Review: "A Night at the Roxbury" is Sometimes Funny (Happy B'day, Will Ferrell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 154 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sex related humor, language and some drug content
DIRECTOR: John Fortenberry
WRITERS: Steven Koren and Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan
PRODUCERS: Amy Heckerling and Lorne Michaels
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Francis Kenny
EDITOR: Jay Kamen
COMPOSER: David Kitay

COMEDY

Starring: Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell, Dan Hedaya, Molly Shannon, Richard Grieco, Loni Anderson, Lochlyn Munro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Dwayne Hickman, Meredith Scott Lynn, Colin Quinn, Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice, Jennifer Coolidge, and (uncredited) Chazz Palminteri

The subject of this movie review is A Night at the Roxbury, a 1998 American comedy film starring Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell. The film is based on the long-running “Saturday Night Live” skit called “The Roxbury Guys,” which also featured Kattan and Ferrell. Amy Heckerling, the director of such films as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Look Who’s Talking, and Clueless, is one of the film’s producers, and she also apparently directed some of this film.

Doug (Chris Kattan) and Steve Butabi (Will Ferrell) are the Roxbury Guys, a long-running skit Kattan and Ferrell performed while they were “Saturday Night Live” cast members. The Butabi Brothers go club hopping, always trying to get in the hottest spot, the hottest spot being, The Roxbury. In A Night at the Roxbury, one of many films adapted from Saturday Night Live skits, the Butabi boys want to open their own club, one as hot as The Roxbury.

Of course, they face many obstacles. Their father Kamehl (Dan Hedaya) wants Steve to marry Emily Sanderson (Molly Shannon) so that he could merge his plastic plant business with Emily’s father’s lamp shop. Doug doesn’t like Emily, and Kamehl doesn’t think much of his son Doug’s intelligence. It doesn’t help that the boys live at home with their parents, so Kamehl is always in their business. They finally get a break when they meet The Roxbury’s owner, Mr. Zadir (Chazz Palminteri), who likes the boys and wants to go in business with them. Zadir’s assistant, Dooey (Colin Quinn) hates the Butabi boys and runs interference to keep them from having that meeting crucial with Mr. Zadir about opening a club. Meanwhile, Emily and Kamehl set a date for the wedding, and Doug severs his close relationship with his brother over the wedding. Will the Butabi Bros. get back together in time to open their dream club?

A Night at the Roxbury is only funny when Kattan and Ferrell are onscreen, and then it’s mostly for their silliness, not for their acting. The film just seems to meander through its plot, and one can’t help but get the feeling that this film is going nowhere, so the Butabi’s desperately need to be on the screen for this film to be tolerable. For all its dilly-dallying, the film suddenly drops its ending in your lap, but other than a few laughs, this is, at best, a temporary distraction. It is a testament to the leads’ styles, that they elicit laughs from mediocre material (material that is surprisingly mediocre when one considers that Clueless director Amy Heckerling and comedy superstar Jim Carrey made substantial uncredited contributions to this film), and their comedic gifts make A Night at the Roxbury worth watching.

5 of 10
C+

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Review: 1989 "Batman" Movie Wanders Without a Plot

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 124 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman (1989)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
WRITERS: Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, from a story by Hamm (based upon BATMAN characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger)
PRODUCERS: Jon Peters and Peter Guber
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt
EDITOR: Ray Lovejoy
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman
Academy Award winner

SUPERHERO/ACTION/CRIME

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, Jerry Hall, Tracey Walter, Lee Wallace, and William Hootkins

The subject of this movie review is Batman, the 1989 superhero movie directed by Tim Burton. It was the first film in the initial Batman film series, which ended with 1997’s Batman and Robin, before being rebooted with Batman Begins (2005).

