June 16, 2025 • 15 mins
Zeddy's reviews of "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Materialists".
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:26):
The. Hey everyone, you are listening
to the Vigilante 1999 podcast. I am 1/3 of the colors here,
(00:49):
Nick Zenig and I am back with another film reviews.
That's why I got a double whammyhere today.
I am going to be talking about Universal is How to Train Your
Dragon and a 24 is Materialist. I do want to thank both of these
studios, Universal and a 24, forsigning, sending me out to early
screenings of this movie. Had a blast of both of them.
(01:09):
But we are going to waste no time anyway and we are going to
set off with the live action remake of How to Train Your
Dragon. This comes not so soon after the
animated trilogy itself just wrapped up.
These movies are largely beloved.
They are really acclaimed, I love them.
Personally. I think the first one is just an
animated classic. It's terrific if you haven't
(01:32):
seen it of course. But we are in this live action
remake Palooza still and this isUniversal.
And DreamWorks is first attempt at a live action remake.
So of course it makes sense why they would want to set off with
How to Train Your Dragon. It's one of the most more recent
beloved animated movie, so it makes sense why they would want
to strike, why the Iron Hot was something more modern as opposed
(01:55):
to trying to go all the way backinto the periphery there.
But honestly, I thought this movie was pretty great visually.
I thought this thing was stunning on the big screen.
The one thing I will say is yes,and I do think it is as
wonderful and emotionally drivenas the animated classic, even
though it is nearly beep for beat and it is pretty much
(02:19):
nearly identical to the animatedmovie.
So don't expect any massive changes or any deviations away
from the story. It's pretty much beep for beat.
So you'd know what you're going to get with this movie and
visually it works really well onthe big screen.
I know I've said that, but it really was a treat.
I think that it really is a testament to when you compare it
(02:42):
to other live action remakes that we get.
I think this one is like bar none than the more recent ones
that we get and that John Powellscore is so good.
It's honestly one of the best parts of this whole movie.
There were times where I like almost had a tear in my eye just
because of how emotionally effective the score was in the
(03:03):
movie. So it just it's just
outstanding. But I do think that like, my
favorite part of this whole movie is honestly Mason Thames,
who really bought Hiccup to life.
I don't this kid is going to be a star to come.
I know he was in the Black Phonemovie and I know he's going to
be in the sequel that we're going to get later to come.
But he really does make this role his own.
(03:25):
And I really did feel like he bought Hiccup to life in a
really, really nice way. And I think that Nico Parker is
Astrid, honestly, I know she's getting a lot of hate right now,
but I actually thought she did apretty good job and all that.
Their chemistry together was pretty good.
And I think that she's she's just as badasses as as Ashton
was in the movie. So I, I think that casting wise,
(03:47):
I think director Dean Dubois, who obviously did the animated
movies himself, did a good job at honestly bringing this remake
to life again. It's adapting the animated movie
100% and Toothless is great. So if you're worried about that,
don't worry. If you love Stitch, you're going
to love Toothless. But I think that again, if if
(04:08):
you know that you're going to gointo this movie expecting that
it's just a beat for beat live action remake, A reimagining, a
retelling of the animated movie,I think your experience is going
to be a lot better. Like if you're just looking to
see something that you already love brought to life on the big
screen, I know that that that kind of concept is hit or miss
for a lot of people. Usually you're like, well, if
(04:31):
it's done so good in animation, watch and I want to go watch it
in live action. And that is a totally fair
argument to be to make. But I will say I think that this
is way miles better. One of the more better attempts
that I've seen the at the live action.
He makes that better done. I think that there's a lot of
heart in this movie. Visually it looks great.
(04:51):
You can tell that they spent a lot on on the budget with this
one. Even though there's times where
you can feel the green screen, you can feel that certain parts
might be stagey. And that's not really a knock on
it. It's kind of just what it's
going to because it's such a bigmovie and there's a lot of scene
scenery in this movie. But I really found myself
captivated with this movie. And again, it's somebody that
(05:12):
knew going into it that this wasjust going to be a live action
remake. I probably knew this was going
to be a bee for bee retelling ofthe animated movie.
