Thursday, June 18, 2015

Age of Dinosaurs (2013)



Number Rolled: 70
Movie Name/Year: Age of Dinosaurs (2013)
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Length: 88 minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies: The Asylum
Executive Producer: David Rimawi
Director: Joseph J. Lawson
Writer: Hank Woon Jr.
Actors: Treat Williams, Ronny Cox, Jillian Rose Reed, Joshua Michael Allen, Max Aria, Jose Rosete

Gabe and his daughter, Jade, are getting ready to spend a rare day together. He takes her to a fancy conference where they learn the CEO of a business has been recreating dinosaurs. Things go askew when one of the recreations busts out.

Selina’s Point of View:
Know what’s sad? I saw Jurassic World (2015) today, in the theater. I then went about my business, came home and had to watch this take on a dinosaur movie.

Jurassic World (2015) was outstanding. It was hilarious and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks and Recreation, Bride Wars) 100% killed it. Age of Dinosaurs however…

Would it be an acceptable review if I just head-desked seven or eight times and recorded the sound for posting purposes?

We all know The Asylum is a crap production company that lucks out with a “so bad it’s good” movie once in a while. So when that name is affiliated with a film, expectations are already low. This one had to be one of the worst.

The actors were beyond terrible. I kept wondering if they just did the whole movie in one take because if they had cut screw ups or bad scenes, I don’t think there’d have been anything left.

On any normal day, this movie would be terrible. On a day when a real dinosaur movie has just been seen, Age of Dinosaurs is abysmal.

Don’t waste your time.

Cat’s Point of View:
I’ll admit that I enjoy a good B movie now and again. I especially love the ones that are so horrible they’re awesome. I’m also a dinosaur fan. The combination of such might lead you to believe that this movie was right up my alley.

Unfortunately, I think that this film fell short of the mark. There wasn’t enough humor in it, and beyond that it was just… missing something. The actors seemed confused more than they were terrified and some of the dialogue and character interaction was just awkward.

The movie tried real hard, however. The dinosaurs weren’t the best CGI, but they at least didn’t look cartoony.

I’ve been known to leave a cheesy Syfy Channel movie on as background noise while working on other things. I’m pretty sure I would have changed the channel on this one.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 11%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 1.3/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score1/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 1.2/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score1/5

The Random Rating: PG-13

Movie Trailer:

Monday, June 15, 2015

Turbo (2013)



Number Rolled: 44
Movie Name/Year: Turbo (2013)
Genre: Comedy
Length: 96 minutes
Rating: PG
Production Companies: DreamWorks Animation
Executive Producer: Lisa Stewart
Director: David Soren
Writer: Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel, David Soren
Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Samuel L. Jackson, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Mike Bell, Aaron Berger, Aidan Andrews, Lloyd Sherr, Kurtwood Smith, David Soren

Theo is a snail with a need for speed. At night, he gets to watch his racing idol go round and round the track then give amazing interviews. During the day, however, he’s just an ordinary snail working at the Plant… and no one really gets him.

Selina’s Point of View:
When I see the DreamWorks logo, I get a little excited. They’ve produced amazing films like How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Shrek (2001). So, I was happy when we rolled Turbo.

It was cute… but not really for me. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any interest in racing, or because the movie was geared toward a younger audience, I don’t know. I just found myself kind of bored sitting through the endlessly predictable tropes.

I know that sounds like I hated it, but I didn’t really.

It’s easy to pretend to hate recipe films, but the truth is, there’s a comfort to them. Well-made recipe films are like a bowl of soup on a cold day, and this one did leave me smiling at the very end. For that reason, I definitely believe it was a bit more than mediocre.

I likely won’t watch it again until I have kids, though.

Cat’s Point of View:
I was initially excited when the dice pointed us in the direction of this movie. I had watched this one with my family before. My daughter and I watched it again together.

The second time around with this film seemed to strip away just a bit of its shiny veneer for me.

The racial stereotypes and the parts of the plot that seemingly ‘borrow’ from Cars (2006) felt a bit more blatant. I found myself looking over to my daughter, and pondering if the destructive manipulation with the bus stunt or the life-savings I.O.U were sending her a bad message.

Of course, then we were jamming out to “The Snail is Fast” amidst many giggles.

The overall themes of the film are strong positives, however. The messages of self-belief, hard work, and finding the courage to keep going, even when you feel broken, are a powerful take-away. There even seemed to be some subtle commentary, using the crows, about the desensitization of today’s society.

I also appreciated the cautionary element regarding celebrity hero-worship.

Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern, A Million Ways to Die in the West, R.I.P.D.) had a bit of a refreshing departure from his usual snarky roles. While I love his snark, I think it would have taken away from Turbo. I’m glad they didn’t incorporate more into it.
 
Racing fans might get a kick out of the voice-cameo of legendary racer Mario Andretti (1, Dust to Glory, Cars). He voiced a couple of incognito parts, rather than a self-appearance.

In spite of some of the mixed signals the film was giving, it was still quite enjoyable.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 67%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 66%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score3/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4.4/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score4/5

P.S. Some amusement during the beginning of the credits and a small scene during.

Movie Trailer: