Film Review: As Dreamers Do

Mitchell Stein- As I sit here typing this review just moments after I finished As Dreamers Do which is finally available for purchase online  and in-stores. This awesome Nashville based film crew managed to put together a beautiful fitting tribute to Walt Disney, but unfortunately, copyright problems cause the writing team to go a little bit farther back in history, to the early days of Walt's animation, and the early seeds of the Walt Disney Company.

The film is wonderfully directed by Logan Sekulow. Mr. Sekulow does a great job at steering the story, mixing hilarious and emotional scenes scattered throughout the film. There are quite a few sequences that felt like they dragged on for far too long, but those mistakes are made up for later in the film with every perfect emotional scene. Some scenes don't flow as well as they should, especially in the first act of the movie, but as the film progresses everything falls into place perfectly.
The movie does take some time to find it's footing, but when it gets there, it's delightful. Every aspect of the story is spot-on, and writer Wendy Ott really did her homework when it came to writing this film. The story is fabulous, and the character development throughout is superb.


Speaking of characters, I think it would be appropriate to mention Olan Rogers who takes on the role of Walt Disney quite well. Maybe not quite as an honest portrayal as I would have hoped, but Rogers creates a charming, likeable character who the audience will love regardless of whether that's portrays Walt's exact persona in those early years. Ryan Dunlap does a good job of playing Roy Disney, portraying a loyal likable character and William Haynes does a brilliant job of playing Ub Iwerks, filling the character and steals almost every scene he's in.

The story ends off at a rather interesting point in Disney history, but one that really opened the doors to the impossible achievements that Walt conquered, leaving the beautiful message in it's midst: To never give up, and keep moving forward.

3/5 Stars

As Dreamers Do is now available to own on DVD and Digital Copy

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Review

Ryan Dosier - The Marvel Universe is filled to the brim with weird, out of this world characters. Yet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has stayed mostly grounded in its approach, with human characters in incredible circumstances (sans Thor, of course). Guardians of the Galaxy, in theaters tomorrow, takes this trend and slays it. The film stars a green alien girl, a muscled olive-skinned alien man, a walking, talking tree, and a machine gun toting raccoon... and it just might be the most perfectly executed Marvel film to date. Not since The Avengers have I left the theater feeling so completely satisfied and entertained by a superhero movie.

The phrase "superhero movie" may not be applicable to Guardians of the Galaxy, honestly, because the characters are anything but heroes--at least at the start. In fact, Peter Quill, aka Star Lord (Chris Pratt) is a self-described "legendary outlaw," Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is working with and related to the main bad guy, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) is in a maximum security prison, and Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) are mercenaries. It's watching these flawed individuals come together as a team that brings out the best in them and makes them heroes. The scenes of development for the Guardians usually involve them beating each other up or insulting one another. It's a refreshing change of pace and every scene is surprising and invigorating.Every character in the film is perfectly written and performed.

Chris Pratt is a revelation as Peter Quill, giving him the right amount of snark, humor, and character development. His performance is immensely impressive and shows that he truly has what it takes to be a movie star. He gave everything he has to this role, playing, comedy-focused, action-heavy, and emotion-driven scenes with incredible ease. By the end of the film, Pratt has disappeared into Star Lord and becomes an extremely welcome addition to the Marvel film world. Standing tall alongside Pratt is Zoe Saldana as Gamora, who is fierce, unforgiving, and stunning. Saldana takes on the role with glee and gets some of the best fight sequences, displaying some truly incredible physical prowess.

Most surprising is Dave Bautista, who gives brilliant life to Drax. Bautista has some of the funniest lines and perhaps the most meaningful storyline in the film. Drax is probably the Guardian forgotten by most people, since he was used so little in promotion for the film, but you'll walk away loving the character. You can tell that Bautista took this role seriously and he gives one of the most resonant and focused performances in the film.

Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel both provide only their voices for Rocket and Groot, respectively, but wow are they incredible. Cooper, especially, vanishes behind the volatile and hysterical Rocket Raccoon. Cooper delivers one of the finest voice acting roles I've seen outside an animated film in some time. Rocket swiftly became my favorite character in the film and high up on the list of my favorites in Marvel movies as a whole. He is a blast (literally) from start to finish. This should not be taken as a discount of Groot, however, who is a beautiful, wonderful character. Vin Diesel only gets to say "I am Groot!" throughout the film, but the various ways the writers and filmmakers found to have him say it is fantastic. Rocket and Groot are going to explode in popularity very soon. Be ready!

The film is also littered with other hugely talented actors playing smaller roles. Lee Pace is awesome and terrifying as Ronan the Accuser, the main villain. He doesn't get too much screen time, but what he does with it is impeccable. He's terrifically horrible and vicious. Benico Del Toro as The Collector, briefly seen in Thor: The Dark World returns for a slightly more substantial part here and he's still as creepy as ever. John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Peter Serafinowicz, and Michael Rooker also deserve shout outs for their fantastic work.

Visually, Guardians of the Galaxy is absolutely the most stunning Marvel film venture. Director James Gunn has set a new bar for the look of not only superhero films, but sci-fi films as well. The character and creature designs are impeccable and done practically with makeup and costumes where possible, the computer generated work on Rocket and Groot is flawless, the space scenes are amazing, and the set designs are breathtaking. The film is a tour de force of colorful, boundless visual experimentation, and it all pays off in droves.

The much-discussed soundtrack for the film is heavily populated with pop hits from the 1970s, given to Quill on a mix-tape from his mother before he was taken to space. Every time a new song came on, my face lit up with a smile, as every single song choice was perfection. The ways that Gunn uses the music to accentuate scenes added to the feeling of mischief and mayhem pervasive throughout the film. And when one song is used at the climax of the film... you might just fall out of your seat laughing so hard. It is absolutely the finest soundtrack of any Marvel film, and perhaps any superhero film yet. Credit also has to be given to Tyler Bates, who penned the fantastic score for the film. The score is dynamic when it needed to be and fun when it could be.

Basically, everything about Guardians of the Galaxy works, and works really, really well. The film is the most fun I've had at the movies all summer. James Gunn and Marvel have shown that even the most obscure comics can work as films. The scope, the characters, the visuals, and the soundtrack all come together perfectly and elevate Guardians of the Galaxy as one of the finest Marvel films, period. Marvel's winning streak is baffling at times, and never more so than it is with Guardians. Who could have foreseen this film working as well as it does? The stars aligned to bring us the most fun movie of the summer and one of the best films Marvel has delivered (and that's saying something).

5 out of 5 Awesome Mix Tapes

Planes: Fire and Rescue Film Review

Today's film review was written by our pal Dallas Thompson, and republished with permission from his website, Relive the Magic. 

Dallas Thompson-Today, Planes: Fire and Rescue is flying in to theaters nationwide! Dusty Crophopper is back in the sequel to the 2013 Cars spin-off film, Planes, and this one does not disappoint! Mixed reviews have been coming in for Planes: Fire and Rescue so far, but the reviews are better than the first one, which this movie is a whole lot better than the original.

Right from the start, this movie takes Dusty from a racer to a Firefighter-in-training. It starts with Dusty learning that his engine has a broken part that is unfixable, and there aren't any duplicates left in the Country. Because of this, he can't go fast, and as a result, is unable to race. Furious, he goes for a "ride" and goes too fast and he creates a fire at the small-airport or plane landing place, I can't remember the name right now though. With the help of the others, they knock over the water tower to put the fire out, which gets the place shut down.

Determined to help get the place back open, Dusty volunteers to become a firefighter and begins training to get certified. He joins a team of firefighters and learns and assists in putting out wildfires alongside Blade Ranger, Dipper, Windlifter, Cabbie, and a few other cars known as 'The Smokejumpers'.

