The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

I didn't think much of it until the last section where the metaphors and twists come out in full force and it reveals itself as an anti-MRA, anti-toxic-masculinity, pro-genderqueer movie, and it all works really well. 

Also, the song over the credits is Beck in a more modern Midnite Vultures mode with The Lonely Island rapping about credits, and it's fantastic.

Rating: Pretty Good.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Enjoyed it a lot more than The Lego Movie. Funny, a solid story and actually quite touching.

Rating: Very Good.

The Lego Movie (2014)

Very disappointed. No story or characters (which fits with later developments but still doesn't make for a good movie), and the humour feels more like a bunch of Youtube videos stitched together than a feature comedy. It has a lot of muddled themes and descends into mawkishness at the end. It reminded me of the equally-mawkish Toy Story 2: that film tells us that a rare toy should not be displayed in a museum; this one (after a lot of confusion) tells us that if you want to enjoy Lego in a less imaginative way, you are doing it wrong.

It generally looked nice, though the 3D was barely existent, and the action was messily directed. It did look gorgeous when they were doing big water or explosion effects.

Rating: Bad.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

SPOILERS BELOW

With the groups of good shiners and bad shiners fighting each other, and the translation of the unknowable horror of the Overlook into a pack of ghosts with rules that can be unleashed at enemies Aragorn-style, this doesn't feel so much like The Shining as it does a Scanners or even X-Men movie. Taken on those terms, though, it's pretty good - assured pacing, good performances, creepy, and loads of great visuals.

Rating: Pretty Good.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

It had a bunch of cool stuff and a bunch of stupid (not in a good way) stuff, but the main problem was that it was overstuffed. Nothing was given any focus or breathing room so it was really hard to care about any of it. Raimi didn't really get to flex, and the editing was sloppy in a way that felt like they were too rushed shooting the movie.

Rating: Meh.

Bigbug (2022)

Fun, inventive, but a little muddled and about 15-20 minutes too long.

Rating: Pretty good.

The Bubble (2022)

Embarrassingly bad. Nothing makes sense, it's not funny, it has no teeth, the cast is too big, everyone is underused. And it feels like Apatow knows how bad it is because it breaks into a dance number three separate times.

Rating: Very Bad.