We'll keep this review short and simple. Afronauts recently saw "The Angry Birds Movie 2" - they kept the title real simple - and we liked it better than the first! We think you should go see it and if you're an adult, you'll enjoy it, but if your still a child -maybe wait a few years. The movie was hilarious, but most of the humor is geared towards adults. Some of the scenes had us rolling with laughter, but afterwards we both commented on how they were "not for children". The movie doesn't quite reach Family Guy inappropriateness, but definitely borders the line and even crosses it at some point for what kids should and shouldn't see.

As for the actual plot, like the title- it was simple, yet effective. It should be noted that it is not necessary to see the first movie in the series in order to enjoy and follow along with this sequel; they do a good job and filling the audience in with what happened previously. The movie follows Red and his friends who team up with the Pigs from the first movie, to save both of their islands from a 3rd and mysterious ice island. We meet new characters, most notably, Silver (voiced by Rachel Bloom), who is Chuck's sister. The moral of the movie is about working together as a team and not being selfish, but they did a good job with showing plenty of each character and not just focusing on Red. In fact they did a great job of developing the female character in away society doesn't normally see. They also encouraged STEM education making it a good movie for pre-teens. There's even a secondary story line going on with the Hatchlings who are trying to recover some eggs. It is cute and eventually ties in with the main plot. We don't want to spoil anything, so just go see it! You'll be laughing and maybe even be inspired to become and engineer!

Agent Bunnie remembers seeing her first ever movie in theaters and it just so happens it was the original "Aladdin" animated feature by Disney! Jasmine became the "childhood princess" for her and Bunnie grew up collecting toys and dressing up as the iconic Arabian princess. So, when the live action version of Aladdin was announced by Disney, there was quite a bit of excitement here at Afronauts.

However, before Aladdin rolled out, Disney gave us live action versions of  "Alice In Wonderland", "Sleeping Beauty" in the form of "Maleficent", "Cinderella", "The Junglebook", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Dumbo". The world has had plenty of opportunities to see Disney's vision of animation come to life and with the exception of Maleficent, these re-telling of the classic animations has Afronauts wondering: What is Disney's point in this trend? Besides trying to make money, obviously. Maleficent sticks out to us, because it's a movie that was quite different from the original Sleeping Beauty animation and is told from a completely different viewpoint; that of the villain. The rest of the movies, while little tweaks were made, it's primarily the same story that we've already taken in and there are some things that animation just simply does better than live action. In the live action Cinderella they had a ballroom dance scene with Cinderella and the Prince, but it definitely didn't capture the magic and serenity of the original animation and the same can be said for the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast or the tea party scene from Alice in Wonderland.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT CONTINUE ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!

With that said, we went into the theater to see Aladdin hoping for more then what Disney has given us previously with these live action movies. We can sum up our thoughts with: It's a good movie, but it's not great. Aladdin live action is still a re-telling of the animation, but it is nicely modified in its live action form. The musical scenes are not overly done and kept to a minimum, so as viewers we didn't feel overwhelmed or that feeling that it's not believable. The audience gets to see Jasmine as not just strong like in the animation, but also educated and smart. We even get more of the Genie character by Will Smith, as they seemed to have let him be more of a person than just Aladdin's sidekick in this version. Yet, when all is said and done, we left happy, but not overjoyed. Nothing new or innovative was given to us, and it was enough just for us to say- "At least they didn't ruin the story."

Disney will be releasing the live action Lion King and Maleficent later this year, and Mulan is set to be released in 2020 (if it doesn't get pushed back again). They also have 13 other titles in production set to come to theaters over the next handful of years; all of the live action films will be based on popular animations. We here at Afronauts hope they continue the Maleficent route with these films and would love to see less popular animated films get a re-do in live action, because if they're going to continue this trend they should be adding to the stories or making them better, and so far we're just seeing the same and it comes off very mediocre.

Overall Aladdin is a fun journey into one of our childhood classical storylands and in a Summer that isn't offering much other than sequels outside of Marvel's "Spiderman: Far From Home", it is worth seeing. Aladdin is still in theaters and doing well. It's set to be Will Smith's highest ever grossing film. It's a good movie for all ages and Will Smith will make you laugh, but don't go hoping for something better than the original.

