Beatrix Potter’s beloved characters are brought to life in the family comedy Peter Rabbit. After Jeremy Fisher inherits a country farm from his uncle he gets more than he bargained for when a rabble of farm animals, led by a mischievous rabbit, begin pilfering his garden. Featuring Rose Burn along with the voice talents of James Corden, Margot Robbie, and Daisy Ridley, the film has a pretty strong cast. And the CGI is especially good, as are the character designs for the animals. Also, the comedy is really funny, with jokes and gags for all ages. Delivering a lot of laughs, Peter Rabbit is a fun and entertaining film.
The Fast and the Furious is a fast-paced and explosive action film that's incredibly entertaining. The story follows an undercover cop who attempts to infiltrate the underground street racing circuit in order to find a criminal group that's robbing semi-trucks on the highways of Southern California. The writing is pretty strong, and does an especially good job at developing the characters. Featuring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez, the casting's fairly solid; Diesel in particular has tremendous screen presence. And, the stunt work for the car chases is quite impressive. Exciting and action-packed, The Fast and the Furious is a thrilling, high-octane adventure.
A disappointing entry in this storied series, Cult of Chucky attempts to set a new course and makes a mess of things in the process. After her family is killed by Chucky, Nica is committed to a mental hospital but finds that Chucky has followed her there looking to finish the job. There’s also a worthless subplot with Andy (from the first three films) that the writers don’t seem to know what to do with but got boxed into by Curse’s end credit scenes. And all the old mythology about Charles Ray (aka Chucky) and his voodoo powers gets thrown out and replaced. Still, the kills are pretty entertaining (in a horror movie king of way), and there’s a bit of mystery as to which of the two dolls at the hospital is the real Chucky and what his plan is. Cult of Chucky lacks vision and ends up as just another dumb, pointless slasher film.
Though the plot's absurd, National Treasure is wildly entertaining. Treasure hunter Ben Gates endeavors to steal the Declaration of Independence and ends up on a quest to find the fabled treasure of the Knights Templar. The film has a great cast that includes Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, and Harvey Keitel; who all give strong performances. As crazy as the plot is, it's a lot of fun, and is rather clever in how it strings together the Knights Templar, Masons, and the Founding Fathers into a vast conspiracy. Plus, the film is packed with thrilling chases and riveting action scenes. The film has its flaws, but National Treasure is an incredible fun adventure.
The Patriot is a magnificent and compelling Revolutionary War epic. The film follows the story of Benjamin Martin, who reluctantly joins the American Revolution in order to save his family. The cast is spectacular, and includes Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, and Tom Wilkinson. The actors all give excellent performances and have good chemistry together; which makes the story all the more dramatic and moving. Additionally, the costumes and set designs are quite elaborate and help give the film an authentic feel. And the battle sequences are breathtaking. The Patriot is a powerful and thrilling war epic that delves into the American Revolution as never before.
Toy Story 3 may be the best film of the series. In their final adventure Woody must rescue Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang from a tyrannical daycare center. Once again Pixar delivers another poignant story about the life of a toy, and an inspirational message about friendship and loyalty. Though some of the material is derivative of the first two films, it works without coming off as a rehash or stale. For a generation that has grown up with Pixar, the Toy Story characters have become old friends and watching this film feels like coming home again. Toy Story 3 is a wonderful film that will entertain audiences to infinity and beyond.
Toy Story is a masterpiece, and one of those few films that changed the medium forever. It was the first fully computer animated film, and took CGI to a whole new level. But more than that, it created a whole new way of storytelling that could appeal to both children and adults. With a powerhouse cast that included Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, and Wallace Shawn, it’s clear that Pixar took the film seriously and wanted quality performers to bring the animation to life; and they did. Toy Story is a creative and imaginative film that elevated filmmaking to a new level.
Pixar strikes again with another brilliant installation of the Toy Story series. Woody, Buzz, Rex, Slinky and the gang return once more for another excursion into the world of toys. Toy Story 2 is one of those rare films that surpasses the original. Not only has the quality of the CG animation improved, but the story has more heart to it. Even the comedy seems a bit sharper and is a bit funnier now that we know the characters. Toy Story 2 is a shining example of a sequel done right.
Dark and atmospheric, Curse of Chucky is a return to form for the Child's Play series. A semi-reboot, the plot seemingly ignores some parts of the last few films but sticks to the overall continuity. Chucky reemerges once again and stalks a family with which he has a score to settle. It's pretty rote, tried-and-true horror stuff; a creepy old rundown house, heavy storms, people going missing/being murdered one by one, etc., etc. And while it's standard fare for this type of film, it works well enough in setting a mood. Additionally, the kill scenes are fairly creative and suspenseful. However, the script is poorly paced and doesn't flesh out the characters (which makes it hard for the audience to invest in them). Curse of Chucky has problems, but on the whole it delivers enough frights and scares to satisfy horror fans.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an ambitious and exciting film that takes on controversial real-world issues. Addressing the theme of security vs. freedom, the plot follows Steve Rogers as he investigates a possible cabal within SHIELD that's responsible for the assassination of Nick Fury. Starring Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Emily VanCamp, the casting is especially good and features some very strong performances. The special effects are also incredibly well-done and add an extra level of energy and intensity to the action sequences. Yet as strong an action film as Captain America: The Winter Soldier is, it makes some radical changes to the Avenger series and leaves it in an awkward place.
DC makes a hard turn toward the fantastical with James Wan’s Aquaman. When King Orm attempts to unite the kingdoms of Atlantis to attack the surface world Princess Mera seeks out the help of Arthur Curry, the king’s half-brother, to stop Orm’s coming war. Starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, and Nicole Kidman, the film has an impressive cast. And, the special effects are pretty good; featuring a lot of interesting set and creature designs, creating a fascinating new world within the DC Universe. However, the plot is formulaic and the Atlantis mythology is rather bizarre. Still, despite some problems, Aquaman is an incredibly fun and entertaining action film.
Sony launches another Spider-Man franchise with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a fun, though bizarre, animated film. When the nefarious crime lord Kingpin opens up a dimensional portal he accidentally transports several spider superheroes from alternative universes who then team-up to defeat him. Unfortunately the animation style is incredibly poor; having a rotoscope type feel that often seems out of focus with a mesh filter (likely meant to resemble a newspaper comic-strip). Also, the multiple Spider characters kind of diminish the value and importance of Spider-Man. Still, it’s interesting to see alternate universe versions of Spider-Man, and the action is pretty exciting. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is entertaining, but it’s also a real mess that’s constantly getting in its own way.
Horrible in every way, Seed of Chucky is an atrociously awful piece of garbage. While the meta humor and jokiness worked in the last film, here it's completely out of control. The script is incredibly lazy and makes no kind of sense at all. Worse still is Jennifer Tilly's ridiculously idiotic performance as herself. Indescribably bad, Seed of Chucky is just so damn stupid that there's no fun in any of it.
Jennifer Tilly is the Bride of Chucky in this post-modern horror revival of the Child's Play series. In this chapter the former girlfriend of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, Tiffany, rebuilds and re-ensouls Chucky, who then transfers her soul into a doll. Co-starring Katherine Heigl, Alexis Arquette, and John Ritter, the casting isn't that bad; but their performances aren't very good. However, Tilly's charisma carries the film and gives new life to the series with her character of Tiffany. Additionally, the comedy really plays up the silliness and camp, which works rather well. Still, while this change in direction is refreshing and fun, Bride of Chucky is not a good movie.
Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves star in the satiric romantic comedy Destination Wedding. The film follows two misanthropes who are paired together at a destination wedding as they critique each other, the wedding activities, life, and love. Both Ryder and Reeves give strong performance, and prove able to carry the film; which is entirely focused on their two characters. And, the witty banter is incredibly clever and has a nice rhythm and style to it. Still, it can get a little raunchy and nihilistic – which kills the romance vibe. It’s a bit of a gimmick film and is kind of limited by the two character format, but Destination Wedding is entertaining and delivers some laughs.
AnnaSophia Robb and Uma Thurman lead the cast in the supernatural horror film Down a Dark Hall. Based on a bestselling book, the story follows a rebellious teenage girl who’s sent to a reform school for troubled youth called Blackwood, but she soon discovers that something strange is going on and begins to suspect that she and her fellow students are being used for some nefarious purpose. Robb gives a fairly good performance and director Rodrigo Cortes does an impressive job at creating an atmospheric mood. However, the storytelling is a little weak and lacks strong villains. Also, the supernatural isn’t really played for scares, and the scares that are there seem a little out of place. Still, despite its problems, Down a Dark Hall is a creepy thriller full of mystery and intrigue.
Chucky is re-born in Child's Play 3. After Chucky's blood gets mixed into a vat of plastic his soul is transferred into a new Good Guys doll, and he then precedes to go after his old nemesis Andy Barclay. It's a trite story and is full of the stereotypical horror movie clichés. And the characters aren't that interesting; even Andy has lost his appeal as a sympathetic victim. Chucky however, is still pretty fun and some of the kills are entertaining. With Child's Play 3 Chucky's story has pretty much been played out, and the series doesn't really have anywhere to go.
Chucky's back for more mayhem and murder in Child's Play 2. The story continues as the Play Pals Company rebuilds Chucky in an attempt to find defects, but he soon escapes and tracks down Andy at a foster home. As far as horror films go, this is one of the more plausible resurrections of a villain. But, the rest of the script (with the exception of the final showdown) is pretty weak. Also, the film gives into the campiness a little more this time; with Chucky being more playful than scary. Even so, there's some excitement and suspense to the chases and fight sequences. Though not as good as the original, Child's Play 2 manages to stir up some scares.
Delivering terrifying thrills, Child's Play is an iconic '80s horror film that launched one of the major franchises of the horror genre. Unbeknownst to 6-year-old Andy Barclay, the Good Guy doll that he got for his birthday, "Chucky," has been imbued with the soul of a serial killer who's out for revenge. Starring Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, and Brad Dourif, the cast is pretty decent (though their performances aren't anything special). What really sells the film is the animatronic work that's done to bring Chucky to life. By the end, the doll feels like a real character with deadly menace, and is a significant threat. Child's Play has some problems overcoming the corniness of its premise, but it ends up succeeding and offers some frightening chills.
"That rug really tied the room together, did it not?" The Big Lebowski stands as one of the best Coen brothers' films, and quickly became a beloved cult classic. It's a clever take on the film noir genre, and is full of dark humor and interesting characters that feel authentic in a strange way. Leading this spectacular ensemble cast of immensely entertaining and eccentric characters are Jeff Bridges and John Goodman; both of whom give outstanding performances. The story is a wild adventure that's all about the journey. The Big Lebowski is a phenomenal film that just gets better and better every time you watch it. The Dude abides.
