DRAWMA KINGG Movie Reviews

Tag: film-critic

  • HAPPY GILMORE 2 2025 Movie Review – Is It Worth Watching?

    Happy Gilmore 2 was a somewhat enjoyable movie. Was it worth the two hours of my life I gave to it? Probably not. I think the nostalgia factor of Happy Gilmore from 1996 is the only reason anyone would enjoy this movie. I would be willing to GUESS that anyone that had not seen the original would think this new version was a terrible movie! I also think reading an entire review of Happy Gilmore 2 would be a potential waste of everyone’s time, so I am gonna talk about literally ANYTHING ELSE interspersed with my discussion of the film. I want you, THE READER, to consider this question:

    Which of these two is a better option? 

    1: Talking about Happy Gilmore 2 OR

    2: Talking about anything other than Happy Gilmore 2.

    I was walking down the street thinking about a grilled cheese sandwich. Suddenly, I awoke from a dream, and I am now in a dangerous place. I can smell and feel fire near me. I begin to become confused, no longer knowing if this is a dream and the walking while thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches was the reality. Or was it vice versa? The heat from the flames feels very real, but my mind is hazy. I have to get out of here. I open my eyes fully and take a look around when I see…

    I’ll tell you what I liked about Happy Gilmore 2. All of the actors were awesome choices for Happy’s children. The boys all growing up to be regular Joes with a temper and a crude sense of humor was pretty hilarious to watch. The daughter got more individual spotlight as an actor and did a great job! I really liked Margaret Qualley in the movie, and I was sad her character didn’t end up getting much screen time. I thought they were setting up her and her friends to be more important characters to the plot, but they kind of disappeared after the early part of the film.

    … guards on either side. It looks like there are two exits from this horrible place. Two guards at each exit. They don’t look like men. God, what are they? Aliens, demons, or something I’ve never even conceptualized? I have no idea! They can tell I’m looking at them. One is coming over. I think it’s holding a weapon, but it looks disgusting! It could be anything! I wake up. I’m still walking down the street. A thought occurs to me. I’d like to add some bacon to a grilled cheese sandwich. I wonder if I can find a place that will do that for me.

    Ending Explained: Happy sinks the tricky shot at the end and forgets to charge his electric car.

    Final Thoughts: 4/10 Crowns. Happy Gilmore 2 was mostly a lot of over-the-top goofiness and, unfortunately, not in a good way. The jokes also tend to be really bad attempts at trying to make you laugh. As a fan of the original movie, I will say that I “kind of” enjoyed watching Happy Gilmore 2. I’d only recommend it to someone that puts the original Happy Gilmore in their top 10 favorite movies of all time. Under those circumstances, you will probably enjoy some extra Happy Gilmore content. Now dis Drawma Kingg has to go, because I need a sandwich! The problem is – I need to devote my full brain power to determining WHAT TYPE of sandwich I am in the mood for!

  • THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS 2025 Movie Review – Ending Explained

    There’s this movie called The Fantastic Four: First Steps. You would be correct if you thought it was about 4 superheroes from watching the trailer. It was four separate people with four completely separate personalities. Let me explain.

    Person 1: was a person of person descent. Really valued food, water, and oxygen. Anyways so they was walking home one day with their cousin Jimmy and Jimmy revealed to them a shocking thing! So shocking it can’t be printed! This really affected Person 1 and who they came to be as a person.

    Person 2: was a smooooth dude! I don’t necessarily mean a man or a woman, just a smooooth dude! Anyways, so sometimes Person 2’s smoothness would catch up to them in VITAL ways in life. For example:

    Random Person Walking By When Stopping At A Convenience Store: Hey bro nice shirt.

    Person 2: Thanks bro.

    RPWBWSAACS: You must be a smooooth dude!

    Person 2: Yeah I get that a lot…

    Or here is ANOTHER EXAMPLE:

    Person 2 was just driving by on their motorcycle when two cars ahead got into a collision. A woman flew out of one of the cars and was caught by Person 2 driving by on their motorcycle just at the right time to save the woman’s life! Person 2 didn’t stop to review the scene of the accident! They just drove the woman straight to the hospital and never took their sunglasses off in the process!