I really enjoyed myself. It was great to see what a bad
crowd. I can see a lot of kids,
families really loving this. This is the property is so hot
right now and it's so recent andit's so modern.
So I think that this is definitely going to be something
(05:33):
that is going to be worth your time.
And it's definitely a movie thatexceeded my expectations.
I could definitely go ahead and say and safely say that.
So while it's nothing new, it's nothing original, I did have a
blast with this movie. So I'm kind of like overall like
an 8.5 out of 10 with this movieand and for the live action
(05:54):
remake, so we got recently that's pretty damn good.
So go see how to train your dragon.
If you haven't seen the animatedmovie, at least the first one,
for sure you're going to want tosee that before you go see this
one. Or if you just looking to go and
blind and maybe you want to see the live action remake first and
then go revisit to see the animated movie to see what
differences there might be. I think that you can definitely
do that as well. So hopefully you guys won't see
(06:16):
the movie. Enjoy yourself and I walked away
puzzlingly spice. So hopefully you do as well.
And but let's move over to materials.
So this one was by a 24. It is Celine sons sophomore
follow up to her widely acclaimed hit from a few years
ago, past lives, which miraculously managed to sneak
into the Oscars conversation. That's kudos to all the support
(06:38):
and all the love that that moviegot.
So this one what a more recognizable well known cast.
You have Dakota Johnson, you have Chris Evans, you have Pedro
Pascal, you have Zoe Winters andof course you have Celine song
directing this movie. So this is simply this is such a
city like city life movie. It's simply about a matchmaker
(07:01):
played by Dakota Johnson, who's trying to essentially matchmake
people in the falling in love with each other.
And then you kind of like have this long romance that finds its
way back. So there's a lot going on in
this movie, and I'm going to be for fun too.
I don't think this was not your traditional Rob Com.
(07:23):
You know, I don't that in a lot of ways, it's actually better.
I think what Celine song tries to clap with this movie by
offering a more delicates. Yet it's also even more, It's an
even more complex portrait on how we as a society, we as human
beings view modern dating and the concept of love and whether
(07:45):
the manifestation of that is actually a real thing or whether
it's not something that we're kind of just thinking is real or
we want to be real. I know if that really makes a
lot of sense. But it's not a lot better than
than it's actually coming out, Ipromise.
But the guys are so good in thismovie.
I think Dakota Johnson and PedroPascal and Chris Evans are so
(08:09):
palpable. Their chemistry is amazing.
They are terrific. Even Chris Evans, I'll say I
don't know why he hasn't been doing more of these movies
because I actually thought he was fan freaking tastic.
I would actually maybe even say he was my favorite performance
in the whole movie, and I'm already saying that I don't.
All the performances were great,but he was really, really
(08:30):
amazing in this movie. You're going to walk away
probably just feeling feeling the same exact way.
I will say though, I thought thefirst half of this movie really
soars, and I think that it's so.The script is so razor sharp,
it's very witty, the dialogue isvery engaging and the the
transitions are very charming. You feel that whole New York
(08:54):
City life feel to it. You feel like this is a more
human approach to the whole mom com thing just in general.
But honestly, the second-half iswhere I kind of like struggled a
little bit because there is a deeper conflict that arises.
I'm not going to spoil what exactly that is, but there is a
(09:16):
conflict that comes up in this movie and it does kind of allow
the movie to make this kind of tonal switch.
And while the acting is terrific, so it doesn't
necessarily hold it back, I do think that they do set up this
conflict and I do did. It kind of resolves itself in a
(09:36):
kind of rushed way. There seems like there's some
things that have to happen for the sake of giving our main
character Dakota Johnson, just giving her a compliment,
something to resolve. It seems like it was kind of
like thrown in there as much as it kind of does still fit the
narrative. I just felt like it was kind of
brush in there and it kind of really resolves itself for the
(09:59):
sake of meaning to resolve a conflict in the movie.
