There are three things going on, and Pixar weaves them beautifully. First, the afore-mentioned spy plot. Second, Gru’s attempt to run a home-based business while raising. . .
To read full review: http://theaterpopcorninmyteeth.blogspot.com/2013/07/despicable-me-2.html
Went to see Monsters University with the grandkiddos the other day. It held everyone’s attention except the three-year-old. However, that was mostly in the slower moments when she wanted to practice her gymnastics on the bar in front of us. We sat in the first row of the raised seats. Apologies to the family behind us. . .
To see the full review, please visit Theater Popcorn in my Teeth.
Wow! That was a fun ride! Lots of action, plenty of emotion, and a poignant tribute to the original series. I’m always skeptical with the second installment in a franchise, although lately, I may have to rethink that. Hollywood has stepped up, at least with some of the series I have seen recently, and seem to regard story first and money second. Okay, a close second, but still.
Read more at Theater Popcorn in my Teeth
New movie review on Iron Man 3! Go to Theater Popcorn in my Teeth
Since this is a review, I’ll be careful not to mention spoilers, but I would like to say that Oz’s character arc is believable. (The character arc is defined: Characters begin the story with a certain viewpoint and, through events in the story, that viewpoint changes. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_arc.) I like it when characters evolve in a natural way, without intrusive contriving from the author. Just as an example—The Avengers. LOVE the movie, but how did the Hulk go from an out-of-control bashing machine who needed a containment room on board that very cool flying laboratory, to a very in-control team player? Hmm?
But back to Oz. Can’t say I’m much of a fan of James Franco, but he did a passable job as a conman. IMDb mentions in their trivia section that both Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp had been asked to do that role. Upon reflection, I think either of them would have been too good. Both actors are very comfortable playing it over the top.
Oz, however, starts out as a carnival performer who, as his character, tries to play it over the top. Think cartoon magician versus David Blaine. The small-in-stature Franco isn’t very convincing as he waves his arms, tries to bellow in a deep voice, and dramatizes his prestidigitation, at which he is fairly good considering the era. This inadequacy, as it turns out, is a good thing when he hits his peak in the character arc.
There were other parts of the movie that I thought went a tad slow, some were overacted by someone other than Franco, (I’ll leave that up to you to figure out who I’m talking about. It might be just me. Oh, and my husband who mentioned it during dinner at Qdoba’s after the movie.)
Overall, I highly recommend Oz the Great and Powerful , and if you can, see it in 3D. If you have little ones who frighten easily, you might want to see it yourself first. There are some moments when you have a fierce, ugly beings suddenly thrust in your face. I loved the prequel aspect and the way Oscar Diggs becomes the Wizard.
I give Oz the Great and Powerful 4 out of 5 stars.
This isn’t a Christian movie about a surfer who had her arm bit off. It’s a movie about a Christian surfer who rose above her circumstances and became a role-model to the world. I rank Soul Surfer a titch below Blind Side and Secretariat.
I remember when Bethany Hamilton’s story hit my news channel. It struck me on an emotional level because I had named a character in my book, (Merely Players – now in the compilation Florida Weddings,) by the same name before I had even heard of the young surfer. In an odd, parallel universe way, it almost felt as though my created character had gone through the same thing. Much the same way as if this had happened to someone with the same name as my own child. So I became emotionally connected.
This is why I had to see this movie on it’s premier weekend. And I wasn’t disappointed.
There are many reasons to love this movie:
I give Soul Surfer 4.5 out of 5 stars. Again, I can’t pin-point why this movie isn’t quite in the same league as it’s inspirational predecessors mentioned in the beginning of this review. It certainly didn’t ruin my experience. There are some predictable moments, but they are presented in such a way that you’d be disappointed if they weren’t there. And hey, if that’s what happened, that’s what happened. Even though it was a true story, the writers expertly wrote a plot that kept me interested. Take tissues.
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Soul Surfer - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596346/
What do Clint Eastwood (great cowboy hero,) Lee Van Cleef (great cowboy villain,) and Don Knotts (a great… er... cowboy comedian,) have in common?
I just came back from seeing the animated feature, Rango, about a misplaced lizard who must learn who he really is… or die. (Cue the spaghetti Western music.) The animators and actors lending their voices had specific people in mind. Let’s start with Knotts.
Johnny Depp had the Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) star in mind when he voiced the title character, a bug-eyed reptile, who, when we are first introduced to him is “acting” in his glass terrarium and directing the inanimate objects around him. Just when he realizes his script needs more conflict, he is thrust into the desert (I won’t tell you how so as not to spoil it, but I can tell you there is an armadillo involved.) He sets out on a very real quest to find water and eventually finds himself (literally and figuratively) in an old west town where adventure involves more than running from a hungry hawk.
Bill Nighy, who played Davy Jones (not the Monkee, but the locker guy,) in Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), voices a villain so… so… venomous, I had a hard time watching the character on the big screen… in a good way. He had Lee Van Cleef in mind, the late actor who had ‘em shakin’ in their boots in such iconic films as The Magnificent Seven Ride (1972), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), and For a Few Dollars More (1965).
Timothy Olyphant, who is currently in theaters with I Am Number Four (2011), plays a character who will remind you of Clint Eastwood… like… really remind you of him.
