Puss in Boots (2011)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Action/Fantasy/Crime

Starring (voice): Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris

The innocent, brown furred, black-eyed, Spaniard cat from Shrek gets a movie to his own name. Puss in Boots (Banderas) is an outlaw who loots and plunders, not from the innocent, but from those who deserve it, much like Robin Hood. He learns about the magic beanstalk with the Golden Goose that lives high up in the Giants castle and lays golden eggs He embarks on an adventure to find the magic beans when he crosses paths with Kitt Softpaws (Hayek) a cat much like him, out for the same objective. His adventures lead him to once again come face to face with Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis) an old friend who started stealing from the innocent and hence parted ways. Humpty and Puss had a childhood ambition of growing the beanstalk and now Humpty knows how exactly to do it and needs Puss' help once more. The character of Puss was loved and applauded by all for his cute and suave Latino style. With the Shrek series coming to an end, Dreamworks' attempt at reviving old fairy tales and portraying them contrarty to our normal beliefs might have failed in this attempt. Shrek was loved for its humour and unique plot line, however, Puss in Boots fails on both those aspects with below average humour and an extremely predictable story. Targeted towards young kids, the movie needs heavy humour that the audience could associate with and not the rude, sarcastic and slightly sexual comedy that the movie banks upon. A let-down for people who expected the Shrek magic once more.

Thumbs up: Unique blend of various fairytale characters

Thumbs down: Boring  humour, hopeless attempt at being entertaining

Rating: 6.2/10

readmore »»  

Cars 2 (2011)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Comedy/Sports/Drama

Starring (voice): Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro

A sequel to the first Cars movie, British industrialist Sir Miles Axlerod (Izzard) launches a new bio fuel after realising that fossil fuels are quickly degrading the world. To launch this fuel he is holding a World Grand Prix, a race that would see the top drivers from various motor sports battle it out on three different locations to prove the reliability of the fuel. Lightning McQueen (Wilson) is on the race and this time he decides to bring Mater (Cable Guy) along for the race. Finn McMissile (Caine) James Bonds Aston Martin DB5, is a British spy who is investigating a TV camera and its hidden functionality. Along with his sidekick, Holley Shiftwell (Mortimer) they are to rendezvous with an American spy at the World Grand Prix launch party, who has further information on the case. The American gets cornered and in an act of desperation, plants the device, holding the information, on Mater. McMissile and Shitwell track the device and assume Mater to be a very well disguised spy which according to Mater becomes the adventure of his life. The movie replicates human life very interestingly on cars. It's fun to hunt for the finer details and get amused at the thought process that went behind it. The only let down in the movie was the lack of good humour and comedy. Sure the movie is enticing and would definitely grasp the attention of kids, especially if its your kid brother, but it still lacks the ability to make you roll over with laughter.

Thumbs up: Superb animation, extremely gripping

Thumbs down: Not funny enough although it is entertainment-packed

Rating: 7.0/10

readmore »»  

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) (3D)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Mystery/Crime/Animation

Starring (voice): Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Nick Frost

When a legend is recreated, everyone is apprehensive if the legend would be made even more legendary. The Tintin comic book series by the famous Belgian, Herge has won fans around the world and has been recreated in many forms. The latest adaptation comes from Steven Speilberg and his attempt at making a movie on the adventures of the young Belgian journalist according to whom this is his take on a childrens version of Indiana Jones. Tintin (Bell) and his faithful dog Snowy spot a unique model ship known as the Unicorn and instantly falls in love with it and purchases it. Soon after, a horde of people try to buy it off him with the ship eventually going missing from his apartment. Tintin realises that something indeed must be unique to the ship if so many people are behind it and eventually discovers the secret of the Unicorn. Ivanovich Sakharine (Craig) has taken Captain Haddock's (Serkis) ship as his own and is trying to locate the treasure of the legendary pirate, Red Rackham. With Tintin holding a piece of the puzzle to the location, Sakharine must get it from him before Tintin discovers what he is up to. Don't let the movie title fool you because the movie is not entirely based on 'The Secret of the Unicorn'. In fact only the first quarter, with some heavy improvements and modifications, is based on the afore mentioned comic, the second quarter from 'The Crab With Golden Claws', the third quarter being the scriptwriters own creation and the final quarter coming from 'Red Rackhams Treasure'. The red Jeep Willy from 'Land of Black Gold' makes a special appearance too. Amalgamating so many books into a movie could have had disastrous consequences but the movie doesn't really come out too bad. The third quarter, which isn't part of any book but a creation for the movie, is probably the most disastrous part especially the over-the-top crane scene which seemed completely out of place for the era in which the movie is set. Apart from that, the fluidity in which the various books merge into each other is amazing. The animations used in the movie are extremely sharp and life-like which definitely sets the bar for modern-day graphics. Another missing element in the movie which made people love Tintin was the humour. Although Thompson (Pegg) and Thomson (Frost) were present, their presence did not carry too much humour and comedy, a missing ingredient from an otherwise fun-to-watch flick. And this comes from a die hard Tintin fan.

