Movie Roundup 12-9-08

MOVIE REVIEW OF THE WEEK

BOLT
Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams
Starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus


When I first saw the trailer to this film I rolled my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney, their old cartoon movies were very important to my childhood (yes, I admit... I loved Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). And while today I may not bother watching those animation classics anymore, they are still a symbol of how Disney was the undisputed king of animation.

Not anymore, Pixar has taken that throne with stunning 3d works that not only boast state of the art graphics, but stories that cater to kids, very mature and even philosophical in nature, while always remaining humorous in an adorable way. We got instant classics such as Toy Story Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Ratatouille and Wall-E. From Disney? We got Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons, hardly oscar worthy.

Bolt seemed set on continuing Disney's downward spiral in giving us quality animated movies. It proved me wrong. And it did so by bringing in Pixar's John Lasseter (the genius behind Toy Story). While we may never know the full extent of John's input, word has it he made a huge overhaul or at least editing of the movie, adding in very Pixar-like trademarks to the story. It shows.

Bolt's storyline is by no means original, unlike all of Pixar's film. In fact it's very predictable, and that alone means it'll never compare to Pixar's best. But it's the execution in which the film shines. The movie is funny, as in funny even for adults as all Pixar movies are. Yet it always manages to show a deeper and more meanigful side, a more thought-proviking and eye-watering aspect that is also another Pixar trademark.

Bolt never sacrifices authenticity of characters for some cheap laughs and even with its humor it makes sure it's never too childish. The characters are both lovable and real. They display emotion well and bring the story along with force despite its predictability. The characters make the story work, and unlike the previous efforts of Disney they refrain from being just a wee bit annoying. Travolta's Bolt is great, Mittens is lovable in a sarcastic way and who wouldn't adore the fanboyish Rhino the Hamster. Even Miley Cyrus does a decent job as Penny.

The animation is an admirable effort. It's certainly no Pixar, and even Dreamwork's Kung Fu Panda was more impressive. But at the very least it isn't a slouchy effort by Disney *cough* Chicken Little *cough*.

Who knows what Bolt would have been without Pixar's help. But with input from John which ranges from subtle to the downright obvious (there's a Nemo joke in there somewhere), Bolt has elevated itself to Disney's best 3D effort so far. It could have cemented my loss of faith in Disney, and while at best it can only compare to the weakest of Pixar's efforts, it's still a sign of hope for what was once the greatest animation company on Earth. Now excuse me while I secretly watch reruns of The Lion King.

8 out of 10

PREVIEW OF THE WEEK

VALKYRIE

I so want this movie to rock. I have so much respect for Bryan Singer. The guy brought us the outstanding Usual Suspects and X-men 1 & 2. Then again he also brought us the lackluster Superman Returns (which was mercifully bearable at least). Now we have Valkyrie, which if done properly would poise the comeback of both the director and its somewhat fading star, Tom Cruise. The trailers have been very promising, and Singer really seems to know what he's doing. The movie follows the true story of a German officer who brings together all his Nazi little friends and well- out of the blue- decide to try and kill Hitler. I don't know, maybe they were bored or something. Still here's hoping. The nazi killing begins December in America. Here, of course, we get Anne Curtis falling in love with a Spaniard. Somehow that does not satisfy my craving.

Trailer-> Here

P.S. "Every problem in the world can be solved with the careful use of high explosives." That has got to be one of the cooles trailer quotes evaaah!

MOVIE POSTER OF THE WEEK

Slow week for posters, nothing that came out had been nice. So instead I'm showing youa month old picture of JOHNNY DEPP as the MAD HATTER in Tim Burton's next film, Alice in Wonderland. Some of you may have seen this already but I control this blog so go cry in your desolate corner of sorrow beside the toilet. I love Johnny Depp as an actor, and despite the less than stellar Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3, I welcome the news of him making a fourth, simply because they're finally moving away from the storyline of the first trilogy (or was it storylines? I think I recall there being around 10 of them or so in the third movie alone)

In fact this line in a blog I found described this picture perfectly.

"If Willy Wonka and Captain Jack had a baby, and Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd had a baby, and by chance, their babies met and had a baby...it would something look like this."

What more can you add?


LOSER OF THE WEEK

Catherine Hardwicke


The director has lots to be proud of. She was given the privelege of adapting the ridiculously popular novel TWILIGHT to film. The movie marks the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman (though that's mostly due to the film's popularity than her skill behind the camera. In fact i think it's DESPITE her skill behind the camera). So yah, she has lots to be proud of.

Well except now that is. You see, the very day Twilight hit theaters they announced that they were officially going to do New Moon. When this news broke out, hell occured. The whole world rejoiced (well the female half at least), all natural disasters stopped halfway, Global Warming ceased to exist, lost polar bears were found, World Peace was finally found and a snake finally found a way to mate with an elephant.

Fast forward a week or two and now they've just announced they were kicking off Catherine Hardwicke for a more competent director (meaning someone who actually knows how to do action scenes Oh yeah!). What's worse for her is that unlike the time when Marvel thought of kicking out Jon Farveau out of Iron Man (in which case fanboys around the world went on hunger strike until the producers stopped going crazy), the fangirls in turn seem to have no problem with the loss of the director. In fact, some of them want her out. So much for girl power eh?