Keep in mind this is all just opinion!
Earlier this year, the conclusion to my favourite animated trilogy, "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," was finally released. In my personal opinion, it was worth the wait. A beautiful, resonant and mature swan song. It felt very genuine. The only issues for me was some the pacing, and one part leading to the big climax pushed the envelope of disbelief a bit. However, the themes, character growth and the major scenes, such as all the stuff with Toothless, is masterfully done. The ending is impeccable. In a sense, the film is almost too ambitious; we see Toothless finally embrace the call of the wild again, and it's simultaneously heart breaking and soul lifting. A fantastic finale that gets better each time I watch it. Not perfect, but the greatness therein is simply astounding. 9.4/10.
Tonight, I finally watched "Paddington 2." The hype is real. It's astounding. My only grievances were how Paddington managed to sway the whole prison so fast, and it ended very abruptly. Despite that, it's great. Even better than the (wonderful) original. Tenderly directed, with brilliant acting and a story, while not ground-breaking, is told expertly through the simple passion and the delightful animation on Paddington, along with Wishaw's voice work. Most people touted Grant, who was great (and I'm not a fan of his), but for me, outside of Wishaw, the stand out was Gleeson, who never once masked his Irish brogue. It's so tenderly directed. Much like HTTYD 3,you can feel the love and deduction from everyone involved. That's what makes amazing films. I can't wait to see were King and DeBlois go next after these two beauties. 9.6/10
I don't know how we got these two great sequels, from concepts that people rolled their eyes at. A boy and his dog story told with Vikings and dragons? With celebrity voices, from a studio known for pop culture references? An adaptation of a beloved cultural icon, brought to life with CGI, off the heels of "The Smurfs"? It's amazing how such brilliant stories and wonderful characters can be brought to life in the right hands, from deceivingly simple storylines. Execution matters most, and these franchises prove it.
These films are now two of my favourites of all time. Thank you, Hollywood, for treating such lovely stories with dignity. I hope this can spur others to do the same.
Submitted April 06, 2019 at 07:17AM by Ginga-Ail1994 http://bit.ly/2I3dJoi
