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sometimes i wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it. ~~mark twain
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my place to rant, rave and pontificate about whatever is on my mind at the moment. i hope it encourages thought and action on your part.
transformers
october 31st, 2007 by john
high-school student sam witwicky buys his first car, who is actually the autobot bumblebee. bumblebee defends sam and his girlfriend mikaela banes from the decepticon barricade, before the other autobots arrive on earth. they are searching for the allspark, and the war on earth heats up as the decepticons attack a united states military base in qatar. sam and mikaela are taken by the top-secret agency sector 7 to help stop the decepticons, but when they learn the agency also intends to destroy the autobots, they formulate their own plan to save the world.
director:
michael bay
genre:
action, adventure, sci-fi, thriller
cast:
shia labeouf, megan fox, josh duhamel, tyrese gibson, rachael taylor, anthony anderson, jon voight, john turturro, michael o’neill, kevin dunn, peter cullen, julie white, amaury nolasco, mark ryan, zack ward
despite the advancements in today’s special effects, it being inspired from the highly popular 1980’s hasbro toys and cartoon, with steven spielberg overseeing the production as an executive producer, michael bay and his writers were still guilty of making this a disappointment of a movie.
the story was about a teenager name sam (shia labeouf) who purchases a car that happens to be a robot in disguise from another world. sam is then caught in the middle of an ancient battle between two groups of these alien robots, the heroic autobots and the evil decepticons. both are seeking a mysterious cube known as the “allspark” that contains their “life source.” this central plot intertwines with the story of a special ops team being attacked by one of the decepticons in the beginning, the pentagon enlisting teams of computer hackers to decode a signal they detected that ultimately came from the decepticons and a hokey love story between sam and mikaela, the gorgeous bombshell in his class.
as intriguing as all of this may sound, besides the many battle scenes, car chases, attempts on sam’s life and decepticon attacks, nothing happens to move the story along. whatever layers of stories that were suppose to be happening beneath the unimpressive action sequences were uneventful and slow. so, all you’re left with is the action, which by the end was boring and tedious to watch. i was really wanting to see this movie, and i never watched the cartoon, so i came with no baggage…but it just didn’t make the grade for me.
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, action, adventure, john turturro, jon voight, megan fox, michael bay, sci-fi, shia labeouf, thriller
astronaut farmer
october 21st, 2007 by john
a nasa astronaut (thornton), forced to retire years earlier so he could save his family farm, has never given up his dream of space travel and looks to build his own rocket, despite the government’s threats to stop him.
director:
michael polish
genre:
adventure, science fiction, drama
cast:
billy bob thornton, virginia madsen, max thieriot, jasper polish, logan polish, bruce dern, mark polish, jon gries, tim blake nelson
this was the first movie i downloaded and watched using the tivo and amazon.com’s “unboxed” system. i’ll write more about that in a later post. i approached this movie as just a good time - a celebration of the joy that comes with hope, and, in the end, of victory.
overthinking the unwise choices made by farmer along the way, or the clanky plot bits ( what’s with the faa hearing in the high school anyhow?) just ruins the fun. when i read the reviewers critiquing the decisions to mortgage the farm, the taking of the kids out of school, i thought “haven’t they seen its a wonderful life?”
not a great film, not a think piece, but lots of entertainment value, and, in the end, a great message about the power of the human spirit. .
billy bob shows surprising calmness. virgina madsen again threatens to steal a movie, doing wonders with a small part. bruce dern reclaims his throne as king of the over the hill gang in a small role, not allowing his eccentricity to be abused into craziness for once. even most of the bit players are wonderful, from the farmer kids to the lawyer, to the waitress.the campy fbi agents are unwanted comic relief, though.
