1-UP: "Scott Pilgrim Vs.The World" Review

     This is a very very unique film. One that combines a mundane romance story with the frantic action of a video game. Based on a graphic novel this movie was tasked with cramming six books into 112 minutes. With a lot of visual flair, and a hint of indie-retro style, this film is does a good job at making the screen very eye catching, unfortunately the plot falters slightly in it's attempt to bring the series to the screen.

     Michael Cera is Scott Pilgrim, a 20-something bassist in the garage band "Sex Bob-omb" (That's just one of the many game references in the movie). Scott falls in love with the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) after he sees in her in a dream. Things get crazy quickly when Scott finds out that to date Ramona he must defeat her 7 evil exes. That is really the extent of the story, but it is executed very well.

     If you can't tell there is a lot of fighting in this movie. The fight scenes are packed with constant action and it all maintains a very comic/video game feel to them, even to the point where Pilgrim gets a combo meter fighting an enemy. Each fight is entertaining in it's own way, and there isn't that much repetition. The scenes without fighting are pretty good to, thanks largely to the talented cast.

    While the film does have a very good cast, there are so many people in the film that it seems like some of the best characters are barely on screen. The main actors are great Cera and Winstead play off each other well. Scott's roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin) does a good job of playing the character to call Scott to action. Scott's other friends/band mates Kim Pine (Alison Pill) Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Young Neil (Johnny Simmons) are about as accurate to the book as you could ever get.

Just a few of the characters

     The only problem in with the story is that the 7 evil exes, while still fairly enjoyable in the movie, were much more fleshed out in the books. Each villain (except exes 5&6,the twins) got a whole book, this allowed for bigger roles. Two of the exes (my favorite ones), Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) and Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), encountered Pilgrim several times before actually being defeated. This is a minor complaint though, because when they are on screen they are very enjoyable to watch.

    Speaking of watching, like I stated before, this movie is visually captivating in a way that I haven't seen in a while. From the crazy opening credits to the final battle, everything is full of color. The effects are pretty much cgi, but it is not a downfall of the film. The world is mashed up with pixelation and fights that defy every law of science.

Like this, except crazier

  Sometimes movies have and alright right soundtrack, and sometimes movies are like "Scott Pilgrim" and have one of the best soundtracks of the year. The music for the band "Sex-Bob-omb", a very garage band style, was created by Beck, and it's some of the best stuff I've heard from him in awhile. Mixed in with this is some indie music and even a brief piece of classic "Legend of Zelda" tunes. To make matters even more awesome the film's score is great too, mixing intense fanfare of action movies with the bleeps and boops of video games.

    This movie is so close to being perfect it kind of sucks that it falls victim to the problem most "books to movies" face, there's just too much to put into one film. There are so many characters, places, and scenarios in the movie that it feels overloaded, and it doesn't even get everything onto the screen. If the film could maybe be split in two it might have work, but alas the one will have to do.

    That is not saying that it isn't everything it could be. "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" is the best condensing that could ever be down to a great graphic novel. It gets just enough of the books in it to make it very very appealing. So if you enjoyed the movie, check out the books! They are quite an enjoyable read, and there's more to enjoy.

    From the visuals to the music to the actors everything works well in the movie. It all fits together like some big crazy indie-videogame-comic book homage that guarantees to entertain. The movie knows full well how absurd it is and embraces that fact and takes it full force. If you like video games, comics, and/or Michael Cera check out this movie! It's not perfect, but it's a pretty good 4 outta 5!

Despicable Me Review; The Almost Perfect Crime

This year has been pretty good for animated films. "How to Train Your Dragon" was a surprisingly awesome film, "Toy Story 3" was an expected awesome film, and there's a couple of other movies coming out this year that look like they might be pretty enjoyable. So how does "Despicable Me" stand up to the rest of the films out this year? Well it could have been awesome...but a few things hold it back, just slightly.

The film is about Gru (Steve Carell) a supervillain who is trying to top the theft of one of the great pyramids by stealing the moon. His rival, a new up and coming villain Vector (Jason Segel) stands between him and his goals. Through some crazy shenanigans Gru adopts three little girls who might be able to help him best Vector. The film follows a pretty predictable path, but it's an entertaining one. There's a lot of slapstick humor, which isn't necessarily bad. but there was one aspect of the film that just made the film entirely stupid, and ruined my enjoyment of it...

I hate these things...HATE these things, they are the epitome of what is wrong with children's films. The worst part of it is that there are hundreds of these...things in the film, they don't even explain what they are. They are the thing that constantly remind you that this movie was meant for kids...or stupid people. Like Jar Jar Binks or Donkey from "Shrek", everytime they're on screen they have to be either doing something wacky/or just being generally goofy. So yeah picture "Phantom Menace" with hundreds of Jar Jars...nightmarish. They've been the push of the marketing for the film, and unfortunately they are quite prevalent in the movie. Luckily most of the rest of the cast makes up for this awful aspect of the film.

Steve Carell does a decent job of making Gru seem sinister, but his inevitable turn to good is believable. The kids are pretty good, unlike in "The Children", they aren't unbearable, but at the same time act like realistic kids, only slightly annoying at times. The main antagonist Vector is a lot more annoying than the kids, and like the stupid minions, totally pointless, and his absence would greatly improve the film.

Overall it's a nice looking film, all the character designs are unique and have a nice charm to them. The locations in the film are colorful and pleasant to look at. The music is...well it's a mixed bag. Pharrell Williams composed the music for the film, the orchestral pieces are epic and are pleasantly reminiscent of a spy film. The regular songs are slightly grating, and feel out of place. All in all it's a good film, It's maybe meant for younger kids than something like "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" was meant for. If you can handle some very annoying characters, then you're in for a decent movie. 3 outta 5!

