Wicked: For Good

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Wicked: For Good!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th November 2025

Well I said I will watch the follow up to the first movie so here we are. 

I have a strange relationship with the Wizard of Oz IP: Unlike a lot of other people, I never saw the 1939 movie as a kid. I did eventually see it when I was well into my adult years but for me, the Wizard of Oz that I saw when I was a kid, and the one which indeed resonated the most, was the anime series that was on TV at the time. 
Mind you, in the years since, the afore-mentioned movie has been elevated to that rare, and indeed enviable, position of an adaptation that has become the centre of that particular universe (see also: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek). 

Given that this is an adaptation of a very successful musical I have to wonder: How much of the musical's success rests on the shoulders of Defying Gravity? Yes it's the best known song, yes even people who don't know Wicked are aware of it and yes it closes the first half, but given that song's renown does anyone really know what happens in the second half? More to the point, does anyone care?

And therein lies the problem: The first movie/half was enjoyable to the point that the second movie/half seems pale by comparison. Yes the visuals and art direction are pleasing, yes this movie has a lot more time to develop it's ideas when compared to the musical,  and yes the cast are giving their all but it all seems underwhelming when compared to the first half. I have been informed that it is the same case for the musical - and this adaptation DID go some way in addressing some of the weaker moments of said musical - but, as is often the case, not every adaptation can't escape the weaknesses of the source. Matters aren't helped with one getting the feeling that this movie seems so intent on taking an axe to the source material: Dorothy has a face that is hidden, and the backgrounds of her companions (Scarecrow, the Tin-Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion) seem ludicrous. 

Is that the fault of the book/musical as opposed to the movie? I will give it that but it still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. And the same problem the musical faced still haunts the movie: Great first half, weak second half. Still they did try to overcome said problem so 'A' for effort... 

How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... How to Train Your Dragon!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th July 2025

I will admit that I was something of a latecomer to the How to Train Your Dragon movies - but no matter: I still wound up adoring them. I equally enjoyed watching Race to the Edge. I even jumped  aboard the HMAS Hiccstrid. 

Of course, I had no plans to watch this - if the frosty reception of the Disney remakes is anything to go by - but Kiera had other plans and dragged me to it. Still, my cynicism remained: How can Live Action improve the animated splendour of the original?

I will say this: It's beautifully shot, the cast are all great, the designs are fantastic, the excitement is still there, there is a clear commitment being put into it and the strength of the source material still resonates. 
But there is still a slavish loyalty to the original: there is no need to make any improvements and there's nothing the animated original didn't do better. Furthermore, I think the original had more personality.

So yeah, it's a rollicking adventure movie but I still can't see what the point of it all was.
Mind you, if you told me that this was ploy to secure composer John Powell an Oscar then I'd believe you,
Can't wait for the Live Action remake of Shrek though...

Flushed Away

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Flushed Away!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th September 2022

Once again I approach a movie that I have been putting off for years. Not quite sure why it took me this long: I've always been impressed with what Aardman Animation have done in the past (Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Creature Comforts) but, as the saying goes, better late than never.

But yeah, this was great. The same strengths that Aardman have applied previously are at work here with rapid fire jokes, English sensibilities, great voice work from the cast and detailed animation. This being Aardman's first stab at CGI animation, it certainly allows for more spectacular set pieces that plasticine animation can't do. Also of note are the many details in the world-building and how the familiar objects are utilised.
Has this aged in the sixteen years since this was unleashed on the world? I don't so. It was still funny and still entertaining.
Yet I can't help think this is one movie that slipped through the cracks and is more or less forgotten. What, is a Dreamworks movie that isn't Shrek/Kung Fu Panda/How to Train Your Dragon DOA? Well i challenge that because this movie was better than being hit by that fate...

Paddington

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Paddington!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st July 2020

Being a child of the eighties, I grew up in an era where the movies for children were some real hardcore stuff (ie Never-ending Story and Labyrinth). But when the nineties rolled around, movies aimed at families tended to be weak, lacking in bite and a struggle for adults to sit through. Thus, it is only in recent years that this stigmata against 'family' movies are now turning around and the audience aren't being  treated as idiots. And Paddington, it would appear, is one such example.

