"Tangled" Review

It's been a while and I may be rusty, and I know I'm about 2 weeks late on this film, but let's get started. I am a male, and didn't really grow up knowing this fairy tale. I knew Tangled was originally titled "Rapunzel" though. Disney attributed the failure of The Princess & The Frog to one thing; little boys didn't want to see it. I enjoyed the that film, but could see where little boys had no desire to watch it. So Disney quickly changed it's title and marketing scheme; showcase the male character! And so the adventure began.


What I liked about the movie:
The Animation
Pixar gets a lot of credit for their films, as well they should. Dreamworks has always been in second place with their films. Disney's in-house animation doesn't get the credit it deserves though. They now have three successful films in a row (Chicken Little & Bolt).

This is probably the last time I'm going to list this on my "likes" list. The quality of the animation SHOULD be spectacular. The animators have no boundaries to make these films look amazing. Tangled does not let us down. From the different settings to all the various characters and of course, Rapunzel's insanely long hair. There are a few fight sequences that stand out in my mind that showcase the animation. There is one involving Rapunzel and the other involves the male lead character, Flynn Ryder, awesome!

The Voice Acting
This is going to be a tough pill to swallow folks; but Mandy Moore did a great job as Rapunzel. There I said, don't make me say it again. So you know why that was tough... I can't STAND Mandy Moore's acting. This is sort of a nice fit for her though. She started as a singer and this movie showcases that "talent".

Zachary Levi from "Chuck" is a great lead. His character, Flynn Ryder, is funny, and this is due to Levi's delivery. The character has to be witty, charming and sarcastic, Levi conveyed all of those things. Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor and Brad Garrett round out the supporting cast who are great.

The Story/Heart
This is pretty cheesy to talk about, considering I'm almost 30 years old, but hey, it's true. Disney has always done well in this department. Their stories can be summarized into one sentence and this movie is no different; its about an innocent girl eager to learn more about the world. There is one scene in particular that has no dialogue that had my wife and I reaching for tissues. You'll know it when you see it, as most of the people in our theater were teared up (it was a packed house by the way).


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Settings
One thing Pixar does so well is create a larger than life experience in their films. Whether its Nemo in the ocean or Woody and Buzz in a daycare, they create these amazing worlds for the characters. Tangled didn't offer up the same. Most of the movie takes place in the tower where Rapunzel is being held captive. When our characters do venture out into the world, it's not very far. There's the woods, a bar and the tiny village. It didn't have the scope of other Disney films like Aladdin for example. With Aladdin, you felt how big Agrabah was, the marketplace, the palace, etc.



There really wasn't too much else I didn't like. I wish there was just a bit more humor to appeal to adults, but overall I was very entertained the entire time. The cast was great, the story was solid and the execution was there. The songs were very fitting on the story and that's always nice, unlike some B movies out there. I would recommend this movie to young and old, but keep in mind it's very G Rated. My wife and I watched in 2D and believe me, it was just fine that way. Save your money and avoid the 3D version, I just don't see it adding much to the experience. Other than that, be a kid for 2 hours, go see Tangled, and you wont regret it.

Teaser Trailer for Pixar's "Cars 2!"

Pixar's Cars 2 teaser trailer, due out June 24, 2011.

Need I say more?

"Toy Story 3" Review

If you're a Toy Story fan at all, if you're a MOVIE fan at all, skip this review and go see Toy Story 3 immediately. Yes, it's good, it's really really good. I have a lot of "likes" on this one, so I want to get started already.

What I liked about the movie:
Story
Here's a little known fact about Toy Story 3, the story took 2 and a half years to perfect. And perfect is the correct word to use. I never talk plot in my reviews, I'm not going to start now. But I will say the trailer gives you a general idea as to what happens to the toys. But overall, the story is terrific. There is a solid beginning, middle and end. The end of this movie is very fitting to arguably one of the best trilogies in history, animated or not. I Tweeted after I left the theater, that the world would be a better place if Pixar wrote every movie in Hollywood. Online petition anyone?



The Characters

We all know them, we all love them, and they're all back. Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, and more, are all in top form in this one. The voice acting is superb, as it has been throughout the trilogy. All the big names are back, i.e. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. New comer Michael Keaton is awesome as the annoying, yet hilarious, Ken. Ned Betty plays one of the new major characters, Lotso the bear, also perfectly cast. Not everyone gets their fair share of screen time, but I felt that I got enough of all the major characters after an 11 year break from the previous Toy Story film. Great Job in this department.