    Person 3: was a fine upstanding person, but pretty annoying to hang out with. I mean, for one, their music taste was questionable. Favorites being: Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, and Maroon 5. But a more direct example:

    Person 3: Wanna get some pizzas?

    Other three persons: We all already agreed we are getting tacos and pop-soda for dinner. We already wasted HOURS on this conversation earlier!

    Person 3: Oh right, right. I forgot.

    [Time passes, three persons have already given their orders to the nice lady at the taco and pop-soda stand.]

    Person 3: Wanna get gyros?

    Other three persons: OH COME ON!

    Upon finishing dinner, Person 3 cursed the name of pizzas, gyros, and ALL other food options after experiencing the decadence of tacos and pop-soda!

    Person 4: had even more person qualities than the other three people, and thus was the most likable of the group. Everyone liked this person and here is how you knew for sure:

    Person 3: Wanna get some pizzas?

    Other three persons: God no! Not this again!

    Person 4: Would anyone like to rake the leaves, give the dogs a bath, and then do a funny dance?

    All persons: Yes!

    Ending Explained: The Fantastic Four Foil Galactus.

    Final Thoughts: 7/10 Crowns. I walked out of the theater thinking 6.5 but it grew on me some upon reflection. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the actors for Sue and Johnny, who have always been my two favorite members of the Fantastic Four. In the end I thought Invisible Woman was awesome, but Human Torch didn’t shine in this movie. [SPOILER] It also left you unsatisfied by choosing not to address exactly how the Fantastic Four join the other characters in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Fantastic Four: First Steps was an enjoyable movie. It just didn’t break any new ground like Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. I have no idea who they are, but Fantastic Four #1 musta been created by some smooooth dudes! I mean what other logical explantation IS THERE?!

    *Disclaimer: Person 1, Person 2, Person 3, and Person 4 do not actually appear to be characters present in any way in the film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. 

  • WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 1971 Movie Review – A critical analysis of mixing chocolate by waterfall

    Sometimes revisiting old classics can be scary. Was it actually good? Was it horrible? Watching through a critical lens may give you a very different opinion of a film on a rewatch. It turns out Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory WAS and IS excellent! It is a total masterpiece on many levels and a movie that any kid or adult would probably enjoy. What really stood out to me is that it is genuinely both funny and interesting throughout.

    First example of substantial funny: The scene where the scientist was asking his computer where the remaining golden tickets were located. I’m dyin’ laughing by the end of this scene. It was just a really funny bit they came up with that was basically like it’s own little stand alone skit. Another part I actually laughed at was when his teacher is calculating percentages based on how many chocolate bars each student opened. When Charlie reveals how many he opened, the teacher exclaims “Well I can’t figure out just two!”

    There are a number of other interesting things I noticed in my rewatch of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. One is that I think he reveals that the secret to his success is that he mixes his chocolate by waterfall. The problem with this is it looks to be an unsanitary way to make chocolate. Other scenes also make me suspicious that Wonka has built this difficult maze of rooms to move through solely for the purpose of warding off health inspectors.

    In a way, the plot eventually becomes: Is Willy Wonka good or evil? His actions are bizarre and he does not seem to be concerned for anyone’s safety. He blames the children for what they do wrong and takes no responsibility for himself. There are also these 4 moments that communicated to me that he is truly unhinged in some way:

    1: On the boat he shows them horror images, starts singing, transitions to poetry, then just screams. Oh, you were just joking, Willy? Heh heh, I guess?

    2: He makes the most out of place peculiar comment near the end of the film. “We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams. Come along”

    3: “Stop. Don’t. Come back.” He appears to say sarcastically. OK, now you are not even trying to warn anyone properly of all the dangers.

    4: The objects in his study at the end are all just half an object. He must have purposefully split them in half as some kind of representation of himself. It’s as if he is half a person or feels like half a person, or maybe has some kind of split personality. I’m just throwing some ideas out there, but I think it conveys a very intimate place in his mind when we see the environment in his study at the end.

