Mirai

I'll always have a soft spot in my heart when it comes to anime films. Every year there's at least one anime film that I am really looking forward to and this year it was Mirai. Mirai was directed by beloved anime film director Mamoru Hosoda, who has created some of the best anime films in recent memory (Wolf Children, Boy and the Beast and Summer Wars). The bar has been set high for his movies, and I was excited to see if Mirai would live up to the standard he has set.

Mirai is definitely the most beautifully animated movie by Hosoda so far. There's just something about hand-drawn animation that will always look better than CG in my opinion. Sadly, the days of hand-drawn are slowly going away, but this movie proves to me that it still has a lot of worth. The detail, color, movement, expression, and style bring something special and unique to this movie. Though to be fair, there is a large amount of CG used in the movie, but it blends well with the traditional style. The animation, alongside the beautifully done score, the great voice acting and storytelling make this another great movie from Hosoda.

The story focuses on a young boy named Kun and his family. Kun's life is changed for the worst (in his eyes) when his parents come home with a new baby, a little sister named Mirai. As any young boy would, he becomes extremely jealous of all the attention Mirai is getting now. During one of his tantrums, he is transported to a new world. Throughout the movie, he is transported to different time periods where he meets his family members at younger and older ages and learns more about his family through them. This leads to realizations that help little Kun grow and learn to be a different person. It's a story that I'm sure lots of people can identify with, especially ones who grew up with older siblings or has two or more kids. It's a nice message that I haven't seen too much in family movies recently and it is told in a fun and inventive way to appeal to young and older audiences alike. Though I'm sure the older audiences will probably get more out of the storytelling.

I can't say that I loved every second of this movie though, as it takes it while before it really takes off. It takes it's time building up to the first time travel reveal. The movie spends a lot of time at Kun's house, which got visually boring after spending a little too much time there. The story also felt a bit slow in the moments in the house while the story introduced all the characters and the relationship between Kun and Mirai. All that changed though, after the time travel is introduced it really kicks off visually and the storytelling goes up along with it. It's well worth the wait too, because it leads to some beautifully animated moments, with some great heartfelt moments to go along. There's a lot of lessons to be learned in this story, and the movie deals with them in a way that doesn't feel too pandering to the younger audience, but in a way, they can still understand it. Though I'm not sure if a young child will be patient enough to make it through those slower moments of the movie, I'd sure hope so. This movie is shorter than your average big budget film, but at times it felt like it dragged a little bit. This is a slow paced movie and a few times I wanted the movie to move just a little faster and get to the next scene/sequence. But by the end of the movie, I understood why it was made that way. I appreciate everything this movie did because it all seemed purposeful and made to fit the story that it was trying to tell.

Mirai was a fun experience that I came out of feeling good. The visuals were some of the best I've seen all year and the story, while sometimes slow, was good and memorable. Hosoda had a clear vision for this movie and I think he accomplished it beautifully. This is another great addition to his already great filmography. While I don't think it's his best work so far, it definitely lives up to the hype and doesn't fall short of the standard he has set as a creator. I can't wait to see what else his creative mind will give us.

Overall Grade: B

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Aquaman

After the big failure that was Justice League, DC really needs a big hit to keep things going and to keep the fans interested in it's movie universe. "Aquaman" has to bare a lot of that weight on it's shoulders, while also introducing viewers to the world of Aquaman and all the lore that is apart of that world. We got a brief introduction to Aquaman in Justice League and honestly he was probably the best part of that movie. Jason Momoa oozes charm and like-ability with his dude-bro version of Aquaman. But would it work if he's the lead? "Aquaman" answers that question and more.

So "Aquaman" introduces us to the story of Arthur, a half-Human and half-Atlantean. His mother a Queen from Atlantis and his father some random human who lives in a lighthouse. After the events of Justice League, Arthur is called back home to Atlantis to prevent his half-brother from uniting the different armies of the ocean and attacking the humans on earth. Oh, and there's also a crazy soldier who calls himself Black Manta who is seeking revenge against Aquaman for events that happen early in the movie. Arthur teams up with reluctant partner Mera to find a hidden trident that will help stop Atlantis from going to war with the Humans.

