MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory

Finding Nemo is one of my favorite Pixar films (and is also beloved by a lot of other people) so I have been psyched ever since the sequel Finding Dory was announced way back in 2013. The husband and I went with a couple of friends (all gay, average age over 50) to see the film on opening day, at the Arclight Pasadena. (I have gotten out of the habit of writing my reviews of films immediately after seeing them so that is the explanation for the delay in this post.)

Finding Dory is an excellent sequel to Finding Nemo. (Actually a fair amount of the story takes place in a timeline before the events of Nemo so in some sense it is also a prequel.) The main characters are all anthropomorphic fish: Dory (played by Ellen Degeneres), a blue tang fish who suffers from the inability to maintain memories of most events for more than a minute, the inquisitive and adventurous Nemo, and his overprotective dad Marlin (played by Albert Brooks). Nemo was about Dory helping Marlin find Nemo who went exploring and got lost. Dory is about Dory finally realizing that she has gotten lost, and is trying to get back to her parents. In the course of events, Dory gets separated from Marlin and Nemo and so they spend a good deal of the movie having harrowing adventures trying to reunite with their friend, whose well-being they are quite worried about, because of her memory deficiency.

One of the best parts of Dory is the new character of Hank (played by Modern Family's Ed O'Neill), a chameleonic octopus who tries to take advantage of Dory as his meal ticket out of a marine life facility where Dory finds herself. It's amazing to watch the contortions that the octopus (and the script!) take to get our water-logged friends across vast stretches of dry land and around corners and into locked rooms. When the octopus starts to drive a truck, you know things have gotten way out of hand! But it makes for an action-filled, PG-rated night at the movies which is a whole bunch of fun, and well worth seeing more than once.

Title: Finding Dory.
Director: Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane.
Running Time: 97 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for mild thematic elements.
Release Date: June 17, 2016.
Viewing Date: June 17, 2016.

Writing: A.
Acting: A-.
Visuals: A.
Impact: A-.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.84/4.0)

WATCH: Animated Gif Proving Pythagoras' Theorem #math

This is a perfect depiction of a creative way to illustrate mathematical concepts, even relatively simple ones like Pythagoras' Theorem that a² + b² = c². Or, in words, the sum of the squares of the two sides of a right-triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.

MOVIE REVIEW: Inside Out

The other half and I saw the latest Disney Pixar film Inside Out during the big July 4th weekend. We had a number of other movies to choose from: Magic Mike XXL, Terminator Genisys and Mad Max Fury Road. Unfortunately, Mad Max has been in theaters so long that it is not playing anywhere convenient and Magic Mike XXL and Terminator Genisys were in their opening weekend and had somewhat sketchy reviews (Magic Mike XXL 68% and Terminator Genisys 65% from rottentomatoes.com audience members).

So we went downtown to L.A. Live (after having astonishingly good tacos at Guisado's on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park) and saw Inside Out, which has a pretty astonishing rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.

The main attraction of Inside Out for me was that it was helmed by the creative guy behind Up (Pete Docter), which is one of my favorite Pixar films (although my all-time favorite is still The Incredibles). Inside Out is also interesting because it is literally about the voices in your head, and apparently is based on recent research in cognitive science and psychology.

The story follows an 11-year-old girl named Riley who moves from Minnesota (where she loves to skate) to San Francisco as her father pursues new business opportunities. This causes big changes in Riley's life as it means she has to leave her friends, go to a new school and adjust to urban as opposed to rural living.

The real action takes place inside Riley's head as we see animated depictions of how Riley's emotions work together to create and influence her response to stimula. The emotions in question are Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black). We also see an interesting visualizations of how the brain works, from the storage of short term and long-term memories, to the idea of a "control center" and a vast unconscious.

As my other half put it, the plot is really an(other) example of the hero's journey into the Underworld, as we watch our main protagonist (Joy) try to get back to the control center with Riley's important permanent memories intact, hopefully before large segments of Riley's personality have been irrevocably altered. The most interesting aspect of the film is the interaction between Joy and Sadness. The two spend the most time together (of any two emotions in the film) and although they would seem to be polar opposites they have to figure out how to work together to do what is best for Riley in the end.