Overall, I thought Planes: Fire and Rescue was a huge step in the right direction for the Planes series. It had a more original plot, a good message, and great characters, some of which was lacking in the first film. I did see the film in 3D, but it didn't add anything, so I recommend just sticking with the 2D for this film. I do think, however, this film won't really appeal to adults as much as kids, but it is a great movie for the family to see together! I personally would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Planes: Fire and Rescue is Now Soaring in Theatres Everywhere in 3D!

Maleficent Film Review

Mitchell Stein- We know the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, and the curse she was thrust upon as a new-born child, citing that on her sixteenth birthday, she will touch the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The wicked fairy Maleficent cast this spell on her (for reasons unknown, but assumed at the time because she was not invited to the celebration) but Disney’s latest summer blockbuster Maleficent tells us the magnificent story we don’t know, and what you didn't think you needed to know.

The film takes us on a really exciting journey which by far was probably highly unnecessary, but entertaining regardless. The story shines much light on the wicked villainous Maleficent, giving us light on what series of events really caused her to “turn to the dark side” and become the wicked villainous person as she was seen in the events of Sleeping Beauty. I won’t go in-depth on any details in the story for this one, as there’s just an enormous amount of things to spoil in this one.

Angelina Jolie returns to the big-screen after a four year hiatus taking on the lead title role of the film, and she does an incredible job. Maleficent is by far one of the strongest villains in Disney cinematic history, so if there were any villain to deserve a film spin-off, she would win almost instantly. Jolie takes on the wicked role and plays her character so incredibly fantastic. She becomes the character you can’t decide whether you love or hate, (or both) creating such a complex character and pulling you in to find yourself actually caring for a Disney villain. Elle Fanning (Super 8) joins the cast as sixteen-year old Aurora which I thought was flawless. Aurora was a pretty boring one-dimensional character and Fanning really does a great job of playing this character a little better and what she should have been in the film. Keep in mind that this is a movie about Maleficent, and will therefore spotlight Aurora a lot less than in the 1959 film.

I found myself incredibly annoyed by Flora, Fauna and Merryweather in this film, who buzz around most scenes like a fly waiting to be swatted. In Sleeping Beauty the characters are goofy and slightly boring to watch, but in Maleficent they are just plain annoying. I really could not handle the high-pitched sounds of their voice which made them sound pretty ridiculous. There was nothing redeeming to be found in the case of the fairies, so I was pretty happy that they weren’t the main spotlight of the story.

The story is well handled. It begins with an interesting narrative that establishes some facts of the film, possibly a call-back to the 1959 film. It gives us a bit of a backstory of Maleficent’s previous history before meeting up with the events of Sleeping Beauty. There’s lots of story-changes along the way with twists on the classic story, mostly for the better sake of story and filmmaking, but I can totally see some major fans go up in arms about these changes. Don’t be fooled thinking you already know how the movie ends if you’ve seen Sleeping Beauty. There’s still a large amount of story much different from the original story and much of it was not expected.

But perhaps the most impressive feat of Maleficent was its incredible set design and cinematography. Throughout the entire film, beautiful and vibrant colors sparkle and shine, capturing every scene which had me floored the entire film. These designs are little bit reminiscent of James Cameron’s Avatar, in slight comparison, such as in the use of its lens flares and in its creatures. It doesn’t quite rank up there next to Avatar in all its filmmaking aspects, but in some of its designs.

Besides the cinematography, this film soars far above Disney previous two fairy-tale “spin-off” films, Alice in Wonderland and Oz: The Great and Powerful. Luckily, this movie manages to stay on course throughout the entire story and never falls short in its 97 minute run, which I felt can’t really be said about the former two, which felt weak to me at a certain point and they fall apart halfway through the film. If the fairy-tale remakes continue to be like this film, than I don't see myself having much of a problem with them. The trailers are extremely misleading to the movie aside from the story, but in terms of how dark this film really is and how friendly it will be for kids. It’s tamer than Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland remake/sequel, so if you felt that might be okay for your kids, I don’t think you have much to worry for this movie.

