I've always been a bit mixed on the concept of Muppets From Space. Gonzo has always been one of my favorite Muppets, so I do like seeing him in a leading role in a Muppet movie. But what I've always found made Gonzo such a compelling character is that he lacked a distinct identity, that he was content just being a "whatever."

Bound is an incredibly gripping directorial debut for the Wachowski's. The two clearly understand their female characters, crafting a story of two women who cling to each other as a means of escape but that soon spins into a genuine affection for each other. It's a film steeped in intimate close-ups and flirtatious dialogue, making the early parts of the film so gripping to me. 

Somehow, after multiple viewings, something finally clicked, and I found myself finding new beauty in Up. For a film about an old man flying his house with balloons, it stands as one of Pixar's most grounded films. In the first ten minutes, you get a beautiful, realistic portrait of a loving couple. You see Carl and Ellie's relationship grow and develop as they deal with the hardships of life, all through simple visuals and Michael Giacchino's lovely score.

Slacker is one of the loosest movies I've ever seen. There's no plot, only a sequence of conversations, each one a fascinating array of random conspiracy theories, political opinions, or philosophical thoughts. There's no specific lead character either, as the film goes from one character to the next in the loosest structure. The film will follow one character's conversation, only to follow the next character who passes by.

When revisiting Inside Out after all these years before seeing the sequel, I was astounded at how imaginative the film still is. There's so much creativity put into crafting this world inside the mind of a little girl. From core memories to islands of personality, each part of the world-building contains some fascinating representation of the human mind.

When Muppet Treasure Island puts its focus on just being a Muppet pirate adventure, it's a ton of fun. There's an inherent charm to seeing these Muppet characters sailing the seven seas, and the film is complete with all the overly theatrical sets and costumes you'd expect in a Pirate movie.

Like many Studio Ghibli movies, When Marnie Was There contains a chill, relaxing, slice-of-life structure. But for most of the runtime, that structure works less to provide this comforting feeling, as in most Ghibli movies, but more as a way to reflect the melancholic emotions of its main character, Anna.

Like most Studio Ghibli movies, The Secret World of Arrietty contains a gorgeous, wonderfully detailed world that I loved spending time in. Any scene following Arrietty or the rest of the Borrower characters has such a wonderfully vast, larger-than-life feel, with the animation providing this beautiful sense of scale to everything.

Though Flawed, Jim Henson Idea Man does everything the film can to act as a lovingly made tribute to Jim Henson and all the warmth, kindness, and passion he exuded

Hit Man does everything it can with its fake hitman premise. The film begins with sequence after sequence of the protagonist, Gary Johnson, putting on different disguises and personas, each one a different humorous spoof of pop culture hitman archetypes.

There’s a light, low-key charm to The Muppets Take Manhattan, but it only goes so far for me.

The Great Muppet Caper may lack the heart of The Muppet Movie that made that film so special. However, it more than makes up for it through its pure comedic filmmaking.

What has always made Spider-Man: No Way Home such a great film is its firm understanding of Spider-Man as a character while upping the stakes massively.

The Muppet Movie remains as perfect of a Muppet Movie as you can get. It is a film of such unabashed heart and optimism. It feels like the Muppet Movie that most overtly reflects Jim Henson's overall philosophy regarding the Muppets, providing a group of characters whose shared dreams allow them to connect and who stick with each other through thick and thin

The Rise of Skywalker abandons all the bold choices of The Last Jedi. Not only that, but the film takes them in actively worse directions

The Last Jedi, for all its faults, makes some bold swings that I immensely respect. Rian Johnson made a Star Wars film of much more complex morals compared to the binary black-and-white morality of most Star Wars movies. In many ways, The Last Jedi is one of the only Star Wars movies with all the moral complexities of actual war. Characters make rash decisions that lead to devastating consequences. Characters withhold information, thinking it is the right thing to do, only to backfire.

Watching Troll 2 in a theater with a packed crowd, I realized this film transcends a rating. It's a film made to be a genuinely scary piece of horror but plays out feeling like a spoof of horror films of its era instead. But, when viewing the movie from that comedic standpoint, it's brilliant.

The gothic atmosphere imbued within every minute of The Crow is unmatched. The rundown-looking sets, the practical miniatures shot in sweeping establishing shots, ultra-dramatic lighting, and rain-filled cinematography. Each piece of filmmaking gives The Crow a Gothic, almost operatic atmosphere unmatched by few other movies save for Tim Burton's Batman films.

Spider-Man: Far From Home still has its merits, and I think it's a better film than people online make it out to be. The film does capture the fundamental conflict at the core of the character, that of Peter struggling to balance being a teenager and a superhero, in a way that I find pretty compelling and, in a way, feels like a solid continuation from Homecoming. The European vacation feel of a lot of the film is admittedly quite enjoyable, with a lot of scenic shots of European locales.

Each time I watch or even think about The Force Awakens, my mind instantly jumps back to the memories leading up to and during its release in 2015.