Movie News, Reviews, and Discussion Super-Thread

[Bebpo]

So Secret Invasion reviews are...less than great.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/secret_invasion/s01

It's a good thing people liked Guardians 3, because otherwise MCU quality has been in the dumps for the last year or two. She-Hulk was good though.

[Transhuman]

Blackberry was surprisingly good, and really funny. I kind of expected this to suck because none of Matt Johnson's previous stuff really grabbed me (although every time i've seen him interviewed on Youtube it's clear the guy is a genius), and i'm not really a Howerton fan outside of Always Sunny. But something about the way Blackberry is put together makes it utterly compelling, in a way where similar films (The Social Network, Steve Jobs, The Big Short, Moneyball) feel a bit sappy in comparison.

[Mupepe]

The Flash was fun as fuck.

[D3RANG3D]

[chronovore]

So Secret Invasion reviews are...less than great.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/secret_invasion/s01

It's a good thing people liked Guardians 3, because otherwise MCU quality has been in the dumps for the last year or two. She-Hulk was good though.

Shulkie was great. Watched it through twice.

Moon Knight was great, dunno why everyone forgets about it.

Keep truing to watch Ms Marvel, but nope.

Wakanda Forever and QuANTuMANia both garbage, with nothing but actors on green screens reacting to tennis balls.

[D3RANG3D]

[Bebpo]

Saw Barry Jenkin's first film Medicine for Melancholy. Liked it, thought the dialogue and performances were good. Cinematography was ok and not like amazinggggg like his later stuff, but for a no budget film made in two months it makes sense.

I'm pretty surprised that looking at imdb the main two actors careers never went anywhere considering the movie seemed well received and Jenkins has gotten big post-Moonlight.

[Nintex]

Watched Guardians 3.

It was actually a good Marvel movie for once. Not as good as the first but neither was the second.
Vol. 1 just had this great sense of adventure with all the different locations (something the video game does too) but in Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 they mostly stay at the same location and especially in the second half of the film the clone of earth wasn't very interesting.

[Bebpo]

Avatar 2 was very, very terrible. Maybe these movies only work in the theater in 3d.

The script was weak af. 3.5 hours for a guy to chase another guy? Took me like 8 sessions to get through the whole thing. The CG also just looked like a videogame.

I thought the first Avatar movie was fine. This seemed extremely poor followup. I guess I'll see Avatar 3 in the theater to at least enjoy the 3d effects.

[Bebpo]

Been watching lots of stuff while recovering. Besides terrible Avatar 2 finished:

Terrifier 2 - This was good but like 30 mins too long at 2:15. I thought the first Terrifier was kinda so-so and this was much better. Really well shot and good directing until the last segment which just drags on and on and on and I kinda got bored and checked out.

Evil Dead Rise - Way better horror film. I was pretty iffy on the concept of this since I like my Evil Dead funny, but this was a legit ass horror movie like Evil Dead 2013 was. Kinda was surprised it wasn't the 2013 director since it's pretty similar vibe and quality. As an ED fan, I feel like this didn't really bring anything to the franchise, but as a horror film it was a very fun and bloody demonic possession movie. I think this one's probably great for the younger audience that hasn't seen the older Evil Dead films. I can see them going "that was cool" and wanting to check out the others.

Renfield - Meh, was ok. It's kind of funny a bit but also mostly forgettable. The story/script is really poor but the actors all try their best. Kind of a missed opportunity.

Cocaine Bear - Was solid. It's good when it's funny and kinda whatever when it's not. The first 30-40 mins are great, then its a bit hit and miss for a while and the end quarter is pretty funny and good again. Would have been satisfied for the price of a movie ticket if I saw this in the theater.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Avatar 2 was very, very terrible. Maybe these movies only work in the theater in 3d.

The script was weak af. 3.5 hours for a guy to chase another guy? Took me like 8 sessions to get through the whole thing. The CG also just looked like a videogame.

I thought the first Avatar movie was fine. This seemed extremely poor followup. I guess I'll see Avatar 3 in the theater to at least enjoy the 3d effects.

No lie, it took an entire day on and off to watch this fucking movie.

[Bebpo]

Dead Silence - That one James Wan movie I never saw that initially was panned but now people retrospectively think it's good Wan horror.

