The Digital Lorax

For movies night we chose the new version of The Lorax.
I like the book and the original movie version. I don't love them. They are a little preachy for my tastes, but they are still good Suesian fun,
I don't dislike the new version. On its own, it is a fun, well executed kids movie. It is still preachy, but the core message of protecting nature is good.
When considered as a remake, or reimagining, of the original, the new version is a mess.
First off, it does not move the story forward in any meaningful way. The new animation is good, but so what. The reframing of the story actually detracts from the core message.
Second, the reframing of the story is terrible, The hero becomes a slacker kid who saves the trees for a girl? The Lorax forgives the Onceler for doing nothing for a long time and then giving the seed to a slacker, love sick kid? Seriously? Why doesn't the Onceler come down from his tower and atone by planting the tree? Why not make the girl, who actually cares about the trees, the hero of the story?
My opinion is that if you want to see The Lorax, see the original. The remake is fine, but nothing special,

The Knights of Badassdom

I was looking to winnow down my Netflix queue a little and had the TV to myself for long enough to watch one movie. My allergies had my head clogged up and a river of liquid snot running down my face, so I wasn't up for anything that required a lot of thought. The Knights of Badassdom seemed like it would be perfect. I thought I had heard somewhere that it was a cult classic and it had Summer Glau in it. It had to be a decent, if mindless, horror comedy.....
Let's just say that it should be called the Knights of Bad. It wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen. It was even OK enough for me to semi-pay attention to for its entire running length, which was on the short side. It was just bad and uninspired and predictable and not funny. Mostly, it was just not funny. If there was a trace of successful humor, The Knights of Badassdom would have been cult classic material. Instead it is just blah.

Akeelah and the Bee

The Friday night movie this past week was Akeelah and the Bee. Bug is still on her "non-fiction" kick and is also getting into competition shows like Chopped and Cup Cake Wars. Akeelah and the Bee was right up her alley.
Overall, it was a good movie. It was a mostly predictable feel good movie where the underdog wins in the end. It does have good messages sprinkled through out. It stresses believing in yourself, working hard, dreaming big, accepting differences, and always doing your best job. Even the "bad" guy turns out to be not so bad.
There were moments in the film that overwhelmed Bug. She didn't like it when people made fun of Akeelah or some of the more tense competition. She did watch the whole film and seemed to enjoy it. She gave it a thumbs flat which is an OK.

My Neighbor Totoro

Bug has surprisingly eclectic tastes. For movie night, she asked for a non-fiction movie. For movie night, I pick up three DVDs at the library and we choose as a group. Since there was a request for non-fiction, I got March of the Penguins. For the other two choices I selected Snow White and My Neighbor Totoro. I thought that Totoro looked interesting, but was going to be a passed over in favor of penguins. I was pretty sure the Bug wouldn't pick it as her choice, and was pretty sure that H would vote for anything else.When presented with the choices, Bug choose Totoro. H decided to abstain. I was shocked and pleased. It was my first choice.My Neighbor Totoro is a Japanese animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is a genius whose other films include Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away. His films differ from typical American animated films in much the same way the European films differ from American films. They are not as in your face or fast paced. They take their time to develop and the animation is muted while still epic. I thought that this would be a problem or Bug, who is used to American entertainment. I was happy to be proven wrong.

When the weird shit does happen, it is beautiful and touching.The girls need a friend and the world provides.

I think it was a great film.

Zootopia

Bug and I saw Zootopia at the Lexington Venue. It was so small that we sat in hot front row and didn't have to look up. It was quaint in a way that a modern megaplex with powered reclining seats and the latest sound system will never replicate. The theater didn't change my view of the film in anyway. It was just a nice place to see a film.
Zootopia itself was nice. As with all Pixar films, the animation and voice acting were top notch. Pixar doesn't do bad production quality. That does not mean their movies are always great; Pixar did make all of the Cars movies.....
Zootopia is not Cars. It is one of their truly great movies. The story was fun and fast paced, but covered a lot of moral ground. It is a caper that manages to provide serious commentary on bigotry, race relations, police profiling, and other social ills. It is seriously funny for both adults and children. It does not play down to the kids, but it does make some jokes that only an adult would get.
Bug thought Zootopia was engaging and funny as well. She and I both liked it better than Inside Out. Bug did not, however, find it better than Frozen or Tangled.
Zootopia, while great, is not as great as the classics like Toy Story, Up, or Wall-e. It lacked some of the emotional depth of the those films. It also feels a little too wedded to current events. It will be interesting to see how it ages.
What Zootopia lacks in emotional depth it makes up for in social commentary. It is a worthy trade off for an early summer movie.

Maleficent

I know this movie sort of ruins Sleeping Beauty for some. I, on the other hand, thought it makes the story much better. "Evil witch curses girl; girl is saved by handsome prince" is a lame story compared to what the new movie presents.
Making Maleficent more complex and giving her a good reason for her wicked act provides space for the original films lessons about being good hearted and that love conquers. In addition, it provides space for lessons about honor, rage, and forgiveness.
Angelina Jolie does a great job chewing up the scenery. She also does a good job showing the conflicting emotions in Maleficent. Her turn to darkness and willingness to see it through are not a surprise given her earlier passion and willingness to use violence to defend the Moors. Her eventual redemption also feels part and parcel of the character. Her earlier self was a lover of beauty and honor and love.
I personally liked how the movie turned all of the fairy tale tropes on their heads. The good King is a small, fearful, greedy madman. The handsome Prince is a bit dopey. The good fairies can barely help themselves.
I am a big fan of Disney's new live action reinventions of classic properties. Maleficent is more radical than the Cinderella live action film, but still in the same spirit. It gives me hope that the new Beauty and the Beast film will also be something that I would want my daughter to see.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I am very behind on my Marvel movie watching. It is hard to find the time between all the princess movies.
However, with all the rave reviews for Civil War, I felt obligated to at least try and catch up. At least I will have a glimmer of hope of seeing this one in the theater.....
So to catch up, I took Winter Soldier out of the library. It feels like the only required prequel to seeing Civil War. I'm sure seeing Age of Ultron would help, and I do want to see it, but it does not feel necessary.
I thought the first Captain America movie was the best Marvel movie out of its cycle. The Iron Man movies were great fun and Thor was epic, but Captain America was fun, epic, and more real. Steve Rodgers was somehow more human and likable than Tony Stark. I thought that was true in the comics as well. Stark, even when felled by drink or wracked with guilt, always seemed a little to entitled for my taste.
I think Winter Soldier continues the pattern. Steve Rodgers, even when faced with difficult moral choices, sticks to his, perhaps naive and outdated, moral code. Truth, honor, loyalty, freedom, justice: these are not just words to Rodgers; they are the bedrock of his world view.
It was interesting watch Rodgers adjust to a world that was more complicated. SHIELD is a spy organization and not an army. It keeps the world safe through subterfuge and managing the truth. That is not Rodger's way even if he sometimes understands that it is necessary. He do what needs to be done, but not blindly follow orders. How does that fit into an organization that does not always provide clear information to its soldiers?
Rodgers is the type of hero that will fight his best friend, if he has to, but will also fight to help that friend.
So, thumbs up.