Movie Review #82: Frozen (2013)

This being the month of February, winter is in full swing up here in the great mid-west region of the United States. So naturally, I can relate to the thought of an eternal, never-ending winter because it sure does feel that summer has never been farther away.

It's incredibly fascinating that Frozen, a movie that came out during the last week of November, has continued to make its way into the top five spots in the box office. For most of the past three months. It's absurd! I mean it did come out the same week as Catching Fire did, so I can only imagine that everyone first saw that and then saw Frozen during January when they knew there wouldn't be a new release worth spending $10 on. $12 if they go the 3-D route!

I must have been the only member of my friend group who hadn't seen Frozen because I have been hearing nothing but the highest of marks about it. Calling it to be a "return to form for Disney" and
one of the best Disney movies in years." With praise like that, I knew I had to see what all the buzz was about.

Frozen is based off of Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale of The Snow Queen. In this story there is a pair of royal sisters named Anna and Elsa. Elsa was born with the powers of ice, snow and winter. Kind of like Iceman from X-Men. But when Elsa accidentally sends their kingdom into a never-ending winter, it is up to Anna and the friends she meets on the way to bring back summertime.

What I really liked about Frozen was that it reverted to the classic Disney musical formula that worked so well for Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. Yeah I know that Disney has recently made other animated movies with a lot of musical numbers like Tangled and The Princess and the Frog. And while that is true, Frozen felt like a proper, classic musical. The songs don't just happen when it is convenient for the plot, the characters break out into song and dance very often and it worked to its advantage. Even if only a couple songs end up being really memorable and the others felt like filler.

The animation was gorgeous. It was so cool whenever Elsa used her powers to create whatever she wanted. It was really epic seeing her shoot icicles out of her fingertips and turning things to ice just by touching them. Particularly in the Let It Go sequence. Everything about that sequence worked. The emotion, the visuals, the irresistibly catchy melody and Idina Menzel's stellar vocals made that one of the most powerful scenes I've seen in an animated movie since the last scene act of Toy Story 3.

I was also surprised by the characters! From the first trailer I saw, I had a grating feeling that the character of Olaf would drive me insane. He just looked really childish and irritating. But the writers played their cards right by making him really funny! He has a ton of quotable lines that me and my friends keep using in conversation. I also liked the romance between Ana and Kristoph. It felt genuine and sweet. Plus, this has to be the first Disney movie to blatantly ask the question: "Why would you pledge yourself to be married to a guy you just met a few hours ago?" Yeah, they actually ask that question! Finally! I have been waiting for a Disney movie to address this question for years. I love subtle humor that pokes fun at fairy tale love stories for being ridiculously unrealistic. I tip my hat to the screen writers for their clever, tongue-in-cheek humor.

What I didn't care for so much was that I found it to be pretty predictable. Even for Disney standards. I already figured out who the main villain was by the first time I was him on screen and after that I was able to predict what would happen next and it really bummed me out. But it didn't ruin the movie for me because even though I knew what was going to happen, I was so enveloped into the lives of these characters, their quest and their surroundings that I didn't mind too much!

I feel like I would have enjoyed this movie more if I saw it before The Lego Movie. To me, The Lego Movie raised the bar for every animated movie that follows it. And while Frozen was came out more than three months before Lego Movie did, I can't help but feel left wanting more. For once, a longer run-time wouldn't have been that bad of a thing!

Final Report: While over-hyped and a bit predictable story-wise, Frozen is a stunningly animated musical with great characters and a surplus of irresistibly catchy songs. I'm still having trouble getting Let It Go out of my head! It was a nice return to the classic Disney style.

Movie Review #81: The Lego Movie (2014)

And out of the slums and the turmoil of January, arose a beacon of terrific filmmaking and animation. A film that provides solace for movie buffs who have been yearning for something more than a barely watchable flick. Its name? The Lego Movie.

Man is it good to be back at the movies! Yes January was a dark time for moviegoers. With films like I, Frankenstein and The Legend of Hercules stinking up the multiplex, no wonder the only movie that made a profit was Frozen which first premiered in November!

When I first heard about a major, big-budget, animated motion picture about Legos, I was giddy with childlike wonderment but nervous on if it would actually be anything more than the biggest corporate sellout since G .I . Joe The Rise of Cobra. But luckily thanks to the talented writing and directing duo responsible for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie went from something ordinary to something extraordinary.