Although Warner Bros. had a “Batman” movie in various stages of development for most of the 80’s, the 1989 box office smash Batman was not green lit for production until the film Beetlejuice became a hit. In 1985, Warner Bros. chose Tim Burton, the director of Beetlejuice, to helm the long planned Batman after his first theatrical feature, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, became a box office hit. However, when Beetlejuice’s also became a hit, that success that made Warner Bros. realize that Burton was definitely a director who could make box office hits, and being that Warner was putting so much money into Batman, they needed it to be a hit. Comic book fans raised (un)holy hell over the choice of Burton to direct and Burton’ selection of Michael Keaton to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. Warner Bros. toyed with and appeased their nerdy emotions by regularly releasing Batman movie trailers and other sneak peeks of the film. The choice of Jack Nicholson to play the Joker also got people excited (and quieted angry comic book nerds), and the film went on to be a huge hit.

Gotham City has been astir with rumors of a giant bat, called The Bat, by criminals who claimed that it attacked them; indeed, the mysterious figure is said to prey upon Gotham’s criminal underworld. This figure is actually a costumed hero who calls himself Batman (Michael Keaton), and he gradually comes out of the shadows to investigate the criminal operation of Gotham’s chief criminal, Carl Grissom (Jack Palance). During a police showdown with Grissom’s thugs, Batman causes the apparent accidental death of Grissom’s chief enforcer, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson). Napier, however, is not dead; nearly-drowned in strange chemicals and scarred by a bullet, he emerges from the shadows as the homicidal and clown-like, The Joker (Nicholson), and begins a murder spree against his rivals for control of the city’s criminal underworld. The Joker also initiates a crime spree on the city as Gotham prepares to celebrate its 200th birthday. Meanwhile, Batman’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne (Keaton), is trying to figure out a way to stop The Joker, while a lovely reporter, Vicky Vale (Kim Basinger), shows interest in both Wayne and Batman.

This movie is a large plot-less beast that meanders into its third act. The movie even starts off with a cacophony of countless actors mouthing awkward sounding dialogue. Keaton is unconvincing as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. Kim Basinger struggles with role made gimpy by a script that treats her like a typical action movie girl-attached-to-the-hero, one the filmmakers only grudgingly accept as necessary. Tim Burton’s signature gothic and darkly comic fantasy hardly ever shows in this film; this is mostly a Tim Burton film in name only. However, Jack Nicholson takes the script and elevates it. Except for a few hammy moments, he’s brilliant and his delivery brings his lines to snappy life.

Compared to the recent Batman Begins, Batman 1989 doesn’t hold up, but the two films are actually quite different in tone and style. This Batman is a combination of the wrong ingredients or at least incorrectly measured ingredients (from director and cast to the music and other production elements) plus a big helping of Jack Nicholson’s miraculously funny performance; both make this an average and (for reasons unknown to me) curiously entertaining film.

5 of 10
C+

NOTES:
1990 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Anton Furst and Peter Young)

1990 BAFTA Awards: 6 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Jack Nicholson), “Best Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood), “Best Make Up Artist” (Paul Engelen and Nick Dudman), “Best Production Design” (Anton Furst), “Best Sound” (Don Sharpe, Tony Dawe, and Bill Rowe), “Best Special Effects” (Derek Meddings and John Evans)

1990 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” (Jack Nicholson)

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Review: "DysFunktional Family" is Foul and Funny (Happy B'day, Eddie Griffin)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

DysFunktional Family (2003)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, language and drug-related humor
DIRECTOR: George Gallo
WRITER: Eddie Griffin (head writer)
PRODUCERS: Paul Brooks, Eddie Griffin, and David Permut
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theo van de Sande
EDITOR: Michael R. Miller
COMPOSER: Andrew Gross

DOCUMENTARY/CONCERT

Starring: Eddie Griffin

The subject of this movie review is DysFunktional Family, a 2003 documentary film, concert movie, and stand-up comedy film starring actor and comedian, Eddie Griffin.

