by Ashley Bingham | Mar 6, 2020 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Onward features a family of elves with who lost their father before their youngest son was born. Ian Lightfoot, voiced by Tom Holland, and older brother Barley, voiced by Chris Pratt, are two brothers who could not be more different. Single mom Laurel, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has done her best to raise them in little New Mushroomtown. This is a world full of mythical creatures that have found a content life living without their gifts from nature. Magic has long been forgotten in favor of a more efficient and easier solution: Technology. The film begins on Ian’s 16th birthday, when the viewer sees him living a life with which he’s not quite satisfied. His shy tendencies, and not to mention his embarrassing older brother, make it hard for him to feel accepted and comfortable at school. Laurel reveals that their father had left behind a gift for the two sons, only to be given to them once they were both older than 16: A wizard’s staff, an enchanted stone and a spell to bring back their beloved dad for one whole day. Ian turns out to have a natural talent at casting spells, and is able to bring back their father. Well, the lower half of him. With the enchanted stone destroyed, the boys must embark on a quest to find another stone in order to bring back the entirety father before time runs out. Barley, who has a passion for table-top magic games, Ian with the wizard’s staff, and the hilarious pair of legs that is their father head out on their journey in order to be...
by Rebekah Stogner | Jun 20, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Opinion
I knew from the instant I saw the trailer that this movie was either going to be excellent or terrible. When I got to the theater to see it, I had to wait almost an hour for a showing that wasn’t sold out since it was a rainy Friday afternoon on opening day. Luckily, it was well, well worth it. Currently holding a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and climbing to the top of the box office as of writing this, Inside Out is proof that Pixar’s original movies are unbeatable in animation, story and just about everything else. This whimsical story follows the emotions Fear, Joy, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust in the head of 11-year-old Riley during a life changing move to San Fransisco with her family. When her personality begins to drastically change as a result, it’s up to the emotions to work together and bring everything back to a perfect balance. This movie is absolutely flawless. The human designs are amazing to look at, a long way even from Up, the studio’s last original film. The designs of the emotions are adorable and perfect. Each of the sections of Riley’s head, including imagination, dreams, long term memory and more are all colorful and delightful to look at. The way the movie explains how the mind works is simple enough for children, yet made so much sense to me as an adult. I think this movie caters even more to adults than children, with the stunning originality and hilarious voice acting, especially by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black as Joy, Sadness and Anger respectively. There’s...
by Logan Butts | Jul 17, 2014 | Opinion
With many sequels, prequels, reboots and homages hitting the screen this summer, Logan’s Home Video Update is here to help with suggestions to catch you up on what needs to be seen. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13, 105 minutes- starring James Franco and Andy Serkis) Since Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best reviewed and highest-grossing movies of the year so far, it is the perfect time to catch up on the first film in the rebooted Apes franchise. Rise is one of the best franchise reboots of the current reboot craze in Hollywood. It smartly infuses nods to the previous films in the series with a solid foundation to kick-off a new story arc. Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance was top-notch as usual. Cars (G, 116 minutes- starring the voices of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman) The upcoming Planes: Fire & Rescue, the newest film in the Cars franchise, comes out on Friday. As a refresher, check out or revisit the original movie in the series: Cars. With inspiring vocal performances and a well-developed universe, usual highlights for a Pixar film, Cars makes for a good family viewing. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (PG, 115 minutes- starring Henry Thomas and Robert MacNaughton) With yet another homage to this classic film (Earth to Echo) in theaters, it is time to pop in E.T. into the DVD player whether it is your first or hundredth viewing. Considered one of the best science fiction films ever made, E.T. is the perfect film to gather the family together and watch. Hope you enjoy the recommendations. Check...
by Cory Woodroof | Jul 18, 2013 | Opinion
The hero’s species may have switched from Rattus norvegicus to Helix aspersa, but DreamWorks Animation’s latest venture Turbo borrows more than a few tricks from Pixar’s Ratatouille, with Ryan Reynolds’ determined garden snail Theo following nearly the same vermin-to-victory path as Remy the rodent chef. Like Remy, Theo has an absurd dream of one day being a pint-sized race-snail and leaving behind his tomato-gathering job in the yard. After a freak accident involving nitrous oxide, Theo gains racecar-like speed, attracting the attention of Tito (Michael Peña), a chipper food-truck driver who has the bright idea of entering the snail (now called Turbo) in the Indy 500 to compete against the best — including Theo’s idol, Bill Hader’s suave Guy Gagne. Turbo shares a lot in common with the Pixar movie, but it isn’t a soulless carbon copy. Director David Soren’s jovial saga delivers a hearty helping of underdog sentiment with a side of giggly sight gags and some beautifully detailed animation (the racing scenes look stellar in 3D). But the emotional sophistication and depth of storytelling that made Ratatouille a classic just isn’t here. Closer in tone, spirit and achievement to Pixar’s Cars, the earnest Turbo is content just to provide a lot of fun. I’d be lying, though, if I said that Theo’s awestruck gaze over a busy highway didn’t carry the same emotional heft as Remy’s perusing of the Paris skyline. After June’s Monsters University bravely told kids that their career path might work out as they’d hope, a good-hearted movie like Turbo may be needed to remind the little ones that it’s still okay to dream. Review also at...
by Evan Webb | Jun 21, 2013 | Opinion
Pixar’s Monsters University is the sequel/prequel to Monsters, Inc. (made after Monsters, Inc., but taking place before the events in Monsters, Inc.). The film follows the story of Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) as he sets off to college in hopes of graduating with a degree in scaring. Now, I don’t believe it’s a secret that Pixar’s latest films have not exactly been the impeccable works we’ve grown accustomed to from the pioneering studio that brought us Up, Wall-e, and the Toy Story franchise. With a resume like that, one would expect pure gold every time they walked into a theater. However, Monsters University tends to follow in line with the likes of Cars 2 as opposed to Toy Story 2. Sadly, the mark has been missed in one of the most anticipated movie franchise returns in recent years. Don’t misunderstand me: Monsters University is not a bad film. It develops a plot, builds new and old characters and gives great graphics and animation to those characters, but that is one of the bigger problems – it does just that. Perhaps I have been spoiled by Pixar’s previous endeavors and come to expect too much from their genius, or perhaps the studio has hit a snag in their current output. Monsters University was essentially a typical college movie dressed in Pixar clothes. The film felt as if it was presented to children with characters we either already knew or ones that aren’t memorable enough to care about. The biggest problem I had with the latest Pixar movie was that it lacked so much of the studio’s originality and freshness. I...