Overall, Inside Out is an interesting, unchallenging film that the whole family can enjoy and then have an interesting conversation about afterwards on the nature of emotions and relationships.

Title: Inside Out.
Director: Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen.
Running Time: 94 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action.
Release Date: June 19, 2015.
Viewing Date: July 3, 2015.

Writing: A-.
Acting: A-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: A.

Overall Grade: A- (3.67/4.0).

Woo Hoo! Disney Announced Sequel To The Incredibles Being Planned

I don't know how I missed this exciting news from earlier this year. The Incredibles (2004) is one of my favorite films. io9 reports that a sequel is (finally) in the works:

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at a shareholders meeting today that Pixar will produce a thirdCars movie (no surprise there) as well as a sequel to The Incredibles—which has been confirmed on the Disney/Pixar Facebook page. Iger says that Incredibles director Brad Bird is working on the story, but did not say that he would be directing the sequel.

Brad Bird has also directed other favorites of mine like Ratatouille (2007), The Iron Giant (1999) as well as the relatively execrable Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. In 2015, he has the hotly awaited summer blockbuster Tomorrowland starring George Clooney.

WATCH: Historical Progress of Marriage Equality From 1973 To 2013

The blog themendozaline.tumblr.com has produced a very cool animated gif which demonstrates the historical progress of marriage equality from statutory bans on same-sex marriage in the 1970s to creation of civil unions in the late 1990s to constitutional bans in the 2000s and the advent of marriage equality in the blue states in the 2010s.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Finding Dory: Sequel to Finding Nemo Announced

Ellen Degeneres announced on Tuesday that Disney-Pixar will release the sequel to the beloved film Finding Nemo (which won the very first Best Animated feature Academy Award in 2004), called Findnig Dory on November 25, 2015.

Can we get a sequel to the Best Pixar film in my book, The Incredibles?

Homer Decides Between Obama and Romney

Homer Simpson is getting into election fever! The above picture is from a promo for the new season of The Simpsons (it's 24th!) which starts airing on Sunday September 30th.


Hat/tip to TowleRoad.

Godless Wednesday: Funny Religious Cartoons

Joe.My.God calls my attention to the amazing online cartoon The Oatmeal which has posted numerous pieces on religion.

The cartoons are excellent at demonstrating critiques of religion. Here's another one:

Pretty funny, eh?

The Simpsons Meets Game of Thrones

The March 4th edition of The Simpsons used their into segment to spoof the intro credits of HBO's Game of Thrones! Both series are favorites of mine and are often discussed at this here blog thingy (especially The Simpsons). Two great tastes that taste great together. The second season of  the award-winning  series Game of Thrones starts on Sunday April 1st!!

Hat/tip to Show Tracker.

Sunday Funnies: Republican "Principles"

Hat/tip to Daily Kos.

Cartoon Reveals Republicans' Plan To Win In 2012

Toy Story 3 Tops 2010 Box Office With $415M

Toy Story 3 has ended it's box office run with a total of $415 million, which puts it at #9 on the all-time domestic box-office champions list, just behind the execrable Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest at $423 million.

Toy Story 3 will almost certainly end the year as the #1 movie of the year, with only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 possibly having enough legs to challenge it. That movie is already at $232 million in just under three weekends but it is highly doubtful it will break the $400 million dollar barrier; it almost certainly will become the highest grossing of the Harry Potter franchise (at least until the final film y Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is released, in 3-D, on July 15, 2011).

The rest of the Top 10 grossing films for 2010, so far, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com are:

Rank	Movie Title (click to view)	Studio	Total Gross /Theaters		Opening / Theaters		Open	Close
1	Toy Story 3	BV	$415,004,880	4,028	$110,307,189	4,028	6/18	12/2
2	Alice in Wonderland (2010)	BV	$334,191,110	3,739	$116,101,023	3,728	3/5	7/8
3	Iron Man 2	Par.	$312,128,345	4,390	$128,122,480	4,380	5/7	8/19
4	The Twilight Saga: Eclipse	Sum.	$300,531,751	4,468	$64,832,191	4,468	6/30	10/21
5	Inception	WB	$292,316,474	3,792	$62,785,337	3,792	7/16	-
6	Despicable Me	Uni.	$249,787,065	3,602	$56,397,125	3,476	7/9	-
7	Shrek Forever After	P/DW	$238,395,990	4,386	$70,838,207	4,359	5/21	9/9
8	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1	WB	$232,301,000	4,125	$125,017,372	4,125	11/19	-
9	How to Train Your Dragon	P/DW	$217,581,231	4,060	$43,732,319	4,055	3/26	7/22
10	The Karate Kid	Sony	$176,591,618	3,740	$55,665,805	3,663	6/11	9/23

Interestingly, I have seen 7 of these Top 10. (Happily I have missed viewing the cinematic trainwrecks that are The Last Airbender, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Karate Kid.)

Some people believe that Toy Story 3, in addition to being the top grossing film of 2010 is also the best picture of the year. I would have to say that I disagree (see MadProfessah's review) although it is currently tied with Inception (see MadProfessah's review) as my best reviewed film of the year (4.167/4.0). Another contender for Best Picture, The Social Network, is languishing at 3.73/4.0.

There are a lot of outstanding movies released in 2010 I have yet to see, such as Black Swan, 127 Hours, The King's Speech, True Grit and The Fighter. What films are you hoping to see before 2010 ends?

MOVIE REVIEW: Despicable Me

The Other Half and I saw Steve Carell's non-bomb summer film, Despicable Me, last Sunday at a matinee at our usual theater in Alhambra.

The film is well-animated and is well-voiced by Steve Carell. The story features three ridiculously adorable girls and a story arc  that surprisingly heartwarming for a movie where the main character is named Gru and aspires to be the Worst Villain in the World.

Although there are some gags which are clearly designed for adults (sign over "The Bank of Evil" reads "former Lehman Brothers.") but this is definitely a film for kids and has a PG or G sensibility. As Miyazaki has shown, this does not mean that the film has to be uninteresting to adults, and there's definitely plenty of action, again with a primarily childish bent.

Overall, you can probably wait to see this on Netflix or cable.

Running Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated PG for rude humor and mild action.

Plot: B.
Acting: N/A.
Visuals: A-.
Impact: B.

Overall Grade: B/B+ (3.222/4.0).

VIDEO: Inception vs Toy Story 3

New Season of Venture Bros Is Coming!!

The Venture Bros. is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. It is an absolutely wicked animated series on Cartoon Network, now entering it's 5th season. Check out the trailer.

Hat/tip to WonderMan

VIDEO REVIEW: Laputa (City in the Sky)

Finally saw Hayao Miyazaki's classic film Laputa, which is generally called Castle in the Sky in this country, on DVD (Thank you, Netflix!) recently.

This is an absolutely lovely film that if you ever have an opportunity to see on the big screen you should run (do not walk!) to the movie theater to do so.

Miyazaki is the director of Princess Mononoke and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away as well as 2009's Ponyo (see MadProfessah's review).

Castle in the Sky is a delightful film, much more readily accessible to a broad audience than the trippy Princess Mononoke and the lyrical (but decidedly strange) Spirited Away.

As usual, the protagonists are children, this time two orphans, one of whom literally falls from the sky (and survives due to a magical pendant) named Sheeta and the other, Pazu, who has a curious obsession with trying to find the mythical floating city of Laputa, the Castle in the Sky.

The cast also includes another one of Miyazaki's famous archetypes: the old crone or witch, This time her name is Dola, and she leads a band of pirates. It was Dola who chased Sheeta out of an airship, causing her to jump into midair in the beginning of the film--she covets Sheeta's magical pendant.

Eventually, after many more adventures, Pazu and Sheeta do find Laputa, and the fabled Castle in the Sky has some secrets in store which are resolved in an uplifting fashion which is a fitting end to this entertaining movie.

Running Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated G.


OVERALL GRADE: A.

ACTING: A-.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A.

MOVIE REVIEW: Toy Story 3 (3D)

The latest installment of Pixar's Toy Story 3 was released on Friday June 18th and MadProfessah and the Other Half saw it on opening day at our usual favorite theaters (Regal Cinemas 14 in Alhambra).

