by Cory Woodroof | Aug 1, 2014 | Opinion
If Marvel Studios’ track record tells you anything, it’s that the company isn’t afraid to roll the dice. By now, it’s almost humorous to think that making Robert Downey Jr. into Iron Man, casting two relative unknowns (Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston) into the roles of Thor and Loki and handing Joss Whedon the keys to the Avengers kingdom were incredible risks at the beginning. But, really, that’s been the studio’s mantra ever since Tony Stark took to the skies – “We’re unafraid to take chances because, most of the time, we’re right.” It’s a formula that’s garnered a conglomeration of critical praise, audience adornment and box office records. As rival comics company DC attempts to play a game of Jenga to get their long-gestated Justice League franchise off the ground (fingers crossed), Marvel coasts across their ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ with the self-dubbed ‘Phase 2’ nearly in the rearview mirror (next summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron will tie the knot on the second part of the overarching Avengers storyline, with vehicles for Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and others on the way). Although, the studio hit a public snag in May when lauded director Edgar Wright bolted his prized Ant-Man adaptation, a project that, according to rumor, went through many failed offers before landing in the hands of comedy vet Peyton Reed. Speculation painted Marvel as a controlling cookie-cutter, afraid to embrace the potentially diverse take Wright had on the character and its universe. “How dare a visionary enter our arena and try to go against the grain that we’ve established?” With a movie like Guardians of the Galaxy now under...
by Logan Butts | Jun 20, 2013 | Opinion
Hello, readers! Welcome back to another week of Logan’s Home Video Update! This week’s edition will be featuring animated movies. Two of the films have new installments this summer, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to review them. The other was my favorite animated film from last year. Despicable Me (PG, 95 minutes- starring the voice of Steve Carell) A surprisingly huge box office and critical success in the summer of 2010, Despicable Me surprised everyone with its charm and wit. What a few detractors called Pixar-lite, I called a heart-warming film with an awesome soundtrack and some memorable characters (mainly Agnes and the Minions). I will use a slightly paraphrased version of Agnes’ now famous quote to sum up the movie. “It’s so good, I’m gonna die!” Monsters, Inc. (G, 92 minutes- starring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal) Speaking of Pixar, Monsters Inc. was another overwhelming success from the Pixar assembly line. It was the first original Pixar movie to come out in three years after the underrated A Bug’s Life, and it was definitely worth the wait. It has become beloved enough over the years to garner a prequel 12 years later. Wreck-It Ralph (PG, 101 minutes- starring the voice of John C. Reilly) In my opinion, this was the best animated film of last year and one of the best non-Pixar animated films in a long time. The universe in the film was filled to the brim with eye-popping visuals and familiar characters from both past and present video games. The movie brings out all sorts of emotions in the...
by Cory Woodroof | Nov 11, 2012 | Opinion
Hats off, Disney, hats off. The mouse house can’t call 2012 an off year simply because of their job in producing this summer’s mega-hit The Avengers. One of their two animation companies, perennial powerhouse Pixar, also scored big with Brave, even though the Scottish fairy tale can’t necessarily be called an instant classic. Even though two of the studio’s less audience-friendly offerings, March’s John Carter and last month’s Frankenweenie, failed to ignite the box office, the craft and imagination put into both well made up for poor returns (in the creative sense). Those two films showed Disney taking risks. The studio has always been able to get by with Pirates and talking cars, but films like John Carter and Frankenweenie show a side of Disney that is still willing to occasionally surprise. The praise for Carter‘s pulp and Frankenweenie‘s charm might not leave the circle of critics, but it shows the studio still has a few surprises up its sleeve. For years now, Walt Disney Animation Studios has served as Buena Vista’s animation B-team. Much like a decent-enough backup quarterback, the former pioneer of animated films has been relegated to bench-warming for the superstar studio Pixar. Disney’s in-house animation department hasn’t exactly been putting out garbage (recent efforts Bolt, The Princess and The Frog and Tangled are strong cases for the studio’s growth, with the animation division now being stewarded by Pixar vet John Lasseter), but in comparison to the folks at Pixar, their films lack the heft and public recognition (and Oscars). In 2011, Pixar finally produced a goose egg with the disappointing Cars 2. A month later, Disney Animation released the pleasant-enough Winnie the Pooh...
