Robert Vince is at it again with talking animals in Air Bud Entertainment’s Monkey Up. After directing the stupefyingly popular Air Buddies franchise, Vince returns to talented monkeys after cutting his teeth with such films as MVP: Most Valuable Primate and MVP: Most Vertical Primate.
By: Addison Wylie The Planes franchise is not for me. However, I’m not a seven-year-old boy who’s obsessed with airplanes and other miscellaneous aviary vehicles – the demographic these films are so clearly for. That’s not to snub the seven-year-old boy who likes to play with toy airplanes in his parents’ living room. Being a kid is a great time and should be cerished. There’s a lack of responsibilities, you have no dire worries, and…
By: Addison Wylie “I think I liked that movie…” As soon as Maleficent’s credits rolled, those were the lukewarm words that scrolled across my brain like a news ticker reporting a traffic jam at three in the morning. Robert Stromberg’s reimagining of one of Disney’s villains had me entertained and interested throughout. But, do modern day revisions have to be this heavy? This is more of a question directed towards Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton. When…
By: Addison Wylie Guardians of the Galaxy plays as a gnarlier, more rugged version of The Avengers. But, only will that thought hit you after the credits have rolled. You won’t be put off by it though; Guardians of the Galaxy is a boatload of fun nonetheless. It’s only worth bringing up because when a generic formula is paired with this much originality, the combination can’t help but flare. Then again, I sort of expected this…
By: Addison Wylie How do the Muppets follow up their 2011 crowd pleasing resurgence? With a song titled We’re Doing a Sequel including a lyric admitting that the second film in a series isn’t nearly as good as the first. Not so fast, guys. Muppets Most Wanted actually ends up being more memorable and more clever than its predecessor. Picking up where The Muppets left off, the cheerful fleet of felt eye an upcoming tour as…
By: Addison Wylie Disney has shown again and again that they rise to the occasion with fairy tales. Their fantasies featuring sparkling animation and lively characters always bring out the bliss in audiences and the bacon at the box office. Frozen is no different. It’s charmed movie goers far and wide with its strong female personalities and fetching tunes. Frozen also serves as being one of the only current family films that has stabilized sturdy…
By: Addison Wylie The most impressive attribute about Monsters University, besides its wit and vibrant animation, is its choice to not use nostalgia as a crutch to help connect movie goers – young and old – to the characters they loved in Pixar’s predecessor. Instead, the film uses two main tactics Monsters Inc. utilized to develop excitement and compassion. Those two ingredients are imagination and heart. The campus life of Mike Wazowski and James P….
By: Addison Wylie About 75% of The Lone Ranger is immensely enjoyable and everything you’d want in a Summer blockbuster. It’s just unfortunate that 25% of it doesn’t reach the heights that director Gore Verbinski hits preceding and after the saggy middle portion of his film. Let’s get the cons out of the way, because I’d much rather remember The Lone Ranger for its amiable feats. After some hard-hitting fights and likeable introductions to a…
By: Addison Wylie I could say that Sam Raimi’s OZ: The Great and Powerful puts the ‘Z’ in OZ because of how sluggish and boring it is, but that wouldn’t make for much of a review. Instead, OZ: The Great and Powerful can be compared to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, another big budget fairy tale that shares the same strengths and weaknesses as OZ. Like Tim Burton’s hit, Raimi’s family film is far more interesting…
By: Addison Wylie Studio Ghibli proposes a challenge for themselves with their latest animated film From Up on Poppy Hill. The studio, which is known for its wild fantastical imagination displayed in such films as My Neighbour Totoro and The Secret World of Arrietty, decides to ditch the creatures and the animals. From Up on Poppy Hill is a coming of age story featuring a young romance that blossoms only for the two lovebirds to…