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Thursday, February 12, 2026
GOAT review
GOAT:
A STYLISH AND SLICK GAME ON THE COURT!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
COLUMBIA PICTURES AND SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
Will Harris and his team of anthropomorphic animals are going to change the game in GOAT
An aspiring roarball player goat is determined to become the “Greatest of All Time” at the sport in GOAT, the new animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation, Tyree Dillihay in his directorial debut, and produced by NBA player Stephen Curry. I’ve been very impressed with Sony’s animation catalog and how they really stepped up their game and began producing more experimental projects after 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Sure, not every one of them was a big hit, but the studio has since come a long way since their Emoji Movie, Smurfs, and Open Season days. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, Across the Spider-Verse were cinematic game-changers in film animation, The Mitchells VS the Machines was a laugh-a-minute and charming road trip that also had a robot apocalypse, and last year’s KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix was a full-blown phenomenon…so, they decided to follow all that up with an animated movie about a goat playing basketball…yay?
I was not enthusiastic about the movie when it was first announced as I initially thought the concept was a huge step back from what Sony had been putting out recently. But then, the trailer came out and it actually looked pretty good with Sony essentially using that Spider-Verse, Mitchells, and KPop art and animation style on the basketball court.
Well, I have to say this was a pretty enjoyable game on the court, I don’t think GOAT is nearly as good as the Spider-Verse films, Mitchells VS the Machines, or KPop Demon Hunters, but I was entertained throughout during my viewing even if the plot isn’t exactly original. It’s the classic “There ain’t no rule saying a *Blank* can’t play *Insert Sport Here*!” setup that we’ve seen a million times before especially during the 90s and 2000s with Air Bud, Ed, MVP: Most Valuable Primate, etc., but as long as the film gives a new creative spin on the formula I’m all for it, this certainly does that.
The film is set in a world of anthropomorphic talking animals and follows Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin-Stranger Things, The Book of Clarence, The Deliverance), a goat who aspires to be a professional player in a basketball-like sport known as roarball ever since he was a kid. However, there is one problem holding Will back from pursuing his dream “Smalls Can’t Ball” so, when he signs on to play for the Vineland Thorns team, he’ll need to prove to everyone that anyone no matter how big or small can follow their dreams thus changing the game forever.
The film also features the voices of Gabrielle Union (10 Things I Hate About You, Bad Boys II, Strange World) as Will’s idol and black panther Jett Fillmore, Aaron Pierre (Krypton, Old, Mufasa: The Lion King) as Will’s rival and horse Mane Attraction, Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Barbie, Seize Them!) as ostrich Olivia Burke, David Harbour (Stranger Things, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Violent Night) as rhinoceros Archie Everhardt, Nick Kroll (Kroll Show, Sausage Party, Sing 1 and 2) as Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko, Curry himself as giraffe Lenny Williamson, Jenifer Lewis (Sister Act 1 and 2, The Preacher’s Wife, Cars trilogy) as warthog and Thorns owner Florence “Flo” Everson (I just now realized she voiced 2 Flos in animated films), Patton Oswalt (Reno 911, Ratatouille, Freaks of Nature) as proboscis monkey and Thorns’ coach Dennis Cooper, Jelly Roll as grizzly bear Grizz, Sherry Cola (Turning Red, Good Fortune, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants) as aardwolf and Will’s friend Hannah, Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things, Booksmart, Hoppers) as capybara and Will’s other friend Daryl, Jennifer Hudson (The Secret Life of Bees, Sing, Respect) as Will’s mother Louise Harris, Ayesha Curry (Hannah Montana, Good Luck Charlie, Charming) as llama and diner owner Carol, and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Space Jam, Toy Story 2) as gerbil and Will’s landlord Frank.
Overall, GOAT may not change the game in terms of storytelling compared to the Spider-Verse movies or any of Sony Animation’s other recent projects, but it’s such a dazzling and kinetic game of basketball that makes it worth seeing on the big screen that effectively balances its chaotic energy with a ton of heart. I’m not kidding about the film’s energy being chaotic, the animation is incredibly fast-paced and stylized with that Spider-Verse-inspired style, but there are times where it even gives those films a run for their money in terms of animated madness.
The animation and designs especially during the games are so crazy and imaginative with constant speed and angles that I was both in awe and overwhelmed, it’s like a really hyper motion comic version of a basketball-focused graphic novel with very few moments to breathe. The film gets very creative with the kinds of courts the characters play on such as an icy arctic court and one that’s volcanic with earthquakes happening, I loved seeing all these different kinds of basketball courts and how they worked, they’re a feast for the eyes.
The characters are pretty stock and fit the genre architypes, but they do carry the film well enough and bring heart and emotional weight to the story particularly the goat and the panther. It’s the typical underdog (or goat in this film’s case) and veteran player who was once the best and is now jealous of the new player rivalry turned friendship, but the voice actors really sell it and make their characters endearing so you want to root for them.
The humor is pretty hit-or-miss with some jokes not quite landing, but some are so bizarre and come out of nowhere that they made me laugh hard whether it’s a verbal joke, visual gag, or a very subtle laugh in the background. It isn’t Mitchells VS the Machines quality where I was constantly laughing, but I laughed a fair amount during this film.
As mentioned early on, the plot is very formulaic and derivative of other sports movies, we’ve heard this kind of story several times before in other films both good and bad, but GOAT’s execution of it and the fact I had never seen this story told in such a crazy and chaotic way made it work for me. If it was any other movie, I’d call it lazy, but I think the film is aware and trying to make a flashy and kinetic throwback to those kinds of sports movies and it does it very well.
Yeah, I enjoyed my time with GOAT and is an example of the kind of stuff I want to see from Sony Pictures Animation, the experimental, thinking out of the box, and the animators and filmmakers in their zone even if the end product is only “Good”. Honestly, I might just skip Hotel Transylvania 5 and wait for Sony’s next bonkers and/or groundbreaking animated film because if this, Spider-Verse, Mitchells, and KPop are anything to go by, creative visions and filmmakers going all in on their craft are the keys to a glorious win.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Scarlet review
SCARLET:
MAMORU HOSODA’S DAZZLING TAKE ON SHAKESPEARE!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
The titular revenge-seeking princess in Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet
Anime filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children) brings his take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the screen in his latest film, Scarlet, a gender-swapped epic fantasy inspired by the Shakespearean tragedy. This really has been the time for Hamlet-related movies, isn’t it? We had Chloé Zhao’s drama, Hamnet about Shakespeare himself and what influenced him to make Hamlet which is currently nominated for 8 Oscars and now we have this anime feature about a princess avenging the death of her father and seeking revenge on her devious uncle.
Using Hamlet as the basis for crafting a film storyline is nothing new, Disney most famously retold the story in their 1994 animated feature, The Lion King (I’d like to pretend the 2019 photorealistic remake never happened). That’s what makes a timeless story when it can be retold as many times as possible and feel fresh and new just about every time and Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet certainly adds its own unique spin to the story.
I admire a lot that Hosoda has done, I think The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and Wolf Children are among some of the best anime films ever made that rank up there with the likes of Studio Ghibli and Akiraand despite 2021’s Belle gaining divisive responses from anime enthusiasts, I thought it was an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast but in the cyber world.
So, I was definitely intrigued when I first heard about Scarlet’s release and after seeing the trailer. I don’t know if this is a hot take or not, but I actually kinda dug this movie though I wouldn’t say it’s one of Hosoda’s best films.
As with all Mamoru Hosoda projects, the film is absolutely gorgeous especially on the big screen (I saw it in IMAX), the story while convoluted towards the end is very engaging, the action is slick and stylized, and the lead characters are endearing and have solid chemistry. I’m not sure if this film will click with everyone, but it clicked with me.
