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Friday, 30 May 2025

The Cheetah Girls: One World Film Review


A long time ago Disney was a hit producing machine with Disney Channel with each of the stars that they made into stars all having singing contracts. With the same thing also being true for the stars of this films as well as all three of them made this fictious band real and released actual albums outside of the films something that Fox refused to do with the Alvin & The Chipmunk live action films and so then join me as I review the film that is the only film not to star Raven-Symoné with the film in question being called simply just "The Cheetah Girls: One World" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when the three girls are all offered a part in a Bollywood movie they all fly out to India where they discover that only one of them can be in the movie. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad at the same time when compared to even the plot of the second film this films plot is quite clearly a step down interms of quality as it just feels like that there repeating the plot of the previous movie only with nothing new added to it to make it seem fresh and different again and while this films plot can be good in parts like the idea of having the girls all have to audition against each other for the same role is a great idea the film doesn't really develop the plot of the film all that well to the point where something like that could be seen as being real as it just feels like something that forced into the film to add in some drama when they really didn't need to do that as they very easily could have had a bit where the film that there working on faces being cancelled due to being over budget something which impacts alot of films to this very day but for one reason or another Disney went with the safest option possible and while that works for Disney Channel it's also something that makes this film feel alot more like a fantasy then what it actually is with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Adrienne Bailon as Chanel "Chuchie" Simmons and Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda "Do" Thomas. Also starring in this film is Kiely Williams as Aquanette "Aqua" Walker , Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and Dumbo 2019 star Roshan Seth as Uncle Kamal Bhatia , Michael Steger as Vikram , Kunal Sharma as Amar , Deepti Daryanani as Gita , Rupak Ginn as Rahim and Vinod Nagpal as Swami Ji.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As the acting in these films has always been OK at best with the same thing also being true for this film as well as all three main girls do indeed turn in a good performance in this film which does make sense as all three of them had been playing these characters for about five years at this point in time and therefor they would best know how best to portray their respective characters with the films newer actors more then holding there own when it comes to acting opposite them with the film best actor being Adrienne Bailon as she feels like that's actually trying to turn in a better performance which is something that does make alot of sense as she is the films main character for some odd reason and there for it does make sense that she would try to turn in a better performance and it's something that does shine through in the final product as even tho her character isn't written all that well this time around she does try to turn in a performance that's better then OK with the acting that's in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script isn't all that good as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that their respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does hurt the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


While the previous films or at the very least the second film didn't have a main character as it made all of the girls the main leads of the film. Here for some strange reason the makers of this film chose to have Chanel be the main character of the film which doesn't work either for her character or for the film as these films work best when all of the girls share the lead role and not have one over the other and it doesn't work for her character because of the fact that her character isn't one that would want to hog the spotlight as she'd want to share it with all of her friends and yet to justify making her the lead character of this film the makers of this film have to write her character so that's she's different from how she was in the previous film as while yes Chanel could have her dumb moments she was never the dumb one of the group more often then not relying on her street smarts something which she can't do here because of the fact that the film makes her out to be this perfect character and while the other two girls are written mostly the same as the previous film it feels odd that they would want to continue the group with out Raven's character there as looking at what each other of them bring to group Galleria was the song writer of the group Do was the groups Chorographer and Chanel was the singer of the group so what role does Aqua play as in both this movie and in the second movie she does nothing for the group and yet by loosing Raven and thus changing the group for a four some to a three some they are now stuck with a character that added nothing to the group which makes it weird that they would continue the group knowing that they've lost there song writer.


As was mentioned in this review this is the first film not feature Raven-Symoné either as a star of the film or as an executive producer on the film. With it being explained right away that her character is busy studying to go to Cambridge University which is a solid way of writing her character out of the film without destroying her character completely as the only way that her character does appear in the film is in promo pictures taken from the set of The Cheetah Girls 2 and while it does feel weird that her character wouldn't be appearing in the movie we would in later years find out why and it's due to the fact that Raven felt excluded and ostracized during production of The Cheetah Girls 2 as she wasn't an official member of the group which is something that's very fixable since her show That's So Raven was winding down production anyway she very easily could have become a full time member of the group thus being able to join them on tours which would have made sense as the people that are going to see the girls are going expecting to see all of them and not just three of them and while yes the issues with the group do run deeper then just not being able to be with the group full time that was one of the issues that did lead to her feeling excluded and ostracized as they would have been privy to inside jokes that she wouldn't have been because of the fact that she wasn't there when those jokes first started and plus the three three girls that were actual members of the group would have mostly have been having band meeting to discuss things like going on tour something that raven wouldn't have been able to attend because she wasn't a full time member of the group but with the issues that the group had those feeling just might have been the tip of the ice berg and there most likely might have bee deeper reasons as to why she didn't appear in or work on this movie in any capacity whatsoever.

