THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (2026)

 

Directed By: Aaron Hovarth, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, Fabien Pollack 

Written By: Matthew Fogel 

Editor: Eric Osmond 

Cast: (Voices of) Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Glen Powell, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Brie Larson, Benny Safdie, Luis Guzman, Issa Rae, Kevin Michael Richardson 

Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.

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Did we need a sequel to the original movie? No, but considering it’s box office,  we knew there would be one eventually. Plus it’s a franchise just as there are so many SUPER MARIO BROTHERS. You knew this would probably come along which at least expand on the super Mario world in the first place and ads familiar faces with some new from the super Mario Brothers lore.

Though again this film feels so unnecessary. Almost like filler, that I am hoping it might be recruitment for kids who it’s obviously more aimed that and giving something to die hard Mario brothers fans the world over. 

As the first film felt like the film we all wanted back when the game was popular and when they came up with that disappointing live action movie this sequel just feels while quirky on autopilot as it’s not as much fun. The story is kind of hazy and just a reason to put these characters all back together. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I can’t say it’s as fun or entertaining unfortunately, kind of takes away from the first one or reminds you how much you liked the first one and why can’t this one be just as fun. 

The film stays cute though never quite necessary. Sometimes it’s actually even fun, but it does remind me of that BABE sequel; BABE: PIG IN THE CITY where babe doesn’t even really talk or if he does, he says very few words it seemed like with the first film the voice actors managed to make their characters be felt here. It just feels like they have less to say or at least less humor and more definitely dependent on actions and silly physical scenes more. not to mention the addition of just more characters and celebrity voices.

It’s better than when there would be an unenthusiastic straight to streaming your home video animated sequel as this is definitely big and grand. It just doesn’t feel as much fun or inventive as the first film maybe as it came along too fast and didn’t have time to really consider a storyline or wanted to keep it then just so we could stay with the characters and hope that would satiate the audience and the fans.

At least the score helps lift the overall tone. Even if it is mostly memorable music from the video games.

For the fans, I believe this song will be possibly enough, but if you’re not really in the super Mario Brothers, I feel like this will kind of be even more disappointing.

Grade: C

CARS (2006)

Directed By: John Lasseter and Joe Ranft 

Original Story By: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft and Jorgen Klubien 

Written By: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Jorgen Klubien, Dan Fogelman, Kiel Murray and Phil Lorin 

Cinematography: Jean-Claude Kalache 

Editor: Ken Schretzmann 

Cast: (Voices) Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Tony Shaloub, John Ratzenberger, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, George Carlin, Michael Keaton, Paul Dooley, Katherine Helmond, Edie McClurg, Bob Costas, Jeremy Piven

While traveling to California for the dispute of the final race of the Piston Cup against The King and Chick Hicks, the famous Lightning McQueen accidentally damages the road of the small town Radiator Springs and is sentenced to repair it. Lightning McQueen has to work hard and finds friendship and love in the simple locals, changing its values during his stay in the small town and becoming a true winner.

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I can understand the appeal of this Pixar animated film. At its core, it’s pure Americana: a glossy, well-meaning fable about loyalty, humility, and using your fame and talent for something larger than yourself. Those are solid morals, clearly communicated, and for its intended audience they land without much friction.

That said, the film feels like a throwback, almost as if it were designed in the mold of a 1980s family movie. It’s the kind of project that might have felt more innovative if it had arrived during Pixar’s early years. By the time it actually came out, however, it already felt a bit behind the curve. While undeniably a huge hit, its priorities seem tilted more toward younger kids and families, and unsurprisingly for Disney toward merchandising and franchise potential rather than pushing storytelling or filmmaking forward.

There’s nothing here you haven’t seen before. The story is traditional to a fault, the themes are familiar, and the animation, while sleek and polished, feels more simplified and childlike than truly impressive. It lacks the sense of boundary-pushing that once defined Pixar as essential, must-see cinema. Watching it now, it’s still entertaining, but it also feels basic, pleasant in the moment and oddly disposable afterward, even considering it spawned multiple sequels.

