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Reviews
Oppenheimer (2023)
Leave history to the geniuses, not the filmmakers who pretend to be a genius
The BluRay cover states "one of the best movies of the century."
That is a very bold claim.
Top ten? No.
Top 50? No
I would personally argue maybe top 100, but even that might be a stretch.
This film had a tremendous amount of hype surrounding it when it first came out, so I had relatively high expectations. Having read many books on the Manhattan Project, I was expecting a lot more detail and historical facts. In many respects the storyline felt dumbed down, perhaps in an attempt to attract a wider audience. I felt short changed by the end, and although I thought it was a good movie overall, I'd much rather read a book like Annie Jacobson's " The Pentagon's Brain" if I want to explore this topic.
This movie does some things right. It uses IMAX cameras in unorthodox ways that have never been done before, and it really makes the black and white scenes pop. It also embodies the class that old successful movies used to have, like A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. That being said, this movie is 3 hours long, and it's not because there's so much story to tell. In fact, I was disappointed with the amount of storytelling given the subject. The filmmaker rather obsessed on many slow frame rate segments and scenes, and there's an abundance of time spent just doing still frames of Cillian Murphy's face up close. This adds not seconds, but minutes to scenes that could have been better utilized to tell important parts of the story. This is a very grand and big story, and this movie strangely minimizes the grandness of what was going on at the time. The Manhattan Project had 130'000 people working on it at the peak of the operation. This movie makes it seem tiny in comparison, and even the Alamos Texas scenes don't accurately represent the true scale of the operation.
I hate to say this, but the enormous success of this film seems like more of a marketing success. Hollywood and media have gotten very good at convincing people that something is much better than it really is, and I feel like this is one of those cases.
Tenet (2020)
I can't Ten-it... maybe Five-it?
It's very hard to pull off a new concept and do it well. Like Inception and The Matrix, I was initially intrigued by the concept of this story and got into it. The beginning of the movie had that intrinsic quality that makes you curious and excites the mind. Unfortunately the idea and visual parlor tricks wear off pretty quick as you start to see and spot the many flaws in the script. It probably would have been a good idea to hire a consultant who teaches chaos theory, quantum field theory and space-time. A lot of the story simply devolves into a bunch of shooting and explosions, and stays from the initial unanswered questions about space-time. If you are going to inject and tackle a scientific subject like this, you'd better know what you're doing, or it just becomes a big incoherent mess, which is probably why there are such a wide range of conflicting reviews of this film.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Super Disappointing Mario Movie
As a Mario fan from the age of 4, having played virtually every game, I thought maybe my expectations were perhaps too high. But upon further reflection, it is clear that Hollywood just keeps setting the bar lower and lower.
It's a crying shame that the story is soo hollow and bland. Soo much of this movie was done right. The cinematics, the texture mapping, the lighting, the sounds. This could have been a real gem if not for the script writing and voice actor selections.
Nintendo loves to stick with what works and they're very resistant to change. It's quite surprising that they would veer soo far off course with the voice actors given what we're all accustomed to. The only person I thought represented the character well was Jack Black.
What baffles me is how this was the final product given the 40 years of material they had to work with. In some respects The Angry Birds Movie was a better execution, and they had barely any back story to work with.
At the end of the day, Nintendo played it safe, and as a brand that used to be known for taking chances (Wii controllers, dual screen consoles, and even Virtual Boy), it's really sad to see them produce such a mediocre product.
I have faith in their abilities to continue making fantastic games with memories that will last a lifetime. I would suggest if this is their best attempt to bring their games to the big screen, perhaps they should rethink that avenue.
Uncharted (2022)
Unfortunately Hollywood's history of games to movies is not uncharted...
Hollywood has always had a hard time bringing video games to life on the big screen, and this movie is no exception.
Having played the Uncharted series from beginning to end (including the PS Vita's Golden Abyss), I can honestly say the game is more realistic and conceivable than this.
Although the most recent iteration of Tomb Raider wasn't fantastic, it at least stayed within the realm of reality. This movie is peppered with hyper unrealistic scenes, especially towards the end, that put it more in the realm of a science fiction Marvel movie. Lighters get soaking wet, yet work. Guns are submerged under water for minutes, then fire. Helicopters are able to lift 3 times' the weight of what is possible in real life. It's as if the writers threw physics, logic and common sense out the window when they wrote the script for this.