With this film being a musical the film does have quite alot of songs in it with the films songs ranging from OK at best to pretty decent. With the one thing that all of this films songs have in common being the fact that they are all very decently well sung which does make sense as all three of this films main characters are singers but for some reason the makers of this film like to use alot of auto tuning when it comes to it's newer which just doesn't make sense as if your going to hire someone to star and sing in a musical even one that's being made for Disney Channel then surely it would make sense that you make sure that they can actually sing first as well as act but thankfully none of this films newer characters get a solo musical with most of this films songs being sung by The Cheetah Girls themselves with the the films newer actors joining in on some of the songs with the best song in the whole entire film being a tie between "Cheetah Love" and "One World" as both songs are very well done and are just fun filled songs that are perfect to have a kinds musical movie the same thing however cannot be said for the rest of this films songs as the rest of them are just either OK at best or like was said pretty decent but apart from the two mentioned songs the rest of this films songs are also just bland and forgettable songs with them having the kinds of songs that you'd think that a film like this one would have including the so sad this is it for us type of song called "I'm The One" and the we can do anything if we put our minds to it song "Dig A Little Deeper" with them all just being bland and forgettable songs and yet even in the second film they had alot of songs in there that were actually really good songs on their own right something that cannot be said for alot of the songs that are in this movie.


While both this film and the other two films do have romance elements in them here the film does kind of do a twist. By having it to be the fictional films chorographer and main star that slowly begin to fall in love as well as one of the main girls which was a nice twist as having it just be one of the main girls again would have felt a little bit tired and played out at this point as while yes granted the film does also give Aqua and Chanel a love interest there both aren't romances that go anywhere and get forgotten about very quickly by the film where as the romance between Gita and Rahim not only gets the most development out of all three of them but also actually plays a part in the plot of the film as well as it's seeing them together that makes the girls see that the perfect person to lead this movie is none other then Gita herself with it being helped by the fact that the two actors do have some really good chemistry with each other as well which is something that does make it very easier to by them both as this couple that are madly in love with each other and while the film does kind of Do dirty by straight not featuring her love interest from the previous movie it does kind of work as it plays into her arc for the movie of learning to cope with the fact that each romance is different and should be treated as such which is something that does work for this film but at the same time tho it's also tricking your audience into thinking that long distance relationships always work when the fact is it's the opposite that's true with the romance between Rahim and Gita being a prime example of how to do a romance right in a Disney Channel Original Movie as the characters actually get to spend alot of time together and share alot of common interests something that does make there love for each other feel real in it's own really unique way.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty seven minuets and forty four seconds. Which is pretty much the exact grand total running time that you'd expect a Disney Channel Original Movie to have and to this films credit it really does have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time but at the same time rho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the films plot isn't as fully developed as it really could have been with it feeling like all three girls where chosen to lead this one movie because of the fact that the director just couldn't be bothered to choose one person to lead the movie with alot of the films plot elements feeling like that they were only added into the movie to create drama between the girls when they infact do nothing to add anything to the main plot of the film with even the films characters not even being that well developed as while it's understandable why the three main girls weren't given that much development as we have the other two movies with them in it and so they don't really need it in this movie the films newer characters tho really did need something literally anything to make them feel more like well rounded characters instead of characters that you'd find in the first draft of a movie script as none of this films characters have anything about them that makes them feel unique and that makes them standout from each other something that the three girls all have and because of that they are alot more memorable then what the rest of this films characters are but I really will admit that this film really does gave some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us un this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. Which is to be expected as these films always put more effort into their musical numbers then into there comedy and that is something that is still true for this film as well as the only bit of comedy that this film seems to do is slapstick comedy which to be fair isn't bad but at the same time the slapstick still needs to be good in order for it to be actually funny with the only bit of slightly funny slapstick that this film has is Do getting sprayed by water by an Elephant and that's really it with the film also making jokes about how dumb that Chanel is very early on in the film which does nothing to her character with there not even being alot of jokes in this film that are laugh out loud funny and while the same thing can also be said for the rest of the films as well here it feels oddly out of place due to the fact that with the previous film they could at least try to hide there bad jokes by having more emotional moments that worked really well where as with this film tho as the more emotional moments don't work all that well either we the audience focus more on the comedy and because of that we the films jokes come off looking all the more worse because of it and while having one or two bad jokes would be seen as being understandable here because of the fact that the film has more good jokes then bad jokes in it it's makes you wonder why the makers of this film bothered to make this a comedy when making it more of romantic musical drama would have worked just as well for this film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall out of the three Cheetah Girls films this is quite easily the weakest of the three films as it just lacks that extra special something that the second film had with this film even being the final thing that Disney did with the band as well as unlike Fox who didn't treat Alvin And The Chipmunks like they were a real band Disney did exactly that by having the band release original albums and songs and even go on tour as well with this film not really being the best representation of the band as a whole in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in his very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 4.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official The Cheetah Girls fandom wiki page , the official Disney fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with really alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and really all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Doctor Who: Vincent And The Doctor Review