Thumbs up: Superb animation, great adaptation of multiple comic books

Thumbs down: More of the twin inspectors and their humour, the crane scene and the dam scene seemed out of place

Rating: 8.0/10

readmore »»  

Despicable Me (2010)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Drama/Science-fiction/Action

Starring (voice): Steve Carell, Jason Segal, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher

How I love a good, humourous and fun to watch animation! It is indeed pleasing when every now and then there comes a comedy that you can watch over and over again and enjoy it just as you did when you saw it the very first time. Gru (Carell) a master conman has a falling reputation that he needs to improve. Vector (Segal) a new thief in the business has managed to steal the Pyramid of Giza putting Gru's thefts, the Times Square Jumbotron, The Statue of Liberty (from Vegas) and the Eiffel Tower (also from Vegas) to shame. Gru comes up with one large theft that will change the way the world looks at him, but for that he needs the Shrink Ray, which is currently in Vector's possession. Three orphan girls, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier) and Agnes (Fisher) have easy access to Vector's facility because he loves the cookies they sell to him. Gru plans to adopt them to gain entry to Vector's facility, not knowing that his evil, cunning, stone-cold and selfish heart will change forever. The best thing about the movie is its subtle humour that would make people of all ages roll over with laughter and guarantee a great time. Agnes' character is extremely cute and is made to appeal to young kids and Gru's minion's take the cake when it comes to idiotic and enjoyable humour. The movie can promptly shift from being a comedy to an action sequence and can suddenly bring out all the emotions from within you in a flash. A definite watch and a sure shot entertainer. I'm lovin' it!

Thumbs up: Great humour, brilliant entertainer, fabulous character creation

Thumbs done: None at all

Rating: 8.5/10

readmore »»  

Beowulf (2007)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Animation

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Angelina Jolie

Based on an ancient Scandinavian poem set in Denmark, Beowulf (Winstone) is a mighty hero who arrives to the aid of King Hrothgar (Hopkins) when his royal halls are being constantly plagued by a beast called Grendel. Beowulf wounds the beast without armour and with his bare hands and leaves him to scamper to his mother (Jolie) where he dies. The Danes rejoice but Grendels mother wants revenge and she attacks and kills all of Beowulf's warriors save him. Beowulf now has to finish Grendel's mother too, a task far more challenging than he ever imagined. Her beauty is astonishing and enticing, seductive and luscious, tempting and mesmerising, so much so, that any warrior would willingly give in to her. The movie has been shot on a motion capture technology where simply the motion of the act is captured on film with all other entities such as background and effects being digitally created and added. The visual aspects and special effects may not be all that stunning or ground-breaking, yet the detailing and specifications are spot-on. The movie is a reproduction of the poem with its own pieces of modifications and alterations which make it a good, interesting and action-packed piece of entertainment.

