Frozen

Frozen has gone through a theatrical run I have never seen before. The first week it did relatively bad, then it jumps to number one off and on throughout the month. I saw this 2 months after the release and the theater was still pretty crowded. I believe this movie gained more by word of mouth than it did with the actual marketing because it was awful.

Seeing the original concept art a year ago made me fairly confident in this film. It looked beautiful. Then the trailers came out and I had a lot of doubt for it, as did everyone else. It really looked like a kiddy version of Wicked and would go through so many cliches. This was mainly my list of predictions I had:

1.  Olaf would be the next Jar-Jar Binks or Mater
2. Some spur of the moment romance
3. Elsa would be this bitchy, bland villan
4. This would be Disney's attempt at Wicked and that's why they casted the two leads from that show.
5. Sven the reindeer would just be another Maximus from Tangled. 
6. Speaking of Tangled, it was just going to copy and paste a lot of the elements that worked well in that film. 

I really thought this movie would crash and burn. After hearing countless great things about it, I thought I would finally see it.  For the most part I was wrong. Frozen was pretty solid. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is as fantastic as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid. It was good, but not super amazing. To put it this way, I don't know if I will willingly want to see this again. With most other Disney films, I can watch them a number of times and not get sick of them.

Possible spoilers! 

I know this is an animated film, but I couldn't get over questioning some of it. If Elsa and Anna pretty much lived in isolation their entire lives, wouldn't that have some negative effect on their social behavior? How would they be able to learn to interact with the public of they would eventually have to rule the kingdom? Why did they have to keep Elsa locked up for her powers and how did she even get them in the first place? When their parents died, it made Elsa very upset, so why didn't she start a eternal winter then? Why couldn't they let Anna go outside the castle if nothing is wrong with her? I guess they show the aftermath of their isolation  in some way. Anna becomes quickly attached to others after being departed from them for so long while Elsa pushes them away and gets anxious around them. I know, random conspiracy theories, I'm crazy.

In terms of the movie itself there were few things I disliked about it. First, the musical numbers were pretty corny. For being made by such a talented team, they didn't feel as creative. I miss the Alan Menken full orchestra numbers that you could play over and over again. These pop songs blasting the electric guitar in this movie and Tangled are not for me. All of the praise has mostly been going to "Let it go" and while I think it is a good song, I'm not totally in love with it. Mostly because it is very similar to "Defying Gravity" and some of the wording is a bit weird. Elsa, herself, is a good character but I don't think she got as much screen time as her sister to fully branch out. Idina Menzel still did a great job with the acting and her design was flawless. Anna could have been a little better. Most of the movie she was pretty annoying. Nothing about her really stood out that would make me like her compared to other princesses. The whole twist about Hans I somewhat expected. I wouldn't consider Hans a villain, just a douche bag. A very bland one at that.

On Facebook, I have been seeing the countless images and statuses saying that "Frozen is the first Disney movie to show that you don't need a man." I disagree with this completely. First of all, Merida in Brave didn't even have a love interest. Mulan didn't do anything just for Shang's attention, she did it for her country. Even though most of Pocahontas's motivation was to be with John Smith, she didn't end up with him in the end even after saving him. I could go on, but this isn't new. We have been seeing the anti-love at first sight relationship for a while now. Kristoff and Anna end up together by the end of the movie. She relied on his help for the most part. Even after Hans betrayed her, she still went to him almost immediately. I do like the one of the messages they had in this film. Some men are out there to hurt girls, like Hans did, and there's some you have to get to know better to admire their qualities, like Kristoff.

I also like the other message in this film that love does not always have to be romantic. There is love you would feel between a family member and sometimes that is a lot stronger. I would never think that Olaf the fucking talking snowman would say the best quote in this movie, "love is putting other's needs before yours." That and "Oh, look! I've been impaled." :)

I wasn't expecting to laugh this much with this movie. It wasn't even funny because it was so stupid and corny. It legitimately had good one-liners and slapstick. The animation could have been a little better. As mentioned before I liked Elsa's design but I'm not sure if I like these characters looking like Precious Moments dolls. Some of the background didn't look all the way finished and appeared flat. As many have said before, they nailed down the movement of the snow animation and it looked real.

