"The Peanuts Movie": You're in a Great Movie, Charlie Brown!
Nowadays, when we see Hollywood make an "attempt" to make a feature film based on our favorite classic cartoon characters such as Alvin and the Chipmunks or The Smurfs, they feel the only way to make those properties relevant is to put in "modern spins" such as pop songs, modern slangs, corporate advertising, heavy use of social media and technology, toilet humor, etc. When I heard a movie was being made about the classic comic strip and beloved franchise The Peanuts, featuring characters cherished by generations such as Ch…
"Sicario", Violently Good!
Director Dennis Villenueve brings us Sicario, an edge of your seat crime thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio del Toro. Blunt plays FBI SWAT agent Kate Macer who is hired on in a joint task force mission to take down a leading drug lord. On top of that, the task force also brings on a particular expert named Alejandro (del Toro). Tensions rises at the border between the United States and Mexico, as well as with Kate and Alejandro, as the FBI agent starts to questions the motives of her mission as well Alejandro. Sicario is f…
Success Comes "Straight Outta Compton"
I find it rare to find a biopic that not only is very intriguing, but also has the courage to not fully glorify its focus but at the same time celebrate what is so special or interesting about said focus while at the same time succeeding in creating a compelling and entertaining movie. Straight Outta Comtpon tells the intriguing story of late 80s, early 90s hip-hop group N.W.A., in particular its members Andre "Dr. Dre" Young (Corey Hawkins), O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), and Eric "Eazy-E&quo…
"Dope" is Dope is Overused....but True.
It is rare to get a film that is original, clever, funny,and takes you to an unfamiliar environment. Dope is certainly one of those films. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa, the film follows the story of Malcolm (Shameik Moore), his friends Jib (Tony Revolori), and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons), who are high school geeks obsessed with hip hop culture of the 1990s. This fun for them, and at the same time not so fun for them because they grow up in Inglewood, California where gangs run the streets. They are constantly picked on for not just being geeks, but …
"Inside Out" and Up
In recent years, after Toy Story 3, the movies by Pixar Animation Studios have ranged from bad, to okay, to mediocre ( Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University). But now we have their new animated project, Inside Out, that takes us inside the mind of an 11-year old girl named Riley, and we get to see her emotions, Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black), and Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith). After Riley and her family move from Minnesota to San Francisco, the adolesce…
A Soaring Sequel, or "How to Train Your Dragon 2"
I was given the fortunate treat to check out an early screening of Dreamworks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2, the sequel to their 2010 hit. Now I loved the original How to Train Your Dragon! I absolutely loved the characters, the well and surprisingly original execution of what seemed like a familar and tired premise, the gorgeous animation, the designs and charaterisitcs of the different dragons, the flying scenes, it was just a beautifully great animated film! In this installment we follow the main lead Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baru…
