Category: Movie Reviews

How to Train Your Dragon 2
Starring Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and Gerard Butler
Directed by Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon)
Rated PG for adventure action and some mild rude humor

    When How to Train Your Dragon hit the screen in 2010 I was absolutely blown away.  It was original, gutsy, different and stunningly beautiful.  And it left some big shoes to fill for a sequel. 

    In this newest edition, five years have passed and Hiccup and his viking mates are now young men and women, all of whom have mastered dragon riding.  Upon exploring the greater world around him, Hiccup discovers a huge ice cave filled with thousands of exotic new dragons led by his mother who everyone presumed dead (sorry if that’s a spoiler but it was in the trailers).  At the same time though, he discovers an evil mad man who has trained a dragon army in the hopes of taking over the world. 

    This film does a lot of things right.  I love that enough time has passed to allow a different version of its main characters.  Hiccup especially has turned into a brave young man who is still trying to figure things out while displaying a quiet confidence in his impressive abilities.  Its a very nice transition to observe.  His cohort also are now young men and women who have two things on the brain, dragons and the opposite sex.  There are some rather hilarious moments as the teens try to woo their targets.  Like the first film, the background characters outside of the main cast are more scenery than anything, but not terribly distracting. 

    The writing, as expected, is terrific and the narrative is strong.  The story being told here is big and bold and huge in scope with a lot of surprises that I won’t spoil.  I did think the mother seemed rather useless come the big battle, which seemed out of place given her talents as a dragon master.  Its almost as if they forgot about her in the third act.  That being said, I did like the directions they took in the story. 

    Probably my favorite quality of the film is how beautiful it is .  Once again, Dreamworks Animation put together a talented crew and I’m sure using legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins again as a visual consultant greatly enhanced the look.  While I’m not crazy about the 3D of the film, the actual cinematography and lighting were breathtaking.  There are moments in the battle sequences that actually look like real giant dragons fighting.  And the flight sequences are beyond anything we’ve ever seen previously.  Add that to a new score by the Oscar-nominated composer John Powell and songs by Icelandic musician Jonsi and you get quite a stunning collection of memorable sequences. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence
Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men)
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language

    One of the most popular stories in the X-men comics is this tale of how Wolverine (Jackman) is sent into the past in order to stop Mystique (Lawrence) from committing an action that would devastate the world and potentially destroy all mutants in the future.  While in the past he must convince an apathetic Professor X (McAvoy) and a malicious Magneto (Fassbender) to help him stop her. 

    If you are tired of pointless and thoughtless super hero films that attempt to distract you into forgetting the need for a plot – then this is the right film for you.  Just like X-Men, X2 and X-Men: First Class, this is an extremely well-written and trippy script that will excite your intellect while keeping your adrenaline at maximum output. 

    When X-Men: First Class first hit theaters in 2011, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy were just becoming famous.  Now, however, the stars have become A-listers and with the combination of the old and new X-Men casts, the films is so full of amazing actors that it literally busts off of the screen.  And not one of them is just “phoning it in” here.  Each and every one of the actors and actresses owns their characters and puts everything they have into them.  This makes the movie that much more fun to watch. 

    When you combine the artistry of the actors with the brilliance of director Bryan Singer and a slick, extremely well-written screenplay and over the top production values, you end up with one amazing super-hero movie.  Speaking of production, something I have didn’t catch before but that truly impresses me is the talent of John Ottman who not only delivers a score that perfectly fits the film, but who also masterfully edits the film as well.  He did this before on all of Singers films since 1993’s Public Access but for some reason I didn’t catch on until now.  I can’t tell you how awe-struck I am with this dual threat behind-the-scenes filmmaker. 

    This is not going to be your normal film review.  I think it is expected for most film critics to slam a Christian film, regardless of being an independent or studio pic.  But most are doing it from an atheistic or agnostic point of view.  What you are about to read is from a Christian point of view.  Before I start, I have to admit that I loved the book this movie is based on.  Todd Burpo’s account of his son’s apparent journey to Heaven is a wonderful, awe-inspiring tale that had me excited and thrilled through every page.  Unfortunately this movie did the book a great disservice. 

    Opening up with a little girl from Eastern Europe painting what will eventually be a very controversial and chilling portrait of Jesus, the film starts out the right way.  While this version of Burpo’s story isn’t exactly true to the book, the differences are at first acceptable.  After the first sermon Burpo preaches in his church, however, I thought it unusual that he didn’t really discuss God or Jesus or anything very Christian.  But then I thought “hey – it’s coming.”  After all, it’s a book about Jesus.  How can he not get there?

    I do not mean for this to be a spoiler, but I think everyone knows that the book is about Burpo’s son Colton and what happened after he almost died and came back from the operating room telling stories of his time spent in Heaven.  But here the almost-tragedy of the novel was not close to being apparent.  In the book, Colton was mis-diagnosed and it wasn’t until his father illegally took his son from a poorly-run hospital to a children’s hospital in a nearby large city that you find out his life really was in danger and that he almost died.  Here, though, Colton gets a fever and he is quickly diagnosed with appendicitis and operated on.  This is too common and you really don’t get the sense of danger aside from the father getting angry at God and the town praying.  If I hadn’t read the book I would have thought that these people are really overreacting.  What a bad choice the filmmakers made here as this was some riveting drama grossly overlooked or ignored. 