Overall, this was definitely "don't judge a book by its cover" movie. The marketing almost killed this and Disney needs to go back to how they used to do their trailers and aiming at kids and adults. I was definitely surprised by the balance of drama and comedy and creating a innovative fairy tale.

Lone Survivor

I really wasn't expecting ANYTHING from this movie. I didn't even want to go to the movies during January and February, there's nothing but crap out. Everyone and their mom knows that all the shelved movies come out around this time because no one is going to the theater anyhow. I really thought Lone Survivor would be the war movie we have seen a million times and would be swept under the rug quickly.

You know what, the first half was exactly that. I kept rolling my eyes at how bad it was. Let's start with the beginning credits showing real footage of Navy SEALs training. Why did they have this? If you want to make a documentary, make documentary. Don't show real footage of these men working really hard during training and then cut to actors playing pretend. It seemed very pretentious and ill-fitting. This time could have been made for the actual first 10 minutes of the movie when it sets were it takes place and the characters. The rest of it goes through many cliches. Product placement, guys hanging around making bad jokes, saying swear words were they don't belong, going through the "all Arabs are terrorists" stereotype. On top of that it went through a slow pace without any good character development. I don't feel like we really got to know the characters before they went on the mission. I wanted this movie to be over with.

By the time we get to the middle it really overcomes all of that. Things get really damn good. Things take a dramatic, action-packed turn really hard. These guys are getting shot at, falling down mountains (a lot), hitting their heads on rocks and plenty of emotional turmoil. Rather than afterward showing them still able to walk, kick ass with only a scratch on their head, they are covered in blood, barely able to move and still pressing on. I really liked the relationship between the villager and Marky Mark's character and got a little teary at the ending. I don't want to spoil it but it is pretty powerful.

I sort of still didn't like that this was pretty much a "fishing for an Oscar" project for Marky Mark and it was exploiting a true story. It was still a good one regardless with a nice theme. There's plenty of cringe moments but could have used more character and  a new first act.

2014 Expectations

2012 was a great year in movies, 2013 was underwhelming in comparison. 2014 looks like it will be the year of the sequels and adaptations! Here's my list of movies I want to see!

300: Rise of an Empire

The first movie I want to see isn't until March, great.

Anyway, I can't believe this is seriously happening. There is no sequel to the fantastic comic books. The first one ended on a fair note with nearly all the characters dying. It was an exaggeration of history made for guys to love and their girlfriends to roll their eyes. Whether or not the sequel actually happened in history is going to be thrown out the window as well. Why is this movie existing and Why do I want to see it?

Xerxes/Sexrex

I love this asshole. His look, his performance, his motivation. It is so over-the-top that I love it. 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Though I had mixed opinions about the original, the sequel looks like it has more potential just looking at the trailer. It doesn't look like a mopey-dopey comic book movie like the first one, it looks like fun! Just as it should be. The choice for casting the villains sure is a little off. Paul Giamatti as the Rhino? Jamie Foxx as Electro? I'm not seeing it. They are both really good actors but I'm not sure if they fit those roles. Guess we'll see. 

Godzilla

Finally! A cool, modern, Godzilla film to redeem for the awful Matthew Broderick one!Obviously, the Japanese versions cannot be beat. It will still be interesting to see an American version that isn't cheesy with good effects and doesn't make the monster look like an iguana. Plus my favorite actor, Bryan Cranston is in it! 

Maleficent 

Why. WHY. My favorite Disney character is getting her own movie. I should be excited, but I'm really fearful. I really don't want this character's image to be ruined. I could care less about her back story or what happened to Aurora in all those years. I don't need to know! Sleeping Beauty was good as is and didn't leave me with those questions. If Disney wants to make the next big Alice in Wonderland then whatever. I'm not really appreciating their live action remakes/sequels/prequels of their animated features, but I am interested in how they turn out. 