Overall, I really enjoyed Maleficent. It was a fun, exciting, and charming (and maybe a bit emotional) journey which was really well-done. I feel that this movie redeems the 1959 film which I always found to be rather boring (I’m going to get major backlash from the Disney fan community for saying that) but this is a more fresh take on the movie with better improvements to it, for the most part. I’d recommend it to most Disney fans, and especially fans of Sleeping Beauty. 

3.5/5 Spinning Wheels

Maleficent opens in North America today. Rated PG. 

The Mickey Mindset: mickeymindset@gmail.com

As Dreamers Do Film Review

Jason Schlierman- Before he was a corporate icon, a Hollywood studio head, an American celebrity, Walt Disney was a simple man. The independent film As Dreamers Do focuses squarely on the early years of Walt Disney’s life, and chronicles his days growing up on a farm in Marceline, MO all the way to his days as an unsuccessful animator/business man at Laugh-O-Gram Studios. Despite being handicap at using images (like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit or Mickey Mouse) that the Walt Disney Company holds trademarks or copyrights on, the film is able to throw in a few subtle bits of classic Disney sights and sounds that should make any hard core Disney fan happy. Writer Wendy Ott clearly does her homework here to get as many of the facts depicted in the film right, a feat that is mostly accomplished.

While a lot of the acting and sound editing are a mixed bag throughout the film, lead actor Olan Rogers is spot on as a young Walt and does a fine job of carrying the film on his talent and charm. Also in fine form is narration by country music legend, Travis Tritt. However, Mr. Tritt’s inclusion as narrator often times may confuse the audience as to what kind of film they are watching: biopic or documentary? Despite that issue, Mr. Tritt does a great job of moving the story along. Families will be happy to note that the film is very family friendly as the film makers tried very hard to follow the classic Walt Disney form of storytelling. The film also is very clear in not skipping over issues that some today may or may not find controversial about Walt Disney’s early life.  Issues like Walt’s raising in a very Conservative Christian environment (to the point some may see the film as a sort of Christian film) and Walt’s discovery and application of smoking in his life. For the latter, the film is honest (unlike the Disney made ‘Mr. Banks’) is its depiction of Walt’s nasty habit; a habit that ultimately lead to his death in 1966. It almost makes one wonder why the Disney Studios doesn’t run with this reality more of what killed their founder?  It could be used in an appropriate way to show the dangers of smoking, and that no one, not even Walt Disney, can escape the nasty consequences.

Ultimately, the film is a sort of tribute and valentine to the man millions of children in the 1950’s and 60’s knew as “Uncle Walt,” and leaves the audience with a very optimistic message that hard work and determination pays off in the end. A creed that Walt himself lived by. The film also shows that it’s ok to fail. It is what you do afterwards that defines who you are. As Walt Disney himself once said, “All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” Wise words we can all learn from still. 

Final Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars 

Pick up the film on DVD or Blu-ray from the official As Dreamers Do website today!

X-Men: Days of Future Past Film Review

Ryan Dosier - In our efforts to explore how the Marvel film properties are being handled outside of Disney, we'll be reviewing the latest FOX Marvel film effort, X-Men: Days of Future Past. The sixth installment in the X-Men film franchise unites the casts of the first three X-Men films and the rebooted, younger cast from 2011's X-Men: First Class in an epic time-traveling adventure. The film takes place in both 1973 and a post-apocalyptic future where mutants have been annihilated by the Sentinels. Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time using the powers of Shadowcat (Ellen Page). In the past, Wolverine has to unite young Xavier (James McAvoy) and young Magneto (Michael Fassbender) in order to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from doing something that causes the dystopian future.

