Day 114 - Penguins of Madagascar (American)

" penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private in their own adventure."-Wikipedia

A very cute animation movie but it fails to be funny for older people though it would surely be funny for young children who are the intended audience. I thought the script was alright, the plot was simple but its the characters that truly are the best thing about the movie. I thought watching the penguins was entertaining but sometimes it was a bit too silly for my blood. 

2.5/5

Cast

Tom McGrath (Skipper) is the director of all 3 Madagascar films but was not the director of this film.

Chris Miller (Kowalski) directed Shrek the 3rd and Puss In the Boots

Conrad Vernon (Rico) directed Shrek 2 and Monsters Vs. Aliens

Christopher Knights (Private) is an English voice actor and a Film editor

Benedict Cumberbatch (Classified) famous for his role as Sherlock Holmes on the TV show Sherlock

Day 103 continued - Hercules (2014-American)

"Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is the leader of a band of mercenaries comprising the spear-wielding prophet Amphiaraus of Argos, the knife-throwing thief Autolycus of Sparta, the feral warrior Tydeus of Thebes, the Amazon archer Atalanta of Scythia and his nephew storyteller Iolaus  of Athens. Hercules is said to be the demigod son of Zeus, who completed the legendary Twelve Labors, only to be betrayed by Hera, who drove him insane and caused him to murder his wife Megara and their children during a visit to King Eurystheus . Though Hercules's demigod heritage and the truth behind his labors is questioned by everyone, he does display unusual strength and skill in combat. "-Wikipedia

The best Hercules film I have ever seen, I think the Rock is also the best actor to play Hercules. His acting wasn't over the type, his muscles were real, and his presence was commanding. This movie is his best perfomrance to date. Yet his performance does not save this movie from the horrible hands of its director, Brett Ratner. Ratner simply knows how to butcher a movie, a lot of the acting was weak as the story was. I wished a lot of the characters had more depth. I didn't like a lot of the dialogue which seemed so forced at times. There didnt seem to be any chemistry between any of the actors either which brought the value of this movie down. Honestly I suggest you skip this film. 

1/5

Cast

Dwayne Johnson

Appearances:

The Mummy Returns

The Scorpion King

The Rundown

Walking Tall

Be Cool

Doom

Gridiron Gang

Reno 911!: Miami

The Game Plan

Get Smart

Race to Witch Mountain

Planet 51

Tooth Fairy

Why did I get Married too?

The Other Guys

You Again

Faster

Fast Five

Snitch

GI Joe: Retaliation

Pain & Gain

Fast and Furious 6

Day 100 continued - The Book of Life (American)

"Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears." - IMDb

One of the better animation films that I have seen this year. I really enjoyed seeing a part of the Latin culture, I think they did a really good job at telling this story with the culture in mind. The voice acting was great, I appreciate the fact that the majority of the voice actors actually have some kind of Latin heritage. It makes the film seem more authentic that way.
With that said, the story could have been better in many ways. It seemed too simple and it a little too childish in a way. The character development was good as was the character designs. The director, Jorge Guiterrez, did a really good job. You can tell that he is experienced in directing animation which was greatly appreciated.

I would suggest this film to anyone interested in Mexican culture and wants to see a good animation movie.

3.2/5

Day 74 - Box Trolls (American)

 

"A young orphaned boy raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors tries to save his friends from an evil exterminator. Based on the children's novel 'Here Be Monsters' by Alan Snow."

 

A cute 3D animation film that has a lot of good moments but has room for improvement me. The concept was very well thought out, you can see the wonderful attention to detail in the film. The story was something different which I loved, all of the box trolls were cool. The characters were all interesting, they didn't make them seem fake to be honest. Eggs was a good main character, honestly I felt like this is something that Tim Burton would do but sadly he's not a part of this movie.

It features a wonderful voice cast with Ben Kingsley, Nick Frost, Tracy Morgan, Dee Bradley Barker, Steve Blum, Elle Fanning and much more. I also love the artistic style of the design of the world, it was pretty fun to see. This is a great movie to watch if you love stop motion or have kids.

 

3.5/5

 

little info

 

More than 20,000 props were made for this film

Production took 72 weeks

Day 43 continued - Peabody and Sherman (American)

"The time-travelling adventures of an advanced canine and his adopted son, as they endeavor to fix a time rift they created. "

 

Such a wonderful movie even though I hate 3D I couldn't help but fall in love with this movie. The animation was good as far as I could see though I was annoyed with some of the character designs. I also wish the film was a bit longer and had more depth in it. The voice acting was good or should I say the casting choice of the characters voices were wonderful. They seemed to match each character well without any annoying voices. This is a great movie to watch even if you are not a child or animation major. Its the first time in a while that a film has made me actually laugh and feel good while watching it. I suggest this film to anyone that enjoys a good movie.

 

4/5

 

little info

Ty Burrell who voices Mr. Peabody and Ariel Winters who voices Penny star together as father and daughter in the TV show Modern Family.

 

 

Day 30 continued - A Monster in Paris (French)

"

The film is set in 1910. The story begins by documenting the flooding of the River Seine that year.
Shy projectionist Emile has a passion for film and is in love with his coworker at the cinema, Maud, but has trouble admitting his true feelings. His friend, an exuberant inventor and delivery driver, Raoul, picks him up from work to transport him in his bizarre vehicle (called "Catherine"), to pick up a new belt for his projector, which was broken due to Emile's inattentiveness while daydreaming. In the process of purchasing a new belt, Emile also gets himself a new camera (which almost gets stolen by a thief). The story also introduces Lucille, Raoul's childhood friend, who is a cabaret singer at the club L'Oiseau Rare ("The Rare Bird"). Though she is a successful singer, her aunt Carlotta does everything to push her into the arms of the wealthy Police commissioner, Victor Maynott, a man consumed by pride and ambition"

A very enjoyable animation film for all ages that will make you smile. The music was good but there wasn't a whole lot of it. I didn't really like how it was set up at first but I grew to enjoy the while thing. It was sweet at times and the other times it was cute. The animation wasn't that bad as well, the character designs were good. I would suggest this to anyone who loves a good movie especially one that takes place in Paris.

3.4/5

Day 26 continued - Iceman (Chinese/Hong Kong)

"An imperial guard and his three traitorous childhood friends ordered to hunt him down get accidentally buried and kept frozen in time. 400 years later passes and they are defrosted continuing the battle they left behind"

The worst Donnie Yen movie I have ever seen, the whole thing was ridiculous. There is way too much forced comedy and not a very good plot. The special effects are so bad you have to try not to see it in order to see Donnie Yen perform. Even though this film has a lot of big talent in it, it fails horribly. It could be because of the director Law Wing-cheung who will not be considered a good director anytime soon. The ending will get you mad since it sets up like there is going to be a sequel which will probably be released later this year. I swear if you are not a Donnie Yen fan do not watch this movie.

1/5