The Fault in Our Stars

I really liked the book. Some parts were pretentious and could have been better, but I liked how it was unlike most of the romantic stories out there. I really don't like romantic films as I think they are unlike any real-life relationships. Something about FIOS felt so real and unique that really touched me rather than having me roll my eyes. I hope the film keeps that and isn't cliched. I really don't want to see it if it is going to be cheesy, aimed at teenagers, and just a sad-sack of a movie. It is a very tragic romance, and I really don't want that to be ruined. 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 

For what it was, the first one was pretty good (first as in the prequel, not the original series). I was really intrigued by what was happening and how it all played out. There were a lot of tacky moments, but towards the second half it got pretty serious. This sequel appears that it will go above in beyond in suspense and developing how it got to the rest of the series. I am very eager to learn more about what happened between our time and the original Planet of the Apes. Does this prequel series need to happen? No, but at least they are pretty interesting. The performances and special effects also tie everything together.

The Boxtrolls

Coraline was great. ParaNorman was great. I am really hoping Laika can hit another home run with this one. The teaser itself looks amazing. As usual, the stop motion looks very consistent and detailed. I am glad this company is continuing to use stop motion even if it is not attracting the biggest of audiences. 

Well that's the list SO FAR of films I would like to see this year. Some are not completely set on their release date and others I really don't know what to expect, like Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America:The Winter Soldier. I would love to know what movies you would like to see this year and why!

 

Holiday Roundup! The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug, The Wolf on Wall Street, and American Hustle.

Lucky me! I saw 3 movies this week! So lets compare and contrast!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Everyone has their all time favorite film series. For some it is the Star Wars series. Others it is Indiana Jones. Some it is Harry Potter.  My pick for a favorite film series would have to be Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is so much to love with them. Great cast, beautiful sets, awesome makeup, engaging story, powerful group dynamic and chemistry between the characters. There are some flaws with them, but they are pretty damn near perfect. I don't think we have got set of films like them and it will be a long time until we get another one similar. Many have attempted to create something similar to capitalize on the epic fantasy genre popularity, but failed tremendously.

To be fair, I could care less about all the controversy going against the Hobbit films. I'm not going to dwell on them since the internet has already done that and has tainted people's opinions of the films. Peter Jackson didn't really want to make these films! Why is it being expanded to 3 films?! Why are they adding characters?! This wasn't in the book! yadda yadda it doesn't matter. I should also forewarn I have not read the books, but this movie made me really want to.

I liked this movie for what it was: a fun fantasy adventure. It is a shame a lot of people are disliking these movies and I don't think it is fair. People are watching this expecting Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit isn't meant to be like Lord of the Rings. Nothing will ever  be like Lord of the Rings. It is a simpler story directed towards younger audiences. I had a lot of fun with this movie and I feel like people are taking it way too seriously. Probably the same people that complained that the climax of The Avengers was too long.

A quick review, I liked part one. I did think it was kind of forced bringing back many of the characters from LOTR, such as Frodo, Gollum, Saruman and so forth. They didn't really feel like they fit into the story. I was still nice to see these characters one last time after many years. The movie definitely had a different tone compared to the rest of the series and it was a bit off-putting. There's a lot more subtle nitpicks, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

There are some minor problems with the film. Like the first one, it is character overload. Not only are we getting new characters whose names no one can remember, we are also getting our favorite characters from the original coming back...for whatever reason. It is not really clear why some of them are there. It makes it difficult to get to know the new characters and get attached to them. My other problem was some of the special effects felt rushed. Though I do not like comparing this to LOTR, it felt like less time was taken  with the effects. The production time of The Hobbit did have a smaller production time, but some parts felt as if they could be better. This especially went for some of the gold effects and the orcs. I already miss seeing the guys covered in plastic makeup. I could also complain there is no Gollum in this film seeing as how he one of my favorite characters of all time, but I'm sort of glad he isn't shoehorned in. That little bastard, I love him. Hope I at least get to see a little bit of him in the third one for the last time.

