Flash Frames

A Creeper and Jason Momoa in A Minecraft Movie Yes, I know that this is a later than I hoped it’d be, but don’t get it twisted: I feel obligated to write about A Minecraft Movie , mainly because of my experience watching it. You’ve seen the videos of audiences (that mainly consist of children and teenagers) losing their minds over “CHICKEN JOCKEY,” and I’m here to say… that didn’t happen at my screening. It was insanely packed, but there really weren't any rowdy reactions. As someone who respects good theater etiquette, I’m glad to see that it isn’t dead. Either way, there’s no denying that Minecraft , the game, and A Minecraft Movie are now cultural beasts. The game has been around since 2009, and its popularity really hasn’t dwindled since then. It’s the highest-selling video game ever, and I was saying that even before we’d see the record-breaking box office performance it’s currently in the middle of, this thing was going to make so much money no matter what the reviews were. ...

Rachel Zegler in Snow White Okay, I know I’m stepping into a bit of a landmine here. Before I start off, I gotta get something off of my chest about all this controversy surrounding Snow White , the latest movie that Disney’s decided to remake out of their own catalog of animated movies. I haven’t really been all that harsh to any of the ones I’ve seen. At their best, they’re jolly good shows. Not too much to think about, but maybe it’s because I grew up in a family that was essentially tied to Disney. The Beauty and the Beast remake is probably my personal favorite, even though the original animated movie never really stood out to me as a kid. I’m partial to the Jungle Book remake too, honestly. At their worst, they’re lifeless husks of movies that everyone knows. Somehow, the worst part about the Lion King remake isn’t its tragic waste of Donald Glover: it’s just… The Lion King . Not bad in spirit, but you’re literally watching the exact same movie. I like it when movies shake up ...

Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt & Ke Huy Quan in The Electric State There’s been a lot of talk online about the “death of movies” surrounding The Electric State , and from a certain point of view, I can understand why. This is a Netflix-exclusive movie, with no theatrical release that I knew of beforehand. It’s directed by the Russo Brothers; while having made some of the best/most successful movies in the MCU, their movies after their run in the MCU just haven’t landed: Cherry , The Gray Man , and now, The Electric State , an adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s graphic novel of the same name. I haven’t read that yet, although I’ve heard very good things about it, but there’s been a big backlash to this not really being an adaptation of the book. Call me crazy, but if I can call something like Dragonball Evolution for not being a good adaptation even though I haven’t watched a single bit of anything else in that franchise, I might be able to say that about The Electric State . It also...

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked Alright, here we are. We’re basically at the finish line, but I’ve now seen every single nominee for Best Picture at the Oscars this year (I’m ranking all 10 of them tomorrow before the ceremony starts). The last of them, as you can see, is Wicked . The beloved musical took a very long time to hit the silver screen, with an official announcement of a movie coming all the way back in 2012. Admittedly, I wanted to watch this much sooner, but I was in the middle of my final semester in college. Them’s the breaks, but I got it at home and was able to get through the just-under three hour runtime at my own leisure. At this point, I’d usually go into what Wicked is, but come on, I don’t think I really have to. It’s Wicked . That being said, I should mention that this is the first part of a two-parter, with the second act, titled For Good, set to release this Thanksgiving. I mention that because I think this was a game-changing decision that really b...

Still from Flow I bet a lot of people that were watching the Golden Globes didn’t expect Inside Out 2 or The Wild Robot , the expected winner of not just the Globe for Best Animated Feature but the Oscar too, to lose out on that award. However, it did to this movie, Flow . An independent movie from Latvia, which is also a nominee in this year’s Best International Feature category at the Oscars, beating out not only a strong Pixar movie but the Dreamworks underdog is a big deal. Flow not only has the quality to back it up, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it took home that animated feature Oscar. It’s also a very simple premise: a cat that’s been run out of its home by a massive flood finds shelter with different animals and has to adapt and survive in this new world. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the ties to more fantastical elements would be something to at least watch out for. It doesn’t exactly tie into the plot, but I can’t lie and say that I was expecting it. The a...

J.K. Simmons and Dwayne Johnson in Red One Cutting right to the chase on this one, especially since it’s after Christmas: Red One is garish. I can’t even say it’s the worst thing in the world, mainly because it’s at least got some ambition to it. Santa Claus is reimagined as a bodybuilding, cookie-eating machine and is played by J.K. Simmons. There’s also little hints to other mythological beings that are probably being set up to show up in a hypothetical sequel, but who knows if that’s going to happen. St. Nick is protected by MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority), which is basically the S.H.I.E.L.D. equivalent to this world, alongside his personal security team led by The Rock (I can’t remember his character’s name, but I’m not bothered to look it up, so like his contracts for every movie, The Rock wins). Santa’s kidnapped, so The Rock has to team up with hacker Chris Evans (also can’t remember his name) to save Christmas from being annihilated by a Christmas witch...

Still from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 It’s been fascinating to see these movies become underdog stories. It’s been over five years now since that truly awful trailer of the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie released, with that nightmarish original design for Sonic embedded itself into our minds. Now, two movies and a spin-off streaming series later, it’s hard to believe that one design change brought the franchise up to this. Sonic the Hedgehog and its 2022 sequel are pure family fun. Some groan-worthy bits thrown in occasionally, but that’s to be expected. They’re largely movies for kids and families, that’s gonna come with it, but with this new installment, a good amount of that “family movie” façade is mostly (intentionally) stripped back. In the third installment, Team Sonic has a new enemy to face: a mysterious experiment called Shadow, who’s broken out of military unit G.U.N's containment to enact his revenge on G.U.N. from a tragedy 50 years earlier. Obviously I’m leaving out major...

I’m not exactly the biggest Ryan Reynolds defender here, but he’s certainly not worn out his welcome with me. Sure, it’s a big thing on the internet to clown on him for being annoying, but I think that break for the last year of any major roles helped me out. What’s funny about that is that it never felt like a break. His last leading role was Spirited back in 2022, which I think was a fun enough movie for a straight-to-streaming holiday musical thing. Ever since then, all the movies he’s been in have been cameos like Bullet Train or Ghosted , which is all on top of his Mint Mobile commercials and his venture into football club Wrexham A.F.C. with Rob McElhenney (and its accompanying show). So, it’s never felt like a break in that regard. However, on the flip side, I’m actually curious to see what John Krasinski could have up his sleeve as a director outside of A Quiet Place . I think he’s done a pretty good job with those movies and it feels like Krasinski wants to show off some ver...