How to Train Your Dragon

From beginning to end, this film is part of the continual evolution of animation- and it is incredible. Some of the scenic animation is so good that it is hard to believe it is not actual footage of water or land. The scenes on the ocean are fantastic. The flight sequences put you right in the picture. I almost felt the wind on my face. (that would have been a nice touch!) The story tells a tale of a boy who, by giving an animal (dragon) a chance, begins to understand the creature. It's a story of war and peace and father and son, in a good way. The girls are strong characters, too. The score is lovely. Fortunately, the voice actors are not so iconic that their voices distract. I truly found nothing to criticize in this film. It is a much better film than UP because it doesn't go into sappy, distracting story lines that are preachy (the end of UP was inexplicable)- it simply tells a story that is a fairy tale. And it is so likeable that even the little kids in the movie are quiet and mesmerized. The 3D is done very well- no headaches reported. I do foresee a time where 3D may have run its course- but not for animation. I think it is here to stay, and it is just a matter of time until you have to order your own custom 3D glasses to your prescription. I am giving it 4 stars. It deserves it.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Oh dear. There was a premise here that borrowed from quite a few other films (Peggy Sue, Back to the Future, etc)- and while there is no actual crime in that, even in making a "guy gross out bonding film", there have to be limits. Gross can be funny, and it can also be stupid. This movie is inexcusably stupid. Even the 80s parody part of it is so off the mark- and could have been at least entertaining, but wasn't. I didn't expect anymore from this than I did back when I reviewed "The Ladies Man" for the old website. But I'd sit though The Ladies Man twenty times before I would even watch the opening sequence of this ridiculous movie again. This will not be a cult favorite. There is not one endearing moment in it that would make you be interested in these characters. It is just plain awful. The high point- hearing "Talk Dirty to Me" on the soundtrack. The low point- everything else.

Alice in Wonderland

It's not exactly Alice in Wonderland. But it is a wonderland of special effects and familiar characters. But it is not comical. Not for a moment. There is no warm or fanciful charm. And since it is never cartoonish but rather very realistic, it is not really for smaller children. It's the movie you'd wish they'd made in 1970. If you don't like Tim Burton's bizarre visions and interpretive tales, then you will HATE this movie. But if you have a soft spot for Burton and his willingness to twist and turn and darken all he sees, then you will find it a little joy ride. The most peculiar part of this film is the casting of Mia Wasikowska as Alice- she is as bland and engaging as a water cracker. Such effort wasted on so much vagueness. But Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and others are excellent at what they have come to do. The 3D was well done- unlike the headaches many people got in Avatar. There was no visual lag to interfere with the story. If Burton is your cup of tea, then have a seat with the Mad Hatter. And as usual, enjoy Danny Elfman's score.

Shutter Island

DiCaprio, Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer--7 reasons to see this movie. Everyone gives a flawless performance. DiCaprio plays a federal marshall sent to investigate the goings on at a mental hospital for the criminally insane on an island off Boston. Martin Scorsese directs it with a dark undercurrent and does keep it moving along amidst great scenery. Plenty of clues are dropped along the way. And there are actually TWO twists in this movie- one is about 20 minutes from the end when you find out what is really going on. The other is in the last two minutes- where you find out that some memories are better off lost forever. That's all I can say. Great cast, great director, great setting and costuming, and a good script. The only misstep was the music- unnecessarily morose and foreboding in spots where it wasn't needed. In the first scene, the music was so heavy handed that I said a silent prayer that it would stop. It was only intermittent, but Scorsese should have seen that the music didn't call attention to itself in an otherwise wonderful film. See it.

The Last Station

This is about the events leading up to the 82 year old Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer looking older than dirt) deserting his wife (Helen Mirren) and wealth to start a new life of asceticism. Tolstoy has a complicated brilliance- he begins as an author of very popular literature and becomes involved in pacifism and non-violence. Over time, he becomes something of a hypocrite as he preaches against wealth, but lives as a rich man-which causes him intense guilt. Yet, he is a Christ figure to his followers. They are devoted to him. With time, his wife becomes aware of the dangers of having an idol as a husband. Mirren plays Sophia Tolstoy as a hysteric- but with good cause. Someone IS trying to take her family's fortune away. James McAvoy plays Tolstoy's secretary, Bulgakov. As usual, he is incredibly good. Paul Giammati plays Chertkov, the leader of the Tolstoyans. The cast is so good that the poor editing in the film is barely noticeable. But not quite. There are a couple of scenes that seem to come out of nowhere- as if a logical transition would have been impossible. It's emphasis on the hysterical Mirren seems to go on too long. We GET it. But it is certainly worth a trip to the movies-if for no other reason than to see something about a man who influenced people like Martin Luther King on the value of non-violent resistance. I didn't know what to expect when I bought my ticket, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Plan to stay through the final credits since original film of Tolstoy is shown.