The Rose of Versailles

When Netflix announced it would stream this movie beginning today, I knew what the subject of my one-thousandth review would be. 

The Rose of Versailles is the first anime movie of Riyoko Ikeda's beyond iconic manga series. It was previously adapted as an equally iconic anime series in 1979, as well as a line of stage musicals by the revered all-female Takarazuka Revue. Jacques Demy adapted it into a live-action movie, Lady Oscar, also in 1979, while another anime movie was announced in 2007, but it never got off the ground. That's quite a pedigree, there. Let's see how this iteration is.

In May 1770, Princess Marie Antoinette of Austria arrives in Paris to meet her future husband, the eventual King Louis XVI. On her arrival, she also meets her bodyguard Oscar François de Jarjayes, the Captain of the Royal Guards. It's an open secret that Oscar is actually a girl raised as a boy. See, her general dad wanted a son, but after so many daughters, decided to make do with her. That plot point isn't elaborated on in this movie. Anyway, everyone's fine with Oscar being Captain, so all's good right?

Nope. Once the Dauphin and Dauphine ascend, their extravagant lifestyles, especially Marie-Antoinette's, bankrupt the common folks. Despite her luxuries, Marie-Antoinette feels lonely, and mingles with a visiting Swedish Count, Hans Von Fersen. Needless to say, that affair only craters her reputation further. Oscar, who sympathizes with the peasantry, unsuccessfully tries to get the Queen to listen to reason. Meanwhile, Oscar contends with her growing feelings for her childhood friend, Andre Grandier. She and Andre join the French Guards Regiment, where they both become key players in the French Revolution. Is that it?

It's also a musical, too. The songs, all composed by Hiroyuki Sawano with several lyricists, are mostly presented as music video style montages. They remind me of a typical anime intro, only without any on-screen credits, even during its own intro song. A few other songs are just background music and are often overwhelmed by the foreground sounds. The first crowd song, set at the masquerade ball where Marie-Antoinette meets Hans, is just as catchy as the similar scene in The Phantom of the Opera, even if the singing is a bit quiet. Firebrand Reporter Bernard Châtelet's song is quite memorable because it is the only time, during the entire 115 minutes, that we see a named character break into song on-screen! It's quite a shock, especially since it's right near the end.

The film skims through so much of the manga's story in its runtime. This becomes a problem when Marie-Antoinette brings up her lonely childhood, and her even lonelier marriage, to essentially guilt-trip Oscar. During the first 40 minutes, we see not even a flashback to her previous life, while her French royal life is skimmed during an admittedly catchy song. The Affair of the Necklace is even skimmed over during another montage. King Louis XVI is barely even an entity during that point. Unsurprisingly, I reacted to her story with a simple "ok." All that skimming makes her descent to snobbish royal a bit less tragic. Still, she's not the worse royal in the movie, with that honor going to the real-life Henri de Guéméné. 

It gets better once Oscar becomes the focus of the film. Although she also loses some plot details, her stalwart personality and struggles with gender norms make her a compelling character. As it turns out, not everyone is fine with her status, particularly the French Guards, who take quite a while to respect her. In due time, their sexist attitudes dissipate, and they're more than willing to follow her into battle. It's quite cool to see her earn their respect, particularly when she bests the snooty Alain de Soissons in combat. She and Andre have the film's most compelling relationship, by far. It's often melodramatic, but it's still moving when they affirm their love before the final battles, where they fall. Her arranged fiancé, the Count of Girodelle, is pleasantly gracious when he lets her be with Andre after she makes her feelings known. Those unfamiliar with the franchise can easily surmise how and why Oscar became such an iconic character.

Marie gets some nice scenes before she descends into full snobbish royal. First, she advocates for sparing Andre for indirectly nearly getting her killed horseback riding. In another, she affirms her love for Louis XVI when her affair is discovered. That scene is where Louis is first depicted as a character, rather than filler, and he's quite sympathetic there. Both scenes help spare Marie from being the worst royal in the film, even if somewhat. Hans, in case you're wondering, hushes out of the story midway through. Amongst their supporting cast, the best of them is Andre's Grandma, who provides some fun comic relief.

The animation by MAPPA does right for the codifier of manga melodrama. The splendor of pre-revolutionary France is recreated in all of its opulent glory with magnificent production and costume designs. The Masquerade number is not only marvelous to listen to, but it's also marvelous to look at with these visuals. Marie-Antoinette's entrance into Paris is greeted with a glowing welcome parade. Later on, the downcast skies outside Versailles excellently metaphorize the country's declining morality. A few extravagant touches turn Hans and Marie-Antoinette's affair into full-tilt melodrama. It's often goofy, but it's still weirdly captivating all the same. I can go on, but I'd rather you see it for yourself.

I've seen some of Lady Oscar, via YouTube, which I remember being visually meh but dramatically fine. At least one review compared it to Barry Lyndon, but that had some exquisite cinematography. By contrast, The Rose of Versailles is visually spectacular and dramatically good. Its story and musical numbers could have used some work, but we still get some compelling plot points in its narrative. I was interested in enough to stay for the credits, which spells out the fates of the survivors, fictional and real-life. I think it's worth chilling with this unique historical drama. The original series is readily available on streaming and Blu-Ray; why don't you check it out too?

That's it for now.

Cheech & Chong's Last Movie

Hey, man. What's happenin'?

Oh, hey Vance. Long time no see!

What do ya' mean, "long time no see?!" I guest-starred in that review about the TV glowing, man! That was in August!

Again, long time. Listen, I got a new documentary to talk about.

Okay, what's it about?

None other than that ultimate stoner act, Cheech & Chong. According to the title, this is their Last Movie, so let's approach this with some reverence.

Or we can make it funny.

That too.

Anyway, Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong are driving to meet Dave at "The Joint." It doesn't take much to infer that this is the director, David L. Bushell, who's got an impressive resume as a producer (Sling Blade, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dallas Buyer's Club). Along the way, they reminisce about their lives and careers, especially what led them to break up in the mid-eighties. At least, how they interpreted what happened. All the while, you'd be wondering if they're still pals.

Oh, by the way, Dave's not here (on camera).

So, what ya' think of it, man?!

I went in knowing little about them, other than their reputation, and went out impressed. You'll learn, among other things, about their backgrounds, how they met, and how producer Lou Adler (The Rocky Horror Picture Show guy) helped them get famous. Cheech, in particular, recalls how he grew up in South Central L.A. with an angry father and eventually fled to Canada to avoid the draft. I won't forget the gunshot sound effect that opens one montage in his story, that's for sure. Tommy, meanwhile, is from Canada, and was in several soul bands before he turned to comedy. They found each other in an improv group and the rest is history.

It's quite interesting to learn about their careers. You'll see them record a few of their famous skits and songs, and even how they got their personas. Tommy, in particular, modeled his persona on a hippie named Strawberry, who not only worked the sound at Tommy's club, but inspired a character in their first movie, Up In Smoke. Speaking of which, Adler low-balled them for what became a blockbuster back in the day, which they subsequently joked about. But their subsequent films, which Tommy directed, had diminishing returns and a brutal clash of egos behind the scenes. There's some resentment between them, as hinted at their individual interviews, but it's quite nice to see Cheech shoulder Tommy near the end.

Can I break this act, man?

Go ahead.

Finally!

It's not only a documentary, but it's a weird trip. Cheech and Tommy pick up a few surprise cameos on their way to The Joint. Theoretically, the most surprising is Adler himself, who's actually on good terms with them despite the low-balling. He respectfully gets out when it gets to that point. When Tommy claims that his then-wife, Maxine Sneed, was accepting of his affair with his now-wife, Shelby, Maxine pops up in the backseat to refute that. You'll just have to see it in context. Shelby, by the way, is the third guest star, and she has her own amusing stories to tell. The Guys smash the fourth wall when their climactic argument kicks in; again, you'll have to see it in context.

What else do we have? We get a nice selection of stock footage to illustrate their highs and lows. A few highlights include a Johnny Carson joke and Siskel & Ebert's scathing review of Nice Dreams. The latter moment is when you'll finally notice the diminishing returns. A few animated segments perfectly illustrate whatever the stock footage could not. In one segment, you'll feel for Cheech when he, as a young boy, is snubbed from a birthday party, which he watches from his window. It's quite compelling to see how he and Tommy used their life experiences to shape their routines. It's particularly interesting to hear about the production of Cheech's first solo movie, Born in East L.A., as well as its real-life inspirations. That movie seems quite relevant now.

Cheech & Chong's Last Movie is slightly overlong at two hours, but it's still good stuff. A few potentially interesting anecdotes aren't mentioned, like how Cheech & Chong were considered for The Lion King (Chong's part was rewritten for Whoopi Goldberg), but I digress. Their longtime fans will get a kick out of this documentary, while neophytes are sure to be amazed by the guys' life stories. I certainly was. Check it out for a good time. Do it soon, before it's crowded out by all the big movies.

Peace.

George A. Romero's Resident Evil

We now go from a horror film that is to a horror film that could have been.

Capcom’s horror video game franchise, Resident Evil, was in part inspired by the works of George A. Romero. So, it seemed that the director of Night of the Living Dead was the natural choice to adapt the property for the big screen. But that didn’t happen. Brandon Salisbury hopes to explain why in his documentary, George A. Romero’s Resident Evil.

Basically, Romero was hired after he directed a commercial for Resident Evil 2 in 1997. His screenplay recreated the game in movie form, albeit with some creative liberties, and we eventually hear a beat-by-beat summary of his treatment. But for some reason, Capcom and production company Constantin Film didn’t like it, and that was it. Eventually, Paul W.S. Anderson was hired instead, and his film debuted in 2002. Anderson’s film, and its sequels, were anything but the game in movie form. A few talking heads muse what could have been.

Most of the time, however, these talking heads discuss Romero’s life and legacy. They go into length about how Night of the Living Dead influenced future horror films with its modern definition of a zombie and its unprecedented violence. They discuss, even if for a second, some of his less famous films, like 1977’s Martin. They highlight his creative process through the filming of the RE2 commercial, and what it was like filming with him. You’d be surprised to learn how much of a cool guy he was, as George Demick found out when he met Romero at a convention. It’s quite nice to hear how Romero cast Demick as a zombie in Day of the Dead as a birthday present. It's quite profound when Demick, and a few others, relate how they learned of Romero's death in 2017.

So, what about the main thesis? Why was the film rejected? According to the documentary, the producers rejected the film due to concerns of violence and budget. Yes, it may sound weird how squeamish the producers were about zombie violence, but keep in mind that Romero's films were beyond graphic. X-Rated, if he had them submitted to the MPAA. During the beat-by-beat analysis, the speaker exposits that some of the script's dialogue was weak, but fixable on account of being a first draft. Romero was quoted, "I feel like I'm ripping myself off," while filming the commercial, which hints at some reservations. Other than that, the documentary doesn't delve into his perspective, or why he was fired. What I'm getting at is that he moved on, so did the franchise, and that was that. Okay.

What else does the documentary have? There are some nifty scenes, which I assume are recreating moments from the games, presented in glorious HD by cinematographer Tom Rebenolt. A highlight is the opening scene, where a soldier narrowly escapes death by zombie dog. The interviews with several personnel from the first game, such as writer Kenichi Iwao and actor Charlie Kraslavsky, are quite interesting to hear. Speaking of which, the documentary is narrated by Pablo Kuntz, the first game's voice of the franchise's Big Bad Albert Wesker. His voice is quite memorable even if you don't recognize it at first glance. It's especially memorable when he narrates how a movie tie-in game, Sweet Home, led to the existence of the franchise. 

A lot of the anecdotes about Romero would suit a documentary about the man himself. The unrealized film at the center of George A. Romero's Resident Evil is just a thing that happened in his life. Who knows if it would have been the first great video game movie, but the script analysis presents a decently interesting project. This documentary will definitely captivate fans of the franchise and perhaps entice new fans of the franchise. I've never played the games, and only watched the third film, Resident Evil Extinction, but I'm now more interested in playing the games after this documentary. I liked what I saw, even if it wasn't a perfect movie. Maybe you will too.

That's it for now.

Sinners

 Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s highly anticipated vampire film, premiered this past Easter weekend. Does it live up to the hype? Well, given the director’s past track record, of course it does. Let’s explain.

It’s 1932. After a lifetime of violence, twins Smoke & Stack Moore (both Michael B. Jordan) have come home to Clarksdale, Mississippi. Today, they plan to open their own joint, Club Juke, funded by a fortune they stole from their previous employers: Capone’s outfit. They spend the day hiring some talent, including their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) as a guitarist; fieldworker “Cornbread” (Omar Benson Miller) as a bouncer; shopkeepers Grace & Bo Chow (Li Jun Yi & Yao) as suppliers; Smoke’s wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) as the cook; singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson); and pianist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo). With a crew like that, opening night is an assured success. 

Meanwhile, Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell) recruits a Klan-couple, Joan & Bert (Lola Kirke & Peter Dreimanis) into his undead ranks. Sammie’s uncanny musical abilities draw the trio to Club Juke. They then spend the night recruiting unlucky patrons into their ranks. It doesn’t take long for the survivors to realize they’re dealing with the undead, and they prepare for battle. But not everyone will make it to see the next sunrise.

It was recently announced that the Best Cinematography Oscar will start using shortlists. I'd be really shocked if Autumn Durald Arkapaw not only misses the shortlist, but the nomination itself. Much hype has been made of her using 65 mm film, and some showings are said to have changing aspect ratios. I had a consistent aspect ratio, but I was still impressed with what I saw. Early on, there are some unbelievable oners; the first of which takes us between the Chows' stores, and the second is an extremely surreal musical sequence. Later on, the film haunts its viewers with Remmick and his vampirized coven performing an Irish folk song in the dead of night. Her Delta Gothic aesthetic creates a weary world, haunted by evil, and I'm not just talking about the Nosferatu.

A few more names in Coogler's production posse - composer Ludwig Göransson, production designer Hannah Bleacher, and editor Michael Shawver - are also deserving of recognition. The bluesy score explodes with ferocity during the battle scenes, while the musical numbers are exquisite. Its recreation of Clarksdale feels like an actual town and not some movie set in New Orleans (which it was). The sawmill that becomes Club Juke, in particular, looks great before and after the renovations. The battle scenes are as great as the jump scares; both benefit from some excellent sound design. The technical goodness is further exemplified by its excellent makeup and visual effects work. This is a film that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Another marvel comes from Jordan's double-act. His performances make it easy to forget that we're watching visual effects at play. The twins' brotherly bond, especially during his final fight, is that compelling. Stack gets one of the more substantial plotlines as he reconnects with his old girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a bi-racial woman. It's a pretty good subplot made more potent when she turns vampire. Smoke, meanwhile, is rather ruthless, as shown by how he deals with two loiterers. But he's also an inherently good man haunted by his violent past; the finale lets him go out in a spectacular blaze of glory. It was sometimes easy to forget which was which, though their wardrobes by Ruth E. Carter helped out a lot. But I think you'll figure it out by the end.

What makes Remmick a more ghoulish villain is how alluring he is. Sure, he maybe a violent monster, but he's so believable when he speaks of racial tolerance in his coven. You won't forget how villainous he is, particularly when he turns outwardly monstrous close to sunrise. It takes quite a while before he shows up at Club Juke, but it's worth the wait. What helps that wait is the outstanding ensemble of actors surrounding Jordan, particularly Caton (in his film debut), Miller, and Lindo. It really accentuates the dread when some of them go vampire during the night. David Maldonado is also quite good as Hogwood, the treacherous businessman who sells the twins the sawmill. I can go on, but I won't.

Instead, I'll implore you to see Sinners as soon as possible. Believe it or not, there's quite a bit I had to leave out of this review. I left during the mid-credits, but I'm told there's something after the credits too. I won't tell you what it is, either. You need to see and hear these surprises for yourselves. I'm working on my next review, so I'll leave it with this: Sinners is just Great. 

Drop

The poster of 1981’s The Amateur promised that “The first 11 minutes will absolutely shock you. The last 11 minutes will rivet you to your seat.” As for the recent film's weekend rival, Drop, I can promise something better: "You'll hang on for dear life until the end credits." Let's see if I can elaborate.

A few years after her abusive husband Blake's suicide, therapist Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy) is ready to date again. She's met a nice guy, Henry Campbell (Brandon Skelnar), on her favorite app, DigiDrop, and they've booked the nicest restaurant in Chicago, Palate. She leaves her young son, Toby (Jacob Robinson), in the care of her sister, Jen (Violett Beane), and heads off. 

Everything seems fine until someone slides into her DMs with some creepy memes. The User, as I'll call them, has a nifty little game for Violet called "Kill Henry or your Family Dies." The User's masked accomplice has invaded Violet's home, and unless she slips Henry some poison, Toby and Jen will get it. Whoever it is, they're in the restaurant, and they're watching Violet through the security system. They won't let her tell anyone about their twisted game. So, how will she get out of this one?

Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) and his writers, Chris Roach & Jillian Jacobs, waste not a second in this movie. It takes little time to get going, and once it does, The User's omniscience puts us on edge along with Violet. Each time she tries to outwit The User, the villain taunts her on her DMs. The User's words loom over her on-screen; they'll know if Violet tries anything covert. What makes it more unnerving is that practically everyone, other than our main couple, is a plausible suspect. The most obvious of them all turns out to be another victim. The actual villain goes all in on their villainy once they're exposed. And then, there's the matter of the masked accomplice. Talk about stakes.

