The Cinematic Review-verse

  Tron: Ares poster. Courtesy of Disney. Tron: Ares was a sequel that didn't need to happen, but light-cycled well, anyway. From Jared Leto humanizing another Dillinger-brand living weapon to the gumption from Greta Lee to the amazing special effects to the great industrial and electronic scoring by Nine Inch Nails , it did a little justice to the original 1982 classic. Years after Tron: Legacy , rather than just bringing humans into the computer, ENCOM founder Ed Dillinger's grandson Julian, played by Evan Peters , sets up an AI named Ares , played by Jared Leto , as part of a plan to bring living technology into the real world. Unfortunately, under Julian's authority, those programs can only last a few minutes in the real world, but he's determined not to let that stop him from becoming a powerful tech billionaire. Ares teams up with ENCOM CEO Eve Kim , played by Greta Lee , to take down Julian and another rogue program named Athena , played by Jodie Turner-Smith . Ar...

' Inside Out 2'. Copyright 2024, Disney/Pixar. Good afternoon, everyone. This morning, I saw Inside Out 2 . From a scene that resembles Pandora from  Avatar  to a good blend of emotion, real-life perspective, and humor, it was a well-executed sequel courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios. After the original Inside Out , Riley Andersen , now voiced by Kensington Tallman, is 13, at hockey camp, and on the cusp of puberty and an identity crisis.  Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Disgust (voiced by Liza Lapira), Fear (voiced by Tony Hale), and Anger (voiced by Lewis Black) in Disney/Pixar's Inside Out 2 . Courtesy of Disney. Even though Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust are working well together now, more complex emotions such as Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke , have run amok, and they all must find a way to solve Riley's identity crisis together. Embarrassment (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Envy (voiced by Ay...

Disney/Pixar's 'Elemental.' Photo courtesy of movieposters.com and Disney. While most of the story of Elemental was too similar to other films such as Shrek 2, it was nonetheless adorable between the romance of the main characters and the bright lights of their city and fellow populace. Elemental was also abundant in awkward young adult humor and comical yet tense family drama. Elemental tells the story of Ember Lumen and Wade Ripple, voiced by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athi e, anthropomorphic beings of fire and water, and how they try to overcome distrustful history between their kinds in order to protect their families and their blossoming romantic relationship. From the opening, I picked up a Zootopia- type vibe in the case of Ember's parents hoping to start a new life in Element City. The city had beautiful buildings and colorful characters, regardless of who splashes the water, prunes the fruits, or accidentally burns things to a crisp. Lewis' character of E...

After years since returning Arendelle to its former, non-icy glory, Anna and Elsa came back with some new adventures in Disney’s ‘Frozen II’. This time, it’s with bigger plot points than Elsa learning to conceal her gifts or embrace them. There were a few additions to the story that made it seem a little darker than the first film, but ‘Frozen II’ still gave its best performance with top-notch voice acting, messages about family and true love, powerful musical numbers, and of course, occasional scene-stealing by Olaf, the Snowman. In ‘Frozen II’, past mistakes come to light as elemental spirits begin ravaging the kingdom of Arendelle. In order to save their kingdom, Anna and Elsa, voiced by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, travel with Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad, and Sven the Reindeer, to figure out what is angering the elemental spirits of water, fire, earth, and air. Along the way, Anna and Elsa also try to uncover the mysterious circum...

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com Fifty-four years from the 1960s classic was worth the wait in Disney's latest project, "Mary Poppins Returns". There are parallels between the film, Christopher Robin, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Be that as it may, Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda's singing voices brought an outpouring of wonder that audiences must see. "Mary Poppins Returns" takes place in 1930s London, where a now grown-up, widowed Michael Banks, played by Ben Whishaw, is struggling to keep his home and his children intact. When all seems lost, the children, Annabel, John, and Georgie, played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson, cross paths with Michael's former nanny, the esteemed Mary Poppins, played by Emily Blunt. Through her magic umbrella, and the assistance of affable lamplighter Jack, played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Michael's optimistic sister Jane, played by Emily Mortimer, the Banks children can save their ...

Ava DuVernay directed the right cast and crew for the adaptation of the 20th century novel by Madeline L'Engle. With stylized visual effects, well-designed costumes, uplifting original songs and scoring, and bringing the light to the dark moments, A Wrinkle in Time was an overall fantastic production to view. Meg Murray (Storm Reid) hasn't been the same since her astrophysicist father, Dr. Alex Murray (Chris Pine) disappeared years prior. But she gets an unexpected chance to reconcile with Murray when three astral travelers (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling) inform her that he is a prisoner on a distant planet. Joining forces with her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and classmate Calvin O'Keefe (Levi Miller), Meg must liberate from her isolated state and save her father before an evil entity known as the It (David Oyelowo) comes to destroy the universe. By the time the film ends, audiences may notice that Meg has become acknowledged as a hero...

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com With numerous new characters, previously unused footage, excellent soundtrack, and a heartwarming message about not giving up, Disney/Pixar's Cars 3 truly brings a rush for the audience like racing should! In this film, Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is under the threat of being put out of racing entirely when a generation of high- tech race cars come onto the track, led by Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer). But like Rocky after losing to Clubber Lang, through retraining and getting back the ferocity and energy he always had in him, McQueen can show that he's no washed-up racer, but someone who will not quit on what he loves. The crew of the Cars franchise did a major improvement on this one. This time, it's not all  about being the fastest, it's about who's taking the lap. It was filled with adrenaline and passion and I was very happy to see most of the original cast again. 9/10