FROZEN II Review

As a parent who has seen Frozen approximately 108,054,523,678,245 times it would be easy to go into a sequel with a cynical mindset expecting directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck to repeat themselves or simply recycle the rather exceptional visual and auditory elements that worked so well the first time, but have been consumed so frequently since that it now seems there was never any other option for what that film was meant to be or be received in any other way than becoming the cultural milestone that it did. There is also the inherent fear that studios will play it safe to the point they will simply re-fashion the first film to include a few new characters and a few new songs that will have the old characters go through the same motions of learning the same lessons, but never actually having them grow in any real or meaningful way. With this film in particular though, this never seemed as if it was going to be a concern-otherwise this sequel would have arrived three years ago. What made the idea of Frozen II exciting from the first teaser was the fact it seemed apparent the writing and directing team were intent on not repeating themselves-at least as far as narrative went-for even though Frozen II ultimately comes to explore many of the same themes touched upon in the original film it isn't doing so in a re-purposed fashion, but more expanding on them-namely, the idea of love not solely being that of a romantic quality, but that this greatest and most mysterious of all emotions is maybe even more genuine when there is no romantic factor to the equation, but is instead a pure, authentic, respectful appreciation of and connection to another being. This is a sequel that is admittedly a tough one to crack as it explores the ripples left over from the first film's complex emotional arcs. Furthermore, there's this idea that the world of Frozen only needed to be expounded upon if there was a desire for it and while the answer to that might seem obvious given the amount of money the first film made when taken on face value there was no real need to fill in further historical moments from the history of Arendelle. Still, Frozen II has many things on its mind and chief among them is allowing its two protagonists to come to terms with how they wound up in the crazy positions the events of the first film landed them in; if Frozen was about Elsa and Anna figuring out who they are then Frozen II is about them figuring out who they were meant to be and how well that aligns with who they've actually become.

New Trailer for FROZEN II

As the parent of a nearly five year-old I have seen Frozen more times than I care to think about and am both genuinely surprised as well as kind of appreciative that Disney has taken the six years they have to bring a sequel to the big screen. On the one hand, surprised as the audience who originally saw Frozen in theaters is now six years older (and 6-12 is quite the gap), but at the same time my daughter wasn't even born until nearly a year after the first film's release and she loves Anna and Elsa as much as anyone could. So, there is no shortage on the key demographic who are more than happy to see more of these characters no matter the iteration, but it seems Disney and particularly directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (with Lee having penned both screenplays-this time around with Hidden Figures scribe Allison Schroeder) were keen to mature the sequel with that of the audience who it was originally intended for. That is to say that this new, full look at Frozen II offers a glimpse into a more fully realized Arendelle meaning that while the events of the first film took both the characters and the viewer by storm with Elsa's powers, what they entailed and how they immediately affected the people around her the sequel is seemingly here to explain the mystical history of Elsa's kingdom as well as the origin of her powers and furthermore, just how powerful Elsa is exactly. Of course, this movie could be about Sven's pooping habits and it would make a billion dollars, but it's nice to see the sequel to the biggest animated film the box office has ever seen (over $1.2 billion worldwide) be more than just another attempt at another billion bucks. Also of note is the fact the new film will feature new songs from original songwriting and husband/wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Frozen II will see the return of Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, and Josh Gad as Olaf along with Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood joining the cast. Frozen II is set to open on November 22nd, 2019.

Official Trailer for FROZEN II

As the parent of a four and a half year-old I have seen Frozen more times than I care to think about and am both genuinely surprised as well as kind of appreciative that Disney has taken the six years they have to bring a sequel to the big screen. On the one hand, surprised as their audience who saw Frozen at the time of its release is now six years older (and 6-12 is quite the gap), but at the same time my daughter wasn't born until nearly a year after the first film's release and still loves Anna and Elsa as much as any girl could. So, there is no shortage on the key demographic who are more than happy to see more of these characters no matter the iteration (Olaf's Frozen Adventure was a fine enough holdover), but it seems Disney and particularly directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (with Lee having penned both screenplays-this time with Hidden Figures scribe Allison Schroeder) are keen to mature the sequel with that of the audience who it was originally intended that originally saw it in theaters. That is to say that our first, full look at Frozen II offers a glimpse into what is not necessarily a darker/more grittier Arendelle, but rather a more fully realized existence within these characters in Arendelle meaning that while the events of the first film took both the characters and the viewer by storm with Elsa's powers and what they entailed and how they immediately affected the people around her and the kingdom she ruled given she'd been sentenced to hide them away forever the sequel seems to be getting more at the question of where did these powers come from in the first place and furthermore, just how powerful is Elsa? It's an interesting if not more existential direction to go with an animated sequel to the biggest animated film the box office has ever seen (over $1.2 billion worldwide), but while I fully expect Lee and Buck's sequel to have all the necessary trademarks of its predecessor including new songs from original songwriting and husband/wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez it seems it will be fascinating to find out just what else Frozen II has up its sleeve. Given Lee also assumed the head of Walt Disney Animation, after succeeding John Lasseter, last summer it will also be interesting to see what this new film tackles as its chief creative force undoubtedly had complete freedom to do whatever she wished with the story. Frozen II will see the return of Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, and Josh Gad as Olaf along with new cast members Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood in undisclosed roles with the film is set to open on November 22nd, 2019.