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, adventure, astronaut farmer, billy bob thornton, drama, max thieriot, michael polish, science fiction, virginia madsen
the bourne ultimatum
august 13th, 2007 by john
rogue agent jason bourne (matt damon) is being hunted by the people in the cia who trained him to be an assassin. still suffering from amnesia and determined to finally learn of his true identity, he is lured out of hiding to contact a journalist named simon ross (paddy considine), who has been following his story. throughout his research, ross has gathered valuable information about bourne and treadstone, which trained him. this is rather inconvenient for u.s. government official noah vosen (david strathairn), who is hoping to start a new organization under the codename blackbriar (which is briefly mentioned at the end of the first film) which would follow in treadstone’s footsteps.with intent to kill bourne and the journalist before they expose the program’s disturbing secrets, vosen sends agent pamela landy (joan allen) to lead the search effort. simultaneously, paz (edgar ramirez), one of the remaining living treadstone assassins, is dispatched to find and neutralize bourne and ross. in order to finally learn of his true origins and find inner peace, bourne will have to evade, out-maneuver, and outsmart the deadliest group of highly-trained agents and assassins yet.
director
paul greengrass
genre
action, adventure, drama, mystery, thriller, international intrigue
cast
matt damon, julia stiles, david strathairn, scott glenn, paddy considine, edgar ramirez, albert finney, joan allen, tom gallop, corey johnson, daniel brühl, joey ansah, colin stinton, dan fredenburgh, lucy liemann
the final installment in the action thriller franchise is just that probably the hardest hitting of the three films. it goes further to play the anti-bond theme. bourne doesn’t like what he is doing and wants to know about his blurry past. everything about this film hits it on the nail from the cinematography to choreography/stunt work to the script to acting.
the film starts out in a flurry as bourne is running from the moscow police. the story seems to pick up right where the first film left off. or does it? the time is a little muddled here, but we get the fact that bourne is remembering things. a sudden flashback while trying to clean himself up nearly gets him caught, but he makes it and doesn’t kill anyone. they aren’t his target. from there we get more of the intrigue of his past with a new player, noah vosen, who seems to know everything about bourne and will protect it at all costs. pamela landy is back as well as nicky parsons who seems to have a past with bourne as well.
the cinematography is in your face following tight on practically everything. the car chase is even more intense if that seems possible than the ones from the first two. and the veteran cast chasing bourne is superb with a nice part by albert finney. it also has slight political overtones in relationship to rendition and other government policies, but that is minor and integrated very well within the plot.Â
unlike most trilogies, the three movies are well tied together, and all three are equally well done. this was intense from start to finish, and didn’t have to include the usual soupy love scene/interest and a scantily clad woman.
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, action, adventure, albert finney, david strathairn, jason bourne, julia stiles, matt damon, paul greengrass, robert ludlum, scott glenn, the bourne ultimatum
blood diamond
april 22nd, 2007 by john
a fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
directed by
edward zwick
genres
adventure, drama, thriller
cast
leonardo dicaprio, djimon hounsou, jennifer connelly, kagiso kuypers, arnold vosloo, antony coleman, benu mabhena, anointing lukola, david harewood, basil wallace, jimi mistry, michael sheen, marius weyers, stephen collins, ntare mwine
leonardo dicaprio has become one of the premiere american actors. with a set of natural instincts that lends a non-showy, believable quality to all of his performances, versatility, and movie star size charisma that fills up the screen and emotionally hooks the viewer into his character and story, it is hard to think of another male american actor (with the exception of johnny depp) who is consistently giving an audience its money worth; these two gentleman have taken the reins from tom hanks and denzel washington, as those two oscar-winning future legends of the silver screen gracefully age into more mature roles.
in blood diamond, it is mr. dicaprio’s performance that raises this film above it’s standard hollywood fare of a script (although it is a solid script) into something memorable. his performance here as an opportunistic diamond smuggler equals that of the one he gave earlier in the fall as “billy costigan” in the departed, although the two characters couldn’t be more different from each other. it may be his best performance yet, and in terms of sheer charisma and memorability it certainly rivals his mega-star making performance as “jack dawson” in titanic.
i liked blood diamond a great deal, but do not think it is a great film. a good movie? yes. very mainstream and formulaic, but it is raised up quite a bit by dicaprio’s character and his terrific realization of it. if i had read this script beforehand, i never would have thought of leo for this role- possibly george clooney or some other star known for “roguish charm,” but not leo. but now, having seen it, i can’t imagine anybody else as “danny archer;” it is a fully realized, winning performance.
mr. hounsou was wonderful as well, and i liked the chemistry between the two men in their scenes together. he was able to make the audience feel the gamut of emotions his character experiences during the course of the movie- pride and hope, fear, outrage, resignation, mistrust, desperation, and determination, and beautifully rises above the somewhat limiting way his role was written.
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, adventure, africa, blood diamond, diamonds, djimon hounsou, drama, edward zwick, leonardo dicaprio
casino royale
december 10th, 2006 by john
james bond’s first mission, where he must stop a banker from winning a casino tournament and using the prize money to fund terrorist activities.
directed by
martin campbell
genres
action, adventure, thriller
cast
daniel craig, eva green, mads mikkelsen, judi dench, jeffrey wright, giancarlo giannini, caterina murino, simon abkarian, isaach de bankolé, jesper christensen, ivana milicevic, tobias menzies, claudio santamaria, sebastien foucan, malcolm sinclair
though it doesn’t care too much about the series’ continuity (it’s supposed to be bond’s first mission as a 00 agent, but it takes place after the cold war and judi dench is already m), “casino royale” is a great re-creation of the series. cool action, great thrills and a more humane bond more than make up for the purported lack of gadgets. daniel craig plays bond as a rough secret who only gradually acquires the class and cold demeanor we all know and love. he makes mistakes in the course of his mission, but that makes him even more of a hero. although i found it hard at first to cope with craig’s looks, he is more than suitable as the character. bond is portrayed as a man with flaws and weaknesses, which makes him look even stronger. the story is not your usual bond plot and relies more on classical thrills than technology, though the action is extremely hard-boiled. kudos to the creepy mads mikkelsen as le chiffre and eva green as vesper lynd for creating remarkably believable characters. a definite must-see for bond fans : it should reconcile at last ian fleming aficionados and fans of the film series !
the real ace in the hand is craig. he doesn’t have connery’s raw star quality, but he’s easily the best actor to have played the part. i don’t know if the film was shot in sequence but for the only time since ohmss you get a sense of bond changing throughout the film as his cockiness becomes confidence and his brutality becomes cold efficiency. he starts off unlikeable but human and gradually picks up the bond traits we know until he becomes more likable but just a little less human. it’s an interesting journey and craig is up to it. it’s not just his delivery, it’s also his body language. even his fighting style changes as he adapts.
physically he’s the most in your face bond since lazenby and the action scenes look brutal for once. even the not very likely free running chase is spectacular but believable because you get the idea that this really is kill or be killed stuff. it’s got a real feel of danger to it that hasn’t been seen in the series in years. only the torture scene feels like it’s holding back (it’s almost as tastefully done as the old tv version) but that’s probably fear of the censors.
(2 votes, average: 7 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: fun stuff, movies, culture, 007, action, adventure, daniel craig, eva green, james bond, judi dench, mads mikkelsen, martin campbell, poker, thriller
pirates of the caribbean: dead man’s chest
july 17th, 2006 by john
jack owes an unpaid debt to davy jones and his army of sea-phantoms…his soul. now, he must find a way to save himself from becoming one of them, and suffering forever.
directed by
gore verbinski
genres
action, adventure, comedy, fantasy
cast
johnny depp, orlando bloom, keira knightley, jack davenport, bill nighy, jonathan pryce, lee arenberg, mackenzie crook, kevin mcnally, david bailie, stellan skarsg?rd, tom hollander, naomie harris, martin klebba, alex norton
lay and i went to see this movie friday night. we’d been waiting for the crowds to be a bit smaller before we went. we watched the first movie saturday evening.
i will make my comments without spoilers so that people who haven’t yet seen the movie can read it.
one of the worst things that can happen in a sequel to a successful movie is that audiences will feel like they’re seeing the same movie again with slight variations on the theme. dead man’s chest gives us all the characters we loved in the first movie, but puts them in a refreshingly original movie. the action sequences will keep you on the edge of your seat. and there are more laugh-out-loud moments in this movie than in most comedies. i felt entertained from the beginning right through to the special scene after the closing credits.
dead man’s chest does the right thing as a sequel: it maintains the same carefree spirit of the original and creates an even more fitting story to the whole pirates lore. after narrowly escaping the gallows–with the help of his friends will turner (orlando bloom) and elizabeth swann (keira knightley)–and reclaiming his cursed black pearl, it still seems captain jack sparrow (johnny depp) has a few more fish to fry. more specifically the barnacle-encrusted undead on board the ghostly flying dutchman, lead by mr. octopus face himself, davy jones (bill nighy). jack apparently owes a blood debt to the inky captain and if he can’t find a way out of it–namely locating the secret contents of jones’ famed locker–sparrow will be doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife (insert jack sparrow’s face of disgust here). making matters worse, sparrow’s problems manage to interfere with the wedding plans of will and elizabeth, who are forced to join jack on yet another one of his misadventures.
this is the most fun i’ve had in the cinema in the longest time. i can’t remember the last time i was so entertained. although it is a bit slow at times, and a bit predictable (although fun in it’s predictability), it hardly lets up and continuously entertains.
if you loved the original, you will definitely love this film. the ending not only makes you laugh, it makes you think “what the hell?” and will make you eagerly anticipate (major understatement) the third installment. there are some great lines, the same fun characters, an inventive and fun story, and some brilliantly staged action sequences.
in summation: see it! see it on the big screen. if you miss it, you will surely regret it.
(3 votes, average: 7.67 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, humor, general, action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, gore verbinski, johnny depp, pirates of the caribbean: dead man-s chest
superman returns
july 5th, 2006 by john
after a long visit to the lost remains of the planet krypton, the man of steel returns to earth to become the peoples savior once again and reclaim the love of lois lane.
directed by
bryan singer
genres
action, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi
cast
brandon routh, kate bosworth, kevin spacey, james marsden, parker posey, frank langella, sam huntington, eva marie saint, marlon brando, kal penn, david fabrizio, tristan lake leabu, ian roberts, vincent stone, jack larson
lay and i picked this movie hurriedly last evening. we went based on the fact that the yahoo ratings gave it a b+ from viewers and a b from critics. i don’t know where that come from.
special effects? good.
script? terrible. no plot. no depth. no meaning. this film rendered superman as a meaningless hero, a hero with no archetype. in the original film, he represented america in the cold war. here, he represented nothing but a hulk.
first, there is the casting?the most important part of any film attempting to match an original that has become so iconic, its actors have replaced the comic book characters in america’s collective conscience. newcomer brandon routh most definitely looks the part (besides being too young), but has half the screen presence of christopher reeve. although superman isn’t known for his emotional instability, it seems that singer played it safe by limiting routh’s range to avoid having the new superman give a poor performance. instead, we are left with almost no performance.
kate bosworth is equally as bland as lois lane (and again, too young for the role). and with her lifeless brown hair that left me aching for her typical screen blond, she isn’t even much to look at. kevin spacey’s performance as lex luther also left something to be desired?though i’m not sure exactly what. he’s hardly the lovable lex that gene hackman played. the rest of the cast was decent, with the exception of frank langella. his dull portrayal of perry white made me wish they had grabbed j. k. simmons straight out of spiderman to talk about his barber.
the film had no depth whatsoever. i cannot see how anyone can come away with anything meaningful from this film, when superman was, and is, daily created to be a meaningful hero in not only comics but also in people’s minds. this was a real waste of money considering how many directions this film could have taken.
just a few instances: lex luthor could have been a villain of global corporatism, political domination, totalitarianism, and on and on and on. he was just another goofball hackman incarnation.
and superman? for what did he stand in this film? nothing but another hack “savior” figure.
wait until it comes to the dollar theater if you see it at all.