 

Yeah, it's an enjoyable ghost story flick with good atmosphere. It's just a shame it only gets really Malignant crazy for like 5 seconds and doesn't run with it.

[Bebpo]

Tetris - Eh, it's entertaining but they really blew the script and the direction isn't great and so you end up with a half-assed movie. The graphic novel about this story by Brian Box Brown is just as "craaaazy" but also not as hollywoodly dramatized and way better put together. Would've been better just to adapt that telling.

[team filler]

dungeons and dragons was good. michelle rodriguez in maybe her best role. I usually don't like seeing that biatch in anything

[Bebpo]

Polite Society - Was alright. Kinda too hammy even for trying to be hammy and the action fights were zzz. Was still fun tho.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original) - As a horror fan, I'd never seen this series. Just never seemed interesting a guy running around with a chainsaw. But over and over pretty much every horror director references this as being up there with Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead and The Excorcist as genre defining. So finally sat down and watched this. I hear #2 is the fun one with Dennis Hopper.

This realllly doesn't hold up. It's mostly boring until the family stuff at the end and then the ending is kinda just over in a weak finale. For all the gore puppets there's almost no gore on-screen from any of the kills. Like I get this was all making people vomit and run out of the theater in the 70s, but today it's kind of a bad movie... House of the 1,000 Devils was a much better spiritual remake.

Anyhow, curious to watch some documentaries on it to enjoy it more from the historical aspect since the actual film wasn't my bag of tea. Still want to watch Massacre 2 though because zany + Hopper sounds like it would be more enjoyable.

[team filler]

 

bebs, gonna need you to list out your favorite horror movies after that review 

[Snoopycat_]

"As a horror fan"

"This realllly doesn't hold up. It's mostly boring until the family stuff at the end and then the ending is kinda just over in a weak finale. For all the gore puppets there's almost no gore on-screen from any of the kills. Like I get this was all making people vomit and run out of the theater in the 70s, but today it's kind of a bad movie... House of the 1,000 Devils was a much better spiritual remake."

[Bebpo]

Yeah, yeah

I get it's a classic that everyone loves. I get it's really important for being the first in a lot of things like a group of teens, a final girl, a grindhouse no budget indie that made real money.

It's main claim to fame is it's 1974 age, as a lot of the better films that do the same thing didn't start rolling in until the late 70s, early 80s, so it set the precedent.

I just don't think it's a particularly good film. Maybe I'll give it another watch.

[Snoopycat_]

You’re entire critique is about the lack of gore. The film was never about gore. You have fundamentally misunderstood it. It’s about the audience. It asks you to fill in the blanks, and if you’re too busy scrolling Twitter you’ll never see that. I don’t know how anyone can dare to call themselves a horror fan and not understand the brilliance of that film. I’ve seen it once and I never want to see it again. It’s a grinding, hellish, amazing film. It’s been copied, ripped off and referenced so many times. It’s the pinnacle of 70s horror. Claiming that the house of 1000 devils is better is like claiming Coldplay are better than the Beatles. Factually wrong on every level. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a legit, nasty, grimy, all time classic. It is the Scarface of Horror.

[Bebpo]

You’re entire critique is about the lack of gore. The film was never about gore. You have fundamentally misunderstood it. It’s about the audience. It asks you to fill in the blanks, and if you’re too busy scrolling Twitter you’ll never see that. I don’t know how anyone can dare to call themselves a horror fan and not understand the brilliance of that film. I’ve seen it once and I never want to see it again. It’s a grinding, hellish, amazing film. It’s been copied, ripped off and referenced so many times. It’s the pinnacle of 70s horror. Claiming that the house of 1000 devils is better is like claiming Coldplay are better than the Beatles. Factually wrong on every level. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a legit, nasty, grimy, all time classic. It is the Scarface of Horror.

I appreciate your enthusiasm.

No, I wasn't multi-tasking. Was watching it with full attention, lights off, sound up.

And...it was boring. Like an old dated film where the bits that were supposed to be high tension come off as silly these days and it's easier to laugh at than be terrified.

It's not the gore, with that I'm just surprised it's PG-tame (outside the opening corpse at the graveyard, I can't see how this wouldn't be PG today, maybe putting someone on a meat hook would bump it to PG13 idk).