This movie really could have been a great time. There was a lot keeping it from being great in my eyes though. Before that, let's talk about the good things. As you've probably heard, this movie looks awesome... and it does. The effects are pretty damn cool to look at, especially when it goes underwater into the world of Atlantis. Lots of cool colors and designs and shiny things to look at. This is one of those movies that might be worth watching in IMAX just because of these effects and visuals. The other good thing is of course Aquaman himself. He hasn't lost any of that charm from Justice League and he's easy to root for as a hero. The movie has a lot more focus on fun, like what "Suicide Squad" was trying to do... except it works a lot better in "Aquaman". Besides Aquaman though, all the other actors do a fine job with their characters. Some characters don't seem to get a lot of screen time which is a shame, but I'll get to that later. The action scenes where mostly good, though a lot of them were set up the same. The movie constantly started action scenes out of nowhere, with a jump-scare moment, which got kind of annoying. That aside, the action scenes were still mostly fun to watch and well made.

What really kept this movie from being great though was the way it tried to introduce you to the world. The movie had to keep stopping to explain the history and lore of Atlantis, with long dialog scenes that were pretty boring sometimes. There was also the problem of having two villains in one movie, which rarely works in these comic book movies. Instead of putting all of the focus on one baddie, they tried to put in two. Black Manta as a villain, barely got much screen time and it felt pretty strange. It probably would have been better to keep Black Manta away until the next movie or focus the entire movie on him.

This movie also just feels way too long at almost 2 1/2 hours. I struggled to stay interested in the story for that long, especially in the middle where the story takes a turn into an adventure movie. It made the movie feel even longer than it actually was. It didn't always use that time in a good way either. Like not focusing on certain characters enough, or using a lot of time to drop exposition. It makes sense to drop a lot of exposition in a movie introducing us to a whole new comic book world, but i'm sure there were better ways to do it.

There was a lot I liked in this movie and a lot of things I didn't like. That makes the movie fall right in the middle of how I felt about it, it was OKAY. I had enough fun that I would gladly watch a sequel and I would be excited for it, but I don't see myself coming back to this particular movie anytime soon. There's room for lots of improvement, but it was a good start to the Aquaman character. It's worth a watch if you like anything that has to do with DC and comic movies, or you just want a visually interesting action movie.

B-B-B-B-BONUS ROUND!!!!!

Speaking of visually interesting movies, here's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! This is a new animated movie was created by Sony Pictures Animation. They don't have the best track record when it comes to animated movies, just recently making one of the worst movies in "The Emoji Movie".  But when I heard that Lord and Miller were going to be the ones behind this, my excitement shot up to the heavens. These two guys are behind two of my favorite animated movies of recent memory (Sunny With a Chance of Meatballs and Lego Movie). Expectations were high, and the movie had a lot to live up to with the Spider-Man name attached to it. Especially after how great the recent Spider-Man movies have been on the Disney side of things. 

I'll just say it now, Spider-Verse lives up to all the hype and surpasses it greatly. This is by far the best animated movie of the year, with pretty much nothing coming close to it (except maybe Isle of Dogs?).  The animation is some of the best I've seen in a long time, and it's got a very unique style that fits the world so perfectly. Everything in this movie works so well together. The great voice cast, writing, action, animation, soundtrack and story. Everyone who worked on this movie made sure to make every detail and second of this movie entertaining and well-made. While there are a lot of characters thrown into the movie, it keeps it's focus where it's most important: Miles Morales. The other character are all great, especially Peter Parker who is much different than any other Peter Parker that has been on film. The relationship between Peter and Miles is what drives the movie and was the best part of the movie in my opinion. There's a great balance between fun/humor and emotional moments that push the story forward. 

This might be one of the most flawless movies I've seen in a long time. For me, it's the best Spider-Man movie ever made, and considering how great some of the past Spider-Man movies have been in the past that's really saying something. When the filmmakers pay attention to every detail of the movie with lots of care, you get a movie like this. A movie that accomplishes all of it's goals and more.

It's been a while since an animated movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars... this should be the next one.  

B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BONUS RRRRRROUND! *cough*

It's been a strange year for Disney. Reaching the highest highs with Black Panther and Infinity War, but falling down again and again with movies like Wrinkle in Time, Nutcracker and Solo. One thing that hasn't failed them recently though is their main animation studio, which this year brought us Ralph Breaks the Internet. 

Ralph 2 is one of those movies that looked like it was going to be a letdown from the trailers. Going to the internet is an interesting concept for a sequel, but one that could easily turn the movie into more of an advertisement than a movie. The fact that Disney chose to use real life products and websites was concerning, I was worried about the movie becoming watered down by the constant use of real life products. Then I remember that the first movie also had lots of properties from the real world, but it was all video game properties and not websites. The first movie did a great job at showing lots of love to gaming with lots of references and cameos, but it still put most of its focus on its original ideas and characters. Ralph Breaks the Internet also does that same thing, but tells a completely different story. While I found the use of the internet a lot less charming than the use of video games, it didn't take away too much from the great story and humor the movie had.