Green & Red-Band Trailers for A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS

Well, that was fast. Less than a year after the first film debuted in theaters we have trailers for a new Bad Moms movie and this time they're not just tackling everything moms have to take care of and look after in general, but they're specifically tackling the holiday season which, honestly, is totally fair game. Though I wasn't a fan of writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore's first film, you can read my review here, they have returned to write and direct this sequel as well. It would seem Lucas and Moore have a very limited range of topics they're interested in tackling as they wrote the original Hangover screenplay and then went on to pen and direct 2013's 21 & Over which was fine, but totally forgettable and that seems to be where this presumably never-ending line of Bad Moms movies will end-up. The casting of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and (most importantly) Kathryn Hahn was one of the key highlights of that first film so having those three back and more in sync with one another's personalities this time around should bode well for the picture as does the fact Lucas and Moore have written in roles for their mothers who will be played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon. Boy, between A Bad Moms Christmas and Daddy's Home 2 this holiday season will have no lack of Christmas-themed family comedies or work for aging movie stars. And while I'm in no way excited for what A Bad Moms Christmas likely has to offer it could have found its groove and this time around provide enough charm that it could win me over, but even with a red band trailer to show us all the bawdy jokes this thing has to offer I'm still not sold as the only time I laughed throughout either of these trailers was when Baranski showed up to deliver her deadpan lines. Presuming the majority of the comedy will come from the dynamic between our three leads dealing with the holiday visits of their mothers and extended families it would be nice if the majority of the laughs derive from these situations rather than only counting on otherwise innocent moms cussing and doing things that are supposed to be outrageous while that latest DJ hit drops in the background. All of that said, I am sad Christina Applegate's character doesn't seem to be back for the sequel. Oh, well. A Bad Moms Christmas also stars Jay Hernandez, Peter Gallagher, David Walton, Wanda Sykes, Emjay Anthony, Oona Laurence, Ariana Greenblatt, and opens on November 3rd, 2017.

BAD MOMS Review

Being a male I may not be the target audience for a movie about moms cutting loose and attempting to let go of the pressures and stress they are under not to mention the inherent guilt all mothers seem to feel when everyone around them isn't happy and settled, but still...I try to observe. In that I like to think of myself as somewhat perceptive I can see how a movie with these core ideas might be appealing to its target demographic. The thing with Bad Moms though is that right from the get-go the circumstances of this world are exaggerated in such a drastic fashion that it's not so much funny as it is distracting-and that it's executed poorly-makes it distractingly bad. While I haven't been around many Jr. High PTA meetings lately it's hard to imagine a woman in the vein of Christina Applegate's Stepford-ish Gwendolyn having as much control over the going-ons of a public school as this woman does, much less that someone of her mentality would even care. I mean, wouldn't her kids be in some private school where she is a dime a dozen? Petty complaints aside-Bad Moms is simply trying too hard to be what it doesn't need to be in order to be funny. There is ample opportunity for not only exploring the interesting facets of the psyche of mothers and how they're supposed to come off as if they have everything under control at all times, but rather than explore the small truths in the absurdity of that mentality Bad Moms resorts to F-bombs as its main source of punchlines as it isn't inspired enough to reach for more. That isn't to say exaggeration is wrong-comedies can thrive on that particular brand of ridiculousness, but given the circumstances and type of story writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (21 & Over) are attempting to convey such over-the-top shenanigans would have been better saved for scenarios such as the PTA meetings rather than leaning on it consistently when something a little more subtle or observational might have worked in the films favor. More examples containing small truths that hit the mark of the "funny because it's so true" flavor rather than the "yelling makes it funnier" train of thought would have provided for more substance to both the story and these characters-letting the audience know they really do understand the struggle, but what do I know? Mothers all the way from their late-twenties to early-sixties might love this thing and there's nothing wrong with that necessarily-I just think they might have enjoyed a more adept approach to the same material a little more. I think they deserve it.