The Animation
The animation just keeps getting better and better from Pixar. In our second installment of "You know what's a good movie?" we showcased the first Toy Story. And in that article I talked about how Pixar's techniques have improved with every movie they've released. TS3 is no exception. There are so many details that it's impossible to appreciate them all with just one viewing. I can't wait to see the movie again just to catch more that I may have missed the first time.

The Action
The action in TS3 is phenomenal. There are new things we've never seen in the previous 2 films. There's a planned escape scene that has so much to it, only Pixar could have kept track and executed it as well as they did. No spoiler here, but the last half hour of the movie involves a lot of action that was awesome. Again, it's only because the animators have gotten so good at what they do, that the action is this good.

The Themes

There haven't been too many movies that will tug at your emotional strings like this one will. In fact, I'll say this is the best movie of the year so far. There are several themes expressed throughout the movie. A child's coming of age. There is a fantastic scene in the movie where Andy is saying bye to his old room before he heads off to college. It's just Andy comforting his mom before he leaves, but it stays true to anyone who has experienced that situation. The emotion projected through the characters is nothing short of amazing.


MINOR SPOILER ALERT, not really giving anything away though:
Friendship is the other theme. Woody and Buzz' friendship. The friendship between Andy and Woody. The most talked about/ most Tweeted about/ most written about scene, will definitely have you in tears. I'm a man close to 30 years old. I haven't cried since the day of my wedding more than two years ago, and was crying like a high school girl on the night of a breakup. I can't express this enough, it comes down to Pixar's mastering of the art form. Without their amazing animators, none of the emotion would have came out of that particular scene where there is literally no dialogue, just emotion channeled through the characters.
END SPOILER ALERT.

The Ending
Some trilogies leave you disappointed, and this movie did not do that. Everything is wrapped up very nicely. Every problem resolved and we, as the audience leave the theater very satisfied with the toy's fates. There is a great scene with Andy and Woody that will stay with me for a long time. Amazing.


What I didn't like about the movie:
Rehash
I bet when you started reading this review, you didn't expect any negative feedback did you? Well 2 things, same category of negative. The first, too many plot points were similar in one way or another to Toy Story 2. I was reading this online before the movie came out and just sort of ignored it. But it's very obvious. By no means did it take away from experience though. In fact, I think they improved on all the material I felt they rehashed. Second was the latin Buzz, shown in multiple versions of the trailer. It worked, trust me, it's funny. But again, rehash. I can't really explain in detail about the Buzz scene without giving something away, so let me know what you think after you see the movie.

In conclusion, the movie is spectacular. I can't really do the movie justice with my review. The movie is so good on so many levels, to write about it in a blog format is not fair. Pixar is the best in the world at what they do, period. They knew to deliver this caliber a movie, it was going to take a long time. Like I said earlier, over 2 years writing and story boarding the movie. And it paid off. Unlike the rubbish that DreamWorks is banging out with their Shrek sequels, TS3 progressed the story and the characters.

One thing is for sure, I am going to miss these little computer generated toys a lot more than I thought I would before seeing the movie. To Disney, Pixar, the cast and crew... thank you for one of the BEST trilogies in movie history.

You know what's a good movie? (Part 3)

To recap, Tonedog and I thought it would be a cool idea to try a six degrees of separation type game. We'll talk about a good movie, then find a common actor, director, plot, etc., and then move on to the next movie.

In the last installment of "YKWaGM?" Tonedog talked about Toy Story.
Today, I'm going to tie that in with a few common themes with The Incredibles, number one obviously being animation, and number two, Pixar.

Disney distributed Pixar's The Incredibles in 2004, roughly 10 years after Pixar's smash hit Toy Story. This film is easily one of my favorite animated features of all time, and includes an all-star cast including Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell and Brad Bird.


The concept for the movie originated with Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant on my favorite television series The Simpsons. Bird had also previously directed the excellent animated classic The Iron Giant. Work on The Incredibles started out as a traditionally-animated feature for Warner Bros.' animation studio, but after the studio shut down, Bird took the idea with him and went to Pixar.

