Movies: Zootopia

Movies: Zootopia

Introduction

What do you get when you combine Zoo with utopia? What would a world where there are no humans and we are all some type of animal be like? Would be good to be a nice fearsome lion right? Or maybe a cool tiger? Or even a cute panda? But what if you got the short end of the stick? This movie tells you exactly how it would be like to be on the short end of the stick i.e. a bunny living in a world where everything else is bigger. stronger and more complex! Fortunately, there are still tinier animals like hamsters but where would they live in this Zootopia? The movie follows the dreams of this tiny bunny as she aims to be in a job that does not seem to be suited for her which is a police bunny. So how well did this movie frame this zootopian world? Read on to find out

SOOO MANY ANIMALS!~! which would u be?

Storyline 4.5/5

Storyline is the main focus of this movie and it does a rather charming job. From the beginning you are introduced to the bunny with her lofty ideals and how it does not match with the real world. Especially if you are able to identify with her on a personnel level (cause it does mirror what happens everyday i.e. discrimination) you will be able to enjoy the movie even more.

The storyline is really direct in that the bunny is just trying to prove herself, but the journey there is fraught with a good amount of twists and turns carefully put together and remains still very much believable. This results in a movie that does not bore you as new facts and information are presented. This is something that you don't always see in a disney movie. The movie remains funny and never too stressful throughout which is good for the kids (there are kids movie where the younger kids ended up crying... thats not what you usually want)

The movie also does  a fantastic job introducing you to the zootopian world and fleshes it out in a way that will entertain and thrill its viewers. It manages to incorporate quite a good mix of animals in the movie and provides a snippet on how they will live their lives throughout the movie. 

Character 4/5

The interaction between the cast of the movie is extremely well done and it challenges a few stereotypes as well as enforces and links some other stereotypes in a very creative and fun way. You will have fat cheetahs, predators being preyed on and on the other hand you will also have the slowest of creatures working in the DMV which is what real life is like!

Only small qualm is that this movie is fully focused on its two main characters and the rest are all really just supporting roles. They could very much be expanded upon for more entertainment value but nonetheless you will definitely be able to empathize with what the main characters go thru.

Cinematography 4/5

There are good shots throughout the movie to introduce you to the daily happenings in zootopia and the flow of the movie is quite consistent never ending up feeling draggy. Good amounts of flashback scenes to tell the story more convincingly. Of course this movie is not a action movie so there is little emphasis there but for a animated family movie, it does do a good enough job for all members of the family to enjoy

Music 4/5

As expected from disney movies, it has good music. However it is different from the fairytale type of movie and you will not hear the main characters do any singing. Its not THAT type of disney movie. There is a good piece from Gazelle (Shakira) that brightens up the entire mood of the movie! Thats the impact that good music in good places have on the experience.

Spectacle 4/5

For a movie that focuses on the family experience and the storyline, this movie does really really well! It has a lot of cute animals and bright colors that appeal very strongly to the younger crowds and the storyline is not excessively simple till it is boring to the adults. In fact it is stronger then some of the more serious movies out there. Overall, it does well in this aspect and given it is introducing a new world (which makes it even easier to retain interest of the audience) it really sets the mind thinking how different a world would be if it humans were replaced with animals inclusive of the vast differences between all of them. Did not get higher points then this because it did not really do anything that would put it in a class of its own although all its main aims to entertain the family are very much well met.

Overall

Storyline: 4.5 (very interest storyline complete with a good amount of twists and turns to entertain even the adults)

Character: 4 (quite a lot of colorful characters in this movie, however, most of the emphasis is on the main characters only and leaves just that little room for improvement)

Cinematography: 4 (not an action film so nothing too earthshattering, however, it does have good epic shots that help show you what zootopia is like and it adds to the experience)

Music: 4 (As per disney movie fashion, good music, but its not a full on music experience just yet...)

Spectacle: 4 (Meets the requirements of appealing to all members of the family unit due to its strong storyline as well as entertaining and colorful characters)

Overall: 4.1 (A very safe and enjoyable movie experience for the entire family unit. Adults seeing it will not be bored either due to its good storyline while the kids can enjoy the fun animals and their interactions. It's no action show however and for pure adults or couples, as long as you are looking for a good, light hearted storyline it will be entertaining to you. As it is introducing a alternate world, it is even more easy to get into as you get to see how this new world functions. Even draws some parallels to the real world for those who like to look deeper into things. Overall, fun for the whole family and to the occasional couple who wants to find something to pass time with.)

