Movie Review: Megamind

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Alright, I admit it. I don't like Will Ferrell and I went to see a Will Ferrell movie. Luckily it was only the voice of Will Farrell and not the man boy Will Ferrell that drives me nuts! But just like many of his man boys who had big or over inflated egos, so too was the ego of Megamind.

The story is a superhero story but at the same time, not. We get the origin story of a superhero and his archenemy as told from the archenemy point of view. It also calls into the question of nature vs nurture. Are superheros and archenemies automatically superheros and archenemies by birth or are they created because of their environments, their living conditions or the people that exerted influence on them. And then, the big "What If" question. What if the superhero was destroyed by the archenemy? What then. All questions brought to bear in this movie.

Brad Pitt voices Metroman who is the yin to Ferrell's Megamind's yang. Roxanne Ritchi voiced by Tina Fey was the constant target of Megamind for Metroman to rescue. But she's a reporter with spunk and a camera man, Hal (voiced by Jonah Hill) who has a crush on her too! He follows her like a little puppy dog but she doesn't get the clues that he likes her.

The last main character who didn't get recognition in the trailers was David Cross who played Tobias on Fox's Arrested Development and now plays Andy Weeks on Running Wilde. He plays Megamind's side kick, Minion. He's a fish that has his bowl attached to a body that looks like a mechanical ape with a ghost buster proton pack like attachment on his back. Weird stuff. And what is it about Minions with animated films lately. First you have the little yellow pills helping Gru in Despicable Me and now an adroit furry mechanized body with a fish brain. Very odd coincidence that they would use the same word in both movies!

Then a number of questions are begged: What sort of goals does a bad guy set when the good guy is no longer around? What if the good guy gets tired of it all and just wants to get away and chill for a while? Can the bad guy ever get the girl? Interesting hypotheses for a PG rated for action and some language computer animated film. And as we saw in The Social Network ladies, watch how you burn your guy because that unrequited affection may come back to bite you in the butt!

The universe of these superheros didn't collide with the superhero and villain universe from The Incredibles. Otherwise things would have looked a lot different for our heroes and villains. Edna Mode would have had a cow dahling. Fringe on Metroman's costume, puhleez, it was a hobo suit. AND everyone had capes! Edna would have read them the riot act! Too much of it Dahling...NO CAPES!

The 2D version looked fine. I can't see where the 3D would have been any super improvement. With the computer generated images, there were a couple of background details that I noticed like small waves of water washing over pavement or the way buildings were crumbling showing attention to some of the finer points. Ultimately, we want a movie that looks good and has a good plot too. We got a little of both in this 96 minute movie. Don't leave the theater right away when the credit start to run. There is an extra scene before the main credits roll and it's sort of cute in what it revealed.

The Movie Monkey

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Movie Review: Resident Evil: Afterlife

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Wow, what a weekend in the movie theaters. At my local theater there was only one major movie release and three art house films, the earliest release from July and the latest on August 20. For the second time in just a few weeks, there was a re-release of a film which originally released back in June. Not only was there only one major release, it was in IMAX 3D, Real 3D and a regular version. My local theater in the Friday through Sunday time span showed this movie 14 times per day. You would think that with no competition and so many showings that the movie must be so awesome that it deserves the large number of time slots AND scare off any possible opponents. The movie in question: Resident Evil: Afterlife. So I bit.

This is the fourth movie in the franchise who's original genesis was a video game. Originally the game was released in Japan under the name Biohazard. Bringing it to America the name was changed to Resident Evil after it was discovered that the name Biohazard couldn't be copyrighted and protected. The movie opens showing the original infestation taking place at the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, Hachiko Crossing in Shibuya Japan paying homage to the original game. In an attempt to make sure that if number four is your first outing into the movie franchise, a voice over by our heroine Alice (Milla Jovovich) gives the back story laying the foundation so we know why the she's fighting. Yeah...rah! Go kick the Umbrella Corporation's butt Alice! They're responsible for the virus that zombified the world.

All throughout this introduction you can see where they would use the 3D process to show depth and duck as bullets and weapons come out of the screen at you. Yawn! By attending one of the four non 3D showtimes I was able to keep the 3D upcharge of $4 in my pocket. Paul W S Anderson wrote and produced all four movies and takes another turn at directing the franchise after directing the original move back in 2002.

We see Alice fight and then head out to find any remaining humanity that may have taken refuge on the globe. Flashbacks to the previous movie, Extinction give us Alice's motivation. She goes to Arcadia and then eventually finds her way back to Los Angeles where she discovers more survivors. She ends up at a prison where she finds seven other survivors including Luther West (Boris Kudjoe) and Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller). If you're in a prison and looking to get out, wouldn't it be awesome if you had access to someone who is a prison break expert? You couldn't help but notice the irony of the task at hand and the actors in the scene.

