Inside Out

Pixar animation about the emotions that are inside all of us. In this case, the emotions Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness are all characters in the life of a 12 year old girl who moves with her family across the country. The moral of the story, Joy can't always win in order to be a complete person. Well written and for its target audience, an important (probably revelatory in some cases) message about how to think about and manage emotions. Even so, for me it was pretty message heavy and once I got the message, the impact wore off, meaning it was an "on in the background" kind of watch. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Bad Batch (serial)

Season 3

This is one of the best Star Wars series, IMO. Omega got captured at the end of last season, and opens in prison on a secret planet. The season goal is to rescue Omega and learn more about why she is so important. We get a little bit of info about project necromancer, but really I feel like I am only a part time fan and that a true fan already knows the whole story, with dialogue droppings functioning as easter eggs. Regardless, great story, pacing and characters.

5 stars (out of 5) 

My Daemon

A really fun anime series, 13 episodes of <30 min each. Set in Japan in a world after nuclear events where the use of nuclear bombs has created daemonium particles that eventually hatch into daemons. This sets up the inevitable human/daemon conflict. Enter Kentu, a young boy who has befriended a daemon Anna and seems to have a connection with her that befuddles other humans. When Kentu's mom is killed, he and Anna set off in search of a rumored time reversal daemon who can bring her back. The series tells the story of Kentu and Anna and the people and daemons that they meet along the way. It is creative and fun and ultimately helps us explore compassion, attitudes towards difference and how effective personal relationship is in allowing people to organically change their long held beliefs. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Star Wars: Visions (serial)

Season 1

A series of animated shorts that fill out the star wars universe. The first season are all anime produced by Japanese studios. There is no running theme through this set, but each in independently a showcase for what storytellers can do in a well developed world. I will say, if you only watch one, watch Season 1, Episode 1. One of the most creative and visually interesting portrayals I have seen. Loved it...

4 stars (out of 5)

The Bad Batch (serial)

Season 2

This animated series is the best thing in the Star Wars universe right now. Picking up where Season 1 left off, the crew of clones continues to work as mercenaries, trying to stay neutral and make enough money to not be beholden to anyone. Turns out that is difficult as the Empire grows stronger and the defeated Republic becomes more and more rebel based. Add to the mix that Omega is part of the crew as a teenage girl batch 99 clone who is somehow important to the empire. I love the reality of "just getting by" paired with the struggle for when to get involved when injustice is really everywhere. 

5 stars (out of 5)

The Bad Batch (serial)

Animated series following squad 99, a group of clone soldiers who had their dominant clone traits enhanced, making them both fierce warriors and slightly glitchy and unreliable. This series take place just as the Republic falls and the Empire is being set up. The clones, who had been fighting for the Republic now have no home as the Empire is phasing them out for "loyal humans". Pretty fun episodic storytelling where we get to know the characters and the difficulties of clone life. I would say more character development here that with Obi-wan...

4 stars (out of 5)

Colombiana

Zoe Saldana is a traumatized young woman who, as a child, watched her Colombian drug cartel participating parents get killed. From that minute, she set her path to become a killer and rain death and vengeance on the cartel boss. She becomes a fabulous assassin with training from her Chicago based uncle and works her way through a series of low level cartel members to attract the attention of the boss, drawing him out from his protective status as a CIA informant. She is subtle, precise and focused in her work which (unfortunately, because she is an assassin) makes it fun to watch. She suffers great loss again and again, and in the end (as we all know) probably does not find satisfaction, even having gained what she sought.

3 stars (out of 5)

Moana

Moana is the chief-to-be of a (presumably) pacific island people. But she is also a restless explorer who can't wait to go beyond the safety of her island reef to explore the world. She is chosen by the sea to be the catalyst for an environmental rescue of the world. Her task - find the demi-god Maui who stole the heart of the creator Te Fiti and convince him to return it, reversing the environmental degradation of the oceans. In the process, she develops her confidence and leadership skills while rediscovering the historical story of her people. Definitely a message movie, but a good message and a good movie makes it a good watch. 

4 stars (out of 5)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

The final chapter of the trilogy started by How to Train Your Dragon. In this installment, Hiccup is the viking chief and Toothless is the established dragon Alpha. Toothless meets a girl, and a dragon hunter comes to kill all the dragons. The only option is to look to move the dragons to the mythical hidden world. Will Toothless be able to maintain focus while dating? Will Hiccup rely on Astrid and learn to lead? Will the dragons be saved? Still a fun show, but largely formulaic and unremarkable.
3 stars (out of 5)

Alita: Battle Angel

From the previews, the character of Alita reminded me of the GMO fighter from The Windup Girl and I could still see hints of that. But the world is modern instead of steampunk, and not nearly as in-your-face dystopian. Alita is a cyborg creature rescued from the trash heap and spends most of the film discovering her identity and character. She finds herself to be a fighter with a mission to seek justice. I didn't know anything about the original manga which means no expectations or history. I do know something about how much I like 3D movies but decided to give it a try anyway. 3D means still don't waste your money, no 3D value added. Hoping this makes enough money to become a franchise.
4 stars (out of 5)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

