Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. I have been crazy busy this month with my normal responsibilities plus I have taken on 2 part-time temporary jobs at Canyon School District, which has been a big learning experience (very positive!)
I have had the chance to catch a few new releases as well as the very disappointing 3rd season of Bridgerton. I will be writing more about that in the future (my reviews of season 1 and 2 (as well as Queen Charlotte) are some of my favorite pieces for this site. In the meantime, please listen to the breakdown with my friends on Hallmarkies Podcast
But let's talk about what else I have been watching:
ULTRAMAN: RISING
While I wasn't crazy about Godzilla x Kong this has been an exciting time for kaiju movies with Godzilla Minus One being one of the best ever and now we have an animated offering in Ultraman: Rising.
In this film we have a know-it-all baseball player Ken who is sent back to Tokyo when his Mother dies and he ends up taking over for his father who is Ultraman. Along the way he comes to forgive his parents and save the city along the way.
This is a very kid-friendly version of a kaiju story with none of the monsters feeling particularly scary. In fact, one looks like an adorable little baby kaiju.
Where Ultraman: Rising shines most is in its action scenes. The animation is truly hypnotic and mesmerizing. It's just shame it is on Netflix because I would have loved to have seen it on a big screen. Nevertheless, you can watch this with your entire family and they will love it. It's got that right mixture of action and heart.
Smile Worthy
FIREBRAND-
I love me some period piece drama and a pretty good entry is just being released last week called Firebrand. It tells the story of Henry VIII's final wife Kathryn Parr who despite having written 3 books is the wife that is known the least about. Alicia Vikander is always great in these type of roles and she is here. Parr proves to be a fascinating character who seems to be the smartest person in any room at any moment.
As good as she is in the role, Vikander is upstaged by Jude Law as Henry in a captivating performance. He's nearly unrecognizable with the makeup and clothes and yet he captures the mania and savagery of this man. He also looks so much like the famous painting of Henry you so often see.
Some will find Firebrand a little boring as there isn't much action or excitement but if you like historical character pieces you'll enjoy this one. I certainly did.
Smile Worthy
BRATS
If the new documentary Brats works at all it is because of the captivating characters being interviewed more than the filmmaking involved. As a film fan it's hard to not be interested in what has happened to these once 20-somethings now they are 30 years older.
That said, the filmmaking by Andrew McCarthy could be better. He asks his subjects the same questions repeatedly and they all have basically the same responses to how being in the Brat Pack changed their lives. As it is it's fine. It just could have been more interesting if the interviewer asked more interesting questions.
Frown Worthy
THE BEACH BOYS
Another documentary that's a bit of a mixed bag but enjoyable enough is The Beach Boys which is available on Disney Plus. I'm a big sucker for rags-to-riches docs on famous people and that's basically what you get here. We see how each member of the iconic band dealt with fame and how they came up with so many of their memorable songs.
Where the documentary starts to lose me is in all the quotes they have with fans and other performers that seemed to have nothing to do with the band. It's confusing why they didn't have John Stamos on the doc if they were going this approach as he actually played with The Beach Boys. I didn't really care what most of these famous people had to say about the songs especially when their reactions were basic generic reactions anyone could have.
Still, if you are fan of The Beach Boys give this documentary some of your time you'll enjoy it.
Smile Worthy
So there you have it. Everything I've been watching lately
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