Movies: Goosebumps

Movies: Goosebumps

Introduction

Goosebumps books, if that name doesn't ring a bell to you then you are probably from an earlier generation compared to me which is the 1980s generation. It is actually a bunch of stories written by R.L Stine starting in the 1992s onwards. There are actually nearly 150 books written from this author up to date and this is some impressive stuff. However, I will put it out there clearly that i have not read even ONE of his books, although i do vaguely remember seeing some of his books before on the shelves. Yep.. sorry that i prefer to see everything in film and seldom like to read.... that goes the same for stories like LOTR, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner etc. In fact some of this movies I actually have the book but currently I have not even managed to go past the first book of Maze runner even though I seen the movie already.

Here are some of the cover of the books to share. Apparently some are already out of print but who knows what the movie can do for this book series

But anyway, back to this movie, and the first thing of interest in this movie is....... JACK BLACK?!?!?! Yep, with Jack Black, this will.. i mean can't be a serious movie. And you will see this very clearly in the movie. Jack Black cannot, and i repeat again, CANNOT be a fierce guy. His face just can't pass it off anymore. But lets go down to the movie content now!

Make no mistake, Jack Black is in this movie that is suppose to give you goosebumps

Storyline 3.5/5

Rest assured that this is a completely new storyline and not something that was written in a book (or perhaps there is a title for this special episode of goosebumps) and in this movie, you will see many many goosebumps characters which should thrill the fans of the books itself. The storyline itself does not take itself TOO seriously (again because Jack Black is here) and you will feel that this is a pretty light hearted movie in general.

Thanks to there being many goosebump characters, as a whole you will still have things to look forward to during the entire movie and it stays fresh enough, and there is a twist at some part of the movie to at least make a that little bit more entertaining then just a generic movie.

Hence a 3.5 score is what this movie deserves, nothing higher as it still follows a general movie plot, but at least it did make a tiny little twist and was somewhat entertaining while it lasted.

Character 3.5/5

There are a a lot of characters, humans and especially monsters alike. Unfortunately, much of the monster's background are not utilized to the fullest and basically in the end, all the monsters are about identical and just different forms of the bad guy.

The other human characters are fun and distinct in their own way and there is some effort of character development during the movie. But honestly, nothing totally strikes me as something on top of its class and it is just leaning completely on the huge selection of goosebump monsters to intrigue the crowd which is a waste when there is so little emphasis or effort to distinct or introduce them better.

Cinematography 3/5

Cinematography is average, nothing too epic or exciting and just some nice sunrise shots but that is about it. Not an action show of course but the lack of any good cinematography does make the movie a bit more boring.

Music 3/5

Identical to Cinematography, the music is there, but nothing of particularly unique impact to the audience experience but it does not distract from the experience either.

Spectacle 3/5

Well, I will try to look from the angle of it being a comedic movie with a unique storyline. For the comedy aspect it is passable and nothing that would cause you to laugh till your hips hurt. For the storyline, if you like goosebumps then you may OR may not have an advantage because you will be happy to see your goosebump characters, but there is really nothing that the movie does to make the presence of the monsters more felt by the audience. If you do not even read this movie, then basically you will just understand all the various monsters to just be one or the other form of a monster and it stops there. Being unable to stand out and stand tall from the other movies does cause the audience to just feel that this is one other generic movie. 

Overall

Story: 3.5 (An ok story with a twist mid way to keep things interesting, but its nothing top class)

Character: 3.5 (Many characters and monsters, characters are fairly fun, monsters are quite many, but really, a lot of wasted potential and this movie could have done much better)

Cinematography: 3 (Ordinary movie shots, nothing too amazing)

Music: 3 (Ordinary music score, nothing too amazing, but didn't detract from the experience)

Spectacle: 3 (Was not able to stand out in terms of comedic value, neither was it able to stand out in storyline DESPITE having so many monsters to work with. Its really unfortunate)

Overall: 3.2 (As can be seen from the score and it blends in well with my overall feel of the movie, its an okay movie if you are looking for something to do and to spend time of. If you have read the books and just want to see your favorite monsters in the flesh, this is where you finally have a chance. But that being said, if you are not a fan, treat this as your usual thriller and don't over expect and you should be able to somewhat enjoy the movie itself, but don't fret if you miss this movie as you did not miss anything too much in reality.)

