A Ghost Story – 2017

Score: 2/10

Most annoying movie of 2017. By far… An amazing idea, interesting and fresh, with a novel approach to the subject matter. And what did they do with that idea? The destroyed it, they butchered it through abject cinematography and bland moment after bland moment. Seriously, get over yourselves, this is not art, this is not special, this is just boring, boring with a capital B. I barely managed to watch this until the end and I can honestly say I wasted 92 minutes of my life on it…

The story is great, the concept is interesting, it has depth, it leaves you thinking and it manages to steer away from many of the usual clichés of the supernatural drama genre. The movie makes you wonder about your life, it makes you think about your actions and most importantly, about their consequences. Who will remember us when we are no longer here, who will cry for us and how will time treat the memories of us. Will we leave a lasting impact on the world or will we disappear in a bright light along with every single footstep we took…?

There, all this movie concentrated in 2 sentences. Because this is it, a great story and nothing more. If you take out all the useless scenes of people doing dishes and staring aimlessly, you can reduce A Ghost Story to a 10 minute YouTube Video, which would have a lot more impact than this drawn out slugfest. In fact, I will spare you the time needed to watch this piece of shit. Just go to YouTube and watch the trailer, you will understand everything and it will be far more entertaining and most importantly, devoid of filler.

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara are good actors, great actors even, and their performances here are up to par from a strictly technical point of view. Yes, they act well, yes, they transmit emotion, but at the same time, because of the script, they bored me out of my mind. It’s a real shame that actors of their skill keep on exclusively doing these type of movies and I really hope to see Affleck in the future in actual good films that I can watch without wanting to kill myself throughout in order to at least have a little fun…

The cinematography is bad because it tries too much to be special. Everything moves so slow, you don’t get any excitement and the director lingers too much on each scene. You don’t create tension by letting us stare at a woman washing dishes and eating cake for 5 minutes, you are not deep, you are not sending out a powerful message or emotions, you are simply filling your movie with scenes that are not important and that are only there to satisfy your ego.

The music is interesting as it is the only element of the movie that instills unease and tension. But it is absent for the most part and that makes the experience feel dull and diminishes the return of the key moments, since you can identify when the music starts that something will happen…. By trying to run away from Hollywood and to be unique, David Lowery forces the viewers to watch endless static scenes that while trying to be deep, manage only to bore out and dilute the overall message of the film.

In conclusion, A Ghost Story is a film I would not recommend to anyone, because it is not a movie worth watching. See the trailer, go on Wikipedia or IMDB and read the story, marvel at the amazing themes and the great overall message, and then move on. As the movie teaches us, life is short, time passes, and it is very important to leave something behind. So go do that and don’t waste your precious time with this piece of shit, oh I’m sorry, “art”…

 

Logan Lucky – 2017

Score: 6,5/10

Hmmmmm, I’m really confused about this one. On the one hand it’s fun, relaxing and very interesting, and on the other it’s too long, filled with useless filler and shot poorly. But still, I have to give it credit for being a heist movie that manages to dart away from the usual clichés of the genre and actually bring a refreshing story to the table. In Logan Lucky you do not have an all knowing all conquering crew that executes everything to perfection, you have a string of misfits that manage to pull off an amazing feat of criminality.

The story is interesting, it flows very nice and it makes watching the movie very easy and enjoyable. You have flashbacks, you have great montages that remind you of classics like Ocean’s Eleven and, best of all, you have the sort of ingenuity that makes you think about your childhood spent watching MacGyver. Everything comes together nicely and you will be amazed that the movie actually manages to surprise you, especially in its final act. The tension is real and you find yourself rooting for the characters, wanting them to succeed. Nothing is certain, nothing is set in stone, and the happy ending only reinforces the strong narrative of the film.

The cast is stellar. You have many big names brought together from different areas of Hollywood and you can see in every scene how well they interact. All the characters are believable, from the southern accents to the casual racism and sexist jokes. Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Seth MacFarlane and Hilary Swank are all great actors. Different, but great, and it is amazing to watch them interact and feed of each other, turning Logan Lucky into a masterpiece when it comes to acting.