    I will say that Colton’s stories are visually told well and do send some nice shivers, but then the damage comes.  While there is a lot of talk of God, the Christian message is completely brushed over.  A big example of this is when Todd is talking to a lady in the church and explaining that her son, who died overseas in the military, is in Heaven.  The rationale that he proposes is that “if God loves my son, don’t you think he loves your son too?”  Paraphrased of course.  This is extremely contrary to Christian teachings, no matter what denomination you belong to.  The message I got from this film is that God loves us all and that we will all will go to Heaven, regardless of anything.  At least they got the first part right.  I believe this to be a dangerous viewpoint and completely contrary to any teachings Christ or of any Christian church out there.  And to make matters worse, none of the preceding sermons discuss how to get to Heaven or who Jesus is, just that we will all get to meet him someday.  It just amazes me that a Christian film would try so hard not be Christian.  In a film like this I would think that most people would expect a strong message and a little preaching.   

    I have always had a huge love for Wes Anderson’s films.  From Bottle Rocket to Rushmore (filmed in Houston by the way) to The Royal Tenenbaums and the rest that follow, I connect with his style, his color palette and his wonderful usage of actors.  And while it’s hard to rank my favorites, his new outing is up at the top. 

    The crux of the story revolves around a concierge (brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes) at a pre WWII Eastern Block hotel who finds himself on the hit list of a local family when an elderly woman he had been courting at his hotel dies and leaves him a valuable piece of art.  Filled with incredible and memorable little stories with unique characters throughout, the film twists and turns in unexpected and joyous little adventures. 

    So why do I love Anderson’s films so much?  Probably because they are so quirky yet so absolutely adorable.  There is not a predictable moment in any of his films, and like Hannibal Lecter,  you find yourself enjoying his delicious little brain and all of the nuances found within (sorry for any overtly cannibalistic references).  Even in the darkest and most violent of moments in the film, there is joy to be discovered.  It’s like a scary Disney ride where even though you might be a little concerned for your safety, you always know that there is a big happy mouse waiting for a hug on other side. 

    Like all of his other films, there is a huge A-list actor around every turn.  Like roaches on a filet mignon, I’m fairly certain that pretty much every actor in Hollywood is dying to have any role they can get in Anderson’s movies and they all do their very best with not even an extra “phoning it in.”  Fiennes, Law, Abraham, Brody as well as Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Ed Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jeff Goldbloom, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Defoe, Harvey Keitel, Owen Wilson and newcomer and co-star Tony Revolori all turn in these amazing performances that are a simply pleasure to sit back and watch. 

In addition, this is one of the best productions Anderson has ever presented with interesting and gorgeous cinematography by long-time collaborator Robert Yeoman, a perfect score by Alexandre Desplat and 12 Years a Slave production designer Adam Stockhausen. 

    Based on a true story, The Monuments Men tells the tale of a group of art historians who join forces with the U.S. military during WWII to rescue stolen pieces of art that Hitler had hidden throughout Germany.  

    When I first found out that this film was pushed back into February and would not be eligible for awards season, I was puzzled.  After all, Clooney is a very good writer and director and the cast is one of the best ensembles a person could imagine.  I immediately guessed that the film just wasn’t great.  Unfortunately I was correct.

    The story itself is fantastic.  The men represented here are real life heroes and responsible for much of our lifetime of enjoyment we have had walking through museums both in America and abroad.  What they did was vitally important and their contribution is worthy of more appreciation than we could ever show them.

Saving Mr. Banks
Starring Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell
Directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side)
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images

    Before Walt Disney (Hanks) could make the legendary film Mary Poppins, he had to coax its creator, P.L. Travers (Thompson) to sell him the rights.  The process was an arduous one as she hated the very thought of her books ending up with Disney, but through persistence and a strong sense of vision, Walt was able to convince her, leaving us with one his greatest and most treasured films. 

    I’ve always wanted to see a biopic of one of my biggest heroes, but since that isn’t in the works yet, I’ll gladly settle for this lovely little film about a very unusual story that took place at Disney’s studio years before I was born.  From the opening moments of the film where a solo piano performs the Oscar-winning song Chim Chim Cher-ee to the closing moments with the same hauntingly beautiful motif, the film sets itself apart as a classic. 

    It helps that the story is really interesting.  Apparently P.L. Travers was insanely difficult to work with and Thompson makes you really feel the creative team’s pain.  But at the same time the film goes in a very different direction as they simultaneously show Travers’s own troubled upbringing as  she watches her beloved father (Farrell) drink himself to death.  It’s an all around touching story and while you know the ultimate ending, that doesn’t make it any less fantastic. 

    In addition to Thompson’s incredible performance, the film boasts some other terrific acting including Hanks as Disney, Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the legendary Sherman Brothers and a rather unexpected beautiful performance by Paul Giamatti as Disney’s limo driver that befriends Travers. 

    My only real beef with the film is that in the flashback sequences they make a todo about what we can only assume was the inspiration for Mary Poppins in a woman known to the family as Aunt Ellie, played by Rachel Griffiths, that comes to live with the family when the father takes ill.  Honestly, it’s a confusing role that I’m not sure is well enough written to be understood completely.