I will say I liked the idea of an origin story, telling much of the tale prior to where the game starts off. At least they tried to keep the story fresh in that respect. They did manage to get much of the interplay between characters pretty accurate, but there was far too much improvisation and going off script, and I had a hard time believing the actors. Especially Mark Wahlberg. I didn't get the impression he really cared about the character like Hugh Jackman does about Wolverine.
In terms of storyline and execution, you're better off watching movies like National Treasure or Indiana Jones. Unless you're a hardcore Uncharted fan, this movie just doesn't do the treasure hunter genre justice, and even then the hardcore fans might still be disappointed.
Unfortunately Hollywood's attempt at converting games to movies is not uncharted, and this adds to the list of failed attempts.
The Batman (2022)
What is this cr*p-man?
Within the first 10 minutes I could see exactly what DC was doing. The costumes, the colors, the lighting. It was obvious they were trying to take the enormous success of the Arkham Asylum video game and transplant to the big screen.
When they redid Joker, I could tolerate the changes because he still retained the character. This character deviates soo much that he's no longer Batman. He's some emo kid that never managed to get that first date and was put on a series of different medications growing up.
Everyone was clearly told to speak in a low raspy voice and Bruce narrates sometimes what is happening or his thoughts at the time. Rather than adding value and context like some other movies do, I felt like I was sitting in on a councillor session. It didn't make it dark and sinister at all. In fact, it made me laugh.
There are movies you can make 3 hours long like King Kong and The Aviator because they continue at a rapid pace and retain your attention. The pace of this movie is soo slow it felt 4 hours long, and this is supposed to be the exciting action packed franchise we all know as Batman...
If DC continues on this track, I'll have to refrain from watching any future movies.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
An impressive technical achievement given the CG world of cinema today
You certainly don't see movies like this anymore, and Tom Cruise wanted to ensure if a sequel was made, it was done exactly to these specifications.
The most impressive part of this film is just how much of it was shot live and not infront of a green screen. If you manage to watch the bonus features, you'll really appreciate the lengths not just Tom Cruise went to, to ensure these shots were truly real, but many of the other actors who participated as well. There are few actors who would go to such lengths for the sake of a movie's integrity and viewers experience, and this movie exemplifies his devotion to the craft.
All of that being said, I do feel like the hype around this movie is more indicative of Hollywood and the woke culture lately. People have endured an intense malaise for over a decade, with a testosterone crushing level of man shaming and non-stop depressing stories that leave people walking away from the theatre with lower and lower expectations.
I did think the picture overall was great and embodied alot of the characteristics we used to know and love in older classic films. There was however alot of stereotypical scriptwriting and many scenes were very predictable. I found myself several times finishing the lines before they were spoken.
Although I didn't think it was as worthy of the grandstanding others seem to be giving it, we still have to recognize that this is a sequel, and when it comes to sequels, I can count on one hand the number of times Hollywood managed to make the second as good as the first. In some respects I would say this one was better, as you could tell Tom had alot more freedom and control over making it exactly how he wanted.
Flux Gourmet (2022)
Waiter, there's something wrong with my movie...
This is perhaps the craziest and most incoherent piece of cinema I have ever watched. My first instinct is to recommend watching this movie on some kind or narcotic or psychedelic, but in forethought this movie almost convinced me I was already on one.
At first I thought it was just me, and that as a Canadian I didn't understand the humor. That maybe it was taylored for a British audience or something? But I've watched faulty towers, Mr. Bean, The Office and so forth... and that's not it.
The longer you watch, the less funny it gets. I can endure and even find some toilet humor funny, but this film was obsessed with repeating the same mindless jokes over and over again... and I must confess I couldn't make it to the very end. I had to turn it off before I developed a serious headache.
If you want to go on the wildest confusing and messed up ride of your life, skip the Iowaska and magic mushrooms and watch this.
Silent Night (2021)
Don't waste your night
This film tries to be a drama, a horror and a comedy all in one. To top it off, it's also a Christmas flick.
The storyline is depressing and not a film that's appropriate for family audiences that include youth and children. There is also a tremendous amount of swearing, and I found the number of expletives to be excessive and unnecessary.
The acting was sub par and I found the story to be far too predictable. The movie leads you on and gives you hints right up until the end and there were no unpredictable surprises.