(1 votes, average: 3 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, action, adventure, brandon routh, bryan singer, kate bosworth, kevin spacey, superman returns
national treasure
may 30th, 2006 by john
a treasure hunter is in hot pursuit of a mythical treasure that has been passed down for centuries, while his employer turned enemy is onto the same path that he’s on.
directed by
jon turteltaub
genres
action, adventure
cast
nicolas cage, diane kruger, justin bartha, sean bean, jon voight, harvey keitel, christopher plummer, david dayan fisher, stewart finlay-mclennan, oleg taktarov, stephen a. pope, annie parisse, mark pellegrino, armando riesco, erik king
we rented and watched this movie sunday night.
this was a fun film, sort of like an indian jones movie, but the treasure hunter must figure out clues. i’m sure the reason this was made and released now has a lot to do with the da vinci code. the plot is just like it except instead of involving religious history, the clues center around american history, and namely the founding fathers.
so nick cage, plays ben gates, the treasure hunter whose family has been looking for the treasure of the knights templer for years. one of his relatives possessed the last remaining clue from a dying mason. so, the movie starts with cage finally solving that clue, and the film goes from there. of course, we have the evil billionaire guy who wants the treasure for himself and the funny sidekick. but, i think the sidekick failed because he wasn’t all that funny. the movie could have used some more humor. and of course, gates hooks up with a beautiful woman along the way to help him solve the clues, which sounds just like da vinci.
it is unbelievable that someone could just come up with the answer to these difficult clues after thinking about them for 2 minutes, but we don’t have time to let the characters ponder them for a few months. it is meant to be fun, so forget about the plot holes. the whole set beneath the church looked very neat, but i would have to think all those wooden stairs would have been rotten by then and no one could walk on them. but who cares, it’s fun.
and the theft of the declaration of independence was reminiscent of ocean’s 11. funny how anyone can steal anything in a film, forget locked down security.
if you like adventure films, i recommend it. tomb raider was horrible. this is more like indiana jones.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, action, adventure, codes, declaration of independence, jon turteltaub, national treasure, nicolas cage, riddles
transamerica
january 29th, 2006 by john
a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she fathered a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of new york.
directed by
duncan tucker
genres
adventure, comedy, drama
cast
felicity huffman, kevin zegers, fionnula flanagan, elizabeth pe?a, graham greene, burt young, carrie preston, venida evans, jon budinoff, raynor scheine, grant monohon, bianca leigh, danny burstein, maurice orozco, paul borghese
we saw this film with friends friday night at the hyde park theater. the film was obviously a labor of love. duncan tucker wrote and directed and wisely cast felicity huffman as bree (before she had been cast as a “desperate housewife”), huffman’s husband william macy is executive producer.
the plot line is certainly the tried and true formula of the transformational road trip, yet the irony of bree’s concurrent sexual transformation freshens a story that could easily have been clich?. kevin zegers and the rest of the supporting cast are superb, but huffman’s characterization of bree is oscar caliber.
see transamerica! it’s not tragic like “boys don’t cry”. it’s not about sexuality, fetish, or camp. it’s a movie about otherness, transformation, family, and ultimately acceptance. felicity huffman’s golden globe winning performance is absolutely astounding. her acting skill fills bree with insecurity, pathos, warmth, humor, and growth which ultimately transforms the audiences involvement from freak show curiosity to empathy and identification.
thankfully the weinstein brothers recognized just how outstandingly strong this performance is and decided that transamerica would be one of the first films they would choose to distribute after their great success at miramax.
i look forward to eventually owning this great independent film on dvd.
(1 votes, average: 9 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: gay issues, movies, culture, society, adventure, comedy, drama, duncan tucker, felicity huffman, transamerica
last holiday
january 22nd, 2006 by john
after she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness, a shy woman decides to take a european vacation.
directed by
wayne wang
genres
adventure, comedy, drama
cast
queen latifah, ll cool j, timothy hutton, giancarlo esposito, alicia witt, g?rard depardieu, jane adams, michael estime, susan kellerman, jascha washington, matt ross, ranjit chowdhry, michael nouri, jaqueline fleming, kendall mosby
the film is a remake of a 1950 alec guinness comedy. “last holiday” is a simplistic fairy tale comedy that is meant for mass appeal. it is a bit predictable, and the characters are fairly black and white (good and bad).
that’s not to say “holiday” is an absolute waste of time. the film is presented as a life-affirming fantasy, and it plays well into that pocket. beautifully photographed by geoffrey simpson, the film shimmers with golds and whites, setting a luminous backdrop to georgia’s final hurrah. to counteract the visual brightness, the director manages to get latifah to settle down, begging her to can her traditionally brassy personality for at least one movie. she brings a lot class and believability to the film.