Image used is for reference only and taken from Disney. Afronauts makes no claims to the creation or ownership.

twoWe're going to keep this review short and simple. By now, just about every [adult] has gone to the theaters to see John Wick 3, and let's be honest- most of you didn't know it was called "Parabellum" until just now. Keanu Reeves has done an excellent job at making John Wick not only a memorable character, but also a name that we care only to hear when referencing this series. So much so, that everybody seems to only know this movie as "John Wick 3" and some even skip the number altogether!

Afronauts has watched the first 2 movies, and while we were impressed with the 1st one and we generally liked the 2nd, we were left wondering if they could even make a 3rd that lived up to the hype and improve the story already set in motion. While John Wick 3 has already grossed more than the first two movies and has set a 4th film in motion already, while receiving mostly positive reviews, we here at Afronauts were not thrilled with it. Everyone we have talked to loved this film and gave it praise; It is the general public we most closely give our attention to, but we just can't agree. - Why? - Overall, the film lacked a story line that improved the line of films and why make more if they're not going to add to something?

The movie follows John Wick, of course, but this time he's being hunted by everyone who wants a bounty in exchange for his life. The movie jumps right into action from the last one and you would think that would mean we're going to get to some really good material straight out the gate, but it never actually comes. John Wick eventually leaves NYC and meets up with Hallie Berry's character, and the entire scene with her could have been cut out and we would still have the same movie. Then he goes to the desert to find the man who is in charge of this whole assassin's organization. He loses a finger, but is told he can be reinstated simply by killing his friend and the man who put the bounty on his head in the first place, Winston. And we had to ask ourselves again, why was this in the movie? Seemed quite pointless.

So, we find John Wick back in NYC, but now Winston is in the same position as Mr.Wick and the two join forces to stand against the assassin guild known as the High Table. It's a shoot out, followed by a one-on-one, and then there's a bit of surprise when Winston turns on John to regain his position at the NYC Continental. It ends with the Bowery King, played by Laurence Fishbourne, who has also been exiled from the High Table, recovering John Wick and leaves us believing the two of them will join forces in the 4th installment.

We already felt the series slipping down slope in the second movie, and this one actually slid pretty far down. Even the secondary story line with The Adjudicator, played by Asia Kate Dillon, is flat. She goes around from place to place "punishing" anyone who helped John Wick or failed to kill him when they could have, even before he was announced "excommunicado", which is really just her slicing them a bit with a knife and/or removing them from the High Table and in the end she essential does nothing to end Mr.Wick. The antagonist in the second movie, Santino D'Antonio, was at least a badass who outsmarted John Wick in the end. The main adversary, Zero, in this movie has a good sense of humor, but overall comes up short and a bit cheesy. The hunter in the previous installment play by Ruby Rose and known as "Ares" was much more suspenseful and clever. To top it off, the bounty amount didn't even seem high enough for the supposed high stake situation.

The best of the movie can be summed up as: Artistic Fight Scenes. The choreography and action scenes are top notch and they definitely went all out and put their best efforts into giving us creative and in some parts even elegant action. We can't argue with the praise given for that. Yet, that's not enough for us here at Afronauts to give praise to this film as a whole.

Like we mentioned before, John Wick 4 has already been announced with a release date of May 21, 2021. Afronauts will probably see it, but we won't be in a rush. Let us know your thoughts on John Wick 3 and the series altogether! Are you excited for the next installment? John Wick 3 is still in theaters if you haven't watched it, but unless you like action we would suggest you skip it.

Fathom Events hosted a special 2-day only screening of the anime movie: "Okko's Inn" in select theaters on April 22nd & 23rd. While Agent Afronaut was away in NYC, NY representing our parent organization, EDFU, I - Agent Bunnie - decided to venture out and see what this was all about.

Okko's Inn is not a new anime, but still fairly new that you may not have heard of it or watched it yet. I hadn't caught wind of it before going to the theaters to see it this April. It was initially released in June of 2018, so it's April theater debut was less than a year later here in America. It is based off of a series of books by Hiroko Reijo, who is a Japanese author. These books are not readily available in America, by the way. Before this movie was released, a manga series and a TV series followed -both of which I could not find in the America.