If you want to get in the Christmas spirit, this is not the film to watch. It's also not very funny, so it's hard to recommend it as a comedy. Finally, it doesn't make for a great horror movie around Halloween, which exemplifies the problem with this film. It's not great no matter what category you put it in, and thus, as the title of my review states... don't waste your night.
The Head Hunter (2018)
Not even a movie to hunt for in the 5 dollar bin
This movie tries to be soo many different things, and thus fails in the process. It's an attempt to take a mythical medieval period story and do it in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror genre. To make matters worse, it's virtually a silent film throughout.
While the visuals, costumes and sets were all very well done (especially considering the size of the budget), it's soo dull, slow and boring. It felt too long, and that's saying something because it's only an hour and 12 minutes including the ending credits.
I'll say this, whoever was tasked with making the trailer deserves props, because they made this look decent and convinced me to watch it.
Ambulance (2022)
A less believable modern day 'SPEED'
This movie has all of the hallmarks that made SPEED a great action movie. In fact I'd almost be tempted to call this the 'SPEED' of 2020's (SPEED would still win though in the race to perfection).
I like seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in an antagonist role rather than the protagonist for once. I felt like he did a good job and balanced crazy with funny really well, leaving me laughing in a number of scenes.
The problem with being a Michael Bay film, is that... it's a Micheal Bay film. (lol) In true Michael Bay fashion, it is over the top, and becomes less believable with every passing half hour. He takes what could be a plausible idea and by the end of the picture you find yourself saying 'not in a million years could that happen'. If you're not concerned with a cinematic piece based in reality and just want to have mindless fun, this script would fit that description.
The part that made me very excited to see this film may not be something you'd expect. It's the first big picture to bring in a professional FPV pilot to shoot a lot of freestyle footage and cinematic chase scenes. As someone who flies FPV, I could tell when each shot had been done with an FPV drone, and it really does change the pace and feel of the movie; creating shots that we've never seen on the big screen before.
Depending what kind of movies you're into and what mood you're in when you watch it, you may like it, or absolutely hate it. It's not a movie that's going to win any awards, unless the award is most scenes with things blowing up.(lol)
Cyrano (2021)
Cyra- No no no. What are you doing Hollywood?
It tries soo hard to be a period piece. From the architecture, to the costumes, it is a masterpiece. That's why it was soo painful to then hear musical scores resembling that of a modern Disney movie and even breakdancing integrated into some of the choreography.
Hollywood seems to be in a very conflicted and convoluted place in which it is trying to taylor to every audience at once. You thus get modern pop culture injected into places it aught not be. This movie is one of those places.
Although Dinklage is not a proficient singer, he really carries the movie with a performance that was very sincere and genuine. His casting dilutes the accurate depiction of this period, but I feel like that sacrifice was okay given his performance. I can't say the same thing about Kelvin Harrison Jr. Who seems both out of place and out of his element.
Had it not been for the poor poetic rhymes and musical lyrics, it could have been a decent film. The problem with remaking a story is that it will be subject to scrutiny, and this does not stand up to the original work.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
The unbearable weight of wasted talent
If you were going to make a movie like this, it's very hard to think of living actors that could fit the bill. Nicholas Cage has a long filmography to draw from with some really great hits. Cage is at that age where you could believe an actor has a mid life crisis and questions if his days of making movies are over. We've all seen Hollywood's ability to make mega stars out of people for the better part of a decade, only to toss them aside once they turn out a couple movies that don't make record box office numbers. The concept of this movie is very believable and a unique opportunity to utilize an actor like Nicholas to tell such a story.
Unfortunately the script writers devised a story that doesn't take advantage of this opportunity. Instead of taking Nicholas on a ride that lets all of his filmmaking experience be put to use in real life, the writers chose the cliche and overused story of taking an average joe that somehow finds himself getting involved with the CIA.
There are funny moments that do draw from Cage's career, and you'll enjoy the references when he reenacts them. They were however too few and far between and the writers don't utilize them very well. This seems like a wasted opportunity, especially given how much the writers and directors claimed to be fans of Cage.
Much of the movie that was good and does allow Nicholas to reflect on his career and his former ego was however not the product of the writers. The bonus features and the SXSW 2022 film festival questions and answers reveal that Nicholas proposed these improvisations. He even changed the name of his 'past' alter ego that he interacts with to better suit the real life person he remembers at the beginning of his career. In many ways I think it would have been better if Nicholas had been an intrical part of the script writing process. This could have been a movie I'd watch again and again.