I’ve actually gone to a theatre on five occasions to see a concert film; four of movies were concert films by comedians (the fifth was Prince’s brilliant documentary Sign ‘o’ the Times, chronicling his concert tour of the same name across Europe). I’ve seen two hilarious Richard Pryor films, Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip and Richard Pryor Here and Now, brilliant works that showcased the flourishes that made him the funniest man on the planet and that revealed his personal tragedies in poignant, yet humorous stories. Along the same lines was Eddie Murphy Raw (currently the most successful concert film at the box office in film history), which was very funny and very revealing about Eddie Murphy’s family and his personal views on relationships. Martin Lawrence’s You So Crazy dismayed me; it was partly funny, but mostly just long, boring, and vain.

Comedian Eddie (Undercover Brother) Griffin’s DysFunktional Family is quite similar to those four works in several ways. Griffin is stylistically similar to Richard Pryor in his delivery and his storytelling and in the kind of stories he chooses to tell. Like Eddie Murphy, Griffin brings a harder and meaner edge to the kind of family and personal storytelling that makes up his act than even the very blue Pryor brought to his. However, like Martin Lawrence, Griffin’s act is filled with too many dry spots were the comedy isn’t humorous; it’s just vulgar and strained, but I have to say that Family is far funnier than I remember You So Crazy to be.

Griffin’s material is quite vulgar, not just in the explicitness of the language, but also in the harshness of the subject matter. Family was filmed during Griffin’s return trip to his hometown, Kansas City, Missouri for a concert. The film mixes concert footage with documentary footage of various members of Griffin’s family and of childhood landmarks. Director George Gallo uses footage from family get-togethers to introduce each subject or topic in Griffin’s act. For instance, film footage about a particular uncle would lead into Griffin’s routine about that uncle.

Griffin’s family is, as the say, “something else.” I found myself both laughing at and being repulsed by his family’s behavior, but I guess that we all have bone yards in our respective family closets. I know that my closet doesn’t include my mother trying to run me down in the street with her car, an uncle who directs and films homemade pornographic movies, or a junkie uncle who shoots up in front of me; still, none of us are perfect.

Griffin, at times, is absolutely hilarious. Some of the stories are quite entertaining, and some of his impersonations are dead on. Some of his social commentary is succinct, while much of it is dated and has been said before by lesser talents, especially the observations about white people. A lot the concert was just hardcore vulgar, and Griffin uses the words “nigga” and “nigger” so much that he literally takes way the impact of those two words. In fact, he states that he thinks the more you say those words, the less power they have. I can understand that using harsh language might represent the natural flow of his speech, but when he’s trying to entertain, he has to be able to communicate his message or story to his audience. Sometimes the overuse of profane and vulgar language just gets in the way. The listener just can’t capture the essence of the story if he has to spend all his time picking through the foulness.

For the most part, I like what Griffin brought to the stage. He just doesn’t seem to have much control over his material. It’s like both he and his act are forces of nature that clash against each other and what results is the cacophony of a potty-mouthed man in need of therapy, perhaps because he allegedly improvises on stage instead of having a prepared script. There’s some funny stuff here, even some belly laughs, but the delivery is so foul that I’m not sure if the end results justify the means. DysFunktional Family is for people who like it raw and shitty.

5 of 10
B-

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Review: "Little Children" is Social Satire at Play (Happy B'day, Jackie Earle Haley)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 87 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Little Children (2006)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexuality and nudity, language, and some disturbing content
DIRECTOR: Todd Field
WRITERS: Todd Field and Tom Perrotta (based upon the novel by Tom Perrotta)
PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, and Todd Field
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Antonio Calvache
EDITOR: Leo Trombetta
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
2007 Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein, Ty Simpkins, Noah Emmerich, Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville, Helen Carey, and Mary B. McCann

The lives of several suburbanites who are struggling with satisfaction intersect on the streets of their small town in director Todd Field’s Little Children.

Little Children is a 2006 drama with darkly comic undertones from director Todd Field and starring Kate Winslet. The film is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, who also co-wrote the film’s screenplay.

Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is a young mother who doesn’t really know how to be a mother to her daughter, Lucy (Sadie Goldstein). She is dissatisfied with her husband, Richard (Gregg Edelman), so she starts an affair with stay-home dad, Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson). Brad has failed the bar exam twice, much to the chagrin of his wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), who while preoccupied with her career, still has time to suspect that Brad and Sarah are having an affair while using Lucy and their son Aaron (Ty Simpkins) as cover. Meanwhile, Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley), a child predator recently released from prison, has moved back in with his mother, May McGorvey (Phyllis Somerville), much to the consternation of his neighbors. The angriest resident is Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a retired cop with a tragic past. Will Lyman, the voice of PBS’s “Frontline,” provides narration.

Fields seems to be of two minds in Little Children. For most of the first hour, Little Children is a satirical comedy about suburban dissatisfaction. It’s almost an anthropological study of suburbanites who are physically adults and who have taken on adult responsibilities, but who are really adolescents. The second half of Little Children is mostly a domestic drama that deals with the repercussions of immaturity, irresponsibility, and disloyalty to the nuclear family to which one belongs.

Chilling, smart, acerbic, poignant, and occasionally sly, Little Children takes a sharp look at suburban life without criticizing the lifestyle so much as it mocks how some live it. (Thanks in no small part to Will Lyman’s narration.) In that, Little Children is potent, but it has a glaring weakness. It drifts in the middle. Somewhere between transforming from a social satire to an edgy domestic drama, the narrative gets really soft. It’s enough to kill the film, before the edgy events of the second half take hold.

The performances are good, but Kate Winslet, who earned many award nominations for playing Sarah Pierce, is merely good, not great, which is good enough. (She doesn’t have to be great all the time.) On the other hand, Jackie Earle Haley makes the most of his relatively small role. He doesn’t make Ronnie a sex offender with a heart of gold. In fact, he isn’t shy about showing how dangerous Ronnie can be. Ultimately, what opens this film and what earned him so much praise, is how Haley reveals the struggle and frustrated anger that resides in a man who cannot grow a good future because he may be trapping himself in the poison ground of his dreadful, sinful past.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Kate Winslet), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Jackie Earle Haley), and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Todd Field and Tom Perrotta)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Kate Winslet)

2007 Golden Globes, USA: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Kate Winslet), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Todd Field and Tom Perrotta)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

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Warner Bros. Brings "The Hobbit" to Comic-Con International 2012

Warner Bros. Pictures Showcases Films, Filmmakers and Stars at Comic-Con

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Man of Steel” and “Pacific Rim” are among the titles highlighted.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures will once again have a major presence at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, including appearances by fan-favorite stars and filmmakers from some of the Studio’s most anticipated films. Comic-Con attendees will also be treated to never-before-seen footage, including some that will be shown nowhere else. Talent from the films will also be on hand to answer questions, sign autographs, and more.

On Saturday, July 14th, in Hall H, beginning at 2:30 p.m., Warner Bros. Pictures will showcase a number of the releases upcoming from the Studio and its partners at Legendary Pictures, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The special star-studded presentation also holds some surprises for the 6,500-plus fans in the convention’s largest presentation space.

The program highlights include a film that has already generated huge buzz: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” directed by Peter Jackson, the Oscar®-winning filmmaker of the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Jackson, who just wrapped production in New Zealand, is embarking on his own journey halfway around the world to greet fans, who are already counting down to the December 14th opening of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

Joining Jackson on the stage will be Oscar®-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens, along with several of the film’s stars, including Martin Freeman, who portrays the title character, Bilbo Baggins; Richard Armitage, who plays the fierce leader of the Dwarves, Thorin Oakenshield; the legendary Sir Ian McKellen, who returns as Gandalf; and fan favorite Andy Serkis, the extraordinary talent who is truly behind the character of Gollum. Attendees will also be invited to ask questions about the making of this epic adventure.

The presentation also includes the DC Comics superhero who, inarguably, started it all. Superman will be back on the big screen next Summer in the much-anticipated action adventure “Man of Steel.” Filmmaker Zack Snyder, the director behind “300” and “Watchmen,” will be at Comic-Con and will take questions from the audience about the making of “Man of Steel,” which opens on June 14, 2013.

