Sing 2 was released in 2021 and did very well considering movie theaters were still dealing with COVID-19. Sing 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home were the only movies that did well over that holiday season. Sing 2 sees Buster Moon and his group of artists launch a new show and new a retired rock star to join them. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Tori Kelly, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll, Garth Jennings, Jennifer Saunders, Chelsea Peretti, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Offerman, Adam Buxton, Eric Andre, Halsey, Letita Wright, Pharrell Williams, and Bono.

I enjoyed Sing 2 a lot. I thought it was a good movie. I was not the biggest fan of Sing. I saw it once years ago and I did not dislike the movie, but I did not love it either. It was in the middle for me. My opinion might be different now if I were to revisit it. Sing 2 had great songs. It had a good story. I thought everyone did a good job. One thing I really liked about the film is the subtlety that was used throughout. There were moments where characters had a brief scene to show their vulnerability. There was one scene when a character put on a front that they were okay and for a brief scene the character is shown crying in private. Not much time was spent on that in the movie, but it was just enough to show how they were really filling. That moment really stood out to me. I found it very relatable. I think at times a lot of people can put on a mask or a facade in public or around friends or family and then in private take a few minutes to express their true emotions.

The movie also was very uplifting. It has a really nice message of encouraging the audience to follow their dreams. All of the characters are relatable in their own way, and it was cool to see them on their journeys and their storylines in the film. Bono stood out as the retired rocker Clay Calloway. His story was really heartfelt and very relatable. I really connected with the characters in this movie which is rare for me especially for an animated film.

Sing 2 is a fun movie with a heartfelt message. It is inspiring and funny and has relatable characters and storylines. I am looking forward to seeing how Sing 3 will push the story and characters forward.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an anime movie set 200 years before Bilbo Baggins found the ring in the original films. A war breaks out after the death of Wulf’s father who wants revenge on King Helm and wants the thrown for himself. The film stars Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Miranda Otto, Luke Pasqualino, Lorraine Ashbourne, Shaun Dooley, Benjamin Wainwright, Yazdan Qafouri, Laurence Ubong Williams, Michael Wildman, and Bilal Hasna.

I thought The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was alright. I love The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Hobbit trilogy was good, just not as good as the original trilogy. The War of the Rohirrim was boring. It is over two hours but substantially shorter than the original films. The War of the Rohirrim felt long. I was not that invested in the story. It had some nice references to the original trilogy, but the movie itself is a stand-alone tale set in Middle Earth. A lot of the locations that were in the prior films are in this. That was nice to revisit some iconic locations.

There were some nice moments throughout, but it did not grab my attention for the bulk of the film. Even the action pieces were a little ho hum for me. I was invested in the battles of the original trilogy. I did not feel that way this time around.

I did like that the movie kept the score used in the original films. All of the music fit the world very well.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was an alright film that tells a different story set in Middle Earth. It was nice to learn a little more about the world. It was also nice to get to return to Middle Earth. If anything, it has me excited for the Gollum movie which will be released in 2026.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is about Sonic and friends who face their most dangerous adversary yet. The film stars Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaugnessey, Keanu Reeves, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Krysten Ritter, Ayla Browne, James Wolk, and Tom Butler.

I enjoyed Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a lot. I would say it’s the best film in the franchise so far. The cast does a great job. The film is funny and has great action scenes. It also is a little darker this time around. Keanu Reeves does a great job as Shadow. Shadow has a dark backstory, and the film executes it well. Keanu Reeves really shines in the role especially during the flashback scenes. Jim Carrey also shines playing two roles this time around. Trailers already revealed that Jim Carrey is playing both Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik. Jim Carrey does a stellar job playing both characters and making them distinct enough from each other.

Tom and Maddie played by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter got more to do this time around. The film really has everybody involved. Agent Stone played by Lee Majdoub also has more to do as well. It seems each film has given Stone more to do.  A strong aspect of the film is the family dynamics. Family is a big part of this movie between Sonic and his family and the Robotniks. Another nice element of the movie is the friendship between Ivo Robtnik and Agent Stone. The movie does a good job expanding on their dynamic a little more.