I’ll admit I’m not the biggest animation fan, but this film does reinforce an important idea: any story can be told in countless ways, and it doesn’t always need human characters to resonate. Still, this particular execution feels engineered to appeal across as many audience quadrants as possible, which makes its success and its expansion into sequels, spin-offs, and entire sub-franchises feel inevitable. This was clearly the start of a cash cow, one that meant a great deal to many viewers.

For me, though, it ultimately plays like standard blockbuster entertainment: competently made, intermittently heartfelt, and easy to watch, but also hard to fully trust. It delivers warmth and familiarity, yet offers little that lingers once the credits roll.

One just expects more especially for a film that had six screenwriters. 

Grade: B- 

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS (2025)

 

Directed By: Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang

Story By: Maggie Kang 

Written By: Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan

Head Of Cinematography Layout: Gary H. Lee

Editor: Nathan Schauf 

Featuring the voices of… Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-Young Yoo, Ken Jeong, Daniel Dae Kim, Ahn Hyo-Seop, Yunjin Kim, Lee Byung-Hun,Liza Koshy, Joel Kim Booster

When they aren't selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet - an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise.

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Trust me, this film came totally as a surprise to me as the title pretty much says it all and I didn’t at first have too much interest in it but heard so many glowing reviews and word-of-mouth that I decided to check it out and I’m glad I did 

As this animated film was truly a marvel to experience and caught me totally off guard. It’s dramatic. It’s funny. It’s silly has supernatural elements, but is also a satire of K-pop music and the whole industry or phenomenon around it well also exposing the heart of it and how meaningful the music can be to not only the artist, but especially the audience

It also works as a full-blown musical with not only the stage performances of the songs, but also in their singing their emotions after certain dramatic scenes

This is also a film that could only be told truly an animated form as to make a live action version of this film. You couldn’t exactly get the angles and the budget would have to be super inflated, and it just wouldn’t lend itself to the silliness at certain times.

Now the film has action sequences, but it’s not heavily an action film. It seems to care more about emotions and humor as well as being an outcast.

This one just has an energy and excitement that feels contagious and you’re willing to follow the film wherever it goes. 

It’s quite enjoyable and I have to say so far one of the better films that I have seen this year I can say it certainly not for everybody but if you ever just wanna have fun and get lost in a film with a pretty good soundtrack to boot or just a fan of musicals you should definitely give this film a try

Grade: B

THE WILD ROBOT (2024)

 

Written & Directed By: Chris Sanders

Based on the book by: Peter Brown

Cinematography: Chris Stover 

Editor: Mary Blee

Featuring the voices of: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, Bill Nighy, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Catherine O’Hara 

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD DO THE UNIVERSE (2022)

 

Directed by: Albert Calleros, Geoffrey Johnson and John Rice 

Written By: Mike Judge, Lew Morton, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Guy Maxtone-Graham and Ruben Martinez 

Story By: Mike Judge, Ian Maxtone-Graham and Guy Maxtone-Graham

Editor: Robert James Ashe, Phil Davis and Mike Mendez 

Cast: (Voices) Mike Judge, Gary Cole, Andrea Savage, Nat Faxon, Chi McBride, Carlos Alazraqui, Toby Huss, Tig Notaro, Jimmy O. Yang, Brian Huskey, Stephen Root

After a "creative" judge sentences them to space camp, a black hole sends our adolescent heroes 24 years into the modern future where the duo misuse iPhones, embark on a quest to score, and become targets of the Deep State.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (2023)

 

Directed By: Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears 

Written By: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jeff Rowe, Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit 

Based on TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES characters, Created By: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Head Of Cinematography: Kent Saki

Editor: Greg Levitan

Voice cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ice Cube, Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, Hannibal Buress 

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. But they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

ENTERGALACTIC (2022)

Directed By: Fletcher Moules 
Story By: Kid Cudi and Kenya Barris
Written By: Ian Edelman, Maurice Williams, Esa Lewis, Sidney Schiff and Judnick Mayard
Editor: Carole Karvetz Aykanian 

Featuring: Kid Cudi, Jessica Williams, Laura Harrier, Ty Dolla $ign, Vanessa Hudgens, Timothee Chalamet, Macaulay Culkin, 070 Shake, Jaden Smith, Christopher Abbott, Keith David, Arturo Castro, Teyana Taylor, Luis Guzman, Kenya Barris 

Jabari, a charming, streetwear-clad artist on the cusp of real success. After a chance run-in with his cool new photographer neighbor, Meadow, Jabari has to figure out whether he can make space for love in his life.