The music is another strong point in the movie, complementing the action very well and offering us thrill after thrill. Director Steven Soderbergh is known for his style of fast paced movies that keep you glued to the screen, and this is no exception. You want to see where it is all leading too, you want to discover the background of each character and yes, you want to find out how much money was in that freaking safe…

At this point you are probably wondering why Logan Lucky isn’t getting a higher score, considering how much I’ve praised the story and the cast. Well, that is only because of the director and the cinematographer, who unfortunately screwed up very bad on the technical aspects. It’s amazing how a good story and a great cast can be ruined by sloppy cinematography. The angles are ridiculous, the camera placements are absurd and in most of the scenes, everything is too far out, almost like looking through an inverted spyglass. You don’t know who is talking because you can’t see the actors faces and all of this combined, simply pulled me out of the movie. It’s not natural and it is sincerely one of the worst ways to shoot a movie I have ever encountered. The critics appreciating this type of camera work are simply snobs that want to feel special because they understand the subtleties behind it, but I am here to say to you that no, you are not special and there is no hidden message, there is no art here, it’s just bad camerawork that tries to be special and ends up being pretentious. It hurts the movie a lot and that was seen in its box office results and in how the audiences reacted to it…

In conclusion, Logan Lucky is an interesting film, and one I would recommend, especially to fans of heist movies. But don’t expect an Ocean’s Eleven here. It is a different take on the genre and if you manage to ignore the stupid camerawork and the pointless sentimental scenes that offer no actual emotion, you can enjoy it and have a good time. And seriously, who knew you could make a bomb out of gummy bears…? 🙂

The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature – 2017

Score: 5/10

It’s actually not so bad. I mean seriously, I really don’t get the hate for this franchise. Yes, the Nut Job was not an amazing movie, and The Nut Job 2, although an improvement, is still not an amazing movie, not even a great one. But it’s not terrible and it makes you laugh more than once. It seems to me that this animation is treated very harshly by critics and audiences alike and I guess that can only come from the fact we are comparing it to Pixar. It is a movie for children and a movie that they will enjoy, because of its campy fun and lighthearted tone. Yes, there are many bad things about it, but still, it’s a worthwhile experience.

The story is unfortunately the worst part of the movie, by far. The problem with the narrative is not that it is not engaging or funny, because it is. The problem is that it is copy pasted from a lot of other movies. You have characters actually identical to other animations, like the mouse Mr. Feng who is basically Snowball from The Life of Pets, you have the main plot point inspired from Pocahontas and Avatar, you have jokes we’ve seen before a thousand times. Everything feels like a second hand version of other better movies, and this is why The Nut Job 2 appears to you as bland, all in all a forgettable story you will never remember.

But if we leave the story aside, we have positives here, and the cast scores high up on that list. Will Arnett is at his very best as Surly and he manages to make us laugh throughout. Jackie Chan, Katherine Heigl, Bobby Moynihan, Bobby Cannavale, Gabriel Iglesias and Maya Rudolph offer strong supporting characters, completing the picture very well and managing to appeal to audiences. They are funny, believable and, in parts, relatable. We have here good voice acting, and we can only wonder what this talented cast would have managed to achieve if not shackled by the shambolic script and the huge number or clichés that the actors have to navigate.

The animation style is ok, not innovative or anything, but not bad. It is a classic kids movie with bright colors and funny designs, falling into cartoon territory on more than one occasion. You don’t get strong themes, you don’t get deep scenes, and that is actually a good thing, because you are able to focus on having fun and laughing without wondering too much about the consequences. It is a perfect popcorn movie and an example of what escapist fun is and should be. The Nut Job 2 doesn’t want to make you think about things to much. Just clap your hands and go along for the ride…

The overall themes of the movie are interesting and, most of all, positive. The lessons that The Nut Job 2 presents to our children are good ones. We learn about the value of friendship, about why good working is nothing to be ashamed about, we understand that we are stronger together than we are alone. All of them are good solid principles that can get to our children easier because they are transmitted in a shallow and animated form. The message of this movie is one of the better things about it, and one that we should not dismiss so easily.

In conclusion, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature is better then it’s predecessor, but still falls way short of epic. It is a bland and common animation, that while does not deserve all the scorn it has received, will never be more than a fun and forgettable 91 minutes of goofiness. The action is fast paced, everything happens at the speed of light and you do not get any chance to think about what you see. Which works wonders for kids, so when you analyze this movie, try to see it through a kid’s eye. You might be surprised by what you discover…

Annabelle: Creation – 2017

Score:  7/10

The Conjuring series is in my mind one of the best recent horror universes. It has depth, it has a story that is actually interesting and it manages to offer genuine scares. I watched them all and I was very excited to see Annabelle: Creation. And I was not disappointed. Although not at the level of The Conjuring 1 and 2, it is far better than the first Annabelle and offers 110 minutes of terror that make you want to turn on the lights and never ever touch a doll again. In fact, after seeing this, if I never encounter a doll in my entire life I would be happy.