The story revolves around a Lego construction worker named Emmet, voiced by Chris Pratt. He is the most ordinary guy you've ever met. Nothing stands out about him, he doesn't have any odd quirks. No nothing. He is about as basic as they come. But one day he meets a girl named Wyldtyle, played by Elizabeth Banks, and she mistakes him to be the special one: Someone so unique and important that he will be able to save the world from Will Ferrel as Lord Business who has a weapon called the Kragle that can destroy the world as they know it. And without giving anything away, when we learn what the Kragle really is, it's pretty hysterical.

I have a soft spot in my heart for animated movies. I of course love Disney and Pixar, I mean who doesn't? But I am also a huge fan of animated movies that aren't made by the huge, bigwig animation kingpins like Disney or Dreamworks. I love Rango and The Adventures of Tintin and

As I said before, this comes from the guys who made Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and if you have seen that movie, you will know that the animation style was incredibly fast-paced and had a quick wit that matched it flawlessly. And here it works even better. It reminded me of an Edgar Wright movie like Hot Fuzz. It was so relentlessly fast-paced and quick witted that if you got up to go to the bathroom for two minutes you would have been completely lost by the time you got back! And that can work as both an advantage and a disadvantage for the film. The pace fit the jokes and animation like a glove, but at times it was almost a bit too much. Things were being thrown at you at a million miles and hour with no stop or even any opening credits! I didn't mind in the slightest, but I know that some will.

The animation is simply astounding. Remember when you saw Jurassic Park for the first time and the visuals completely blew your mind because you couldn't tell the what was real and what was done by computers? I felt that same feeling all over again. I was having an impossible time trying to find the what was real and what wasn't because they blended so well you couldn't differentiate the two! It was also really cool seeing that everything, and I mean everything, in the movie was made out of Legos. When things blew up, the explosion was made out of Legos. When they were in the ocean, the moving waves were made of Legos. Now that is some serious MasterBuilding.

What anchors the clever writing and jokes is the voice cast. It really helps when you have a group of some of the funniest people on television and film! Chris Pratt as Emmet our main character reminded me a lot of Zachary Levi from the CW show Chuck. He's just an average guy who got thrown into a situation that he cannot handle at all. It's very entertaining and Pratt has enough lovable charisma to spare. Elizabeth Banks is his sassy parter in crime who is far better at handling the situation than Emmet is. kind of like Sarah from Chuck!

Will Arnet voices Batman and he nearly had me in tears from some of the things he said. The writers basically based Batman's personality and actions off of the whole "Because I'm Batman" mantra made famous by Christian Bale that has been turned into so many memes now. And when he's on screen, he steals the whole show. Unless Liam Neeson as Bad Cop is on screen. Then He steals the show! His character is cop with a split personality and he keeps switching back and forth from good cop to bad cop. There was a really terrific interrogation scene with him and Emmet that had my entire audience roaring with laughter.

The rest of the supporting cast features Allison Brie as a hysterically optimistic creature named Unikitty, Charlie Day as an overly enthusiastic nineteen eighties astronaut, and the cuddly-wuddly Nick Offerman as a robot pirate named MetalBeard. They do such a great job of lending their voices and great comedic timing that it didn't even feel like they were actors recording lines in a booth but rather the characters themselves.

Without spoiling anything, the third act breaks the third wall in a very big way and it worked so well. Oddly enough after seeing the trailer when it was released for the first time I thought to myself, "If they film ends up being like this, I will adore this movie. And it did. It surprised me and I love the filmmakers for doing that. Going in that direction showed me that this directing duo respects their audience's intelligence. And that is something that isn't found very often in movies anymore.

I can honestly say that The Lego Movie is better than the past three Pixar movies combined. Not only is it one of the best animated movies made in several years, it is one of the the most creative movies that I have ever seen! I can't believe that we were blessed with a beautiful gem like this in February of all months! I loved it and I am looking forward to a sequel.

Final Report: The Lego Movie has a little something for everyone. If you're a kid who still plays with Legos, you'll love seeing your favorite characters come to life on the big screen. If you're an adult, you'll appreciate all the clever pop culture references and the intelligent third act. If you're like me, a kid who grew up playing with Legos, it's like watching your imagination come to vivid life. It's the ultimate nostalgic throwback and it really does live up to the word "Awesome".