Pixar had a lot of work on their hands making the feature. It was planned to be a whole 15 minutes longer than any of their previous films, and had a lot of difficult animation that needed to be perfected, such as long hair, skin and clothing on human characters.

One of the main reasons I appreciate the film so much is because of it's adult tone. While primarily a kids movie, the film had a lot of grown-up issues in it, such as the government ban of superheros, insurance company practices and family and marital problems. There's even [spoiler alert] a character that dies in the end!
The humor in the movie is also just plain genius, and reminiscent of the sarcastic tone found in The Simpsons.

Like that, Pixar once again revolutionized the animated film industry as we knew it, just as they had done a decade before with Toy Story. It's also the first Pixar film to feature an entirely human cast of characters.

The movie eventually opened up to $70,467,623 its opening weekend, averaging about $9,000 per screen, the highest opening weekend for Pixar at the time, and held its # 1 spot the second week. It went on to become the 5th highest grossing film of 2004, and the 3rd highest for Pixar after Finding Nemo and Up.
It is ranked in over 25 professional film critic's Top 10 lists for 2004.
It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won 2 of them, including Best Animated Feature, the 2nd of Pixar's 4.

Till today, I'd have to rank The Incredibles as my favorite animated movie of all time, tied with Disney's most recent hit, and Academy Award nominee for best picture, Up. I hope a sequel will soon be in the works, as they have a lot of different ways to continue this story line.

I hope you can all agree with me when I say that Pixar's The Incredibles is most definitely one of the greatest films of the 2000s.

Check back for our next installment of You Know What's a Good Movie? to see what movie Tonedog will tie-in with this new classic.

You know what's a good movie? (Part 2)

Just to review, FattMatt and I decided to try a six degrees of seperation on ya'll. We'll start with one movie, find a common actor, director, etc., and then move on to the next film.

So, in the first installment of "You know what's a good movie?" we covered Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. The next installment also stars Tom Hanks, but in a different kind of way... computer animation. Toy Story.

It was 1995 and things were about to change in Hollywood. We were introduced to Pixar, and in a BIG way. That unknown company would help pave the way for computer animation in a way no one could ever have expected. It's 2010 today, and Pixar has released 10 films, ALL home runs.

Growing up, I loved action figures, I mean I was obsessed. My brother Shmoo and I collected EVERYTHING. And being the imaginative little boys we were, we would act out our own action scenes. We make noises for guns, sound effects for explosions, you name it, we did it. We felt the toys coming to life. And THAT is what Pixar achieved, they made the toys feel real.


Tom Hanks was the voice of Woody, an older toy and leader of the bunch. Tim Allen voiced Buzz, a new age, hi-tech toy who has become a favorite to the toys' owner, Andy. There are a lot of our childhood favorites in the film as well: Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Etch A Sketch, and many more.

With lots of dazzling color and a cast of talented voices, the movie was a huge success. Looking back at the film, Pixar has improved everything they do. Their animation techniques are better, the worlds and scenery are bigger and better, and it all started from Toy Story.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie would change Hollywood forever. After the movie was released, a ton of computer animated films hit the theaters. Some good, some awful, all because of Pixar. A Toy Story sequel was made, and still remains the only Pixar sequel to date. Last year, Toy Story 1 and 2 were released in 3D for a limited time.

Look out this summer, Toy Story 3 is coming. And now, Andy's going off to college, what's going to happen to all the toys? We'll have to wait and see.

Check out the Toy Story 3 Trailer below and look for our next installment of You know what's a good movie?:

Quickie: Toy Story 1 & 2 poster

Just thought this was a fun littler poster to promote the re-release of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3D. The cool part is, you get to see both movies, back to back at the theater for the cost of one ticket, not bad!















Picture courtesy of cinemablend.com.

Quickie: Toy Story 1 and 2 3D teaser trailer

Maybe you knew this, maybe you didn't, but Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are both being re-released in 3D. This will come just before the released of the highly anticipated sequel, Toy Story 3. Here's the trailer to tease you all until the release date.

'Toy Story 1 and 2' 3D Teaser Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

Jonah Hex becoming more and more real

Jonah Hex is a western comic book series that is published by DC Comics. The character made his first appearance in 1972 and quickly became a fan favorite. Now, of course he's not as popular as the other DC properties like Superman and Batman, but I think that's because he's a little different. He's an anti-hero of sorts, kind of like Wolverine is to the Marvel Comics universe.