It's more that I didn't find it tense or scary at all and just goofy. When leatherface is all dancing in the sunset in the end it's hilarious to me.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

I dunno, I think the concept there are inbred cannibal hicks living entirely outside of any concept of society or civilisation still taps into something potent and primal, the potential terror of the stranger.
The fact there is so little actual onscreen gore or violence and it is all inferred by the audience (like Psycho) is a testament to how well its made, I think.

But younger audiences think OG Halloween is boring too, so

[team filler]

bebpo is a psychopath. it's a children's movie to him 

[Bebpo]

Been watching like 3 hours of documentaries and interviews on the Arrow 4k release of it. Lots of fascinating stuff. I wish I had seen this when I was a kid/teen watching stuff like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th.

bebpo is a psychopath. it's a children's movie to him 

Well I mean Toby Hooper did submit it and try for a PG rating...

Also in one of the documentaries someone made a good point that Texas Chain Saw is basically just Hansel & Gretel "don't go off into the woods to stranger's houses"

I'd feel fine showing this to a kid when they're like 10 years old these days. Probably more enjoyable the younger and more easily scared you are.

[Bebpo]

But younger audiences think OG Halloween is boring too, so

I still like Halloween a lot. The score is great and it has good tension even today imo.

I haven't seen Psycho in forever, but I always found it a bit dull as a kid. Will rewatch it someday. Enjoy Hitchcock's thrillers more these days.

[Joe Molotov]

Bebs, watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, it has a chainsaw duel and Dennis Hopper being insane and saying shit like “I am the lord of the harvest!”

[Bebpo]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - After all the praise gotta say I expected a bit more, but was solid and enjoyable. The little moments with the cast had heart and the ending was good. Rocket's backstory was good. But as usual they overpack these 2.5 hour movies with a million characters and events and everything and everyone ends up undercooked, especially the villains, and Adam Warlock is great casting and direction but totally wasted in the film.

Solid 3/4 star film. But considering what a boring shitfest superhero movies have been the last few years, it's a step up.

I wish this level of quality was at least like the baseline for superhero flicks.

[Bebpo]

Shin Kamen Rider - I'm too unfamiliar with the source material to really judge this. The first half is a zany editing mess of nightmare logic (which apparently is a throwback to the original), the second half is enjoyable and still a bit wacky.

I mean it was alright? But does feel kind of a waste of Anno's talents. But I assume he's a big fan and it's made for fans, so win win I guess.


I've heard opinions all over the place on Shin Ultraman (which Anno wrote but didn't direct). Hopefully will check it out soonish to see how it compares. I'm a tiny bit more familiar with Ultraman from games, but generally I didn't grow up on Tokusatsu and never got into the genre as an adult so these aren't my bag.

[Bebpo]

Shin Ultraman - Kinda a mess, covers like 3-4 movies worth of plot in 2 hours, directing apes Shin Godzilla but not as tight, script is a bit nonsense/boring at times.

But I liked it. Wish it was better, but enjoyed it for what it is. Dunno why they felt like they had to cover so many plotlines in one movie instead of letting it breathe.

Shin Godzilla >>>>>>>>>>>>> Shin Ultraman >>> Shin Kamen Rider

[Bebpo]

After learning everything there is to know about the Texas Chain Saw franchise, I definitely appreciate the original a lot more and look forward to rewatching at some point.

What I got from it, was that the series and Tobe Hooper are cursed and every entry in the series was a studio forced mess and only the first one, held back by its budget was a pure creative vision. And one that the creators got scammed out of and barely made and money. And Hooper continued to get fucked most of his career 

Lot less interested in #2 after hearing Hooper talk about it and how butchered it is from the movie he was trying to make. Plus the whole recasting everyone.

[Mupepe]

#2 is NOT good. But it is fun with friends if you’re drunk or high. I would never ever watch it alone or sober or probably ever again in any setting.

[Nintex]

Went to see O P P E N H E I M E R

peak cinema. Nolan the GOAT  
He went all in. The casting was perfect.

In all his previous works, even if grounded and serious there was always a wink and nod to Hollywood through comedic relief, references or simply something that looked cool.
Not in this. This is just 3 hours of experiencing the raw existential dread of the man who built the atomic bomb. 

