All the President's Men (1976) - 2/5

This is a very boring docudrama about reporters and the Watergate scandal. The pacing is impressively bad, so much so that it’s ubiquitously unclear what key persons of interest mean to the investigation at large, and the goalposts keep moving without resolution. The film seems to think it’s a thriller but has no teeth, even including one confusing jumpscare with nobody there in an empty parking garage. Presumably it may make more sense to someone know knows the subject matter very well, but that philosophy is antithetical to the fundamental concept of filmmaking.

Content warning: language

Closest comparison: It’s like Kill The Messenger by way of ‘Good Night and Good Luck’.

Setting: Journalism
Plot: Investigation
Tone: Drama

Moon Knight - 4/5

This show is carried by the absolutely spellbinding performance from Oscar Isaac. The action is sparse but solid, and the archaeology is fun but about as historically accurate as Indiana Jones. There are a few places where the show cuts away from what promises to be a really cool action scene, only letting the audience see the aftermath which is unfortunate. It’s adventurous, but with deep, strong characterization for the main hero and villain. It’s a big step up in quality from the other Marvel and Star Wars shows Disney has created in the past several years.

Content warning: child abuse

Closest comparison: It’s like Deadpool by way of Daredevil.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Super Hero
Tone: Action

Isle of Dogs (2018) - 4/5

This movie is predictably funny, sweet, quirky, and occasionally a bit harsh in the signature style of Wes Anderson. It’s an evolution of The Fantastic Mr. Fox visually, but the story is more classic rescue adventure fodder with some fantasy and sci-fi elements thrown in. Its quirkiness will impact audiences differently, but where Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou had the quirkiness on full display Isle of Dogs relegates it more to the deeper levels of story and narrative structure.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Fantastic Mr. Fox with a more grounded story.

Setting: Near Future Sci-Fi
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Quirky

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 - 4/5

This movie is a self-aware all-out parody that loves its over-the-top silliness and doesn’t hold back. The comedic timing, though somewhat subjective, is on point here and Emilio Estevez is in top form as the self-serious straight man along with Samuel L. Jackson being himself. The references to other films of the era are direct and overt, but the gags are broad enough to still be funny out of context. The gratuitous nudity scene typical of National Lampoon is not present in this movie, and the bedroom humor is all direct scene parody of its contemporary films. There’s a lot to like here and its short runtime doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Closest comparison: It’s like Lethal Weapon by way of Police Squad.

Setting: Buddy Cop
Plot: Buddy Cop
Tone: Screwball Comedy

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - 2/5

There are a few great moments between Toothless and the new dragon with some legitimately beautiful cinematography, but the story overall is only mostly passable. The main supporting characters are so aggressively obnoxious that even if someone else were watching this movie I would only stick around for the scenes with Toothless. The movie is going for irritating humor, and if you enjoy that then you will probably get more mileage out of it than I did.

Closest Comparison: The same thing is happening to this franchise as happened to Shrek.

Setting: Fantasy
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Comedy