many in the cast are asked to play against type (ll cool j as a meek, lovestruck guy?), but latifah registers the strongest, allowing an unusual level of charm to come out of herself. she’s great with the film’s more restrained moments, including the awestruck soaking in of her sumptuous surroundings, and georgia’s interaction with the smitten hotel chef, played with expected (and welcome) invention by gerard depardieu. wang is good with the smaller moments, dealing out some unexpected emotional truth to balance with the broader material, and these sections of the film keep “holiday” from losing itself completely in the quicksand of audience-pleasing film-making.
gets a thumbs up from me and one down from lay.
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies i own, movies, culture, humor, adventure, comedy, drama, last holiday, ll cool j, queen latifah, timothy hutton, wayne wang
king kong
january 22nd, 2006 by john
in 1933 new york, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious skull island, where they encounter kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady ann darrow.
directed by
peter jackson
genres
action, adventure, sci-fi, thriller
cast
naomi watts, jack black, adrien brody, thomas kretschmann, colin hanks, andy serkis, evan parke, jamie bell, lobo chan, john sumner, craig hall, kyle chandler, willians johnson, mark hadlow, geraldine brophy
with the technology available for special effects, this could have been a great movie. unfortunately, it wasn’t. sadly, this movie just proves the point that good effects do not a good movie make. it was certainly a disaster (of a) movie.
what happened here is that a film with enough plot to last for the time of the original was stretched out to try fill 3 hours of screen time, and the result is disastrous. in addition, it’s pretty clear that cgi nerds and video game designers had way too much input into this atrocity.
i could provide details of no less than 10 scenes that were totally irrelevant to the movie (but that would provide some spoilers for those that want to see the movie). in addition scenes that didn’t need to be in the movie, nearly every scene ran about twice as long as necessary.
if you removed all this irrelevant nonsense, what would remain might not have been that bad. it would probably be quite good, in fact. sadly, it was left in. it’s hard to imagine how insufferable a dvd “director’s cut” could be.
on the positive side, naomi watts was excellent, as was jack black. the acting in general was a positive, no real complaints there. and the animation of kong himself was excellent. very well done.
sadly though, very little of the movie involved acting. it was all about making it a big video game and putting in all the effects. the effects are not themselves the movie, they are there to support the movie!
to summarize, there were a lot of good pieces, but there were also a lot of bad ones. ultimately too many were used, and a lot of them did not belong.
(1 votes, average: 2 out of 10 - click to vote)
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tags: movies, culture, action, adventure, jack black, king kong, naomi watts, peter jackson, sci-fi
madagascar
march 13th, 2005 by john
spoiled by their upbringing with no idea what wild life is really like, four animals from new york central zoo escape, unwittingly assisted by four absconding penguins, and find themselves in madagascar, among a bunch of merry lemurs.
directed by
eric darnell, tom mcgrath
genres
animation, adventure, comedy, family
cast
ben stiller, chris rock, david schwimmer, jada pinkett smith, sacha baron cohen, cedric the entertainer, andy richter, tom mcgrath, christopher knights, chris miller, conrad vernon, eric darnell, david cowgill, stephen apostolina, elisa gabrielli
the mood you’re in when you see a movie has a big impact on how much you enjoy it. i saw this in a cinema packed with young families and it went down well. i laughed a lot, so did my kids, and so did the cinema. i explained to my daughter that pansy meant softy, so i even felt useful.
having young children means i have sat through quite a lot of this genre, and the use of computers in animation makes things a little over-refined. i seem to be the only person who finds pixar movies too polished, faultless, and stale. this film can be abrupt and patchy, but in my opinion that makes it more spontaneous.
the movie looks great, the penguins are funny, the king is funny, and the pace and energy are good. about 90 minutes is also the correct length. the plot may be thin but the survival concepts that pepper the movie are good intellectual fodder for children.
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tags: movies i own, movies, culture, adventure, animation, comedy, eric darnell, family, madagascar, tom mcgrath
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