Thumbs up: Good plot execution and adaptation

Thumbs down: Weak special effects and animation

Rating: 7.3/10

readmore »»  

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure/Drama

Starring (voice): Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Tom McGrath

The hilarious story of four animal friends from the New York zoo who land up in Madagascar, Africa continues. Alex, the egoistic Lion (Stiller), his best friend Marty the Zebra (Rock), Melman the extra-hygienic Giraffe (Schwimmer) and Glorio the Hippo (Smith) are finally hatching a plan to leave Madagascar and go back to NYC for good. However, their make shift and tacky aircraft gives away just after the journey and the entire team find themselves in the heart of Africa, within the Kalahari. The four friends realised that they all came from this exact same place and Alex even meets his real parents. The true challenge comes when Alex has to prove he is a true lion by engaging another lion in combat and securing a place for himself in the pride. Alex has always been a performance Lion and never knew how to fight in combat. The first part of the movie was an ultimate laugh-riot with King Julian (Cohen) stealing the show along with Skipper the Penguin (McGrath) and his team of dim-witted side-kicks. The movie does not entirely fail to live up to expectations but is not exactly as funny either. King Julian and Skipper still entertain but the entire comedy rests solely on their shoulders with almost no support coming from any other character. A good family entertainer and is still worth the watch.

Thumbs up: King Julian all the way

Thumbs down: Not as funny as the earlier movie

Rating: 6.7/10

readmore »»  

Toy Story (2010)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama

Starring (voice): Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton

The third installment of the very famous Toy Story series finally comes after almost a decade after the release of the second movie. The Toy Story movies were known for their unique plot and high-quality animation which, thankfully, the second movie has continued. Woody (Hanks) is a toy cowboy who was once the favourite of Andy, a young American boy. Andy has now grown up and is all ready to go to college and does not play with his toys anymore, much to the disappointment of Woody and his friends. Andy intended to put his toys away in the attic but they accidentally find themselves being donated away to a daycare centre. Woody wants to stay back with Andy but the other toys feel Andy doesn't care for them any longer and should move on. The toys at the daycare centre follow the orders of an evil bear Lotso (Beatty) who puts all the new toys to the toddler rooms since he knows they will get beaten up and misused, something that none of the other toys want to go through. Woody manages to escape from the daycare but comes back when he learns of the cruelty that all his friends are suffering and needs to find a way to rescue them. The audience of the original movies was much different who have now grown up and the new younger generation are not familiar with the character and movie background. Nonetheless, the movie is an easy and entertaining watch that will appeal to all, young and old. It excels at what it was created to do and anything beyond that would be asking for too much.

Thumbs up: Great animation, good plot

Thumbs down: Some more humour maybe

Rating: 7.8/10

readmore »»  

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, Wayne Knight

Andy's toys are having a good time as usual. The only person not having a good time is Woody (Hanks) whose arm gets accidentally ripped while playing with Andy. Woody gets shelved where he finds an old toy Wheezy the Penguin whom everyone had assumed was lost. A garage sale is coming up and Wheezy goes up for sale. Woody tries to save Wheezy but gets left behind and later stolen by Al (Knight) the owner of Al's Toy Store. A Japanese toy museum wants to show case toys of Woody and his Roundup Gang, but the toys are now rare and hard to find. Al steals Woody to complete his collection and make lots of money. Woody and his Roundup Gang comprising of Jessie (Cusack), Stinky Pete (Grammer) and his horse Bullseye were once a famous cartoon show and all his accessories and toys were very famous. A new era of space toys brought an end to Woody's show. Buzz Lightyear (Allen) swears to save Woody as an act of repayment for what Woody had done for him in the previous movie. With a few other toys, they undertake a perilous journey to get to Al's Toy Store and rescue Woody before it gets too late. The movie doesn't really give the same feeling its predecessor did and there always is this feeling that something is missing. The movie gets a bit boring at one point but swiftly picks up pace and improves. The animations are fabulous for a movie of its time and would do a good job in entertaining an 8-year-old. The previous movie had some high points and some very dramatic and gripping scenes which the second movie completely lacks. A great movie nonetheless with some scope for improvement.