Doctor Who is a show that right now does need our help due to bad ratings however there once was a time when that wasn't so. With the episode that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today coming from a time in the shows history when ratings for the show were sky high with the episode itself being one of the more emotionally driven episodes of this new modern era of the show and so then join me as I review the episode that has perhaps the saddest ending to any Doctor Who episode ever made with the episode in question being called simply just "Vincent And The Doctor" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when visiting an art gallery in Paris The Doctor and Amy discover a hidden monster in one of Vincent Van Gogh's painting and so they have ton travel back in time to save him from this monster and possibly something hidden from deep within the artist himself. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought  felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as it was a plot that not only gave us a lesson on just who Vincent Van Gogh was an artist but also as a human being as well all while still being a typical Doctor Who episode with this being something that does make this episodes plot standout all the more as alot pf the plots from this same period more often that not fantasied any historical figures thus making them seem less then human and yet with this plot we get to see just how tortured that Vincent really was as an artist with the plot it self being at times a genuinely fun episode to watch but at other times being a really heartbreaking episode to watch as well which was something that was unavoidable given just who one of the characters in this episode is with even his death being something that's tied to Amy's character arc for this series as well with it being helped by the fact that this episode was written by Richard Curtis with him being someone who knows how to written good stuff and having his name to this episodes script does make the episode seem all that much more better due to the pedigree that he brings as a writer with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is House Of The Dragon star Matt Smith as The Doctor and Guardians Of The Galaxy star Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Also starring in this episode is Defiance , Blade II and The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn star Tony Curran as Vincent Van Gogh , Nik Howden as Maurice , Chrissie Cotterill as A Mother , Sarah Counsell as The Waitress and Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz star Bill Nighy as Dr Black.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured /  presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With all of this episodes actors turning in some really good performance which is something that really does make alot of sense as all you have to do is just see who is starring in this episode o know that all of this episodes actors are a bunch of really good and talented actors in there own right with all of them showing us the audience just how good of an actor that they all can be in this episode and while it would have been very easy to say that either Matt Smith or Karen Gillan are the best actors in this episode the fact is that the best actor in this episode is quite clearly Tony Curran as he gives a truly heartbreaking performance in this episode with his portrayal of Vincent being one that at times can be up lifting , funny and charming but then at the drop of a hat can be utterly heartbreaking and devasting with his performance in the last scene of the episode being a good example of that as he hears just how loved not only his artwork is today but also how well loved he is not only as an artist but as human being and without any words from Vincent being spoken you get to see just how much that that all very truly meant to him and that is why Tony Curran is the best actor in this episode with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that the episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the CGI for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at The Mill and Real SFX. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad given the time that this episode was being made in but at the same time tho you can quite clearly tell that this episodes CGI has aged pretty badly and while granted Doctor Who and bad CGI go hand in hand together and while this episodes CGI doesn't detract from the overall story it is something that does take you out of the episode as all it does is remind you that your watching something that doesn't have that big of budget with the episodes monster Krafayis looking pretty good for the time period but at the same time tho you can see the limitations of the time with the character lacking any good looking textures and mainly being seen at night which is something that could have been done to hide the effect but with that being said tho the creature does look alot more better then what it really had any right to as by all means this is a creature that should have have looked really badly just due to what technology that they had available to them at the time and while yes granted the creature does look bad in some shots for the overall majority of the time he does look really good it's just those few times where he doesn't look good that make the rest of the episodes CGI look more cheaper then what it already was in the first place.


How this episode treats Vincent's bouts of depression is something that makes this episode all the more impactful. As Vincent himself doesn't really recognize it in himself and yet he'll see when someone else is feeling the exact same way that he does even if they don't know it and even showing things such as hi not being able to get out of bed in the morning to then suddenly be up and happy is something that alot people with Bi-Polar also struggle with and knowing that he was a severely depressed person only added fuel to that fire as he truly believed that he and his art works was meaningless because of the fact that those around him and who lived in the same village as him told him so which is something that does make it all the more tragic as that's what Vince is he's the very definition of the phrase "tortured artist" as it pained him to see the world in his unique way with the only way that he could think of to express how he saw the world being in his painting which he believed that no one loved and that he thought no one would ever love and yet in this episode we see that Amy is a huge fan of his so much so that the two do have a rather playful relationship with each other which it could argued does help to bring joy and laughter back into Vincent's life much like how The Doctor brings hope back into it and while he always wants more from his friendship with Amy she only saw him as a friend which while this was done in a way to protect herself from his future it was something that could have brought Vincent happiness as we see all throughout the episode he doesn't really have a friend to speak off and so when someone does show him positive signs of affection he of course might take it to mean more then that because he doesn't know how to handle those things.

One of the few things that this episode rather rightfully got alot of hate for was the fact that it's central villain the Krafayis isn't that threatening of a villain. Which yeah it is kind of hard to argue that point as the villain feels like that it was in the script just because of the fact Richard Curtis is writing for Doctor Who and we need a villain for the story and that's really it as the character doesn't really do anything for large portions of the story only to attack the characters once or twice and that's really it which isn't enough to make the creature a threat as all it does is make it look like that it's an afterthought which is something that does make sense as the episode does have alot of things going on already and so of course there will be somethings that do fall threw the cracks of the episodes script but what makes this worse is the fact that the makers of this episode could have found away to tie the monster to how either Vincent is feeling or how Amy is feeling instead of just having it be on Earth in this tie period for no reason with the episode not even bothering to explain why Vincent is the only one that can see the creature nor why the creature keeps on coming after our heroes since there is a village filled to the brim with people that it can feed on something which The Doctor explains is in the creatures DNA to do so as the episode straight up says that the Krafayis is a bloodthirsty killer and yet we don't see it attack or even kill anyone in the episode and yet by showing it going after one of the villagers it would have upped the threat of the episode and made the creature itself all the more threatening as now not only will we the audience be able to think that any of the main characters can now die but the creature will also seem all the more threatening because of it.