WENDELL & WILD (2022)

 

Directed By: Henry Selick  Written By: Henry Selick and Jordan Peele Based on A Book By: Clay McLeod Chapman and Henry Selick  Cinematography: Peter Sorg Editor: Robert Anich, Jason Hopper, Mandy Hutchings and Sarah K. Reimas 

Featuring the voices of: Lyric Ross, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Ving Rhames, Natalie Martinez, Sam Zelaya, Tamara Smart, Seema Virdi, Ramona Young 

Two scheming demon brothers, Wendell and Wild, enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot to summon them to the Land of the Living.

APOLLO 10 1/2: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD (2022)

 

Written & Directed By: Richard Linklater  Cinematography: Shane F. Kelly Editor: Sandra Adair

Cast: Jack Black, Zachary Levi, Glenn Powell, Bill Sage, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Josh Wiggins, Natalie L’Amoreaux 

The story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives. It both captures the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and the lesser-seen bottom up perspective of what it was like from an excited kid's perspective, living near NASA but mostly watching it on TV like hundreds of millions of others. It's ultimately both an exacting re-creation of this special moment in history and a kid's fantasy about being plucked from his average life in suburbia to secretly train for a covert mission to the moon.

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (1998)

 

Directed By: Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner & Simon Wells Written By: Philip LaZebnik 

Cast: (Voices) Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Helen Mirren, James Avery, Eden Reigel 

Egyptian Prince Moses learns of his identity as a Hebrew and his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people.

ANTZ (1998)

 

Directed By: Eric Darnell & Tim Johnson  Written By: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz & Todd Alcott  Editor: Stan Webb

Cast: (voices) Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtain, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover, John Mahoney, Paul Mazursky, Grant Shaud, Jim Cummings 

Z, the worker-ant strives to reconcile his own individuality with the communal work ethic of the ant colony. Falling in love with the ant-Princess Bala, Z strives to make social inroads, and then ultimately must save the ant colony from the treacherous schemings of the evil General Mandible that threaten to wipe out the entire worker population. Themes of individuality run rampant.

I LOST MY BODY (2019)

Directed By: Jeremy Clapin 
Written By: Jeremy Clapin & Guillaume Laurent 
Based On The Novel By: Guillaume Laurent 
Cinematography: Benjamin Massoubre 


Cast: (Voices) FRENCH VERSION - Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick D’Assumcao, Bellamine Abdelmalek, Nicole Favart. 

AMERICAN VERSION - Dev Patel, Alia Shawkat, George Wendt, Johnny Mars, Jaarod Pistill 

A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.

MONSTER HOUSE (2006)

Directed By: Gil Kenan 
Written By: Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab & Paul Pettler 
Story By: Dan Harmon & Rob Schrab 
Cinematography: Xavier Perez Geobet 
Editor: Fabienne Eawley & Adam P. Scott 


Cast: Mitchel Musso, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gylenhaal, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Jon Heder, Jason Lee, Kevin James, Nick Cannon, Spencer Locke, Kathleen Turner 


13-year-old DJ is observing his neighbor Nebbercracker on the other side of the street in the suburb that destroys tricycles of children that trespass his lawn. When DJ's parents travel on the eve of Halloween and the abusive nanny Zee stays with him, he calls his clumsy best friend Chowder to play basketball. But when the ball falls in Nebbercracker's lawn, the old man has a heart attack, and soon they find that the house is a monster. Later the boys rescue the smart Jenny from the house and the trio unsuccessfully tries to convince the babysitter, her boyfriend Bones and two police officers that the haunted house is a monster, but nobody believes them. The teenagers ask their video-game addicted acquaintance Skull how to destroy the house, and they disclose its secret on the Halloween night

HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER (2006)

