I have (relatively) recently gotten into the habit of writing reviews for all movies I watch. They have been going completely unread, but I figured they might have some CONversation potential if posted here.
Bear in mind, these are just TheGreatCon's humble opinions on these films (and TV series), and are 100% up for debate. Also, feel free to post your own movie reviews.
I will be rating these on a scale of 5 stars, and utilizing half stars. I shall also include whether I think this movie would make a good LEGO theme (a not arbitrary addition since I frequently do CONtemplate whether a movie would).
I just rewatched this movie this weekend, so we'll start off with it.
How To Train Your Dragon A book-to-movie adaption in the broadest possible sense, How to Train Your Dragon spins an epic tale out of little more than a borrowed title. Every aspect of this movie shone, from the animation, to the soundtrack, to the world-building and character design. The sarcasm of Jay Baruchel as Hiccup was unmatched. One of the best and most original animated movies of all time.
: 5
I have long considered How to Train Your Dragon to be an excellent candidate for a LEGO theme. Brick-built dragons would make fantastic smaller sets and the village of Berk has some great architecture. The biggest challenge would be the minifigures; about half of the characters have an exaggerated build.
What better way to follow up my last review than with the sequel!
How to Train Your Dragon 2 The story and the world are advanced in meaningful ways, and half the fun of this movie is seeing the aged-up characters. The relationships in the movies have the familiarity that the time elapsed between films would have lent them, giving an authenticity to their interactions. Toothless's personality really emerges in this film, proving that your favorite character doesn't have to have any speaking lines. Dialogue turned out to be the biggest challenge for this movie; the side characters' lines felt as if they were written for a weekly tv show episode. Above all else, though, this movie was nothing less than epic and a worthy successor to its exceptional predecessor.
: 4.5
This movie would translate to LEGOs much better than the original as a few more characters have achieved more LEGO-like statures, plus the surplus of new dragons. Drago Bludvist would make an epic minifigure, and his ship and traps would make great sets (with good potential for moving parts).
I've recently finished re-watching HTTYD 2 and 3, so these reviews have made a timely appearance.
I currently have #3 out from the library, so the third review is pending. When I last experienced this film (in theaters) I came away with a distinctly negative impression, but I have since heard I misjudged it. Anticipation is very high to see what I make of it this time.
Here's the first review from another franchise, one which the other site I post these on keeps eating my reviews and not telling me why.
Men In Black A fresh concept propelled this film to become a lasting part of pop culture. Where films like Jurassic Park took the special effects and animatronics of the 90s and went for epic, Men in Black went with CGI and silliness, which is well because the effects aged better for gags than for gasps. Even the main characters seem a little underdeveloped at the end of the runtime, but they are unique characters with life breathed into them by some quality acting.
: 4
I see this movie as a candidate for the LEGO Ideas treatment, with one set featuring the main characters, and alien or two (worms would be fun), and the car. Still, compared to Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, the car is much less recognizable. The aliens would possibly require more work and new molds than would be worth it.
Double feature today since I didn't have much to say about #2.
Men in Black II Just as wacky as the first, and Will Smith's character still feels fresh, but it was a little early to pull Tommy Lee Jones out of retirement, and the very promising Linda Fiorentino is very notably absent in this outing.
: 3.5
Men in Black III Time travel is far from the highlight of this movie, which I would argue is instead is the exploration of the fifth dimension and Michael Stuhlberg's performance as Griffin. This movie leaves off feeling like the franchise is not quite complete, but maybe it is better to just end things on a high note.
: 4
: I see no added potential for LEGO sets for either of these films, though I wouldn't mind a Griffin minifigure.
I've recently finished re-watching HTTYD 2 and 3, so these reviews have made a timely appearance.
I currently have #3 out from the library, so the third review is pending. When I last experienced this film (in theaters) I came away with a distinctly negative impression, but I have since heard I misjudged it. Anticipation is very high to see what I make of it this time.