I bring these characters up because Eastwood and Van Cleef were known for the spaghetti westerns of the ‘60s and ‘70s. These were cheaply produced by Italian directors and actors, but featured Americans such as the aforementioned stars. It’s from these westerns that we have our pre-conceived notions of how the west was fought… and won. And it’s in this tradition that Rango presents a dusty town, a band of no ‘count, low down thieves, an ideal that springs from the Spirit of the West… and a lizard.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. It’s extremely intense at times and might scare young children, although the mini-man that sat in front of me with his mother didn’t seem phased, especially when he ran to the other end of the row of seats and proclaimed in his theater voice, “So long, suckers!” He was promptly contained and watched the rest of the movie on his mother’s lap. But I digress.
I deducted a star for the intensity of the film and also for the language. Yes, it’s supposed to be based on the post-Vietnam westerns, and thus had some mild curse words, but if you’re sensitive, or if you don’t want your child quoting the few (a very few) lines, you might want to see it first before taking your family.
Other than those two things, the storyline was enjoyable. It took a predictable plot but twisted the suspense in a way that often had me breathless.
Here is the trailer.
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Rango - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/
As I stated in a previous post, I wanted to see Despicable Me out of curiosity. The early trailers didn’t reveal much, but just enough to whet the appetite. As the time of release drew near, we got more of a glimpse. We knew that a super villain suddenly is in charge of three children, all adorable girls. In fact, the tag line according to IMDb is “Superbad. Superdad.”
It could also be, “The Pink Panther meets The Spy Who Loved Me.”
I enjoyed this movie very much. Yes, it’s a cartoon, but I think we’ve established that I kinda like those. I love watching the craft of storytelling in its purest form. . .yeah, I’ll go with that. It had action, adventure, fluffy moments when the youngest girl wraps herself around the audience, and, surprisingly, quite a timely moral for our get-ahead-at-all-costs society today.
It was a teensy predictable in parts, but also held some surprises.
Steve Carell voices the main character, Gru, and does it so effectively, I would have never know it was him. As a writer, I love what they did with this character. Remember that a villain must have a reason to be bad.
You may want to take a tissue, although I didn’t blubber through this movie like I did Toy Story 3
I didn’t see it in 3D. I’m reserving my hard-earned cash for movies where it makes sense to shake hands with the characters. My choice didn’t ruin the experience, although I could see where one scene would have benefitted in the WOW-I’m-in-the-movie effect. I may have needed an empty popcorn bucket afterward.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars because of the predictability factor. But it didn’t ruin the movie for me, and there were enough surprises to keep my writer-brain from overanalyzing. At least, until I got home. :)
You can view the trailer at the IMDb site.
I had a “me” day today, although I probably didn’t deserve it since I haven’t been overly stressed lately. But it just seemed appropriate. I spent my “me” day at the theater all by myself, munching buttered popcorn, drinking soda, and watching Toy Story 3.
Upon hearing about this third in the franchise, I feared it could never live up to the first two. Forgive my failure to review Toy Story 1 and 2. Suffice it to say, I LOVED THEM! They each get 5 stars as does TS3.
Andy’s grown up and about to leave for college when the toys find themselves given away to a daycare. I won’t spoil how they got there, but let me say that the writers handled it very well. We know from the trailer that this daycare is run by some unscrupulous toys, and Woody and the gang must get out of there with parts intact.
A tad darker than the first two, it made me think about those toys crammed into my Memories Box all these mumble-mumble years. Sammy the seal—once as important to me as Woody is to Andy—his straw hat, a flipper, and both eyes now gone, is waiting for me to play with him once again. sniff
If you’ve ever loved a toy, or ever loved a child leaving the nest, this movie will pluck your heartstrings and affect you like no other Pixar film. It ties up the series nicely, yet. . .perhaps leaves room for more. Please, Pixar, please? The principles taught in all three movies should be taught everywhere, to children and adults alike. (Politicians, you listening?)
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Toy Story 3 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/
write sweet romances, but that doesn't mean my characters can't have real issues. In Merely Players, (now available in the 3-in-1 Florida Weddings available here,) my hero was abused by his father. This shaped him into the adult he became, one more comfortable playing a role than being himself. In my next book, God Gave the Song, (available in November 2009 through Barbour Publishing's Heartsong Presents,) my hero was abandonded by his hippie mother. And in my current work in progress, Crossroads Bay, my heroine needs to save face, proving her father wasn't crazy for chasing his dream. 
Disclaimer for my "family friendly" readers: Do beware that there is a partial nude scene between Bullock and Reynolds. Nothing is seen, and it is totally hilarious, but I thought the director let it go a tad too long to the point of gratuitousness. Is that a word? It is now. Because of that, this movie gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.
I rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars. I knocked it down a notch because of the excessive action, even though the men in my family, (and just now the two anchor men in the evening news,) have made it clear that explosions, loud engines, and general chaos is what makes this movie great. Oh, and don't get them started on the cool motorcycle! Apparently I don't have enough testosterone to appreciate it. But, honestly, what keeps this review high is Heath. If his star had to dim, I'm greatful this was the role people will be talking about for years to come. 
