The First Slam Dunk (2023)

The First Slam Dunk is an anime film based on the Slam Dunk manga series and is currently the fifth highest-grossing anime film of all time.

The film is directed by the manga artist himself, Takehiko Inoue, and it's safe to say this is his directorial debut. The film bounces back and forth between the modern time where the players are in the championship and the backstory for each of the different players. This is a typical trope for anime audiences but something vastly different for American sports audiences. We're used to the team going through multiple games to get to the end. It's a breath of fresh air if you're not an anime fan.

I saw the dubbed even though the advertisement said it was subtitled in English. It was the only showing for the afternoon so I didn't complain. The main character is Ryota Miyagi a troubled youth point guard. He's not tall and has a tragic backstory. He's voiced by Paul Castro Jr. who you might remember from The Skeleton Twins, he also voices Freminet from Genshin Impact. Two other Genshin voice actors are in the film, David Cui Cui voices Idrisi, but in this film, he plays Toki Kuwata. Luis Bermudez voices Luocheng but in this film, he plays Takashima.

The animation is vastly different from the anime as it has really been brought into the modern era of stylized computer graphics. The story is really top-tier for a sports film and it has typical anime-isms which can throw you out of the film for a second. I would recommend this film to anime fans or sports enthusiasts. B+

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Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Joker: Folie à Deux is a comic book musical and sequel to the stand-out hit Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix . I truly believe that Todd Phillips is trolling the comic book community with this film. It's weird, unwatchable at times, and nowhere near the first film. Even standing on its own without having the film be even considered a sequel it fails. It almost feels like WB was just paying him to make a sequel. Joaquin Phoneix doesn't phone it in. He just does what he's supposed to do and delivers a performance. He and Lady Gaga are really the only saving grace. While her rendition of Harly Quinn is nowhere near what was expected for a Joker film she still had a memorable but trying performance. Characters you forgot about come back and a few new ones that don't leave any impact other than to just be there and in the film. You see Harvey Dent but there's nothing to his character, partly at fault for hiring a no-name actor in Harry Lawtey who should stay on TV an

The Wild Robot (2024)

The Wild Robot is a DreamWorks science function adventure film based on the book series by the same name. Written and directed by Chris Sanders, the film feels like what Disney used to put out. The writing hits on similar beats like his other work Lilo & Stitch , The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon. There is a definite switch from climax one to climax two and I felt more invested in the later third of the film but not so much at the beginning. There was a tad bit of FurnGully's environmental message in the film but the main message of how to be a mother was front and center. Lipita Nyong'o had to carry the film with help from Pedro Pascal and the best cameo of Bill Nighy . She voiced the robot while Pascal was the main supporting character of the fox Fink. I've grown tired of Pedro Pascal but his deliveries were enough for me to ignore my bias'. The worst voice actor was Brightbill's Kit Conner who must have some connection in Hollywood to land the

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Avatar: The Way of Water is the followup to James Cameron's original box office winner Avatar. Continuing Jake Sully's story, now protecting his family from Colonel Miles Quaritch again. Written and directed by James Cameron . The worst parts of the writing probably came from the writers of Mulan, both Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. In terms of direction, there was the expectation that Cameron would recreate some sort of magic of Avatar, Terminator 2, or even Aliens. I think Cameron gave the skeleton of the story and Jaffa and Silver added their own dialogue and beats. Cameron doesn't really write boring movies and I was bored through parts of the film. 3 hours and 12 minutes is a long time to have amazing dialogue and writing. Sam Worthington is back but you don't recognize him since he was barely in the first film except in his avatar form. Most people don't know Worthington. Maybe if you played the Call of Duty Black Ops games as he played Alex Mason. I most

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