#THEPITT if it had an early 2000s intro…

“Elio” may satisfy the 8-year-old demographic, but its frenzied story and frustratingly uneven focus and themes keep it from reaching more broadly. There’s a potentially out-of-this-world movie in here somewhere, but this isn’t it. 2.5/5. Meh.

Easily one of my favorite films. I loved it as a kid for all the wacky cartoon shenanigans and as an adult for the clever writing and story. It’s a benchmark for how to use animated characters in a way adults and kids can get behind and enjoy on totally different levels.

Agreed. “Ruby Gillman” is a charmer with solid appeal for various ages, balances its escapist fantasy with theme well, and uses its character dynamics effectively. Beyond all the critic-y stuff, it’s good old fun and lighthearted entertainment.

Of all of Pixar’s good and great movies, “Toy Story” remains my favorite for the creativity of its premise and expert writing of its mismatched duo. It’s full of clever gags for all ages, hits its dramatic beats perfectly, and jump-started CG animation. A classic now and forever

Join the communiverse on Kevinthecritic for my review of “Elio”! Is Pixar’s newest adventure out of this world? kevinthecritic.com/elio-not-exact…

“The Acolyte” is the most frustrated I’ve ever been with a Star Wars thing. It begins badly with clunky writing and performances, but shows glimmers of promise as it goes on. It’s an uneven yarn whose flaws outweigh its strengths for me, but I’ve seen worse.

🤷🏻‍♀️

“K-Pop Demon Hunters” is a wonderfully creative fantasy with toe-tapping songs, gorgeous animation, and a deft balance of light and dark. It’s a story of embracing our scars that should entertain kids and adults on different levels and one of the year’s biggest surprises. 4/5

“Ironheart” is pretty good 3 episodes in. It’s cool to see the MCU through the eyes of mostly regular citizens, Dominique Thorne’s good in the lead, and its mixture of heist, sci-fi, and hints of fantasy is interesting. The production’s also solid. Looking forward to the rest.

I’ve always said that how you convey your theme in a story is more important to me than what the theme is, and the way “K-Pop Demon Hunters” explores its theme of accepting all parts of ourselves moved me. Maggie Kang and chris appelhans seriously nailed it. Kudos to them.

Some history worth sharing:

Denis Villeneuve is directing the next Bond film. Does this guy have a light bone in his body? I liked the Craig era, but I was hoping the next iteration would be lighter in tone and DV’s filmography suggests it’ll be anything but that. Hopefully I’m wrong.

The last time I was extremely skeptical over a director choice for a movie was Greta Gerwig on “Barbie”. Her previous movies hadn’t worked for me at all, but “Barbie” ended up surprising me. I hope Villeneuve can do the same for me with 007.

Indeed she did. Carter’s costumes in the “Black Panther” movies somehow manage to look completely believable and distinct for each of the individual tribes and characters in the universe, but also wonderfully comic-booky.

Since Alden Ehrenreich is the talk of the town thanks to “IronHeart”, if you’re enjoying him there, I recommend the romantic fantasy he starred in just over 10 years ago called “Beautiful Creatures”. It got lost in the sea of “Twilight” hopefuls but is worth checking out.

I’d amend this to say that we’re starting to get movies made by people who clearly love anime, but also understand how to use its strengths and mostly avoid its weaknesses. It’s an interesting time to say the least.

Today, I saw someome celebrate the notion that animated movies are moving away from being “just for kids” or “just for adults”. While I believe animation can do just about anything, I also think it’s perfectly fine that the medium is a mixture of stuff for kids, adults, and both

Even when I slam a kid’s cartoon from time to time, I understand that there’s probably a youngster out there who loves it and could go on to be an animator themselves as a result. Some animated films aren’t made for adult sensibilities and that shouldn’t be a crime.

Lastly, I find the notion that animated films are “just for kids” or “just for adults” insulting to animation filmmakers when there are countless animated movies out there that have resonated with both audiences.