The plot is good, not overly complex but decent enough to create tension. We have a lot of moments of pure silence that tend to somewhat negate the impact of the jump scares, but other than that, you can relate to the story and you can understand the character’s motivations. The only problem for me was that the film gets sort of repetitive and boring after a while, but I guess that is something that plagues most horror movies so meh, what can you do…

The characters are very nicely done, complex and believable. Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson and Anthony LaPaglia do a great job in transmitting emotions and reaching the audience’s core, elevating the movie beyond the simple scare fest that is so typical of the genre. You can see all of them have experience with acting in horror movies and that makes the cast one of the strongest qualities of Annabelle: Creation.

The lighting is one of my main problems with this movie, as with a lot of other horror films. Making it hard for the audiences to see what is happening on the screen is not a way to induce terror, it’s a way to induce boredom and frustration. Yes, I know, it’s horror, it happens mostly at night, but if Supernatural manages to give us great scares week after week for 13 years now while allowing us to actually see the monsters, I think movies can manage it as well.

Besides the lighting aspect, the filmography is actually very good. The cuts from scene to scene go almost unnoticed, and the progression of the story feels natural and logical. We get background, we get jump scares, we get flashes of actual dread and it is amazing how freaky the doll actually looks. The music is also very good, helping to create a powerful atmosphere that completes the action in a brutal and satisfying way.

This is David F. Sandberg’s second film, and considering his first one was the amazing Lights Out, I think we can conclude that he is one of the stars of the horror genre at the moment. You know you are going to get quality from his movies, and this is making me very excited for the 2019 release of Shazam, which he is slated to direct. We will see then if he can make the transition from horror to superhero blockbusters, and I for one really hope he will impress. God knows the DC extended universe desperately needs good movies at the moment.

In conclusion, Annabelle: Creation is a very good horror movie and one that I highly recommend for all fans of the genre. You will be scared, you will feel uneasy and you will remember many of its iconic moments for years to come. A very strong entry in the Conjuring universe and a huge box office success, it is my hope that this movie has managed to put the series back on track and that we can expect more of this in its future. In the end, who knew that a doll just standing on a chair can be so fucking scary…

 

Ballerina (Leap!) – 2016

Score: 3,5/10

Oh my god! I have never seen an animation so filled with clichés as this one that despite that manages to make you feel kind of good and enjoy its 89 minutes without wanting to slit your own wrists. This movie left me so conflicted about the final score, because I am a huge fan of happy movies that make you laugh and smile and have a positive conclusion. But despite the fact that Ballerina offers exactly that, it was very hard for me to get over the predictability of it all. While watching it, you actually know what will happen in the next instance, and that is every single time. You are never surprised, there are no twists, nothing. Only a heartwarming story like so many others that doesn’t manage to make you feel invested in its finale.

We have orphans that have dreams, and they manage to overcome obstacles and fulfill their goals, while learning stuff about themselves and the world around them. Easy, simple, and very very boring. Yes, there are nice moments, but there is no emotion because everything happens the way you want it to happen. You never feel scared for the characters, you never feel that they could actually lose out, because all the conflicts seem manufactured. Nothing makes you root for them because you don’t have to root, everything will end up exactly how you want it too and that is obvious from the first 5 minutes of the movie.

The characters are clichés. Every single character from this movie is a cliché and it’s totally described by its most important personality trait. You have the orphans that want to make something of themselves, you have the caretakers at the orphanage that seem bad people, but actually mean well, you have the evil mother that wants to do everything in order for her child to win, you have the former great dancer that can’t do it anymore and becomes a teacher… And the list can go on. Cliché after cliché and everything apparent from the first second you see the character. It’s a shame, because Elle Fanning and Dane DeHaan have chemistry and offer a believable story about friendship and love. Too bad it’s bogged down by everything else.

The visual style is another disappointment, being far away from the standard of what Hollywood animation offers us. It tries to be funky and fresh but you feel it being sluggish and the transition between scenes is not what it should be. The colors are bright and yet feel toned down and the best word to describe the overall visual impact of the movie is unremarkable. It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Ballerina is not an outright bad movie, and it was refreshing for me to see an independent animation do decently at the box office. It is a good thing and I can only hope to have more independent animations that get the same results. But maybe next time choose better the clichés you import from Hollywood. There are good clichés and bad clichés, and you have to choose those that work. This movie unfortunately failed to do it, and this is why I would not watch it again.

