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Well, if you ever watched an episode of this series and thought, I wonder what it would be like if they made this four times longer, gave it a much bigger budget, and half assed the story. Then this movie is for you.

I definitely wouldn't call myself a brony, but I've seen plenty of episodes and my daughter loves the show. This movie feels so much more hollow and isolated then the show. Ponyville is attacked by the Storm King (Live Schriber) with the help of his second in command Tempest (Emily Blunt). The six main characters flee and attempt to find allies that will help them defeat this foe.

We follow the six leads on this adventure, but their characters that are very distinguished and defined on the series are muted here. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity all get one brief character moment and that's it. Pinky Pie and Twilight Sparkle have a fair bit to do and Fluttershy… well she gets nothing. You could cut her from the movie and have it bare no impact on the story. Actually, you can cut everyone but Pinky Pie and Twilight Sparkle and have the same story. The whole TV series is about friendship, but this movie opts to ignore most of the key friendships in the series.

Let's look at villains. In the series easily one of the best villains is Discord voiced wonderfully by John De Lancie essentially reprising Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation. We also got Nightmare Moon and the Changelings. All of which were far better villains than the bumbling Storm King. Discord is a very silly villain, but he still has menace. While Storm King was just silly but without the menace. How does a character like that build an army and invade with no warning? I get doing a new villain, but shouldn't this villain feel like more of a threat. As it is, he feels like a lesser threat than the six have already beaten dozens of times.

If you think this isn't a movie made for me. This is a movie made for fans. My 9 year old daughter who loves the series spent a fair bit of time after the movie complaining about how it took elements for the series and squandered them. She seems a heartbeat away from screaming betrayal. And if the movie can't satisfy non-fans or fans, then who was it possibly made for?

Denis Villeneuve

This is a name to look out for. Sicario and Enemy are two fascinating films. Further, in the last two years, he has managed to make two sci-fi classics.Think of films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, 1954's Godzilla, and even Pixar's WALL-E, each in its own way held a mirror up to the human condition. In a similar vein, last year's Arrival delves into the potential breadth and depth of communication. Now we have Blade Runner 2049, a movie about what it means to be human. A movie smart enough to ask the questions and also smart enough to know these clear questions usually have no clear answers.

In the year 2049, humanity has found a new form of slavery. The ability to make lifelike people except with enhanced strength. These people will be called replicants. Sometimes replicants will go rogue and that's when a blade runner is called in. Blade runners hunt rogue replicants.

One of these blade runners is K (Ryan Gosling). He is tracking down replicants and finds himself diving down the rabbit hole left by the first movie. However, it's handled in a creative way giving you some surprise when you realize it's going that way. One of the characters is K's girlfriend who is a computer program. You might think that means she isn't real, but if she's not real does that mean the replicants aren't real either? She could be just as real as a replicant just without a body. These are just some of the ideas thrown out in the first act of the movie. Additionally, throughout this movie's over two and a half hour running time those ideas will not stop.

I won't dive into the story anymore, but it is really secondary here. That's not to say it's not engaging, because it is incredibly so, but the movie revolves more around the questions of what is humanity and what does it means to be human. Therein lies the heart of this film.

1982's Blade Runner created a fantastic world, but I found the story extraordinarily dull. Nevertheless, BR 2049 takes that world and explores it in all the logical ways it should. Ideas brought up in the original are fleshed out here. Further, as is often the case, asking the question is more powerful than answering it. This is what Ghost in the Shell missed earlier this year.

Blade Runner 2049 is one of those rare sequels I enjoy better than the original. I have no problem calling it one of the best sequels ever made.The question of whether or not it will be more respected than the original in 35 years will be an interesting one to see answered.

"Let Her Out" is a small budget movie. But you wouldn't know that by looking at it. This is perhaps one of the most visually impressive movies of the year. It's got a vivid color palette and camera use that is never boring. The makeup effects are realistic even when they're completely over the top. This movie has the look of a major studio production and millions and millions of dollars behind it.

The film starts showing us a hooker who is eventually raped. The intro of the movie is done with almost no dialogue and is told concisely. The intro ends and we are brought into the movie proper. It's 23 years later and we are introduced to Helen, the product of that rape. Or is she? Helen finds out she has a twin that died in utero and was absorbed by her body. It is implied that perhaps Helen wasn't the product of rape but perhaps the twin was. Anyways, the absorbed twin begins to take control of Helen body giving her blackouts.

If you're reading this and think it sounds silly, well this is a horror movie. Such silliness is more than welcome if it provides some solid scares and an interesting peak at what it means to be human. Perhaps, the twin isn't really taking control and maybe Helen's brain is using it as an excuse to attack those who have victimized her.

But that would be giving this story far too much credit. While I love this movie visually, its story has no depth besides, "bad twin gets out and does bad things!" any attempt to maybe use this bizarre situation to reflect upon the human condition is completely wasted. Part of it is how we have no real characters in this movie. They are just props that move the plot along. Even our main character, Helen just seems to be there to occasionally be taken over by her twin. All the other characters exist to be victims of these episodes. Even the ending turns into little more than a creature feature with the evil twin going on an apparent murder rampage.

The acting doesn't help at all. Some is serviceable and some is just downright bad. It's all rather disappointing. When so much good gets mixed with so much bad, it's tough to end up good overall. And that's where "Let Her Out" ends up. I almost want to recommend it as a visual spectacle, but in the end you'd have to watch the dreadful story. And that is something I cannot recommend.