The movie does a great job at balancing the comedy and the dramatic moments. The movie gets intense later on and has some heartwarming moments.

There are two credit scenes. There is a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a great movie and the best one of the franchise. It’s funny, heartwarming, and intense. It has great action scenes and great performances from everyone involved. I am very excited to see where the franchise goes next.

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms was released in 2018 and did decently. It wasn’t an outright bomb, but it wasn’t a huge hit either. The film is a darker version of the beloved classic story of The Nutcracker. The film stars Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Tom Fritz, Ellie Bamber, Jayden Fowora-Knight, Matthew Macfadyen, Misty Copeland, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman.

I enjoyed The Nutcracker And The Four Realms. I thought it was a good take on the classic story. I wanted to see the movie when it was released but never got around to it. I have seen other versions of The Nutcracker throughout the years. I liked that this was a darker take on it. It covered the core concept of the story, and it also found a cool way to incorporate the ballet portion as well. I think it’s a nice alternative when it comes to holiday movies.

The cast does a good job in their roles. The movie is visually appealing. The worlds looked great, and I bet they looked even better on the big screen. The movie also felt a bit refreshing. Besides the darker tone, there was a nice twist midway through the film. I was not expecting it at all and changes the trajectory of the rest of the movie. The movie is a lot more action packed than other versions of the story. It also has a lot of humor as well.

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms is a refreshingly darker take on a classic story. I definitely recommend checking this one out for anyone who wants a different take on The Nutcracker. It also is a good length clocking in around ninety-nine minutes. It has action, music, some heart, and humor. It is a good mix for a holiday movie.

The Grinch was released in 2018 and was a massive hit, making over 270 million domestically. The movie is an animated version of the classic story by Dr. Seuss. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Pharrell Williams, Kenan Thompson, and Angela Lansbury.

I enjoyed The Grinch a lot. I wanted to see it when it came out but never got around to it. I thought it was very well done and a fun holiday movie. It captured the spirit of the book very well. Benedict Cumberbatch did a good job as the Grinch. The movie is funny, and it is heartwarming. It is also not too long. It clocks in a little under 90 minutes.

One strong aspect of the movie is the relationship between The Grinch and his dog Max. They make a good pair. A little time is spent on the Grinch’s backstory. It is enough to answer why he hates Christmas so much. The movie is mostly set in the present and doesn’t harp too long on flashbacks. The movie is pretty faithful to the original story. It adds enough to differentiate it from the live Jim Carrey movie.

The Grinch is a good holiday movie that is both faithful to the book as well as doing enough of its own thing to set it apart. I think what worked best for the movie was making it animated compared to the live version that Jim Carrey did in 2000. It seems the best Dr. Seuss adaptations are the ones that are animated.

Based on the Spider-Man villain from Marvel, Kraven the Hunter tells the origin story of Sergei Kravinoff and how he becomes Kraven the Hunter. The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana Debose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, and Russell Crowe.

I enjoyed Kraven The Hunter for what it was. I thought it was a good movie. There were elements of the movie that were silly. This isn’t much of a spoiler because it was revealed in the later trailers, but I found the final design of the Rhino to be silly. In the Spider-Man comics, the costume is silly to begin with. Given the tone of the movie is supposed to be serious, that’s where the design felt off a bit. It seems the Rhino has not been nailed down quite right in live versions. The last attempt was in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 when Paul Giamatti played the role. That design was different and could have worked if there was an Amazing Spider-Man 3 or Sinister Six movie. The Rhino in Kraven The Hunter had a substantial role. I thought Alessandro Nivola did a good job as the character.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson did a good job. I thought he was good as Sergei and really did well as Kraven the Hunter. It would have been interesting wat else Aaron Taylor-Johnson would have been able to do with the role. Kraven the Hunter is the final film in the Sony Spider-verse for now. Unless there is a Kraven 2, this will probably be the only time Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the character. I thought the rest of the cast did a good job in their roles.

