The Princess and the Frog

Tiara is a young woman living in New Orleans striving to make her dream of owning her own restaurant come true, applying her fathers advice that "dreams come true with hard work", as she works two jobs and saves every penny. A lazy, out-of-money prince comes to town and pulls Tiara into an adventure that changes both of their lives...in more ways than one.

Disney hand-drawn animation is back! It's an exciting thing to see since the overwhelming success of 3D animated films the past 15 years and the underwhelming 2D films that came out of Disney the past 8-10 years, almost proved the death of hand-drawn animation. But this film puts it back on the map. The story is fun and engaging, the animation beautiful and the music is the best since the 2nd Disney golden age of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. You'll leave the theater humming many of the songs that have a great New Orleans/Jazz flavor to them. It's quite obvious that this movie will soon be a play on Broadway, and will probably work quite well as one.

The minor complaints I have are first the character design. There's not a defined "look" as in most Disney animated films, i.e. the curls and loops of Aladdin and Hercules, the sharp edges of 101 Dalmations and Sword in the Stone, etc. It seems each character's look is kind of borrowed from a different style. Some look great (the villain, Dr. Facilier) and some are a little too bland looking (Tiara's parents). But overall it works enough and probably wouldn't be noticed by most viewers. There are also some important plot points that aren't made quite clear enough at the beginning. But in the end this is a huge triumph for Disney and the art form of hand-drawn animation.

***1/2 out of 4 - Must See (Rated G)

Avatar

I could not agree more with every point of Mandy's review, so I'm going to pretty much leave you to read hers.

The one thing I will add is that it is visually the most amazing movie ever created. It's a must see in the theater just for the visuals, and it must be seen on an IMAX screen and in 3D.

*** out of 4 - Must See

Avatar

It is 150 years in the future. A small moon called Pandora contains a valuable mineral that a demanding conglomerate exploits at all costs. They import mercenary marines to help contain the natives while they mine.

OK so take one part Dances with Wolves, one part Fern Gully: The Last Rain Forest, a dash of the Matrix and a pinch of Aliens. Mix well and add a whole lot of special effects and you have Avatar.

If you are a special effects person, and well even if you are not they are spectacular. The world that is created is amazing. The story however, is basic, simple, and although thoroughly developed totally predictable and done. Again if you have seen Dances with Wolves you know all the plot points.

Also take note that the running time is two hours and thirty minutes. I was done after an hour and a half. Predictability aside, the final battle scene goes on and on, while the entire audience is patiently waiting for the ending that was all too eagerly foreshadowed within the first 45 minutes.


** ½ Rentable (but totally worth seeing on the big screen for the f/x)


Rated PG-13 (for language and violence)

Up in the Air

Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert who spends his life on the road, or technically in the air. He is just about to reach ten million frequent flier miles when his lifestyle is in danger of drastically changing.

This was done by Jason Reitman, who also did Juno and Thank You for Smoking. So going in I had some preconceived expectations. It didn’t quite live up to those. I thought this would be sharper, edgier, more curt, and more bleak. I was somewhat surprised at how schmaltzy it turned out to be.

The storyline is predictable and methodical, but Clooney is still amazingly entertaining. It has a slightly cynical edge to it but again I was not expecting the sentiment. It still delivered on the ending, however, even if it was conventional.


** ½ Rentable


Rated R (for language and sexual content)

The Princess and the Frog

Tiana is a hard working class woman who desperately wants to open her own restaurant. When a young Prince comes to town a financial opportunity comes her way that just might make all her dreams become a reality. Things get sticky when she is persuaded to kiss a frog.

After a five year hiatus, Disney returns to its roots, with a 2-D traditional animated feature, complete with songs and all. I was pleasantly entertained by the return. The animation, in my opinion, was not up to par. It reminded me of a straight to video type movie, as did the under developed storyline. However the dialogue was fun and kept me engaged for the most part.

What was really fun was the music. The songs were cute and clever and reminded me of what it was like to see a vintage Disney cartoon. So yes, the animation could have been a lot more polished, the storyline a tad more cultivated, but when it was all said and done, it was cute and kids will love it.


*** Must See (it’s Disney)


Rated G

Invictus

The true story of how Nelson Mandela inspired and united the country of South Africa through their national rugby team's run to become the World Cup champions.

This is also definitely a feel-good movie which does a decent job of fulfilling its role. But it feels as though there's something missing to push it into being a "great" movie. Maybe it's that the parallel story lines should each get their own movie instead of sharing one. I feel like I wanted to see more of Nelson Mandela's life and what made him the man he was, yet I also wanted to see more of just how the rugby team inspired and united the country. I didn't get in depth enough with either. That said, the performances by Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon are solid and believable. It seems like director Clint Eastwood didn't dive in quite enough for this one...it's inspiring and well done, but I feel like it could have been much more.

**1/2 out of 4 - Rentable (PG-13 for some language and violence)

The Blind Side

The true story of a young black homeless high school student that is taken in by a white family in Tennessee, which changes the lives of him and his new family for the better.