Green & Red-Band Trailers for BAD MOMS

It looks as if writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have a very limited range of topics they're interested in tackling as they've now made the change from three men behaving badly to three women more or less doing the same thing. Lucas and Moore wrote the original Hangover screenplay which bodes well for them in my book and with that clout the duo went on to pen and direct 2013's 21 & Over which was fine, but forgettable and unfortunately underutilized the talent of Miles Teller while attempting to capitalize on the success of Pitch Perfect by placing Skylar Astin front and center. And so, with their latest Lucas and Moore have re-directed their focus towards the females as they were fortunate enough to cast Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and (most importantly) Kathryn Hahn in their film that looks unsurprisingly similar to their previous efforts. Granted, enough charm could certainly come from the perspective change that Bad Moms will be worth checking out. In the film, three overworked and under-appreciated moms are pushed beyond their limits finally deciding to ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt of long overdue freedom, fun, and self-indulgence. The trailer hints at as much being accomplished as Kunis' character defies the strict and uptight PTA President (Christina Applegate) that, if nothing, else should provide a solid amount of laughs. The rest of the trailer has something of a forced tone to it, but I enjoyed Bell in The Boss this year, have always admired Kunis' comedic abilities, and am just happy to see Hahn in such a prominent role in a comedy led by and about women. Though the film is about breaking conventions these trailers certainly hint at a movie that falls into some pretty standard ones. I'm hopeful, but only time will tell. Bad Moms also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Emjay Anthony, Oona Laurence, and opens on July 29th, 2016.

THE BOSS Review

Melissa McCarthy is more or less unstoppable. She is a movie star unlike anyone else at the moment and in a few years will likely look back on 2015-2016 as her prime years of output thus the reason we are not only being treated to another McCarthy/Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, SPY) collaboration this year in the Ghostbusters reboot, but also have the second offering from McCarthy and her producing/directing/writing husband, Ben Falcone, in The Boss. Taken simply as a follow-up to their last directorial effort, 2014's Tammy, this is a huge leap forward in terms of quality. It was a strange transition of sorts as Tammy was the first project where McCarthy used her much-earned name above the title to pull some strings and make a project that would seemingly be close to her heart. This could only signal that the comedy and story would be something that was carefully cultivated by the husband/wife team and would certainly come across with more of an edge and better developed characters than most comedies these days, right? One would think so, but for all the optimism I held for Tammy McCarthy and Falcone let me down in the toughest of ways in that not only did it not make me laugh, but the entire affair felt pointless. And so, when I caught wind that McCarthy and Falcone would get the opportunity to make another movie off of Tammy's $100 million worldwide haul on a $20 million budget I didn't expect much. Maybe it was those tempered expectations that led to the more enjoyable experience I had with The Boss, but I have to believe the overall improvements in every aspect had more to do with this than grim assumptions. There is real structure to the story, actual punch lines to (most) of the jokes, and character development that felt due more to the storytelling than the improvisational skills of the actors. In short, The Boss feels like an actual movie. It may feel like a picturesque romantic comedy in its aesthetic with raunchy male anatomy jokes thrown in for good measure, but an actual movie nonetheless.

First Trailer for THE BOSS Starring Melissa McCarthy

Apparently Melissa McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, wanted to follow-up their multi-award winning Tammy with another outlandish character study that was also intended to be named after the main character, which would have been Michelle Darnell in this case, but given the less than glowing reception, but still bankable success of the film ($100 million worldwide on a $20m budget) it seems Universal took a note out of Warner Bros. misstep and allowed the husband/wife writing/directing team to have free reign over their material as long as they had final say on the title which has now been re-branded The Boss. After the fantastic work that McCarthy turns out with director Paul Fieg it is always somewhat disappointing to see her return to lesser material and even more disappointing that this lesser material comes from her own mind with what one would imagine would be her best collaborator. Instead, Tammy is by far her worst film as the headlining star and this first trailer for The Boss doesn't give me much hope that this follow-up will be much better. The premise is pretty solid and the supporting cast is nice (so was Tammy's), but the trailer essentially gives away the entire film only eliciting a few chuckles along the way. It's probably too optimistic to think McCarthy and Falcone crafted a script and character that provided some kind of social commentary on tyrannical leaders with too much money that would come out in a timely fashion, but hey! I guess we'll see. The Boss also stars Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Kathy Bates, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Simons, Margo Martindale, Cecily Strong and opens on April 8, 2016.

