This weekend an animated film is being released by way of China called Rock Dog. I did a review on my youtube channel I’d love if you checked out:
It’s not as bad as the trailers and posters make it look. In fact, the parts with music were engaging and some of the animation is pretty good. They also got a good voice talent and there is a nice message to the film. However, a subplot involving wolves plotting revenge is very boring. I kept wishing they would get back to the music.
Still, not a terrible movie by any means. I wouldn’t spend the big bucks at the theater but if you have a discount theater or can find it on dvd than it’s a decent watch for families.
Tonight I had the chance to see the Oscar nominated film Lion again and I loved it all over again. After I finished it occurred to me I never actually reviewed the film on my blog or channel. I got sick right around when I saw it and somehow it just never got done. It’s a shame because Lion is absolutely one of my favorite movies of 2016 (made my top 10 of the year) and a film you should check out while it is still in theaters.
You can kind of divide Lion into 2 parts. The first part is about a little boy named Saroo (Sunny Pawar) lives with his Mother and family (particularly his brother Guddu) in a secluded village in India.
One day while waiting for Guddu to finish work he wanders onto a train and ends up days away from his family with no way to communicate who they are or where he is from. He then becomes one of the many lost children of India and these scenes are the most powerful of the movie.
One scene in particular moved me when he is treated kindly by someone but must realize just in the nick of time they have ulterior motives. When he runs away I wanted to cheer him on! All of these scenes are so well filmed by first time director Garth Davis. You feel the panic of the crowds and the confusion of little Saroo.
Sunny Pawar is also phenomenal as Saroo. If he had gotten nominated over Dev Patel I wouldn’t have complained. He’s that great in the role.
Eventually he gets the opportunity to be adopted by a family in Tasmania played by David Wenham and Nicole Kidman. The scenes where he and his brother are assimilated into their new family are handled so beautifully. I think anyone who has experienced adoption will respond to their authenticity and raw emotional power. Nicole Kidman is especially great as the mother who chose adoption as an opportunity to love more.
Next we get to the second part of the film where Saroo is Dev Patel and he is a grown man starting hospitality training. While there he learns about Google Earth and begins a hunt to find his family in India.
Dev Patel is great as the adult Saroo (and very hunky I must say) and the screenplay does a wonderful job showing the ache a lost child might feel as a grown up. He yearns to reassure his brother and Mother that he is ok. At first his efforts are fruitless and he becomes kind of obsessed with it.
The whole time he is searching he worries his Mother and Father might see this as a betrayal, or that he is ungrateful for all they have done. I thought this was handled with such subtlety- capturing the feelings of many adopted children without sensationalizing or making adoption the enemy (I really believe in adoption advocacy if you didn’t know).
The one part that doesn’t work that well in this section is Saroo’s relationship with Lucy played by Rooney Mara. They just didn’t have great chemistry and she felt extraneous to the core plot. But it is really my only big flaw with the film.
When I first saw Lion I loved it and have been surprised to hear some call it “Oscar bait”. I hate this term as I feel it is a way of criticizing films with ambition. It’s similar to those who criticize the smart girl in class for studying too hard. Even if you use the term, I don’t think Lion qualifies. It’s just a movie with a great story, performances, cinematography, music and script. It’s the total package. Both times I’ve seen it I was completely absorbed and emotionally moved.
The fact it is a true story makes it even better. Rarely in Hollywood do we get a movie about genuinely good people who aren’t addicts or abusers. This is none of that. Both the family in India and Tasmania are good people that face challenges I could relate and empathize with. I thought it was all handled so beautifully that I can’t wait to own Lion on blu-ray.
Once again, I can’t believe this is Garth Davis’ first movie. What a tremendous accomplishment! I can’t wait to see what else he makes in his career.
If you want to see a movie about the triumph of a family, a beautiful soul and an incredible story watch Lion. It’s so good. I LOVED it!
Overall Grade- A (not A+ just because of the girlfriend part but I loved this movie).