And again, it's not like it it kind of like brought the movie
down for me because it didn't. I just think that the
second-half didn't necessarily match with the first half.
And the second-half actually offers a lot more romantic
cliches, like, you know, like there's people that say like
(10:19):
this isn't a Vlad comp yet. The second-half kind of feels
like it's more ROM com, but the first half kind of really
doesn't. So I think that's where kind of
I struggled a little bit again. And as great as the acting is,
so it doesn't necessarily hold it too too back to me.
I just think that the second-half kind of left me
wanting a bit more to chew on. And I'm not even sure if this is
(10:41):
going to be something went marketing, but like if you're
expecting that this is going to be like another challengers
thing where you're it's like these three people just kind of
swooning over each other. It is not that.
So just doing this movie that expecting like, you know, these
the three main performances don't necessarily have something
to do with each other. It's more like they kind of just
(11:04):
find a way to to come together in a in a climatic way.
So kind of just keep that in mind.
But again, honestly, I doubt this movie was very, very good.
And I don't think that it's overrated.
So don't like kind of like misunderstand my words here.
I really, really enjoy this movie.
There were even times when I wassaying to myself, I kind of
(11:26):
think that this might even be better than past lives.
And that actually feels psychologist to say if you ask a
lot of people. But honestly, I thought this
movie was still engaging. The first half was really my cup
of tea. This was the kind of movie that
I was really expecting, hoping and wanting it to be.
And it was. And the second-half, while still
very good, kind of left me a little bit wanting more.
(11:48):
But I still think that it ends very, very strong.
And I think that Celine Song really has his unique grasp on
the idea of love and time and how time kind of like, you know,
absence makes the heart go fonder, that sort of thing.
I think that she has a very unique grasp on what the idea of
(12:10):
love is and what it can be. So I think that her themes and
her concepts and her direction in the way that she kind of has
these world life views on the idea of love and what it can be,
I think is what really let's themovie sort.
Because you're kind of sitting there and it does almost make
(12:31):
you think about your own life. And that's actually OK.
I know we go to the movies to escape, but I sat there in my
seat sometimes and everyone I'm like, OK, this is kind of
relatable to me, even though I'mnot a city like person, you
know? And there's might be things that
I don't personally understand, like the idea of modern online
dating. While it works for some people,
(12:51):
it doesn't work for others. So there might be some themes
and terms that don't necessarilyresonate with with a lot of
people. I sat there in my seat wondering
like, OK, I can get enough out of this movie to where I do kind
of understand what Celine Song is trying to present to me.
Even if I don't think that it's 100% fully landing by the end, I
think that it does land enough. And I did definitely feel a lot
(13:14):
in this movie. So I do give what Celine Song
was trying to do a lot of cut. And I think that if you love
these actors, you definitely need to go see this movie, not
just it's just a really good movie, but because it's
definitely, it definitely has a lot to say.
So this is definitely one of thebetter movies I've seen this
year. I'm kind of in the same boat as
(13:35):
How to Train Your Dragon, but I'm more like a 7.58 out of
time, which is still very good, don't get me wrong.
So if you go, if you're on the fence of going to see
materialists, don't be, because you definitely should see, you
definitely should see the movie.It's a really, really good
movie. I had a blast with it.
It was and it was a packed crowd, So a lot of people
reacted to the comedy in this movie and it's very sharp when
(13:58):
we get it and the whole romance angle of it.
I think it's going to really work for a lot of people as
well. So I also had a really good time
with Materialists. We'll definitely go see it again
and I do definitely give it a thumbs up and I definitely do
recommend it to you all as well.So those are going to be my
thoughts on How to Train Your Dragon and Materialists.
We really enjoyed both of these movies and hopefully you guys go
(14:21):
and go and see these movies as the summer movie season
continues to ramp up. But that's going to about do it.
So follow me on Twitter and Letterbox, Edmund Zenig and of
course, follow the show at Vigilante 1939.
And as always, I'll catch you all in the next film or ATV
review soon. Peace.