At the end of the day it was a great idea and concept that allowed Nicholas to explore new ideas and things he'd never done before. It's a shame it lacked better script writing and story telling.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Venom 2? Let there be disappointment
As someone who absolutely loved the first, (I watched it twice in 2 nights which is extremely rare for me) I found this film to be very disappointing. The first movie really felt like a reprieve after a number of Marvel let downs, and this film took me back to that prior feeling.
The CG, the cinematics, the scriptwriting etc. All lacked the polish and perfection of the first. While it contained all of the key elements and actors that made the first such a success, the execution just fell flat.
Unlike some other reviewers, I think Woody Harrelson is more than capable of playing a villain and his character is more of a failure in scriptwriting than acting. The writers never really develope any interplay between Harrelson and his symbiote and he's thus not allowed to explore his character like Tom Hardy is able to.
While it wasn't a complete bust and I would watch it again, it definitely feels like filler before attempting to complete a trilogy.
Six Minutes to Midnight (2020)
Squeezing the last drops left out the fruit that was WW2
Cinema has visited the topic of WW2 ad nauseum, and it's really starting to show. No matter how many films are produced on the topic, someone always feels the need to revisit this period.
This movie squeezes out the last few drops that are left in the fruit that was WW2. Although this film manages to find a niche that hasn't really been touched on before, it's not a story that's really worth visiting. At least not with this script or director. There are no big surprises, emotionally envoking scenes, or dramatic turns. It felt very predictable even though I hadn't seen or heard anything about the film in advance.
It's hard to give this movie the 5 that I'm giving it because Judi Dench delivers in true Judi fashion. You can put her in just about anything and she'll pull off a great performance. If you're a hardcore Dench fan, you'll probably appreciate and enjoy this film more than I did.
C'mon C'mon (2021)
An exceptionally well acted artsy film that you might still hate
If you like artsy movies with very random interplay, then you'll probably like this movie. Joaquin Pheonix and Woody Norman were very well chosen to execute this interplay and the pairing is very natural on screen. That said, It's nearly 2 hours, and if you're not into this kind of movie, you may get bored really fast. This film is definitely tailored to parents, as the script is almost entirely about the difficulties of parenting and the questions children have about life that are most often times difficult to answer.
You can tell a lot of the movie is trying to tell a story about different US cities as it is the characters in the movie. The black and white film choice enhances these landscapes and skylines which makes it understandable why they chose this film style.
For the type of movie it is, it was well done, but this is certainly not my cup of tea which makes it harder to rate. I did have some major criticisms in the editing process. Music overlays the verbal scenes and it makes a good chunk of it barely audible. Joaquin has a very nasal voice, especially in this piece which makes it even harder to hear some scenes.
This is one of those films where depending on the person, you'll likely love it or hate it.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Very good film had it been fiction based
The performance of the two lead actors really carry this film from beginning to end. You can tell Lakeith Stanfield really wanted to do this character justice and give 110%. If you watch the bonus material on the Blu-ray, he will even tell you how much it meant to him and the weight he felt upon him to get it right.
That being said, I've seen several documentaries and read about him and this organization prior to seeing the film. I don't want to say this film misrepresents him and this story, but rather takes a very 3 dimensional story with a lot more depth and turns it in a two dimensional black and white (excuse the pun) story that never really digs deeper.
For the size of the budget and actor lineup I actually thought this was one of the better films put out lately. It's the kind of film that can linger and you think about it the next day. Had this been a fictional piece, I probably would have rated it even higher. There is soo much more to this entire story that can easily be sourced and could have been touched upon though given the length of the movie.
House of Gucci (2021)
A compelling and gripping story that needs a different director and casting
This is one of those stories I wouldn't have known about had it not gotten the recognition of Hollywood. Now that I've seen it beginning to end, I must concur it's worthy of a movie. Unfortunately this piece of cinema doesn't execute what could have been a timeless epic.
Ridley Scott is famous for bloody action packed sci-fi films and it shows. He seems very out of his element in this piece and doesn't give it the execution it deserves.
Like Scott, this film lets Lada GaGa spread her wings after entering the acting scene. When she did dip her toes into acting, she did so via a world she already knew. In doing so she was able to pull off a convincing performance in 'A Star Is Born'. This performance unfortunately exemplified her lack of acting lessons and practice in front of the big screen. The mannerisms, the accent, and what should have been deeply emotional scenese suffer as a result.
