Friday, January 10, 2014

Frozen (2013)



Number Rolled: N/A
Movie Name/Year: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Children & Family
Length: 102 minutes
Rating: PG
Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Writer: Jennifer Lee, Hans Christian Andersen, Chris Buck, Shane Morris
Actors: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciaran Hinds, Chris Williams, Stephen J. Anderson, Maia Wilson, Esie McClurg, Robert Pine, Maurice LaMarche, Livvy Stubenrauch, Eva Bella, Spencer Ganus

Anna’s sister, Elsa, has isolated herself for a long time. In fact, she’s barely seen the girl at all since they were children. After their parents die, Elsa is set to be crowned queen of their land, which leads to a necessary coronation party. During the celebration, Anna is faced with the big reveal of her sister’s problem.

People are talking about “Frozen” a lot, and there’s a very good reason for that. Not only did Disney put out a wonderful movie, but they also reinvented the wheel a little bit. When you think about it, it’s pretty easy to predict Disney movies. They’re safe, comforting, always have a happy ending; the beast turns back into a man, sleeping beauty is awakened by a true love’s kiss and Simba takes his ‘throne.’ Frozen explores some other roads stories like this could take. Although there is obviously a love story wrapped up within the major plot, the movie doesn’t rely on it as much as others have in the past. Much like “Brave,” Disney uses “Frozen” to break some of the biggest ‘rules’ it has created for itself over the years.

I found the main character more relatable than most of the movies Disney has put out and I loved the strange twists and turns that were hidden in the plot. A magical snowman, tiny trolls and a bright reindeer fulfill the cuteness quota and the music is upbeat and enchanting. The only issue I really had was that the lyrics of the songs did become a bit repetitive at times. I feel like there were probably ways for them to get around that.

The movie was adorable and the story was solid. It’s something both kids and adults can enjoy together.

Overall Opinion – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer: 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Chalet Girl (2011)



Number Rolled: 20
Movie Name/Year: Chalet Girl (2011)
Genre: Romance
Length: 96 minutes
Rating: R
Director: Phil Traill
Writer: Tom Williams
Actors: Felicity Jones, Bill Bailey, Rebecca Lacey, Tom Goodman-Hill, Tamsin Egerton, Georgia Kind, Gregor Bloeb, Ed Westwick, Bill Nighy, Brooke Shields, Sophia Bush, Nicolas Braun, Ken Duken, Tara Dakides, Adam Bousdoukos

Kim was a big deal in the skating world before her mother’s accident took her out of commission. Suddenly, she’s facing the prospect of flipping burgers for the rest of her life. A lucky break opens for her when she learns about a job opening to wait on much better tippers than those one would find in the fast food industry.

If I had to combine two works of creativity in order to describe “Chalet Girl” it would be “Blue Crush,” with much better actors and better writing, and this series I used to read when I was a teenager called “Sunset Island,” by Cherie Bennett. Of course, it was a little grown up to fully resemble the teenage-level romance series, but not nearly grown up enough for an R rating, in my opinion. I get the reasons behind it, but I think the rating was a case of stick-up-ass-dom instead of an objective view of the film.

I thought it was cute. I really enjoyed Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick as actors. Bill Nighy is always a welcome presence in a movie and I think British movies just have a more relaxed tone to them. If this same movie were created with an American tone, I feel like it would have gone the way of every other sport-romance-competition-themed nonsense that we put out. I’m not saying I only like British movies, but they definitely have found a spot in my heart they don’t intend to give up.

It’s not the most original movie that’s ever been made. It’s not even the most original movie I watched today. None-the-less, it worked its recipe well and the final product is fun. That’s really the whole point of this kind of film.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 3.3/5
Overall Opinion – 3.5/5

P.S. Small scenes and bloopers are played during the credits.

Movie Trailer:

Monday, January 6, 2014

Iron Sky (2012)



Number Rolled: 43
Movie Name/Year: Iron Sky (2012)
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Length: 92 minutes
Rating: R
Director: Timo Vuorensola
Writer: Johanna Sinisalo, Jarmo Puskala, Michael Kalesniko, Timo Vuorensola
Actors: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Gotz Otto, Udo Kier, Peta Sergeant, Stephanie Paul, Tilo Pruckner, Michael Cullen, Kym Jackson, Ben Siemer, Tom Hobbach, Milo Kaukomaa, Vivian Schneider

When the president sends a couple of men to the moon in 2018, World War II has been over for over sixty years. However, there is a group of Nazi’s that never quite learned that fact. They escaped in the last moments of the war and reside on the unexplored dark side of the moon. There they have continued their training, and the training of the next generations, all in the name of creating the master race.

I first learned of this movie a while back when I saw the trailer for it on YouTube. Instantly, I knew it could go one of two ways: hilarious beyond belief or serious and intent on a message. I also knew that if the writer/director took the movie as far as possible on either side, it could be fantastic. Unfortunately, it was the forgotten third option that won the struggle. The movie didn’t go far enough in either direction. So, what you are left with is a terrible concoction of attempts at seriousness that get confused with the overacting mess that is an equal attempt at sardonic humor. Add to that the fact that the writers clearly had no faith in the audience, over-writing everything, and you have what turns out to be 92 wasted minutes of your life.

I would have loved to love this movie. I just couldn’t. Even if the script had been the best possible, the actors were terrible (except for Julia Dietze) and the general path the plot took was actually overdone despite the original idea it tried to follow.

Long story short: it’s not worth it.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 3.5/5
Overall Opinion – 1.5/5

Movie Trailer: