http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/brave-2012/trailers/


BRAVE

 Stars: 3

    Rated: PG

                        Studios:   Disney/Pixar

                            Director: Mark Andrews,
                                                 Brenda Chapman, 
                                                and Steve Purcell

                                  Starring: Kelly MacDonald, 
                                           Billy Connolly, 
                                                      and Emma Thompson

              Length:   93 Min

I am an avid fan of animation and have been since…oh conception. As a matter of fact, my first word was Disney! Actually I’m lying my first word was most likely baba or dada like everyone else; but, I was not lying about the fact that I have always been enchanted by animation. In fact, I used to tell my parents when I was a wee lad that I was going to work for the great mouse someday. I understood then and still do today that animated films can capture the essence of a story with much more purity and depth then traditional films can. They can take us to places that traditional films can not, and their only limit is that of the imagination of the creator. Even in today’s world of computer effects and digital film there is still something magical about a good animated movie. Pixar is by far the king of the mountain in the new era of computer animation; and even before they had the endorsement of the mouse, they were following in the footsteps of the master himself good ol’ Walt Disney. This is why, I was a bit surprised and even a bit frustrated when I saw Pixar’s newest creative endeavor. Even though the film is deftly named “BRAVE”; it is anything but brave, and I was disappointed that the studio that had been known for pushing the limits of conventionalism had succumbed to the pressure of Disneyification. (Yes folks I have just created a new word.) 

To say that brave is not a good movie would not be doing it justice, since it clearly is another masterpiece of Disney magic. That is the problem however. We have come to expect more from Pixar studios then the conventional Disney fair. Brave is neither new nor exciting and in many ways it is a lesser film then the previous installments of the Pixar library. (Well except maybe Cars 2 which even the voice work of Michael Kaine could not save.)  Brave, however, has one thing that the others do not…Merida’s unruly and beautifully full red curls! Hey now, are you saying that the best part of this film is main characters hair? Why yes, yes I am. In all of my years as a film junky I have never seen such masterfully crafted animation as Merida’s flowing locks. Of course the wonderfully animated shots of the Scottish Highlands are enchanting and engaging as well and draw the movie goer into the very real and magical world of medieval Scotland. This of course, for me was absolutely wonderful since I am, for the most part, a person of Celtic descent; so, to finally have a true Scottish story from Disney was like the sweet sound of bagpipes to my ears. In the area of animation Pixar outdoes itself again as it has done in every other film they have given birth to; and, it is the stunning and at times awe-inspiring animation that is the redeeming quality of this other wise mediocre film.

The story starts out with the king his young wife and their little daughter out camping in the woods on a hunting trip. It is the little girl’s birthday and much to the chagrin of the mother the father gives the little girl a bow for her birthday present. She is thrilled and the family continues on in there merry making. Suddenly a bear breaks through the trees and burst into the encampment menacing the otherwise peaceful scene. The king, voiced by the always enjoyable Billy Connolly, charges head long into the fray as his wife whisks there daughter away on horse back. The story moves along fast and we are soon presented with the now grown girl whose name is Merida and her charming very Scottish family.  From here the story is pretty basic. The queen, voiced by Emma Thompson, wants her daughter to follow the tradition of her people and get married to one of the sons of the Scottish nobles; but Merida, however, does not feel ready to settle down and would rather climb mountains and hunt with her bow then be a lady like her mom. The king and queen set up a tourney for their daughters hand behind her back, and this sets up the rest of the film. Merida sees no way out until a loophole in the tradition allows for her to compete in the tourney for her own hand. This of course infuriates the lord and causes a great rift between Merida and her mom. After a fight with her mum; Merida runs away seeking some way to change her mother’s heart in the matter. While in the woods she comes across a willow wisp who leads her to a lost cottage. Here she meets an old woman who used to be a witch but is now a wood carver and convinces her to give her a spell to change her mom and thereby change her fate. The rest is pretty self explanatory and follows the usual Disney fairytale format; even though, there are a few interesting twists along the way. The world falls apart thanks to Merida and then while learning a valuable lesson about love and family it is all put right again in the end.