Whatever nitpicks I have about the story aren't that big, but here goes. The film tries to make it a mystery whether Violet actually killed Blake or not. The film opens up with her being attacked, which is picked up by additional flashbacks. It's quite easy to guess the truth by the second flashback, which is partially why I revealed it a few paragraphs ago. The User's masterplan hinges on exploiting her "murderous past," even if the cited evidence is beyond circumstantial. That's pretty much it.

These nitpicks are easy to ignore because Fahy's performance is that compelling. It doesn't take long to sympathize with her troubled past, her first date jitters, or even her being spammed when "the game" begins. Her desperation is palpable each time she has to awkwardly stall for time. You'll be right with her whenever she zeroes in - or even thinks she has - on her tormentor. Her final battle with The User and their masked accomplice makes for one spectacularly over-the-top climax. Her endearing chemistry with her co-stars, especially during the last scene, provides some levity here. There's some further levity provided by Matt (Jeffery Self), our main couple's waiter, who gets a few zingers as the night goes on.

What else do we have here? The production design is quite impressive, especially since there are only about three locations in the entire film. Palate, in particular, is quite an appealing restaurant, and I'm not talking about the menu. The cinematography by Marc Spicer helps accentuate its architectural marvels. He and the visual effects crew try their best to disguise Dublin, of all places, as Chicago. I didn't catch on, but a few tell-tale signs might give it away. Still, the nighttime city photography is nice to look at. The suspense is made better by editor Ben Baudhuin & composer Bear McCreary's delightfully thrilling work.

Drop in for 95-minutes you'll never forget. Its efficient storytelling will have you on edge until the credits finally roll. Of course, the final scene promises that Violet's troubles aren't over ... for two seconds. But after this movie, I'm interested to see whatever project Landon has in mind. Hopefully, whatever it is will Drop in at due time. Onwards to the next review.

The Amateur

 When you can’t get a professional for your mission, try an amateur. He’ll get the job done! Eventually.

The Amateur is actually the second film version of Robert Littell’s novel, the first of which debuted along with the novel in 1981. Will this film escape its predecessor’s fate of cinematic obscurity? Let’s find out.

Our amateur hero is Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), a CIA cryptographer with an adoring wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan). Thanks to a source codenamed Inquiline, Charlie discovers that his superiors have committed drone-assisted false-flag attacks. Meanwhile, Sarah is on a business trip in London when she is killed in a sudden terrorist attack. Charlie blackmails his boss, Director Moore (Holt McCallany), into getting the training needed to take down the terrorists.

Charlie is assigned Col. Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) as his trainer. Try as he might, “Hendo” can’t make a killer out of our meek hero. At least, not a direct one, for Charlie is actually good at making death traps. So, Charlie goes off to make his wife’s killers pay. Meanwhile, the CIA bigwigs send Henderson to deal with Charlie. That’s pretty much it.

As Charlie, Malek is quite sympathetic as he processes his grief. You can especially feel his rage when he realizes that Moore is basically in cahoots with his wife’s killers. What we see of his relationship with Sarah - by the way, she pops up in his mind’s eye a few times - is pretty likable. Unfortunately, the script he’s assigned with is the wrong kind of perplexing. It takes nearly an hour before he goes hunting, and the story skips several key steps in his progression. Still, the spy stuff is enjoyable, such as him consulting YouTube for lock-picking early on. 

With the exception of Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), the leader and Sarah’s direct killer, the terrorists are pretty bland. Sure, that they killed Sarah makes them bad guys, but what else do they have? Not much else. If you swap their locations in the plot, nothing will change. The only things memorable about them are how they die, especially in that sky-high swimming pool! Then again, they’re basically extensions of Moore, but their villainy is impacted by the pacing issues. It even makes Charlie’s plan for Schiller a bit anti-climactic. 

What else do we have here? Fishburne’s Col. Henderson is quite stern, but he’s much better when he shows sympathy for Charlie’s loss. He’s still likable even as he’s sent after Charlie. Jon Bernthal shows up as “The Bear,” a professional agent who’s mostly just there, but he does have a decent last scene with Charlie. Inquiline, who shows up played by Caitríona Balfe, is quite compelling as she and Charlie bond over their bereavements. Among the technical agents, the best work comes from the nifty location shooting by Martin Ruhe and the moody score by Volker Bertelmann. 