(15:18):
The.
The. Hey everyone, you are listening
to the Vigilante 1999 podcast. I am 1/3 of the colors here,
(00:49):
Nick Zenig and I am back with another film reviews.
That's why I got a double whammyhere today.
I am going to be talking about Universal is How to Train Your
Dragon and a 24 is Materialist. I do want to thank both of these
studios, Universal and a 24, forsigning, sending me out to early
screenings of this movie. Had a blast of both of them.
(01:09):
But we are going to waste no time anyway and we are going to
set off with the live action remake of How to Train Your
Dragon. This comes not so soon after the
animated trilogy itself just wrapped up.
These movies are largely beloved.
They are really acclaimed, I love them.
Personally. I think the first one is just an
animated classic. It's terrific if you haven't
(01:32):
seen it of course. But we are in this live action
remake Palooza still and this isUniversal.
And DreamWorks is first attempt at a live action remake.
So of course it makes sense why they would want to set off with
How to Train Your Dragon. It's one of the most more recent
beloved animated movie, so it makes sense why they would want
to strike, why the Iron Hot was something more modern as opposed
(01:55):
to trying to go all the way backinto the periphery there.
But honestly, I thought this movie was pretty great visually.
I thought this thing was stunning on the big screen.
The one thing I will say is yes,and I do think it is as
wonderful and emotionally drivenas the animated classic, even
though it is nearly beep for beat and it is pretty much
(02:19):
nearly identical to the animatedmovie.
So don't expect any massive changes or any deviations away
from the story. It's pretty much beep for beat.
So you'd know what you're going to get with this movie and
visually it works really well onthe big screen.
I know I've said that, but it really was a treat.
I think that it really is a testament to when you compare it
(02:42):
to other live action remakes that we get.
I think this one is like bar none than the more recent ones
that we get and that John Powellscore is so good.
It's honestly one of the best parts of this whole movie.
There were times where I like almost had a tear in my eye just
because of how emotionally effective the score was in the
(03:03):
movie. So it just it's just
outstanding. But I do think that like, my
favorite part of this whole movie is honestly Mason Thames,
who really bought Hiccup to life.
I don't this kid is going to be a star to come.
I know he was in the Black Phonemovie and I know he's going to
be in the sequel that we're going to get later to come.
But he really does make this role his own.
(03:25):
And I really did feel like he bought Hiccup to life in a
really, really nice way. And I think that Nico Parker is
Astrid, honestly, I know she's getting a lot of hate right now,
but I actually thought she did apretty good job and all that.
Their chemistry together was pretty good.
And I think that she's she's just as badasses as as Ashton
was in the movie. So I, I think that casting wise,
(03:47):
I think director Dean Dubois, who obviously did the animated
movies himself, did a good job at honestly bringing this remake
to life again. It's adapting the animated movie
100% and Toothless is great. So if you're worried about that,
don't worry. If you love Stitch, you're going
to love Toothless. But I think that again, if if
(04:08):
you know that you're going to gointo this movie expecting that
it's just a beat for beat live action remake, A reimagining, a
retelling of the animated movie,I think your experience is going
to be a lot better. Like if you're just looking to
see something that you already love brought to life on the big
screen, I know that that that kind of concept is hit or miss
for a lot of people. Usually you're like, well, if
(04:31):
it's done so good in animation, watch and I want to go watch it
in live action. And that is a totally fair
argument to be to make. But I will say I think that this
is way miles better. One of the more better attempts
that I've seen the at the live action.
He makes that better done. I think that there's a lot of
heart in this movie. Visually it looks great.
(04:51):
You can tell that they spent a lot on on the budget with this
one. Even though there's times where
you can feel the green screen, you can feel that certain parts
might be stagey. And that's not really a knock on
it. It's kind of just what it's
going to because it's such a bigmovie and there's a lot of scene
scenery in this movie. But I really found myself
captivated with this movie. And again, it's somebody that
(05:12):
knew going into it that this wasjust going to be a live action
remake. I probably knew this was going
to be a bee for bee retelling ofthe animated movie.