However I loved a lot of things about this film. Like I said before, it is fun! There was a good balance of action sequences and times to develop the story. I was interested in seeing were the characters were going to end up and who they were going to meet. Some of the characters they do come across did feel like they had a short screen time. Once again, the performances are amazing. Martin Freeman is such a great Bilbo and serves as a good character to be put in place of the audience's perspective. Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, much like he did for Khan, was outstanding. I loved how sinister he was and his interaction with Bilbo. He was a great villain much like the others in the series. The other dwarves were not very interesting. We didn't really learn anything new about them and Thorin just looked like a douche bag. I am really not feeling for this character at all. I am eager to see how part 3 is just for the sake of knowing what happens to him.

Honestly, I want 2014 to be over already so I can see The Hobbit: There and Back Again!

The Wolf on Wall Street

This movie reminded me of the book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. I stopped reading that book midway because it was annoying. It was just some guy bragging about these ridiculous stories. It was written by that guy in your community college class that sits in the back in the room and just talks about his Friday night and exaggerates most of it and the only one that cares is his loser friend.

That being said, I couldn't tell if I liked this movie or hated it. Half of the movie is bragging. I hate it when people brag. Especially when it is about stupid shit. 45% of it was padding. 5% was genuinely good moments. I hated the characters because they were horrible people, but yet, they were almost lovable assholes. I knew what would happen in the story, but I was still intrigued on how it would all play out.

This movie is very over-the-top in both good and bad ways. Bad being that the dialogue often had me thinking "no one really talks like that." I couldn't stand the way some of the characters talked. The accents felt very forced. I couldn't understand anything that Belfort's wife, Naomi, was saying. The other being some of the events in the film seem are very exaggerated. Whether or not these things actually happen, I don't know, I will probably read the book in the future. The good was that it was very entertaining to watch. There wasn't a dull moment. Even if I disliked some parts it is a better reaction than having none at all. DiCaprio was great in this. He hams up his performance all the way to 11. This is how he should have been in The Great Gatsby if he didn't blend into the background. It was much like Calvin Candie but with more crazy. I'm also glad Jonah Hill played a different role than he usually does, but I still couldn't get totally behind his character. I liked some of the scenes like Rob Reiner answering the phone, I would relate to that. This movie is, however, ridiculously long. There were a lot of scenes that could have been cut down a little. With the Hobbit, I didn't want it to end because I was having so much fun. With this, I kept looking at my phone. Why did this have to be 3 hours? You can only tell a story about a guy snorting cocaine for so long.

There are two things I heard about this movie before going in that are somewhat true. 1) The only people that dislike this movie is women and conservatives. 2) Don't watch this with someone you wouldn't watch a porn with. There's a lot of poon tang. A LOT.

May I also add the audience I saw this with was so annoying. Bro kids commenting on every little thing that happened and yelling "Aw that's so awesome! Holy shit! What the fuck? Cool!" My heart wept for the annoyed girlfriends with them.

American Hustle 

 SIDE BOOB!    I really didn't have any expectations for this film. I didn't know what it was really about. I didn't hear much about it besides that it was really good. Really, I got what I expected, not much. This movie was good, but nothing to do get excited about. I can't really say a whole lot about it. What bothered me was the performances. I didn't feel like these good actors were 100% there. Their accents were either bad or not clear. Their motivations were always mixed up. Though I like (keyword: like, not love) Jennifer Lawrence, she is way too young for the role. I couldn't believe her as a mother falling apart. It seemed like her and Amy Adams should have traded places. Adams also seemed all over the place. It wasn't really a character I could get behind and support. The best actor in this film was Louis C.K. I couldn't get enough of him. Another thing that bothered me was the writing. Some of the things the characters said just sounded awkward and didn't really fit.

What I did like about this film is the sets and costumes. I was loving their clothes even as ridiculous as they were. Overall, I didn't really take much from the story. I was more interested in the characters and how they played off of one another, even if it was awkward.

This movie will probably win several Oscars and that's fine. Not much to say except SIDE BOOB!!


Of these three, I liked The Hobbit: TDOS the most as nerdy as that is. I just had more fun with it. Fantasy adventure films with little problems don't come around often. The Wolf on Wall Street and American Hustle were fine; by no means were they bad. I still recommend seeing all of these films as there is something to enjoy from all of them.