Wildwood – Movie Review

TL;DR – A stunning work of art that moved my soul.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Cherry blossoms in Portland by the river.

Wildwood Review Introduction

Today I get to talk about one of the most interesting films I have seen in an age. A film brimming with artistic talent, emotion, and an impact that with me long after the credits rolled. It is a movie that reminds me why film exists: to delight, to confront, to uplift, and to bring the tears.

So, to set the scene, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is at that teenage age where she is trying to isolate herself from those things that seem childish because now, she is an adult, apparently. While also simultaneously rebelling against her parents’ wisdom, a juxtaposition that is only found in teenagers. Her parents (Jake Johnson & Maya Erskine) get Prue to watch her baby brother Mac (Arthur Knight), but he can not go outside. Fast-forward to Prue taking Mac on a tour around Portland, Oregon. It is a delightful day, bar the unfortunate appearance of Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), oh and a murder of crows stealing Mac from the playground and taking him into the Impassable Wilderness, the one place her parents told her not to go.

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Movie Review – Bumblebee

TL;DR – From start to end this film is just fun, with more humanity than the last films combined.     

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Bumblebee. Image Credit: Paramount

Review –

I have always had a difficult relationship with the Transformers films, at the start I was so glad to see them be brought to the big screen. But Transformers I failed to stick the landing, and every other film from then was well … okay, sorry, they are not great. Yes, you get the big fight scenes and explosions aplenty, but Michael Bay’s very particular style just did not match the franchise. All of this combined into The Last Night (see review) which was just painful to watch at times with its awfulness. With all of this, when they announced that they would be doing a spin-off prequel, I gave a sigh in exasperation, as the thought of sitting through a Transformers cinematic universe when it was being handled so poorly was not a great feeling. However, as more information was released, it became clear that this was going to be a different type of film, and after seeing it, I can tell you that this is the best Transformers live-action film to date.

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