There's also a disproportionate amount of scenes in which GaGa is either taking her clothes off or is already naked. I'm not sure if Ridley was preoccupied with her nakedness or what, but it's very apparent and distracting. The story gets bogged down by all of these shots and it makes the film longer than it needs to be.
I did like the casting of actors like Al Pacino and to a lesser extent Adam Driver. If it wasn't for the story and actors like this holding it all together, it could have been a complete bust.
If you have spare time and a free night with nothing to do, it's still worth a watch. It's just not worthy of any honorable mentions or awards.
The Card Counter (2021)
Count this card out if you want to see an epic Scorsese pic
I was pretty into this movie at first. It took two different worlds and merged them into one, and even touched on some controversial subject matter that doesn't get attention in other movies.
The movie however gets ruined by the very slow pace. The script also gets very convoluted the further you go along and goes in too many directions. It seemed like the writers started with a good premise and then began drawing ideas from a glass jar to come up with the rest of it. I can't fault the actors for this lackluster picture. The lineup was actually pretty good and they did okay considering what they had to work with.
This tries to be an epic Martin Scorsese style picture and instead winds up looking like a project he would have stopped developing in order to move on to something else. The irony is that Scorsese is named among the long list of producers for this picture.
Spencer (2021)
All of the ambience, but with no story
My girlfriend has a passion for everything Princess Diana. It's a real life fairy tale turned tragedy with all of the allure of a murder mystery novel. As a result, I've watched virtually every piece put out on the topic with her.
Having watched this film with her, there was much deliberation after the movie was over and we both came to the same conclusions. This movie captures the ambience of all that is British royalty. The colors, the textures, the camera filters for the period and especially the stage setting. While all of those facets are depicted well, it fails to embody the true life story in a way that soo many other previous attempts have succeeded. The story, what elapses during the course of that story, and the amount of time spent on that story is simply too small for a film of this size. For a piece of cinema that is 2 hours long, nothing really happens. When the ending credits began rolling, my girlfriend barked "where's the rest of it!?."
A piece such of this is better suited to be a 'made for tv' movie, or perhaps even a BBC short. Even then, it needs more depth, more details, and a greater attention to those finer details. Also, the depiction of Diana often almost felt like more of a hit piece at times, and while I do see what the writers and director were trying to do, it took what was meant to be a film and wound up feeling more like a public service promotion for mental health.
Unfortunately the problem with topics like this is it has been covered ad nauseum, and thus you are open to much wider scrutiny and criticism. This is one of those topics where you're much better off watching other films that have been done prior to this one.
Black Widow (2021)
Better than some other Marvel films under the direction of Disney, but still has a long way to go
Considering what has been done to the Marvel series under the direction of Disney, this was actually one of the better movies they've done. That being said, it still falls short in many areas and feels like a one and done film that I'll likely never watch again.
If anything was done right in this film, I would say it had to be the casting. The actors and actresses were well chosen and I found several of them to be believable given the fictional world they were depicting.
The social interaction and real life drama written into the script was well done, but overall it really lacked cohesion and it's easy to get lost, and this is coming from someone who's read most of the Marvel comics growing up. The script writers and director really seemed to lack direction and the pace of the film suffers as a result. Instead of being enticed to see the ending, you find yourself asking when will it end, and is thus too long given the story and the plot.
I would give it a higher score, but only because I would be comparing it to the low bar Disney has set with other pieces they've put out. When comparing it to the entire body of films put out by Marvel, I'm unfortunately forced to stick with a hard 5. The whole lawsuit fiasco surrounding this film also didn't do Disney or Scarlett any favors, as it made the piece more about the money and not the storytelling/art form.
Zookeeper (2011)
Combining traditional wholesome messages with the CGI of today
When looking through the library of movies, it's not easy to find another that does everything this film does.
The jokes are relatively tame and there is no vulgarity, so this is a very kid friendly movie, but there are enough adult oriented jokes and circumstances throughout the movie that the average parent will still be entertained. Kevin James does what he does best in this movie. Physical comedy. Much of the film is about life choices which a child watching can learn from and an adult can reflect on.
When it came to the computer animation effects of the animals, I really appreciated that the creators of this film decided to use live animals. It felt more real, and if you watch the bonus features on the Blu-ray, you'll gain a new appreciation of just what lengths they went to in order to accomplish this feat.