Pixar is of course the studio that has an (almost) unbroken record of perfection, having brought us such instant classics like The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Up and Wall-E.

The original Toy Story should probably also be on this list of classics, but this threequel is actually probably a better movie than the original (it's definitely better than Toy Story 2).

Interestingly, although Pixar had originally stated that they would only make original films (and not do sequels) they have now done two sequels to Toy Story and the Los Angeles Times reported recently that due to pressure by Pixar's new owners (Walt Disney Company) three of the next four releases will be sequels: Toy Story 3, Cars 2 and Monsters, Inc. 2. Bizarrely, it seems to me that they are making sequels of their least successful films, NOT their most successful. My only explanation is that they are trying to correct mistakes they made the first time. One of my favorite films of all time is The Incredibles and I think a sequel would be a blockbuster, even for Pixar whose less successful films generally have worldwide grosses in the half-billion dollar range. Their most commercially successful film is Finding Nemo which I know is a favorite of many other people (and is also a great film).

Toy Story 3 is really a very good film, one of Pixar's best, which is saying a lot. It currently has ridonculous 99% fresh rating on rottentomatoes.com. It is not in the stratosphere of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles but it is about as good as Up (2009) and better than both Wall-E (2008) and Ratatouille (2007).

What makes Toy Story 3 so good is that it has a brilliant, suspenseful script which makes complete sense and is consistent with a cartoon universe where toys can talk and move on their own volition and they are animated by being played with by owners who love and care for them.

The same can not be said for recent summer blockbusters like Iron Man 2 which has a script that at times makes no sense whatsoever. Toy Story 3 is always interesting and always very, very clever. It is also often very, very funny. The director does an excellent job of making apparently cuddly toys seem ominous and threatening.

And of course the ending has a scene which will even make someone as cold-hearted as Dick Cheney cry. Kids will come out of the movie smiling and parents will come out smiling through tears. A very memorable cinematic experience.

A word about 3-D. I saw the film in 3-D but I think it would have been just as effective in 2-D, so if you want to save 3 or 4 bucks, I'd recommend doing that, but definitely see this film!

Running Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes. MPAA Rating: G for general audiences.

Plot: A+.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: A.

Overall Grade: A+/A (4.167/4.0).

MOVIE REVIEW: How To Train Your Dragon (3D)

How To Train Your Dragon is the latest 3-D animation powerhouse from Dreamworks Animation.

Sasha Stone at AwardsDaily.com is calling it "2010's first bonafide Oscar contender" and audiences and critics at rottentomatoes.com have certified the movie fresh at a stunning 98% level.

I saw the rottentomatoes.com numbers before deciding to see the film with the Other Half in real3d at our favorite Edwards theaters in Alhambra, but was still surprised at how enjoyable the film is.

The 3-D is fun, but not essential to the film experience. The impact of the film is primarily due to the very strong plot and the rapid narrative thrust in the very brisk 100 minutes.

The story centers on Hiccup, a loner who is the only child of the chief of a viking village (named Stoick the Vast) who for generations has been terrorized by and hunted dragons.
Hiccup is enrolled in dragon training with the other village teenagers where they are taught the best way to destroy the fiery, ferocious, flying beasts. But Hiccup is also learning a new way to interact with dragons through his burgeoning relationship with an injured dragon he has found trapped in a nearby box canyon.

The movie resolves the familial tension between Hiccup ans Stoick as well as the enmity between the villagers and the dragons in a clever and exciting way.

Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated G for general audiences.
Director: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A-.

ACTING: N/A.
IMAGERY: A-.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A-.

WATCH: Animation Illustrates Fibonacci Sequence

The Fibonacci sequence, 1, 1, 3, 5, 8,13, ..., is one of those amazing mathematical objects which shows up in nature in some of the most unusual places. There's a very cool video demonstrating this idea, below. WATCH:

Hat/tip to TowleRoad.

My Favorite Films of the Decade 2000-2009

Here is my Top 10 list of my favorite films seen in the last decade, from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009.

