Film Review- "The Good Dinosaur"

The Good Dinosaur
Directed by Peter Sohn
Starring Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, and Sam Elliot

Two Pixar films in one year you say?? How awesome can that be?? Well, it's not double the amount of awesome Pixar you're probably hoping for. It's more like at the level of awesome and-a-half. That's not to say The Good Dinosaur is a bad film. It's just not going to break any ground like Wall-E, Up, or the studio's other, more superior offering of this year, Inside Out.

The Good Dinosaur takes place in a world where the asteroid never hit Earth, and the dinosaurs were never wiped out. Arlo (Ochoa) is the youngest of a family of apatosaurus. Both small and very skittish, Arlo struggles to "make his mark" on the family farm and the world. Arlo's assignment to take care of a pest on the farm, a thieving, feral cave boy (Bright), combined with a series of unfortunate events, leaves him lost and far away from home.

The young dinosaur must learn to survive in the wilderness and find his way back to his family. Along the way he gains the assistance and friendship of the cave boy, whom he nicknames Spot. Together, the two encounter a gang of savage pterdactyls, a family of T-Rex "ranchers" (Elliot plays Butch the father), among other surprises and perils of this prehistoric wilderness.

The film's story is nothing new or special. It's a "boy and his dog" story, which have never done too much for me (Probably because I've never had a pet that wasn't a fish). There's also the obvious comparison to The Land Before Time, and the keen eye can also spot (no pun intended) that the film borrows a little bit from The Lion King and Bambi. Baring all that in mind, words like "predictable" and "cliche" might be applied to The Good Dinosaur.

Don't get me wrong though, you still can get invested in the story, and the relationship of our two main characters. The two young boys voicing them deserve some credit for that. Ochoa gives an emotional performance as young Arlo, and Bright manages to bring Spot to life only through howls, growls, etc. Combine their performances with spectacular character animation, and you have another winning Pixar bromance on the screen.

To further expand on the animation of the film, it's gorgeous. At times I wasn't sure if I what I was looking at was animated or live-action. The design of the characters are more cartoony than the scenery, but they blend together in a strange, unexplainable way.

The rest of the voice cast does good work. Sam Elliot is playing to type (perfectly) as Butch. Jeffrey Wright and Frances McDormand give small but strong performances as Arlo's parents. Steve Zahn's performance as lead pterodactyl Thunderclap is probably one of his better and more tolerable characters. At this moment I can't seem to recall John Ratzenberger's cameo. I can remember the character by looking at the IMDB page, but not the voice. Part of me still wonders what the film would be like with its original voice cast (and story), that included Neil Patrick Harries, John Lithgow, and Bill Hader, but que sera.

Some stylistic decisions the filmmakers went with left me scratching my head. There are hints of a western motif, but it's never really established outside of some parts of the score, and the T-Rex characters. The filmmakers also designed it so when the T-Rexes run, they look like they're cowboys riding horses, which just looks…strange. Then, there were some very surprising jokes and sight gags that left me going, "Is this really in a Pixar film?" The best example would be at one point, Arlo and Spot eat some "bad berries"...yeah…

I feel like I've knocked the film as much as I've praised it. To summarize, there is nothing bad about The Good Dinosaur. There's just nothing new. It still has plenty of eye-watering emotions and stellar animation you'd expect from Pixar. While you definitely can get invested in the characters, particularly Arlo and his relationships with Spot and his father, the story is nothing unique. It's good but not great. I'd put it on the same level as some of the studio's lesser efforts like Brave or Monsters University, and like Brave, part of me feels like the right audience for this film is probably back in the nineties. But it's 2015, and The Good Dinosaur lives up to the "Good" part of its name.

If you're a diehard Pixar fan, you should still give this film a chance. If you only want to see one Pixar film this year, well I guess be glad you already saw Inside Out.

Film Review- "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega

This summer, I jokingly told my friend Tom that my favorite character from Star Wars was Jar Jar Binks. He then proceeded to try and suffocate me…

Point being, a lot of people are very passionate about Star Wars, and are still very bitter about the last trilogy. The franchise has never been at the top of my list of obsessions, but I was as excited for this as most people. I'm hear to tell you to wash away the pain of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars is back in true form.

Now to avoid giving anything away, I'll give you the barest of a bare bone summary of the film. Okay here goes…taking place thirty years after Return of The Jedi, a new threat has emerged in the galaxy known as The First Order, with the menacing Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as one of its key figures. Old heroes are joined by new faces, including scavenger Rey (Ridley), rogue storm trooper Finn (Boyega) and pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), as the battle begins and a new chapter unfolds.

First off, the film uses the nostalgia of the original film heavily to its advantage, to the point where The Force Awakens is almost a retelling of A New Hope. Some would say the film plays it safe by doing this, but it's actually a winning formula that gives the film enough legs to stand on its own.

