Artemis Fowl (2020)

Thanks to the 30 day movie challenge and how specific it was, there was a lot of films that have been released that I have been meaning to catch up on. A lot of films that were supposed to see theatrical releases for the first time ever were released on various platforms rather than being pushed back and today's film Artemis Fowl is one of those as it was released on Disney Plus last month. The film stars Ferdia Shaw in his first role as Artemis Fowl Jr., a kid who is basically way too smart for his own good, but is the heir to a family secret that is being threatened to be exposed when his father is kidnapped by an evil being somewhere in a magical world. So, he'll have to resort to some unorthodox tactics to try and save his father before it's too late. The film also stars Colin Farrell (The Gentlemen) as Artemis Fowl Sr., Josh Gad (Murder On The Orient Express) as Mulch Diggums,  Nonso Anozie (Conan The Barbarian) as Domovoi Butler, Lara McDonnell (Love, Rosie) as Holly Short, Judi Dench (Murder On The Orient Express) as Commander Root, Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch) as Juliet, Nikesh Patel (London Has Fallen) as Chief Tech Officer Foaly, Jake Davies (A Brilliant Young Mind) as Chix Verbil, and the film was directed by Kenneth Branagh (Murder On The Orient Express).

Spoiler Alert: I may say things in this paragraph that could give away some key details so proceed with caution. I have to be honest in saying that while I think this could have made some money in the box office, I think this was definitely the smartest choice by Disney to have it streaming on their service. No one knows if theaters are ever going to be the same again and Universal is willing to bank on streaming services for their films so Disney may not be far behind. Now as far as the film is concerned, I definitely was a big fan of the special effects and the imaginative things they did with the story, but I kind of hated the ending of the story. I was hoping for a big time showdown with Opal that would involve magic and what not, but instead we get them rescuing his dad with magic as it teleported him out of their. Then we just get a bunch of we are going to get you scenarios that definitely left me up in the air as far as whether I want more or not. I definitely feel a sequel could have been up in the air had it done well in the box office so it remains to be seen what happens next. I definitely liked the acting in the film which was a saving grace for them, but I wanted more Colin Farrell. Nonetheless, the film is available and it has it's ups to go with the downs, but if I am being 100% honest with you all it's not a bad film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Onward (2020)

Due to Covid-19, there were a lot of films that I didn't have the chance of seeing because of the shutdown of non essential businesses which included movie theaters. Then there was news that a bunch of films were going to be released online and sure enough when I opened Disney Plus, one film I wanted to see was on there and that was Onward which was written and directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University). The film takes place in a land where at one time magic had ruled the Earth, but then someone decided to make things easier and they got lazier. For Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland), he never got the chance to meet his father because he had passed away when Ian was just a baby. On his 16TH birthday, his mother unveils a present that will allow their dad to comeback for 24HRS, but when they try to cast the spell, the stone breaks forcing the Lightfoot brothers to go on a quest before time runs out. The film also stars Chris Pratt (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Barely Lightfoot, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) as Laurel Lightfoot, Octavia Spencer (Ma) as The Manticore, Mel Rodriguez (The Watch) as Colt Bronco, Grey Griffin (Unikitty!) as Dewdrop, Ali Wong (Birds Of Prey) as Officer Gore, Tracey Ullman (Panic) as Grecklin, John Ratzenberger (Toy Story 4) as Construction Worker, and Kyle Bornheimer (Marriage Story) as Wilden Lightfoot.

I thought that this was actually an excellent movie and further proves my point that Disney does not make bad films or I should say Disney Pixar does not make bad films. Every single film that I have actually seen from Disney Pixar has been very good and I would say B+ or better if you meant in terms of grades. This film has an incredible cast with Chris Pratt lending his amazing vocal talents to the project alongside his MCU compatriot Tom Holland. Not to mention, Octavia Spencer does an amazing job as The Manticore, a lion scorpion creature and what an appearance by Tracey Ullman who plays a pawn shop owner and it was amazing. Let us not forget that the film actually has an incredible story that takes us on a wild adventure from beginning to end which includes the emotional rollercoaster as well. I love the fact that they throw in a huge dilemma towards the end of the film because finding the could have been that easy especially after what they had been through, but there are some more obstacles to go through for Ian. The film was sort of a coming of age story for Ian who isn't confident enough to do anything on his own and he doesn't realize what he has had in front of him the whole time, but he grows up by the end. That is all that matters when you have a coming of age story for a young wizard elf. I loved the animation in the film, I loved how they portrayed some of the ancient magical creatures like Fairies, Unicorns, and even a dragon as a pet. This was a super fun film that I would definitely watch again. That is why I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.