Let me know if you enjoyed this movie yourself or whether reading the books had a positive effect to your enjoyment of the movie!

Movies: Minions

Movies: Minions

Pixxar movies always play on the cute factor and always tend to have that character that is meant to fulfill the cuteness role in every movie! But not many movies are like Minions, whereby every other main character falls into the cute factor with one single cutest creature which is called Bob. What results is a movie that will entertain the kids and strangely, many females that would fall under the girls category.

Look at that.. Its Bob... Awwww... and he is carrying his teddy..... double awwwww..

Guys on the other hand, well, lets look through the rest of the aspects of the movie before drawing a conclusion!

And note! Don't see the wrong movie! This is the latest one! there is no word "Despicable to be found here"

Woo!! who is that shadow

Storyline 3.5/5

Realistically speaking, this storyline is quite standard for a disney/pixxar flick and you can draw some similarities for this movie with all the previous. Of course it has its unique and charming points overall but looking from the top you should realise that disney/pixxar flicks seldom have very extravagant plot twists and things that you won't expect.

That being said, thanks to its focus on the origin of the minions and what the other minions are doing while these 3 guys are out there wrecking havoc in the world, this movie is prevented from feeling like "Just another Disney/Pixxar movie" as they have slightly more new things to intrigue the audience with for a good first part of the movie.

This does work for the younger audience that this movie is intended for but speaking for the older viewers, this will not and should not be the strong point that you will expect from this movie.

Character 4/5

The three main characters are well fleshed out and distinct from each other and this is emphasized throughout the movie. There are also the inclusion of many fun side characters both good and bad who are different in their own whacky ways and this does keep things fresh and entertaining all the way.

There is of course, no deep background for a show meant for the younger audience but overall, you will mostly be able to enjoy what is happening with the charming personalities that are the minions.

Cinematography 3.5/5

From the very beginning, you will enjoy the creative way of telling the story of how everything begin for the minions. The movie also jumps around from the 3 protagonists back to the whole tribe to keep things fresh and not too stale which works pretty well in preventing monotony of the movie.

However, its not an action movie and hence lacks in epic or action shots throughout the movie that generally was never the forte of Disney/Pixxar.

Music 4/5

Music is really quite a strong item in this movie with a good mix of famous songs to add flavor to what is happening during the movie itself. The sound track also adds a good level of immersion to the movie with relevant music whenever major items happen to heighten the senses and emotions.

Spectacle 3.5/5

It is definitely a cutsy show and this will seal the deal for most of the supporters for the minions but on the realistic front, this is not a totally new concept and this movie can be compared across to another previously released movie "Penguins of Madagascar" which unfortunately shares the same drawing points as this movie. It does not have as much unique characters as the penguins and is slightly toned down when comparing cinematography style.

There is action, there is good music, and there is a lot of fun in general but its not realistic to say that this movie sticks out prominently enough when compared to the other offerings present this year.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Its above average since it focuses on the history of the minions, but the main storyline flow is not something totally new)
Character: 4 (The characters are all different in their own cutsy and fun way and are very lovable... even the side characters)
Cinematography: 3.5 (There some effort put in, and the start of the story is told in a creative way. However there is nothing else after that and the rest of the story is told normally)
Music: 4 (Good choice of music and inserted at good points throughout the movie)
Spectacle: 3.5 (It's biggest draw would be its cute characters. Other then that, it did not really do anything particularly outstanding from the current movies this year)

Overall: 3.7 (For those fans who love the cute minions, this movie is a no brainer and it will give the fans exactly what they want. However, if you belong to the group that is not accompanying your kids, nor your significant others who love the minions, you going to have to set your expectations to just try to have fun and enjoy the silly antics of a bunch of yellow minions. Otherwise, there is really nothing that will strongly entertain you. If you have not seen the previous movie, perhaps you could try to see those movies first to see if this will fit your appetite as this movie is mostly in the same vein and uses the same draw of the previous movies i.e. being cute and fun.)