Thumbs up: Animation, hugely entertaining

Thumbs down: Not as dramatic or gripping as the earlier movie

Rating: 8.3/10

readmore »»  

Toy Story (1995)

Genre: Animation/Drama/Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy

Starring (voice): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, John Morris, Jim Varney

As kids, we all were fond of one toy that we adored and loved more than our lives.Woody (Hanks) was one such toy that Andy (Morris) just loved. Andy's life would get torn apart if anything happened to Woody, at least that was what everyone thought. Andy's birthday was the best day of Andy's life but the worst for his toys, who come alive when Andy is not around.The toys were always scared that they would get replaced by a new and more attractive toy and thrown in the dump. In comes Buzz Lightyear (Allen) an action figure of a spaceman, who thinks that he is the real Buzz Lightyear and can shoot down aliens with his 'laser' and can actually fly. Buzz becomes Andy's new favourite toy and Woody gets slowly pushed to the sidelines. Woody cannot digest the fact that he is no longer Andy's favourite toy and hatches a plot to push Buzz out the window. Things get messy when the other toys learn of Woody's foul play and rally against him. The movie has got brilliant animations for a movie of its era. Its the perfect plot that the doctor ordered and would make any 10-year-old jump with joy. Even though the movie doesn't have any serious humour, it still manages to pull off the plot very well. One of the finest animations ever.

Thumbs up: Entertaining and gripping throughout

Thumbs down: Maybe some more humour if it does any good

Rating: 8.3/10

readmore »»  

Garfield (2004)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bill Murray (voice)

The famous lazy, fat cat from the comic strip gets featured on the big screen. Garfield (Murray) is just the way as we know him. He loves getting pampered by his owner, Jon (Meyer) and more than anything, loves bullying all the other pets in the neighbourhood. Jon has a crush on the vet, Liz (Hewitt) who has known her since high school. On her request, he agrees to adopt a dog, Odie, whom Liz says would not survive if he doesn't get proper love and hospitality. Garfield gets jealous of Odie and is jealous of all the attention he is getting. He throws Odie out of the house, who gets lost in the city. A famous pet show anchor, Happy Chapman (Tobolowsky) is looking for a new fresh face for his new show. He loves Odie and his amazing dance moves and decides to look for Odie before Jon does. The movie is a huge let down to many of the hardcore Garfield fans who were expecting much more. The plot is very typical for a movie based on pets and the names Garfield and Odie were just seem to have been added to create more hype. The movie doesn't have the kind of character and fun that the comic strips had and one would have wished to see more of the typical Garfield insults and attitude. However, it is made to appeal to an 8-year-old and it might just.

Thumbs up: Would appeal to its target audience i.e. kids

Thumbs down: Cliched plot, lacks Garfield attitude and character

Rating: 5.9/10

readmore »»  

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dohrn

I personally felt that DreamWorks should not have ventured beyond Shrek 2, something which got proven right with the fourth installment of the series. Shrek (Myers) the big, fat, ugly, green ogre and Fiona (Diaz) are back and this time they have 3 kid ogres too. Parenting starts taking a toll on Shrek and he soon realises that he cant do the things he loved to do. Scaring the villagers, lazing around, taking mud baths, its a long forgotten life. His frustration peaks and he confesses the he would want to go back to the days before he met Fiona and before all of this started. Back during the time when Fiona was still locked in the tower, Rumpelstiltskin (Dohrn) was closing a deal with the king and queen that he would free Fiona if he got their kingdom in exchange. However, Shrek rescued her and the deal never happened. Rumpel, notorious for creating contracts which have tricky fine prints and very difficult exit clauses, approaches Shrek and offers him a day where he could do all that he liked in exchange for one day of his life. Unknown to Shrek, Rumpel took away from Shrek, the day he was born. With Shrek no longer in this world, Fiona would never get rescued and Rumpel would have the entire kingdom to raise havoc. The story sounds interesting, but that's all there is to it. Ask a 12-year-old what he/she understood out of it and an expressionless confused face stares back at you. The story is a little difficult to fully understand on the first instance, especially for children, their primary audience. The movie does have loads of entertainment but not too much on the lines of humour. We enjoyed watching Donkey (Murphy) and Shrek in the previous movies but the pair loses its fizz in this one. Not bad, but not great either and it would be suicidal to create a fifth part.