Hey guys! So the Oscars are coming up next week and so I thought I would share my predictions and what I would pick if it was left up to just me. I don’t plan on watching this year because I think all of the political speeches will be completely insufferable and I don’t think Jimmy Kimmel is funny. I’ll just find out winners online.
Also, I realized I haven’t done a series on this blog for a long time. I was so overwhelmed with my Disney Canon Project over on my youtube channel last year that aside from the monthly blindspot picks I let that slide. I want to make sure to always provide content for both my channel and blog, so I am interested in doing another series. I have a poll so please vote on what you would like me to write about:
Anyway, here are my predictions/picks. Also I warn you I am notoriously awful at this. I have seen almost everything except for no documentary shorts, Elle and a couple docs/foreign films.
Best Picture- Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight
Winner- La La Land. My Pick- Hacksaw Ridge
Best Director- Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Winner- Damien Chazelle (La La Land). My Pick- Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)
Best Actor- Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Denzel Washington (Fences)
Winner- Denzel Washington (Fences), My Pick- Denzel Washington (Fences)
Best Actress- Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Emma Stone (La La Land), Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)
Winner- Isabelle Huppert (Elle), My Pick- Ruth Negga (Loving) (I have not seen Elle but my gut tells me they will go with the veteran who had 2 critically lauded films this year)
Best Supporting Actor- Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges in (Hell or High Water), Lucas Hedges ((Manchester by the Sea)), Dev Patel (Lion), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)
Winner- Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), My Pick- Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Best Supporting Actress- Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)
Winner- Viola Davis (Fences), My Pick- Viola Davis (Fences)
Best Original Screenplay- Hell or High Water, La La Land, The Lobster, Manchester by the Sea, 20th Century Women
I have not seen 20th Century Women.
Winner- Manchester by the Sea (please, please, please. La La Land does not deserve best screenplay!) My Pick- Hell or High Water
Best Adapted Screenplay- Arrival, Fences, Hidden Figures, Lion, Moonlight,
Winner- Moonlight, My Pick- Moonlight
Best Animated Film- Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, The Red Turtle, Zootopia
Winner- Zootopia, My Pick- Moana
Best Foreign Language Film- Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, The Salesman, Tanna, Toni Erdmann
Winner- Toni Erdmann, My Pick- (Only one I’ve seen) A Man Called Ove
Best Documentary- Fire at Sea, I Am Not Your Negro, Life Animated, OJ Made in America, 13th
I haven’t seen Fire at Sea but seen the rest.
Winner- OJ Made in America, My Pick- Life Animated
Documentary Shorts- Extremis, 4.1 Miles, Joe’s Violin, Watani: My Homeland, The White Helmets
I haven’t seen any of these shorts but the one I hear the most buzz about is Joe’s Violin
Live Action Short- Ennemis interieurs, La Femme et le TGV, Silent Nights, Sing, Timecode
Winner- Silent Nights, My Pick- Sing
Animated Short- Blind Vaysha, Borrowed Time, Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Pearl, Piper
Winner- Pearl, My Pick- Piper
Best Score- Jackie, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Passengers
Winner- La La Land, My Pick- Moonlight
Best Original Song- Audition (La La Land), Can’t Stop the Feeling (Trolls), City of Stars (La La Land), Empty Chair (Jim: The James Foley Story), How Far I’ll Go (Moana)
Winner- City of Stars (La La Land), My Pick- How Far I’ll Go (Moana)
Best Sound Editing- Arrival, Deepwater Horizon, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, Sully
Winner- Hacksaw Ridge, My Pick- Hacksaw Ridge
Best Sound Mixing- Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, Rogue One, 13 Hours
Winner- Hacksaw Ridge, My Pick- 13 Hours
Production Design- Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hail Caesar, La La Land, Passengers
Winner- La La Land, My Pick- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Best Cinematography- Arrival, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Silence
Winner- La La Land, My Pick- Lion
Make Up- A Man Called Ove, Star Trek Beyond, Suicide Squad
Winner- Star Trek Beyond, My Pick- Star Trek Beyond
Costume Design- Allied, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Florence Foster Jenkins, Jackie, La La Land
Winner- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, My Pick- Florence Foster Jenkins
Best Film Editing- Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, La La Land, Moonlight
Winner- La La Land, My Pick- Hacksaw Ridge
Visual Effects- Deepwater Horizon, Doctor Strange, Rogue One, Jungle Book, Kubo and the 2 Strings
Winner- Jungle Book, My Pick- Jungle Book
So there you have it! Hope you enjoy my predictions. What do you think of them? And thanks for voting in the poll
The B movie is a tricky thing. The name came when people used to go see double headers. One film would be a big budget more serious movie and the 2nd or B movie would be a lower budget more campy film like a low grade monster or cowboy movie. While The Great Wall has a large budget ($150 million but it has already made $224 million in China) it has the feel of a B movie and I think it is enjoyable on that level. It’s not a great movie but B movies never were. They were just silly, over-the-top movie going experiences.