The survivors battle within themselves, among themselves, the undead, the monsters within the undead, the Umbrella Corporation and even one giant. Where or how the giant came from, who knows? The giant carried a weapon that looked like a cross between a executioners axe and giant meat tenderizer. It seemed like the only reason this giant existed was to be able to give justification to use 3D. A couple of the people should have been wearing red shirts. Just like Star Trek, when the character wore the red shirt you knew they weren't long for screen time. Afterlife was no different with disposable characters. With one character think Shelly Winters from The Poseidon Adventure.

Just like the previous editions, the movie left off where the next movie in the franchise can easily pick up the storyline and action. With all the blood and guts while battling the undead, the movie was rated R for violence and strong language that pervaded the 97 minute running time. When the credits roll, don't leave right away, hang for a moment for some extra set up for the next movie and if you're a hard core Resident Evil fan, stay all the way to the very end for an easter egg.

The only thing that was exciting about this movie for me was the gas explosion that happened across the street from the movie theater during the showtime. To come out and see flashing lights on a police cruiser blocking the road to traffic and then seeing a fire engine with ladder extended and water being sprayed in the nearby field was a rush. That and the coupon from Regal Theater's facebook page that got me a small popcorn for free, a $4 savings. That was something to get excited about!

The Movie Monkey

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Movie Review: Shrek Forever After

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Dreamworks has given us the fourth and hopefully final Shrek in Shrek Forever After. You know that a series has run its course when they have to revert to the It's a Wonderful Life storyline. I stayed through the end of the credits and while there was no easter egg at the end, there were images recapping some of the escapades of Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona through the entire series. So unless someone can come up with a really good script, I think that all the air has been let out of this balloon or in the the world of Far Far Away, all the air has been let out of this frog.

The original Shrek was fresh and original. The pop culture references, the pop songs, the lampooning of Disney. Who can forget, "Please keep off of the grass, shine your shoes, wipe your....face, Duloc is.... Duloc is.... Duloc is a perrrr-fffffect place" with the dolls that look like they were imported out of "It's a Small World". The world of the fractured fairytale. We loved it.

With the fourth in the series, the shine has gone off this penny. The penny is still the penny, it has value, but it's just not as exciting anymore. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas return giving their voices to Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and Puss in Boots respectively. Julie Andrews and John Cleese reprise their roles as the Queen and King of Far Far Away. The new comers this time are Jane Lynch, John Hamm and Craig Robinson voicing Gretched, Brogan and Cookie, leaders in the Orge Rebellion. They are rebelling against Rumpelstiltskin voiced by Walt Dohrn who had some writing responsibilities for this and Dexter's Laboratory and Sponge Bob Square Pants on Nickelodeon.

The animation was solid. I saw the 2D version, not the 3D or IMAX 3D but it was pretty apparent where the 3D would be used mostly for the depth rather than coming out at you. I imagine that the chase scene with Shrek and the witches might look pretty good in 3D. Since the original there is more detailing in the textures. Skin and items like clothing had a bit more nuanced appearance. There were a couple of shots where it became really apparent that the computer is able to put in those details that most of the audience won't catch.

The movie opens with a brief retelling of the original Shrek with a Rest of the Story. Afraid that their daughter might not be rescued, the King and Queen go to Rumpelstiltskin to arrange for someone to rescue their daughter from the Dragon's Keep in exchange for them giving up the kingdom. As evidenced by the first movie, that didn't happen. Shrek ruined Rumpels' plan by saving Princess Fiona.

Jump to current times. Shrek has settled into the rut. Wake up, feed the three children, take out the garbage, fix broken things, you know....life! He wishes he could go back to the old days when he was a feared ogre. In steps Rumpel who is down on his luck and offers Shrek the ability to get a day of the old ways by trading a day of his life. Shrek agrees and signs the contract. Things go back to the way Shrek would have liked it but he discovers that things aren't quite right. Witches are over running the place, Far Far Away looks like a dump, Donkey doesn't recognize him and there are wanted posters with Fiona's picture on them. Turns out the day that Shrek gave up was the day he was born. Insert hand hitting forehead sound here followed by a "Doh"!

To break the contract Shrek must obtain what the other fairy tales talk about. But how can he do this when no one knows about him and his past. The remaining 45 or so minutes of the one hour and 37 minute movie shows us how he intends to get his life back, if he can. Unlike It's a Wonderful Life where George Bailey gets his life back by wishing and wanting his old life back, Shrek must accomplish the task or disappear forever. You can't get more dramatic than that can you?