Thumbs up: Interesting plot, although slightly unstructured

Thumbs down: Lack of humour

Rating: 6.2/10

readmore »»  

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Genre: Fantasy/Animation/Adventure

Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathway, Crispin Grover

Based on Lewis Caroll's two very famous children's books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, the movie narrates the story of a 19 year old Alice who escapes from her wedding and falls into a rabbit hole. She meets a lot of strange characters who doubt that she is the 'real' Alice and is eventually led to the Hatter (Depp) who is having a tea party. The Hatter explains that the land was once filled with piece when a spite between two sisters led to war. The evil Red Queen (Carter) with the help of a beast known as the Jabberwocky wins the war and banishes the good White Queen (Hathway) and takes over Wonderland. It has been foretold that Alice would come and slay the Jabberwocky and put an end to the Red Queen's rein. Alice is now left with the task of fulfilling the prophesy, something of which she hasn't the slightest idea of how to. The story is a big deviation from the actual story which would leave many people disappointed. The White Rabbit and his famous time-piece is missing and a much older Alice is a little hard to digest. Unlike the book, the movie would not appeal to young children due to its slightly complicated and boring plot. Lack of humour or anything that would make the movie even slightly appealing to children is completely missing. What it shines is in special effects and the animation part and Helena Carter's creative look. I expected Johnny Depp to deliver Pirates of the Caribbean or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory kind of performance but sadly that doesn't happen. His role is over-shadowed by the support cast which just ends up making things worse. Probably if they movie was made in a manner more appealing to young kids, it would have been a different ball game altogether.

Thumbs up: Astounding special effects
Thumbs down: Poor plot

Rating: 6.0/10

readmore »»  

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Comedy

Starring (voice): Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera

Welcome to the Viking village of Berk. Most villages have mosquito's and houseflies as pests to deal with but the people have Berk have dragons. The dragons burn down the village and steal the sheep's and the villagers desperately try to get rid of them. Hiccup (Baruchel) is the son of the Viking chief Stoik (Butler) and wants to try his hand at killing a dragon. However, Hiccup is too young and doesn't have the physical fitness of a normal Viking and is hence kept away from the line of action. A particularly dangerous dragon known as the Night Fury has never been seen by any living person because it moves too fast and is too dangerous. Out of sheer luck, Hiccup manages to capture the Night Fury and when he tries to kill it, he realises he doesn't have the heart to do so. The Night Fury is injured and cant fly and Hiccup starts nursing him. Slowly the two become the best of friends and Hiccup realises that the dragons need not be killed but can instead by trained. He now has to simply convey this to his father before he goes on a killing spree and kills every one of the dragons. The movie is different and thrilling right from the word go. A fresh and highly entertaining plot is just what the doctor ordered. Most animation movies try to improvise on graphics and make them come as close to reality as possible. Thankfully, the movie doesn't look too realistic and it feels like an animation movie and not a movie that tries to be life-like. Its not just for the young but appeals to people of all ages. A must watch with the entire family.

Thumbs up: Thrilling and entertaining
Thumbs down: Some more humour perhaps?

Rating: 8.4/10

readmore »»  

Monsters vs Aliens

Genre: Animation/Drama/Comedy/Science-fiction/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson

Monsters exist on Earth but have been closely kept under wraps by the United States government for 50 years. It is so secret that the President himself doesn't know of its existence and speaking about its location is a federal crime. Susan (Witherspoon) is all set to get married when a meteorite infused with Quantonium hits her and converts her into a giantess and gives her super strength. The government captures her and put her in a secret facility for monsters. She meets four other monsters, B.O.B (Rogen) a brainless and talkative experimental tomato that was accidentally brought to life, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D (Laurie) a mad scientist that accidentally converted himself into cockroach-human hybrid, The Missing Link (Arnett) an ugly lizard obsessed with building his physique and finally the super-sized Insectosaurus. Gallaxhar (Wilson) is the evil alien who wants to extract the Quantonium from Susan and rule over planet Earth. With no foreseeable solution, the monster facility jailer, General W.R. Monger (Sutherland) sends the monsters out to save planet Earth. The movie looks a little vague and unstructured and the plot seems like a jigsaw puzzle put together forcefully. All that said, the movie makes you laugh on more than one occasion and finally delivers a good overall package, enough to make a nine-year-old roll in laughter.