No Batteries Required; Toy Story 3 Review?

(There's a reason i put the "?" in the title...So when i

started writing this it was gonna just be a simple review...

it quickly turned into something else, if you want to know

the rate i give it, 5 outta 5, there's other stuff i address in

this piece so i thought the whole rating thing didn't matter

It became a retrospect of sorts, ,enjoy!)

On November 22nd 1995 Pixar, a studio that wasn't quite the powerhouse it now is, released a movie, with the help of Disney...That movie was "Toy Story."

Fast forward 15 years and Disney owns Pixar, which has become the peak of animation quality, and "Toy Story" is considered one of the most beloved/important animated movies of all time...things have changed and time has passed. This is the idea behind "Toy Story 3" a film that acknowledges that time keeps moving whether we want it to or not.

Andy is all grown up and he's going off to college, but as a new chapter starts it appears as if the toys are going to be left behind. Fearing that they are no longer wanted most of the toys left want to leave, choosing to be donated to a daycare, but Woody can't bear to lose Andy. I'm not going to get much more into the plot, I'll just say the story revolves around the toys adapting to a life that is in the midst of change.

Do i really need to say more, you know it's going to be a great movie. The acting is great, the animation is beautiful, and the story is slightly emotional and moving. I will say that this movie is not quite as sad as "Up", but from the perspective that this is the end of the "Toy Story" franchise it was quite the tugger of heart strings. This film was really meant for people my age, I mean Andy is the same age as me and my friends, we literally grew up with this story.

There is nothing i can say that is negative about the film, it is almost flawless, but i say that through nostalgic eyes, but that's what Pixar is going for. I really think this is the end of an era for Pixar. With sequalization beginning for other franchises ("Cars 2" next year, and "Monsters Inc. 2" in 2012) and a much more rapid production rate (Two Pixar films in 2012!!!) it really is the dawning of a new day.

Just look at it like this, as much as they might enjoy it, "Toy Story 3" will not be special for any child growing up now. Think of how it felt to see these crazy 3-dimensional characters come to life for the first time when you were 4,5,6,etc. To any kid now it's just another animated movie, dozens have come out before it. That was the first of it's kind, now the original "Toy Story" looks like a cutscene from a PS2 video game. This new Pixar has got to pull out all the stops to show kids the same kind of magic we saw.

This would have been the most poetic way for Pixar to end. This would have been a perfect swan song, but it's not. Pixar will keep going, there's a good chance that it will keep going, possibly after alot of us are gone, but as "Toy Story 3" implies, we pass the toys on and hope they make others' childhoods as special as ours was.

Fairytale Ending; Shrek Forever After Review

In 2001 Dreamworks released "Shrek", it was a huge success and made Dreamworks the first real contender against Pixar. Three years later "Shrek 2" came out, people still liked it and the Shrek story seemed like it could wrap up at that point...then "Shrek 3" came out...Just pretend "Shrek 3" didn't happen. Shrek 4 does what 3 should have done, wrapped up the story. The plot of 4 is that Shrek is now bored with family life, so he makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to go back before he met Fiona so he can be a "real" ogre, but through contractual trickery Shrek finds himself fighting to get back his family and friends, Basically "It's a Wonderful Life" with fairy tale characters. This plot also is a good excuse to re introduce characters, but it's so fast paced no one gets much screen time. The animation looks top notch as always, and the voice acting is good, if not a little a little phoned in at times. There are some new characters introduced, the other ogres are alright, but Rumpelstiltskin is probably the best new character, especially considering he isn't even a professional actor, just a writer/animator. I saw this in 3D Imax and while it is really cool to see everything in giant three dimensional craziness, it's not necessary, seeing it in a normal theater probably would be alright. What it comes down to is that if you liked Shrek, this is a very good send off to the franchise, even to the point where the big song at the end is "Im a Believer" again and the credits are made up of images from all the movies. It does such a good job ending the series that it's only fitting that 4 gets a 4 outta 5

Hot Topic Makes a Movie;The Alice in Wonderland Review/Rant

Tim Burton is a marketing genius...How so? Just take a look at "Alice in Wonderland" a "sequel" to the animated Disney film. Don't get me wrong, i like Burton, i honestly really liked "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" but honestly at this point Mr.Burton has worn out this style, "Wonderland" is the death throughs of the "Burton-Depp" genre. What exactly is this genre you ask? Well it's taking Burton's directing, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow performance, and emo/goth/hipster style and blending it until it's a generic mess that the Tweens will eat up with the ferocity of a rabid dog at a kitten buffet. There is very little personality, just a very superficial "quirk, and if i know young teens they're all about superficiality. The movie is BORING the story is almost "Chronicles of Narnia", and the acting, well the actors certainly were present. Johnny Depp plays Jack Sparrow with a Scottish accent and face paint, Anne Hathaway seems to be stoned out of her mind the entire time (can't blame her), and Alice, the MAIN CHARACTER, is entirely forgettable. The only people that stand out at all are Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar. Its amazing that a world that looks so cool can be so dull. Oh, and I'm usually a proponent of CGI but everything in this movie was done with computers...Even a horse...A HORSE, Are they that hard to come by? Go watch the animated movie, read the books, get your "Alice" fix some other way, cause this movie was made to merely sell t-shirts and Halloween costumes, nothing more...congratulations Mr.Burton you've taken everything that made your vision special and turned it into a marketing tool. This gets a 1.5 outta 5