An animated version of Spiderman and parallel universes. A young kid wants to be Spiderman, and looks up to his uncle who is a street smart adult who pays attention to him in all the right ways (his father is the straight arrow cop who never cuts corners). Kingpin and Doc Oc are the adversaries, and are working on building a portal to parallel universes so Kingpin can see his family again (even though they would not be "his" per se). This is a bit of a Fringe storyline. Anyway, things go wrong, and Spider-men are pulled to this universe through a broken portal. They must all work together to get them home before it's too late. The story is strong and quite clever, and the different Spider-men are fantastic characters. And super fun that this is done in animation, since I think a live action version would have been horrible. Nice job Marvel.
4 stars (out of 5)

The Incredibles 2

The (long awaited?) return of an animated classic from 15 years ago Much ado is being made about the "long-awaitedness", so much that it reeks of a publicity seeking, marketing campaign. Regardless, the story picks up where the last ended. Supers are banned and the Incredible family is basically jobless. When they open the film with an attempt to prevent the Mole guy from robbing a bank, the destruction to the city is huge. Nobody wants supers to be super. But then a local billionaire media mogul approaches Elastic-girl to go public and begin a global image makeover to make supers acceptable. Mr. Incredible becomes Mr. Mom, with a teen girl, an adolescent boy and a toddler just coming into his powers. Insert some pretty clever humor here playing on the stereotypes of these situations/people. But not everything is as it seems and the family has to overcome some surprising challenges. In general, these animated films are either kids films (that throw a bone once in awhile to the adults) or adult films (that have enough action/silliness for the kids). This film is closer to the later, but I would say even falls short in the "enough for the kids" category. This is entirely based on the family with 5 kids in the 6-12 age range that sat next to me in the theater. The kids were entirely bored for 80% of the movie. Too much dialogue, too much plot, too slow. But for the adult, who saw the first and remembers it fondly, nice job.

4 stars (out of 5)

Pete's Dragon

Pete is lost in the woods as a 5 year old after his parents are killed in a car crash. He is adopted by Elliot, the only fuzzy, non-scaled dragon in all of fantasy-dom. But coating aside, Elliot is a great monster of the Northwest (a la Sasquatch) who is alone, and lost, and can turn invisible when he needs to. Elliot and Pete live happily for 5 years or so until the loggers encroach on their area, Pete is discovered (and captured), then Elliot is discovered (and captured), then Pete saves Elliot. A good Disney story that has the little bit cheesy villian, the overly helpful adults, the new best friends and cute kids who are smarter than the adults. All good fun.
3 stars (out of 5)

Coco

In many ways this was The Book of Life by Disney. Instead of a historical telling of the day, instead it is a story wrapped around how the Dia de los Muertos is "used" in culture. Coco is accidentally transported to the other side, and finds that he needs to be remembered in order to exist. He discovers his family, and his history, and his values. And his family discovers him as well. Great animation, decent story. Entertaining.
3 stars (out of 5)

Ready Player One

I did not read the book. I do not have any preconceived notions about what this film is, should be, could have been, etc. I loved it. Tye Sheridan and Oliva Cooke play Wade and Samantha in the real world, but more importantly, their avatars are Parzival and Art3mis in the Oasis. Real world in 2047 kinda sucks, but the Oasis is a fully immersive VR world where most people go to be something, do something, enjoy something. When the founder of the Oasis dies, he reveals an easter egg somewhere in the Oasis that, when found, will grant ownership of the Oasis to the finder. Of course, the corporations want this ownership. Parzival and Art3mis want it to protect it from the corporation. Let the race begin. Yes, this is a series of 80's and 90's cultural triggers (opening song Van Halen's Jump), and yes, at least 2/3 of the film take place in the avatar world of the Oasis. But it is not just an action orgy. It is well balanced in terms of storyline and pacing (no overload, no doldrums). The Oasis is fun (a la the Bazaar in Valerian) and while I am sure that the dedicated observed every single throwback reference, I liked when they snuck up on me or when I recognized something familiar, but couldn't put a finger on it. Overall, it was just fun...
5 stars (out of 5)

The Secret Life of Pets

Animated story of what pets do when left alone. The story line follows some house pets that get out, then get dragged into the underground world of the feral/mutts of the world. What is particularly enjoyable about this is the clever portrayal of the stereotypes of each animal/pet. In fact, this is so clever that it is clearly this idea (how about if we have animals that we can caricature in a hilarious way) that green-lit the film. The story or characters themselves are not enough to carry the film.
2 stars (out of 5)

Finding Dory (3D)

I like my 3D with depth, not height. So this seemed like a good possibility, a window into the ocean instead of stuff flying at my face. And for that, it was good. Three or four times throughout the film, the story/action was slow enough to allow me to get lost in the depth of the background, and it is astounding. But the 3D is a bit of an artifact, even here. It does not help/hinder the story and the film would be identical in 2D. 

