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.

Trailer Park: Paddington 2

Three years ago a live action adaptation of Paddington Bear reached the big screen, and despite a rather rocky ad campaign, it became a modest success and, as it turns out, it was enough to spawn a sequel. I remember those early commercials and trailers and how they focused on the stupid and the slapstick. I remember actually dreading sitting through it. Fortunately, the movie turned out to be really good and really sweet and just what family entertainment needed. Now, here I am hoping that this second go around delivers the goods and lives up to its predecessor. Get ready for Paddington 2.

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: Tomorrowland (2015)

It seems like the art of trailer making is long gone. Yes, on occasion there are good ones, but more often than not, we get the movie condensed to two and a half minutes. A good example of a bad trailer would be last year's Carrie remake, sure a good portion of us know what happens in the movie, but the rest just need to watch the trailer, it tells you everything. Then there are trailers like the one for Tomorrowland, it intrigued me, it got my interest, yet I had absolutely no idea what the movie was about. It is a trailer that wants you to see the movie to find out just what it is. It worked.

Movie Review: Paddington

Ahh, Paddington Bear. I have memories of this polite little fellow from the days of my youth. They are not extensive nor are they very frequent. In short, while I liked the bear as a child, he is not a character I was exposed to all that much of. Still, glimpsing bits of the animated show from the 1970's, memories are brought up of enjoying the marmalade loving fellow. Now, to be certain, this is no little known character dregdged up for a modern audience, he has an extensive literary history, dating back to his first appearance way back in 1958. Paddington is now being brought to a new generation, will it be worth your time?

Movie Review: Earth to Echo

Let's be right up front with this, Earth to Echo is not an original film, nor is it a great film. However, while it is not original or great, it is certainly entertaining for the family and does not pander to its audience. It is made with love and affection towards family cinema from the 1980's. It is pretty clear that director Dave Green and writer Henry Gayden are paying homage to the films they grew up loving. You know, that really isn't such a bad thing, is it? Sure, in a perfect world everything would always be original, but I'm not holding my breath for that (actually, I am not sure I would want that anyway).

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: Chef

Chef is a movie we have all seen before in one form or another. It is not original in the least, but for some reason it still works. It is the story of an inattentive father, ex-husband, and chef who has lost his way. After a particularly ill conceived blow up, he finds himself unemployed, with no prospects, and a son whom he barely knows. The film chronicles the build up to the blow up and the subsequent attempt he makes to reconstruct his life, his career, and ultimately rediscover himself and those who care about him.

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.

Trailer Park: Muppets Most Wanted

A couple years back, the Muppets made their triumphant return to the big screen. I will not lie, I loved it. The movie was a blast and did not have a cynical bone in its body. It felt fresh, light, fun, and remained true to who the Muppets are. Now, they are coming back in Muppets Most Wanted. I have to say I worry that it will not measure up to the last one, but I would also be lying if I said this did not look like fun or that I wasn't looking forward to it. Bring it on! It is scheduled for release on March 21, 2014.

Movie Review: The Day Time Ended (1979)

This journey into the Sci-Fi Invasion box set is off to a rough start. I am a mere three films into the 50 that it contains and have so far suffered through a trio of duds. The latest one is called The Day Time Ended, however you may know it as Earth's Final Fury, Time Warp, or Vortex. It seems that they just could not agree on what to call this thing, or hey just decided to trot out a new name with successive releases hoping you wouldn't notice and go see it again. Allow me to warn you against this movie.

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.

Movie Review: We Bought a Zoo

Well, it's no Zookeeper. I guess that is a fact we can be proud of, although at time it feels like a related film. The big difference between Zookeeper and We Bought a Zoo is that in the latter the animals don't talk. Of course, there are other differences but this is a major one. Another movie of recent vintage that came to mind while watching this movie was The Descendants. The first pair have the animals in common, the other pairing shows films that feature a big Hollywood star playing a father who is struggling to raise two young children in the aftermath of the untimely death of their respective wives. The problem is that while all three of these films are good (to wildly varying degrees), they all have flaws that ultimately hold them down.

Eyes on Christmas: Miracle on 34th Street

It is hard to eleven that Christmas is just about here. When I was thinking about the marathon, I was thinking of doing 3 or 4 movies a week, but I ended up doing one a day and it feels like I just started. Anyway, since the day is so close, I decided to go to a classic holiday film that I have not seen in some time. This is a movie that I am not sure if I have seen this since I was a little kid. Whatever the time was, it was a big enough time gap so that as I watched it, it felt pretty new. I liked that.

Eyes on Christmas: Santa Claus - The Movie

Dipping back into some seasonal fare has led me to the modestly entertaining Santa Claus: The Movie. This is a product of the 1980's but is in no way, shape, or form in the same league as Die Hard and Gremlins. Of course, this is an actual seasonal film that centers on Santa Claus, duh, and doesn't just use the setting of the season on which to hang its story. It is a movie that does what it needs to and tries to have a heart while it goes about doing it.

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.

Eyes on Christmas: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Well, I was on a roll, albeit a limited two day run. Much like my Halloween marathon, no sooner do I start to get on a roll of quality movies, I shoot myself in the foot and watch something such questionable quality that it would make you question one's sanity.that someone would be me, of course. I seem to have made a good habit of being inextricable drawn to the low grade oddball titles of pretty much any genre. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does help point out the distinctly higher quality of other films that I subject myself to.