Thumbs up: Nice humour
Thumbs up: Unstructured plot

Rating: 6.8/10

readmore »»  

9 (2009)

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure/Science-fiction/Drama/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Christopher Plummer, Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reiley, Martin Landau

A scientist created a robot known as B.R.A.I.N, which would serve mankind and help it evolve and thus improve society. The machine, however, went against the humans which eventually led to a war of machines versus humans. The scientist realising his mistake, built miniature human-like robots out of cloth known as 'Stitchpunks' and gave each of them a unique number from 1 to 9. Humankind is destroyed and the machines rule over Earth. Each of these 9 Stitchpunks come to life and form an alliance to protect themselves. They are led by 1 (Plummer) the eldest of them all who has been evading the machines and keeping the Stitchpunks safe. 9 (Wood) comes to life and joins the clan. He is not satisfied with 1's defensive approach and wishes to take on a more aggressive role. 2 (Landau) is kidnapped by a machine and 9 is determined to save him. 2's close friend, 5 (Reiley) accompanies him on this quest. They meet a warrior 7 (Connelly) who helps them save 2 but 9 accidentally brings to life a dangerous machine manufacturing factory. The Stitchpunks are now in a worse condition than what they were earlier and are faced with a do or die situation. The story progresses at a very rapid face for the first half, which is slightly disturbing but manages to collect itself together and end on a high note. The graphics are superb and are almost life-like. The fundamental plot is nothing new but the entire concept of Stitchpunks is indeed innovative. A nice watch for all age groups and the lack of humour in bits and pieces was sorely missed.

Thumbs up: Graphics, entertaining watch
Thumbs down: Lack of humour

Rating: 6.9/10

readmore »»  

Open Season 2 (2008)

Genre: Animation/Drama/Comedy/Adventure

Starring (voice): Joel McHale, Mike Epps, Jane Krakowski, Crispin Glover, Cody Cameron, Billly Connolly

Elliot (McHale) and Boog (Epps) are still partners and best friends. Elliot is all set to marry Giselle (Krakowski) but is having last minute butterfly's in his stomach. To begin with, he breaks his huge antlers, and by huge I mean at least three times his flimsy body and they were possibly the only thing the chap could be proud of. On top of that, he starts getting second thoughts about his life's future commitments and gets cold feet right before their wedding. The wild animals have a new domestic addition to the group, Mr. Weenie the dog (Cameron) who has escaped from his owner in a bid to taste freedom. His owner manages to hunt him down and takes him back with her, which becomes an excuse for Elliot to call off the wedding and go on a hunt for Mr. Weenie. It's a crazily hilarious mix up which includes an over-aggressive, foul mouthed and half-foot tall squirrel, McSquizzy (Connolly) along with an evil poodle, Fifi (Glover). The movie doesn't have fall-over-your-seat humour but decent to make it a breeze to watch. The only person who can really make you laugh is the character of McSquizzy which too takes some bit of understanding to get the true meaning. It aims to make your kid brother laugh and it will.

Thumbs up: Fun and smooth to watch
Thumbs down: Not overtly funny

Rating: 7.2/10

readmore »»  

Coraline (2009)

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Animation/Mystery

Starring (voice): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Keith David

The name is Coraline (Fanning) and not Caroline. Young Coraline's parents recently moved in to a new town. They write nature articles for a living and are too busy to pay any attention to her. She makes a new friend Whybie (Bailey Jr.) who has a strange black cat (David). She snoops around her new house and comes across a small hidden door. The door leads to a whole new world where her parents love her, where people have buttons for eyes and all her wishes come true. Everyone from her town is there in the other world and are different from their actual self. Whybie's cat too is present and can talk in the other world. The cat warns her that everything is not what it seems like and her other mother (Hatcher) is up to something evil. The movie has a very exciting plot attached to it, which is not only for young children but might appeal to a more mature audience. Unlike other animation movies, the graphics do not try to replicate reality and give it a cartoon-like feel. The suspense is fascinating and it completely absorbs you into it which makes you wish to not let go.

