Monthly Archives: June 2017

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Cars 3

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Cars 3Cars 3 Poster

Directed by Brian Fee

Starring the voices of Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Armie Hammer, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Nathan Fillion, Kerry Washington, and Lea DeLaria.

Backstory

I love Pixar, but Cars is their one franchise that always felt kind of phoned in.  The first one was good, but not great.  The second one was the first Pixar film where I saw the TV spots and thought, “Pass.”  I did buy it on Blu-Ray and watch it because I can’t have a gap in my Pixar library, and…yeah.  It’s not good.  But when I started seeing the first trailer for Cars 3 which featured our hero Lightening McQueen being totaled in a race I thought, “OK.  You have my interest again.”  And here we are.

Plot

Lightening McQueen has been king of the racing circuit for a decade now.  But the next generation of racers is nipping at his heels, and Lightening sees his old compatriots retiring one by one.  In the final race of the season, Lightening tries a risky move to overtake a cocky upstart named Jackson Storm, and it leads to the wreck we saw in the trailer.  After an off-season of sulking, Lightening decides that he’ll retire when he wants to, and his sponsor sets him up in a state-of-the-art training facility with one of the toughest trainers in the game, Cruz Ramirez.  But, Lightening soon grows frustrated with his slow progress  under Cruz’s new, high-tech training methods, and goes for a more old-school training regime.  So, Lightening and Cruz hit the road to continue Lightening’s training, with the first race of the season at the end of the road.  Will Lightening get his mojo back and reclaim the top spot from Jackson Storm?  Will Cruz ever achieve her dreams of becoming a racer?

What I Liked

Dude, I swear, this is Pixar’s most photo-realistic film to date.  The animation is drop-dead gorgeous.  It looks like they used real photographs in some places.  The voice acting is also good, with Cristela Alonzo being pitch-perfect as Cruz, and Nathan Fillion using his charm for evil purposes as Sterling, Lightening’s new sponsor.  And if you hate Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater the Tow Truck, you’ll be pleased to know he’s once again reduced to his comedic sidekick role.  In fact, his role is reduced so much, it’s pretty much a glorified cameo.  And you know what?  Turns out Mater’s OK in very small doses.

What I Didn’t Like

Yeah…the plot is formulaic and cliched as hell.  While I did see one of the twists coming from miles away, it was still a pretty good twist.

Final Verdict

Cars 3 finally has some of that trademark Pixar heart that the other films were lacking.  Not much, but they put in the effort.  Like the first film, I put it down as good, but not great.

3 Nibs

 

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Wonder Woman

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Wonder WomanWonder Woman Poster

Directed by Patty Jenkins

Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya, and Lucy Davis.

Backstory

Finally!  Wonder Woman is here!  We’ve had Batman franchises, we’ve had Superman franchises, it was finally time to complete the holy trinity of DC Comics on the big screen!  When Wonder Woman made her first appearance in Batman v Superman, it was truly one of the film’s highlights.  And besides, with all the superhero films starring men, it was high time we had one led by a woman.  (Catwoman and Elektra don’t count because they suck.)  So.  Does Wonder Woman survive her first solo big screen outing?

Plot

Diana.  Princess of the Amazons and daughter of Queen Hippolyta.  She has lived her life in seclusion on the Amazon’s hidden island of Themyscira, and has been told stories of how the last remaining god, Ares, has corrupted the hearts of Men.  And then, one day, a man — Steve Trevor — crash-lands on the island, with an battalion of German soldiers in hot pursuit.  Trevor tells the Amazons that the War to End All Wars (World War I, to you and me) is currently raging, and that the information he has can turn the tide.  Diana feels compelled to join Trevor.  Surely, this war means Ares is up to his old tricks, and if she can kill Ares, she can end the war.  So Diana accompanies Trevor back to Man’s World, and into the trenches of World War I.  Can Diana help Trevor turn the tide?  Is ending the war really as simple as slaying Ares?

What I Liked

So much good in this film.  Gal Gadot is amazing as Wonder Woman.  She is able to switch from being naive over the workings of Man’s World to ass-kicking warrior woman so effortlessly that you can’t help but fall in love with her.  Chris Pine is equally charming as Steve Trevor, and they assemble a ragtag bunch of specialists that each has their own unique charms.  I was leery as to how the World War I setting would work, but it winds up being an amazing place to set Wonder Woman’s origin story.  Themyscira lives up to its original name of Paradise Island, as it looks beautiful.  The fight scenes are amazing.  There’s just so much good in this film.  And for once, a DC film that isn’t overwhelmed by being dark and gritty.

What I Didn’t Like

Well, I’ve seen enough superhero films now and read enough comic books that the big plot twists didn’t really seem that big to me.  It’s almost like there’s a formula to these things….

Final Verdict

I may have gotten a little misty-eyed at finally seeing Wonder Woman take her place among DC’s big three.  Loved it loved it loved it.

4 Nibs