The story starts 1-year after Nemo, with Dory part of the family and her remembery loss intact. The film serves as a Dory origin story as we get periodic flashbacks as Dory's memory resurfaces. These resurfacings prompt Dory to want to find her parents and Nemo/Marlin join along. There are token nods to the fun scenes in Nemo (e.g. turtle travel), but they are not novel or nearly as fun. There is no serious tension as the film feels like a series of small obstacles presented and then overcome. We need to get into quarantine, we need to get to open ocean, we need to get to the Cleveland truck, etc. Some hijinks ensue at each stage, but there is no real question about the achievability. Instead, it is a question of what wacky process will get me to the next level. The average kid will likely laugh and enjoy, but there are not catchy songs or indelible scenes to last until next year. 

**Spoiler alert below**

There has been some writing about how Dory helps to normalize ab-normal. Nemo's fin is never mentioned, the octopus is a septapus, the shark is blind, the beluga can't echo-locate, etc. For the most part, these are not even mentioned as "you can get over it" disabilities, or "your weakness makes you stronger". They just are. Which makes for great family discussion about individual differences. I was also watching particularly with an eye toward adoption. How would a child who is interested in knowing birth parents view this? Dory blames herself for losing her parents (suggests her parents probably blame her). As an adult, I can see that this is potentially a normal stage of questioning for a child in understanding families, but as a child, it might raise all kinds of responsibility/blame/shame issues. When Dory finds her parents, the story shows that they have been waiting and searching for her for all these years. Again, what message would an adopted child hear? My birth parents are actually waiting for me to find them? And at the end of the line, everyone is only really truly happy once the child and parents have been reunited. This story could lead to great conversations for many families, on many levels, but could also take some families by surprise. Just go in eyes open based on your family story. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Zootopia

This animated feature tells the story of Zootopia, a metropolis of animals that all get along, encouraged by the mayors "mammal inclusion initiative". Predator and prey live together in harmony, until they don't, and new police officer (the first ever bunny cop) needs to figure out why. Walking out of this theater, I felt like I was walking out of church. In some sermons, you are told what to do and why to do it and how to do it. In others, you are given some ideas about how to to think differently, and then left on your own to think. This film was the former. Tolerance is the goal of a civilized society. There are those who are not ready for tolerance, or who are ready to sacrifice a few of "them" so the majority of "us" can live better. Those people (mammals) are wrong. Sometimes these kinds of films, in an animated form, can present the message with humor, or subtly. Not so here. There was one joke (a smiling sloth) and lots of speeches. I can't imagine kids loving this film like they would minions or a musical or, actually almost anything else. No slapstick humor, no memorable songs. So clearly this is a sermon... er, film for adults. And yes, tolerance is a worthwhile message. Is it wrong that I have no tolerance for that message in my animated movies when it is so heavy handed?
2 stars (out of 5)

Frozen

What better time than the summer to finally catch up on my popular culture. Hence, Frozen, only 2 years after the fact. Everyone knows the story. Queen Elsa has magical snow powers that she is trying to repress. Her sister Anna is fun loving, but sad that her sister has shut her out. Elsa has an outburst, freezing the entire land, Anna chases her down to help her, Anna gets frozen and needs an act of true love to unfreeze her... we live happily ever after. I suppose that this was everything I thought it would be: catchy songs, moderately entertaining comic relief in Olaf, adequate story. But the story was less than adequate. It seemed that the story was really just an attempt at connective tissue between catchy songs. It is as if Disney opened up the algorithm and wrote the songs based on the treatment and then patched something together to make a full feature length film. As a whole, I felt like I was dragging and then skipping ahead. I expect more out of my animated entertainment.
2 stars (out of 5)

Jurassic World

The park reopens 20 years later, the same corporate money making goals lead to crazy safety and environmental decisions in the pursuit of a dollar. In the original, the story didn't really matter. We were enthralled with the idea of humans interacting with dinosaurs and the visualization of this on the big screen was astounding. Today, the visualization is so seamless, that interacting with dinosaurs is the new normal. So the story better be good. And it ... well, let's just say it passes. Corporate interests looking for the next new attraction are genetically breeding bigger/badder dinosaurs. Military interests are pushing genetic modifications that might produce a bigger/badder weapon. People still visit as if this is a petting zoo. Escape, mayhem, human/human connection, human/dinosaur connection, evacuation.

I have seen a bit written about the characterization of Claire, female CEO of the park, and the dismay of the stereotypical/repressive representation of women in films. I went in watching to see if I could identify how the film could have been different in this realm. I don't really have any ideas. I can see that you might want to display a more empowered woman, but in a film like this I would guess that an empowered woman role would simply switch the genders of CEO Claire and rogue Chris Pratt. In fact, you probably wouldn't even need to rewrite the script, just switch the cast. But I am not sure that even this "empowerment" is what we are looking for. Another alternative is to imagine what a truly empowered female CEO of this Jurassic company would look like. My guess is that the result would be that the film is never made since this CEO would never open the park in the first place. I do think that the representation of women in film is a complex cultural issue. Is it enough (for now) to notice and see through the misogyny? What would it take to authentically portray women in film, both in action genres (where the empowered woman is written as a female acting male) and non-action (where empowered women are written as controlling and/or bitchy)?
3 stars (out of 5)