Synopsis (officially released by GKIDS):

​After losing her parents in a car accident, Okko goes to live in the countryside with her grandmother, who runs a traditional Japanese inn built on top of an ancient spring said to have healing waters. While she goes about her chores and prepares to become the inn’s next caretaker, Okko discovers there are spirits who live there that only she can see – not scary ones, but welcoming ghosts who keep her company, play games and help her navigate her new environment. The inn’s motto is that it welcomes all and will reject none, and this is soon put to the test as a string of new guests challenge Okko’s ability to be a gracious host.

The latest feature from famed anime studio Madhouse and director Kitaro Kosaka, who was a key animator on numerous classic films at the venerable Studio Ghibli, seamlessly blends immersive, idyllic landscapes with the storybook charm of Okko’s beloved ghosts. Okko’s Inn delivers a rare ghost story that is firmly grounded in the trials and joys of humanity.

Given the brief description that you read above, I was a bit skeptical about this movie before going. So much so, that I read quite a few reviews of the movie before going. Most of the reviews gave it a fair rating at best, with the majority giving it a thumbs down -and that was almost enough to persuade me to stay at home and wait until it was shown at a fan con. Yet, something deep in me told me that I may get something out this movie if I'd just take the time to watch it and when the time came to go to the movie and I didn't have anything to do, I decided to go! And I'm really glad I did! - Oh, and I'll touch on those reviewer's criticisms later on.

The presentation from Fathom started out with a very candid intro from the director, which I found to be very personable and insightful. Kitaro Kosaka told his vision and direction of the film, as well as how it personally related to him.

I'd like to start the actual review by saying that I went on the day that the movie was shown in "dub" or the edition that had been re-voiced by English actors. One big criticism I had read about the film was that the English-dub was horrible and I will say it is not great, and in some parts it will make you cringe. The movie is much more than just simply about a little girl who loses her parents and then grieves, and that had me pleasantly surprised, but also very appreciative. It also emphasized how annoying the English version had been watered down, and that is all too common for Anime brought to America and it needs to stop. American markets want to push a "kids-only" label on this genre and many of these Anime stories are so intricate and deep. The theater I went to had mostly children and by the end of the movie, most of them were zoned out or crawling around on the floor. Anime is definitely not just cartoons.

Okko loses her parents very early in the movie, so the majority of the movie is about her living with her grandmother and adjusting to her new life. We quickly are introduced to the typical city girl that Tokyo-rasied Okko is and it takes her quite some time to adjust to the country-life. We also have the modern versus traditional ways thrown in here, as her grandmother dresses and operates in a traditional Japanese etiquette, but Okko has been raised and living in modern society. It was a predictable outline, but it was nice to see how Okko blended it all together and learned how to use city smarts with traditional practices to not only help customers and also grow as a person. I had read that the original author of the books did a lot of research and interviews when writing this book to really capture the ways of the original inns in Japan, and I feel it was really shown through this adaptation by Kitaro Kosaka.

The ghosts or spirits that Okko can see are limited. The summaries about the movie that I read made it seem like it was going to be a full on haunted house, but really it's just 2 ghosts and then a demon. One ghost is a boy named Uribo who has an attachment to her grandmother, because they were childhood friends. Uribo is still a boy, because his death came during childhood. The other is a little girl named Miyo that Okko sees at school when she has a confrontation with the school bully Matsuki Akino, aka Frilly Pink. It turns out that Miyo is actually the older sister of Matsuki and died before Matsuki was born. The demon comes into the story when Okko finds a bell and releases the demon who has been trapped inside. The take on the demon, who's name is Suzuki, was refreshing. In Western Culture we typically see demons as evil and malevolent, but the original Greek origin of the word literally just seems "spirit" and it wasn't until the anti-Pagan movement that the word "demon" had negative connotations attached to. Suzuki is definitely mischievous, but he means no harm and tries to do better when Okko requests so. Furthermore, he is used as a bridge between our world and the Spirit World. As the film progresses, Okko becomes happier and confident and the more she does the harder it is for her to be able to see and hear Uribo and Miyo. At one point, Okko feels so alone, because she cannot hear or see her ghost friends.