In conclusion, watch Ballerina if you want to see an animation that offers you some funny and adorable moments, but do not expect tension or deepness because you will not get them. It is worth watching once, but don’t expect to remember anything from it. Oh, and please, stop telling us that we can learn ballet in a few days, because you simply can’t do it and it’s insulting for people that actually dance…

 

The Boss Baby – 2017

Score: 6,5/10

The Boss Baby for me is a mixed movie. I was very hyped for it because the premise seemed so interesting and it made me laugh a lot, but at the same time I felt an acute sense of disappointment because it fell short many times and it didn’t quite manage to fully maximize the opportunities for humor that the story offered. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad movie, but it could have been so much better and it’s infuriating that the screenwriter chose the easy way in many of the scenes, preferring stupid clichés to actual interesting comedy.

The story is the weakest part of the movie. It’s convoluted, it never establishes rules for the universe, thus making a lot of things feel forced and actually stupid. It’s never explained how this baby society functions and you never get explanations for outrageous things like why nobody is shocked about a baby wearing a suit or why some of the babies are talking in adult voices and knows to read or speak, while others don’t have these abilities although they are taking the same formula. These things get more and more annoying over the course of the movie, and when you couple them with continuity mistakes, it affects your suspension of disbelief, which makes it very hard to relate with the characters.

Speaking of characters, Alec Baldwin is the best part of the movie, and his performance is a joy from start to finish. He is well supported by Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow who also have good performances. It is again very sad that all these great actors don’t have a better material to work with, and I just hope that for the sequel that is slated for 2021 the writing will be better.

The animation is good, believable and up to par with the best of them. This is not Pixar, but it’s still right up there, so you are in for a visual treat with some interesting and unique choices when it comes to the action scenes and the general physics of the universe. The action flows nicely, but it gets very tangled towards the end and the conspiracies and secret plans reach and absurd level of detail. It seems to me that The Boss Baby forgot at a certain point that it was a kids movie and started including a lot of references and inside jokes that were better suited for a middle-aged audience.

I have to also mention the musical score, which is very interesting and it brings a lot of joy to the film. And for me it was a huge surprise to see Hans Zimmer scoring such a comedy, a nice one, but still a surprise nonetheless.

In conclusion, The Boss Baby is a worthwhile movie from which you can get a few good chuckles. Unfortunately, it falls way short of being a good animation because of the many discrepancies in the story and in the way the characters interact. It is a shame, because the idea was really interesting and fresh. Please Hollywood, in the future, when you have a good idea, don’t stop there, think about it before adapting it, try to expand it and to offer it more than a simple litany of poop joke after poop joke. Even in a movie about toddlers, it gets tedious after a while. Poop is funny, but too much poop is not! Always remember that…

Despicable Me 3 – 2017

Score: 8,5/10

It simply amazes me how this franchise can still fascinate audiences so much. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the first 2 Despicable Me’s, I loved the Minions movie and I was super excited for this one, but the fact that it caught so well with audiences shocked me a little, because it doesn’t bring so many new things to the table. I was expecting it to be a hit, but to gross over 1 billion was something I did not anticipate. Anyway, all in all, Despicable Me 3 is a really funky and enjoyable movie and well worth anybody’s time.

The story is not so well thought out like the previous chapters, but it still manages to fascinate and entertain, especially the younger audiences. This is a kid’s movie through and through, but it also offers many interesting moments for older audiences. You laugh a lot and you rejoice in finding so many adult themes scattered throughout the zingy comedy that is so typical for Illumination. The movie analyzes family, emotions, love, all while offering you the huge dose of the moronic and yet adorable humor that the Minions bring to the table. You will never be bored watching this and you will discover many instances when you will be actually laughing out loud.

The music is amazing, although unfortunately it doesn’t get a place to really shine. Heitor Pereira creates a heartwarming musical score, which includes five new songs from Pharrell Williams, created especially for this movie. The only problem is that you don’t really get the chance to actually focus on the music, because the action moves so fast and the gags come one after the other, stealing all your attention.

The characters are typical for the franchise and are exactly what we are all expecting. Steve Carell in his dual role as Gru and Dru is amazing, and although I was never a really big fan of his style of humor, I have to accept that he is hugely talented and he has become a comedy icon in the last 10 years or so. Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker also put in strong voice performances and manage to elevate the film and make you laugh along the way. Also I have to give a special mention to Pierre Coffin, who besides doing a great work as a director, also voices the adorable minions in all their goofiness…

The action flows naturally, the story is credible, and at 90 minutes, the movie comes in perfectly adapted to the animation market as it stands today. You don’t have useless filler, you don’t have dead moments, it is fast paced and filled with joy. This is one of the best things about this franchise in my mind, the sheer joy you get in watching these movies. The ending is always happy, you don’t fear for the characters. It is essentially a cartoon and that is perfect for a kids animation, ensuring that we will get many more chapters in this series.

In conclusion, Despicable Me 3 is a good animated movie and an easy to enjoy comedy. You can watch it with your children or you can watch it alone, it doesn’t matter, you will still laugh and you will still, as always, wonder what you should do in order to have a little yellow menace of your own. I mean come on, who doesn’t want a Minion? 😀

 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – 2017

Score: 9/10

Goddammit I can’t understand movie critics… I simply can’t and I give up, I don’t get why they are so stupid. I was reading reviews before watching this and I was expecting a bad movie, an ineligible plot and a festival of clichés. Instead, I got to see an amazing film, with what are sure to be the best visuals of 2017 and with a story that flows nicely, coherently and relatable. It is a joy to watch from start to finish and it is a testament for the huge talent of Luc Besson. I am very happy that this director has returned back to form, and with Lucy and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, he has shown us in the last couple of years that he is here to stay.

The CGI and visual effects are simply astonishing and if you have the possibility, I highly recommend seeing this movie in 3D. It’s so rare to have a film that is actually worth watching through those annoying glasses, but this is certainly one of those special ones. You see worlds coming together, you see aliens of all types that interact in the most bizarre manners, everything brought to you in spectacular colors and lighting. It is a an example of how you should use special effects in order to immerse the audience into the core of a story and it rises up to its titles of both the most expensive non-American and independent film ever made.

The cast is amazing all throughout, with supporting characters being played to perfection by the likes of Ethan Hawke, Rihanna or Clive Owen. But the main attraction for me in this movie were the two leads, who have maybe the best chemistry I ever saw on a set this year. Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne spark on the big screen and their love story feels so real and engaging I was rooting for them from the first second until the end credits. And a special mention to the voice of Cara, one of the most is interesting I have ever heard in cinema. I discovered her in my time playing GTA 5, she is a DJ for a radio station in the game, and I have to say it was a pleasure to hear her again.

The action scenes are well put together and the transitions happen naturally. You identify with the decisions of the characters and that makes the movie feel more real, you understand their motives and you become part of their world. It is a blockbuster so it doesn’t have excessive depth and it doesn’t get bogged down by useless debates on morality. We have good and bad coming together and battling it out and that was for me very refreshing.

The music is perfectly in tuned with the visuals and it helps with the construction of the world. On a technical side, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is perfectly crafted and the only criticism I could focus on is the length, which at 137 minutes may have been one of the reasons that turned away audiences. The film was unfortunately a box office disappointment and I really hope that Luc Besson will not let that stop him from making a sequel. I for one can’t wait to see more of the adventures of Valerian and Laureline and I am sure that with a better marketing campaign and a shorter duration, a second chapter will be far better received by audiences.

In conclusion, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a must see for any movie fan and especially for those who like science fiction. It is a powerful story, embroiled by sensational visuals and amazing music and acting. A classic that future generations will come back too, you can’t afford to miss this one. In the end, we all have to learn that sacrifice is never more important than trust…

 

The Big Short – 2015

Score: 9,5/10

Movies on complicated financial subjects don’t usually turn out to be very entertaining, but The Big Short is one exception that will leave you in awe. The financial crisis is approached in a funny and lighthearted way, allowing the viewers to enjoy the action without getting depressed. Everything in the movie is simplified for the benefit of the audiences, but without losing the realistic element and its overall depth. It’s a powerful story told with a humorous disguise and thus making a far greater impression on you that previous films that have tackled this historical period…

The action is riveting, we jump from scene to scene, we discover the lives of the characters one by one and we get the chance to experience the same macro event through multiple points of view, each valid and each different. The tone of the movie is not that of judgment, instead offering arguments for different courses and letting the viewer decide if something is good or not. This attitude, couple with its humor, makes The Big Short a perfect choice for those who want to learn the basics about our financial system.

The cast is stellar. I have rarely seen so many A-list actors together in one movie. Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei and Karen Gillan all together in one movie, all doing a fantastic job and playing their characters to perfection. It’s a dream for every movie fan and it is by far the best thing about The Big Short. Every single actor is perfectly casted and they spark, their chemistry is very appealing. You get comedy, you get action, you get drama, you get everything you could wish for. And let’s not forget about the spectacular cameo-s from Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. I can’t think about a better way to learn about the financial market then having a naked girl explain it to you from a tub filled with foam…

Another amazing thing about the movie is the constant fourth wall breaking. A lot of characters do it and it manages to bring a certain degree of intimacy between the characters and the audiences. You learn from the movie, but you don’t learn in a boring and pedantic way. Instead, you see fireworks and you feel every single action fully, you wonder what you would have done and sometimes I am sure the conclusion will not be to your liking…

I am not a huge fan of biographical movies, because it is very hard to make one actually appeal to the public. The Big Short however manages to do just that, and it’s amazing how Adam McKay as director manages to inspire feelings and uncovers a whole new world behind the shadows. We have all lived through this period, since it’s only 10 years ago, but only now we can understand it fully and appreciate the forces that were at work there, for good or for evil…

Adored by critics and audiences, The Big Short was a box office success and proved that you can make any subject appealing to mass audiences if you do it the right way. The movie makes you think, it makes you feel for the stories that, although separate, come together so well in the grand scheme of things. A must see for any movie fan around the world and one of the best biographical movies ever made. A frank view into the past and a stern warning for what the future holds if we do not change our ways. So in other words, do not sell or buy CDO’s…

 

Smurfs: The Lost Village – 2017

Score: 5/10

Hmmmmm, Smurfs… Not a big fan of the characters and definitely not a fan of the previous live action / animated bore fests. So I went into this one with little hope and expecting it to become tedious very fast. And don’t get me wrong, this is a subpar animation, and although it manages to steal a couple of laughs, it never rises above that, but it is an improvement over the other ones and this soft reboot might just ensure we get a couple more movies about the blue ones. Smurfs: The Lost Village finally abandons the live action component and focuses only on the Smurfs, thus making it at least more enjoyable.

The story is what you could expect from a kids movie, not great but fortunately not convoluted. The action is streamlined and the plot develops fast and predictable. You will not be surprised by anything in this movie but at the same time you will not find anything annoying. This feels like a generic animation, filled to the brim with all the usual clichés. You have betrayal, love, envy, hate, angst, and of course a happy ending, all tight neatly together into a dull 91 minutes.

The characters are typical for the franchise, each described entirely by one single trait. That is one of the things that actually works for the movie, because you know what to expect from everyone. Unfortunately, the gags associated with those characters fall flat most of the times. It’s sad that the movie’s humor connects so rarely because there are a lot of good actors here. For me, noticeable performances come from Demi Lovato, Julia Roberts and Michelle Rodriguez. I also have to admit it was a very nice surprise to hear the iconic voice of Gordon Ramsay, although I am very sad that his part was so small and I definitely wanted more.

The animation is ok, not too good and not blatantly bad. I think the best word to describe it is bland, and that is unfortunate, because considering it’s a franchise, they cannot go any other way. This is what we expect from the Smurfs and their world and this means that unfortunately we will not get anything different in terms of animation from future instalments. Overall, the quality of the visuals doesn’t hurt the movie but at the same time it doesn’t win it points. Everything here is at the bare minimum level of acceptance and this is why you will not want to ever watch it again.

The music is actually nice and interesting and I enjoyed the score, it is the best in any Smurf movie up to date and it is surprisingly adequate for the central theme of the film. You get the intention is that of transmitting joy and of teaching children that life is fun and nice and I appreciate that, because that is the sort of message I want in a movie for kids.

Smurfs: The Lost Village is an acceptable movie and the best Smurf movie out there. It is still a long way off other animations, but it is still a fun and goofy comedy you can enjoy if you are in a certain spirit. It is not a movie that you will remember, it is pure escapist fun and the very definition of an animated popcorn movie. If you have children, they will be really happy seeing it and it is definitely worth watching it together with them. If not, watch it, laugh a little, and then move on. Unfortunately, this film will not help you in any way to find your true purpose…