1. The Lord of the Rings. The pure cinematic achievement of Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings is absolutely stunning. The films were box-office blockbusters and universally critically acclaimed, even by people who had never read the book(s). I first read the book(s) at the age of 9 and loved these perfect filmic realizations even more than the original(s). Director: Peter Jackson. Released: 2001, 2002, 2003.
   
2. Memento. I still remember the sense of wonder and amazement I felt during and after watching Christopher Nolan's debut feature film. My mind was blown but I knew that I wanted to see it again, and that I would make sure to see everything this director would ever release in the future (The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Batman Returns, Insomnia). Director: Christopher Nolan. Released: 2001.
   
3. Avatar. Yes, believe the hype! James Cameron confounded all the doubters who refused to believe that the director of Aliens and Titanic could (again!) reinvent the cinematic experience with an(other) original story. I saw the film twice in the first weekend of release and know that I will see it again several times. This is the current generation's Star Wars: a film which restores the sense of wonder to cinema. Director: James Cameron. Released: 2009.
4. The Incredibles. From the director of the instant classic The Iron Giant and the wizards at Pixar came this incredibly poignant and action-filled story of a family of superheroes. The Incredibles, like Finding Nemo, Up, WALL-E and Ratatouille demonstrate that animation can be as emotionally powerful as live-action. Whenever I see this film on TV I must stop what I'm doing and watch it all the way to the end. If I believed in God, I'd pray for a sequel! Director: Brad Bird. Released: 2004.
5. Tell No One (Ne Le Dis A Personne). An innocuous little French thriller that grabs your attention from the first scene and leaves you breathless at its satisfying conclusion. The story is adapted from Harlan Coben's thriller "Tell No One." It also does a very good job of illustrating contemporary life in Paris, subtly challenging preconceptions that ideal living standards must be American. Director: Guillaume Canet. Released: 2006 (France), 2008 (United States).
6. House of Flying Daggers. Although Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was more widely acclaimed (winning the 2000 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and being nominated for Best Picture) I think that this film is the more amazing cinematic achievement, although this is admittedly a very close and somewhat arbitrary call. Together with this director's Hero, this trio of films (all featuring the incredible Zhang Ziyi) are must watching for anyone who likes martial arts and gorgeous spectacle. Director: Zhang Yimou. Released: 2005.
7. Dreamgirls. Who said the musical was dead? Openly gay writer-director Bill Condon achieved the impossible by adapting the thinly veiled 80s-era musical about the 60s supergroup The Supremes and finding someone who could handle the tsunami posing as a song "(And I'm Telling You) I'm Not Going." Jennifer Hudson won a well-deserved Oscar in her debut movie role and Beyoncé showed that she was born to inhabit the role of Miss Diana Ross. Director: Bill Condon. Released: 2006.
8. Spirited Away. This is not a Disney cartoon! Any serious student of film in general and animation in particular knows the name of Miyazaki. The Japanese filmmaker makes emotionally resonant films with curious stories that contain heart-stoppingly strange and beautiful images that are hard tp forget. In Spirited Away Miyazaki is at the top of his game and we are all the richer for it. Director: Hayao Miyazaki. Released: 2004.
9. Far From Heaven. Written and directed by Todd Haynes but animated by Julianne Moore's heart-wrenching performance as a 1950s-era wife married to a man with a secret played by a surprisingly good Dennis Quaid, this film is like a nearly perfect confection: short and sweet and leaves you wanting more. Director: Todd Haynes. Released: 2002.
10. Brokeback Mountain. The first film to have millions of gay men leave the theater shattered at finally seeing an emotionally true depiction of homosexuality in a major motion film. The relationship between Heath Ledger's Ennis Delmar and Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack Twist is the core of the film but it is the story and beautiful direction that really twists the knife. And, yes, I'm still bitter it didn't win Best Picture! Director: Ang Lee. Released: 2005.

And since I couldn't just mention only 10, here are ten more (not in any order) that should not be forgotten.

Honorable Mentions: Pan's Labyrinth, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Prestige, Finding Nemo, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, Kill Bill, United 93, Milk and Moulin Rouge!