I really enjoyed myself. It was great to see what a bad
crowd. I can see a lot of kids,
families really loving this. This is the property is so hot
right now and it's so recent andit's so modern.
So I think that this is definitely going to be something
(05:33):
that is going to be worth your time.
And it's definitely a movie thatexceeded my expectations.
I could definitely go ahead and say and safely say that.
So while it's nothing new, it's nothing original, I did have a
blast with this movie. So I'm kind of like overall like
an 8.5 out of 10 with this movieand and for the live action
(05:54):
remake, so we got recently that's pretty damn good.
So go see how to train your dragon.
If you haven't seen the animatedmovie, at least the first one,
for sure you're going to want tosee that before you go see this
one. Or if you just looking to go and
blind and maybe you want to see the live action remake first and
then go revisit to see the animated movie to see what
differences there might be. I think that you can definitely
do that as well. So hopefully you guys won't see
(06:16):
the movie. Enjoy yourself and I walked away
puzzlingly spice. So hopefully you do as well.
And but let's move over to materials.
So this one was by a 24. It is Celine sons sophomore
follow up to her widely acclaimed hit from a few years
ago, past lives, which miraculously managed to sneak
into the Oscars conversation. That's kudos to all the support
(06:38):
and all the love that that moviegot.
So this one what a more recognizable well known cast.
You have Dakota Johnson, you have Chris Evans, you have Pedro
Pascal, you have Zoe Winters andof course you have Celine song
directing this movie. So this is simply this is such a
city like city life movie. It's simply about a matchmaker
(07:01):
played by Dakota Johnson, who's trying to essentially matchmake
people in the falling in love with each other.
And then you kind of like have this long romance that finds its
way back. So there's a lot going on in
this movie, and I'm going to be for fun too.
I don't think this was not your traditional Rob Com.
(07:23):
You know, I don't that in a lot of ways, it's actually better.
I think what Celine song tries to clap with this movie by
offering a more delicates. Yet it's also even more, It's an
even more complex portrait on how we as a society, we as human
beings view modern dating and the concept of love and whether
(07:45):
the manifestation of that is actually a real thing or whether
it's not something that we're kind of just thinking is real or
we want to be real. I know if that really makes a
lot of sense. But it's not a lot better than
than it's actually coming out, Ipromise.
But the guys are so good in thismovie.
I think Dakota Johnson and PedroPascal and Chris Evans are so
(08:09):
palpable. Their chemistry is amazing.
They are terrific. Even Chris Evans, I'll say I
don't know why he hasn't been doing more of these movies
because I actually thought he was fan freaking tastic.
I would actually maybe even say he was my favorite performance
in the whole movie, and I'm already saying that I don't.
All the performances were great,but he was really, really
(08:30):
amazing in this movie. You're going to walk away
probably just feeling feeling the same exact way.
I will say though, I thought thefirst half of this movie really
soars, and I think that it's so.The script is so razor sharp,
it's very witty, the dialogue isvery engaging and the the
transitions are very charming. You feel that whole New York
(08:54):
City life feel to it. You feel like this is a more
human approach to the whole mom com thing just in general.
But honestly, the second-half iswhere I kind of like struggled a
little bit because there is a deeper conflict that arises.
I'm not going to spoil what exactly that is, but there is a
(09:16):
conflict that comes up in this movie and it does kind of allow
the movie to make this kind of tonal switch.
And while the acting is terrific, so it doesn't
necessarily hold it back, I do think that they do set up this
conflict and I do did. It kind of resolves itself in a
(09:36):
kind of rushed way. There seems like there's some
things that have to happen for the sake of giving our main
character Dakota Johnson, just giving her a compliment,
something to resolve. It seems like it was kind of
like thrown in there as much as it kind of does still fit the
narrative. I just felt like it was kind of
brush in there and it kind of really resolves itself for the
(09:59):
sake of meaning to resolve a conflict in the movie.
