Trolls (2016)

Genre

Adventure | Animation | Comedy | Musical

Directors

Mike Mitchell | Walt Dohrn

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine BAranski, Russell Brand, James Corden, Jeffrey Tambor, Ron Funches, Aino Jawo, Caroline Hjelt, Kunal Nayyar, Quvenzhané Wallis, Gwen Stefani, Iris Dohrn, Liam Henry

Storyline

After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born (Anna Kendrick), and the curmudgeonly Branch (Justin Timberlake) set off on a journey to rescue her friends.

Opinion

When I think troll, the mythical, violent creature is what comes to my mind. Is it become I grew up with Harry Potter? Maybe. My point is, I never had one of those neon-haired troll dolls. So, even though I'm not a kid anymore, I was quite interested in seeing "Trolls". It eventually turned out to be just a colourful family film with great music.

My biggest complain is the plot. It doesn't have anything new to offer - it's basically the one DreamWorks seems to be repeating over and over again -, it can be very predictable, it does have a lot of holes, and it lacks of that something that would have left a longer impression. On the other hand, it's easy to follow and the film's short running time makes it perfect for kids.

Another thing kids will definitely enjoy are the characters. But it's not the same for adults. While they are very cute, colourful, funny, these Trolls are also quite annoying, and poorly developed. Not to mention the fact that Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, is basically a copy of Joy from "Inside Out". The voice cast, however, does a good job over all.

The humour isn't working very well either. Sure, the characters are funny, but they are not enough to compensate the lack of good jokes. It is plenty of kids movies with adult jokes that of course kids won't get or need to hear. This one's don't even make adults laugh.

And now let's look on the bright side. Kudos to the filmmakers for being able to incorporate such a great soundtrack into the story. Definitely not an easy job considering the story. In fact, not only those songs are a joy for the hears, but they also fit. And the animation is also good.

Marvel's Luke Cage Netflix Series Renewed for Second Season

Luke Cage (2016-)

Netflix announced on Twitter that Marvel's Luke Cage will receive a second season.

Twitter Announcement

The short video starts on a painted "Pop's Barbershop" sign before panning down to a neon illuminated "Season 2 Coming Soon" sign in the corner of the storefront window.

Luke Cage is wrongly imprisoned and given super strength and impenetrable skin through a failed experiment.

IT'S HERE!!! First Trailer For GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Oh man have I been waiting for this one and it delivers. I won't spoil it, but really it's the characters that I have been wanting to see engage each other again, and engage they do!

What do you think? Are you excited about what James Gunn has in store this time around?

Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock and Kurt Russell. Kevin Feige is producing, and Louis D’Esposito, Jonathan Schwartz, Victoria Alonso, Nik Korda and Stan Lee are the executive producers. The screenplay is by James Gunn.



GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is coming in May 2017.

Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)

INTRIGUE! SUSPENSE! ROMANCE!

What starts out as a light, frothy comedy

turns quickly into a war drama...

You will fall in love with Cary Grant in this picture,

that is, if you haven't already...

Those are the things I would have written had I been a critic or reporter in 1942, the year Once Upon a Honeymoon starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers was released. This movie has a little bit of everything and is a great watch from start to finish.

Of course, had I actually lived during WWII I might have thought differently. At least the critics and newspapers seemed to have somewhat different opinions from my own:

"Trying to mix romantic comedy with tragedy too stark and real" was a mistake according to the New York Times.

"The result is probably a screen hit, but the attempt to play for both laughs and significance against a terrifying background of Nazi aggression is, on the whole, a little disappointing." ~ Newsweek

The film tells the story of Katie O'Hara (Rogers), a gold-digging ex-burlesque queen posing as Philadelphian socialite Katherine Butt-Smith (that's pronounce "butte"). She is getting ready to marry the wealthy Austrian Baron Von Luber (Walter Slezak) who is suspected to be an undercover agent for the Nazis. War correspondent Pat O'Toole (Grant) is trying to expose him and wangles himself up to Miss Butt-Smith's apartment under the guise of a tailor to try to get some information. He recognizes her from her strip-tease act but when he asks her she insists that he has the wrong girl. We then get my favorite scene from the movie:

Notice the monogram on Roger's satin jumpsuit.

Pat of course becomes interested in Miss Butt-Smith and follows her as she goes by train to Prague, where she and the Baron are married, and then to Poland. Pat tries to warn Katherine about her husband - every place they stop the Nazi's happen to invade - but she won't listen.

Rogers in a gorgeous dressing gown (left) and a cozy robe.

In a lovely pansy evening gown. Jewelry provided by Eugene Joseff.