The climax comes at the end when Okko finally grieves. Her connection to the Spirit World help to shield her from this process until her job and the accident come together and she's forced to confront what happened; the man who crashed into her parents car and killed them is a man that she has worked diligently to please at the inn.  It's and this breaking point that we see just how much Okko has grown and learned from her time at her grandmother's inn and her role as junior innkeeper, and she grieves in that moment and her parents assure her that she's alright and she can let them go.

I feel this is a good family movie and a movie for all ages, though the deeper meanings and more mature topics may be lost on young children. The movie will be appreciated more by those who have lost someone close to them. The negative reviews comparing this to Casper The Ghost and the likes were clearly people who don't understand the Anime genre and who went into the viewing with a limited mind. This is not your typical ghost story and it's really not about ghosts. The other most noted complaint I read about the movie were that Okko's actions and reactions didn't seem fitting for her age, but having experienced my own mother's passing a few years ago and watching our family of all ages have to deal with it too, I can tell you that I learned very well that everybody deals with death differently and everybody grieves differently, should they choose to grieve, because not everyone does. Lastly, for those who bashed this movie artistically, I would say that they were mostly missing the art of the storytelling which is done beautifully here. The movie comes full circle at the end, with Okko being able to accept the loss of her parents and is also able to assure the spirits that they can move on too, because Uribo knows now that Okko is there to help her grandmother and Okko is able to bridge Miyo with Matsuki. The same dance ceremony you see in the opening that she first sees with her parents, is the one that Okko performs herself along with Matsuki who has come to respect Okko now, and the spirits are there with her to assure they will see her again when they are reborn. Throughout the movie you see many people dealing with loss in many ways, from death to break-ups, and Okko is there learning from it all and if you let go of preconceived notions let the story guide you through, then you may learn too. If nothing else, you'll find comfort from it.

The movie isn't available for purchase yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon and it will be released July-2,2019. Some major retailers like Target and Best Buy are selling the movie too. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy!

Last year during SDCC 2018, we had the opportunity to experience "Laika Live" - it was a mini tour of Laika Studios' projects, production process, and upcoming projects. The company really rolled out the red carpet for fans and those who stood in the long line to see their offsite tour.  We were given so much free swag! The real joy in the whole "experience" was seeing how they actually made the films. They actually had people there with a mini workshop to show us how they make the 3D models and explained what goes into making them move, as well as their costume design process. Needless to say, we were very impressed - as if we weren't already! We here are Afronauts are pretty big fans of "Coraline" and "Kubo And The Two Strings".

It was there at SDCC that we were given a first glimpse at their latest movie, "Missing Link", before the general public! They actually played the trailer for us and then we walked through a forest that mimicked the one from the movie with exclusive images from the film! So, of course, we wanted to check the movie out once it came to theaters and see if it lived up to the hype that they presented to us.

WARNING! READING ANY FURTHER WILL HAVE SPOILERS! DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS! - WE DO RECOMMEND SEEING THE FILM!

Going into the movie, both Agent Afronaut & Agent Bunnie had very different ideas of what this movie was actually about.

​Agent Afronaut thought the film was going to be very predictable with a storyline that has been played over and over- typical betrayal by the European explorer/conqueror. Agent Bunnie thought the film was going to be a cheesy telling of how we evolved. - One thing we both agreed on prior to seeing the movie, was that we had a lot of doubts in it being good. Yeah, sure we had experienced the hype at SDCC, but at that time very little was known about the film. The more previews we say in theaters, the more doubts we had. However, we're happy to report that we were both WRONG!

Quick Synopsis: The movie is about British adventurist, Sir Lionel Frost, who is played by Hugh Jackman. He is rejected by a high society club for adventurers and he makes it his mission to be apart of this club by proving that the creature known as Sasquatch exists! To do this he travels to Washington, USA after receiving a letter that turns out to be from a Sasquatch, aka Mr.Link, who is voiced by Zach Galifianakis. It is Mr.Link's desire to be taken to where his "cousins" are, known as the Yetis, so he can live out the rest of his days with his kind and not be lonely. Frost agrees to take Mr.Link to the Himalayas in exchange for being given proof that a Sasquatch exists. The journey to the Yetis home is long and involved being chased by a western outlaw the entire time who is hired by the leader of the British adventurer club and along the way they get help and are accompanied by Frost's ex-flame, Adelina Fortnight, who is voiced by Zoe Saldana. Once they find the Yeti's they are actually rejected by them, because Mr.Link (who is now known as Susan at this point) is viewed as "the redneck cousin". Eventually, they escape the Yeti prison, defeat both the outlaw and the British Lord who were out to kill them, and realize what was truly important.

