Geostorm

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Horribly clichéd and very uninteresting movie.

This film feels like the filmmakers simply went down a checklist of every movie cliché and made sure to use every single one of them. When these clichés are used there is nothing inspired or interesting about how they are done. They are instead either forced in or done with no attempt to make them interesting. The characters here are really bland. They feel like weaker versions of characters we have seen in plenty of other movies. There is nothing here to make them stand out or make you ever believe they really exist. There is also a horribly forced environmental message. This is so forced that if you took out the horribly written opening and closing narration there would be no message. It is like this is done to make the film important and if this is true it doesn't work. There is plenty of humor in this movie but not one of these jokes is actually funny. The only moment I laughed was at a scene that was supposed to be taken seriously (it involved a boy and his dog), and this scene was so forced in I couldn't help but laugh.

Overall this movie feels like it is just going through the motions, and there is nothing interesting behind all the clichés.    

Blade Runner 2049

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Dark, complex and uncompromising film is also extremely involving and powerful.

One thing that is so incredible about this movie is simply the atmosphere. Unlike many sci-fi movies this film feels so real. This is because the world it takes place in is so intricately thought out. Everything about this world even the smallest things was so well thought out and this is unbelievably effective. While this does help make the movie extremely beautiful looking, that is not the only purpose these settings play. They help pull us into the world and feel like we have been transported there and helps us believe everything that happens on screen as a result. The characters are also very well thought out. Each has their own individual personality. These personalities are not just little character traits, but fully fledged personalities. Again all this feels completely real to us and we believe each and everything they do. This is because none of this feels like it was done for the sake of the story but because it flowed naturally out of the characters. This is not only true of the main characters but of each individual one no matter how small their part is. The story itself is quite complex and compelling. While it is hard to fully discuss this story without providing spoilers, the twist and turns again seem perfectly natural. Often times you have no idea where this story is going and when you think you do it is proven wrong. Despite all this when at the end you see how it all works out it makes perfect and complete sense and not forced in to keep the audience guessing.

This is a fantastic movie and proves that a much belated sequel can actually be a great movie, even if that isn't usually the case.

-Michael J. Ruhland      

Til Death Do Us Part

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: A very effective suspense thriller, but not a great one.

What works about this movie is the main protagonist and antagonist as well as the suspense scenes. Our protagonist is a very likable character and one that we can fully relate to and care about. On the other hand our antagonist is quite scary and effective. With these two pluses fully set in place it is no wonder the suspense scenes work as well as they do. These suspense scenes are easily the highlight of the film. They are well shot and excellently paced. Most of all though these scenes do keep you on the edge of your seat. All this is helped out hugely by great performances from Stephan Bishop and Anne Ilonzeh, who make these characters feel so real to us.

Unfortunately though a major fault with this movie is that these two characters are the only ones who seem real. None of the other characters are ever fully fleshed out and just feel like characters we have seen in previous movies. This is especially problematic as our protagonist finds a new lover. This character is very awkwardly written and is given much corny and forced dialogue. You can see Taye Diggs is trying his hardest to make the character work, but unfortunately he is not able to pull it off. This sadly makes a major plot point come off as unbelievable which really hurts the movie. He is not the only character given forced dialogue, but he is given more than any other character. Even the best characters though occasionally have this kind of dialogue and sometimes it is sad with how well written our two main characters can be at times.

Despite these faults this movie does what it is supposed to, and does that pretty well. The suspense and two main characters are fantastic, and the movie has an important message about domestic abuse. However this will not go down as a great suspense movie, even if it is still a quite enjoyable movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland      

My Little Pony The Movie

Review By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: A highly enjoyable adventure movie, but those who have seen enough of the TV show it is based off of will know that show does outshine this film by quite a bit.

The highlights of this movie are the returning characters and animation. The characters are just as well developed and likable as they are in the TV show. Twilight is given the biggest role and is handled very well. While it is unfortunate that her geekiness is toned down here, she is extremely likable and relatable. At all times you fully understand what she is going through. She may be a hero but she is far from perfect and does things that she soon regrets. The other members of the mane six are also very well written but are not given as much development as they have received in episodes of the TV show as this film is mostly Twilight's story and there is nothing wrong with that. The animation is the one thing that really is an improvement over the show. This animation is absolutely incredible. It stays true to the TV show's roots but does something quite different with the look here. The film beautifully combines 2-d animation with 3-d animation. This never feels forced and the two look perfect together giving the film a bit of scope not seen in the show. The character animation is equally effective and just by looking at the animation you can tell just what the characters are thinking. They tell you everything with just a look. The story itself is quite charming and fun. It is not anything that rises above anything the show itself has done (and in fact repeats what episodes of the show have already done), but is still a lot of fun. It has a great sense of adventure, and scope.

However this film does have problems the main one is many of the new characters. The Storm King himself is a very disappointing villain. Despite his great power and how much he intimidates other characters he does not feel the least bit threatening when appearing on screen. This is strange considering how intimidating the villains in the show were (Discord, Quenn Chrysalis, Tirek). The fact you know they have done so much better on this front makes him all the more disappointing. His character is also given some humor but this falls flat. Speaking of unfunny villains Grubber a "comic" sidekick to the villains is extremely unfunny. Every one of his jokes feels forced and annoying. This character also talks in a very modern "hip" style that will soon date each scene the character is in. Tempest however is a fairly strong villain even if she treads ground already done in episodes of the series. Despite this she is quite enjoyable and a nice addition. Capper is another strong new character. On another downside Songbird Serenade feels like just what she is a forced celebrity cameo.

There is nothing (besides the animation) here that makes it stand out among all the episodes of the TV show. In fact some of the show's best episodes are better. However for what it is this is a very enjoyable movie. It is a lot of fun to watch and fans of the TV show (myself included) will have a lot of fun watching it. Newcomers should enjoy the movie, but will not understand the huge obsession the show's fanbase has as well as if they had watched A Canterlot Wedding (for a quick example). So just understand that the show is better and sit down and enjoy a fun movie, because there is still a lot to recommend here.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Lego Ninjago Movie

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:D

Review: Sadly an extremely disappointing film after the last two Lego movies, and just not a very good movie period.

The major problem with this movie is that is simply extremely clichéd and predictable. The only thing that is really surprising in the story comes quite early on and everything that happens after that can easily be seen coming. This is equally true of almost all of the film's jokes, most having a punchline we see coming from a mile away. There are some good jokes here, but sadly they are not as common as the weak jokes are. However these weak jokes are rarely that bad they just don't invoke much laughter. The characters are similarly very familiar. They aren't bad characters but they feel like characters from so many different films, and have little to make them stand out on their own (yes I do know this is based off a TV show). However the weakest part of the movie is the live action opening a closing sequences. These really feel out of place in this movie and like they were tacked on at the last minute. They add nothing to the movie and the film wouldn't lose anything if they were cut. The inclusion of these scenes feel more puzzling than anything.

The movie has its good points though. The animation is excellent, as should be expected from these Lego movies, the voice acting is quite good, there are a few good jokes (even if they are in the minority), and the characters are pretty likable if not exactly memorable.


This movie doesn't leave much of a bad taste in your mouth, but instead just leaves one with little if any impact. This unfortunately though does make this a huge disappointment after the last two Lego movies.

-Michael J. Ruhland