The sequel follows Ralph and Vanellope right after the first movie. They are still best friends and hang out everyday after their games are shut down for the night. Things change after the arcade they live in has internet and WiFi installed, and a portal to the internet is opened in their hub. After an indecent where Vanellope is left homeless after her game breaks, they must travel to the internet to find the piece of her game that's missing before it's shut down permanently.

 The story leads to a really good and not often touched upon message regarding friendship. It's what really drives the movie and keeps it going, despite some things that didn't work so well for me. Like I said before, the internet is a much less interesting location than the arcade in my opinion. Maybe it's because we already spend so much time there, that it feels less magical and whimsical than the movie tries to make it out to be. The movie has the characters interact with some real life sites like Ebay and a YouTube style site called Buzztube. The whole Buzztube part of the movie felt really... strange. It was like Disney was trying really hard to connect with all the young kids of today that watch YouTube, but also making fun of people that do at the same time? It was confusing. 

What was cool to see though was Disney actually making fun of itself for once, which happens later in the movie and was sadly shown in most of the trailers. Still, it was a really great moment when Vanellope goes to the Disney part of the internet and meets the princessesesses. Moments like that and the great story between Ralph and Vanellope are what kept this movie fun and entertaining. It's not the best that Disney Animation Studios has put out in recent years, but it's another hit in a time where they keep putting out good movies. While it wasn't as good as the first, it wasn't really a disappointing movie because it kept all of the important aspects from the first movie and built upon them. The characters are still just as lovable as the first time, and by the end of this movie you'll probably love them more. 

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The Best/Worst Pop Songs of 2018

It's been a long time since I've put up anything on this blog and even longer that I've put up anything on music. Seeing as how the year is finally crashing down in all its mediocre glory, I figured I'd share my thoughts on the music scene this year. It was a strange year for music, at least in my opinion. Pop music really seemed to not go anywhere new and is sticking to the same kind of trends we saw last year, with lots of big names dropping disappointing albums. The strange thing is that those trends seemed to translate over to all music this year. Lots of albums I was super excited for and greatly anticipating fell flat and didn't live up to my expectations. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe with all the mediocre music being put out these days, I expected too much. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough for good music.

I still try my best to keep up with the charts and listen to the big songs of the year. I still have hope for the pop charts to bring in some great, fun and catchy tunes to my life. Sadly, we are still at a time where that isn't what is popular. It's all about the slowed down, trap beat and drowsy music. With the hot 100 year-end list out now, I went through it and picked out the songs that I remembered for being really good and really bad. So here's a list of songs that I thought were the best and the worst of the year. I didn't get a chance to listen to EVERY single song, but I've heard most of them at least once.

#10 Worst: Drake - God's Plan

Starting things off with the biggest artist of the year here (and the world at this point) Mr.Drake. Drake dropped his much-anticipated album "Scorpion" this year and destroyed the charts with multiple songs. It was a very mediocre album, but at least better than his last official album "Views", which isn't saying much. This song was the number one selling song of 2018 and it didn't have any competition. The closest thing to taking that spot was 2017's highest selling artist Ed Sheeran's team up with Beyoncé, but even that wasn't enough. This is far from Drake's worst song, which is why it's high on this list. It's still a pretty boring song with the kind of lyrics you expect from any Drake song. 

#10 Best: G-Eazy - No Limit (Cardi B, A$AP Rocky)

So this song kinda sucks... but I've listened to more times than I care to admit. I still wonder what keeps bringing me back to this song. Is it the beat? the cheesy outdated lyrics? G-Eazy lying about how much sex he's having? I don't know. It all works together to make a wonderfully cheesy song that is so bad is good. Add Cardi B throwing out super dated Jared from Subway line and you got a keeper. 

#9 Worst: Tyga - Taste (Offset)

It's always a sad day to see Tyga still has a career in music. With some of the worst lyrics in the game and a personality that is non-existent, Tyga always surprises me. Surprises me that someone with this little talent still finds ways to stay relevant. In this song, Tyga spews his usual overly sexual lyrics with no real energy and a boring beat to match.  Thankfully this song features Offset, who adds nothing to the song, but at least gives me a break from having to listen to Tyga pretend to be an artist. 