In truth, The Great Wall is a monster movie (again in the spirit of B movies). It is directed by Zhang Yimou who received an Oscar nomination for the 2002 film Hero and is famous for directing House of Flying Daggers. In The Great Wall he puts down martial arts entirely and makes, like I said, a monster movie.
Matt Damon is admittedly wildly miscast in the lead role with a wandering Irish (I think) accent (It’s the kind of role Arnold or Stallone would have played in their hey-days). But he plays William, a man who has journeyed to China to find ‘black powder’. He and his buddy Tovar (Pedro Pascal who has a different accent that is never explained) are attacked one day by a mysterious monster with green blood. They take the hand of the monster and present before a castle at the Great Wall of China. The wall is ruled by an army called the Nameless Order who are skilled fighters including Zhang Hanyu, Andy Lau and Jing Tian.
It turns out the order is preparing to face off against the monster that William beat. They are kind of like zombies or orcs and there are a lot of them and they don’t shy away from the non-bloody PG-13 killing and warfare. The 3D is very effective in these scenes with arrows flying at your face and monsters coming towards you. It really is a lot of fun.
They also have clever warfare strategies like women hanging on ropes and swinging with their bow and arrows. A lot of people are going to be concerned if this is a white savior film and it has its moments for sure but it wasn’t as bad in that regard as I thought it would be. For the most part the Chinese are equally great at fighting monsters as Damon. I also appreciated that there isn’t really a love interest. It’s hinted at but never really materialized. The women are there to fight monsters just like everyone else.
Is this movie cheesy? Of course it is but that’s part of the B movie fun of it. The dialogue is campy and the action is over-the-top. There were some boring sections and the William Defoe character is completely unnecessary but I think if you go in with the right attitude you can enjoy The Great Wall. It’s not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but in the spirit of B movies it’s an entertaining movie. It’s certainly a million times better than the ponderous tombs we got last year in films like Warcraft.
If you decide to give The Great Wall a shot let me know what you think. See this in the theaters because I don’t think it will be as fun at home.
Hey guys! Quick post today but just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day. Each year I create a custom valentine to make the holiday a little bit more fun. My friend Joan at Bitsy Creations does the design work but it is my concept. I hope you all have a wonderful day and feel loved!
I also got to do a podcast today with my friend Eli on both The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie. We had a lot of fun talking about both films and would love your thoughts on what we have to say.
Well, my friends, the Oscars are coming up and most likely they will get a few things right but most things wrong. I don’t know if I’m even going to watch this year because the political speeches are going to be so obnoxious. Instead, I would like to point you to a much better annual awards offering- the Rachies. Yes, for the last 3 years I have given my nominations and winners for the best of the year. I include all the categories from the Oscars but then offer a few of my own into the mix. So, sit back and enjoy the 2016 Rachies Awards!