Guillermo del Toro, the acclaimed writer/director of such films as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the “Hellboy” films, will also be on hand with a preview of his science fiction action adventure, “Pacific Rim,” opening on July 12, 2013. The film’s stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman will join the director on stage for the presentation, which includes never-before-seen footage cut together exclusively for Comic-Con. Fans will also have an opportunity to engage in a Q & A with del Toro and his cast.

On the main convention floor, the Studio has created a must-see, 3,600-plus square-foot booth that demands repeated visits to capture it all. Located at Space #4545, the Warner Bros. booth is the place to be for autograph signings, photo ops and more, with stars and creators from some of the Studio’s upcoming feature films, as well as hit TV shows, interactive titles, award-winning animated properties and new Blu-ray™ & DVD releases.

The booth will showcase static displays of the “Man of Steel” Superman costume, and Batman’s amazing two-wheeled Bat-Pod, which was introduced in the 2008 record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and is featured again in this Summer’s most anticipated film, “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The multi-leveled Warner Bros. booth also features a dedicated area for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” featuring column and wall mountings of lenticular imagery from the film, as well as a scroll depicting the story. Images from that film, as well as other upcoming Warner Bros. projects, including “The Dark Knight Rises,” will be displayed on virtually every surface of the booth, drawing the eye from floor to ceiling.

While the Warner Bros. booth will have something to see at every minute of every day of the convention, on Saturday, July 14th, it will be the place to be to meet and greet some of the stars and filmmakers from several of the Studio’s upcoming features. Some of the autograph signing opportunities include “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Andy Serkis, from 11:15 a.m. to 12 noon; from “Pacific Rim,” stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman, and director Guillermo del Toro, from 3:55 to 4:55 p.m.; and “Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. (Please note that times are approximate. Check your schedule and other announcements for updates.)


About “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – Opening on December 14, 2012:

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The film follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. The screenplay for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson is also producing the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood.

About “Man of Steel” – Opening on June 14, 2013:

Next summer, “Man of Steel” is coming to the big screen, presented by Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Directed by Zack Snyder, the film is produced by Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder, with Thomas Tull, Lloyd Phillips and Jon Peters serving as executive producers. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. “Man of Steel” stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni and Russell Crowe.

About “Pacific Rim” – Opening on July 12, 2013:

From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ sci-fi action adventure “Pacific Rim.” When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse. “Pacific Rim” stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Ron Perlman, and Charlie Day. “Pacific Rim” was written by Travis Beacham. Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Mary Parent are producing, with Callum Greene serving as executive producer.

Review: Third "Ice Age" is Also a Charm

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild rude humor and peril
DIRECTORS: Carlos Saldanha with Mike Thurmeier
WRITERS: Peter Ackerman, Michael Berg, Yoni Brenner, and Mike Reiss; from a story by Jason Carter Eaton
PRODUCERS: Lori Forte and John C. Donkin
EDITORS: Harry Hitner with James Palumbo
COMPOSER: John Powell

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ADVENTURE/FAMILY/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, and Queen Latifah, with Bill Hader, Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig, Karen Disher, and Chris Wedge

The subject of this movie review is Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, a 2009 computer-animated film from Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox. This comedy-adventure movie is the third film in the Ice Age series. Dawn of the Dinosaurs follows the “Ice Age herd” to a dinosaur-filled lost world as they try to rescue one of their own.

The original mismatched trio of ice age prehistoric critters: Manfred “Manny” (Ray Romano), a mammoth; Sid (John Leguizamo), a giant sloth; and Diego (Denis Leary) a saber-toothed tiger, are now part of a larger family. Manny has a mate, a mammoth named Ellie (Queen Latifah), and she has two possum brothers, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), a rambunctious, prank playing duo.

There are big changes coming to this unusual herd. Ellie is pregnant, but this joyous situation does not come without complications. Diego is feeling a little old and wants to leave and go his own way, and Sid wants a family of his own. After he tries to play “mama” to three dinosaur eggs, Sid is taken by a Tyrannosaurus rex, the real mother, to a tropical lost world where dinosaurs still live. Manny and company follow in a bid to rescue Sid, but in order to survive they need the help of Buck (Simon Pegg), a probably insane, one-eyed, dagger-wielding weasel. But Buck’s mind is on Rudy, a monstrous dinosaur with a score to settle. The prehistoric squirrel/rat, Scrat (Chris Wedge), is also back and still fighting to retrieve that one special acorn, but this time, he finds a rival and perhaps, love.