[Joe Molotov]

R-rated horror movie, ~90 minutes, certified fresh on RT, okay I'm in.

[Joe Molotov]

(Image removed from quote.)

R-rated horror movie, ~90 minutes, certified fresh on RT, okay I'm in.

Update: It was good.

[Bebpo]

(Image removed from quote.)

R-rated horror movie, ~90 minutes, certified fresh on RT, okay I'm in.

Update: It was good. (Image removed from quote.)

Like on a scale of A24 horror, where does it stand?

[Sman]

Saw Barbie.

 

I thought it was only good in bits. Basically, anything involving Ken(s). Ken was also my favorite part in Toy Story 3. Even the little TS3 featurettes with him were funny.

I usually like Will Ferrell. I didn't like him much in this.

Barbie felt forced and preachy in a lot of places. I guess I am not the target audience?

 

The right-wing losing their mind over the movie are idiots. Some are just doing it for their dumb audience, I know.

 

[Sman]

And I did go see Elementals the day before.

I can't really review it though. It's nicely made,  but it was the same tired, Pixar fluff so I fell asleep midway through it (last thing I remember is they repaired a big water leak with glass).

My kids woke me up when the credits rolled. They seemed to like it though.

 

[Joe Molotov]

(Image removed from quote.)

R-rated horror movie, ~90 minutes, certified fresh on RT, okay I'm in.

Update: It was good. (Image removed from quote.)

Like on a scale of A24 horror, where does it stand?

It's not really an A24 "elevated horror" film, it's more like Evil Dead Rise, where it has a fairly simple premise that it executes well, and it doesn't waste a lot of time getting to the point. It doesn't have many jump scares, mostly just has a spooky vibe that manages to maintain for 90 minutes. Ending was a little "okay, that's it?" but overall I'd give it a solid 7/10.

[Bebpo]

Super Mario Bros movie. Better than I expected given the reviews.

Pros:
+Art direction and animation were really good. Felt like a mario game in CG form
+Good music arrangements
+The platformer segments were really well directed and cool
+Toad
+1,000s of references to everything Mario and Nintendo

Cons:
-Mario's voice kinda sucked. I don't even blame this on Pratt, just the voice direction of having him talk like some normal every day office worker. Mario's kind of iconic videogame superstar, I think he should've been more cartoony and energetic. Kinda like that kid they have playing Luffy in the live-action One Piece.
-Same deal with Peach and Luigi. Just kind of too plain boring VA. Almost think the movie would work better without dialogue.
-Because the script is kinda whatever. Wasn't particularly clever or funny that often.
-Some of the direction was kinda boring. Like the Mario Kart stuff was a snoozefest.

Solid B.

[bork]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - After all the praise gotta say I expected a bit more, but was solid and enjoyable. The little moments with the cast had heart and the ending was good. Rocket's backstory was good. But as usual they overpack these 2.5 hour movies with a million characters and events and everything and everyone ends up undercooked, especially the villains, and Adam Warlock is great casting and direction but totally wasted in the film.

Solid 3/4 star film. But considering what a boring shitfest superhero movies have been the last few years, it's a step up.

I wish this level of quality was at least like the baseline for superhero flicks.

Finally saw this and the Xmas special over the weekend- Pretty much agree with what you said, although I'm not too sure about making Adam Warlock into such a dumbass.  The reason was explained, sure, but he just seemed to be too wacky to be taken seriously.  It's possible that I missed this (kid was running around wreaking havoc), but what the hell happened to the 'Mother' character?  She just sort of disappeared.

While I enjoyed all the GoTG stuff that Gunn did, I don't think I would want to re-watch anything except the first movie. 

[Bebpo]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - After all the praise gotta say I expected a bit more, but was solid and enjoyable. The little moments with the cast had heart and the ending was good. Rocket's backstory was good. But as usual they overpack these 2.5 hour movies with a million characters and events and everything and everyone ends up undercooked, especially the villains, and Adam Warlock is great casting and direction but totally wasted in the film.

Solid 3/4 star film. But considering what a boring shitfest superhero movies have been the last few years, it's a step up.

I wish this level of quality was at least like the baseline for superhero flicks.