#9 Best: Drake - Nice for What

Wait, what is this? A Drake song in the best list? No that's gotta be a typo. Nope. This is actually a really good song by Drake, which is crazy for me to say. It's felt like a long time since Drake actually released a song that I really enjoyed, but this is actually very good. It's got a good energy to keep the song going, along with better lyrics from Drake. The background vocals that run throughout the entire song work really well with the flow of the song and never get annoying. The video is also good if you ever get a chance to watch it. The lyrics/video actually feel like they have some meaning behind it and don't just feel like Drake complaining about his haters like his songs usually seem to go. 

#8 Worst: Tekashi69 - FEFE (Nicki Minaj)

Oh look, another lazy song about sex on the charts. The team-up of Tekashi69 and Nicki is a strange one, and it doesn't really work too well. It's kind of like Beyoncé and Sheeran, where one is clearly way out of the others league. In this case though, it's the woman (Nicki) who is out of the guys league. Nicki seems to just put her name on anything these days without a care of how it will affect her career. That's how you build a catalog of bad music, by putting your vocals on literally anyone who asks you nicely. It sucks because I think Nicki has WAY more talent then she often shows, and working with mediocre artists like Tekashi69 doesn't help her at all. This is just a bad song, with bad music and lyrics that will be forgotten in a year or less. 

#8 Best: Migos - Stir Fry

Man, this song is catchy as hell. The awesome beat and music with the great flow from Migos. It all works together so well, and it's a joy to listen to. When I found out that Pharrell was the one who produced this song it all made so much sense. He's always had a special way with music and his talent shows here. Taking artists that I've never been too interested in and helping them come out with songs like this one. I can't get over how awesome the beat on this song is. If only Pharrell could make all the pop songs on the charts. Really, what we need is producers like Pharrell who bring out the best in artists and really showcase their talent. When you put good music behind a good artist it makes good music, go figure. 

#7 Worst: Camila Cabello - Havana

I guess TECHNICALLY this song isn't worst than "FEFE", but I did hear it at least 100 times for than "FEFE" so there's that. There's also the fact that the song has a verse by one of the worst rappers around in Young Thug. This is a song that gets a little worse with every listen and its flaws become easier to spot with multiple listens. Repetitive music, boring lyrics and not much personality from Cabello. It's a song that feels like any other artist could have done and it would have been just as popular. 

#7 Best: Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry

Someone who DOES have personality is Ariana Grande. Here she brings a nice uplifting song as her first single from her new album that dropped this year. It was meant to uplift herself and others around her after a tough year she had. It works well as an uplifting song, helped a lot by Ariana's great vocals and decent music to go along with it. This song is in a lot of ways the opposite of Havana, in that every listen helps the song instead of hurt its quality. Plus it has all the personality that Havana wishes it could have. It's not Ariana's best work, but the meaning behind the song and the talent involved make it an above average song. 

#6 Worst: Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant to Be

On the subject of no personality, here is "meant to be" by three cardboard cutouts that kind of resemble humans. A song that was written by robots who don't understand human emotion or how to tell a story. Keep things as vague as possible in the hopes that it will get a bigger audience since anyone can relate to it. Keep singing clichés over and over again and call it a song. Add a vaguely hip-hop beat so that all the young people will like it. Make millions of dollars. Repeat. It just feels like one of those songs that was created specifically to be a huge hit. Not that every song that was created to be a hit is bad, but this one is just really lazy and obvious about it. There's nothing that makes this song stand out in any way or make it worth coming back to. 

#6 Best: Sza / Kendrick - All The Stars

This is what a team-up should be like! The super talented Sza and Kendrick Lamar teamed up with each other to create a great song to be a part of the also great Black Panther movie. An amazingly catchy chorus alongside some great verses by Kendrick and Sza. Pretty nice of Disney to let Kendrick drop some f**ks in the verse for their Black Panther song, kids are gonna love that. Kidding aside, this song works in every way from beginning to end and is one of the best movie tie-in songs I've heard in a while. Sadly it's chances to win an Oscar were probably killed the day "A Star is Born" came out... damn you Lady Gaga and your beautiful voice. 

#5 Wost: Imagine Dragons - Believer

First things first: this band is awful. Second things second: this song is awful. Third things third: I can't remember. Just like how this band can't remember how to make good music. 

#5 Best: Marshmello / Bastille - Happier

It was a huge surprise to see Bastille back in the charts this year, I thought they were done after "Pompeii" a few years ago. Though this isn't exactly a traditional Bastille song as it's more of a Marshmello project with Bastille vocals. Still, I enjoy this style of music as it's one of the few styles that I can really get behind in the pop charts (as you'll see in the rest of my list). The music is good and I'm really happy to hear Bastille's vocals again on the radio/charts. Lyrically it's not breaking new ground, but it takes the idea of a breakup and puts a little more of a positive spin on it.

