I saw both of these films in one day. At the beginning, if the year, both of them were among my most anticipated films of 2017. And both of these films went on to receive very divisive reviews. As it happens, I thought one of these movies was really good. The other… not so much.

As I’m writing this, The Greatest Showman stands at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Talk about divisive. A lot of people seemed disappointed by this film, but personally, I really enjoyed it.

The film has wonderful production design and costume design, and that helps to transport you into the film’s world. The music by Pasek and Paul is amazing, and the actors are all giving it 110%.

However, I can understand why some people don’t like it. The editing can be a little choppy at times, and the sound mixing can occasionally make it hard to hear the lyrics. Plus, some people might take issue with the fact that the film sugar-coats some of the darker aspects of the true story. (Even though it’s really nothing new in Hollywood.)

It’s not exactly a perfect film, but it’s an enjoyable one. What can I say, I just love musicals.

*** out of ****

You might not know this about me, but I have always been fascinated by the concept of shrinking. I think there’s so much storytelling potential with the idea, from both a comedic standpoint as well as a dramatic one. When I heard about this film, I got super excited. Sadly, it ended up being the biggest disappointment of the year.

I like the first act, the second act just drags, and the third act goes completely off the rails. It reminds me a little of mother! It tries to do too many things at once and it comes across as too ambitious for its own good.

I like the production design, and I like Hong Chau’s performance, but there simply isn’t enough there to save this movie once the third act starts. It’s weird because I usually like Alexander Payne’s films. I really don’t know what went wrong with this film, but the finished product is a mess.

*1/2 out of ****