Thursday, April 12, 2018

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) - Through the Eyes of Cat



Number Rolled: N/A
Movie Name/Year: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Tagline: Grab destiny by the rice dumplings.
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 95 minutes
Rating: PG
Production Companies: China Film Co., DreamWorks Animation, Oriental DreamWorks
Producers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Melissa Cobb, Guillermo del Toro, Jeff Hermann, Peikang La, Rui Gang Li, Mike Mitchell
Directors: Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson           
Writers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Actors: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, James Hong, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, Al Roker, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Stunts: N/A

Blurb from NetflixHis Mission? Defend China from a marauding spirit. His weapon? Kung fu. His crew? Pandas. Clumsy, goofy pandas.


Cat’s Point of View:

I love the Kung Fu Panda (2008) series. I had originally watched this 3rd installment of the franchise closer to when it was released, but was quite happy to watch it again.

Aside from being funny and just fun in general, these movies have a phenomenal message behind them. They’re all reinforcing that we shouldn’t judge others by their exteriors, sometimes our weaknesses can be turned into strengths, and that both self-discovery and community are important. That’s just scratching the surface. There’s good stuff for kids that might be in foster homes, adopted, or in blended families as well.


I love Po’s wide-eyed wonder at the world around him and how he geeks-out over things. My own inner-geek identifies with him so much! Jack Black (The Muppets, The D Train, The Polka King) was the absolute perfect choice to voice the Dragon Warrior in this series.

Dreamworks’ CEO confirmed that there are going to be at least 3 more movies in the series. I am excited to find out what is in store for Po the panda in the future!  In the meantime, I wouldn’t mind watching this again and would give it my whole-hearted recommendation.


Languages

Speech Available: English, English (Audio Description), Spanish
Subtitles Available: English [CC], Spanish

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 86%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 78%
Metascore – 66%
Metacritic User Score – 7.4/10
IMDB Score – 7.1/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5

P.S. There are several 'replays' of scenes from throughout the movie during the credits. 

Movie Trailer:

Monday, April 9, 2018

Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017) - Through the Eyes of Cat



Number Rolled: N/A
Movie Name/Year: Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)
Tagline: Third Time's the Charm
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies: Infinity Films, Myriad Pictures, The Cartel, Village Studios, Ansgar Media, American Zoetrope
Producers: Rob Baker, Richard Brandes, Gurpreet Chandhoke, Kirk D'Amico, Rudolph A. Galera, Ari Golan, Lawrence Golan, Kevin Kasha, Michael Musante, Chris Nassif, Michael Ohoven, Jim Pesoli, Michael Roban, Victor Salva, Jake Seal, Stephen Shea, Brad Southwick, Stan Spry, Danny Zamost
Director: Victor Salva
Writer: Victor Salva
Actors: Brandon Smith, Carrie Lazar, Chester Rushing, Don Yesso, Gabrielle Haugh, Gina Philips, Jason Bayle, Jonathan Breck, Jordan Salloum, Joyce Giraud, Meg Foster, Meg Wright, Michael Papajohn, Michael Sirow, Ryan Moore, Stan Shaw
Stunts: Rocky Abou-Sakher, Greg Dela Riva, Kurt DeVille, Michael Endoso, Juliene Joyner, Marque Ohmes, Felipe Savahge, Preston Schrag, Austin Seifert, Dalton Simons, Monty L. Simons, Savannah Simons, Matt Thompson, Tyler J Tiffany, Kevin Waterman

Blurb from NetflixWhile an overmatched sheriff's task force pursues the Creeper, the mother of one of his victims has a vision of what must be done to stop the terror.

Cat’s Point of View:

Selina wasn’t able to watch a movie for today’s review, so I got to pick a random film to share with you! Before I get to my take on the third installment of the Jeepers Creepers (2001) franchise, I do have some Trust the Dice news to share with you all.

We’re undergoing a slight format change effective this week. Selina and I will still be bringing you reviews from movies watched on Netflix – the mechanics of our viewing and reviewing aren’t changing. We’ll simply be shifting to Mondays and Thursdays for the foreseeable future. Things have been a bit hectic with life changes for both of us on this side of the screen, though we still love sharing our random selections with you.

On to the movie!


The original movie in this series is one of my favorite horror movies, hands down. I was a bit leery of the second, realizing that it would have to seriously raise the bar to top the first movie and avoid the pitfalls typical of sequels. I ended up watching it anyway because I’m apparently a sucker for punishment, and the brother of a friend of mine was in it. I didn’t hate Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), but it was a little disappointing for me.

Fast forward 14 years to the 3rd installment.

I groaned a bit when I found out they’d made another one. I honestly don’t know how they ever plan to top the despair and the shock of the first movie’s conclusion. When the second film ended, I thought surely that was going to be it. Nope. Round 3, it is.


In the interest of being thorough (and that whole sucker for punishment thing), I gave #3 a shot. Why not be thorough? I’m afraid I can’t say that it was any better than the first sequel. In fact, I think I like it less.

This movie takes place in between Jeepers Creepers 1 and 2; however, that timeline isn’t exactly clear as the movie progresses. It feels like it hops a bit but that could be due to the fact it was trying to juggle so many things at once. If anyone had any burning questions about what happened immediately after the first movie ended – this is the film for you. I’ll admit I was hoping for a jump to 23 years after the first sequel’s events to see how they dealt with the Creeper in the future. Alas.


One of the few parts I did enjoy about this movie was the return of the BEATINGU truck that was featured prominently in the first movie. Some of the aspects of the vehicle in this installment require a large helping of suspension of disbelief, but it’s still creepy as hell and took on a role of its own.

The whole task force concept is a little out-there for me, but hey – why not?

I was a bit disappointed with some of the effects. While I applaud the consistency with the Creeper’s appearance, made of largely practical effects; the CGI here left something to be desired. There was even a bird flying that didn’t quite look right. It bugged me, and I feel petty for being that nitpicky, but it was near the very beginning and it only went downhill from there.


I’m not quite sure why the film is unrated here in the States. It’s fairly mild on gore in comparison to the two prior installments. It doesn’t even show the Creeper eating anything! There is a hefty helping of violence, though, and more profanity than a PG-13 movie could get away with.

Ultimately, I don’t think I can recommend this movie in good conscience. If you are super into the series, and looking to kill some time, you might not be angry after watching it. I, for one, am not very enthusiastic for Jeepers Creepers 4. 

Languages

Speech Available: English
Subtitles Available: English [CC], Spanish

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 27%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 37%
Metascore - none
Metacritic User Score – 5.4/10
IMDB Score – 4.5/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R

Movie Trailer: