2024 Media Breakdown

Dune (2021): So Dune is an interesting movie, I never read the books or watched the Lynch version, but I’ve always heard good things about Dune so I decided to check it out. My general feelings on Dune are as follows: I did enjoy it but at times but I definitely felt like I wasn’t as into it as I wanted to be sad to say. I know that might feel like whiplash after calling it an interesting movie, but make no mistake, it’s still a good film. Sometimes works can be good while not exactly being your thing, but I’m happy to say I still enjoyed my time with Dune. I think the score was really good and I haven’t done any research on it, but I hope it won awards because the team working on it did an excellent job. Additionally, I felt like the world itself and its various factions and peoples were well done and interesting. Learning about Arrakis and its culture was an interesting experience. I do feel like a lot of the film if not all of it was setup for further sequels and that’s where my issue with it comes along. I felt the pacing stretched itself out a lot and in a 2 hour 25 minute movie that isn’t the best thing. I do understand some of the reasoning behind it because the set design and cinematography is very well done, with so much interesting visual flair and great aesthetic designs that definitely painted a picture of a world in an expanded and different future from our own world. So I get that they wanted to show don’t tell a lot of it. I just feel like I’m more for a piece of media that doesn't use most or all of its runtime on setting up things for future films even if it's a proven franchise like Dune. Keep in mind, this is just an opinion piece, I’m not saying anything definitive about the film and who knows how my opinion will change later on. Overall, I liked Dune but didn’t love it. I see the hype around this world and am eager to see the second part in this series now that all the pieces are put together..

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Guardians 3 whips, I’m sure you don’t need me to say that as these movies have their reputation cut out for them. I’m a huge fan of James Gunn’s work and think that most of his catalog is some quality stuff and this is no different. It’s wild to think that only a few years back he was kicked out of directing this movie because of jokes he made in the past, and now he's practically running DC’s cinematic universe and being Disney’s biggest threat all while directing this film. Guardians 2 is my favorite MCU movie of all time, no contest so in saying that does this one top it? No. It’s really hard to be able to top Guardians 2 for me, that movie was so emotionally resonant with me that it stuck with me ever since I first saw it, but Guardians 3 is still a top tier movie for me nonetheless. After the gut wrenching stuff we got with Rocket last film, seeing more of that this film and the amount of just raw anger and I want this fucker dead for the villain in this movie definitely made this Rocket’s movie, even if they were ooc for like half of it. You really just feel the pain this guy went through and understand why he was so standoffish all these years. I’ve yet to see the holiday special or Love and Thunder though so there were small things I didn't recognize or get but it's also been years since I watched Guardians 2 so things are a bit foggy to me. I really enjoyed the passion and love that the Guardians had for one another and seeing these characters realize they need to find their own paths and do what is best for them gave me a renewed sense of purpose and self-actualization about what it is that I want out of my own life. It definitely feels like the end of this series and with it the final goodbye to MCU fans from Gunn which while bittersweet is just how life is, things change and sometimes that's for the best, we want what's best for those we love and sometimes that means letting go or reconnecting. Guardians 3 does a very good job of showcasing that within its themes and I think it’s a very good time like the other Guardians films.

Barbie: Of all things, you probably wouldn’t expect a movie about Barbie to be a high contender for cinematic prestige, but that’s just what we get in media sometimes. Stuff that just surprises you with how it's done. First off, gonna say right now, yeah the America Ferrera speech is as good as people said it was, pretty much displaying the frustrations that so many women go through on a daily basis for the entire world to hear. I can’t relate to these issues, but I empathize with them and I can see why this sort of speech happened and had to be said. It felt like such a moment of fuck this im going to speak my mind and I don’t give two shits what anyone else wants to say about it. I think the set design and costuming on this fucking owns supremely, it feels so good and is just 10/10 across the board. I’m a big fan of Barbie and Ken’s characterization in this movie and how they’re handled. Humor is also pretty good, jokes like the comment about Margot Robbie, Depression Barbie, and all of the horses bits are some top quality humor, I def dug what they were throwing out there. I think as a film its message about women and their issues definitely comes out of a place of relatability and empathy for the struggles that go on. I also like how the film treats Ken’s arc in that while hes rightfully scorned as the villain we don't get a narrative that demonizes him completely and lets him tell his side of why he even did this to begin with, with Barbie understanding, forgiving, and motivating Ken to be the best version of himself. Margot Robbie’s Barbie is great, I love Robbie in everything she’s in and this is no exception. She manages to paint the picture of bubbly happy-go-lucky girl in a way that doesn’t come off as annoying or dislikeable and she’s someone we care deeply for throughout the film. I think that this film discussed many important topics albeit in passing and through a studio lense which yes, is very limited but appreciated. Greta Gerwig did a great job with this movie, and I’m eager to see her next projects and her back catalog.

Ted (2024 Series): Of all things to expect in 2024, a Ted TV show probably wasn’t on your bingo card but we got one. I saw individual clips of this show as it was gaining popularity back when it came out and I was really eager to check it out. Fast forward to now, and I finished the entire thing. The show for what it's worth manages to be very empathetic about its cast and tries to bring out the best in them all even at their lowest points. This show manages to be funny but not in a mean spiteful way that you can attribute to certain moments in Family Guy. The writing is generally good and its humor manages to avoid punching down at marginalized groups, and when the topic of someone doing so is brought up, they’re pretty much either portrayed as wrong and stupid with the joke being how backwards they are. Jokes managed to get me to audibly laugh at moments for minutes on end just out of how clever they can be, and there’s def some all timers in there imo. Ted and John are both lovable idiots in this show, showing a side to them of awkward adolescence and still learning how the world works. Ted will usually make his fair share of snide comments, but it’s almost never done in a way to hurt someone, just being an ignorant person who doesn't know any better. When it comes down to it, Ted and Johnny are pretty kind to people and only want to enjoy themselves and come off as cool to their entire high school, which feels believable of characters around that age. It’s weird seeing John’s parents being played by other actors but Scott Grimes as John’s dad Matty, and Allana Ubach as John’s Mom, Susan do a great job. Also shoutout to John’s actor (Max Burkholder), they killed it in the role as John, and managed to create a pretty likable underdog of a characterization of John. Kudos also goes to John’s cousin Blair played by Georgia Whigham, she’s the voice of reason in the Bennet household and one of my fav characters in the show. Another thing about Ted is how it relates 2024 issues to 1993 and looks back on them and discusses them in a pretty mature and respectful manner. It is a bit harrowing to think about man shit didn't change much huh, but I’m also optimistic that at least these talking points got to a point in 2024 where TV shows are accepting and discussing them rather than ignoring them, so there is progress in that.

Chucky Season 3: I've been watching this series since its initial inception back in 2021 and ever since then I've been a big fan of the work Don Mancini has done with the Chucky universe after all these years, that being said, Season 3 is where I officially jumped off of the show, not because of its quality, but because of my own personal preferences. I've seen enough Chucky to last me for a good while and while Season 3 was a good Season from what I've seen, I bowed out at Episode 4. I think I'm just tired of the Chucky universe and its general formula of kills per episode and seeing randos who dont deserve it die. Its weird because I like horror movies but sometimes the hour and a half length that a horror movie can be is to its benefit if you know what I mean. I still respect the fuck out of what they do here in the season and with its even more wilder premise before now being Chucky stalks The White House and where that goes. Chucky is still good in its 3rd season, I'm just tired of waiting out 8 episodes to resolve things and see where things go for our cast. Tired of introducing a gaggle of characters for The Chuckster to kill off so our attachment to them is fleeting, I'm just tired of it, no shade to the show itself, I just think for me my patience for this show has dried up mainly just on sticking with it for 8 hour long episodes.

Smiling Friends Season 2: Smiling Friends returns this year with it's second season and well, I didn't care much for it when compared to the first season. I overall thought the first season was way funnier than the second with better moments and jokes for the most part. That being said the second season does have some great moments and jokes. I feel like episodes like Brother's Egg, Gwimbly, and The Magical Red Jewel were some of the best in the season. However Mr President was an episode that generally rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like political satire is something that can be done well if handled well but here it felt very sloppily done, with some allusions to some real world conspiracy theories that made me tug at my collar a bit when watching it for the first time. I'm aware that Zach Hadel doesn't have the most spotless past when it comes to humor, but I feel like the way this episode was portrayed definitely touched on some real world issues that it probably shouldnt have. Some of my favorite aspects of Season 2 were Mr. Landlord in "Allen Adventure" and his ongoing joke, the Jared Fogle joke got me on it's execution, Jason at the end of the magic jewel episode, and The Bill Nye bit in the final episode was pretty funny as well. I think this season upped the ante on usage of mixed media, what with characrters like Gwimbly, Brittany, and Rotten The Snowman using a variety of different styles of mixed media all to it's benefit. One of the big characters I liked this season was Mr.Boss, he stole the show for me throughout the season. Another thing that was upped since season 1 was the amount of Alan in it which was something I heard a lot of fans want. I liked the inclusion of Alan in the season and it was done well, but he's not a character I'm much of a fan of personally. Honestly, I felt like Glep was severely lacking in this season and I want to see more of him in Season 3 personally. Overall, Smiling Friends Season 2 is good, but not as good as its first season to me at least, still a good attempt nonetheless, here's hoping for a successful season 3.