Thumbs up: Great plot, fantastic climax
Thumbs down: The presence of some light humour was missed

Rating: 8.3/10

readmore »»  

Up (3D) (2009)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Drama/Comedy

Starring (voiceover): Edward Asner, Cristopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

Up forms a part of the current crop of 3D animated movies hitting cinemas. Two small kids Carl and Ellie share a common passion for adventure. They soon get married and live a happy life. Years pass by and their dream of having a house on Paradise Falls, South America remains unfulfilled. Soon after Ellies death, Carl (Asner) decides to fulfill Ellie's last wish and converts his house into a giant flying thing, by tying together thousands of helium filled balloons and takes off into the sky. To accompany him, he has Russell (Nagai) an over-enthusiastic wilderness boy scout who simply wanted to help Carl cross the road and win himself a badge, but lands up becoming a part of his maniacal adventure and Doug (Peterson) a dog with a talking collar, who is a part of a pack of strays belonging to the ex-explorer Charles Muntz (Plummer) who is currently in South America searching for a rare bird since years to prove its existence to the world. After watching a 3D movie after probably years, i was left a little disappointed overall. Apart from just adding some amount of clarity, the 3D effect was seem to have been added simply as a marketing strategy and attract more viewers. Lift your glasses and watch the regular version and its just as good. The movie was a little slow to start, but the moment his house took off, you knew the actual movie has now begun. The movie was never meant to make you laugh, an essential for all animation movies according to me, but it makes up with an amazing adventure packed and thrilling tale that might just leave you teary-eyed in the end.

Thumbs up: Nice story, character detailing
Thumbs down: 3D is pointless

Rating: 7.6/10

readmore »»  

Igor (2008)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Fantasy/Science-fiction

Starring (voice): John Cusack, Jay Leno, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard

In the peaceful and prosperous town of Malaria, everything is well until a dramatic climate change alters citizens' life for over. King Malbert (Leno) announces an annual competition, where scientists can make evil inventions of mass destruction and the most destructive of all will be pronounced the winner. This was to be one of his ways of improving the economy. Any person who has some kind of deformity, is made to become an Igor. They are to be slaves and perceived as someone stupid and lacking intelligence. A certain Igor (Cusack) serving Dr. Glickenstein (Cleese) is quite smart, and when an experiment kills his master, he takes over his masters dream of making the most destructive monster. Being an animation movie, it is supposed to appeal to young kids. However, even my nine-year-old brother gave up just half way through. The movie doesn't incorporate any comical elements and becomes plain boring. Animation and special effects are up to the mark, but don't really help in making the movie any more appealing. Igor's sidekicks, Scamper, the immortal bunny and Brain, are the only characters that actually try to make you laugh.

Rating: 5.5/10

readmore »»  

Ice Age III: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama

Starring (voiceover): Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Simon Pegg

Taking off where Ice Age: The Meltdown left, each animal is busy doing their own thing. Manny (Romano) is getting paranoid about their baby that Elle (Latifah) is going to concede, Sid (Leguizamo) is desperate to have kids of his own, Diego (Leary) starts feeling lonely and feels its high time he left and Scrat is still chasing acorns. Things are stupid as usual when one day Sid stumbles across dinosaur eggs and takes them back home to raise them as his own. Very soon their mother comes stamping on the glacier searching for them. She takes her eggs and Sid too back home for good measure. The animals form a search party and go out to rescue him when they stumble across a huge discovery. Beneath the very glacier that they live on, there is a huge unknown dinosaur territory. They find a tour guide, Buck (Pegg) who with a Johnny Depp get-up offers to help them, provided they follow his rules. What follows is a string of laugh out loud adventures; from getting eaten up by mammoth-eating plants and flying atop pterodactyl's, this movie gives you the laughs.

Rating: 8.1/10

readmore »»