After a swarm of commercials, Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" wings its way into theaters, and it's time to find out what all the buzz was about. "Bee Movie" takes us into the Central Park hive home of one Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), a neurotic drone on the cusp of graduation and about to dedicate himself to the one and only job he'll have for the rest of his life. (Bees haven't taken a vacation day in 27 million years.)
About this movie: From Dreamworks AnimationMPAA Rating: PG -- Best for ages 4 and upRun time: 90 minutes
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A non-conformist, Barry avoids picking his job and instead plays hooky in the outside world. He zips among the flowers, discovers that tennis balls are "kinda grabby," hangs out on a windshield with a jive-talking mosquito (Chris Rock) and gets rescued by a lovely young florist conveniently named Vanessa Bloom (Renee Zellweger).
Barry breaks the "No. 1 Bee Rule" and thanks this human for saving him, and even develops a cute inter-species crush on her. Having picnics, joking around, and this romance gives Jerry a chance to shine with his long-missed deadpan observational humor. Unfortunately one thing he observes is that humans package and sell a lot of honey, even going so far as to — gasp! — put it in products that don't need the precious resource, like shampoo and lip balm. "Don't they know how hard bees work to make this stuff?"
From there, the movie takes a strange turn as Barry takes "Big Honey" to court. It's moderately entertaining stuff, especially if your little ones enjoy, or can follow, a plot that largely takes place in a court of law. All told, the massive ad campaign only serves to drive expectations too high. "Bee Movie" is a mediocre film that buzzes mostly on the charm of its hero and far too many jokes that taste more like corn syrup than honey.
Parents take note: "Bee Movie" hinges on a court drama that younger kids will never be able to follow but also features no real villains and isn't particularly scary. The animation is stylish and characters are cute and fuzzy. When Barry takes flight, the bright sunshine, multi-colored flowers, and frenetic camera dazzles and delights.
From:family.go.com/.../pkg-family-movies-and-dvds/
7/14/2551
Kung Fu Panda
Common Sense Media ReviewCan you achieve greatness if you're not destined for it? Of all the possible kung fu masters-to-be, Po (Jack Black) -- a lumbering, lovable panda -- seems the least likely candidate. Besides, his family's in the noodle business, and that's where his father (improbably, a goose) expects him to make his mark. But a snafu at the Jade Palace leaves Po as the top pick for the legendary Dragon Warrior. The position comes with a huge responsibility: The Dragon Warrior is charged with protecting the town from Tai Lung (Ian McShane), a brilliant kung fu master who crossed over to the dark side. He's been locked up for years, but now he's on his way to defeat Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and his elite Furious Five. Can unlikely hero Po stand his ground and save the day?
"Kung Fu Panda" is is a pleasure, and Po is the ideal animated incarnation of the engaging, electric Black. He's wonderful here, giving Po the perfect mix of irreverence and sincerity. When he meets his idols, the Furious Five -- Ferocious Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan) -- he's charmingly awestruck. To watch him metamorphose from clumsy kung fu fan to master is a delight. And the message -- there's no secret to greatness besides faith in yourself -- is admirable.
The movie's story may not be as inventive as, say, "Finding Nemo," but it's undeniably charming. And there are definitely moments of brilliance: A training battle between Shifu and Po involving chopsticks and a lone dumpling will go down as one of the best in cartoon -- and maybe even kung fu -- history.
Fans may also like other animated films with lovable critter heroes, including "Ratatouille," "Ice Age," "The Jungle Book," and the eco-minded "Arctic Tale."
What Parents Should KnowParents need to know that kids will definitely want to see this heavily promoted (including McDonald's Happy Meals) animated film -- which stars kid fave Jack Black as the voice of the main character, Po. And its humor and heartwarming story will appeal to grown-ups, too. The movie boasts positive messages about being who you are and believing in yourself, but it is martial arts-themed, so expect plenty of fast-paced battle scenes with kicks, punches, falls, and more. Even though they're animated, some sequences -- especially the one in which intimidating villain Tai Lung escapes from prison -- may be a little too scary for kindergartners and younger.
