Aardman Animations made one of last year’s finest films in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Constructed with glorious stop-motion animation and a strong sense of dry wit, the film blindsided me with its ingenuity and spirit. Tragically, Aardman’s production warehouse burned to the ground shortly after the… Continue reading
Now we’re getting somewhere. Monster House plays like a living, breathing entity: it’s loaded with humor, spirit, scares, and even has an oddly touching side. This is full-fledged get-lost-in-the-story material and it’s easy to do so since nearly everyone grew up with that scary-looking house in the neighborhood that seemingly… Continue reading
Nacho Libre serves as further evidence to the theory that people will laugh at anything as long as they expect to. I thoroughly hated director Jared Hess’ now-cult classic, Napoleon Dynamite, but now Hess returns with a movie that actually makes Dynamite seem remotely watchable. It doesn’t take much research… Continue reading
The notion of talking cars just isn’t nearly as fun or intriguing as that of animals, dolls, or even plastic army men. Undoubtedly caught up in the raging popularity of Nascar, Pixar has chosen to utilize automobiles as their source material in the uneven, but nevertheless entertaining Cars. The film… Continue reading
There is a scene in DreamWorks Animation’s Over the Hedge when Hammy (voiced by Steve Carell), an already-hyperactive squirrel, chugs a can of the most caffeinated cola on the market. Time literally stands still, everyone else moves in slow motion, and Hammy accomplishes his mission. This scene alone is worth… Continue reading
RV is a film so bad in so many different ways that I can’t even really decide where to begin. The premise, which has been done hundreds of times before, borrows so liberally and directly from National Lampoon’s Vacation and 1988’s The Great Outdoors (the raccoon scene is acted out… Continue reading
How the era of computer animated films has changed in just the past few years. When the original Ice Age was released back in 2002, the genre was virtually unstoppable. Every offering was not only a box office cash cow, but also quite inventive and fun. I was not a… Continue reading
I love family films that are not condescending. Today’s kids are subjected to, for the most part, recycled tripe that probably even seems old to them by now. Nanny McPhee contains all of the key ingredients of a successful family film as well as some off-the-wall and edgy British humor.… Continue reading
C.S. Lewis was ahead of his time. A hot stove topic of late has been that shortly before his death in 1963; Lewis made public his wishes that no film or TV version of his Narnia books was to be made with live actors portraying the animal characters. Well, someone… Continue reading
Go ahead and gasp. I have never read a page of any Harry Potter book, nor have I seen any of the movies up to this point. How have I managed to accomplish this feat? I have no clue. J.K. Rowling’s novels are a worldwide sensation and sell at such… Continue reading