This is a feel good movie that does it's job. It's acted well and doesn't have too much cheese. Sandra Bullock does a great job as the feisty yet loving mom. The characters are believable and you definitely want to root for them. As Mandy said, not going to be remembered as a great sports movie but is inspiring and leaves you with a good feeling.

*** out of 4 - Possibly theater worthy

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Mr. Fox is forced out of his life of burglary after his wife demands a calmer life for their soon to be family. Mr. Fox agrees and upholds his promise...for a few years. Fox jumps back into the old life with the help of some friends and in the process upsets the local farmers and endangers his family and entire town (..or hill).

Really fun to see different kinds on animation on the big screen, in this case stop-go animation, puppets or clay models moved and photographed one frame at a time, and also hand drawn animation in the upcoming "Princess and the Frog". The artistry, time and effort on display is amazing and inspiring. The story is simple and fun, the comedy is very subtle and adult and as Mandy stated, the voice work is perfectly cast and performed. But overall this is kind of forgettable and a little too long. I kind of lost interest at some points, maybe it had been too hyped for me. Cute and fun, but forgettable.

**1/2 out of 4 - Rentable

New Moon

Edward and Bella continue their love-can't love relationship as Edward decides he must leave her to protect her. While he's away Bella starts to get involved with another Halloween character, Jacob the werewolf.

Alright, so I avoided "The Twilight Saga" until now, having a girlfriend may have influenced me in the viewing of it, as I had no intentions of seeing it before...but I agreed to see it, more out of curisosity to see how any movie could create crazier fans than Star Wars fans...but, congrats Twilight, you did it. I watched the original the night before seeing New Moon, since I hadn't seen it, and actually kind of enjoyed it since my expectations couldn't have been any lower. Despite being extremely over-dramatic and its low production quality, it was bearable. Now on to the movie at hand; the story is ok, the actors are ok, and the millions they made from the first movie improved the production quality this time around. But every aspect of this movie and the first is way too over dramatic. I'm not sure I can remember a fun or comedic scene with the leading man and lady. I'm not sure they even smile in either movie. Their relationships aren't built up at all so it's hard to buy into them or even root for them.

*1/2 out of 4 - Not a chance (PG-13 for violence, sensuality and language.)

This is it

Ok, apologies, I am waaay behind on my reviewing. So let's get to it.

As Michael Jackson was preparing, planning, and rehearsing for his comeback/farewell tour, multiple cameras caught behind the scenes footage to give us an insite as to what the concert might have been like.

This isn't quite a documentary and it isn't quite a concert. It seems they didn't have enough footage to make it a documentary and not enough performances to make it a concert. But in the end it leans more towards concert. Being a fan of Jackson's music, I quite enjoyed all the performances. It was amazing to see that at age 50, he still "had it", to some degree. It's still clear how his dance moves and voice revolutionized pop music. The performances are fun and the music is great, you can't help but get into it. The documentary side is a small insite to MJ's personality and leaves you wanting more. The behind the scenes of his planning and adjusting the performances is very interesting. Being the King of Pop you'd almost expect or think he's entitled to be bossy, short and impatient with those around him. But the opposite is conveyed, as I was impressed with how down to Earth, patient, collaborative and hard working he was. Although it's evident by his mere physical appearance that Jackson wasn't healthy. The ending is somewhat abrupt, as it's basically the ending to a concert, and not a documentary, but it's a fun time seeing and hearing his music.

**1/2 out of 4 (I don't think it was rated, but I would imagine G or PG).

Brothers

Two siblings who are complete opposites come together as one heads off on his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan and the other is released from prison. The Marine is shot down and reported as dead, leaving the Parolee to care for his family.

I was surprised at how engaging this movie was. The script is really well written and the actors totally step up to the challenge. In a story that could have been plagued with clichés it was careful to avoid them. Sam Shepard was particularly good as the grief stricken father.

What I will say, and it is rare that I would ever encourage this, so take note – but it was just a tad too short. YES, too short – just a hair. The ending is unexpectedly abrupt. I am not one that needs happy endings or everything resolved and tied with a bow, however, I was truly taken aback when the credits started to roll. “That’s it?” will be going through your mind as you walk out of the theatre.

** ½ Rentable

Rated R (for language and violence)

Everybody's Fine

A widower prepares for his four children to come home for a family visit for the first time since his wife’s’ death, but as the date approaches, each of his kids end up canceling on him forcing him to take a road trip across the country to visit each one. He quickly discovers that they are all keeping things from him.

This movie has such a stellar cast and yet they never hit the mark. The story tries so hard to be sentimental and yet at the same time never develops enough to make you care. Also the actors seem to have a hard time meshing and I never truly believed that they were anything other than themselves on screen.

The ending is somewhat predictable and to be honest irritating. As I mentioned before the story seems under developed and it wraps up a little too neatly causing one to wonder if you missed something.

* ½ Rentable I suppose


Rated PG -13 (language)