Families can talk about Po's decision to follow his dreams and pursue martial arts greatness. Was he right? What makes Po different from the other heroes in the movie? What do they learn from him? And what does Po's ease with himself teach young viewers? What makes him such a great kung fu warrior?
From:family.go.com/.../pkg-family-movies-and-dvds/
"Kung Fu Panda" is is a pleasure, and Po is the ideal animated incarnation of the engaging, electric Black. He's wonderful here, giving Po the perfect mix of irreverence and sincerity. When he meets his idols, the Furious Five -- Ferocious Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan) -- he's charmingly awestruck. To watch him metamorphose from clumsy kung fu fan to master is a delight. And the message -- there's no secret to greatness besides faith in yourself -- is admirable.
The movie's story may not be as inventive as, say, "Finding Nemo," but it's undeniably charming. And there are definitely moments of brilliance: A training battle between Shifu and Po involving chopsticks and a lone dumpling will go down as one of the best in cartoon -- and maybe even kung fu -- history.
Fans may also like other animated films with lovable critter heroes, including "Ratatouille," "Ice Age," "The Jungle Book," and the eco-minded "Arctic Tale."
What Parents Should KnowParents need to know that kids will definitely want to see this heavily promoted (including McDonald's Happy Meals) animated film -- which stars kid fave Jack Black as the voice of the main character, Po. And its humor and heartwarming story will appeal to grown-ups, too. The movie boasts positive messages about being who you are and believing in yourself, but it is martial arts-themed, so expect plenty of fast-paced battle scenes with kicks, punches, falls, and more. Even though they're animated, some sequences -- especially the one in which intimidating villain Tai Lung escapes from prison -- may be a little too scary for kindergartners and younger.
Families can talk about Po's decision to follow his dreams and pursue martial arts greatness. Was he right? What makes Po different from the other heroes in the movie? What do they learn from him? And what does Po's ease with himself teach young viewers? What makes him such a great kung fu warrior?
From:family.go.com/.../pkg-family-movies-and-dvds/
Over the Hedge
kinda abnormal for animals to possess intelligence as humans but that’s the fun in fables where humans are involved, right? And so it is in this movie. The actors are so engrossed with their animal characters that even Nick Nolte had to research his role just as his voice would be that of a bear. But to be “fair†to the animals too, in this movie, they just want to get back at the humans for pursuing a development project in the wilds and creating a hedge between them.
Full riot from The art department went to a bowling alley to sketch the design of the ‘perfect’ vending machine. They went to various supermarkets to sketch chip bags and bottles. They eventually got kicked out of a Safeway because the manager felt uncomfortable with them being there for such an extended amount of time.start to finish. Fun fun fun, kids will be delighted to watch, grown-ups as well.
Full riot from The art department went to a bowling alley to sketch the design of the ‘perfect’ vending machine. They went to various supermarkets to sketch chip bags and bottles. They eventually got kicked out of a Safeway because the manager felt uncomfortable with them being there for such an extended amount of time.start to finish. Fun fun fun, kids will be delighted to watch, grown-ups as well.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Not since Air Bud has an animal movie poster made me laugh out loud with confused delight. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the poster and plot out line for Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Thanks to IESB for the hookup!
In BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, a pampered Chihuahua named Chloe (voice of DREW BARRYMORE) finds herself accidentally lost in the mean streets of Mexico without a day spa or Rodeo Drive boutique anywhere in sight.
Now alone for the first time in her spoiled life, she must rely on some unexpected new friends — including a street-hardened German Shepherd named Delgado (voice of ANDY GARCIA) and an amorous pup named Papi (voice of GEORGE LOPEZ) — to lend her a paw and help her to find her inner strength on their incredible journey back home.