#4 Worst: J Balvin / Willy William? - Mi Gente (Beyoncé)

Probably the most annoying song of the year. Super loud and obnoxious, with music that will give you a headache. Beyoncé tries her hand in Latin(?) music but picks the worst song to do that with. I honestly can't even listen to this whole song, because of how annoying the music is. The vocals aren't much better anyway, Beyoncé isn't doing anything to really add to the song except having her name attached to it which will probably bring in listeners. The other two guys are just as annoying as the music.

#4 Best: Marshmello / Anne-Marie - FRIENDS

Anne-Marie is my favorite pop artist of the year, sadly this was the only song that charted high this year from her. It's one of my least favorite of hers, but still better than most other pop songs of the year. There's something about her personality and vocals that I really like. Her music is a lot of fun to listen to and she clearly has A LOT of talent. She also has good music to back up her vocal talent, so that is a big help. "FRIENDS" is a great pop song that tackles an interesting subject that I'm sure many people can relate to, especially in 2018. If you're looking for a great pop album to listen to, go check out Anne-Marie's debut album. 

#3 Worst: Lil Pump - Gucci Gang

I almost didn't put this song on the list since I thought it was a little bit too easy. Everyone hates this song...or at least that's what I thought. If that were true then this song never would have charted as high as it did. I still don't know if this song is a joke. Is it supposed to be bad? I can't believe that it would be that self-aware though. It's not clever in that way. It's just a lazy song that for some reason people really caught on to. It's music like this that makes me feel old and out of touch. 

#3 Best: Dua Lipa - New Rules

This song really came out of nowhere this year (or last year). Every now and then the charts bring in a song like this. A song that takes you by surprise in a good way. A song that deserves all the attention that it's getting. A song that lives up to the hype. A song that feels new and exciting and brings hope to the idea that good new artists can still get attention on the charts. This song is the perfect introduction to Dua Lipa, even though I can't say I'm a huge fan, I can say that this song made me want more of her. That's what a single is supposed to do. It's supposed to make you want to hear the rest of the album, and a song like this works amazingly for that. 

and that moment right before the chorus kick in is amazing. 

#2 Worst: Imagine Dragons - Thunder

It's amazing to think what qualifies as rock these days. Currently, the two biggest rock artists in the US aren't even rock artists (Panic at the Disco and Imagine Dragons).  This isn't good rock music and it's not even good pop music. It's emotionless and boring music that lacks any real emotion or energy. This from the band that made one of the most uniquely awesome songs in "Radioactive". The worst songs to me are the ones by artists that I used to actually like, but feel like they aren't trying anymore. I'm totally okay with Imagine Dragons not being so much a rock band anymore, but I want them to make music that actually feels like it has some work behind it. 

#2 Best: Childish Gambino - This is America

Donald Glover might be the most talented/creative human living on earth right now. Everything he touches is GOLD. I wasn't expecting to hear more from his Childish Gambino project this year, so this song was a huge surprise. A very topical song and one that feels like it belongs in 2018 more than ever. It's always nice to hear a song that charts be more than just about sex/drugs/sex/money/sex. Even better when the song actually has a speaks about important topics. The song also has great music to back up the lyrics, making it that much better. 

THE WORST! Maroon 5 - Girls Like You (Cardi B)

I don't know how they manage to pull it off. How they can keep somehow getting worse with every new release. It's like setting fire to a pile of ashes at this point with Maroon 5. Adam Levine and friends don't even feel like they trying anymore. For a band with six members, this feels so incredibly empty. There are bands with three members that make more full-sounding songs than this. This is just so incredibly boring and lifeless. It's got a terrible hook and it's not even catchy like most Maroon 5 songs. This song has no redeeming qualities at all. Even Cardi B couldn't bring anything to this song. I just need Maroon 5 to go away now. PLEASE. This was one of the most successful songs of the year, so Maroon 5 really have no reason to do anything better. 

THE BEST! Zedd - The Middle

There are so many little details in this song that work. From the ticking effects, synth beats to the vocals, bass, and production it all works super well.  It's not only insanely catchy, but it has a lot of details in the music to put it above any average song. Zedd and Grey work very well together to make a song really tight in its music. Nothing feels out of place, it all feels deliberate and that really makes it stand out. This really shows that you don't have to sacrifice detail in order to have a great and successful pop song in the charts. It's everything that I look for in a pop song, that's why it was my favorite of the year. To think I hated this song at one point...

Well, that's the end of my list. Feel free to share your thoughts and send me some good pop songs. 

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