Fiona and Donkey
at Universal Studios Florida

There are some new characters, but most of the movie involves the old jokes that have been used before. I mean really, Pinocchio's running gag in all the movies of trying to get something by telling a lie and having his nose grow is a yawner at this point. Heck, they even put it into audioanimatronic form at Universal's Shrek 4D preshows in both Hollywood and Orlando. No sense in beating us over the head or poking us in the eye with that dead branch. As I write this, I have on my Angry Wig!

Kids will enjoy the action of the movie and the jokes. Adults will laugh but not as much as in the original or number two. If you see the movie in the theaters, I'd say matinee or you could wait for the Blu-ray. Like all other Shrek movies, this one has a PG rating for crude humor, brief language and mild action.

While there is no easter egg at the very end of the movie as I mentioned earlier, stay through the credits to watch those recap scenes; if they are as I hope, the end of the Shrek series, it's a nice way to recap Shrek's adventures. The idea that the credits are on a scroll of paper is cool too!

The Movie Monkey

To subscribe to the audio podcast of the reviews via iTunes click here. Audio versions are released the following Wednesday.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

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The guys who brought us a fuzzy blue genetic experiment designed to bring havoc bring us a sleek black fast, dangerous and endearing dragon in DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon.

Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders were brought in about a year ago to get this story back on track. They bring us a story about understanding our own strengths and weaknesses, finding our place and challenging the accepted norm through a viking village and its residents that gets attacked by different dragon species. Because Dean and Chris were the creators of Disney's Lilo and Stitch, you'll see a number of resemblances between Stitch and the Night Fury dragon in both form and action.

Tickets for this show were available in 2D, Real 3D and IMAX at my local theater. I thought about the 3D for this film as there was some pre-buzz about how the 3D really added to this film which I hadn't heard anyone say for Alice in Wonderland and to a degree Avatar. Upon looking up information on Fandango there had been a change in 3D pricing that made me very unhappy and will write about later in another blog posting. The price for the 2D film had gone up too, only $0.25, so not too bad, with the bright side being now the loyalty points that I get for the film will be rounded up from 8 to 9 rewarding me with soda, popcorn and free movies faster!

Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is the son of the viking village leader, Stoick (Gerard Butler). While most of the male vikings look like offensive line football players, Hiccup is not that. Instead of getting any brawn, he's got the brains. To keep him safe Stoick has Hiccup work for Gobber (Craig Ferguson) as an apprentice in the metal shop. The other teens of the village Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut (America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, TJ Miller, and Kristen Wiig respectively) are allowed to help battle the dragons with water as we know they can breathe fire and water puts out fire. Being this was back in the day they didn't have sodium bicarbonate foams to use. Being viking, they all aspire to be dragon slayers but are too young to tackle the killing part.

What adds to the depth and fun of the story is the details presented as to the different packages that dragons come in. Each has their own physical characteristics and methods for destruction. It is sort of like in a role playing game where some have strength, some speed, others very powerful fire breath and their weaknesses like only having so many shots of fire before they have to reload. I loved the different back stories of the distinctive types of dragons. If they don't have it out already with the release of the film, I'm sure that there is a card game like Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh based on the array dragons presented in the film.

While wanting to fit into the role of a dragon slaying viking, Hiccup realizes he needs to do things differently. One of his inventions actually works and he lands a dragon but he doesn't have the heart to kill it to prove himself. By observation he learns about dragons and the way they act and behave which is nothing like the young vikings are now being taught in their dragon slaying classes by Gobber or by what's in the books. After becoming friendly Hiccup names him Toothless and helps him with a prosthetic tail wing.

Hiccups ends up enlightening the villagers on many levels. He has to work through the preconceived notions of what a viking is supposed to be with his Dad and Goober. On a different level he and Astrid work out what is bravery. When two forces oppose each other can they put down their differences to work for a common good? The story line emotionally works well. Toothless didn't "speak" except for some occasional growls but the animation of the face, especially the eyes, let you know what was happening within his mind and emotions. In the theater there were a number of laughs, a couple of gasps, some uh ohs and at one point someone yelled NOOOO!

Not seeing the movie in 3D affects my ability to say if they maximized the animation to it's fullest affect. The set designs with the landscapes and building designs were very good. The carvings and totems in the buildings were highly detailed as were the skin textures of the different dragons. There were even a couple of shots from the perspective looking up through the surface of water as compared to looking down into the water that were unique. The hair modeling, especially for the facial portion of the vikings was impressive. Stoik has a big red beard with knots and Goober had his blond mustache tied by material bands which were detailed where you could see individual hair strands and how they were twist or run through a bunch of gathered hair. Again, impressive. Hate to be the person who had to sit around and wait for the rendering to finish on those frames! They probably grew a beard themselves just waiting for the work to complete.