Movies: The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water

Movies: The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!?!?!?! Absorbent and porous and yellow is he............ If you do not get what I am saying here... then you do not know the infamous Spongebob and his annoying laughter! And you are probably from a different generation then me... But what generation does Spongebob actually appeal to? That is the big question that you got to ask to see if you can enjoy this movie. So who is spongebob? A bathing sponge?? You ain't all that wrong. Here he is in all his yellow glory!!

Wow! he is hunky!!

Actually no. This is the real spongebob. If you seen this before, then most likely you have seen and grown with the spongebob cartoons that sadly, have not had much new episodes in the past few days. However, spongebob and its cartoons are known for its overall silliness humor as well as the occasional dark and gory kind of humor.. Yes it is that strange....

Look at him and his pinky friend!!

So what does this spongebob have to do with the hunky one above? How did they even match all these together?? Is all that even worth seeing? Read on to find out more.

Storyline 3/5

The storyline is actually something quite similar to what you have from a traditional 20 mins spongebob episode, only about 5 times longer. They writers are smart to create two distinct portions of the movie, one being the cartoon world and the other being the real world, and linking them seamlessly to keep the audience interesting.

However, that is all there is to the show and it is a simple storyline in its entirety. One problem however, is that it is not entirely clear at what is happening at all times and they do use words such as apocalypse and other difficult words. This, is not your usual kids show and if your english is not that great, you will miss out what is happening.

The entire link at what exactly is happening throughout the show is also not very clear cut especially for children to understand. Personally I was confused about what was happening at times but maybe kids these days are smarter and more able to understand.

Character 3.5/5

The main characters as well as the villain/s in the movie are well represented as well as their distinct personalities that you will get from the cartoon shows. The problem here however is that the writers expect that their audience would have already seen the movie and hence they will know why the characters do the things they do but it would get pretty heavy for a new viewer with questions such as why is a squirrel living in the water and other big questions.

Cinematography 3.5/5

The movie is done in a relatively creative way as its cartoon and real life mix keeps things interesting and fresh even after 40 minutes into the show. It's not an action show however but it does try to make things exaggerated and exciting at whatever action parts there are.

Music 3.5/5

Ahhhh, music... spongebob's favorite hobby... ok its probably not his favorite hobby but it is not the first time he sings also. The movie makes use of music at a certain juncture of the movie as a throwback to what was done in his previous cartoons. It made the movie fun although the singing is horrible as usual (that's the way the character sings anyway.) Overall, it added some fun value to the movie.

Spectacle 2.5/5 (3 for spongebob fans)

I would say that this is where the movie takes the biggest hit. Let me now justify the 2.5 score to you. First of all, this movie expects u to have quite a lot of background information on Spongebob and his friends to really enjoy everything. Without it, you will miss out on a lot of the jokes and not be entertained by what is happening. Spongebob cartoons also take pride in going out of the box and being unbelievable at times. However, this movie takes it to really the next level and it might have gone too far away from its cartoon to the extent that even I, a fan of the movie, was confused at what was happening. Action wise it is normal, nothing too exciting and storyline is simply just ok, passable and merely just sufficient for a entertaining movie. Comedy wise, it is also mostly only funny for those who are aware of the spongebob story and if you are a person completely new, it won't be as entertaining for you. In light of all these, I could only afford a passable score for non-spongebob fans and perhaps a 3 for spongebob fans because even as a fan, you won't be able to catch everything.