It is here that the film takes a darker turn and we are plunged into the war. Katie realizes that her husband is in fact a bad man and leaves him. But she hasn't seen the last of him! There is a lot of crossing and double-crossing, political intrigue, and a touching scene where Katie helps her Jewish maid escape before Katie and Pat find themselves on a boat to America, with an unexpected guest. There are plenty of surprises in this film, and hints of Suspicion (1941), that make it a must-watch for any fan of Grant.

Trapped!

The film was put on hold twice - the first time when director Leo McCarey was suddenly taken ill, during which time Cary made In Name Only (1939), and again when Rogers was not free and Cary made My Favorite Wife (1940), also directed by McCarey. Filming finally began in April of 1942.

Behind-the-scenes with McCarey, Grant, and Rogers

In the past, Grant and McCarey had not gotten along well (The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife, An Affair to Remember) as McCarey loved to improvise in his comedies, writing dialogue the morning of filming and making his stars come up with their own lines. However, Once Upon a Honeymoon was a propagandist film and McCarey's focus was more on what the studio required for such a film. That didn't stop him from having some lovely romantic scenes though!

After filming wrapped in July, Grant intended to join the American Army Air Corps. He became a U.S. citizen and officially changed his name from Archibald Leach to Cary Grant. On July 8th he married Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, reporting back to the RKO lot for work the next morning.

The following month, Grant was given his enlistment date but at the last minute, like so many other actors, was told he was more valuable to the cause as an actor.

Wherever Uncle Sam orders my utilization to the best purposes, there I will willingly go, as should every other man. I feel that Uncle Sam knows best.

Grant spent the remainder of the war years entertaining the troops with Goodwill Tours and making two more war pictures, Mr. Lucky (1943) and Destination Tokyo (1943).

This post is my entry to The Cary Grant Blogathon hosted by myself. I hope you enjoyed it and that you will read all of the other posts on this iconic actor and his contribution to cinema history!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Wrap-up

Bad Santa (2003)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Terry Zwigoff

Country

USA

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, Lauren Tom, John Ritter, Bernie Mac, Octavia Spencer, Cloris Leachman, Alex Borstein, Billy Gardell, Bryan Callen, Tom McGowan, Ajay Naidu, Ethan Phillips, Matt Walsh, Max Van Ville, Ryan Pinkston, Curtis Taylor

Storyline

Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) and his Little Helper (Tony Cox) are two conman that rob department stores on Christmas Eves. It's only when Sana befriends a troubled kid (Brett Kelly) that they run into problems.

Opinion

Let's be honest, we all are sick and tired of those Christmas family films where everyone is happy, bad guys turn good and basically everyone is just enjoying Christmas. Well, at least I am. Call me the Grinch, but I don't like Christmas.

If you are a partner in crime of mine then "Bad Santa" is the perfect film for you. It is a dark comedy hilarious from start to finish, a very inappropriate Christmas movie and also manages to be slightly touching.

The film's plot isn't anything special. Actually, if anything, it isn't even that good and needs a lot of work, but somehow Terry Zwigoff makes it work bringing to the screen this very fun story about a dark side of Christmas, that not only assaults the Christmas spirit, but also tells the story of a man who has lost all faith in humanity and how that will be restored. And he does that without being over sentimental.

The film doesn't care much for the characters either. The main character, Santa, indeed is a one-dimensional, quite stereotypical cynical and suicidal character. And the others aren't any better. However, the cast makes those cardboard characters work, starting from Billy Bob Thornton who gives an extremely funny performance as the alcoholic Santa - he even received a Golden Globe nomination for the role. The film also benefits of Tony Cox, John Ritter and Bernie Mac.

At last but not least, the humour. It is tremendously vulgar, dark and sick, so it's definitely not for everyone, but if you like this wicked sense of humour, you'll really enjoy this dark comedy for grown ups. 

Don't Breathe Movie Review

Don't Breathe (2016)

Don't Breathe - The most dark and twisted version of Scooby Doo you could imagine.

Buy Don't Breathe
Written by: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto
Rated: R

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
Three thieves break into a blind man's house, hoping to steal his rumored fortune. It doesn't work out as anticipated.

Verdict
This is a home invasion movie with a few twists. It plays a game of who's the most sympathetic character, with the answer being no one by the end.
This creates a great mood and remains intense. It's thoroughly entertaining, which is also part of the problem. It sacrifices logic to keep the plot running, even when it isn't necessary.. In the moment you won't have many complaints, but once you think about this movie there are more than a few contrivances.
Watch it.

Review

Writer/director Fede Alvarez stated that this movie was in a part a reaction to his debut film Evil Dead (2013), criticized for being an over the top remake. Apparently a sequel is in the works. I'd be willing to bet it won't be as good as the original.

This has a great introduction with Stephen Lang's character dragging a girls body down the street. It's a scene pulled from the end of the movie to heighten the introduction, but also spoils the feelings of sympathy we should have for that character. From the first scene we know he isn't fully good.