I have never been drunk in a movie theatre; but this film may change things. This movie has a “it is so ridiculous/bad that I have to see it” vibe and it beckons to me. A pampered dog from Beverly Hills ends up in a kingdom of Aztek chihuahuas?! Count me in, possibly for multiple viewings.
In BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, a pampered Chihuahua named Chloe (voice of DREW BARRYMORE) finds herself accidentally lost in the mean streets of Mexico without a day spa or Rodeo Drive boutique anywhere in sight.
Now alone for the first time in her spoiled life, she must rely on some unexpected new friends — including a street-hardened German Shepherd named Delgado (voice of ANDY GARCIA) and an amorous pup named Papi (voice of GEORGE LOPEZ) — to lend her a paw and help her to find her inner strength on their incredible journey back home.
I have never been drunk in a movie theatre; but this film may change things. This movie has a “it is so ridiculous/bad that I have to see it” vibe and it beckons to me. A pampered dog from Beverly Hills ends up in a kingdom of Aztek chihuahuas?! Count me in, possibly for multiple viewings.
A Bug’s Life
In 1998, A Bug’s Life was Disney’s November answer to the September release of Dreamworks Pictures, Antz. When Disney was still a separate entity from Pixar Animation Studios, the former contracted the latter to come up with another interesting CGI film, as follow up for Toy Story. Yes, Pixar was also the force behind Toy Story phenomenon, which practically started the whole CGI trend.
A Bug’s Life is a funny movie with interesting characters and heartwarming story, typical of a Disney movie. Watching this film will also make you appreciate the musical scoring and the amazing computer animation work of course.
It’s a movie for all ages. Kids will surely love to watch it many times over. By the way, Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet of Heroes) did the voice of DOT. Her voice must be something that grown-ups can look forward to hearing.
A Bug’s Life is a funny movie with interesting characters and heartwarming story, typical of a Disney movie. Watching this film will also make you appreciate the musical scoring and the amazing computer animation work of course.
It’s a movie for all ages. Kids will surely love to watch it many times over. By the way, Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet of Heroes) did the voice of DOT. Her voice must be something that grown-ups can look forward to hearing.
Animal Crossing: Wild World
good film based upon a videogame SHOCKER!!![Or, in English, 'Animal Forest: The Movie' - Animal Forest, of course, being the (literal) translated name of the Nintendo game series known to the Western world as Animal Crossing.]
Feature film interpretations of videogames, be they live action or animated affairs, have a notoriously poor reputation with gamers and movie lovers alike for good reason - that pretty much every single one to date has been complete pants. The biggest problem is that massive liberties are taken with any semblance of story or plot resulting in a situation whereby more often than not the only real relation between the film and the game that inspired it is the title. Some would argue very few games have enough narrative backbone to provide for a movie proper but if you're going to bother creating something from a known licence surely the whole point of the project is to capitalise on the existing popularity by presenting fans with something vaguely familiar (let alone extended canon) via a theatrical medium? If we were to assume that is the ideal working definition of a movie based upon a videogame then I (half) seriously believe the Animal Crossing movie is the first truly good example and perhaps the first game-derived film to break the pants mould that has, erm, been festering for many years now.So why is it good? In a nutshell the Animal Crossing movie is immensely faithful to the source material - specifically the most recent game in the series, 'Animal Crossing: Wild World' for the Nintendo DS - while remaining plausibly enjoyable viewing regardless of prior experiences. It successfully captures the look, feel, and charm of the infectiously colourful world perfectly; mirroring the games by managing to be engrossing, endearing, casually paced, and even, dare I say, relaxing.
Much like the premise of the game the story revolves around a girl moving to town, her trials and tribulations over the seasons as she integrates herself into life with the locals, and the importance of friendship. 'Cherry pie' is also integral to the plot, as is a special event that can occur in the game. It's hardly Shakespeare but then it's not like the bard's work has succeeded much making the opposite journey...
