[FireGilbert]

I'm in between jobs so plenty of time for movies! Here we go:

Toy Story 4: I didn't think they could top the ending of 3 but wow they not only managed to extend the story but provide an even better conclusion. Despite some ridiculousness I enjoyed how this is probably the funnest, funniest, and darkest film in the series while still maintaining the heart and emotion. Also, the new additions to the voice cast were great and helped to keep things fresh. 9/10

Crazy Rich Asians: Like many of the characters this movie is fun and flashy but ultimately has the depth of a wading pool. It is enjoyable to watch with breezy pacing, a good number of laughs, and a delightful performance from Awkwafina however it also feels like a really expensive tourism video. The story is super simple with little to no character development while barely touching on anything interesting. 6.5/10

American Animals: A tense, well acted, and interesting crime thriller. I'm not sure how I felt about the narrative structure using the real life people though. I appreciate seeing something different but it took away from the tone and at times felt like I was watching an A&E real crime drama. I was also disappointed it touched on some interesting concepts with unreliable narrators and heist movie satire but then didn't really go anywhere with them. 7/10

Rampage: Watched in part due to the recommendation above. I have been disappointed by both monster movies and The Rock recently but this one may have just redeemed them both. It gets off to a great start with some unexpected moments and fun likable characters. Despite dragging in the middle and becoming predictable by the end it was still a lot of fun and provided more than a few Oh Yeah! moments. 7.5/10

Mortal Engines: I knew this would be bad and even then it failed to live up to my expectations. Future generations will study this as the perfect example of how to make a horrible flop. I am amazed at how much they tried to cram in here. The entire movie is world building, character introductions, and every action trope you can think of leaving no time left for anything else including a coherent interesting story. The acting is bad but the writing is worse with the funny parts being cringe and the emotional parts being funny. Oh and this is all happening front of a lot of mediocre CGI. 2/10

Venom: I was a little worried at the start but this tuned out to be a lot of fun with more than a few moments that put a big smile on my face. Tom Hardy is great and I loved the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom. The action was mostly well done, especially the bike chase, although the less that can be said about the CGI mess at the end the better. Also, I felt like the movie was 20 minutes short and needed more time to develop Brock/Venom and the Michelle Williams character. 8/10