Although the execution wasn't perfect, it embodies much of the wholesome heartfelt messages that most new movies are missing today, like being yourself, doing what you love, and not compromising your integrity for the sake of others. When you compare it to some of the other downright stupid comedies that have come out under the direction of Adam Sandler and Happy Madison productions, this movie was actually pretty fair and balanced.
Although it's not going to win any awards and is not in my top 20 comedies list, it's still worth a watch and deserves a chance.
Ukraine on Fire (2016)
An extremely important documentary given the events that are unfolding today
This film, although not terribly big when it came out could not be more relevant and important now (May 2022).
Being an Oliver Stone fan, I watched this piece when it first came out. It gave a very different perspective and insight as to what foreign actors were really up to in Ukraine. Although well done and thought provoking at the time, it didn't have a big impact on me. I knew there was corruption within both sides of every story. But given the events of the day and what is now taking place in Ukraine, I had to revisit this documentary.
This is one of those films that gets more important the older it gets. The documented evidence, footage, and even the naming of names could not be more relevant than it is today. It dispells many myths and narratives that the current Western establishment is trying to sow, and is extremely valuable when it comes to unwinding this tapestry of corruption and lies.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
A movie with zero budget and zero time that manages to be better than the first attempt
This is actually a great success if you know the backstory and all the hurdles that had to be overcome to get this film on the big screen. The budget was very small, location options were limited, there were time constraints, and there were even big language barriers on set which made it hard to get scenes done. Despite the very tight budget, the directors managed to pull off dramatic and much improved visuals over the first film. Although the appearance of the character and the environment strays from the comic book, it seems strangely more genuine and true to the character. It's dirtier, darker and more sadistic which creates a much better atmosphere when trying to bring this comic book to the big screen. The movie contains quite a bit of mindless and cheesy humour which it gets criticized for, but those with such criticisms seem to forget in the process that it's based on a comic book that was targeted at teenage boys. Granted the writing could have been better, the story could have had more depth, and you could have probably done a few more takes of certain scenes... but considering what they had to work with and how much time they had to make this movie, it's actually not as bad as some people make it out to be. The building blocks of this movie provide a much better foundation than the first to carry this franchise forward should they decide to make another.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Hard to believe this is the final product after going back to the drawing board
Sonic is not an easy task to tackle. Depending on the decade and the platform it can be a great hit or a tremendous flop. I grew up doing everything from playing the games, to watching the tv shows, and even collected the comic books, so when I hear the argument that they didn't have a pool of material to work from for developing a movie, that couldn't be further from the truth. I think one of the biggest mistakes this film made was bringing what was originally a 2D character into a real world environment using computer generated graphics. In doing so they had to change what Sonic is, what the storyline originally was, and who he has to interact with now that he's in the real world. Had they made the entire film computer generated like Angry Birds Movie, you could have kept him grounded in the traditional world we all knew and loved growing up. Instead they created an overly simplistic story that in many ways doesn't represet Sonic at all and I had to contemplate several times during the movie whether I should just turn it off. It's hard to fault the actors and their performances, as this is more of a failing in execution rather than casting. Although I didn't think Jim Carrey was well suited for the role of Eggman, it's hard to think of another actor better suited to take his place. What's done is done though and you can't remake something that already had to go back to the drawing board to be remade.
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
A great accomplishment for a game with no storyline or script
To understand my '8' rating, you must first and foremost look at this from a game perspective. As an adult I'm willing to admit that I'm guilty of downloading and playing the original game in my spare time. The game had no real storyline, no character development and no explanation as to what was really going on and why this world existed as it did. The creators of this film had the tremendous task of not only bringing a 2D game into the world of 3D cinema, they had to create names, relationships and a backstory with enough depth that you stay invested till the end. Surprisingly they managed to accomplish all of this, and to a degree that I enjoyed it better than some other computer generated films that had far more to work with. Bringing the characters to life was very well done and you could tell they really thought out the relationship between each of the birds in the game. The story not only made sense, it really complimented and respected the gameplay, which is a task that many other game based movies have failed miserably to do. It's a non-stop ride of jokes, some modern, some traditional. Some child-like, some adult. Although overdone, it allows you to watch it again and again and pick up on things you may have missed previous times. Considering what the creators of this film had to work with, this was a great success.