It would be impossible to do a review of this episode and not talk about the highly emotional ending as it's something that does work really well. With the first half of the ending being Vincent's realization that he is not only a really loved artist but as Dr. Black himself states he is one of the best human's ever to exist due to how uniquely that he saw the world and seeing everyone there in the art gallery just looking at his works works which he was told is either ugly or terrible that is more then enough to bring Vincent back from the edge for a just little bit and while that would have a fine highly emotional ending in it's own right what really does sell us the audience on it is what happens after that speech in the Paris art gallery as Amy finds out that they didn't cause him not to kill himself which is something that does destroy her with The Doctor then coming in to say that you can't save everyone and then seeing that Vincent had painted the sunflowers like Amy had asked him to all throughout the episode only this time it's been dedicated to her it does show her that even tho he still take his own life because he was battling his own monster she still did manage to make a difference to him and in his life just by being there for him and that was a nice touch to include in this episode as it would have been very easy just to have Vincent change his mind but it also would have made the episode alot less impactful to watch as well as Vincent didn't get over his depression and it also would have been very historically inaccurate which in this case would have been as being a very bad thing as everyone knows that Vincent did kill himself when he was young and that's something that be talked about and was talked about in this episodes ending.

Now then his episode has / had an exact grand total running time of forty six minuets and thirty six seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstanderd running time for this show during this time period with this episode really having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time but at the same time tho this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the episodes plot is a bit on thin side of things due to it not really being that well developed with the episode instead choosing to focus alot more of the character of Vincent Van Gogh which is fine but at the same time tho there still should have been alot more focus and time dedicated to the actual plot of the episode with the episode not even taking the time to develop alot of it's characters as due t the events of the last episode Amy has now forgotten all about Rory and yet aside for one line of dialog from Vincent it's never brought up not even in passing when something that's not only this important to the character of Amy but also the series finale it is something that should have been discussed inbetween The Doctor and Vincent even if Vincent has no idea what there actually talking about as Rory is also meant to be The Doctor's friend as well and yet by not bringing that up in anyway shape or form it does a disservice to the character of The Doctor and makes it feel like that the makers of this episode were taking a huge step back in terms of development with this version of the character when what they should have been doing is going to great lengths to making sure that this version is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that Amy is OK but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. However at the same time tho this episodes action isn't all that good as all this episodes actin is is the characters quite literally hitting sticks at nothing and that's really it and there's only so long that you can see that before it starts to get boring which in regards to this episode happens to be quite quickly but it is impressive to see Matt Smith doing his own stunts for this episode with those parts of the episodes action looking really good with the episodes best looking action scene being the one in the church as we get to see just how deadly that the Krafayis is with the creature using it's brain just as much as it uses it's brawn with it even being during that scene in the church where we the audience find out that the Krafayis is blind which is a unique thing for a villain to be and yet the episode doesn't really do all that much with it aside from showing that it has really good hearing which is something that it does put to great use during the episode which was something that added tension to all of this episodes action but what made the attack on the church really stand out was the fact that it put The Doctor on the backfoot as he was forced to think on his feet which was something that we didn't get to see all throughout this episodes action in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall while this episode doesn't have the best story or action there's no denying the fact that this episode has a really emotional ending that really will make people cry due to how good that it is with this episode being one that whilst it might not be a fan favourite episode is still a really good example of just how good that this show could be when it's really at it's best in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co  Uk , the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with really alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and really all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Monday, 19 May 2025

Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery Film Review


People might not have realized it but last week was the huge eightieth anniversary for The Railway Series. While Mattel celebrated it by releasing the original pilot episode for Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends I thought that i'd celebrate it by talking about something that doesn't get talked about but is shockingly important to the Thomas franchise as it's the last piece of Thomas media to have full models and so then join me as I review the film that was the last time that the trains were fully practical with the film in question being called simply just "Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when Thomas finds an old town up in the hills all of the engines set to work to get it ready for Sodor Day. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured ;/ presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad and was easily better then the plot of the previous Thomas film as this films plot does actually feel like the plot of a film and not just a series of episodes that are loosely connected being edited together however with all of that being said this films plot is still a bit on the weak side not that that was  a bad thing as it's not as that's something that you want from a Thomas project but at the same time given that this is a film you do expect the plot to be alot more stronger then what it is and while granted this films plot is alot more better then the plot of Calling All Engines was it is still plot that could have been alot more better as it does feel like that it's repeating the plot of the previous film only now it's been done alot more better as while the plots for both of this film and the previous film are strikingly similar this film does it better by removing everything that bogged it down in the previous and really allowing the characters to flourish and elevate the plot of the film because of it as without the characters just being there charming selfs the plot of this film would loose a certain charm to it which is something that would harm the plot of the film as a whole with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is of course James Bond icon Pierce Brosnan as The Narrator which was to be honest rather odd casting. Not that he's was a bad choice because he's not and heck it's not even because of the fact that he's a major celebrity either as the very first narrator for the show was also a major celebrity in Ringo Starr but rather it's due to the fact that it's hard not to picture this film being told by his version of James Bond and given just where that franchise was when he was done with it it's also possible that his version of the character could have narrated something to do with Thomas but at the same time tho the series already had a pretty good narrator for the UK dub in Michael Angelis and so it makes no sense why the makers of the film went with the more well known option to appease adults when the films target audience aren't going to know who Pierce Brosnan is there just going to know that the narrator sounds different when compared to show and therefor going with Michael Angelis would have made alot more sense as while yes he's not that well known to American audiences this show show and film wasn't being made with them in mind it was made with British kids in mind and while yes Pierce does have the more universal appeal thanks to being in the James Bond films that shouldn't have been the only reason or casting him in this film as there should have been more reasons for ditching someone that the fans of the show not only loved back then but still do love to this very day in favor of the more well known actor.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. Which is something that's to be expected when your only actor is not only a professional actor but also a really good actor as well with Pierce Brosnan also giving alot of the characters there own unique voices like Thomas himself a has a much more younger sounding voice and Gordon has a more posh sounding voice both of which really do fit there characters really well and while he can't quite give Emily who her own unique sounding voice as she comes of as an Irish man trying to do a girls voice in an English accent with the other thing not quite working from an acting standpoint is the fact that he gives Sir Topamhat what sounds like a Yorkshire accent which is something that just doesn't work at all as the character would not sound anything like Sean Bean does if anything he'd have more of a West Midlands to possibly Birmingham accent and with James he just does something that's close to his own voice with the same thing also being true for Percy only it's alot more quiet but to be fair tho he does have a rather soothing and calming voice that make him a really good narrator for the Thomas brand with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actor really has to do is just the say lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


As was stated at the very start of this review this film was the last time we would see full models in the Thomas franchise. As while yes the next series would also use the models they would also start to use CGI on there faces to help to give them more of a wide range of expressions and by the time that the next film would come out the franchise would move away from live action sets all together and by completely fully 3D CGI animated and yet even so there are still elements of CGI to be found in this film as some of the steam that comes of the characters in the sheds is CGI smoke and while it doesn't look that good it really didn't need to as the main attraction for these film was never going to be the CGI nor was it going to be the models it was always going to be the fact that they got a celebrity to be the guest narrator for the film and that's it which is a shame because these models will always hold a place in the hearts of people that grew up watching this show be it in American or British or whatever part pf the world it was being viewed at at the time and to have them not really be the main focus of the film nor it's marketing just doesn't work as while yes people are going to see something because it has a major star in it kids are won't know who they are but they will know who Thomas is and there for he and the rest of the model cast should have been the main focus with the models used in this film looking really good and just as good as the ones that they used in this show as well and with this film being one last hurrah for them interms of the Thomas films does make this film feel like it's the end of an era for this franchise.


As is tradition with the Thomas films they do introduce a new character which in this case is another tank engine in the name of Stanley. A character who is bought to Sodor to take over Thomas's regular jobs while he helps to oversee the restoration of the town that he discovered with Stanley being a pretty decent addition to the show as he does seem like a fun character and heck he even gets Gordon to admit that he's a fun character as well with the character also being pretty clueless as to how he's making Thomas which is of no fault of his own as he's only been on Sodor for a few days at this point but one of Thomas's friends could have spoken up and said something to Stanley to clue him in as to how Thomas is feeling as those characters have a whole plot arc where they have to learn to trust each other and to help each other this is despite the fact that neither character actually does anything all that much to show that they distrust the other with Thomas being the only one to give Stanley a reason not to trust him by making him take far to many coaches and that's really it which is not enough as that makes there whole plot arc feel wasted and forced as all that does is take away screen time from developing Stanley as a character as now he has to share screen time with Thomas where as since Stanley is technically a main character in the movie it would have made more sense for the film to develop him as a character and heck even his realization as to how Thomas was actually feeling not only comes out of nowhere but it also adds nothing to the overall plot of the film as well when it should have at least contributed to giving Stanley a clue as to where Thomas might be when Thomas goes missing as that then would have made there subplot a little bit more relevant to the actual main plot of the film and not something that comes out of nowhere.

Unlike the previous film this film doesn't have an interactive element play every few minuets which was actually nice to see. As those elements not only got really old really fast but they also got really annoying to see and where very patronizing due to the fact that they felt like that they talked down the films target kid audience where as here with this film by removing that aspect it helps to make it feel more like an actual film and while granted this film will never feel as dark and as mature as several of the early episodes did do by not having those interacting elements it does allow for the film to develop it's plot a little but more and to get to show us some new settings that we hadn't seen in the show at this point which is something that the film does take full advantage of as while the vast majority of the film isn't set on the main line but is instead more set on the narrow line that is something that does allow for more of the films glorious looking country sets to be shown of which is something that does work in this films favor as while yes this film does still have songs by this films composer Robert Hartshorne to help to break the story up it does also have alot of really good looking sets in it which is something that's not really new for this show as even in the very beginning all of this shows sets did look good and seeing that trend carry over into this film was something that was always going to be the case with the film being alot more better of because of it and while yes the previous film did also have alot of really good looking sets to it as well they didn't take the time to really show them off as they were more focused on the films interactive elements where as with this film it's the opposite that's true.


In again what was a really shocking thing to see in a Thomas film is the fact that they actually have a moment of suspense in this film. As Thomas is told the quickest way to get to a certain destination is across this rickety old bride and yet when he gets about half way across it the bridge quite literally starts to crumble to pieces with Thomas having to to reverse back up on the cliffside with that sequence being something that's oddly suspenseful for a Thomas project as they don't usually do scenes like that as heck even in the show they only did it a few times and that was really it and yet the fact that it was included here in his film does make it seem more like a film as they wouldn't dare to put Thomas into a situation like that on an episode of the show at this point in time and yet it's a sequence that does also oddly enough work for the movie as well as while we the audience will always know that they won't ever be killing of Thomas anytime soon the very fact that they added in a sequence like that is something that does make this film standout as it's only something that they could possibly do in a film with the only thing that lets down is the fact that instead of slowing down to cross the bridge Thomas should have sped up as that way he'd be able to get across the bridge in plenty of time as the only thing that was causing the bring to collapse in on itself was the weight of Thomas with it making sense for Thomas to speed up to to get to the other side as he was told that going across that bridge was the quickest way to get to his destination and yet instead of speeding up and getting across safely that way he slows down which puts his life at risk because of it.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and seventeen minuets and thirty six seconds. With about the first fifty five minuets of that run time being just the film itself with the rest of it being dedicated to a rap song that gets a repeated and some behind the scenes stuff with Pierce Brosnan with this film having more then enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time but at the same time tho even with that amount of running time the film still adds on padding to the film by giving the film some extra endings as instead of ending the film when they've found Thomas and the arc with him and Stanley is concluded they then decide to add in more scenes just to show them preparing the town that Thomas found to be reopened which granted the film had been leading up to that but at the same time when you've already had the big finale scene with Thomas being found and everyone being really happy about it anything you add in after that will always seem like padding with this film not even using it's running time all that wisely either as while the plot of this film is about as developed as it every will be the character of Stanley who is meant to be a main character in this film isn't that well developed as we don't get to find out all that much about him outside of the fact that he's an engine that knows how to have fun and that all of the other engines like him and that's really it and while that might be enough for an episode of the show as the show only had about five to ten minuets to set up and then execute it's plot for a film there really should have been more of an effort into giving us the audience a reason to like the character of Stanley in the first place but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As while this film isn't filled to the brim with any laugh out loud moments like an episode of the show might have done it's comedy instead comes from the characters just being themselves and letting there charming personalities shine through and while this film does shine it's brightest with the models and narration it also shines pretty bright with the comedy as it will always be cute to see Percy just having a good time with time with a bubble beard as that is something that that character would enjoy doing much like how Thomas would think that the mine that he's in that's also flooded and causing him to go out of control is a bit like a rollercoaster as that character would think something like that and heck it's even the bubble beard joke with Percy that's the best joke in the movie as it's a joke that feels very character driven where as all of the mine stuff with Thomas is more plot driven and therefor isn't as funny as the stuff with Percy is but this films comedy does go to show you that you don't need to have jokes to be funny as sometimes just having the characters being their charming selves is more then enough to get a laugh out of people as is the case with all of the jokes as all of this films jokes do for the most part feel very character driven and like the types of jokes that that character would say or even do thus making them alot more better then what they really had right to be in this film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall out of the three model Thomas The Tank Engine films this one really is easily the best one as while The Magic Railroad was a feature length theatrically released film it also lacked Thomas and Calling All Engines was just a boring film where as this film felt like an extension of the show in all of the best ways possible as that's just how good that this film really is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used n this very review from the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with really alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and really all of the images are really of course up and really on the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Thursday, 15 May 2025

Love, Death & Robots Volume 4 Review


It's safe to say that one of the best modern adult animated shows out there is Love, Death & Robots as the show quite literally has something for anybody who loves adult animation. Well the show has just released it's fourth season and well since i've not only spoke about all of the previous seasons of this show thus far but also reviewed an episode from it's series as well you all just knew that I had to check out this new season the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I review the latest season of the show that proves that animation isn't just for kids with the show in question being called simply "Love, Death & Robots" enjoy.

With this being an anthology show it doesn't have one continuing plot to speak off as all of the episodes have different plots. Now the interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty not that bad with this season of the show having a very ride range of plots with some of them being more dramatic like "Spider Rose" for example and some of them being alot more comedic in nature like for example "The Other Large Thing" both of which have very different tones from one another and yet both of there plots work really well with Spider Rose dealing with someone who is out for revenge against her husbands killer and The Other Large Thing dealing with a cat that has to team up with his owners new robot servant to help to take over the world and yet both of those plots work really well and it's like that for all of this seasons episodes as they are all some really creative plots with the only episode that does let this season down from a plot point of view being "Can't Stop" as it's literally just the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing a song and nothing more then that which is fine but when the rest of this seasons plots are so strong it does make that one stand out all the more but for all of the wrong reasons as it's an episode that doesn't have a plot with that episode being the first episode of this new season it doesn't make sense for hat episode to be the first episode as you always want to lead with your strongest foot forward with the plots in this show also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this season is Anthony Kiedis , Flea , John Frusciante , Chad Smith , Emily O'Brien and Feodor Chin. Also starring in this season is Piotr Michael , Sumalee Montano , John Boyega , Ed Skrein , Sienna King , Dwane Walcott , Rahul Kohli , Pamela Nomvete , Amar Chadha-Patel , Chris Parnell , John Oliver , Fred Tatasciore , Rachel Kimsey , Rhys Darby , Moe Daniels , Graham McTavish , Phil Morris , Michelle Lukes , Matthew Waterson , MrBeast , Bai Ling , Keston John , Braden Lynch , Roger Craig Smith , Gary Furlong , Bruce Thomas , Andrew Morgado , Scott Whyte ,  Melissa Villaseñor , Ronny Chieng , Amy Sedaris , Kevin Hart , Josh Brener , Nat Faxon , Niecy Nash-Betts , Brett Goldstein , Dan Stevens , JB Blanc , Nika Futterman , Jane Leeves , Dave B. Mitchell and Jim Broadbent.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very season well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very season was in all honesty not that bad. As all of this seasons episodes do have some really good acting in them which to be fair is something that's ot be expected from this show as this show has always had some really good acting in it which is largely due to the fact that all of this season actors are a bunch of really good actors in there own right with alot of them treating there respective episode like it's a big deal and not just an episode of a TV show which is something that they very easily could have dine and yet because they don't do any of that all of this season performances feel alot more real and more authentic then what they had previously done in previous seasons of the show and while yes this could also be because of the fact this seasons actors are some really good actors in there own right the fact that they chose to bring to their game to this show when they really didn't have to do does go to show you even in adult animation you can get some really good acting in it as that's something that's seen not only all throughout this season but all throughout this show as a whole as well with the acting that's in this season also being helped by the fact that this seasons scripts are just so good that all this seasons actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out pf them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very season.


Doing the animation for this show is Blur Studio , Buck , Passion Animation Studios , AGBO , Luma Pictures , Titmouse , The Aaron Sims Company and Polygon Pictures. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good with each episode having a vastly different set of animation styles to it with some of them blending in live action footage really well on top of that and while most of them do go the typical CGI route with there episodes the CGI is still so good that you forgive it for being something that you've seen before it with it really being hard to say which episode had the best animation to it as all of this episodes animation was to some degree really good which is something that does go to show that you want to see good quality animation the you have to look at shows like this as here you get animation from all over the world but if push does come to shove then the episode with the best animation would have to be "Spider Rose" as that episodes animation was truly breathtaking to look at from time to time with there being lots of little detail just in the titular characters space ship alone that does make the episode worth watching but that is something that could also be said for "The Other Large Thing" as well where the cat looks so good that he could have been done in live action and nobody would be able to tell the difference as that's just how good he looked with even "Golgotha" mixing animation and live action footage to create something that is truly special and something that really does need to be seen to be believed as it's just that good.


If there's one major issue with this seasons episodes it's that what should have been the first episode "Close Encounters of the Mini Kind" should have bee the first episode of this new season where as "Can't Stop" should been somewhere around the middle of this seasons episodes. As Close Encounters Of The Mini Kind was the much more stronger episode to start out on where as the same thing cannot be said for "Can't Stop" as that episode is quite literally just the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing the titular song and that's really it which is something would have been fine if that episode was placed say fifth in this seasons running order as the you could have a good mixture of stronger episode before getting to the one episode is the weakest episode that this show has ever done where as while Close Encounters Of The Mini Kind isn't as good as say "Sonnie's Edge" from the first series or even "Night Of The Mini Dead" from the previous series it still would have been a strong enough episode to start on as well as easing in long time fans of the show and easing them slowly back in with this new season where as with "Can't Stop" that episode felt like that it was placed there just to appease fans of the band and nothing more then that as it doesn't have any of the shows oddness that this show has become known for where as with alot of this seasons episodes they do have that oddness that makes this show standout by a mile as "Can't Stop" is just set in a random concert with the only selling point to that episode being that your seeing this world famous rock band in puppet form and that's really it where as with Close Encounters Of The Mini Kind your seeing the same team that did Night Of The Mini Dead tell an alien invasion storyline but it's done in the exact same way that Night Of The Mini Dead was done in as well.