Best Animated Film-
Moana
Your Name
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Live Action Film-
Hacksaw Ridge
Sing Street
Love and Friendship
Lion
Things to Come
Best Directing-
Mel Gibson- Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins- Moonlight
Ron Clements and John Musker- Moana
David Mackenzie- Hell or High Water
Garth Davis- Lion
Makoto Shinkai- Your Name
Most Underrated/Underseen
Presenting Princess Shaw
Tower
April and the Extraordinary World
Ethel and Ernest
London Road
Best Animated Short
Foxed
Piper
Inner Workings
Borrowed Time
Pearl
Best Actress in Leading Role
Isabelle Huppert- Things to Come
Kate Beckinsale- Love and Friendship
Viola Davis- Fences
Ruth Negga- Loving
Rebecca Hall- Christine
Best Actor in Leading Role
Casey Affleck- Manchester By the Sea
Tom Hanks- Sully
Denzel Washington- Fences
Taron Egerton- Eddie the Eagle
Rolf Lassgard- A Man Called Ove
Best Supporting Actress-
Chloe Sevigny- Love and Friendship
Nicole Kidman- Lion
Taraji P Henson- Hidden Figures
Lupita Nyong’o- Queen of Katwe
Michelle Williams- Manchester by the Sea
Best Supporting Actor
Ashton Sanders- Moonlight
Jack Reynor- Sing Street
Tom Bennett- Love and Friendship
John Goodman- 10 Cloverfield Lane
Chris Pine- Hell or High Water
Best Ensemble Film
Hidden Figures
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Captain America: Civil War
Everybody Wants Some
Best Voice Acting
Auli’i Cravalho and The Rock- Moana
Jim Broadbent and Blenda Blethyn- Ethel and Ernest
Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman- Zootopia
Ellen Degeneres- Finding Dory
Art Parkinson- Kubo and the Two Strings
Best Production Design
Rogue One
Allied
Passengers
La La Land
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Best Visual Effects
A Monster Calls
Pete’s Dragon
Jungle Book
Doctor Strange
The BFG
Best Documentary
Presenting Princess Shaw
Tower
Life, Animated
OJ Made in America
The Eagle Huntress
Best Costumes
Florence Foster Jenkins
Love and Friendship
The Dressmaker
Cafe Society
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Best Makeup and Hair
Star Trek Beyond
The Dressmaker
Jackie
Nocturnal Animals
Allied
Best Editing
13 Hours
The Shallows
Hacksaw Ridge
Nocturnal Animals
Hell or High Water
Best Cinematography
Lion
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Knight of Cups
La La Land
Pete’s Dragon
Best Original Score
La La Land
Moana
The Red Turtle
Your Name
Moonlight
Best Original Song
How Far I’ll Go- Moana
You’re Welcome- Moana
Drive it Like You Stole It- Sing Street
Up- Sing Street
Sparkle- Your Name
Best Original Screenplay
Things to Come
Sing Street
Hell or High Water
Everybody Wants Some
Manchester By the Sea
Your Name
Best Adapted Screenplay
Lion
Fences
Moonlight
Love and Friendship
Queen of Katwe
Best Sound Design and Mixing
Rogue One
Hacksaw Ridge
13 Hours
Patriot’s Day
Allied
Biggest Surprise
Hell or High Water
10 Cloverfield Lane
Pete’s Dragon
Hidden Figures
Bridget Jones Baby
So that is my Rachies Awards! I hope you enjoyed them. Please let me know what you think in the comments section and check out some of these movies if you haven’t had a chance!
Back in 2014 there was a surprise little movie that took the world by storm called The Lego Movie. Going into it I thought it would be a pun-filled toy movie but it actually was a visually gorgeous, funny, heartfelt treatise on the way children play and think. The Lego Movie showed the randomness of a child’s brain and it had an emotional story between a father and a son that nobody was expecting. It was also so beautiful the way everything flowed like a world of legos really would. In my opinion, The Lego Movie is one of the best animated films of the last 5 years.
So, it was with great anticipation that I went to see the spin-off film The Lego Batman Movie today. The trailers have been hilarious and as I am not the biggest Batman fan I was looking forward to seeing everyone else’s sacred franchise taken down a few pegs. And the result? While I do not think it is as good as The Lego Movie, it is still an entertaining spoof comedy movie that I think any animation or comic book movie fan will enjoy.
