Hello. It’s Dylan again. For my second post, I figured I’d kind of introduce myself. First by having an actually introduction and, then, by kind of catching up on my views of all the movies currently showing in the theaters. Because, what good are my reviews if you don’t know who I am or what I generally like, right?
Hi. My name is Dylan Ross Clites. I live in Akron, Ohio. I’m on the nerdier side. I like comic books, video games, and tv shows. But, my real passion is movies. I’ve always been one to read Entertainment Weekly and Wikipedia articles about movies since I was a little kind. But, oddly, my passion really started in 2009-2010. You see, I saw Avatar in theaters and lost. my. shit. I thought it was amazing. And, I watched it over and over and over again. I think I saw it in theaters like five times. Which, for me at that time, was a big deal. Hell, I even tuned in for the Oscars to watch it win Best Picture. I mean… it was one of the greatest movies I ever saw. Of course it was going to win.
Except it didn’t. And I was pissed. I had to know how these other movies could possibly be as good, if not better than Avatar. They were. I was wrong. Comparatively, I don’t even like Avatar that much anymore. But, my deep dive into that year’s Oscars kick started something in me. From that moment on, I was obsessed with the art of the cinema. Every year since then, I’ve seen at least 50 movies a year. I signed up for MoviePass before it was a dumpster fire. I did a 365 challenge where I watched a new movie every day for a year. And, I read about new and old movies for probably about an hour or so a day. I’ve always wanted to review stuff on a regular basis but never really took it seriously. Well, that’s changing here. I’m going to post (almost) every day. I’m going to see the newest movies (I already was). And, I’m going to review them. I promise you and, most importantly, I promise myself.
Also, I must admit, right off the bat, that I’m kind of a Disney fan. The Disney animated movies, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars are probably my biggest fandoms. So, sorry in advance if those get a lot of coverage on this blog and you’re not a fan. I’m a big part of the reason those movies make a billion dollars each.
That having been said. Let’s catch up on the ones I’ve seen recently which didn’t get a review. Heck, why not rank them while I’m at it too? (I’m using what’s still showing in my local theaters as a guideline here.
- Avengers: Endgame Did you read the warning up top? If so, you’ll know that I’m a huge Marvel fan so, for me, this checked all of the boxes. It was an epic conclusion to a storyline that went on for over ten years and twenty movies. I laughed. I cried. I cheered. I said goodbye and looked forward to the future at the same time. This isn’t only my favorite movies in theaters now. It’s legit one of my favorite movies ever. I thought it was a masterpiece. If you somehow weren’t part of making this the biggest movie of all time, go fix that. Or… just watch it at home because it’s available on digital too now. Grade: 5 Stars and My Heart (I loved it)
2. Rocketman I had my problems with Bohemian Rhapsody so I was kind of nervous about this one. But, Rocketman knocked it out of the park. Not only was it a more realistic biopic but it reached levels of art that Rhapsody didn’t even come close to. I loved the musical nature. I loved the fantasy elements. I loved just about everything. I don’t think this one quite got the respect it deserved so I’m hoping that changes when it comes to Bluray. Score: 5 Stars and My Heart (I loved it.)
3. Midsommar I loved this one as well. It was violent. It was weird. And it was gorgeous. I really don’t want to spoil too much so I think I’ll just leave it at that. If you liked Hereditary, you should go see this. If you hated Hereditary, stay the F away because this just doubles down on everything. Score: Five Stars and My Heart (I loved it.)
4. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood While I loved every minute of this movie, I feel like a lot of people might hate this. Nothing happens for two and a half of the almost three hour runtime. We spend a lot of time just getting to know these characters. That worked for me though, because I love Tarantino’s writing. However, I do feel like a lot of people are going to just be bored. But, once the shit hits the fan, it hits hard. Maybe Tarantino’s most violent movie for that last portion. Score: Five Stars and My Heart (I loved it.)
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home Listen, Spider-Man is my favorite fictional character of all time. So, I’m going to love almost every movie he makes. Especially when the director makes conscious decisions to make it purposely look like an old fashioned Stan Lee-Steve Ditko issue. Plus, it’s just a really good epilogue to Endgame. Score: Five Stars and My Heart (I loved it.)
6. Toy Story 4 I love the Toy Story franchise. That’s kind of my only problem with this movie. I loved the third one. I thought it closed everything out perfectly. So, I don’t think this chapter was entirely necessary. Still, I’m glad they made it because I liked spending more time with the characters and the ending made me cry. Score: Five Stars (I really liked it.)
7. Yesterday This one surprised me quite a bit. I figured I would like it based off of the premise and the knowledge that I love The Beatles, but the plot went a lot of directions I wasn’t expecting. All in all, I thought the movie was even better than it’s already pretty good premise. Score: Five Stars (I really liked it.)
8. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum I loved the first two John Wicks. I thought the action was great. The character was fun. And, the world it set up was just perfect. And, I thought the second one did a lot to push the story forward. However, I think this one was just spinning it’s wheels. The action was still perfect. The world got bigger which was great. But, I don’t think the plot went anywhere. I feel like we’re in the same place we were at the end of Chapter 2, which is a little disappointing. Still fun though. Score: 4 Stars (I liked it.)
9. The Lion King I liked this movie, but that’s because I LOVE The Lion King. I have a lot of love for this franchise in general. Whether it’s the original, the musical, the Disney World show, the sequels, or even the tv shows, I’m going to give it a pass. So, yeah, I’ll take the nature documentary, Milo & Otis with some of my favorite celebrities version. It may only be ranked this far down because I’m afraid to admit how much I actually enjoyed it. Score: 5 Stars (I really liked it.) And yes I realize that it’s ranked lower than John Wick even though it has a higher rating. I do think John Wick is a better movie. I just happened to like this one more. Get over it. Kidding, I love you. Thanks for pointing that out.
10. Aladdin Again. A big part of the reason I liked this one is probably because I loved the original so much. However, I didn’t like this one nearly as much. I felt like just about everything was slightly worse. Except for Jasmine. Naomi Scott improved upon her a lot. Pretty middle of the road Disney remake otherwise. Score: Four Stars (I liked it.)
11. Crawl The family drama stuff didn’t work. Plain and simple. They spent too much time on it and it felt SUPER unimportant in the moment. The alligator stuff though worked SUPER well. It was also fun to see this situation just get worse and worse. Overall, I had a good time. I would recommend it. Score: 4 Stars (I liked it.)
12. Godzilla: King of the Monsters All I wanted was to see monsters fight. The trailer promised me that. So, how come the movie spends 70% of its runtime in a windowless submarine? Bleh. I hope Kong Vs. Godzilla is better but my expectations aren’t high now. Score: 2 Stars (I didn’t like it.)
So, now you know a little bit more about me. I like superheroes. I like violence. And I like most every movie I see. So, I guess keep that in mind as we carry on. What are your favorite movies in theaters right now? Did you also dislike Godzilla? What movie am I completely wrong on? Let me know. I want to get to know you guys as well. But, for now, I’m out of here. I gotta go watch some movies that are getting sequels later this month.
Dyl's Movie Stuff 