Let's go! Yeah it wasn't really spectacular IMO, but I feel that it tied up the trilogy pretty well, ending it on a good note (a seemingly magnificent feat in this day and age )
I currently have #3 out from the library, so the third review is pending. When I last experienced this film (in theaters) I came away with a distinctly negative impression, but I have since heard I misjudged it. Anticipation is very high to see what I make of it this time.
Let's go! Yeah it wasn't really spectacular IMO, but I feel that it tied up the trilogy pretty well, ending it on a good note (a seemingly magnificent feat in this day and age )
I do remember the ending being good, maybe they should've just chopped off the last 20 minutes and made it a short film.
Let's finish off a franchise, shall we? Men in Black: International Very flashy, but flimsy in the plot department. The characters each have one interesting trait apiece, but other than that are as unbelievable as some of the plot holes. A lot of the action scenes feel contrived, inserted formulaically to up the adrenaline of the film. The Men in Black movies were apparently better when they had more heart and worse special effects.
: 3
: Though the movie is much worse than its predecessors, I do see some additional set potential in this one. The main characters would make great minifigures, and the hoverbike and bazaar would make a great small set, with the island backing it up as a much larger set. I could come up with a full wave of sets based off this movie.
Let's go! Yeah it wasn't really spectacular IMO, but I feel that it tied up the trilogy pretty well, ending it on a good note (a seemingly magnificent feat in this day and age )
I do remember the ending being good, maybe they should've just chopped off the last 20 minutes and made it a short film.
Actually yes, it would have worked well as a short film. Or like, a post credits thing.
JoJo Rabbit Taiki Waititi delivers another movie (and performance) best described as wildly unique. This is a take on the subject I never expected to see, and never expect to see again. Grim material was covered in a flippant tone, but like much in life, it's just a front and you can see the real themes behind it all.
: 4.5
: Due to LEGO's policy regarding real world weapons, this movie is rather impractical for LEGO sets, and due to its subject material a LEGO theme based off it would likely be in very poor taste.
It's Tom Cruise and it's science fiction. A solid combo.
Oblivion Once you've seen some science fiction movies you've seen all science fiction movies to a certain degree. This one lives up to the genre; it surprised me, in the ways I expect a good science fiction movie to. This movie did a good job working within its bounds, creating a very well-realized world, even if it is not the most ambitious.
: 4
: This movie is not really iconic enough to warrant a whole theme, but a set or two could have been cool. In particular, I would've loved to have seen a set of the flying craft they use.
This is one of my reviews that goes against the grain of public opinion. Sorry, not sorry.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World While by no means a disgrace to the franchise, How To Train Your Dagon: The Hidden World feels like it would have made an emotionally impactful short film, but doesn't stand as well on its own two (or four) feet for a full runtime. Formerly a small grievance from the other films, the side characters' dialogue and development becomes an issue in this movie as it veers off into cringe-worthiness. The interactions between Hiccup and Toothless are missing that easy familiarity this time around. Finally, the villain for this film feels recycled from the last one, and not nearly as scary. But, for all it got wrong, the ending does hit home.
: 3
: Regardless of the quality of the movie, it would still make for a good third wave of sets. I don't think this one could have stood on its own as a theme, but it would have made a great addition to one established by either or both of the first two movies.
![[*]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/xIQZyTih4o7KUiSh9m3I.png)
: 5 ![[bb]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/RgtAoRoIjxIUhFkTaosp.png)
I have long considered How to Train Your Dragon to be an excellent candidate for a LEGO theme. Brick-built dragons would make fantastic smaller sets and the village of Berk has some great architecture. The biggest challenge would be the minifigures; about half of the characters have an exaggerated build. 
![[bg]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/pSVuRUznx_wS1avOLKjF.png)
I see this movie as a candidate for the LEGO Ideas treatment, with one set featuring the main characters, and alien or two (worms would be fun), and the car. Still, compared to Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, the car is much less recognizable. The aliens would possibly require more work and new molds than would be worth it. 
)![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)
![[bred]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/nFnbi1lmuuJKdgV8N5AO.png)
: Due to LEGO's policy regarding real world weapons, this movie is rather impractical for LEGO sets, and due to its subject material a LEGO theme based off it would likely be in very poor taste.