This movie is a stock ‘80s/’90s action flick disguised as a college comedy. For better or for worse it seems to be trying for a “Die Hard at a Boarding School” byline, though despite it being set in a boarding school everyone seems to be pulling mostly college-type shenanigans.
Content advisory: phone sex
Closest comparison: It’s like Run, Hide, Fight by way of Icebreaker (2000).
Setting: College Comedy
Plot: Hostage
Tone: Adventure
This is THE ‘kid’s got heart’ movie. It’s a straightforward, down-to-earth story of overcoming odds and pursuing a dream, beautifully executed with tangible stakes and devil-may-mock attitude shining in the face of the haters. It confidently executes a by-the-numbers plot, unashamedly reveling in its sincerity and putting in the legwork to make the ending feel earned. There’s no substitute; this film simply does this type of story better than any other.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Pursuit of Happyness by way of Remember the Titans.
Setting: Sports Drama
Plot: Overcoming Adversity
Tone: Inspirational Drama
This is another one of those ‘80s kids-on-bikes movies, but this one doesn’t hold up well to its reputation. Most of the main characters are grating, the adventure is resolved mostly by luck, and the comedy is too looney tunes to compliment the otherwise straight-faced tone. Sloth is meant to be funny, but just comes across as making fun of the mentally handicapped, and the pirate captain’s name is a dick joke but always said without a hint of humor. We never even find out anything about the Goonies: what ‘Goonies’ means, which characters are Goonies, or why it seems to matter so much to them. The adventure parts are decently executed for the most part, but the rest of the movie is just mildly irritating.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Sandlot (1993) by way of Hudson Hawk.
Setting: Kids On Bikes
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Action Drama / Screwball Comedy
The Duffer Brothers did it again! Season 2 is really good in so many of the ways the first one was: cinematography, writing, acting. The pacing wasn't as good (one episode, though iconic, didn't have a lot to do with the rest of the season), but they managed to subvert my expectations over and over again which is always important. The main flaw comes in the form of what they did with a certain character's story arc, which was just not ok (at the lab). All in all there's lots to like and it is a surprisingly good follow-up to the first season.