    Here’s where the film must be interpreted. The only information we have that the other kids were safe at the end is merely a statement from Wonka. We must take his word for it when he has already proven himself untrustworthy. After the credits roll, what happens next for the characters is one of two very different things. Either Charlie moves into the factory, the other kids are home safe, and everyone lives happily ever after OR Willy Wonka is now on the run as a criminal! Charlie and his family have trouble moving into their new home because it is a crime scene. Additionally, the factory is discovered to be an unsafe and unsanitary maze that is now a hazard to the city. I guess one other possibility is that Wonka gets off scot-free because of the contract he made everyone sign at the beginning. 

    The second interpretation makes me very sad for Charlie and his family so I choose to believe the good natured ending. But even so, Willy Wonka was still kind of evil for what he put everyone through wasn’t he?

    Final thoughts: 10/10 Crowns if you are overlooking the obvious problems from a modern day lens. I am giving it this high of a rating because I feel Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s quality level completely justifies the status it has as a top level classic. The movie is funny, exciting, fantastic, has great acting, has an enjoyable plot, and keeps you on edge the whole time trying to determine if Wonka is good/evil/sane/trustworthy. I don’t know if they intended the ending to be open to interpretation, but I don’t trust Willy Wonka’s word by the end of the film. It almost seems more likely that he’s an unhinged evil genius over an eccentric businessman, but each viewer must decide this for themselves!

  • THE PHANTOM 1996 Movie Review – A superhero that Slammed Evil before Batman and Superman

    Now I know some of you are thinking – “The Phantom doesn’t count as a classic!” OK, you win that argument. Moving on… This movie is one of my top 10 personal favorites. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. It’s gotta at least be in my top 5000 superhero movies of the last 30 years though. Yeah that sounds like the right category for it!

    Unlike most SO-CALLED PEOPLE, I like The Phantom. That is not even a joke or a lie. It holds a special place in my heart from the 90’s. However, I would be lying if I said I LOVED the movie or that it was a cinematic experience worth everyone’s time. But c’mon, with a tagline like “SLAM EVIL!” how could this movie go wrong?

    The character of The Phantom predates both Superman and Batman. He is a contender for the argument – “Who is the first superhero?” along with Zorro and some other costumed crime fighters. Who better to play him than Billy Zane?! it would probably be impossible to lead a movie with this many varying tones unless you were previously a cast member on Twin Peaks. Billy, Kristy Swanson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are definitely the highlights of the film. The beginning of the movie is pretty rocky and lackluster, but it really picks up and becomes much more entertaining once Zane, Swanson, and Jones have their first scene together. Honestly, I think these actors could’ve carried this movie to a great place if there was a better director. I feel like the director must not have been a fan of the comic, because he did not seem to have a good vision of how to present this character on screen.

    What are some of the good things in this movie? My favorite scene is when Phantom’s doggie and horsey meet up in the forest, make some noises and gestures that show they can communicate with each other (horse-dog language), then go off on a hero/buddy mission to save Phantom and Buffy. Kristy Swanson’s character kicks a lotta butt, so we were one character name away from getting a Phantom/Buffy The Vampire Slayer superhero team up movie. There was also one scene where the director actually impressed me with the clever way he put it together. The villain does something very bad to another character, but it happens off screen. The dastardly act was just implied to the audience, which kind of made it MORE terrifying than actually showing what happened. This might have just been a way to avoid the censors, but it came across as artistic and well done.

    Ending Explained: Phantom explodes the bad guy.

    Final Thoughts: The Phantom is very close to having the components it needed to work. I think it would have succeeded with these improvements:

    1 – The costume didn’t look very good and desperately needed a redesign.

    2 – The cinematography was bad. Personally, I would have liked a darker atmosphere, but it definitely needed something different than what we got.

    3 – Different director, please!

    I really like the casting choices for the main characters. Catherine Zeta-Jones character particularly had a cool enemy turned ally arc. I thought she was perfect for this role. Unfortunately, a great cast can’t usually save a movie from a bad choice of director. But hey, I’ll trade parallel universe great versions of The Phantom for the one with posters and merchandise that encourage you to “SLAM EVIL!”

    Nostalgia rating: 7/10 Crowns

    Critical rating: 4 or 5 out of 10 Crowns