Kraven is a lot more violent. The movie is Rated R and I felt the violence and the R rating worked for the movie. It is not substantially more violent than other Marve properties. It’s just a little bloodier, although Deadpool & Wolverine seems to top it in terms of blood level. The film also has language. Again Deadpool & Wolverine seems to top it in terms of F bombs.

As an origin story, I thought it was good and a little better than Madame Web. From the opening minutes of the film, I was rooting for Kraven. I was invested in him from the first few minutes. The film was fairly predictable, but it was still enjoyable. It isn’t too long. It clocks in a little over two hours. I think that was an appropriate length.

The film does not have any credit scenes following in the footsteps of Madame Web. Only the Venom movies and Morbius had credit scenes in the Sony verse.

I thought Kraven The Hunter was an enjoyable fun origin movie for an iconic Spider-Man villain. It was good for what it was. I am curious to see what happens with the character and if Marvel will be able to use the character in the MCU now that Sony is done with their Spider-verse for the time being.

Red One is about Callum Drift who is Santa’s Head of Security and must team up with Jack O’Malley, a famous tracker to save Santa who has been kidnapped. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt, Kiernan Shipka, Wesley Kimmel, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Nick Kroll, and Kristofer Hivju.

I enjoyed Red One a lot. I thought it was a fun holiday action movie. The cast does a good job. Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans have good chemistry. It was nice to see Chris Evans in a different type of role for this one. Chris Evans is most known for his role as Steve Rogers aka Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His character Jack O’Malley is more similar to previous roles he used to play before landing Captain America. The movie relies heavily on the chemistry of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans which helped make it enjoyable.

One thing that was nice for me was that there was a new theatrical Christmas movie. There are a lot of holiday movies, but they are either on the Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, or Netflix as well as other streaming services. There have not been many theatrical holiday movies in a while. I hope there will be more holiday movies in the future, but time will tell. Also, I did enjoy the fact that Red One is a more grown-up movie. Families can go to see it, but it’s not a movie just geared toward children. It can be enjoyed by all ages. The humor itself is more adult given some of the language that is used in the movie.

The movie does have a nice plot. It is pretty self-explanatory but there is also some heart in the film too. It’s just a fun action movie. It also has good effects. It gets the job done for what the movie is.

Red One is a fun modern holiday movie with two great leads. It has fun action, some heart, a few twists here and there, and some humor. It is definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants to go to the movies and see something Christmasy but that is also a little different than what’s on Hallmark and Lifetime as well as most of the movies on Netflix.

Wicked is based off the Broadway Musical about the origins of Elphaba and Glinda and how they first met. The film stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Andy Nyman, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Keala Settle.

Wicked was one of the movies I was most excited for 2024, and I was not disappointed. I read the books that the musical is based off of. There were four books in the series. Wicked was the first book. Subsequent sequels followed various characters after Wicked. I never got a chance to see the Broadway show. I was hoping to see it before the movie, but it just did not work out. I enjoyed Wicked immensely. The cast does a fantastic job. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande really embody their roles. Ariana Grande really shines as Glinda. Cynthia Erivo shines vocally especially with her performance for Defying Gravity. The whole cast does a great job vocally as well.

The sets are spectacular. It was said that there were a lot of practical sets which I think helped immerse the audience into the world of Oz. It is nice that not everything relies on CGI or greenscreen. The costumes are also fantastic.

It looked like the whole cast enjoyed themselves filming the movie. That energy shows and I think helped make the movie more enjoyable.

Wicked clocks in around three hours including twenty minutes of previews. It was not noticeable at all. The movie holds the audience’s attention from the opening moments. The whole cast does a stellar job, but the heart of the movie relies on Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. They really shine carrying the whole movie. Their relationship really is the centerpiece of the movie.  

Wicked is a fantastic movie and one of the best musicals in a long time. It is funny, heartwarming, heart wrenching, emotional, and spectacular. I am excited to see where the story goes and what happens next with the characters in Part Two.