As i have yet to sire children, this enables me to judge this movie from outside it's family demo-graph and see if it stands on it's own two feet. And what do you know, it succeeds admirably. This movie is very funny, complete with a British sense of humour, and is surprisingly touching. Also seeing Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman in this is hilarious to me.
Having seen this movie, along with the How to Train Your Dragon series and the Pixar stable, it seems to me that filmmakers are aiming for an approach of 'family movie that adults can watch without their kids'. If that is the case then more of the same please.

Kung Fu Panda 2

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Kung Fu Panda 2!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th November 2019

Man when did I first see the original Kung Fu Panda? Over a decade ago I think. In fact, I never knew it had spawned a pair of sequels. But I've heard some people hold this up as an example of a trilogy done right so that was enough top pique my interest. After all, this was done by Dreamworks and, if the superb How to Train Your Dragon movies are anything to go by, they know how to do a trilogy, right?

So I found this movie to be one of two halves: The first half seems more aligned with it;s predecessor, with Po being both a sarcastic jerk and bumbling incompetent (so much so it makes me wonder how much of a difference there is between Jack Black's real life persona and the roles he keeps playing). Okay sure we've got some world building, some excellent art direction and some amazing fight scenes, but in all honestly i found this part of the movie dull. And it left me wondering if I should be watching a movie that appeared to be solely aimed at a much, MUCH younger audience.....

.....That was until we get to the second half. Here Po is confronted with his heritage. And suddenly the movie shifts gears completely: It gets solemn and quiet and honestly? Its all the better for it. It reveals a depth one wouldn't expect from a serial such as this. Po gets some crucial character development and it's proof that self-realization is a powerful theme.
So yeah, this movie was dull at first, but when it kicked into high gear it did so with flair. It's a prime example of how anyone can put up with anything just as long as there's a substantial pay-off at the end.
Of course it's frustrating that this movie ends on a cliffhanger but there's always next week, right?

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th February 2019

Well here we are: the endpoint of a saga that was nearly a decade in the making. A journey that may have taken years for some but was only two weeks for me - therefore, one would say that I had a different journey compared to those who've been following these movies for as long as they have - and, some might say, a less rewarding journey. Nevertheless, I too have followed these characters, I've seen them grow and change and I've come to connect with them (HICCSTRID!!!). So I have got to the destination quicker but each step was far from dishonest.

As for the movie itself, well it has been said that Toothless has been a major selling point in these movies so of course they would bring in a second Night Fury. I suppose these is some inevitability that the second Night Fury would be a romantic interest for Toothless (especially seeing as the trailer talked it up) But i am willing to forgive such predictability as the scenes with Toothless and the Light Fury working off one another was a delight
The rest of the movie? Well it;s more of the same but that's not bad thing. Lot's of action, flying sequences, laughs, and another step in the evolution of these characters and the world in which they inhabit. But in a way, perhaps it is best the movies stop now, out of fear that it may settle into the complacency that is predictability.
And I will admit: that last portion of the movie did touch my cold, jaded heart - proof that if I made the journey quicker than other people, the outcome was still no different.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....How to Train Your Dragon 2!

Original image located here. Accessed 1st February 2019

So how do you deliver a sequel? Well you take that which is already established and present it in a new light while simultaneously take into unexplored territory. And to this end How to Train Your Dragon 2 succeeds with flying colours.

There's not much i can add to that statement: the animation is better, the stakes are higher, Hiccups' journey continues with some interesting developments, the flying sequences are astonishing, Toothless is still a delight, there's a welcome subtext of a handicapped character doing awesome feats, there's lots of laughs, moments of a kick to the guts variety and Valka is an interesting character, helped by the voice talents of the ever-wonderful Cate Blanchett
Also pleasing is the presence of Kit Harrington, who sounds like he's relishing the chance to not play a mopey git.

How to Train Your Dragon

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....How to Train Your Dragon!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th January 2019

As some of you regular readers would know, with this series there is only one concrete rule: I must see a movie I haven't seen before. So what do you know, here's one that originally passed me by. But I have friends who think very highly of this and with a second sequel being released, I guess now is as good time as any to take a look....

Weeeeeeelllllllll......
eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrmmmmm.....
......Oh who am I kidding? This was absolutely brilliant. It's Dreamworks striking gold and the rare picture that appeals to both children and adults without talking down to both parties. The flying sequences are a wonder to behold, the expressiveness of Toothless is a delight and truly a solid adventure flick. Throw in a subtext about a protagonist going against the grain of the norms and how working together is better than drawing battle lines and this is.... well..... a film where I can;t use enough positive words for without sounding like a broken record XD

Now about the sequels.....