I avoided Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs when it was first released back in 2009. It’s not because I thought that it was a bad movie; it was because I thought that I was finished with Ice Age, although I’d enjoyed the first two films in the series. I decided to see Dawn of the Dinosaurs because the fourth will be released this summer, and I am glad I did.

Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a really good movie. It starts out as a sweet and charming film about mild family dysfunction in a non-traditional family. When the story moves to the lost world of dinosaurs, it becomes a comedy and adventure film that mixes breathtaking, death-defying scenes with moments of tender love involving family and friends. There is a chase between a Pteranodon (acting as a chariot for three of the heroes) and a flock of Quetzalcoatlus that rivals (perhaps, even surpasses) the pod racing scene in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace in terms of the pure excitement it gives and the technical wizardry it took the CGI artists to create it.

Although Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs largely moves the film away from its ice age setting (until the end), it keeps the fun of the series going. It makes me ready to see this new fourth film.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Review: "Ice Age: The Meltdown" is Good, Too

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 240 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild language and innuendo
DIRECTOR: Carlos Saldanha
WRITERS: Gerry Swallow and Peter Gaulke and Jim Hecht; from a story by Gerry Swallow and Peter Gaulke
PRODUCER: Lori Forte

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ADVENTURE/FAMILY/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, and Queen Latifah, Will Arnett, Jay Leno, and Chris Wedge

The three-member herd from the hit 2002 film, Ice Age: Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary), Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), and Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) returns in the hit sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and an impending natural disaster inadvertently adds members to this small family.

The deep freeze of the Ice Age is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, especially the gigantic glaciers that enclose the cherished valley where Diego, Manny, and Sid live. Reluctantly, the trio accepts the fact that the valley will be flooded, so they’re forced to leave. They begin a journey to the other side of the valley where supposedly awaits a boat that will save them from the flood. Along the way, the trio meets Ellie (Queen Latifah), a mammoth who thinks she is a possum, and her two possum brothers, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), a rambunctious, prank playing duo. Manny, who thought he was the last mammoth, is anxious, but also reluctant to make a friend (or maybe more) of Ellie, who is standoffish with Manny. The trio turned sextet will have to stick together if they’re going to survive the impending flood and two deadly new enemies that are silently stalking them. The prehistoric squirrel/rat, Scrat (Chris Wedge), is also back and still fighting to retrieve that one special acorn.

Ice Age: The Meltdown is one of those sequels that improves on the original, and the filmmakers did that by adding characters that aren’t just new and novel. The new trio, Ellie and the possum brothers Crash and Eddie, is also actually highly entertaining. Both Ellie and the actress who gives the character her voice, Queen Latifah, have endearing personalities and no-nonsense streaks. Queen Latifah’s Ellie and Ray Romano’s Manny actually make a good couple, as Ellie’s sassiness and Manny’s cutting attitude mesh.

Denis Leary’s Diego is still a good sidekick, and John Leguizamo’s Sid is ever entertaining comic relief. However, Crash and Eddie steal their thunder. The animators and writers created supporting characters that would be great as stars in their own cartoons (think the penguins from Madagascar). It is, however, Seann William Scott and Josh Peck who make them truly winning characters, as they breathe life and personality, turning potential into triumph.

On one hand, Ice Age: The Meltdown could have been a pedestrian sequel, but this movie is a good example of how animators and voice actors can take any kind of material and turn it into a winner just by mining their talents to make the right choices. It’s a heady mixture of storytelling, art, and entertainment, and that means Ice Age: The Meltdown will always be more than just an obligatory sequel to a very popular movie. I really didn’t want this fun and heartwarming tale of a patchwork family to end.

7 of 10
A-

Thursday, November 23, 2006