This week I am going to write three quick reviews of the last 3 movies I watched recently.
Superman (2025)
After initially having zero desire to see this movie, I was bored last night so figured I would give it a shot. I found it to be an interesting take on Superman. There were some great ancillary characters in this movie, The Green Lantern being my favorite. Unfortunately, Superman spent 85% of the movie getting his ass kicked, which doesn’t seem very much like the Superman I knew from previous stories. He is a little bit of a wimp and (of course) the writers decided to turn Superman’s parents into colonizers (huge eye roll).
Anyway, the movie was pretty entertaining. It relied almost completely on CGI so it felt more like a cartoon than a live action movie and is really just basically a kid’s movie. I was surprised they decided to throw in a few cuss words because like I said, this is essentially made for family viewing. Anyway, it’s a decent flick, worth watching at least once in my opinion and I give this movie 77/100 potatoes.
Project Hail Mary
Unfortunately, some asshat I met decided to spoil this movie for me when he found out I was going to go see it. He basically gave away the sort-of surprise events which take place about the middle of the movie and how it ends. I’ll never understand why people take pleasure in trying to ruin a movie for you by giving you details like that. Despite this fact, I went to see it and thought the movie was good. It was a little cartoony and unserious at times, but they still managed to pull it altogether.
I have a gripe with the premise. A bacteria-like creature which can actually land on the surface of the sun and eat it? Ridiculous. That is not a spoiler btw as this premise was laid out plainly in the movie trailer.
I want to go into more detail about the movie but don’t want to spoil it for anyone reading this. Overall, the movie was highly entertaining, well-made, and basically just a fun ride. It’s made for the whole family, which is not a major problem, but you are getting kind-of the softball version of what something like this might actually be like. It’s a little long and Disney-ish to be great but I still give it a very respectable 84/100 potatoes.
Man on Fire
I’ve seen this movie maybe 4 or 5 times since it was first released over two decades ago. I’ve always loved this flick. The relationship between the little girl and her bodyguard (Denzel) was captured very well. It’s a great revenge movie, if you are into those.
After not having seen it in maybe 8 to 10 years and finally re-watching it, I do have to say that the transition and screen effects that Tony Scott was known for using during this period of his career didn’t age well. They felt very antiquated and distracting. It was considered “highly stylized” even for its time, but it is a bit much and I wish they made a version without all the goofy transitional effects.
The movie is still very solid and shows Denzel at his best. I give Man on Fire 81/100 potatoes. A re-cut version of this could probably launch it into the 90’s on Baldy Potatoes if they ever decided to make one.