AUGUST MOVIE RANKINGS:

It’s that time of the month again, and a fresh year of college has just begun (well, for me that is). You may need to expect a smaller amount of reviews to be posted due to my priorities being set in other areas, though I will do my best to post regularly; at least once a week. This month of August saw several bad films, primarily from my past as the Nostalgia marathon was the only marathon I was able to complete this month, and to pitiful results. Aside from that, there weren’t many good movies I saw. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is really the only true contender, and I’m sure you all know the outcome of this rankings due to that statement. Regardless, continue reading!

#11- “Gumby: The Movie”
16%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: I mean…it’s Claymation…that’s a pro, right?
Cons: The concept is a bit convoluted, the voice acting is boring/not expressive, the dialogue is terrible and expository, and there is hardly anything appealing to the story.

#10- “Antz”
53%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Solid voice acting, funny in a few selected places, and somewhat entertaining in certain parts.
Cons: The story is all too familiar, there is hardly any character development, and the humor/life of the story falls flat to the abysmal dialogue.

#9- “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”
54%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Funny (whether for good or bad reasons), retains personalities of Looney Tunes characters, generally entertaining, and fun concept.
Cons: Often cringey in execution of scenes, wooden performances, and has a story that is all over the place.

#8- “Colossal”
57%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Solid cinematography, decent acting when factoring in the script, good visual effects, and an original concept.
Cons: Convoluted character development, primarily in Jason Sudeikis’ character. Also, the story got insanely absurd as the film progressed.

#7- “The Boss Baby”
61%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Nice animation and style, has funny parts, and good voice acting.
Cons: The story is bland with many jokes that fall flat; much of what this movie defines as reality or dream begin to coalesce into a mess somewhere along the way in the lazy plot.

#6- “All Dogs Go to Heaven”
69%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Bold in its darkness, good hand-drawn animation (if you are into crude and terrifying old school drawing), and entertaining story.
Cons: There weren’t really any moments of redemption for the characters who were terrible (basically all of them except the girl) and the musical numbers were awful.

#5- “Ghost in the Shell” (2017)
71%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Beautiful cinematography and visual effects, engaging concept/world, and solid acting.
Cons: The story was often boring, the characters were hollow and uninteresting, and the flow was slow.

#4- “Kangaroo Jack”
74%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Funny, nostalgic, it has Christopher Walken (and a slew of other stars I like), the story is original, and the adventure is fun.
Cons: Once you understand the story pattern, everything becomes predictable (one step forward, two steps back) and the plot device of the family business came off as filler more than anything.

#3- “Fun and Fancy Free”
76%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Great hand-drawn animation, funny, great voice acting, and “Mickey and the Beanstalk” is highly entertaining.
Cons: I didn’t care for “Bongo” all too much due to its sluggish story flow. Since that takes up half of the feature, it weighed down the piece as a whole.

#3- “Stuart Little”
76%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Nice family film, good musical score, beautiful cinematography and color tones, and heartwarming performances.
Cons: It is predictable and has some plot holes (mainly regarding Stuart’s ability to talk and how everyone is fine with that).

#2- “Mean Girls”
82%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Wholesomely unwholesome plot, good acting, fun characters, funny, and presents a memorable/quotable feel.
Cons: There is a lack of boldness, where the story and lesson is fairly predictable early on.

#1- “War for the Planet of the Apes”
93%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Satisfying conclusion, amazing visual effects, stellar performances, electrifying action, beautiful cinematography, and gritty story.
Cons: The story was predictable regarding specific plot devices, lessening the impact this film could’ve had on me.

In a “surprising” turn of events, “War for the Planet of the Apes” secured its spot in the running for the Movie of the Year, which consists of candidates such as “La La Land,” “The Fall” (2006), “Arrival,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Moana,” “Lion,” “A Monster Calls,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Watchmen,” and whoever wins out the other months to come!