Finally saw this and the Xmas special over the weekend- Pretty much agree with what you said, although I'm not too sure about making Adam Warlock into such a dumbass.  The reason was explained, sure, but he just seemed to be too wacky to be taken seriously.  It's possible that I missed this (kid was running around wreaking havoc), but what the hell happened to the 'Mother' character?  She just sort of disappeared.

While I enjoyed all the GoTG stuff that Gunn did, I don't think I would want to re-watch anything except the firm movie.

I haven't read Infinity War or any serious Warlock thing in a while, but my experience with Adam Warlock in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic and SE game is that he's basically just used for jokes. Yeah in those he's super serious as opposed to the Guardians team so he's the straight man comic relief, but making him an idiot for comic relief wasn't much of a stretch for me.

Then again he's in the movie so little it doesn't really matter. I also heard from a friend that Marvel has no plans to even use him further and he's only in this movie because the previous Guardians movie set him up and Gunn wanted to use him. So pretty huge waste of the character and a good actor if that ends up the case.

[Polident Hive]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - After all the praise gotta say I expected a bit more, but was solid and enjoyable. The little moments with the cast had heart and the ending was good. Rocket's backstory was good. But as usual they overpack these 2.5 hour movies with a million characters and events and everything and everyone ends up undercooked, especially the villains, and Adam Warlock is great casting and direction but totally wasted in the film.

Solid 3/4 star film. But considering what a boring shitfest superhero movies have been the last few years, it's a step up.

I wish this level of quality was at least like the baseline for superhero flicks.

Finally saw this and the Xmas special over the weekend- Pretty much agree with what you said, although I'm not too sure about making Adam Warlock into such a dumbass.  The reason was explained, sure, but he just seemed to be too wacky to be taken seriously.  It's possible that I missed this (kid was running around wreaking havoc), but what the hell happened to the 'Mother' character?  She just sort of disappeared.

While I enjoyed all the GoTG stuff that Gunn did, I don't think I would want to re-watch anything except the firm movie.

Learning that he didn’t write the first movie made sense, for my taste. The energy of the first movie and the Eidos game worked for me in a way the movie sequels didn’t.

Also liked the characters in the two good Avengers movies. I’m somewhat aware they’re in Thor 4 but realistically I’m never going to watch that.

[bork]

Also liked the characters in the two good Avengers movies. I’m somewhat aware they’re in Thor 4 but realistically I’m never going to watch that.

They're barely in the movie- they get tired of Thor, ditch him, and that's the end of it.

[Bebpo]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - After all the praise gotta say I expected a bit more, but was solid and enjoyable. The little moments with the cast had heart and the ending was good. Rocket's backstory was good. But as usual they overpack these 2.5 hour movies with a million characters and events and everything and everyone ends up undercooked, especially the villains, and Adam Warlock is great casting and direction but totally wasted in the film.

Solid 3/4 star film. But considering what a boring shitfest superhero movies have been the last few years, it's a step up.

I wish this level of quality was at least like the baseline for superhero flicks.

Finally saw this and the Xmas special over the weekend- Pretty much agree with what you said, although I'm not too sure about making Adam Warlock into such a dumbass.  The reason was explained, sure, but he just seemed to be too wacky to be taken seriously.  It's possible that I missed this (kid was running around wreaking havoc), but what the hell happened to the 'Mother' character?  She just sort of disappeared.

While I enjoyed all the GoTG stuff that Gunn did, I don't think I would want to re-watch anything except the firm movie.

Learning that he didn’t write the first movie made sense, for my taste. The energy of the first movie and the Eidos game worked for me in a way the movie sequels didn’t.

Also liked the characters in the two good Avengers movies. I’m somewhat aware they’re in Thor 4 but realistically I’m never going to watch that.

Eh, I thought the Guardians characters were pretty out of character and badly used in Infinity War/Endgame.

But yeah, Guardians 1 was the best. I enjoy Gunn's stuff but generally it doesn't blow me away. Just sorta fun B+ entertainment and that's fine.

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

The Suicide Squad is Gunns best 'playing it straight' super hero film, IMO.

