Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Oct 3, 2023 10:13:00 GMT -5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem(8/2/2023) I am definitely not someone who’s normally in the market for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise; the original cartoon’s dominance was just a little bit before my time (I’m more of the Power Rangers generation) and I certainly had no interest in Michael Bay’s recent take on the series, but when I saw the trailer for this new animated adaptation I was immediately interested. It had a unique animation style and seemed to be trying something new with the characterization of the heroes and generally looked like it was trying to do for the property what Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse did to that IP, which made me curious enough to give it a go. Indeed, the film has this neat animation style that almost kind of resembles claymation and incorporates some kind of outlandish character designs. Furthermore the turtles themselves have kind of been given a personality makeover with each character still having their basic character traits but now being voiced by actual teenagers, making them feel much younger than they have in previous iterations and using more updated slang rather than talking like Bill and Ted in 2023. That was a smart take that pays off but the Into the Spider-Verse comparisons do kind of end at a certain point as the film lacks some of the more mind bending multi-universe aspects of that franchise, instead giving us a relatively conventional origin story mixed with something of an X-Men-like allegory for bigotry and intolerance that probably shouldn’t be thought about too deeply as it sort of borders on questionable “respectability politics” tropes and resolves a bit too easily. Still, I think this movie is mostly a win. It’s not essential viewing in the way that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but it’s a clever take on its assignment that looks good and is done with a lot of charm and wit and is hard to be mad at. ***1/2 out of Five
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Oct 3, 2023 10:29:34 GMT -5
As a TMNT fan since childhood (like most people my age), Mutant Mayhem represents a creative shot in the arm for the brand after that fairly dreadful second Michael Bay-produced film from 2016. Produced and co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, this movie more than any of the others really emphasizes the teenage in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the results are mostly positive. The resulting camaraderie between the turtles feels especially strong, and that coupled with the pretty rad animation style really gives this film a pretty unique flair that it takes advantage of. Granted, this movie is also very humor-driven and not all of it lands, to be honest. For lack of a better term, a good portion of it just comes off as juvenile -- perhaps a bit too juvenile for the movie's sake -- but enough of it works to where it's never a glaring issue. Also, while the overall story functions pretty well, I feel like it could have done a bit more to really flesh out certain key elements more satisfyingly. Because this movie is clearly chasing after the same level of success as the Spiderverse films, and while it certainly has a similar level of fun and an equally artistic style of animation, the script isn't as airtight. Regardless, though, Mutant Mayhem offers up more than a fair share of what Ninja Turtles fans want and expect from the IP and is a very enjoyable watch.
***/****
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Feb 8, 2024 17:30:37 GMT -5
Dammit, another streaming app I need to subscribe to because of my kid.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Jun 8, 2024 0:21:47 GMT -5
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