The film follows Scarlet, a medieval-era princess who embarks on a dangerous quest to avenge her father after he was killed by her uncle, Claudius who now rules her kingdom. She ultimately fails her mission and finds herself fatally injured in a surreal world known simply as The Otherworld where she meets a young man from the present day named Hijiri who not only helps her heal but shows her the possibility of a world free from bitterness and rage (Can I live in that world, please? This one sucks!) thus forcing her to confront her greatest battle, can she break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge?
Overall, Scarlet is a gorgeously animated, gripping, and compelling take on Shakespearean-inspired cinema with a Mamoru Hosoda twist. This might be a hot take considering how a lot of people were disappointed by Belle and even some of the reactions for this aren’t super glowing and sure, I don’t think it’s as good as some of his previous movies, but there were some awe-inspiring visuals and scenes that I won’t be forgetting about anytime soon.
I’m not kidding about the animation; this is a beautiful looking movie and looks fantastic on the big screen with this very painted style look to the character designs and overall blending of 2D and 3D animation. I’m not exactly a huge fan of CG anime that tries to replicate hand-drawn animation, I didn’t think it fully worked in the last Dragon Ball Super movie that came out a few years ago, but for something like this I thought it worked well and gave the film a unique visual style.
The animation also brings out the size and scope of the film whether it’s an intense battle sequence or a simple scene of the evil king looking at his gathered subjects from his castle promising them he’ll take them to the Infinite Land (Essentially Heaven) if they catch Scarlet. It’s a consistently epic film on an equally epic scale, there’s even this crazy sequence involving a song that was so creative (albeit so unexpected as well) and bursting with dazzling visuals that it alone makes it worth going the extra mile to see in IMAX, the best way I can describe the scene is Japanese La La Land and if you’ve seen the film you know what I’m talking about.
I enjoy the dynamic between Scarlet and the modern day medic Hijiri which is sort of like a fish out of water story for both of them in a way with one person from medieval times and the other coming from the present day and are trapped in this in-between world before the afterlife. Both characters have very strong chemistry together and I loved seeing them interact with and learn from one another, they carried the film for me.
For the most part, I found the plot captivating even if it is basically a gender-swapped Hamlet retelling with time travel, an afterlife, and star-crossed lovers. I found the idea of a person from a time long ago meeting someone from modern days introducing a perspective on a world without violence, hate, and revenge which contrasts with the titular Scarlet’s mission.
However, despite me really getting sucked into the film and its premise, I do have some gripes with the Otherworld and the passages of time, I often forgot that the characters were in an afterlife where the dead just hang out on medieval Earth as there’s no major difference between the Otherworld and the world of the living and the film doesn’t always make it clear who is alive and who is dead, that didn’t always make sense to me.
Despite a few bumpy parts, I actually really liked Scarlet and thought it was a solid entry in Mamoru Hosoda’s filmography. Yeah, it’s not an emotional rollercoaster or a game-changer like some of his other films, but if you’re the least bit curious about an anime film about a genderbent Hamlet story where a person from medieval times befriends someone from the present day in an afterlife and learn lessons about changing the world for the better while on a revenge path or an anime enthusiast, I’d say check it out and see if this Otherworld is right for you.
Monday, February 9, 2026
Dracula review
DRACULA (DRACULA: A LOVE TALE):
LUC BESSON CRAFTS A DECENT CREATURE OF THE NIGHT!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Caleb Landry Jones is Dracula
Director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Léon: The Professional, Lucy) brings his take on the iconic vampire to the screen in his film version of Dracula or known as Dracula: A Love Tale in other territories. There have been countless adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel over the past several decades with easily the most famous one being the classic 1931 Universal Monsters film version starring Bela Lugosi.
However, other film adaptations of Dracula have become icons in their own rights such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula from 1992 with Gary Oldman portraying the titular vampire and was closer to the book than other versions. I guess Luc Besson felt the need to throw his hat into the ring in terms of Dracula reimaginings especially after Guillermo del Toro’s masterful reimagining of Frankenstein last year or Robert Eggers’ adaptation of Nosferatu with this being my first review of a Besson movie since 2017’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets if you could believe it.
