Monsters University 2D (2013)

Let’s start with the positive, I loved this character (Squishie’s mother) but obviously she didn’t get much screen time. Monsters University is all about Sully and Mike and how they met and went off to work at Monsters Inc. together. So it’s fair to expect a rough beginning and a blissful friendship at the end and that is what you’ll get. Good.

But, I felt like they spread themselves a bit thin. The film felt very short and heavily focused on the scare contest rather than Mike and Sully or the university or any major events advertised in the trailer. I liked the film, I thought it was sweet but in all honesty it failed my family’s test:

Would I buy it at RRP (£10-£14)? No
Would I buy it at sale price (£5)? Probably not…

So why not? Yes it was short, yes it lost focus and yes, I was in no way moved but what else? My main problem was the way I left the cinema feeling so underwhelmed. I thought Mike and Sully’s characters came off a bit obnoxious and even dislikeable. Many people were expecting back stories and in a way you get three. You learn about Randall (for two minutes), you learn about the abominable snowman which was pretty funny (for 5 seconds) and we briefly see Roz (“always watching”). I’m confused as to who this film was aimed at; if aimed at my age group who’ve been waiting a long time for this then why not cover more back story and why not expand on things?

But the good things… I fell in love with the characters involved in their fraternity, Oozma Kappa (OK). Squishie, Don, Terri, Terry and Art were all very loveable and unique. These characters really struck gold with the Disney message portrayed by the monsters films that being different is a good thing and can really work to your advantage. After all, these guys will have a happy ending. They were all very sweet and were given strong, individual personalities that managed to come through in their allotted screen time.

I liked the story that existed and I liked how reminiscent the film made fans feel. I’m sure everyone seeing this film, that like me, liked the first monsters film really enjoyed reliving the characters and places in these films.  I thought it was sweet and would never object to watching it if someone offered but I sadly don’t think I’d buy it. It’s nice to see how Sully and Mike started at the bottom as college drop-outs in the Monsters Inc. mail room and made their way to the top in Monsters Inc.

A good THREE STARS. It’s worth a watch, so don’t let my somewhat cynical review put you off…

Five Film Facts #1

The Breakfast Club was supposed to have sequels every ten years where the club reunited. These plans fell through because Judd Nelson and John Hughes hated each other (slight problem).

Several major scenes in Braveheart had to be re-shot because extras were wearing wristwatches and sunglasses.

Crispin Glover did not return for the Back to the future sequels. George McFly was played by a different actor who wore prosthetic to make him look like Glover and old footage was reused.

While recording the voice of Genie in Aladdin, Robin Williams frequently received calls from Steven Spielberg who was working on Schindler’s List. He would put him on speaker phone so he could tell jokes to the cast and crew to cheer them up. Some of these jokes made it into the animated feature.

Billy Crystal took the part of Mike in Monster’s Inc. because he had turned down the part of Woody in Toy Story and considered that to be the worst decision of his career.

Bobs – Finding Dory, Roger Ebert, X-Men, Jurassic Park, Crimson Peak and Hangover 3…

Bobs. What is/are Bobs? Good question. Bobs is a post for all the little bits and Bobs of film news and posters etc. that don’t have a post of their own. It’s called Bobs because Bits and Bobs is boring and Bits sounds weird. Cool.

1: First off, how can I not mention Finding Dory? I don’t think anyone is that excited (apart from Ellen DeGeneres) but still, Finding Nemo 3D now makes sense. Very little is known and this will probably go on for a while because it comes out in 2014. However, Ellen is happy so that’s good enough.

2: Obituaries mention – Roger Ebert 1942 – 2013. A very famous film critic has died aged 70, losing to Cancer. “No good film is too long…No bad film is short enough”.

3: Bryan Singer tweets a new looking Beast from X-men: Days of Future Past. As much as I still don’t understand the title, gotta love Beast.

4: A really cool Jurassic Park print I found on reddit – someone’s excited for it’s cinema release…again.

5: These portraits and movie shots illustrated really nicely by sketchesnatched (or to see them all in a big, long list)

6: Ridiculous amounts of casting news about this “Crimson Peak” by Guillermo Del Toro. It’s caught Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Stone (above), Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam. All I know is (what websites tell me) that it’s a haunted house thriller shooting in 2014. Grand. (It’s not grand. Been put off haunted house shenanigans since Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion – just no).

7: The evolution of Batman logos. Pretty cool summary…

8: The 10 Movies Roger Ebert Really Hated. Simple as.

9: Jurassic Park – Then and Now. To be honest only the children have changed but this is a thing for some reason. Enjoy.

10. New Hangover 3 poster. Can’t say anything bad about this one because John Goodman’s in it.

 

This has been Bobs#1
Toodles!

Argo (2012)

GODDAMMIT. WATCH IT, WATCH IT NOW.

I just–it was the best film I’ve seen in a few years, at least. Everything was perfect. Such balance. So clever. FIVE STARS, easy. Anyone that sees it will love it. 

Well done, Ben Affleck.