Overall

Storyline: 3 (It is kept somewhat interesting with the two different worlds and a out of the world story, but it is not particularly easy to follow)
Characters: 3.5 (A lot of characters from the spongebob cartoons appear, but only those fans can appreciate most of them and the non-fans will be confused)
Cinematography: 3.5 (Things are exaggerated, you will see many strange colors and it is creative, but not all of these things that are done added to the enjoyment of the movie)
Music: 3.5 (Music is fun, singing and stuff is bad, but that's spongebob for ya)
Spectacle: 2.5 (The deciding factor, there is entertainment factor but only the most informed of fans can fully enjoy. For the storyline, action and comedy aspects however, it's only just passable)

Overall: 3.2 (A pretty realistic score if you ask me. If you are an extreme fan, you should be able to like it. A normal fan however, you might not be able to follow everything but at least u get to see your favorite characters. Non-fans however, you gonna need to keep an open mind. In fact a very very very open mind and just accept everything the way it is. If not, nothing will make sense and the whole movie will just be.... nonsense. If you really feel the need to see the movie, then perhaps you should take a look at some of the cartoons first so that you can better appreciate the movie. If not, don't worry if you give this movie a skip because you ain't really missing too much. For those with kids, the above advice also applies. Young kids may only enjoy the color and cute characters but like the cartoons, spongebob content and jokes was always the more adult kind (not sexually, just more complex).

Movies: Into the Woods

Movies: Into the Woods

Disney is at it again. After doing the twist in Maleficient whereby they made the bad woman good, they are now trying this new idea. Oh what will happen if we combine some of our stories together... like maybe Jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella... wait lets put a baker inside just for fun... and Oh maybe just put Rapunzel inside!! That's what this movie is about.. Wait.. lets not do it like a traditional movie.. LETS DO IT IN SONG!!!!!

Actually into the woods is a broadway musical but not as well known as those like Les Miserable. But for the usual uncultured people like us, this would probably be our first foray into the movie. So how did this movie perform? Read on to find out more!

Woo! It's a scary witchie!! But without this witchie there won't really be a movie...

Storyline 3.5/5

It's quite a seemless integration of the entire movie but the thing the movie had to do was to cut down some storylines. So you would see Cinderella story but very little of Jack and the Bean Stalk. It's a fun combination and the movie actually continues after the first happy ending part which was pretty good because it was fresh material from then on. However, the story at that part was pretty weak and some things that happen didn't really have any proper explanation. Also note that this movie follows the Grimm version of the movie so it is slightly slightly morbid as according to the Brothers' Grimm version.

The other big problem this movie has is that the audience will need to have good knowledge of what happened in the stories so that they will know what is happening. The biggest offender of this is Jack and the Bean Stalk again.

All in all, the storyline is fine especially if you know the fairy tale involved but if you don't know the stories, you can't enjoy this movie as much.

Character 3.5/5

As you realise, there are some movies that can spend the full 2 hours on a single fairy tale. For this, they need to squeeze 3 - 5 storylines together and as a result there are scenes and parts that cannot be focused and elaborated on.

Nonetheless, all the involved characters are distinct and unique in the character types which made for quite a bit of fun in how they interacted with each other.

It's also quite fun to see how their storylines intertwined with each other but the movie had to make some strange stretches to allow their characters to meet each other.

Cinematography 3.5/5

The angle this movie worked on was being fun and entertaining as expected from a musical and they did this well. It won't be anything impressive with the many close ups of people's lips vibrating from emotion but that's what you usually see in movie musicals.

Music 4/5

Musical obviously have good music. In fact, for a good whole 3/4 of the movie its all music and song and music and song. It's those kind where by no one can talk properly and it must all be done in song. However, after the "happy ever after" part, the movie will actually go into a portion with slightly too much talking which is strange in a musical movie.

Still, the lyrics and singing style made the overall experience a pretty good one as they used different kind of genre to bring out uniqueness in the character. Not a entirely large genre but it has a musical feel to it.

Spectacle 4/5

Overall, this movie was a good entertaining musical with its fun and even funny lyrics and good expressions from the actor and actresses. Only flaw is that if you see the trailer, you might not have realised that this was a musical and if you weren't expecting a musical, or HATE musicals, this might be a painful experience to you.