VERONICA MARS Review

I've never seen an episode of Veronica Mars and thus had no interest in what answers this fan-funded feature might provide seven years after the three season show was abruptly cancelled. All I can equate this to is my love for Arrested Development, its too-soon cancellation after three seasons and my massive anticipation for the fourth when it was announced and rolled out on Netflix last year. If anything, I feel empathy towards the fans of Veronica Mars and find Kristen Bell a pleasant enough presence to take a peek into what all the fuss is about. It would be silly to think that starting from the end and working backwards would provide the same kind of reaction or emotional impact those who have been waiting for this will receive so it is with obvious warning that my opinion on the Veronica Mars movie is that of a person unacquainted with these characters and their past traits and relationship, their little quirks, their inside jokes or what makes some of the reunions at Veronica's ten year high school reunion that much more special than others. All of that said, this was a serviceable enough film and it provides a nice bit of whodunit which I always enjoy, but I had to come away from it wondering if I, or anyone else for that matter, would be too impressed with it if it stood on its own. Now, facts are that this movie would have never been made if it had to stand on its own (literally, the fans of the series who were upset about the ending they got put up the cash for this to be made because no one else would), but still, like we take each episode of a TV series we have to take this on its own terms especially since it is operating in the arena of big screen entertainment rather than a weekly series. Rob Thomas, who created the show, writes and directs here and the most obvious thing about his care with this film are the characters themselves and preserving what they were and what they have become and for me that is what made this film something a little more than average, something slightly more intriguing than I expected that will have me streaming through these seasons whenever they become available and really allowing me to become a part of this world that has clearly always existed, but that I have never been a part of before. Veronica Mars may not exactly be grade-A cinema, but it is a fun, hard-hitting murder mystery that will seemingly satisfy those who've been waiting for it and introducing others to a welcome unknown.

FROZEN Review

Frozen is all about defying expectation and convention. Looking at the marketing campaign for the film you really don't get much of a sense of what the story is (very similar to Pixar's usual tactics in fact) and what we do gather from the commercials we've seen and the pictures plastered all over Wal*Mart and Target is that this is more than likely a new Princess tale from Disney looking to capitalize on the good will of both Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph as those two films have come to be revered with much more excitement than anything Pixar has produced in the past few years. Going into the film, I wasn't overly sure of what I was getting myself into, but the early word of mouth that praised it as being the best Disney animated film since Beauty & the Beast or the The Lion King was certainly something that caught my attention. If nothing else, I was now curious to see how the film would measure up against these other films that shaped my childhood and are nothing short of classics in my mind. Frozen does indeed fit nicely into the library of what Disney has brought us before in terms of beautifully realized castles and princesses with funny supporting characters to lean on and charming princes or underdogs that rise to the occasion, but as I said earlier it is also all about defying those expectations and it is those variations on the structure, those added moments where the characters within the film look at each other as if to say what every grown-up in the audience is thinking, that make this all the more delightful and all the more fulfilling than simply being another knock-off of the early princess stories that made Disney the brand that it is.  Disney animated films have always been able to transcend age groups and trends, but what makes this film work along with its past couple of efforts that differentiate it from something like Treasure Planet is that it is no longer trying to be cool or stay with the times, but is instead playing by its own rules and letting the magic flow without any caution as to what might be widely accepted and in return is being rewarded handsomely.

First Full Trailer for DISNEY'S FROZEN

Since the inception of Pixar one has had to unfortunately be rather hesitant when approaching a film strictly produced by the parent company that once ran the market of childrens animated films. As their animated feature run started to dwindle after 2002's Lilo & Stitch with Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range failing to capture that once inherent magic the studio also had a hard time competing with Pixar when they began producing computer animated flicks. With the one-two punch of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph though is seems Disney animation studios is back in the game and with their latest feature on the horizon we have finally received our first full glimpse at what we can expect from Frozen. Once again, the animation looks really impressive and the characters, who look much like the humans of Tangled, seem cute and funny enough with the comic relief and likely hot toy of the season this Christmas being Josh Gad's Snow Man named Olaf. What really excited me about the trailer though is that it seems to have the tone of a Disney film from when I was a kid. It looks to have the adventure aspect of something like Aladdin and the romance of a Beauty and the Beast or Lady & the Tramp. I'm not saying it will end up being as good as those films as the trailer is a bit more cheesy than I'd expected, but it has that kind of energy to it. This and the fact the film is directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan) and Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph) and is said to feature musical numbers that hopefully have a score to match the greats of the studios past works. Frozen features the voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Alan Tudyk, Santino Fontana, Chris Williams and opens in 3D on November 27th.