The best thing about Lego Batman Movie is the pacing. The jokes start literally before the WB logo and they never stop. This version of Batman is dry, sarcastic and lonely. Most of the movie is various characters like Robin, Barbara Gordon and Alfred trying to get through to him and make him lower his pride to admit he needs help. Robin voiced by Michael Cera is Bruce Wayne’s ward Dick Grayson and is energetic and clingy. Of course, this rubs Batman the wrong way!
But the main thrust of the film is from Zach Galifianakis’ Joker who is upset with Batman because he won’t admit they are arch-rivals and need each other. You get some especially good jokes about Batman v Superman and other Batman versions within the interactions with Joker.
The jokes come quick in Lego Batman Movie and Will Arnett is amazing in the role but they also pack in quite a bit of story into the 104 minute run time. There’s a lot of action and literally every Warner Bros character I could think of.
The animation was also bright and colorful and a lot of fun to watch. The only problem is it lacked the flow of legos that we had in the Lego Movie. When Emmet in Lego Movie would dive into water the waves looked like legos. You don’t really get that here. I guess that’s fine because it is a comic book world where Lego Movie was more of a fantasy world, but I was more dazzled by Lego Movie’s animation.
Also, there’s something about The Lego Movie that felt more memorable. Maybe it’s partly me not being that big of a Batman fan. It felt enjoyable but not something that will stick with me for years to come like Lego Movie did. It’s more of a solid entertaining animated comedy rather than a game changer.
But those are a small criticisms to a very good film. Your entire family will like it and it was certainly nice to see something self-aware and humorous from the world of comic book films and DC.
If you see it let me know what you think. How does it compare with Lego Movie to you?
Hey guys! Over on my channel I recently finished my 56 week project reviewing the Disney Canon films. To commemorate that accomplishment my friend Jay over at AminatedKid joined me to talk about the canon. We went over each era and talked about the highs and lows. It’s a long podcast but I think you will really enjoy it.
There are some projects that are just bad ideas. You get the most brilliant writers around and they might be passable films but the ideas are bad. Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania is one of those films. It’s just a bad idea from beginning to end. It’s such a bad idea that Sony, the studio behind Smurf’s 2 and the Emoji Movie, didn’t even have the confidence to release it in the theater. It is an absolutely atrocious film in every way including the fact it stinks up a charming original film.
After all, Surf’s Up was nominated for an Oscar back in 2007. It was a unique little animated mockumentary about a Antarctic penguin who dreams of becoming a professional surfer. It’s not the greatest movie ever made but for what it is, it is an enjoyable watch. The writing is particularly good as it pokes fun at sports documentaries and movies.
Unfortunately all of the appeal of the original film is lost in this terrible sequel. The problems start with the premise. WWE stars play a group called The Hang 5 that Cody idolizes. This doesn’t jive with the original documentary because then his motivation was surfing not the Hang 5.
Even if I ignore that continuity problem, the premise is terrible. The Hang 5 are voiced by WWE wrestlers including John Cena, The Undertaker, Triple H and more. This stunt casting does nothing for the story except for to provide a couple of inside jokes that I did not understand.
Cody does hardly any surfing in the movie and it feels like it keeps reinventing itself every 10 minutes. One minute it is Indiana Jones, another it is Mission Impossible or Point Break. The list could go on. None of these characters have any charisma or personality
Jeremy Shada steps in for Shia LaBeoulf as Cody and you can tell. All of the voice acting feels bored but it is tough since the characters aren’t written in an interesting or satisfying way.
About 1/3rd of way through they are in the desert looking for some clue and I had no idea what they were doing with it but not in a good way. For most of it I was extremely bored and disengaged and I didn’t laugh at all
Normally I would be able to recommend something like this to kids but I really can’t here. There is absoloutely nothing for a child’s intellect or creativity in all of this nonsense.
The animation isn’t even very good. It looks cheap because it was cheap.
I feel like I should have more to say on Surf’s Up 2 but I honestly don’t. It wasn’t funny, engaging, well executed or anything like the original film.
I just have to say to the WWE= get the heck out of my animated film!
