Rango DVD review

Rango was so far under my radar, I didn't post ANYTHING about it on this blog.  I don't know why, but I really had no desire to see it.  It made a lot of money in the theaters and received a lot of praise in the process.  It received an impressive 88% positive reviews on RottenTomatoes.com. Well, I waited until the Blu-Ray came out and whoa... let's begin.

What I liked about the movie:
The Storytelling

Johnny Depp plays the loveable lizard in this animated western.  Depp plays Rango, a lizard who loves to act.  After a few twists of fate, and some clever acting, he ends up the Sheriff in a small town called Dirt.  The western aspect of the film ensues.  I don't want to talk plot, but the story is terrific.  Rango and his new found friends take off for a grand adventure.  What's beautiful are all the intricacies they built into the story.  For instance: It's the desert, so naturally, the currency for the city of Dirt is water.  Brilliant (sort of like The Book of Eli too, but don't tell anyone).  Those kinds of details are what made Pixar the juggernaut it is today.  There is so much adventure to be had, computer animation was the perfect medium for this story.  Well done. 

The Voice Actors

Depp is always awesome, but there are so many others in this film.  Isla Fisher plays Rango's pal Beans.  Also in the film: Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy and Timothy Olyphant just to name a few!  What's great about this movie is the way the voices were recorded.  The actors acted out their parts as if they were recording a live-action film.  This gave the actors the real feel for their characters' movements and speech.  

It's Smart!

I really wouldn't say this movie is for kids.  There are a lot of smart jokes that small children may not understand.  Granted the movie looks amazing, and that alone can keep a child occupied; but the jokes are so smart.  I know it sounds funny referring to Rango as a person, but the animators made him so interesting.  The dialogue is delivered beautifully by Depp.  And, the animators play off of a lot of western films' cliches. 

The Emotion

Maybe I'm getting a little soft in my old age, but I love the story of friendship.  The movie plays out very nicely and gives the characters an arc.  But what is great is the relationship between Rango and his friend Beans (Fisher).  She's the smart and savvy girl to save his butt in trouble.  I enjoyed the dynamic they created for them. 


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Stupid Birds

I'm not a fan of mariachi bands, so that's probably a large part of why I didn't like these characters.  They narrate the film through mariachi sing-song, and I didn't like it at all.  In fact, I was fast forwarding towards the end of the movie, right past them.  I know, I know I'm supposed to do that, but man they're annoying.

The Length
There are times when the movie is so slow.  It comes in at 107 minutes, that's a lot for an animated film.  ONLY A FEW TIMES, the movie had to fight to hold my attention, imagine a whiny kid at the theater, wow. 


The Verdict:
It's too good not to buy!
The story is engaging, the animation is beautiful, the actors kill it, what more do you want!  There's a moral to the story for the kids, and smart jokes for the adults.  Plus, there is so much to see on screen, a second and third viewing will be essential. 


The Blu-ray/DVD combo:
Tons of Goodies
There's an alternate ending, 10 deleted scenes, commentary, featurettes, a look at the real creatures in the movie, and and and.  There are so many goodies on this Blu-Ray.  I really enjoyed watching them all.  There are also some games for the kids to play with.  Overall, a great movie and an even better Blu-Ray offering.  Bravo.

Tony: My Sister's Keeper DVD review

My Sister's Keep was one of those movies I read a lot about, but never reallllly wanted to watch. I know we're late on this one, but as with many things in life, it was worth the wait. This may sound funny, coming from someone who loves movies as much as I do, but it looked too damn depressing to watch. I knew it was about a little girl who was dying, and that's about it. There was so much more to this story.

As always with AtD, we're about opinion, not plot. I will tell you this, the story is center around the character of Kate, played by Sofia Vassilieva. Kate is a teenage girl dying of leukemia. Her mother (played by Cameron Diaz) is desperate to keep her alive at all costs. Diaz's character is married to Jason Patric, who is terrific in this film, and very underrated in Hollywood. The story arc centers around Kate's sister, Anna, played by Abigail Breslin. Anna has had five operations in her short life, trying to help save her older sister.

The film does something rarely seen anymore, shows you the ugly side of people, but still makes you care about them. Every character in the movie is good, deep down inside. But Kate's illness has brought out the worst in everyone. Her mother is a crazy person, determined to keep her alive. Her parents barely know each other because they are so preoccupied with her illness. Kate's little brother, played by Evan Ellingson (also great in the film), has been neglected since he was a child due to her illness.

The movie is directed by Nick Cassavetes who also directed such films as Alpha Dog, The Notebook and John Q. There are a lot of flashbacks and flash forwards in order for the audience to see Kate before she was sick, during her illness, and her later days. Every member of the family has a narrative in the film, which is great to see everyone's perspective of the family's situation.

The star of the show is by far Abigail Breslin. This little girl had my wife and I in tears during multiple scenes in the film. She commands attention for every scene she is in, and you truly forget her age, she's only 13 years old! Diaz was really the only negative for me in the film, I didn't buy the whole "bitchy mom" act. She's played too many goody good girls to make us believe she could be "evil". As I said earlier, Jason Patric is great and I wish we saw more of him in Hollywood. He had a nice co-starring role this season on Entourage which was fun to watch. And Sofia Vassilieva may not win an Oscar for her role as the sick daughter, but she will earn great recognition. I would say this is a movie definitely worth watching. Just have a box of Kleenex ready.

Quickie: New Zombieland poster

Just for fun... Zombieland looks like it's going to be great! How funny does Abigail Breslin look? And how gorgeous is Emma Stone?! Looking forward to this one folks.

Quickie: "Zombieland" Red Band Trailer!

Holy wow this movie is gonna be freakin sweet.

The horror/comedy stars Woody Harrelson ("No Country for Old Men"), Jesse Eisenberg ("Adventureland"), Emma Stone ("Superbad"), and Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine").

Cool. Awesome cast.

The story is pretty self-explanatory after watching the trailer below, courtesy of comingsoon.net.

Caution, it is a red band trailer, and includes bad language, nudity, graphic violence and tons of blood.

Needless to say: Enjoy.