Critical Capsule: Coco

It is nice to see Pixar back in form. I have to be honest, with films like the Cars trilogy and Monsters University, I was beginning to lose faith. Then Coco comes around, I swear, by the end I was doing all I could to keep from sobbing. The movie is funny, intelligent, with a huge heart and one back of an emotional investment. It also gives an interesting look into the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead. The story of Miguel going against his family to follow his dream only to find that dream to be the one thing that can bring his family together is very sweet. This is a beautifully told tale of family and discovery, that is jaw droppingly gorgeous to look at, the animation is incredible. This is not a movie to be missed.

Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie

I am not sure The Peanuts Movie will be considered one of the classics, I will probably use the Halloween special as my go to Peanuts special, but that does not change the enjoyment I got from this film. Seriously, there is something about this movie that just really works. It is filled with callbacks to gags and stories from the strip and other shows, but it all adds to the charm contained within its frames (or what takes the place of frames in this digital age). All of the classic characters are there doing what those characters do and I sat there with a smile on my face the whole time. It is not a laugh out loud sort of film, and that is all right.

Movie Review: Hotel Transylvania 2

It is hard to believe it has been three years since Hotel Transylvania graced the big screen. It was a movie I liked, but did not quite love. I think that may have been because I saw it in the midst of a really good run of animated fare. 2012 also brought us Frankenweenie and the incredible ParaNorman, so far as other horror themed films, plus there was the video game themed Wreck-It-Ralph. It is hard to stand out in that crowd and in another year Hotel Transylvania may have stood out more for me. Still, I did like it, the story may have been a tad generic, but the jokes and respect for the classic monsters is a definite winner. Now we have the sequel. How does it stack up?

Movie Review: Inside Out and Lava

Pixar has returned to the big screen for the first time since 2013, when Monsters University graced the big screen. It is also the film that has helped restore my faith in the groundbreaking and inventive studio, as I feel they had been slipping since the excellent Toy Story 3 back in 2010. Inside Out is simply fantastic; however, it also feels a bit like they are trying to show off their uber-creative side again. It is not that I feel they are trying too hard, it is just that the concept they are playing with is not an easy one to visualize. It also feels a little like they left the young audience behind with a movie that is a touch more mature and slower paced.

Movie Review: Big Hero 6

For those of you who write reviews, whether professionally or just as a hobby, do you ever watch a movie, like it, want to write about it, but just can't? It happens to me from time to time. Sometimes I just give up and not write, other times I power through it and wind up with some really bad finished product (not that it is ever any good). The latest movie to strike me down with this is Big Hero 6. The first feature animated collaboration between Disney and Marvel is a wonderful success. No, it is not exactly groundbreaking, but it sure is a lot of fun. It's sense of adventure, comic timing, and general fun makes this trip to theater very worthwhile.

Movie Review: The Boxtrolls

I have to admit, when I went in to see The Boxtrolls, I had no idea what I was in for. Despite the fact that I was really looking forward to it, I had no idea what it was about. Still, Laika, the production company behind the film, has been on quite the roll. They have two features prior to this and they have both been fantastic (those being Coraline and ParaNorman), so with that track record it is kind of like an early Pixar release. Between the gorgeous stop motion animation and their ability to tell tales that appeal to all ages while not pandering to their target audience, there was every reason to believe this would be a success.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

This year, aside from The LEGO Movie (of course), has been a little lackluster when it comes to animation. For that matter, 2013 was not exactly a high point for feature animated films either, and no, I don't care how much money Frozen made, it was really not that great. So, it is with great happiness that I am able to report that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a winner and the second best animated feature of 2014 (so far, we still have The Boxtrolls to hope for). This sequel surpasses its original and delivers action, heart, and some fantastic fantasy visuals which are truly are gorgeous.

Movie Review: The Lego Movie

When I first heard they were going to make a movie based on Lego Blocks, I could not imagine it being a good movie. Wait, let me take that a step further, I actually did not think it was a real thing. If anything, I figured it was going to be some sort of straight to video thing for kids. I was wrong. Trailers arrived, commercials arrived, and I was surprised to see that it actually looked kind of funny. Was it possible for this to actually be a good movie? The positive buzz that formed around seemed to indicate so. All right, I guess you could consider me officially interested.

Blu-ray Review: ParaNorman

For years it seemed like Tim Burton was the only filmmaker taking chances by infusing horror into the family friendly genre of animation with the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Then Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman gave us Coraline, which is a wonderful horror movie for kids, beautiful to watch, cleverly told, and just a touch scary. Now we have some new players in the game and a wonderful new movie. The movie is ParaNorman and the players are Chris Butler and Sam Fell, they have delivered delightful film and given us another movie that successfully brings horror into the world of animation.

Blu-ray Review: A Cat in Paris

Here is a film that I truly wanted to like, and I guess I kind of do, but not as much as I would have expected. The trailer was intriguing, the Academy Award nomination solidified my interest, and a desire to see something different all led me to this moment. A Cat in Paris is a family friendly animated noir film that barely reaches an hour in length as it tells the story of a cat burglar, a kidnapping, a mob boss, and, of course, a cat. It is not quite what I expected, although I am not quite sure what it was that I was expecting. Now, it is not without is moments, but it is not one I foresee many visits too.

