My very first review on my blog was Toy Story (and received an extremely rare five star rating out of four stars), and know I'm doing it's sequel.
Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and all your favorite characters are back in Toy Story 2. When Woody is stolen by a toy collector named Al McWhiggin (Seinfeld's Wayne Knight). So the other toys venture off to rescue their cowboy friend. Meanwhile, Woody meets up with Jessie (Joan Cusack), his trusty steed Bullseye and Stinky Pete, the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer), all from an old '50s T.V. show named "Woody's Roundup." Woody, who's now very valuable, must make a choice between going to Japan with his new friends or stay with his old friends while his new friends go into storage without him, perhaps forever.
The most important thing to know about the sequel is that it is expanded visually by at least tenfold. I'm not saying that the first film's visual effects were bad, I'm just saying that Toy Story 2's were better.
The film still contains some of the glorious, awesome, wonderful humor that made the first film charming, but it's also the bit of edgy adult humor that keeps the adults laughing along with the kids.
Tom Hanks leads an eclectic and wonderful cast that features some of the most comedic actors ever to walk the earth including Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles and the late Jim Varney.
With wonderful graphics, a beautiful script, fantastic visuals, nice humor. Toy Story 2 is a wonderful film that lives up to Toy Story 1
Rating: **** out of ****
Friday 20 May 2011
Monday 16 May 2011
Over the summer.
Starting in the May long weekend, I will start to review lots and lots of movies (so many I can't even organize them) and over the summer. Starting at Friday afternoon, I'll review at least five movies, and I'll keep you posted if anything appears. As for the movies in the theatres coming up, I will see Kung Fu Panda 2, Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh ('cause I'm a huge animation dork) and many more depending on whether or not I like them or not.
Enjoy my next 4 or 5 months of movie pandering. :)
Enjoy my next 4 or 5 months of movie pandering. :)
Friday 13 May 2011
The end of an era.
After ten years of watching, I am now vowing to never watch that crapfest American Idol anymore. When James Durbin's surprise elimination came instead of Haley Reinhart's pitchy performance, I left, when onto my computer and complained for about 20 minutes afterwards. And now more AI for me, it's just as much as a stupid show as that completely worthless show Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy.
(Funeral theme plays)
(Funeral theme plays)
Review - Avatar (2009)
James Cameron's sci-fi drama about blue aliens is quite an adventure, but it's not as good as it's cracked up to be.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a military man who goes to the planet of Pandora because underneath the soil is a rich mineral that will make the futuristic (2154 to be exact) humans who haven't changed much very rich. So, an ingenious method of disguising the peoples as the Na'vi, the stereotyped alien Native tribe on the planet and try to coax them out of letting them have this mineral of which the Na'vi know nothing about. But Jake in particular falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) an alien in the tribe that is striking and a good hunter and soon realizes that Pandora is gorgeous and the people are kind and wonderful, but General Miles Quatrich, the little butthole (Stephen Lang, not implying Lang is one but the character) doesn't listen and soon it's war between the blue man group and the humans.
The plot is crap. Cameron basically is pulling from the plot of such movies as Dances With Wolves, Disney's Pocahontas and countless others. The two star-crossed lovers fall in love amidst feuding clans. While I find Cameron's writing also bad (though his direction is not), it's tolerable compared to other crap screenplays in 2009.
The acting is decent, with the best of all the actors being Sigourney Weaver, but even that is one of her weakest roles, and Stephen Lang is one of THE WORST performances I've ever seen, and yet somehow there are people who think he's good. Making an unsympathetic character is easy, but if James Cameron could've found some way for him to redeem himself, then maybe I would've liked the movie a little better. Sam Worthington does okay in the lead role, but Zoe Saldana is much worse than him with her character barely acting but looking pretty with next-to-nothing on and a ridiculous accent. I see that Worthington and Saldana will be big stars in the near future, just the same that Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet became superstars after Titanic.
Now mind you, I did find the ecological message that was detailed in the movie and that's very noble of James Cameron for putting that in and for him donating the majority of the gross of the two sequels he's making in 2014 & 2015 to charity, but to me it should've been more plainly spoken instead of subtly put in.
Now at this point in the review, I've been pointing out Avatar's flaws ever so many. But this film isn't all bad. The visual effects artists have done a magnificent job in detailing the realism of Pandora and the aliens living there as well. The Oscar was theirs to lose. Another good thing I found about the movie was the orchestral score that James Horner did. Horner had won an Oscar in 1997 for the music in Cameron's other megahit Titanic, and for this film he focuses on a score that ranges from the subtle to the bombastic with the drums being the major instruments. The action is also quite thrilling, but if Cameron would only focus on making the characters more likable then I could relate to them much more, like them much more and worry about them when the awesome final battle comes which by the way, is has an incredible sound mix to it.
With an awful plot, bad writing, decent acting, a subtle eco-message but great visual effects and great score, Avatar is a feast for any action lover and even film-lover, but for me it wasn't as blazingly crazy as a film it was. Maybe I should've seen it in 3D...
Rating: **1/2 out of ****
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a military man who goes to the planet of Pandora because underneath the soil is a rich mineral that will make the futuristic (2154 to be exact) humans who haven't changed much very rich. So, an ingenious method of disguising the peoples as the Na'vi, the stereotyped alien Native tribe on the planet and try to coax them out of letting them have this mineral of which the Na'vi know nothing about. But Jake in particular falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) an alien in the tribe that is striking and a good hunter and soon realizes that Pandora is gorgeous and the people are kind and wonderful, but General Miles Quatrich, the little butthole (Stephen Lang, not implying Lang is one but the character) doesn't listen and soon it's war between the blue man group and the humans.
The plot is crap. Cameron basically is pulling from the plot of such movies as Dances With Wolves, Disney's Pocahontas and countless others. The two star-crossed lovers fall in love amidst feuding clans. While I find Cameron's writing also bad (though his direction is not), it's tolerable compared to other crap screenplays in 2009.
The acting is decent, with the best of all the actors being Sigourney Weaver, but even that is one of her weakest roles, and Stephen Lang is one of THE WORST performances I've ever seen, and yet somehow there are people who think he's good. Making an unsympathetic character is easy, but if James Cameron could've found some way for him to redeem himself, then maybe I would've liked the movie a little better. Sam Worthington does okay in the lead role, but Zoe Saldana is much worse than him with her character barely acting but looking pretty with next-to-nothing on and a ridiculous accent. I see that Worthington and Saldana will be big stars in the near future, just the same that Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet became superstars after Titanic.
Now mind you, I did find the ecological message that was detailed in the movie and that's very noble of James Cameron for putting that in and for him donating the majority of the gross of the two sequels he's making in 2014 & 2015 to charity, but to me it should've been more plainly spoken instead of subtly put in.
Now at this point in the review, I've been pointing out Avatar's flaws ever so many. But this film isn't all bad. The visual effects artists have done a magnificent job in detailing the realism of Pandora and the aliens living there as well. The Oscar was theirs to lose. Another good thing I found about the movie was the orchestral score that James Horner did. Horner had won an Oscar in 1997 for the music in Cameron's other megahit Titanic, and for this film he focuses on a score that ranges from the subtle to the bombastic with the drums being the major instruments. The action is also quite thrilling, but if Cameron would only focus on making the characters more likable then I could relate to them much more, like them much more and worry about them when the awesome final battle comes which by the way, is has an incredible sound mix to it.
With an awful plot, bad writing, decent acting, a subtle eco-message but great visual effects and great score, Avatar is a feast for any action lover and even film-lover, but for me it wasn't as blazingly crazy as a film it was. Maybe I should've seen it in 3D...
Rating: **1/2 out of ****
Thursday 12 May 2011
The Future of this blog :)
Over the next couple of months, I will post more and more reviews. Some will be on movies currently, or about to be, in the theatres. Note: The majority of the movies I will review will be animated because I am a huge animation geek. So expect for the month of May reviews of Slumdog, Avatar, Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 and others. As for the movies currently in the theatres don't expect reviews of Thor, Priest or The Hangover: Part II because I don't think any of those are that great (saw The Hangover once by force and it was stupid beyond all reason). If there is an animated film that looks good in the theatres, it's more than likely a review of that film will follow. Enjoy, and hope to keep this blog up for months to come.
Sunday 8 May 2011
Review - Rio (2011)
Another review, and this time it's for Blue Sky Animation's latest film, the wonderful Rio.
Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is a rare Spix's Macaw, believed to be the last male of his kind in the world. When he and his owner Linda (Leslie Mann) find out a female Spix's Macaw (Anne Hathaway) lives in Rio de Janeiro, there's only one thing to do (well, actually two if you include sitting around and eating chips of your chest), go to Rio and try to possibly save Blu's species. Along the way, they meet up with many colorful friends/enemies, some with feathers and some without.
The first thing you should know is the film is evidently beautiful. With some great computer animated scenes, and some equally so characters, this movie will be great for kids but is it good for people like me, or older.
My personal favorite part of the movie is watching Jesse Eisenberg's performance. Every time that cute blue little bird opens his beak, I can only think of that familiar Facebook founder that Eisenberg played. Won't mention the name (*cough* Social Network *cough*), but his performance in Rio is just as appealing as his other one. The other actors do a fine job, but I think Jesse is the best of all of them.
The story is nothing special. Similar to Alpha and Omega, which was released last year, which sucked! But I sure as heck prefer this movie over A&O.
Boasting in great animation, charming characters, fine music but a hopeless plotline, Rio is as wonderful as it is to the adults as it will be for the kids.
Rating: *** out of ****
Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is a rare Spix's Macaw, believed to be the last male of his kind in the world. When he and his owner Linda (Leslie Mann) find out a female Spix's Macaw (Anne Hathaway) lives in Rio de Janeiro, there's only one thing to do (well, actually two if you include sitting around and eating chips of your chest), go to Rio and try to possibly save Blu's species. Along the way, they meet up with many colorful friends/enemies, some with feathers and some without.
The first thing you should know is the film is evidently beautiful. With some great computer animated scenes, and some equally so characters, this movie will be great for kids but is it good for people like me, or older.
My personal favorite part of the movie is watching Jesse Eisenberg's performance. Every time that cute blue little bird opens his beak, I can only think of that familiar Facebook founder that Eisenberg played. Won't mention the name (*cough* Social Network *cough*), but his performance in Rio is just as appealing as his other one. The other actors do a fine job, but I think Jesse is the best of all of them.
The story is nothing special. Similar to Alpha and Omega, which was released last year, which sucked! But I sure as heck prefer this movie over A&O.
Boasting in great animation, charming characters, fine music but a hopeless plotline, Rio is as wonderful as it is to the adults as it will be for the kids.
Rating: *** out of ****
Friday 6 May 2011
Review - Toy Story (1995)
For my very first review, I will review perhaps my all-time favorite films ever.
Sheriff Woody (Toy Story) is a cowboy doll and the favorite toy of Andy, who is a kid that loves to play with his toys. That is until a new, slicker, more modern space action figure named Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) comes and becomes the new favorite. Now these two rivals must learn to live with each other while their life is at stake when they get into the hands of Sid Phillips, the toy-destroying kid next door.
I tend to not like the firsts in technology, but this first computer-animated film is outstanding. The Pixar people's first escapade in the film society changed the face of animation and the face of Hollywood. The new art form has now been used in many animation studios for years after that and is still continuing to be groundbreaking with effects beyond anyone's imagination.
All the characters/acting is awesome and I will even say that the role of Sheriff Woody is the best thing Tom Hanks has ever played and that's really sayin' something because Tom has had amazing roles in such movies like Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan. Tim Allen is also in the role of his career, considering he was some pretty bad roles (The Santa Clause franchise for example) And all the other actors/characters rock, including my favorite character, Rex the neurotic Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The script is amazing, told with sincerity, wit, occasional adult humor that keeps the teens and adults entertained along with the kids and emotion that will touch audiences deeply each time. Inspiring.
The movie boasts grand music on way of Randy Newman, especially the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" which is the ideal song for the movie. If the filmmakers chose any other song, it would feel stale and crappy.
With amazing action, great humor, great characters, great story, shoot GREAT EVERYTHING!! I can't think of a single bad thing about Toy Story except it ended. It ends. And even the 15+ years it has been released (My goodness, has it been that long), it's still as entertainment and funny and inspirational as it was when it made it's Hollywood debut. I could talk about Toy Story for hours, but then the review would be much too long and after all, nobody likes long reviews. So if you haven't seen Toy Story, first of all shame on you and second of all, get your butt to the video store and buy this puppy up. YOU WILL LOVE IT
Rating: ***** out of ****
Sheriff Woody (Toy Story) is a cowboy doll and the favorite toy of Andy, who is a kid that loves to play with his toys. That is until a new, slicker, more modern space action figure named Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) comes and becomes the new favorite. Now these two rivals must learn to live with each other while their life is at stake when they get into the hands of Sid Phillips, the toy-destroying kid next door.
I tend to not like the firsts in technology, but this first computer-animated film is outstanding. The Pixar people's first escapade in the film society changed the face of animation and the face of Hollywood. The new art form has now been used in many animation studios for years after that and is still continuing to be groundbreaking with effects beyond anyone's imagination.
All the characters/acting is awesome and I will even say that the role of Sheriff Woody is the best thing Tom Hanks has ever played and that's really sayin' something because Tom has had amazing roles in such movies like Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan. Tim Allen is also in the role of his career, considering he was some pretty bad roles (The Santa Clause franchise for example) And all the other actors/characters rock, including my favorite character, Rex the neurotic Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The script is amazing, told with sincerity, wit, occasional adult humor that keeps the teens and adults entertained along with the kids and emotion that will touch audiences deeply each time. Inspiring.
The movie boasts grand music on way of Randy Newman, especially the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" which is the ideal song for the movie. If the filmmakers chose any other song, it would feel stale and crappy.
With amazing action, great humor, great characters, great story, shoot GREAT EVERYTHING!! I can't think of a single bad thing about Toy Story except it ended. It ends. And even the 15+ years it has been released (My goodness, has it been that long), it's still as entertainment and funny and inspirational as it was when it made it's Hollywood debut. I could talk about Toy Story for hours, but then the review would be much too long and after all, nobody likes long reviews. So if you haven't seen Toy Story, first of all shame on you and second of all, get your butt to the video store and buy this puppy up. YOU WILL LOVE IT
Rating: ***** out of ****
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