The attention to detail in transforming the game to big screen is unrivalled. It is evident that quite a lot of thought has gone into incorporating as much of the game as possible by encompassing almost all of the gameplay aspects, locations, major characters, and the original soundtrack. References are made to pretty much everything you can experience in the game - from clothes designing, letter writing, messages in bottles, bug catching, fishing, pitfalls, to the Happy Room Academy, gyroids, fossils, feng shui, festivals, and more. Components of interaction with the animal neighbours such as emotion symbols, questions, and bizarre randomness could easily have been overlooked during the crossover but work with good effect - heck, there are even pieces of dialogue that have been lifted directly from the game. While we're passing the subject of dialogue I should mention, however, that the characters speak in Japanese and not the native tongue of 'Animalese' found in the games. An understandable omission but purists will be happy to learn that K.K. Slider's singing voice remains authentic!
Nintendo and it's animation partner have managed to do the seemingly impossible by amalgamating a relatively original story within an accurately repackaged essence of a gaming world/scenario without detracting or deviating massively from the game itself. The graphical style of the Animal Crossing series obviously lends itself perfectly to a seamless transition to anime, and the fact that the games are relatively open-ended with user defined main characters means there is no real fixed story to emulate or stand up against in expectations. But I guess the most pleasing factor that counters those points is that it doesn't feel forced. It plays out more like unobtrusive fan-service than a marketing exercise or what could have amounted to a feature-length advert, providing satisfying viewing for anyone who has played the game while at the same time remaining accessible enough and primed to entice new fans by managing to be enjoyable as a self-contained whole to those who haven't. Just compare it with the regurgitated nature of the merchandise motivated Pokémon films - the last (and still continuing!) Nintendo franchise to receive cinematic treatment.
The frustrating part is 15 months after release it has still yet to be available outside of Japan and sadly, despite the relatively high popularity of Animal Crossing in Europe and the U.S., that will probably never change. You can, however, watch it on Youtube or download it via a torrent.
From: imperialdoughnut.blogspot.com
Feature film interpretations of videogames, be they live action or animated affairs, have a notoriously poor reputation with gamers and movie lovers alike for good reason - that pretty much every single one to date has been complete pants. The biggest problem is that massive liberties are taken with any semblance of story or plot resulting in a situation whereby more often than not the only real relation between the film and the game that inspired it is the title. Some would argue very few games have enough narrative backbone to provide for a movie proper but if you're going to bother creating something from a known licence surely the whole point of the project is to capitalise on the existing popularity by presenting fans with something vaguely familiar (let alone extended canon) via a theatrical medium? If we were to assume that is the ideal working definition of a movie based upon a videogame then I (half) seriously believe the Animal Crossing movie is the first truly good example and perhaps the first game-derived film to break the pants mould that has, erm, been festering for many years now.So why is it good? In a nutshell the Animal Crossing movie is immensely faithful to the source material - specifically the most recent game in the series, 'Animal Crossing: Wild World' for the Nintendo DS - while remaining plausibly enjoyable viewing regardless of prior experiences. It successfully captures the look, feel, and charm of the infectiously colourful world perfectly; mirroring the games by managing to be engrossing, endearing, casually paced, and even, dare I say, relaxing.
Much like the premise of the game the story revolves around a girl moving to town, her trials and tribulations over the seasons as she integrates herself into life with the locals, and the importance of friendship. 'Cherry pie' is also integral to the plot, as is a special event that can occur in the game. It's hardly Shakespeare but then it's not like the bard's work has succeeded much making the opposite journey...