Nonetheless, the movie will be out shortly. Here's a couple of tid bits about the movie:

It will be directed by Jimmy Hayward, who comes from an animation background with Pixar. He's animated on movies like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, Robots and Horton Hears a Who. Wow, good list of movies.

The movie stars Josh Brolin from No Country For Old Men (a personal favorite of Matt and I).

Also stars the always terrific John Malkovich, you all know him from Con Air and maybe even Rounders.

Eye candy: Megan Fox... a freakin' terrible across who built a career solely based on her looks. Oh well, she wont have to do much in this movie OTHER than look good.


We just discussed in the posting prior to this one, how the comic book genre is in full swing, and we don't see any signs of it slowing down! Warner Bros. is taking on the film, and they know a thing or two about superhero movies.

Guest Review: Albert D.: "Up"

Pixar doesn’t know how to stop making great movies. This isn’t one of their greatest, but it still kicks everyone else’s butt in animation.
I didn’t know much about the movie until I actually saw it. Their trailers didn’t really explain the plot other then there was a house, and it was going up! But that didn’t stop me from continuing to support Pixar. I can’t stand it when a movie has such little content that the trailer needs to show every single thing about a movie in order to draw some freaking appeal. It' pathetic. But I guess you can’t blame trailers, because so many movies come out now a days, it’s hard to choose what to watch and what not to watch.

"Up" was a different movie then Pixar usually makes. It drew tears of sadness, and tears for joy. Pixar really took animation to a new level to touch a person’s emotions. Carl Fredrickson, “the old man”, recently lost his wife and begins a new chapter of his life to pursue a dream they both had on his own, and finds a little help on the way. Mr. Fredrickson was living in a world beyond his own, and was soon being forced into a retirement home. He decides there’s nothing left for him now but to finally get away to a place he and his late wife had dreamed of their whole lives. All he needed was a compass, supplies, thousands of balloons, and the little piece of paradise in South America. His sidekick is an 8 year old boy named Russell, who is trying to help Mr. Fredrickson in order to receive his wilderness explorer "assisting the elderly" badge. Along the way he finds help from a curious pet bird, and a brave talking dog. They battle to help the bird, who Russell named Kevin, get back to her babies against a man named Charles Muntz that Mr. Fredrickson used to idolize as a child. Charles Muntz wanted to prove to the rest world that he was the ultimate explorer and the rare bird named Kevin was the missing link to prove it. He’s protected and cared for by a crew of talking dogs.

Like I said this movie was extremely entertaining, just not one of Pixar’s best. It’s hard to top movies like "The Incredibles," or "Ratatouille," but it's still amazing in its own right. It had very little dialog, like "Wall-E," but way more of a human element.
The other thing I like about Pixar movies is that they appeal to all ages. Most movies can’t do that. Most movies really focus their attention on a specific genre of people, whether it's a chick flick, comedy, action, or drama. Pixar, on the other hand, really packs a punch and includes a little bit of everything. Movies like this one really show that animated movies are going to stay in high demand, and more and more companies are going to follow in Pixar’s footsteps.

I guarantee you're going to leave the movie theater saying one word, “Squirrel!”

10 Year Old's dying wish granted... to see Up

I was reading the news today and came across a heart breaking story. In Huntington Beach, CA a 10 year old little girl has cancer. Colby Curtin was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer three years ago. Her parents and the doctors knew she had very little time to live. Colby's only wish? To see Disney Pixar's Up. She was too sick to be taken to the movie theater. A family friend called Pixar and pleaded with them to let Colby watch the movie at home. Sure enough, Pixar sent out a representative with a DVD copy of Up for little Colby to see at home.

Sadly enough, she died just seven hours after the movie was over. It breaks my heart to even say that, but little Colby held on long enough to get her wish. And now, just as the movie title says, she's be going Up to a better place. The full story. Our condolences go out to the Curtain family. And a thumbs up to Pixar for such a gracious act.

Matt: "Up" Review

Gather 'round, kiddies!
It’s time for Uncle Matt’s better-late-than-never review of Disney/Pixar’s “Up.”

The movie starts off introducing us to Carl- the old man you see in the trailers- as he sits in the theater as a little boy and watches the latest news on his idol, the explorer Charles Muntz as he takes off to “Paradise Falls,” a beautiful wilderness in Argentina, and vows to return only with the mythical bird he claims to have discovered, the “snipe.”

Even in these early few minutes of the film, Pixar has already done a wonderful job capturing the look and feel of a 1940s-ish America in the video of Muntz, from the voiceover narration, to the streamlined blimp the adventurer pilots with his team of trusted mutts.

Early on in the film, we are shown a magical montage of Carl and his childhood friend and future wife, Ellie. We witness their life together, from their marriage, to their jobs together (Carl sells balloons to children at the zoo Ellie works in), to evening picnics under a tree, to Ellie finding out she can’t have children, and finally to Ellie’s death and Carl’s loneliness.
This entire sequence is done just beautifully and entirely dialogue-free with music gently flowing throughout to perfectly compliment both light and dark moments. It’s arguably the greatest sequence of the film.

The rest of the film is pure nonstop comedy till the end.
Russell, a cute, chubby boy, is introduced trying to help Carl in his old age in some way so that he may receive his “Assisting the Elderly” badge and be promoted to the rank of Senior Scout with his Wilderness Explorers group. He ends up “assisting” Carl as they both try to physically move Carl’s house to Paradise Falls to fulfill a lifelong promise Carl had many to Ellie when they were both children (hence the balloons and flying house).
They, of course, only face newer and bigger challenges the further they advance along their journey, which include a giant bird, talking dogs, and some shady (and dangerous!) characters.

Russell is voiced delightfully by newcomer Jordan Nagai, and Carl’s vocal work is performed “to the T” by none other than Ed Asner. Muntz is voiced by the perfectly evil Christopher Plummer.
The movie visually looks great. All the animation is nicely fluid and the textures are kept fairly light, similar to “WALL-E.”

Nothing in the film is too scary to take younger children. It has it’s sad, darker moments here and there but the majority of the film is definitely side-splittingly hilarious.
The story twists and turns you into some unexpected places, never disappointingly, and shares a very important life lesson in the end.

I saw the film in 3D, which is a real treat. Theaters are still holding 3D showings, so go catch it while you still can! The $2 dollar difference in price is worth it.
I also watched it in 2D and it’s still just as fantastic.
Definitely don’t miss out on watching “Up” in theaters, especially if you don’t have a mammoth-sized screen at home, because the visuals are deserving of a screen as large as the adventure in the film!

Go see this gem.
I highly recommend it.

-Matt

P.S.
Movie buffs should keep an eye (or ear, rather) out for John Ratzenberger, who voices a character in every major Pixar film. See (or hear) if you can recognize him in this one!

"UP" & Away! (response to "UP reviews are stellar!")

YES!

I hear you, Tony.

It gets pretty annoying when similar movies come out from competing studios. Although I have to admit, sometimes it's interesting to see ideas taken in two (or more) diverse directions, be it totally different directing styles, or contrasting actors in similar roles. However, one production usually ends up trumping the other. Such was the case with "Madagascar" and "The Wild." I haden't heard about this recent one yet, though, so thank you for informing us.

It's hard to imagine the old DreamWorks geenlighting something like this under the eye of Spielberg. I wish that Viacom never took the reins. Although they did a good job with "Kung Fu Panda," I don't think it lived up to the hype. I also heard that "Bee Movie" sucked, but I didn't see it, so no comment there.

P.S.

I'm watching "UP" tomorrow in 3D, so look forward to my review soon. I'm very excited to see it. I love everything PIXAR has done so far and have been anticipating this one since they released the first screenshot of it on the net!

P.P.S.

YES!

"Incredibles 2!"

Where do I sign??

Quickie: UP reviews are stellar!

The reviews for the new Disney Pixar film, "Up" are stellar. Over at rottentomatoes.com it is currently at a whopping 98% approval. It looks like Disney Pixar has got another success under it's belt. I personally am looking forward to watching this film and pretty much anything else Pixar throws at us. Who's willing to start a petition for an Incredibles 2?

Ps... a side note about Incredibles, it seems there is a knock off in the works over at Dreamworks Animation Studios... are there seriously no more good ideas out there that we must rehash every film ever made? Argh!