The overall theme of the movie was "belonging", which was obvious. Both Sir Frost and Susan are seeking to belong, while Adelina already had figured out it's best not to try and belong to a group of people who won't accept you for who you are. It's the not so obvious aspects and the subtle details that really made the movie and made us here at Afronauts really get behind it!

• Evolution - Laika's take on Susan/Sasquatch and the Yetis was very non-traditional. Susan could talk, read, and write English. Self-taught, actually! The Yetis had built their own society and maintained a kingdom. It is pointed out in the movie that we're not so different from them. Afterall, both Frost and Susan seek the same result at the end of their journey. Not only that, but the Yetis were basically the representation of the British in this movie just in ape-like form.
• Man Isn't Always Right - At one point, Adelina calls out Frost for not treating Susan as an equal. We also see this behavior from Frost at the beginning. He clearly feels that his credentials make him superior and he longs to be part of a high society club and yet throughout the movie Adelina tries to show Frost the errors of his ways and how lonely it is making him in life and why people leave him.
• Empowering Women - At the end of the movie Adelina leaves to go off on her own adventure. She states that she doesn't need men or anyone and it's time for her to be free. Earlier in the movie, Frost references a "caged bird" to describe Adelina and it is at the end we get confirmation that this is really describing women during the times of the Wild West and the fact that they were not seen as equal to men. The way that Mr.Link receives his name, Susan, also involves a moment were Frost assumes that the prospector Mr.Link should be named after is a male, but it turns out it was a female and thus he takes the name Susan. - The other nice part of the ending for Adelina, was that it was nice to see a woman keep her bearings through the whole movie and not fall in love, but rather teach (and two beings, I might add!) and move on.
• European Conqueror - Laika didn't stray away or try to dilute the fact that Europeans who traveled the world to "explore", really more so conquered and corrupted. From the very beginning we see the mounted heads and preserved corpses of the creatures found by these Europeans and it is Susan who declares to Sir Frost at their first meeting that he doesn't want to end up dead. The Yetis also seek to remain hidden, because they feel they would be destroyed by humans. There are also several times during the traveling that it is pointed out how little Europeans know and how uncivilized they appear abroad. When they are in Asia to go to the Himalayas, Mr.Frost speaks very loudly and plainly to an Asian man, while Adelina mumbles, "The white man abroad" in annoyance. Not to mention, that many of the cultural issues are pointed out by a woman who is of Latina descent, most likely Mexican considering the time, who has obviously traveled the world and who currently lived in America.
• Historical Accuracy - Laika also touched on the fact that history is usually told by the conqueror and the victorious. The reason the British Lord goes after Frost for his conquest of Sasquatch, is to prevent the knowledge that humans descend from these creatures. We found this aspect to be small in terms of the movie, but a very interesting one that Laika included.
• Evolution of the World - Another small inclusion from Laika was the fear of change and evolution of the world/society. The British Lord stated a major reason why he wanted to stop Frost was to prevent the world from changing and to make sure he was not forgotten or misplaced in the world. While this was only a moment in the movie, it was a huge reference to male and Caucasian dominance.

Complaints: No real complaints here, although Agent Afronaut wasn't a fan of the cheesy humor. It's not for everyone, but Agent Bunnie enjoyed it! Agent Bunnie would have liked a bit more backstory on what happened to Susan's kind, but in hindsight this might have actually taken away from the message and the overall story.
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Overall, we really enjoyed this movie and we highly recommend it! Even though it is animated, we feel this movie is best for older children 12+. Make sure to catch it in theaters soon before it makes it's way out! Of course, you could always buy the Blu-Ray/DVD!