There were a few areas where I did have a problem. On a couple of occasions the movement of the characters and the lip sync weren't quite right. Within the plot there did seem to be some holes. Ancient vikings having no fear or apprehension of flying was one. The biggest being how Toothless ended up having lost part of his tail wings. It was glossed over probably because it would have lead to a much more complicated plot conflict they would have had to work out but didn't want to get bogged down in detail.

One other thing I did notice about this film was three of the main character voices have other movies currently in theaters this weekend. America Ferrera has Our family Wedding, Gerard Butler has The Bounty Hunter and Jay Baruchel is the main character in She's Out of My League. The beauty of doing voice acting!

The film runs 98 minutes and is rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language. Despite some flaws, there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

The Movie Monkey

To subscribe to the audio podcast of the reviews via iTunes click here. Audio versions are released the following Wednesday.

Memories of Captain EO

Well, it's official, Disney has announced the opening of the Captain EO Tribute at Disneyland. Michael Jackson as Captain EO and his rag tag band will once again grace a big screen on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. Instead of living on the small, grainy digital files of YouTube a reconditioned large version will be projected for everyone to enjoy.

My first experience with Captain EO was in 1986 at the then EPCOT Center in the Magic Eye Theater the day after Christmas that year. I had worked for Disney on the Walt Disney World College Program on the Spring 1986 program and then stayed on through the summer. I had left a week before Labor Day to return back home to UMass Amherst to finish up my degree. At school my cast member friend Martha mailed me a copy of the internal cast member news letter the Eyes & Ears that announced the opening of Captain EO as well as the flier given to people going to the Captain EO Blast Off event.

I had flown down on Christmas day with another WDWCPer Bob to work at Disney during the Christmas break and we were joined by Sheilagh who had flying privileges through her dad, a pilot. Bob and I had convinced Sheilagh to stay another day, Friday, in order to go into the parks, enjoy ourselves and see the show. She pulled a couple of strings and we enjoyed the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center that busy holiday season. We spent the morning at the Kingdom and then moved over to EPCOT that afternoon.

The crowds at the Journey into Imagination were huge for two reasons. The first was just being that time of year for crowds and the second being the new show staring Michael Jackson who was as at the height of his popularity. The line was LONG and took close to two hours of patience and hanging in a hot, crowded pre-show area. We finally got into the main theater and put on our purple 3D glasses. I'll never forget the lights dimming and stars appearing on the screen spreading around the side of the theater and then all of a sudden becoming 3D with stars pushing back towards negative infinity, the swirling galaxy, the floating rock and the laser blast clearing the way for Captain EO's ship.

We startled and watched intently as to when we'd see Michael appear. When he finally appeared everyone cheered and clapped. It was an exciting show watching his ship crash, spot lights searching for him, his capture, his rag tag band turning into the band, the singing, the whips, the dancing, Angelica Houston turning from the Evil Supreme Leader to a beautiful Grecian-like ruler. We had a good time!

I remembered towards the end of the movie Michael walking out and smacking the back of one hand into the palm of the other as well as yelling OOOOOOOHHH in his high pitched voice several times. I didn't know it at the time, but these combined action would be used over and over again while I was working at The Land pavilion by my leads Jay and Kathy to call us to action when they wanted to get something done.

Over the next month I saw Captain EO several more times as the crowds died down a bit. It was so popular that the two characters Fuzzball and Hooter were made into plush figures that many people, including myself purchased. They are in my trunk back at my parents house. I checked ebay and didn't find any Hooter plushes but a Fuzzball plush was going for $50 buy it now!

I was fortunate as another MKCPer Joe had stayed on to work the 15th Anniversary event that kicked off on October 1. He had sent me a copy of the press kit they were giving out. Included were 2 promotional photos dealing with Captain EO. The first was Captain EO with Fuzzball sitting on his right shoulder and the second was of Hooter. Those two got all the attention, Major and Minor Domo and Idee and Odee didn't get much fanfare at all as far as merchandise was concerned.

So something that I never thought I would see again outside of YouTube is coming back. While I know that it won't be the same, with the Captain EO Tribute Show releasing in Disneyland, I look forward to reliving the experience that was Captain EO. Michael Jackson is no longer with us, but we can enjoy what he left behind. I'll be at Disneyland for the Disney Podcast Network Westfest Event and a couple of days before and after. If you'll happen to be in Anaheim from April 28 to May 5 and you'd like to get together with other Disney and Michael Jackson fans to either experience Captain EO for the first time or you're hundredth time, use one of the contact options on the side of the column to let me know you'd be interested in seeing Captain EO.

In the mean time as Captain EO might suggest remember to give people the key to unlock the beauty that is within side them just waiting to get out!

All pictures copyright Disney 1986. Watermarks added by me.