Movie Review #80: Yellow Submarine (1968)

Fifty years ago, the greatest band of all time crossed the pond to perform live on The Ed Sullivan Show to millions of adoring fans. And the rest is music history.

If you couldn't tell from that short intro, The Beatles are my all time favorite music group. They were the first band I listened to when I discovered rock and roll in the sixth grade. And only because of them have I expanded my music taste not just to other bands, but to other genres. But I shall forever regard them as the all time greats.

So in sixth grade, I did my research and discovered that they were apparently so popular that they starred in four films about them as a band. This was unheard of to me! I had heard of concert films or band documentaries being theatrically released, but never an original idea based around the band as a major wide release motion picture. Aside from The Who's Tommy, I can't think of any other band who's music was so successful that it spawned several profitable, critically acclaimed movies!

For some reason, this film had been out of print for years. Decades even. Which I don't understand why it was. I mean it was a hit for when it came out and is regarded very highly by film critics like Roger Ebert who has awarded it with the prestigious title of a "Great Movie". But only recently has it been rereleased on Blu-ray, and I must say that it is one of the best digital restorations I've seen.

So what's the story? Once upon a time, or maybe twice, there was a place called Pepperland. It was a beautiful world filled with vibrant colors and terrific music. That is until the Blue Meanies arrived and took all of the music and color out of Pepperland. And it's up to Old Fred and his Yellow Submarine to bring The Beatles to Pepperland to restore it to its former glory.

If I had to make a list of my top ten favorite movies of all time, Yellow Submarine would definitely be on there. I love this movie. Not just because I love The Beatles, but because I can watch this movie 1,000 times more and I would be able to notice something new each time.

This is not your average kids movie by any means. Kind of like with Rango, most of the jokes will go over their heads but they can still enjoy it for the silly characters, the pretty colors and animation. That doesn't mean it is a bad movie by any means! It's just that it might not be for everyone.

What I love about it is how completely bizarre it is! If you thought Blue Meanies were strange a weird name for an antagonist, then their accomplices The Apple Bonkers, Snapping Turtle Turks and The Flying Glove will make you wonder if you dropped acid before pressing the play button. The character designs are really funny and so are the jokes. Yellow Submarine is one of those movies that isn't constantly funny, but they manage to get quite a few jokes in there thanks to some great puns and a clever script. Unless you are watching with the subtitles on, you might miss quite a few jokes because some of them are so quick that they are quite literally "blink and you'll miss it."

Chief Meanie: Ah, the hills are alive...

Max: [sings] ... with the sound of music!

Chief Meanie: [Punches Max] Who did it? Who is responsible for this?

Max: Rimsky-Korsakov?

[Chief Meanie shoots him, Blue Menial #3 stomps him into ground]

Max: [Poking his head up from ground] Guy Lombardo?

Hilarious little gems like that kill me.

Animation wise, It still looks great after all of these years. What is really interesting is that for when a new song comes on, the animation changes its style. In the Eleanor Rigby sequence, it looks very gloomy, realistic and rather like something on Monty Python's Flying Circus ( Terry Gilliam must like this movie too! ). When you cut to the Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds sequence, it reminded me of Andy Warhol's painting of Marilyn Monroe. And in the Nowhere Man break, to me it almost looked three-dimensional!

And the music? Oh the music! One of the best soundtracks ever. I think that The Beatles albums are divided from Please Please Me to Revolver then Sgt. Pepper all the way to Abbey Road. The people I know only like either the first half of their of the career or the latter half. For me, I love it all! But my favorite time in their music ranges from Rubber Soul to Magical Mystery Tour and the songs on those albums are the ones that are on this soundtrack! What's not to like?

Final Report: With gorgeous hand-drawn animation, clever humor and some of the most timeless songs by one of the greatest bands of all time, it's no surprise why Yellow Submarine is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Movie Review #79: Captain Phillips (2013)

I figured Captain Phillips would be the only other Best Picture nominee aside from Gravity I would be able to review before the Oscars. I might review Nebraska and Philomena when they are available to rent. Until then, let's talk about arguably the most sophisticated thriller of the year.

Captain Phillips is based on the real events that happened to cargo ship captain Richard Phillips when his vessel is overtaken by Somali pirates. And the events that follow are so unbelievable that it's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that this actually happened. And rather recently too!