[Nintex]

Most recent watch was Mission Impossible ChatGPT Part One. A fun, tense and exciting movie. Very creative too. I need to watch it again for all the references and easter eggs though. The chase scene got a bit repetitive but otherwise a great movie.

It retains some of that classic comic book silliness and the villain being Hans Gruber-esque was perfect.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's sort of obvious he's just fooling the AI into helping him get rid of Hunt

[close]

[Coax]

Haven't even seen Oppenheimer but dreamt I travelled to the 40s and met Cillian Murphy who'd invented the first synthesizer. I was so moved over his impact that I woke up with tears

[Sman]

Haven't even seen Oppenheimer but dreamt I travelled to the 40s and met Cillian Murphy who'd invented the first synthesizer. I was so moved over his impact that I woke up with tears

So.... a wet dream.

 

[Bebpo]

Asteroid City - Was rough but I liked it overall. There's a good film in there, but it's missing something, like energy. Feels like maybe needed another 6-12 months of work either on the script or in editing because something just feels off. But there's enough to like that it's worth watching.

I think with this and French Dispatch, Anderson is stuffing these films with just way too many characters that they feel scattered and lose a central pinpoint that holds it all together like his earlier films. I'd like to see this modern Wes Anderson whose trying to go in a more artsy direction make a movie with just a cast of like 5-10 characters and see how that turns out.

[Bebpo]

The Ranown Westerns #1 - The Tall T (1957)  by Budd Boetticher.

Started going through these with the first one. Holds up pretty well. Based on an Elmore Leonard short story, it's a straight forward but engaging western with solid character dynamics and acting and some nice cinematography and musical score that's only about 70 mins and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Enjoyed it and appreciated that it was a bit darker for this type of old timey film.

[Bebpo]

Bones and All - Weird book to adapt. Well directed, some good cinematography and good performances/soundtrack, but story was just ok for me. Don't think anyone could've made that work into a great film.

Also it doesn't help that Raw is a similar coming of age thing and is the better film. But I still enjoyed watching Bones and All and will think on it for a bit.

[Bebpo]

Still thinking about Bones and All the next day. Such a weird movie.

I feel like the book must've been YA (*edit* yeah the book was YA) because it's kind of Twilight-ish tween story and I guess the movie tried to elevate it like a Terrence Malick does Twilight? Might've worked better as a 3 hour film vs 2:20, just didn't feel like there was enough time to develop the main relationship and the ending felt kinda trope and uninspired.

I think tweens would probably dig the film. Just missing something to make it work better for old crowd that grew up on Badlands and Natural Born Killers and has seen a variation of this a dozen times.

The Trent Reznor song is kinda nice, but too many gaps of silence. Really only the chorus works, but the chorus hits really well.

[Mupepe]

I saw Gran Turismo yesterday. Fun movie. The most surprising thing was the crowd reaction. Tons of clapping and cheering throughout it. The little old lady next to me who had to have been in her 70’s straight up hollered at the end of the final race. It’s probably the first time I’ve witnessed that in a non marvel movie that wasn’t packed with nerds like myself.

[Bebpo]

That little old lady probably laps a bunch of 15 year olds in online GT championships each night.

[team filler]

https://twitter.com/NicholasPas5/status/1696177169393721541


 

[chronovore]

And I did go see Elementals the day before.

I can't really review it though. It's nicely made,  but it was the same tired, Pixar fluff so I fell asleep midway through it (last thing I remember is they repaired a big water leak with glass).

My kids woke me up when the credits rolled. They seemed to like it though.

 

I'm worried it will stray too far from Bill Willingham's source material.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

The Whale broke my heart, and reminds me of himu.

[Sman]

The Whale broke my heart, and reminds me of himu.

Avatar 2?

[team filler]

give us the amazing larry cut!

[Bebpo]

Across the Spider-Verse

Really good, but too long. I thought the first 2/3rds were amazing but felt the 2099 section to the ending dragged.
Incredible animation though. Next movie isn't coming for like 5 years lol

[Bebpo]

Stand by Me

I'd never seen this before. Was fine/good, but I have a feeling this movie is a movie that's best to watch when you're as young as possible to have the greater connection to. Like it was competent, but at my age I couldn't really connect to the characters even nostalgically, mostly because I'm so old I don't even remember what being twelve and hanging with my friends was like anymore.