Overall, The Amateur's set-up is pretty interesting, but its execution could have been better. It feels longer than its 123-minutes, but they all lead to a nice resolution for our unlikely hero. I never really paid attention to the original novel and film, but its existence got me to check out both; I'm still interested in both even now. Perplexing, but true. Anyway, I have a much better thriller I want to talk about next time. That review will Drop pretty soon ...

A Minecraft Movie

I lacked a system for any of Mojang's Minecraft video games until I got a Switch in 2022. And when the first trailer came out for its film adaptation, A Minecraft Movie, I still wasn't interested in it. But with my one thousandth - yes, one thousandth - review approaching, I needed some material. So, I decided to give it a shot.

This is a film that shouldn't work. It has a barebones plot and character dynamics that you've probably seen better done in other movies. It also has way too many cooks in the kitchen with six credited writers. But it surprisingly works, most of the time, thanks to its enthusiastic silliness. That much is evident when we're introduced to Steve (Jack Black), who delivers the rather lengthy opening exposition.

It's quite an entertaining yarn as we listen to him wanting to mine his local mine for reasons, which he finally does as an adult. There, he finds two MacGuffins ("This thingy and that cool thingy") that send him to the blocky Overworld. The Overworld lets him build anything he wants, so he builds himself his own town. All is good until he finds the Nether, which is populated by the evil Piglins and their ruler, Malgosha (Rachel House), who hates creativity. She wants the thingies, but Steve sends his loyal wolf, Dennis, to hide them in the real world.

The thingies wind up with has-been gamer Garrett Garrison (Jason Momoa), who ends up in the Overworld with siblings Natalie (Emma Myers) & Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and their realtor Dawn (Danielle Brooks). One of the thingies breaks, but they can find a replacement with Steve's help. Meanwhile, Malgosha sets out to reclaim the thingies so she can conquer the Overworld. Our heroes can't let her do that. Yeah, that's kind of it.

Along the way, Henry & Natalie quarrel & make up; Garrett learns not to be a greedy jerk (but with his game shop getting foreclosed, can you blame him?); and Dawn is mostly there, but she uses her Petting Zoo "side-hustle" during the final battle. What about Steve? Well, Malgosha wants him to retrieve the thingies, so you'd think that he'd turn against our heroes. That never happens, which is kind of a waste. It's all typical stuff, but it's rarely boring thanks to its sense of humor. Director Jared Hess's creative voice is quite strong in this film.

Now for a few other points. It's little surprise that, when Garrett pulls of a heroic sacrifice midway through, that it won't stick. It's quite a surprise, however, to see how he survives it. Black and Momoa go all out with their line deliveries, turning the most basic lines into memorable quotes. Hess, as the Piglin General Chungus, gets the film's funniest lines thanks to his character's laidback personality. Malgosha's last stand is so pitiful that she's almost pitiable. Almost. About the only plot point that annoyed me was a lack of karma for a pair of school bullies. They just slink into the background after they sabotage Henry's makeshift jetpack. Nothing? Okay. 

I didn't know what to make of its aesthetics when I first saw that trailer. The realistic renderings of the game's blocky world looked odd, which was one reason I wasn't interested in it. But the aesthetics not only grew on me by the time I saw the film, but they made sense. Sure, the NPCs, or "Mobs," are bizarre, but some of them are meant to be bizarre, even creepy. Some elements, like chickens getting cooked into whole rotisseries in lava, are rendered hilarious instead of horrifying. It makes sense considering that this is a game world. By the end, I was amazed with the locales, even if the chroma keying wasn't perfect.

What else do we have here? What we see of its in-universe games, particularly Garrett's favorite brawler Hunk City Rampage, might entice one to play them now. The soundtrack features a marvelous score by Mark Mothersbaugh, some bits of original game music, and even a few goofy musical numbers sung by Black. A "pointless" subplot between Henry's Vice-Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) and the NPC Nitwit is actually amusing. Its adaptation of the crafting mechanics is quite intriguing, even if, as I've heard, it's not accurate to the game. You won't be lost amongst the game references if you've never played the game; one particular easter egg, however, will hit a lot harder if you get it.

Judging by the box-office, I think that A Minecraft Movie has found its audience well. I'm not sure if I have the time for the game, but I'm a bit more mildly curious about it now after this movie. Come check it out to see what all the fuss is about. Hopefully, even if you find it boring, your audience will let you watch it in peace. I'm not sure if it's worth the pandemonium making the news. Time and place, people!

That's it for now.