Tom Hanks stars as Richard Phillips and I'm just going to say it, this is the best performance I have ever seen Tom Hanks give. No contest. As I said in my Polar Express review, when Tom Hanks is in a movie, it's impossible for me to see anyone but Tom Hanks. What I mean is that no matter how good his performance is, I always see Tom Hanks and never the character he plays. That is quite the opposite here. When the pirates had a gun pointed to his head I didn't see Tom Hanks, I saw Richard Phillips.

Since we're on the topic of powerhouse performances, how about those pirates?! Where the heck did they find these guys? Well it doesn't matter because they were terrific. It was really cool to see unknown actors in large supporting roles. They could have very well chosen some big name actors, but they went the indie route and it most definitely paid off.

Of all the filmmaking gimmicks, shaky cam is arguably the most abused one. The biggest drawback it has is that it makes the action incoherent and annoying. Director Paul Greengrass uses it for his advantage by not only raising the intensity, but by actually making it visible! Yeah, someone who can competently film action. What a concept!

Speaking of intensity, this might be on par with Gravity for the most white-knuckle movie experience of the year. I could not believe how often I found myself biting my nails and holding my breath! The third act was so stressful that it was like the end of Zero Dark Thirty. Come to think of it, Captain Phillips and Zero Dark Thirty are actually rather similar! Both are incredibly intense, showcase terrific lead performances and were realistically crafted by some of Hollywood's most talented filmmakers!

And much like Zero Dark Thirty, the only Oscar it will most likely win will be for Sound Mixing. Stupid Academy. Also, how the heck were both Hanks and Greengrass snubbed this year? On a side note, no love for Monsters U but a nod towards The Croods? And on an even more unrelated note, no Pacific Rim or Man of Steel but the Lone Ranger? I'm getting off track.

As far as flaws go, I didn't really find any other than a few nitpick details. It did feel like it went on for a bit too long even though the runtime was only 2 hours and 14 minutes. I guess that the intensity made the film seem more drawn out that it actually isn't. And in the third act, the intensity became so much that it really wore me out. I'm not sure if that is a pro or a con actually. Regardless, this film is no picnic. But it is a rewarding experience.

Final Report: While anything but pleasant, Captain Phillips is intelligently written, well directed and marvelously acted. With a breakout performance from Barkhad Abdi and a return to form for Tom Hanks.

Super Bowl Trailer Highlights!

With the Super Bowl being the single most watched sporting event on television, there are of course a ton of new commercials. All of which are trailers to upcoming summer blockbusters! Here are some of the trailer highlights!

First up is Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews when the film was screened in advance. I'm taking all of that with a grain of salt because yes, the film could go either way. All I want is for it to be biblically accurate. Because when you're adapting a Bible story to the big screen, this is one book adaptation you do not want to screw up.

Besides that, this looks like a really epic movie. Aronofsky is a talented director and the film visually looks stunning. So it could possibly be The Ten Commandments for a new generation! Maybe that is a bit unrealistic but anything is possible.

What would a summer at the movies without a Marvel movie or two? The first Marvel movie of the year is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This looks awesome! I've been hearing really interesting things about this. I heard that it isn't relying highly on CGI and that it minimizes the use of visuals as much as possible. I find that very interesting. We will also be introduced to The Falcon played by Anthony Mackie. Plus, Robert Redford?!?!? What!?! Sign me up!

Sounds like a really sweet flick to me and I can't wait!

This might be surprising to some, but I am looking forward to The Amazing Spiderman 2. I hated the first Amazing Spiderman film because of how absolutely nothing new was brought to the table. But with the introduction of villains Electro and Rhino and some super neato effects, I am hopeful! And with any luck, Dane Dehan as Harry Osborne will hopefully tone down the annoyance of Garfield as Spiderman.

It might not get me in the theaters, but it has my interest for sure. It's a definite maybe for me.

Will it be stupid? Yes.
Will it be cheesy? You bet.
Will it take itself way too seriously? Probably.
Will it have terrible Michael Bay dialogue and cringe worthy humor? For sure.
Will it have Shia Labeef? For once, NO!

Out with Laboots and in with Marky-Mark! Plus, Optimus Prime riding a dinobot. The fifth grader inside of me nearly had a heart attack.

I still might not see this because I don't want to support a franchise I really can't stand, but I would be missing out on robot dinosaurs fighting other robots. If I get the chance to see it, sure I'll see it.