Brave is a good film, but not a great film and not the type of movie we have come to expect from Pixar Studios; but, it has enough laughs and action to entertain everyone in the family from the youngest to the oldest, and the visual magnificence of the animation makes this move a must see in the big screen. There is one final thing I have to mention before I end my little review; but, I warn you this is a bit of a spoiler so those with faint hearts should stop reading now. This film has one more thing that no other Disney film has had before it…nudity. (Gasp!) Now now, it’s not like that get your mind out of the gutter! It is actually rather innocent and hysterical when you see it in the context of the story. Merida must sneak her mother out of the castle and her three little brothers are leading all of the lords, their father included, through out the castle on a wild goose chase that ends with them all being locked up on the roof with no way down. All of the men tie their kilts together to make a rope; and of course in true Scottish fashion, they are wearing nothing but their birthday suits under their kilts. The shots of the men’s backsides are brief, but they are there making this film a pioneer in some ways as far as the Disney universe goes. (Walt just rolled over in his grave I think!) I guess, the guys at Pixar managed to find a subtle way to push the boundaries of conventionality after all even if they didn’t with the story. I can’t help but wonder if this was a planed act of subtle defiance to the obvious Disneyification that I can’t help but think must have been thrust upon them by the Disney higher ups. Oh well, we may never know for sure; so I guess it will just have to be one of those unsolved mysteries of the universe like Bigfoot and life on other planets.  

This film is rate “PG” for crude humor, scenes of mild violence and a few bare Scottish bums.

Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter

Stars: 2 Stars

Rated: R

Studios:   Bazeleys Company, Tim Burton Productions,
Dune Entertainment and 20th Century Fox

Director:  Timur Bekmanbetov

Starring:  Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Marton Csokas

Length: 105 Min

A man walks into a bar and says to a young man who is downing a massive amount of alcohol, "A man only gets this drunk when he is either going to kiss a girl or kill a man." No this is not the beginning of a joke but the apparent quintessential pick up line for  Obi-Wan like vampire hunter mentors when trying to coax potential monster slaying prodigies. In many ways, this one line sums up the moderately entertaining film of Russian director Timur Bekmanbetov who is also the director of the comic book action adaption flop "Wanted." It hints at something more and possibly very interesting but never really takes you anywhere new or exciting. I really wanted to love this film being that I am an avid lover of history and vampire slaying; but, I find that even though the film is entertaining and even a bit interesting at times it never truly seems to get off the ground. In many ways Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter almost seems like two distinctly different films. First off it is a Dan Brown like take on history portraying an unknown aspect of the already iconic story of President Abraham Lincoln; second, it is an anime type action film filled with jaw dropping physics defying adrenalin filled action sequences that seem almost ridiculous at times. The story feels almost cut and then pasted together as if the writers did not know exactly what type of film they wanted to make; a serious retelling of a historic icon, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer with historical characters. I really wish the people in charge of this film had made up their mind and picked which type of film they wanted to make; because if they had, this could have been a great film.

The story starts out with a bang showing young Abe and his parents as they stand up against a slaver who is beating a young black boy. Abe's father works for the slaver and is fired for his insolence. He owes the man a lot of money and the man wants the debt repaid immediately. He refuses and the man tells him that there are many ways you can collect a debt hinting at something ominous. The slaver is of course a vampire and he kills Abe's mother in front of him leaving him scared for life. When he grows up he decides he is going to find the man and kill him. Young Abe tries but fails since the object of his vengeance is an immortal blood sucking fiend who can only be slain by something silver. The man who talked to him in the bar rescues him and takes the beaten up Abe back to his place. The man, of course, is a vampire hunter and in about a 5 minute conversation he has convinced young Lincoln to join in the vampire hunting fun. This part of the film is entertaining and interesting as young Lincoln goes from novice, to his first kill, to being one of the premiere hunters in his area. He works in a shop by day, and studies to be a lawyer and kills vampires at night. He meets Marry Todd who would someday become his wife and life seems grand. This is where the story gets fractured. He gets married decides to go into politics because he wants to end slavery which has flourished thanks to the vampires who are Southern plantation owners who use the slaves as a constant supply of food. He puts up his trusty silver tipped axe and then all of sudden he is the president of the United States, and the vampires of course, are not to thrilled about this. To sum it all up, it all comes to a head at the battle of Gettysburg where the vampires have sided with the confederates trying to end Lincoln’s war on slavery. Of course young Abe dons his axe once again and...well I’ll let you find out the rest. That is if you care to pay the ten dollars to see this film.

