This one and what you've written about Aftersun really has me thinking! I really enjoyed the Super Mario Bros movie, while that was not the case with Aftersun.

I think if the movie accomplishes the goal of what you wanted to get out of it going in, then that's my definition of a good movie. So of course the straight up nostalgia of Mario and Nintendo works for me! Yes it's one long commercial but the good enough plot, great voice actors, the fact that it's a movie you can take the whole family, and being part of the beloved worldwide phenomenon that spans generations - for me these all combined in my pretty easy decision to give this a 10/10 rating on IMDB.

Whereas I had high hopes that my husband and I would both love Aftersun especially after your glowing recco. It really pains me to admit, but I really didn't like it Simon! Because I thought we would be really affected and moved as parents of a similarly aged daughter to Sophie, and I'm of the minority opinion that a lot of Oscar-nominated films must be worth watching if a jury of their peers says so.

However, we just couldn't abide how slow and unriveting it was. The use of music was also not very effective, even though I adore Blur and REM. I did read a few articles about afterwards that talked more about those song choices, but to me if you have to really explain it, then maybe this shows that their inclusion is not having the visceral impact that was intended.

Both the two lead actors were great, but it took all I had to power through watching Sophie fold t-shirts for ten minutes. Please be honest Emperor - your patience wasn't tried at all with that? I have more thoughts about other angles too, but this comment is too long already :D