As I was on the way to the theatre to see Up, my friend, who had just come out of it, texted me “Bring Kleenex!” I was surprised – the previews make Up look like a silly Land of the Lost lark (nothing wrong with that). I was confident I’d enjoy it, I [...]
An impulse choice, fueled mostly by convenience and being willing to see anything, got me into the theatre. I had read (against normal protocols) some derisive press about this movie, so worst-case scenario, I would have a fun negative review to write. Sorry to disappoint! This movie was comfortably middle of the [...]
Catch it on HBO with Snacks
I know I am the only person who can’t stand watching the Nightmare Before Christmas. It puts me to sleep within 30 minutes (I have tried multiple times) despite its incredibly detailed and beautiful characters and sets. Corpse Bride has the same aesthetic but kept my interest with [...]
Matinee with Snacks
As always, Pixar preceded their feature with a short, called Presto. The rabbit who stars is an atypical sort of character design for Pixar, which made me nervous initially. Never fear! Presto plays with the laws of cartoon physics in another lovely, wordless short that is reminiscent of the madcap [...]
A certain Seussian purist I know refused to see this movie with me (or at all) on the grounds that’s all wrong and is doing with Jim Carrey what Aladdin did with Robin Williams. Statistically speaking, that is the most likely scenario from the people who brought you Ice Age, but… She also [...]
Based on the autobiographical graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis chronicles how a little Iranian girl has come to live in France today. It’s as simple and as complex as that – and the animation follows suit. Almost entirely in black and white, Persepolis finds its visual complexity in [...]
I walked into the movie with kind of low expectations (too many big names, not enough of an apparent premise, untested animation company), and walked out with a gigantic smile on my face and a desire to see it again. Paramount used the Dreanworks Animation team’s expertise and somehow got a team of [...]
How can Robots be so good and both Ice Age movies be so lame? Sure, both Ice Age movies have good attention to detail insofar as biology and various species-specific jokes, but when the best part of both movies is the non-verbal interstitial episodes of Scrat trying to get his walnut, maybe you should [...]
Disney divorced itself from Pixar, apparently believing they could take their legacy of quality hand-drawn animation and the knowledgebase of partnering with Pixar and make some magic. In their first solo outing, however, Disney’s Chicken Little falls flat. Despite stellar vocal performances from all the leads (Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, Steve [...]
Bizarre is the word my companion exclaimed at least four times while watching this film, and there’s really no better descriptor for the Weinstein Brothers’ freshman animation feature. It is entertaining, it may or may not really be suitable for children, but it certainly is odd. This is a good thing, escaping from [...]
