Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - 2/5

This movie is directed by a completely different team than the first film and it shows. There’s a noticeable ‘woke’ filter over everything, but even putting that aside the film has some huge flaws. It’s a 1.5 hour movie stretched out into 2.5 hours by sloppy, repetitive dialogue and a bloated script. The villain is pretty good in theory but overstays his welcome by the end, let alone anticipation for the sequel. The art styles in the first film were varied but each one was tight and well-crafted; here, most of the art styles are sloppy to the point of being unappealing and hard to read. The editing here also loses all finesse from the first film, layering audio and visual information on top of itself in a confusing, distracting mess. Some of the fights had a few good moments, though.

Closest comparison: It’s like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gone the way of Legend of Korra.

Setting: Super hero
Plot: Sci-fi
Tone: Comedy

Palm Springs - 4/5

This is an impressively well-conceived iteration on the Groundhog Day formula by combining it with a twist on the sex comedy genre. There are the predictable sexual scenarios, cranked up to eleven by virtue of the era in which it was created, but it quickly turns philosophical about long-term relationships. Instead of getting long-winded and heady, the film addresses all its points practically in subtext that doesn’t disrupt the flow of the comedy antics.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Hangover by way of Groundhog Day.

Setting: Family Drama
Plot: Time Loop
Tone: Sex Comedy

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - 3/5

This movie makes the most of the starting premise, and though it often reverts to silliness it continually interposes actually funny jokes and meaningful moments. Instead of building up the whole movie to finally delivering on the title, instead they end the first act with the titular food-from-clouds motif and take the rest of the movie looking at the socioeconomic impact it would have on the locale. There’s a much smarter undercurrent then the facade would suggest, though that superficial layer is distractingly silly at times.

Closest comparison: It’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller getting their feet under them before heading off to make The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Setting: Sci-fi
Plot: Action Thriller
Tone: Screwball Comedy