This film is not without merit however, and their are a few interesting elements such as the fact that God will not allow vampires to kill their own kind so only the living can kill the dead. What I wanted to see was history being told from the perspective of some hidden war with Abe Lincoln and the vampires; but what I got, however, was a constant tease like the girls I used to fall for when I was a kid from a story that made me feel their could be something more but was really leading me on. (I feel so used!)  I was entertained though so the film did serve its basic purpose. Is it a piece of cinematic genius? No of course not its title is "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!" I mean seriously! This film is a basic genre film that's target audience is teenagers and anime fans or people who have read the book. Overall, it is a decent film that could have been a great film if it had been done a little better. The effects were adequate but nothing special and the 3D is passé so don't spend the extra 3 dollars unless you really want to waste your money. It is entertaining so if you have 2 hours on a Saturday morning and 6 bucks to blow go see it in a matinee. If not, just wait for the red box since just about any film is worth a shot for a dollar. Well, any film that is except Mission to Mars, or battlefield Earth for that matter. Sadly, I saw both films in the theaters....alone. 

This film is rated R for strong scenes of violence and strong language.

http://meninblack.com/ 

Men In Black 3    
 

Stars: 3 Stars
Rated: PG-13
Studios:  Sony
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld 
                   Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones,

                       Josh Brolin and Emma Thompson   
Length: 106 Min. 

The boys are back and ready to avenge the disaster that was Men in Black 2. Can they perform the impossible and bring the the Men in Black movie franchise back from the brinks of film hell by giving the movie going public a film worth spending ten dollars of their hard earned moo-la for?  It has been ten years since the second Men in Black flopped horribly, though I personally liked the film, and most people me included had mixed feelings about Sony's upcoming venture. In truth, I thought it was going to be another Redbox special, but my crack addict like need to go to the movies overcame my sensibilities, and my wallet, and I dragged my daughter kicking and screaming to the movie theaters. What did I find there between the popcorn, M & M's and 3D glasses? Well I'm glad you asked.

MIB 3 survives! In the words of Doc Frankenstein..."Its Alive!" Sony has done what only the Indiana Jones franchise has managed to do and brought a trilogy of films back from a disastrous middle installment. I will say, however, it was not the performances of the usual suspects Smith and Jones that saved the Men in Black, but it is the new comer to the corp Josh Brolin who is the real hero of the film. Brolin plays the young Agent K who a very nasty alien from the future has gone back in time to kill. His performance is nothing short of genius and he manages to capture even the facial expressions and mannerisms of his co star Tommy Lee Jones. To say that Brolin impersonates Jones is not doing his work justice, because he does far more then just impersonate Jones he channels his very essence, and somehow manages to become the character of K making it his character every bit as much as Jones did the original version. I swear that quantum physics is involved in the making of this film somewhere and that Brolin is really a younger version of Jones from another dimension brought in to work his magic. I honestly have to say that I would put nothing past Sony and believe that my hunch could be right.

MIB 3 follows our two heroes K and J as they  go about their normal routine together. Life has become very routine for the two partners and J has finally decided to find out why K is so dour and sad. after an alien assassin from the past breaks out of a lunar prison to return to earth to kill K; J decides he is going to find out what happened to his partner in his past. After repeated attempts to find out are rebutted by the new head of MIB played by Emma Thompson, J decides to finally give it a rest. He goes home and wakes up to find that K was killed in 1969 and that the life he knew has changed. He alone remembers his partner and he has a strange craving for chocolate milk. Long story short, he goes back in time to rescue his partner and restore order to the world. This is not the whole story of course there is a twist; but, you will have to see the movie for yourself to discover what that is. 

Overall, this film is every bit as good a the first one even though the idea is no longer as fresh as it was back in the late 90's. Neither are mullets but they seem to have managed to hang around like a bad rash; and so two does the basic story telling that the MIB franchise continues to follow. Good guys go against bad guys, make us laugh, shoot up some stuff and then make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside at the end. Hey, it still works so why change the formula as Coke found out with their disaster in the 80's called new Coke. The 3D is just ok and the only scene that truly stands out in this format is the time travel sequence where Smith has to literally jump off a building to make the jump back in time; so don't waste the extra 3 bucks unless you really want to. You wont find anything new and exciting in MIB 3, other then Brolin as young K; but the whole family will be entertained and that is after all why we still go to the movies in the age of the home theater generation. (My dad still refuses to go to the movies because he spent so much money on his home theater system.) So get your black sunglasses and your neurolizer and take the whole family out to the nearest cineplex and see MIB 3 you wont be disappointed.

This film is rated PG-13 due to mild violence, some sexual innuendos, strong language and crude humor.