontation between Regina and Cady in a "funny" way, give Regina a somewhat forced and sudden redemption arc (as well as undeserved, as I don't recall Regina actually apologising or making up for any of the nasty things she did), and create further tension by having Cady be falsely accused of attempted murder, even though she very clearly didn't and wouldn't. I guess it is kind of funny though that this scene was foreshadowed near the start of the movie when Cady says "But this one hit me like a big, yellow school bus."

Overall, I would give Mean Girls a 9/10. Whilst I have a couple of minor gripes such as the fact that it took a little while for it to really get going at the start, or that I have mixed to negative feelings about some aspects of the ending, and whilst I might have enjoyed this movie more as an animated film, it's still thoroughly entertaining and fun and hits a spot which no other movie I've watched quite has. The fact that Mean Girls has so many similarities to Equestria Girls whilst still having enough distinct aspects to feel like its own unique story was a very fun thing in my opinion.

I'm aware of a "remake" of this movie released this year, and I might see it at some point. I'm aware that it's also live action, so in my opinion that was a missed opportunity to make an animated version of Mean Girls, although I understand that it was based on the musical of Mean Girls rather than a direct remake of the original movie.
 
Luck (2022 film)

I didn't expect much going into this but I ended up having a pretty good time. I don't have too many specific comments, but I enjoyed the overall plot, I liked Sam and Bob a lot (and their voice performances by Eva Noblezada and Simon Pegg were excellent). The music was pretty nice too. Given that the movie seems to have a mixed to negative reception, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd rate Luck an 8/10.
 
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