Directed By: Paul Bolger, Yvette Kaplan, Greg Tierman & Dino Athanassiou 
Written By: Robert Moreland & Doug Langdale 
Based on a story Idea By: Andre Sikojev 
Cinematography: David Dulac 
Editor: Ringo Waldenberger 

Cast: (Voices) Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, George Carlin, John Dimaggio, Andy Dick, Jill Talley, Tom Kenny, Sigourney Weaver, Wallace Shawn, Patrick Warburton, Jon Polito, Rob Paulsen 


As the story begins, an alliance of evil fairy tale-doers, led by Frieda, looks to take over Fairy Tale Land and take control of. But when Ella A.K.A. Cinderella realizes her own evil stepmother is out to ruin her storybook existence, she takes a dramatic turn and blossoms into the leader of the resistance effort.

MIRAI (2018)

Written & Directed By: Mamoru Hosoda 
Editor: Shigeru Nishiyama 

Cast: Voice Actors: Rebecca Hall, Daniel Dae Kim, John Cho, Crispin Freeman, Koji Yakusho, Jaden Waldman, Victoria Grace, Kumiko Aso, Masaharu Fukuyama 

The movie follows a 4-year old boy who is struggling to cope with the arrival of a little sister in the family, until things turn magical. A mysterious garden in the backyard of the boy's home becomes a gateway allowing the child to travel back in time and encounter his mother as a little girl and his great-grandfather as a young man. These fantasy-filled adventures allow the child to change his perspective and help him become the big brother he was meant to be.

BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN (2017)

Directed By: Sam Liu 
Story By: Bruce Timm 
Teleplay By: James Krieg & Bruce Timm 
Editor: Christopher D. Lozinski 

Voices of: Kevin Conroy, Melissa Rauch, Paget Brewster, Loren Lester, John DiMaggio, Rob Paulesen, Mindy Sterling, Bruce Timm

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE (2016)

Directed By: Sam Liu 
Writen By: Brian Azzarello 
Based On The Graphic Novel Written By: Alan Moore 
Based on the Graphic Novel Illustrated by: Brian Bolland 
Based On Batman Created By: Bob Kane & Bill Finger 

Voices: Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, Tara Stong, Ray Wise, John DiMaggio, Bruce Timm, Maury Sterling, Brian George 

 As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.

ANOMALISA (2015)

Directed By: Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman 
Written By: Charlie Kaufman 
Based On Charlie Kaufman’s Radio Play Under the name: Francis Fragoli 
Cinematography By: Joe Passerelli 
Editor: Garret Elkins 


Cast: (Voices of) David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

 *Please note that some trivia and facts have been republished from imdb among other sources In this review*

SCOOBY DOO & KISS: ROCK AND ROLL MYSTERY (2015)

Directed By: Spike Brandt & Tony Kervone 
Written By: Kevin Shinick 
Story By: Kevin Shinick & James Krieg 
Editor: Bruce A. King 

Starring: The Voices Of: Matthew Lillard, Mindy Cohn, Pauley Perrette, Jennifer Carpenter, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley, Fred Welker, Darius Rucker, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Gary Marshall, Penny Marshall, Grey Griffin, Tommy Thayer

MR. PEABODY AND SHERMAN (2014)

Directed By: Rob Minkoff 
Written By: Craig Wright, Michael McCullers, Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant 
Based on Characters Created By: Ted Cay 
Editor: Michael Andrews 
Music Score By: Danny Elfman 

Featuring the voices of: Ty Burell, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Denis Haysbert, Stephen Tobolowsky, Allison Janney, Patrick Warburton, Stanley Tucci, Lake Bell, Mel Brooks, Tom McGrath, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant

Mr. Peabody is a business titan, inventor, scientist, gourmand, two-time Olympic medalist and genius...who also happens to be a dog. Using his most ingenious invention, the WABAC machine, Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman hurtle back in time to experience world-changing events first-hand and interact with some of the greatest characters of all time. But when Sherman breaks the rules of time travel, our two heroes find themselves in a race to repair history and save the future, while Mr. Peabody may face his biggest challenge yet - being a parent. Originally this movie was to be a live action computer animated film to be released in 2003. But it wasn't realized until 2011 when the film was announced to be a computer animated movie.