My Movie Thoughts

***FROM THE ALL-TIME FAVORITES LIST***


Megamind (2010)
Dir: Tom McGrath
Starring: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt

Another recent addition to the all-time favorites list. It seems that the best of the current onslaught of super hero movies are coming from animation studios and have no pre-established characters. Of course, I mean Pixar's The Incredibles (2004) and now Dreamworks' Megamind. Both films just seem to "get" what it was that drew me to super heroes and comic books when I was a kid. Colorful characters, zany evil plots, exciting super hero action. No "grim and gritty realism." Not dumbed down for kids, but not "aged up" to the point where kids are excluded from the audience. Just good, clean, family friendly, super hero fun, the way it should be.

Megamind offers a unique take on the genre by essentially answering the question, "What would Lex Luthor do if he finally succeeded in killing Superman?" He'd have to find a new hero to challenge himself, of course. Naturally, like all of his evil plans, Megamind's plan backfires and he ends up creating a new villain, forcing himself into the hero role. The movie ends up being a morality play showing that it is never too late to chose the right path in life. The kids loved this movie. I loved this movie. Win-win. Being Dreamworks, we shouldn't have to wait as long for a sequel as we've had to with The Incredibles.

__________________
Family DVD Collection | My Top 100 | My Movie Thoughts | Frank Capra

I took my Nephews boys to see this last year and they loved it

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

The Adventures of Bailey the Lost Puppy (2010)
Dir: Steve Franke
Starring: Rick Shew, Liz Franke

This film featuring talking animals is a throwback to stuff like the great Homeward Bound but focused entirely on the animals. The human characters don't even have lines. It is a cute little family movie about a cute little lost puppy with many other cute little animals. And a psycho freakin' monkey.

Bailey wanders off at a gas station during his family's big move. He waits a while, then wanders, eventually ending up at an animal refuge with a wide variety of animals from around the world. The film provides plenty of "Awww" cuteness and has some laughs (particularly the bearcat and his "Sneak attack!"). And did I mention the psycho freakin' monkey.

This is a cute family film, but is nowhere near the level of Pixar or Dreamworks stuff. A low budget, independently produced picture that will keep the kids occupied for an hour and a half, and mom and dad will be able to tolerate it too. But that monkey is freakin' psycho...

Like Dandelion Dust (2010)
Dir: Jon Gunn
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Cole Hauser, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton

Virtually ignored last year, this was an excellent film. Far superior, in my opinion, to The Social Network. This film tells the story of two families. One, a recovering alcoholic and his abused wife who are trying to make things better after his incarceration. The other, a very well-to-do couple and their 6 year old son. The problem; the boy is the biological son of the first couple, and the father's signature was forged on the adoption papers.

On a similar note to the afformentioned Social Network, this film features characters involved in a moral and legal dilemma. Unlike The Social Network, this film made me actually care about the characters on all sides. I was invested in this film in a way I just couldn't be in that other movie. I wanted things to work out for everybody, even though I knew someone had to loose. In the end, a satisfactory conclusion was reached, and I actually cared about it.

Confusingly, I think this film was very mis-marketed. It was marketed very heavily toward the Christian film community. The actual film had very little religious content. Not that the movie was anti-religious or anything, but the church was merely a plot device the rich couple was able to manipulate and use to their advantage. The only truly religious people in the film were the rich woman's sister and her husband. Not quite the same type of film as Fireproof or The Secrets of Johnathan Sperry. Still, this was a very good movie that, I think, due to it's small targeted audience, missed out on a wider viewership.

Alpha and Omega (2010)
Dir: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck
Starring: Justin Long, Hayden Panetierre, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper, Christina Ricci

In a year packed with stand-out animated family films like Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After, How to Train Your Dragon, Megamind and Despicable Me, this one doesn't. This one is a pretty average take on the Romeo & Juliet couple who really love each other but cannot be together. In this case case the couple is Kate, an alpha wolf destined to one day lead the pack, and Humphrey, and omega wolf destined to be a class clown forever. It's an enjoyable use of an hour and a half with your kids, but it really pales in comparison to the other great family films of 2010.

Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
Dir: Andy Fickman
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino

Race to Witch Mountain sees Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a cab driver helping two kids get home. The catch? They're aliens and need to recover their spaceship from the shadowy government agency that found it. Oh, and they're being pursued by an unstoppable alien assassin. I have fond childhood memories of watching Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and it's sequels, but I don't really remember details of them. I'm guessing I won't remember many details of this in a few weeks either, but it was a fun family action-flick and worth the $1 out of the Redbox. The kids liked it, and that's always a good thing.

The Other Guys (2010)
Dir: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Farrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson

This movie is pretty much just stupid, but I laughed a lot. The interactions between Farrell and Wahlberg were great. Johnson and Jackson were great in their small roles, and I always like Michael Keaton. It was pretty brainless stuff (as are most of Farrell's films), but it was funny, so it gets a 3 instead of a 2 just because it made me laugh.

The Karate Kid (2010)
Dir: Harald Zwart
Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan

If you've read some of my other posts you know that, in general, I do not like the idea of remakes. The original 1984 Karate Kid film is one of my all-time favorites. I didn't like the idea of this remake and was ready not to like the completed film either.