What was shocking was the fact that this season had an episode where a character only spoke Chinese all throughout the episode. With that episode being of course "The Screaming Of The Tyrannosaur" which was weird as while that episode did have an English speaking person in it in MrBeast he is the only one that speaks English in it as the episode only has two actors with the other one of course being Bai Ling while this was a choice that does make this episode stand out from the rest of the show it's also one that does make it hard to connect to her character as the only way that you'd be able to connect to her character was if you spoke Chinese as then you'd be able to understand what her character but on the flip of that is the fact that it means that the episode has to rely on it's visuals and the characters body language to get across what there thinking and feeling at any given moment in the episode thus forcing us the audience to actually pay attention to what's going on in the episode and while that episode does have a really predictable ending to it what makes it a good episode is working what exactly it is that Bai Ling's character is actually saying as for all we know she could be spoiling the rest of the episode or she could be giving us some her characters backstory either way it does make the episode very interesting to watch as now we will always have that mystery of what it was that she was actually saying in this episode and while the episode as a whole might not be that good what it does have going for it is the fact that one of it's characters only ever speaks one language all throughout it which is something that really does make this episode stand out from all of the other episodes from this season.


As with all of the previous seasons of this show this season does have episodes that deal with alot of very heavy themes. With this seasons final episode "For He Can Creep" dealing with the devil and what it means to be a good person and "Spider Rose" dealing with grief and how you can find ways to deal with it which was something that I personally wasn't expecting from this show and yet at the same time it's something that did work really well as alot of adulty shows just say that there adult by having the characters swearing a couple of times and that's really it where as with this current season there's perhaps not one single episode where a character swears altho there is one that does contain some very brief female nudity but it doesn't last for long with the rest of this season being adult in all of the right reason by tackling these very heavy themes head on and while yes we do get the typical gore alot of the time it's however only used in one episode and even then there's a heavy theme in that episode as it's about one of the characters finding religion after going a particularly harrowing experience with the show dealing more with adult themes then going for cheap thrills that make this show seem adult but not really being adult which is what an adult cartoon should do and while some of them are handled better then others with Spider Rose handling it's main theme and message alot more better then For He Can Creep does for example that doesn't negate the message of that show as learning how to deal with the devil in ways that aren't over the top is just as important as learning how to move on after you've lost someone close to you with it being alot of those episodes that do stand out alot more as while yes the more goofier episodes are still really fun and in some cases funny to watch it's the episodes that do deal with more complex and adult themes that make those episodes and this show alot more memorable then what it really had any to be.

Now then the episodes this season really had a mixture of running times with them all lasting anywhere from six to seventeen minuets. Which to be fair is pretty par the course for a show like this one to have with it really being helped by the fact that alot of this season episodes really did have the right amount of plot there for there respective running time and while some episodes to take as full advantage as they possibly could do given there running time alot of them just don't with very few of them taking the time needed in order to flesh put there plots and characters as while the episode "Can't Stop" doesn't have a plot to it it also doesn't need to to flesh out it's characters as it's characters are real life people but an episode like "400 Boys" really did need to flesh out both of those things as the plot of the short isn't as well developed as it could have been with it seemingly like that all of these gangs just started for no reason and none of that episodes characters are that well developed either with none of them being memorable at all with the same thing also being true for "Spider Rose" as none of that episodes characters come across as being all that memorable this is despite the fact that the plot of that episode is really well done so much so that that episode could be seen as being a pilot episode for a new TV series but even so the episodes characters need a alot of work done to them as we don't find out what this alien was like prior to the death of her husband and nor do we find out why there was a bounty put on both of their heads both of which are things that we should have been told as the latter is a key plot point and the former could have bee used to make the character a little bit more likable then what she already is but I really will admit that this season really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 


So now then as this is an anthology show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual anthology aspect of the show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual anthology aspect of the show was in all honesty really good. As we get a good mixture of alot of genre's from comedy to straight up horror and a little bit of drama and action thrown in there as well with the best horror themed episode being "Spider Rose" as they really do do some creative and borderline creepy stuff not only with the main female character but also with her animal sidekick and the best comedy episode is actually a three way tie between "Close Encounters Of The Mini Kind" , The Other Large Thing" and "Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners" as all three of those episodes have something that just gut bustingly funny about them be it seeing an alien invasion on a mini scale to seeing a cat have this evil monologue to his owners only for it to be revealed that from there point of view he's just meowing or from hearing what normal everyday appliances have to think of there owners there's something in all three of those episodes that will make you laugh at the very least once much like how there's something in all of this seasons episodes for every one as if you like drama then there's "400 Boys" but if you like action then there's "The Screaming Of The Tyrannosaur" and "How Zeke Got Religion" bottom line is there is something for everyone in this season with this season as alot of people will like different episodes of this season as all of them including "Can't Stop" are just good episodes in there own right in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall this seasons episodes were a really good bunch of episodes with it being very easy to see some of these episodes becoming firm fan favorites much like "Sonnie's Edge" was for the first season but at the same time this season as a whole isn't as strong as even the last season of the show was with this season having lot more bad to weak episodes then what season three of this show had in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now the  i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in his very season in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very season really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very season that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very season with really alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and really all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.