Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Toy Story 5 - This post is going to be short & sweet because, honestly, none of these 5 films are very interesting - even though some of them are 3 stars. As with all the other Toy Story movies, this is fine. A solid 3 star movie. I don't have anything necessarily bad to say about it. But also, once again, I just don't see why everyone loves these movies SO much. I think this one was the worst reviewed one, but it still has a very high RT score (92%) and 3.6 stars on Letterboxd. And the only reason this even got any negative reviews is because the story focuses on Jessie, and the movie bros who live in their mom's basement didn't like that very much. BUT GUESS WHAT?! I didn't either! Because Jessie is incredibly annoying and whiny, and she has been from her introduction in the second film. But I do like that they make this one very relevant to today's children with the introduction of iPads, tablets, phones, etc. It's obviously been a thing for a while now, but I think it's really getting out of hand now with how addicted kids are to these devices and how parents aren't doing anything to control it. And I totally understand how difficult it is for parents because if all the other kids have access to these devices and are on social media it seems cruel to not let your own child have these things. So I like that they incorporate this into the movie - I like that it shows it's okay for kids to want to play with toys and use their imagination instead of doomscrolling. And some of it is funny (when Lily calls Jessie "Jessica" and they all gasp...LOL). But it's mostly...fine. And I'm sorry, I'm not a Taylor Swift hater (I enjoy *one* of her songs and I think she seems like a sweet woman), but she definitely made a song for this movie *just* to get an Oscar nomination and I find that embarrassing (and I find a lot of stuff I see about her embarrassing - like those concert videos of her dancing?! Please God make it stop). She will likely get the nomination and maybe even the win. Good for her, I guess. 

2. The Death of Robin Hood - This is fine. I love a lot about it - the score is very haunting and beautiful, some of the violence is brutal and unexpected, the cast is excellent (Jodie Comer is always THE BEST, Noah Jupe is an amazing young actor, and there is an unrecognizable Skarsgard in it - I think it's Bill?). But it's...so boring. I just kept waiting for him to die (it's in the title) and he just kept on living. I stopped paying attention for chunks at a time, and then I'd look up and be like, did this old guy die yet? NOPE. Still Going. I like the idea of taking a well-known character and continuing a story, while also making it darker. It kind of feels Logan-esque, and maybe that's why I just didn't connect with it. I feel like Hugh Jackman has already done this grizzled old man thing before, and better. The fact that I can barely fill a paragraph with my thoughts on this, tells you all you need to know! 

3. Unabomber - Ughhh...this movie flat out sucks. First of all, it's also soooo fucking boring (whhyyyy is everything so boring nowadays?? Is it me?). And, I'm sorry but it's WEIRD to add a female FBI agent who nobody listens to, into this story. It's fully believable that this happens, but it didn't happen in this story or with this case, so some writer thought "hey, what else does this story need?", and decided to add in extra misogyny...for fun? It's so disrespectful to the investigators who actually worked hard to catch Ted Kaczynski - who were men (and maybe not misogynists??). I also think the cast is very lacking - and I like all of these actors. I can't believe Jacob Tremblay is, like, an adult now! But he still looks like a child. And Shailene has done this role before (the one where she's trying to hunt the mass shooter guy? I can't remember the name of it, but it's literally the same character). She pretty much just pouts and whines about how nobody is listening to her. Annabelle Wallis is severely underutilized (I would have liked her in Shailene's role). I also just think they don't do anything very interesting with this story - so he became a murderer because he has a fragile ego and was made fun of, and possibly used for psychological experiments??? Also, I can't think of anyone more annoying than people who find debating people "fun". You have to be a psychopath if you find arguing with people a fun activity. I don't get it. Anyway, there's just nothing to this movie at all. I think it might actually make it into my Worst of 2026 list because it's boring, but more because of the made up sexism aspect. It's just stupid. 

4. The Conjuring: Last Rites - I'm not a big fan of these movies, but I watched them all so I figured I might as well watch this one too (I have not watched the Annabelle movies, though. I have to draw a line somewhere). As I probably mentioned in my reviews of the previous ones, I think the Warrens are grifters and I think it's weird that they portray them as basically heroes and a happily married couple, when there are multiple reports of domestic abuse. But anyway, I do like Ben Hardy (waiting for him to hit it big). And the beginning is actually really good and absolutely heartbreaking, and then shocking (I was not expecting the baby to start crying. The build-up to that is done really well). There's some creepy stuff (the wedding/mirror scene), but overall, I just don't find these films interesting. I rated the first one 3 stars, but the rest are 2.5 (including this one). It benefits from having terrific actors (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson), but it's so repetitive and dull. I do hope that this is the last one? I'm sure there will still be spin-offs, because they are popular movies for some reason, but I would like for Vera to do actual good movies again. 

5. The Christophers - Again, I liked this movie. It's a 3 star movie. But is it something I enjoyed watching? No. Is it something I'll remember? Again, no. I'm shocked that this is directed by Steven Soderbergh??? Didn't he retire? He usually has more flare and style in his films, but I feel like this film could have been made by literally *anyone*. I do like Michaela Coel a LOT. She has such an interesting face and presence, and her voice is so soothing. She just has instant screen presence. And Ian McKellan is a legend, obviously. I was also happy to see Jessica Gunner (she was so good in Baby Reindeer, and was showered with awards, but I wasn't sure if that was going to translate to more roles), but then fucking James Corden appears. LOL. I don't know one single person who likes James Corden (there's a Letterboxd review that says "I would be angry too if James Corden was my son". Haha!). There's an interesting story here, and the dialogue is really good (heavy, but good), it just never really goes anywhere, unfortunately. It's really crazy how entitled people are about their inheritance, though. I know a few real life instances where families are torn apart by money after their parents die, and it blows my mind. My mom has a decent amount of money, but I don't expect anything from her when she dies. I hope she spends it all on herself and enjoys her life - she worked hard for it! On a side note: I really love this poster design! And the logline "Art can be copied. Artists cannot". Very relevant to the whole AI being used in art dialogue that is happening now.