Monthly Archives: November 2017

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Coco

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CocoCoco Poster

Directed by Lee Unkrich; Co-directed by Adrian Molina

Starring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Alanna Ubach, and Jaime Camil

Backstory

Coco is a film that feels like we’ve been waiting for for a long time.  Pixar originally announced it at the start of the decade, at the same press conference where they announced Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur.  Things were quiet for a while, but development finally began in earnest about three years ago.  All we really knew was that it was about the Mexican festival of Dia de Muertos — the Day of the Dead.  When trailers started dropping earlier this year, it looked visually sumptuous.  But, would the story live up to the visuals?

Plot

Young Miguel craves to be a musician.  He feels a certain kinship with Ernesto de la Cruz, one of the greatest singers in all of Mexico, as de la Cruz hails from his hometown.  There’s one snag in Miguel’s ambitions, though.  His great, great grandfather walked out on his great, great grandmother to pursue his musical ambitions, and because of that, his family has banned music to this very day.  Undeterred, Miguel tries to enter his town’s Dia de Muertos music festival, but in order to do so, swipes a guitar from de la Cruz’s tomb.  This places a curse on Miguel, turning him into a ghost-like being, where he gets to meet his deceased relatives in the Land of the Dead.  Miguel can return if he gets his deceased relatives blessing…but they’ll only grant it if he abandons his plans to be a musician.  Refusing to accept this, Miguel heads out into the Land of the Dead to find the one relative who will bless him and allow him to be a musician…his great, great grandfather.  Will Miguel be reunited with his great, great grandfather and find his way home?

What I Liked

As always with Pixar, it’s visually spectacular.  And in a film where music plays such a prominent role, the music is equally spellbinding.  The characters are great, too, as we really feel with Miguel’s struggles.  We also feel for Hector, a man who fears he’ll be forgotten and becomes Miguel’s guide through the Land of the Dead.  And you’ve also gotta love Dante, Miguel’s dog who follows him to the Land of the Dead, as he lives up to the great Disney tradition of animal sidekicks.

What I Didn’t Like

I may have seen too many of these, but man did the plot seem formulaic.  And I’ve said this in my reviews of other Disney and Pixar animated films to date, but can we please abandon the “shocking twist” of “obviously evil guy” being a red herring and “kindly old mentor” being the true villain?

Final Verdict

While the plot may be formulaic, there’s a lot of that trademark Pixar heart on display.  Just a beautiful film.

3.5 Nibs

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Justice League

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Justice LeagueJustice League Poster

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, and Jeremy Irons.

Backstory

Here we’ve got the latest chapter in the DC Cinematic Universe.  I like DC, but let’s be honest, their cinematic universe does seem rather slapped together at the last minute.  So rather than Justice League feeling like the triumphant uniting of heroes that it should be, the hype leading up to its release feels more like, “Well, here’s the next one.”  But still, I’m rooting for them.  I mean, who doesn’t like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman?  So, how does the Justice League fare in their big screen outing?

Plot

The world is still mourning the death of Superman.  But Batman still fights the war on crime, trying to get to the bottom of the strange creatures he saw in his dreams in Batman v Superman.  It appears it’s the first wave of an alien invasion, led by Steppenwolf, the minion of Darkseid.  Once Steppenwolf gets his hands on the Mother Boxes, there’ll be no stopping him.  To combat this threat, Batman begins seeking out other heroes:  reuniting with Wonder Woman, seeking out the Flash in Central City, the rumoured Aquaman who helps out coastal communities, and a whispers of a Cyborg from STAR Labs.  They put up a valiant fight, but it’s not enough, so Batman comes up with a desperate ploy to resurrect Superman.  Can they bring back the Man of Steel?  Will this league of heroes be able to take down Steppenwolf and save the world?

What I Liked

The Flash is great.  He’s still very much a rookie, out of his element, and doing his best.  He injects some much needed humour into this.  And speaking of, this film is a lot lighter than Batman v Superman.  It’s nice to see Superman cracking a smile and finally acting like Superman.  Aquaman comes off as cool, too, as they try to make the Wolverine of the group…the badass loner.  But it works.  Loved the music.  Every time Danny Elfman slips in his old Batman theme of John Williams’ Superman theme, it’s like a hug from an old friend.

What I Didn’t Like

Fairly standard villain.  No depth to him whatsoever.  It’s pretty obvious which scenes are the Joss Whedon re-shoots, because the mood suddenly shifts to very light and the characters are much more quippy.

Final Verdict

I like it a lot more than I expected to.  It was really fun seeing these beloved heroes together on the big screen, the plot was just a little too routine.

3 Nibs

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Thor: Ragnarok

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Thor: RagnarokThor: Ragnarok poster

Directed by Taiki Waititi

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins

Backstory

It’s generally agreed that the Thor films have been the lesser of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  “Good, but not great,” is how I’d put it.  So, when the first trailers for Thor: Ragnarok came about, and it looked like they were trying something different, it was welcome.  Chris Hemsworth has been trying really hard to break into comedy over the past few years, so this latest Thor film was being treated with a lighter touch.  But, the question is, does the new approach pay off?

Plot

When last we left Thor at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, he was journeying across the universe to learn more about the Infinity Stones.  But, he got sidetracked along the way, as he found the Nine Realms of Asgard in chaos and whispers of a pretender on the throne.  Returning home, he finds that his father Odin is missing, and Loki, disguised as Odin, now rules.  It turns out that Odin’s absence has weakened the defenses against Hela, the goddess of death.  Now, with Hela ruling Asgard, and threatening to bring about Ragnarok, the end of all things, Thor is stranded on the distant planet of Sakaar.  Here, fighting in gladiatorial games to survive, Thor must make allies both old and new, and fight his way back to Asgard to prevent Ragnarok.  Can Thor do it?

What I Liked

The lighter tone works for the film.  This is definitely more in line with Guardians of the Galaxy than the other Thor films.  And we’re far enough along now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have some great in-jokes and callbacks to the previous films.  A lot of the new characters are great.  Cate Blanchett is spectacular as Hela.  She definitely relishes in being evil.  Jeff Goldblum is very Goldblum as the Grandmaster, the ruler of the Sakaar.  There’s some good brotherly love between Thor and Loki, and it looks like Loki actually sets out on the road to redemption.  And we start getting to know the Hulk as a character, as he actually speaks this time out.   Totally dig the prog-rock inspired, synthesizer-heavy score.  As we saw in the post-credits stinger of Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange shows up and….

What I Didn’t Like

…it’s exactly as gratuitous and pointless as Falcon’s appearance in Ant-Man.  Not that I’m complaining, it just felt like I had to find something to complain about.

Final Verdict

Hands down, Thor: Ragnarok is the best of the Thor films.  Marvel had a great year, and they’re three-for-three in my books.

4 Nibs