And again, it's not like it it kind of like brought the movie
down for me because it didn't. I just think that the
second-half didn't necessarily match with the first half.
And the second-half actually offers a lot more romantic
cliches, like, you know, like there's people that say like
(10:19):
this isn't a Vlad comp yet. The second-half kind of feels
like it's more ROM com, but the first half kind of really
doesn't. So I think that's where kind of
I struggled a little bit again. And as great as the acting is,
so it doesn't necessarily hold it too too back to me.
I just think that the second-half kind of left me
wanting a bit more to chew on. And I'm not even sure if this is
(10:41):
going to be something went marketing, but like if you're
expecting that this is going to be like another challengers
thing where you're it's like these three people just kind of
swooning over each other. It is not that.
So just doing this movie that expecting like, you know, these
the three main performances don't necessarily have something
to do with each other. It's more like they kind of just
(11:04):
find a way to to come together in a in a climatic way.
So kind of just keep that in mind.
But again, honestly, I doubt this movie was very, very good.
And I don't think that it's overrated.
So don't like kind of like misunderstand my words here.
I really, really enjoy this movie.
There were even times when I wassaying to myself, I kind of
(11:26):
think that this might even be better than past lives.
And that actually feels psychologist to say if you ask a
lot of people. But honestly, I thought this
movie was still engaging. The first half was really my cup
of tea. This was the kind of movie that
I was really expecting, hoping and wanting it to be.
And it was. And the second-half, while still
very good, kind of left me a little bit wanting more.
(11:48):
But I still think that it ends very, very strong.
And I think that Celine Song really has his unique grasp on
the idea of love and time and how time kind of like, you know,
absence makes the heart go fonder, that sort of thing.
I think that she has a very unique grasp on what the idea of
(12:10):
love is and what it can be. So I think that her themes and
her concepts and her direction in the way that she kind of has
these world life views on the idea of love and what it can be,
I think is what really let's themovie sort.
Because you're kind of sitting there and it does almost make
(12:31):
you think about your own life. And that's actually OK.
I know we go to the movies to escape, but I sat there in my
seat sometimes and everyone I'm like, OK, this is kind of
relatable to me, even though I'mnot a city like person, you
know? And there's might be things that
I don't personally understand, like the idea of modern online
dating. While it works for some people,
(12:51):
it doesn't work for others. So there might be some themes
and terms that don't necessarilyresonate with with a lot of
people. I sat there in my seat wondering
like, OK, I can get enough out of this movie to where I do kind
of understand what Celine Song is trying to present to me.
Even if I don't think that it's 100% fully landing by the end, I
think that it does land enough. And I did definitely feel a lot
(13:14):
in this movie. So I do give what Celine Song
was trying to do a lot of cut. And I think that if you love
these actors, you definitely need to go see this movie, not
just it's just a really good movie, but because it's
definitely, it definitely has a lot to say.
So this is definitely one of thebetter movies I've seen this
year. I'm kind of in the same boat as
(13:35):
How to Train Your Dragon, but I'm more like a 7.58 out of
time, which is still very good, don't get me wrong.
So if you go, if you're on the fence of going to see
materialists, don't be, because you definitely should see, you
definitely should see the movie.It's a really, really good
movie. I had a blast with it.
It was and it was a packed crowd, So a lot of people
reacted to the comedy in this movie and it's very sharp when
(13:58):
we get it and the whole romance angle of it.
I think it's going to really work for a lot of people as
well. So I also had a really good time
with Materialists. We'll definitely go see it again
and I do definitely give it a thumbs up and I definitely do
recommend it to you all as well.So those are going to be my
thoughts on How to Train Your Dragon and Materialists.
We really enjoyed both of these movies and hopefully you guys go
(14:21):
and go and see these movies as the summer movie season
continues to ramp up. But that's going to about do it.
So follow me on Twitter and Letterbox, Edmund Zenig and of
course, follow the show at Vigilante 1939.
And as always, I'll catch you all in the next film or ATV
review soon. Peace.
(15:18):
The.
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