Three teens, Alex (Dylan Minnette), Money (Daniel Zovatto), and Rocky (Jane Levy) have a burgeoning home invasion venture. Alex's dad works for a home security company and keeps house keys in his home. Alex uses these keys and his knowledge of security systems to knock over houses.

A minor complaint, but I doubt any security company would allow this. They keys are kept in the dad's desk. It's not even a safe. Also, what kind of security guy works out of his house? Or keeps the key to the desk just a foot away?

Rocky wants to leave town because her mom is a stereotypical bad parent. Rocky needs a lot of money and the break ins aren't generating enough cash. Alex is a lawyer in training and restricts them to stealing less than ten-thousand each time to avoid grand larceny charges, but when a big score of hundreds of thousands comes up he agrees because Rocky asks him to do it and he has a crush on her.

I wondered if this was going to be a morality tale about robbing blind people, or if it would at least explain why the old guy was dragging a girl down the street by her hair. The movie does check one of those boxes. I really expected a jump scare when Rocky was creeping into the house, but it doesn't come.

I don't know how they expected to find the money. They decide to rob the house in the middle of the night with the guy in the house, setting off a smoke bomb that should render him unconscious. When they see a padlocked basement door they assume there the treasure lies. Money tries to pry the lock with a crowbar, but does an insufficient job apparently so he can show off his piece, a nine millimeter. He tries to pry the door and not the lock. Come on! He shoots above the lock through an empty bottle that magically muffles the sounds to such a degree that is instantly recognizable as impossible. He also shoots the door above the lock which somehow disables the clasp.

I get what this movie is trying to do, but it sacrifices a lot of logic to be entertaining.
The sound design really heightens everything, forcing you to rely on sound more than a typical movie. When the characters are in close proximity of the old guy, you're waiting for him to notice them, and for things to jump off.
Rocky conveniently sees where the money is stashed, but now they're trapped in the house with an old guy that isn't as frail as they thought. This turns into a game of "escape the murder house."

While they want to alert 911 via the security system, they don't want to get caught for stealing.
This twists even more when they discover a girl chained to the wall in the guy's basement.
She conveniently has a newspaper article that explains her entire situation. That seemed a bit odd.
We know why there is a a girl in the basement, but why the old man was keeping her is disturbing. It's not the worst thing you can imagine, but probably creepier than you imagined. Scroll below the spoilers to find out more.

In a trope that I feel obligated to point out in every movie I see, Rocky is crawling, not through a duct, but in the space between the second floor and first floor ceiling. In reality there isn't that much space. There might be a maximum of twelve inches in rare cases. Even if Rocky could get in that space, joists run in one direction, so she wouldn't be able to make ninety degree turns.

Old guy is a terminator and completely ruthless. He goes beyond protection and is certainly twisted. There will be a section where you'll want him to say, "And it would have worked if it wasn't for you dang kids."

Like Scooby-Doo, you've got a group of curious kids, a dog, and a disappointed villain that has a knock for popping up at inopportune times. Obviously this is a bizarre murder filled version of Scooby-Doo.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

It should be no surprise people die. Though the movie pulls a fast one, making us think Alex is dead when he isn't.
The girl in the basement was a trip. She accidentally killed old guy's daughter so he went vigilante justice. He abducted her somehow, despite being blind, and was planning to let her go after she gave him a baby to replace his daughter. The man is clear that he's no rapist. He used a turkey baster to impregnate..
What was his plan when he let her go? Was he planning on reading a braille medical journal so he could deliver a baby? Kidnapping is a crime. How did he even kidnap her in the first place? The logic fails, but it's entertaining for the sake of the plot which is the only reason it exists.
Rocky finally escapes with the money. Old man didn't report anything stolen because as the movie told us, an investigation would be more devastating to him than the would be thieves.

Wrapping up the Cary Grant Blogathon

First of all, Cary and I would like to thank you for the successful Blogathon! I am looking forward to reading all of the wonderful posts over the weekend and hope you enjoy them too.

Here are the final entries (updated as they come in):

The Wonderful World of Cinema starts off the day with When Cary Grant Became Invisible... Topper (1937).

 

Cary, you're not looking very angelic.

Whimsically Classic writes about To Catch a Thief (1955) for her first Blogathon (be sure to check out her new blog)!

Where did Cary go?

 

I review Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942), a film with a little bit of everything.

Stop telling me my Blogathon is over.

 

A few other cool articles and post on Cary I found:

 

The A-B-C's of Cary Grant

 

Cary's Iconic Style

 

The True Story Behind Arsenic and Old Lace

 

And some Cary Grant Film Festival Merchandise

Check out the first three days below:

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I hope to see you all at the Carole Lombard Blogathon!