The attention to detail in transforming the game to big screen is unrivalled. It is evident that quite a lot of thought has gone into incorporating as much of the game as possible by encompassing almost all of the gameplay aspects, locations, major characters, and the original soundtrack. References are made to pretty much everything you can experience in the game - from clothes designing, letter writing, messages in bottles, bug catching, fishing, pitfalls, to the Happy Room Academy, gyroids, fossils, feng shui, festivals, and more. Components of interaction with the animal neighbours such as emotion symbols, questions, and bizarre randomness could easily have been overlooked during the crossover but work with good effect - heck, there are even pieces of dialogue that have been lifted directly from the game. While we're passing the subject of dialogue I should mention, however, that the characters speak in Japanese and not the native tongue of 'Animalese' found in the games. An understandable omission but purists will be happy to learn that K.K. Slider's singing voice remains authentic!
Nintendo and it's animation partner have managed to do the seemingly impossible by amalgamating a relatively original story within an accurately repackaged essence of a gaming world/scenario without detracting or deviating massively from the game itself. The graphical style of the Animal Crossing series obviously lends itself perfectly to a seamless transition to anime, and the fact that the games are relatively open-ended with user defined main characters means there is no real fixed story to emulate or stand up against in expectations. But I guess the most pleasing factor that counters those points is that it doesn't feel forced. It plays out more like unobtrusive fan-service than a marketing exercise or what could have amounted to a feature-length advert, providing satisfying viewing for anyone who has played the game while at the same time remaining accessible enough and primed to entice new fans by managing to be enjoyable as a self-contained whole to those who haven't. Just compare it with the regurgitated nature of the merchandise motivated Pokémon films - the last (and still continuing!) Nintendo franchise to receive cinematic treatment.
The frustrating part is 15 months after release it has still yet to be available outside of Japan and sadly, despite the relatively high popularity of Animal Crossing in Europe and the U.S., that will probably never change. You can, however, watch it on Youtube or download it via a torrent.
From: imperialdoughnut.blogspot.com
ANIMAL FARM
UK made-for-TV adaptation of Animal Farm was produced in 1999 and distributed in America in 2001 by Turner-Time-Warner, a modern-day department of the "Ministry of Truth".
It's hard to believe that anything could be as bad as the movie version of 1984 but the movie version of Animal Farm regrettably is. Opening scenes show Mr. Jones's wife [correction, it's Mr Jones] (non-existent in the book) upstairs in her [his] bedroom having sex with neighbouring farmer Mr. Pilkington's( wife)while drunken Mr. Jones [Picklington] is passed out downstairs.
The rest of the movie is equally warped and ridiculously mixes in high-tech surveillance themes from 1984. A phony mushy-gushy politically-correct ending turns a minor female character into a heroine who saves the day.After everything Orwell's second wife Sonia went through to retrieve ownership of his stolen copyrights and pass them on in her will to his son Richard, it's a travesty they allowed such a film to be made in Orwell's name. If Sonia were alive she would never have allowed such a misrepresentation, nor, of course, would Orwell. He called such productions "prolefeed". Jackie Jura
The Incredibles
Now this is the perfect definition of family entertainment. It’s always nice to see the whole family in action. This is a story of a family of superheroes, who tried their best to be (un)super, but the times would just call for them to be such. I loved each of the lead characters because they’re well-developed, and they depict REAL lives of REAL people.
Elastigirl is so interesting in this movie! Having kids does not prevent one to be cool. Stretching yourself to grab a falling bottle five yards away or eavesdropping a conversation also from that distance is awesome.
Mr. Incredible’s sagging belly (which he eventually had after retiring as a superhero) was one of the things that made his character so relatable.
But the character that I loved most in this movie was the feisty midget costume designer. I thought she’s cute and amusing, and damn filthy rich!
Elastigirl is so interesting in this movie! Having kids does not prevent one to be cool. Stretching yourself to grab a falling bottle five yards away or eavesdropping a conversation also from that distance is awesome.
Mr. Incredible’s sagging belly (which he eventually had after retiring as a superhero) was one of the things that made his character so relatable.
But the character that I loved most in this movie was the feisty midget costume designer. I thought she’s cute and amusing, and damn filthy rich!
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