The other draw is the way it twines all the fairy tales together into one continuous narrative which is pretty seamless. But besides that, this movie has nothing else going for it.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Pretty interesting way of intertwining, but some things just happen for the story sake and it was not entirely logical or continuous)
Character: 3.5 (Characters were all nicely distinct but they had to share the screen time)
Cinematography: 3.5 (Musical focused so you won't see anything awe inspiring, but it works fine.)
Music: 4 (Nice lyrics, nice tunes but there was some parts that was too much normal talk!)
Spectacle: 4 (Interesting story line told in a singing way for a unique twist, added much entertainment value to the movie)

Overall: 3.7 (A pretty accurate rating for this movie. Basically, if you are a lover of musicals, you will like this movie quite a bit as it puts good music alongside a pretty unique storyline. If you are a storyline lover that doesn't hate music on the other hand, you can still focus and appreciate the artistic flair in joining the stories seamlessly although there are some hiccups here and there in continuity. If you are looking for action and anything else however, you might just find this movie a bit too painful and slow to sit thru. So don't see this movie if you hate music and expect people to actually talk to each other properly. Don't be led astray by movie trailers and the lack of emphasis that "THIS IS A MUSICAL")

Movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

A childhood show, that most adults these days will still find familiar. Turtles that are teenagers, that are mutants and also ninjas! In fact probably those people who are in their teens right now might not know anything about this movie unlike their parents. Its been long since there was a remake and rightly so, because the past few remakes haven't been able to make their mark and stand out. However did this movie manage to overcome that hurdle?

Its a full remake which means that the movie starts right from the beginning of how they came to being. For those who don't know, here are the four cutsie pet turtle heroes. There is one other cutsie creature at least while it was still a pet in the movie but shall not be a spoiler here especially to those who don't know anything about this movie.

Turtles complete with colored masks

So how did this movie fare to me?

Storyline 3.5/5

The storyline is simple enough, following the focus of a girl who then chances upon these guys and then grows closer with them because of things happening. It's not a particularly too strong storyline but it's coherent and flowing enough plus a slight twist about the origins of these guys with respect to the girl.

Its not too complex probably because the director might want to appeal to the younger audience and this is perfectly fine for this movie. There is a good family vibe for this movie and it seems to be teaching the values of family.

The slow parts are particularly slow however and I found myself paying little attention to what was happening (Read as falling asleep). But these are pretty few and mostly focused on the front so once it got to the action orientated back portion it was good.

Character 3.5/5

All the characters are clearly distinct and have their own characteristics. Given the shorter movie time however, it can be slightly more improved but all in all they are clearly different turtles playing clearly different roles. Even the supporting characters have their own special personality except one of the villains

Cinematography 4/5

Michael Bay and Cinematography come together pretty well and this movie is full of it. They have the underground typed fight scene, car chase scene and on top of high rise fight scene. All done with good slow motion effects and all that. Its good and exciting action and probably the only big flaw is it may be slightly hard to follow when there is so many things happening. Nonetheless, more is good if that is your movie focus.

Music 3.5/5

Music is pretty strong and you will notice it throughout the movie. It will add to your immersion into the movie especially during the action scenes.

Spectacle 4/5

Lets get this out of the bag, the focus of this movie is on the casual movie goers INCLUDING children. That explains the shorter movie time and the simple storyline. Nonetheless its story is nice and coherent and keeps flowing all the way to the end while the action scenes are plentiful towards the back. Overall, it should give people the entertainment value that they are expecting. The kids that were sitting around me were pretty excited throughout the whole movie and its highly likely that they will be the next generation to appreciate these TMNT

They also made a lot of effort in the comedic department and overall, the movie is pretty enjoyable and laughable in a good sense.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Simple but good origin storyline that is coherent and interesting to the end)
Character: 3.5 (Distinct and fun characters including the villains. Only one bad guy was neglected)
Cinematography: 4 (Good action scenes as expected from Michael Bay. Lots of explosions)
Music: 3.5 (Noticeable music track that adds to the movie entertainment value)
Spectacle: 4 (Good action, short and sweet storyline, funny most of the time)

Overall: 3.7 (Overall, a very enjoyable action flick with good sequences that caters both to the casual action lover as well as the children crowd. Most kids that I saw came out with a smile on their faces and enjoyed what they see. See this if you have 100 mins to kill or especially if you have children who want to see some action shows! It's nonetheless still not a 300 type of action movie but it does the job for most of its audience.)

Ironically a brief look at the other reviews gave it like 2 out of 5 stars which I think its pretty inaccurate. Reviewers should see how much the movie fit the general expectations and audience before saying how well it did! Nonetheless, if you have any disagreements don't hesitate to comment!