DVD Review: Where the Dead Go to Die

Where the Dead Go to Die is a trio of loosely connected stories of demons, dismemberment, blood, monsters, gore, violence, and weird sex. On top of that, it is animated, which was probably the better way to go. When you consider (much less, see) some of the things are depicted here, it would be virtually unreleasable had it actually been made as a live action film. As it stands, this is going to have a hard enough time finding an audience. I like weird and crazy stuff, but there is something about this that goes to the edge of the weird and crazy and then gleefully jumps into the abyss.

Eyes on Christmas: He-Man, She-Ra, and Mr. Magoo

I decided to take a little break from my live action Christmas spectacular that has been going on for the past week and a half and squeeze in a couple of animated holiday titles. Well, it is not so much by choice as it was a bit of a time squeeze. You see, there are only so many hours in the day and after a long day of work and other obligations, I had only a small window in which to keep the run going. So, I decided on a pair of short specials that aired on television years ago.

Movie Review: Arthur Christmas

I have to be honest, when I first saw the teaser for this movie over the summer, I was not really interested in it at all. It looked a little too silly, a little too much for the kids. There really isn't anything wrong with that, it just did not appeal to me and I had no intention of seeing it (everyone has to draw the line somewhere, right?). Well, the closer the release got the more my ideas started to change a little bit. You see, the final trailer came out and it looked a little better, possible even interesting. Combine that with the positive buzz that was bubbling up around it, and my learning that Aardman Studios (Wallace and Gromit) was involved and I was convinced this could be worth spending time with.

Movie Review: Puss in Boots

Last year the fourth Shrek film was unleashed upon the world. It was not a good thing. Simply put, the character had lost any and all luster that it once had. Well, it did for me at least. I even recall stating that I was done with the character, I did not and do not care if I ever see the character again. Seriously, The first movie was quite clever, the second tricked me for awhile, but is still mediocre, then the third and fourth films rolled around were just horrendous, they just drove everything into the ground. So, when I saw that they were coming out with a spin off for Puss in Boots I was rather non-plussed. I cannot say I was all that interested in it, but then the trailers came out and there was some hope.

Reviews in Retrograde: Antz

Critical Outcast isn't my first attempt at a website, I had a few stutter steps in the late 1990's and early 2000's. These attempts generated a whole bunch of poorly written, often very short and spoilerific reviews. I recently stumbled upon them in my archives and thought you may be interested in seeing some of these early attempts at writing. They are as they were then, I make no apologies for how bad or how short they are. Feel free to have at them with reckless abandon! I present to you: Reviews in Retrograde.

Blu-ray Review: Legend of the Millennium Dragon

I am far from a big anime fan, although I must admit to being intrigued by it. It is a great style and leads itself to all manner of stories. That said, it suffers some of the same things that afflict all genres. One of those problems is that it can be incredibly difficult to weed out to quality stuff from the junk. How often have you turned on a movie only to discover that it really isn't that good? I know I have had that happen to me, more often now that I have been using Netflix. In any case, I like anime but am often discouraged by the high volume of stuff that I just flat out don't care for. Now, along comes Legend of the Millennium Dragon, a coming of age story that more often than not delivers.

Movie Review: Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Let me be right up front with this, I do not have kids, nor do I have any particular attachment to the characters. On top of that, it is fairly clear that I am most decidedly not a part of the target audience for this movie. So, many are left scratching their heads as to why I went to see it. Well, the easy answer is that I love movies, but then again, that love has is limits. Let's say I thought the commercials looked cute and I felt compelled to support the old school feel that it brings to theaters,

Movie Review: Cars 2

In 2006 Pixar released a new beast upon the world. That beast was called Cars and while it is not the highest grossing Pixar release (it still topped $244 million in the US alone) it did prove to be the biggest generator of revenue from ancillary products. Simply put, this movie sold the most toys and other memorabilia than any other Pixar release. This fact alone had to go a long way towards a sequel being green lit. At the same time, and I cannot back this up by more than my gut feeling, I can't help but see this as something of a cash grab, a  movie made to generate money more than any artistic merit.

Movie Review: Rio (2011)

Let me first say that I really had no intention of seeing Rio. Quite frankly, I was not interested in it. The trailers, while brightly colored, did nothing to excite me. So, how come I found myself sitting in the theater with 3D glasses affixed to my face waiting for it to begin? Probably the same reason Fox and Blue Sky Animation chose to reuse the animated short Scrat's Continental Crack-Up at the start of the movie (i was previously attached to Gulliver's Travels). And that reason is.... well, I don't rightly know. In any case, I did see the movie, and I am pretty sure I nodded off for a couple of minutes. Hope I didn't snore.

Movie Review: Rango

Let me apologize right up front. What for? Let's just say that Rango is a fantastic film, but it is also one that is escaping my ability to write about it. For one reason or another the words are just not coming. I would love to say that it is a movie so great that it left me speechless, but that is not exactly accurate. It is a movie that collects homages to tons of films, primarily westerns, and molds them into something new, fun, and wonderful. It is like the animated equivalent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, and I love Tarantino.