So, how does this imaginative and ambitious albeit hit-or-miss filmmaker do on bringing Dracula to life…it’s not bad! I don’t think this is a great film or one of the all-time best Dracula adaptations, but I admire a lot of what Besson put into it.
When a 15th century prince (Caleb Landry Jones-X-Men: First Class, Get Out, The Florida Project) witnesses the brutal murder of his wife (Zoë Bleu-Battle for Terra, The Institute, Gonzo Girl), he renounces God and damns heaven itself resulting in him being cursed to become an eternal bloodthirsty creature of the night known as Count Dracula. As Dracula begins a blood-soaked crusade to bring his love back from the dead, he is hunted by a relentless priest (Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Big Eyes) who is sworn to end the Count’s immortal rage.
Overall, Dracula doesn’t really add much new blood to the classic story, but it’s a decently crafted retelling with impressive production design and solid performances by Jones and Waltz. However, unlike other Dracula adaptations, this one focuses more on the love story than the horror…normally I would call this unique if Bram Stoker’s Draculadidn’t already do this in 1992, Hell, Caleb Landry Jones even looks like Gary Oldman’s Dracula early on in the film.
Okay, it’s not a new idea, but I’m willing to let that slide if it’s done well and for the most part it is. I was invested in what was going on and didn’t fully know where the film was going even though it does hit a lot of the same beats as other Dracula adaptations with Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula being the obvious inspiration for it in terms of look, style, and tone.
What kept me intrigued was the introduction of a woman 400 years after the prince renounces God who looks exactly like his dead wife (Also played by Bleu) whom Dracula sets his eyes on. Throughout the movie, I wasn’t sure what angle or approach they would take with this if she would just be a doppelganger or a reincarnation of the deceased princess, kind of like when Patricia Velasquez played a reincarnation of her Mummy character in the sequel to that.
The production design is very impressive and dripping with gothic atmosphere, the scenes set either inside or outside Dracula’s castle are my favorites as I was relishing in the craftsmanship and scale of those scenes. Bottom line, Dracula’s castle looked great on the big screen…can’t say the same for the green screens and CGI gargoyles though!
Dracula’s gargoyles were computer generated and they look awful in both animation and design. With this gritty and dreary Dracula movie and all of a sudden there are cartoon gargoyles that look like they’re ripped straight out of Disney’s Gargoyles series or even their film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I get this isn’t a major Hollywood production and from an independent distributor but look at A24’s Ex-Machina, indie film with a smaller budget compared to big blockbusters yet it still has far more convincing CGI than this.
The movie is also too long and there are times where it drags and takes a long time to get to the point. It’s a 2 hour and 9 minute movie, but you can easily shave 30 minutes off of it and fix up the pacing.
Despite its shortcomings, Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz are great as Dracula and the Priest (Essentially the Van Helsing stand-in). Jones gives a solid performance as Dracula and brings that tragic angst and sophisticated charm you’d associate with the character even if his portrayal does come off as an imitation of Gary Oldman from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, he’s good in the movie but the comparisons to Oldman are kind of a disservice to him despite his efforts.
Christoph Waltz as the Van Helsing-type character was THE reason for me to go see it, he is one of my favorite actors and I got excited the moment I saw him in the trailer. I thought he was perfectly cast in the role as this cool and confident priest who’s determined to uncover the vampires’ lore that’s been hidden in the world for 400 years.
Luc Besson’s Dracula is a perfectly fine take on the vampire that probably won’t sit among the all-time best adaptations of Dracula, but if you’re curious about it (Like I was), I’d say it’s worth sinking your teeth into at least once. However, if you’re looking for a really unique take on Dracula that takes the story in new directions, might I recommend Dracula 2000 or The Last Voyage of the Demeter?
Sunday, February 8, 2026
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