A lot of this is credit to the writers allowing the new characters to shine, and for the most part carry the film. Daisy Ridley is a charming and compelling lead as Rey. John Boyega plays the part of a reluctant hero perfectly with Finn. Oscar Isaac is sharp and charismatic as Poe Dameron, but isn't given as much to do as Ridley or Boyega. Driver is nearly perfect as our new villain Kylo Ren, and our new droid character, little BB-8, is a real scene stealer.

Then there are our old friends. Harrison Ford is our glue to the original trilogy, and is at his best once again as Han Solo. Carrie Fischer settles back into the role of Princess-now-General Leia Organa, playing her with just the right amount of attitude and wisdom. Old friends like R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca are as good as ever. What's that? Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker? Yeah I can't talk about that.

I don't often discuss sets or locations in my reviews, but the ones in The Force Awakens are beautiful. The filmmakers definitely took time and effort crafting the look of every scene on every world, so this would look and feel like a Star Wars film is supposed to. 

It's hard to review, let alone talk about the film when so much of its plot has been kept deep under wraps since day one. To tell you what happens in the first three minutes is practically a spoiler. Trust me when I say though, this is a really good, really fun film. Die-hard fan or not, you're going to enjoy it. I'll tell you when I was in my seat at the film's start, I felt as though I was transported back in time, and watching one of the original films back in the seventies. I had a huge smile on my face, and that's coming from a guy who never saw Episode II, only the important parts of Episode III, and had only just come to own his own copies of the original trilogy last month.

The force is strong with The Force Awakens. It's breaking all the box office records, it's probably going to be on hundreds of "Best Films of 2015" lists, and it just might walk away with a few awards by Oscar Season's End. This is a must see in my opinion, wether your a fan of Star Wars or just cinema in general. The force, it's calling to you dear viewers. Just let it in.

 

Film Review- "Mr. Holmes"

Mr. Holmes
Directed by Bill Condon
Starring Sir Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, and Milo Parker

I don't think I need to remind the general reader that the character of Sherlock Holmes has been around for a long time. Though there has been a bit of resurgence of the super sleuth in recent years. We've had the gritty, semi-direct adaptation in the Guy Ritchie films starring Robert Downey Jr. Then there's the BBC miniseries starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which sets the Holmes stories in modern day. So now one must ask, what's there left to do with the character?

"Set it in the future! The year 3015, where-" *slap*

Show Holmes in retirement! As an old man! Where his greatest adversity is…his deteriorating mind….

No but really, that is the premise of the film Mr. Holmes. Now stay with me, because as dull as that may sound compared to a Cumberbatch-packed hour of suspense or a Downey-charged blockbuster, this film is really good.

Like I said, Mr. Holmes focuses on the famous detective (McKellen) in his retirement, at age 93 to be percise. Now living with Mrs. Munro (Linney), his put-upon housekeeper, and her son Roger (Parker), Holmes has taken it upon himself to right an accurate account of his final case, as the one his late part Watson wrote was fictionalized. The only problem is Holmes's memory is failing, and he can't remember much at all of the case. Meanwhile, he begins to bond with Roger, and Mrs. Munro grows more and more tired with their current living situation.

A simple story enough, but there's plenty of drama and emotion that makes this as thrilling as any other Sherlock Holmes story we've heard before. This is probably the most unique Holmes story we've ever had, because it shows the character to a point in his life we've never seen him before. It's truly compelling to see one of literature's greatest heroes deal with his own mortality, while at the same time grow beyond the iconic character we've come to love. It really is almost perfect. Throughout the film I kept saying, "This. This is what Sherlock would be like as an old man."

A lot of that is credit to his portrayer, Sir Ian McKellen who gives a brilliant performance, that's as memorable as his Magento or his Gandalf. Young Milo Parker begins to make his mark on Hollywood, giving a breakthrough performance as Roger, and Laura Linney does her usual good work as Mrs. Munro.

I saw this film (and started writing this review) back in July. Back then I said this is going to be that one film that isn't released at the end of the year, that manages to defy the stereotype and gnab some awards/nominations. The Golden Globe nominations have now been announced, and Mr. Holmes has been completely snubbed, which is a shame because it's a wonderful film. Blame it on the fact that the critics/voters of Hollywood have the same short-term memory as Dory from Finding Nemo I suppose.

If you're a strict lover of the action-packed suspense of other Sherlock Holmes adaptations, this may not be your cup of tea. If you're not, then I'd give this film a watch. It may not become anyone's favorite film given it's a relatively slow paced drama, but it definitely leaves an impression, and showcases a top-notch performance from its lead actor.

PS: McKellen is set to re-team with Director Bill Condon in 2017, when he takes on the role of Cogsworth in Disney's live action remake of their animated classic Beauty & The Beast. My thoughts on the very existence of the project, and the trend of animated-to-live-action remakes it's now apart of aside, Mr. Holmes does give me slightly higher expectations for the project...