That said, I really did enjoy this movie. It was one of those remakes that works. While I won't say it was as good as the original, it didn't tarnish the memory of it either. It's essentially the exact same story transplanted into China with younger kids, using kung-fu and not karate, but it was good enough to stand on its own as a movie. The whole family loved it, even those of us that remembered seeing the original in the theater those many years ago. The kids were as excited during it as I remember being the first time I saw the 1984 picture. My only regret is that I didn't show them the original first. Bad dad...

Took my Nephews boys to see it at the movies and they it

Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back (2010)
Dir: John H. Williams
Starring: Tom Kenny, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton

The first film was pretty forgettable. So was this one. Zartog was mildly amusing. The kids enjoyed it. The adults - not so much. Not much else to say about this one.

The Switch (2010)
Dir: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum

This movie was pretty good. I generally like Jason Bateman and he gave a pretty good performance here. The story is about a woman who decides to have a baby through artificial insemination. Through a drunken mishap her best friend has to replace the donor's specimen with his own. Seven years later they meet again and the best part of the movie begins. The blossoming of the relationship between him and the kid, and between the two friends, is the real heart of the movie. "The switch" itself is merely a plot device to tell what is actually a warm and funny story. My wife and I both enjoyed this movie quite a bit.

***FROM THE ALL-TIME FAVORITES LIST***

Facing the Giants (2006)
Dir: Alex Kendrick
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Tracy Goode, Jason McLeod

Facing the Giants is an inspirational story of a high school football team and coach who learn that "nothing is impossible with God." Grant Taylor has had six losing seasons at the school and the parents are pushing to replace him. His car is on its last legs. To top it off, he and his wife are unable to have children. With all the "giants of fear and failure staring down" on him, he turns his life - and his team - over to God. This is an excellent movie with an excellent message. As with Fireproof, I've seen it several times and it never fails to have an impact on me.

then what the hell are you good for!?

nah, just kidding. looking forward to your movie thoughts.

oh, but you weren't supposed to.

do you only like films where the characters are people you can relate to or sympathize with?

Generally, yes. If I have no connection to anyone in a film I find it difficult to enjoy it.

***FROM THE ALL-TIME FAVORITES LIST***

Flywheel (2003)
Dir: Alex Kendrick
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Janet Lee Dapper, Richie Hunnewell, Walter Burnett, Tracy Goode

Flywheel is the first film directed by Alex Kendrick and produced by Sherwood Pictures. This is the story of a used car salesman who has cheated people - including his own pastor - since he has been in business. Eventually his dishonesty takes a toll on him, his work, and his family. He dedicates himself, and his business, to God, vowing not to be that man again.

This is obviously the first film they've done. Their technology is pretty low in this film. However, they pull off an engaging and entertaining story, complete with a Capraesque climax. Each of these films (Flywheel, Facing the Giants and Fireproof) has shown increasing advances in the filmaking abilities of Kendrick and Sherwood Pictures. I love all three and am looking forward to the fourth, Courageous, later this year. Despite some flaws due to the low budget and relatively inexperienced filmmakers, I score this one just as high as the others.

Hotel for Dogs (2009)
Dir: Thor Freudenthal
Starring: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow, Kyla Pratt

Hotel for Dogs is a nice little movie. Obviously intended for kids, it had enough laughs and cute moments to keep adults entertained as well. While the kids, of course, thought the dogs were hilarious, the movie also had a great story of the importance of family and loyalty. It may not be as deep as some other movies, but overall I think this film was well done and a great watch for a family movie night.

Scooby Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)
Dir: Brian Levant
Starring: Frank Welker, Nick Palatas, Kate Melton, Robbie Amell, Hayley Kiyoko

Let me say up front, I haven't liked anything Scooby Doo since the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? cartoon series. (OK, I did like a few episodes of the Scooby Movies series - the Batman and Three Stooges episodes.) My kids, however, love everything Scooby, so I have to watch these from time to time. This Cartoon Network film obviously doesn't have the budget of the theatrical releases, as evidence by the long stretches of time with the Mystery, Inc. crew together without their canine companion. Scooby appears just enough that you can still call it a Scooby Doo movie. The plot is paper-thin and even my 5-year old had the "mystery" solved about 20 minutes in. The kids still enjoyed it enough to want to watch it again, though, so I guess that's something.



*NOTE* Remember when there was never any real supernatural villains in Scooby Doo? All villains were people perpetrating a hoax and everything could be logically (to a kid, anyway) explained? What happened to that? That's what I enjoyed in the original series. By making the supernatural elements actually supernatural, it takes away some of the charm and appeal, IMO. It makes it less of a cartoony Sherlock Holmes and more of a really lame Ghostbusters. Just my two cents.

Down and Derby (2005)
Dir: Eric Hendershot
Starring: Greg Germann, Lauren Holly, Pat Morita

My son and I saw this last night at a Cub Scout meeting. I had never heard of it. This is actually a very funny movie involving three dads who go completely insane in the construction of their boys' Pinewood Derby cars in an effort to defeat the "Mr. Perfect" of the neighborhood. Turns out "Mr. Bigshot" actually wrote "The Pinewood Derby Bible" and has held the Derby speed record since he was 8. The dads' insanity eventually drives their wives and kids out of their houses. I've seen kids with cars obviously built by their dads, and this is how I envision those dads to be. This movie may not be a classic, but it was great fun, and all the boys loved it.

kids movies