The film is jam-packed with high-caliber actors in both timelines, and the cast alone is enough to make Days of Future Past soar. The returning X-Men cast members fall back into their roles extremely well. It was such a treat to see Iceman, Colossus, Shadowcat, and other familiar faces again. Halle Berry's Storm felt a little slighted on screen time, but she was fantastic with what she was given. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are, as always, spectacular. Their friendship shows through and adds another wonderful layer to these storied characters. Their work in the film is flawless. Ellen Page is also awesome and does some great work.

Hugh Jackman probably has the most screen time, and, as always, he proves that he was born to play Wolverine. His wit and skills as both an actor and an action star are sharp as ever. He transcends both timelines extremely well and there's no better choice of character to be the connection between both worlds. His work with the fantastic James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence is great as well. All three of those actors are dynamic and deliver some of their best performances. There are so many actors in this film that I'm forgetting to mention some great ones... Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast is omnipresent and great, Peter Dinklage is really good as Bolivar Trask, and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) has absolutely the greatest scene in the film.

The storytelling in Days of Future Past is handled incredibly well. With such a complicated story, I was so impressed by how quickly the action moved, how all of the actors had enough to do, and how impeccable the characters were balanced. There was never a dull moment and the plot holes were minimal. Incredibly, everything worked. With a film dealing with time travel head on, that's truly surprising. The plot exposition was interesting and the explanation of the rules of the world were never confusing. The script was one of Days of Future Past's finest elements.

I was also impressed by the effects used in the film. Practical effects like Beast and Mystique's actual makeup and costuming looked great--much better than they did in First Class. All of the other mutant powers were really, really well done as well. Magneto and Quicksilver especially. But really, all of the effects worked. The Sentinels looked and moved really incredibly and you could tell that most of the stunts were actually performed by actors, not computer generated mutants. Kudos to the effects and stunt teams for their great work. When Magneto lifts an entire baseball stadium across Washington DC, I gasped.

The film also solved many problems caused by the mostly-despised X-Men: The Last Stand. I won't spoil anything, but the use of time travel explained away some of the character issues that fans had with the third X-Men film. There are some incredible cameos that come about that made the X-Men fan in me freak out. As a fan of both the comic franchise and the films, I was incredibly pleased with how the story played out by the end.

Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past was dynamic, thrilling, and unafraid to pull any punches. It was fun, brutal, and a very fine film. It was infinitely better than The Amazing Spider-Man 2 but not quite as satisfying as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. FOX handled the X-Men very well with Days of Future Past and I'm extremely excited to see where they go from here. They may just give Disney/Marvel a run for their money.

X-Men: Days of Future Past opens nationwide today. Rated PG-13.

Million Dollar Arm Film Review

Matthew Soberman- Since the success of Remember the Titans in 2000, every few years, Disney has released a docudrama from the world of sports. Some have been more successful than others. At their worst, they’re innocuous fluff. But at their best, they can tell a riveting story that can make an audience cheer. I’ve been particularly fond of these films. (I don’t care what anyone tells me, there’s a spot in my list of 10 Favorite Disney Films for Miracle.) I also have a deep love for baseball and baseball movies. So when I found out that Disney’s next sports docudrama was returning to baseball for the first time since 2002’s The Rookie, I was pretty excited. What I ultimately saw was pretty good. It wasn’t Disney’s best effort, but it was far from its worst.

Jon Hamm plays J.B. Bernstein, a once-powerful sports agent now struggling to stay alive in his cutthroat industry. After the latest potential client walks away, Bernstein hatches an audacious plan to find a potential baseball player in India after watching an Indian cricket match with his business partner and friend, Ash Vasudevan (Aasif Mandvi). How? By organizing, with the help of former baseball scout Ray Poitevint (Alan Arkin) and Indian coach Amit (Pitobash), a reality TV show called “Million Dollar Arm,” where cricket players compete to throw the best baseball strikes. The winner, Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma), and the runner up, Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal) are both flown to Los Angeles, along with Amit, where they are coached by Tom House (Bill Paxton). Eventually, there’s the seemingly requisite culture shock and conflict when the client that walked out on Bernstein seems interested in his services once again, all as the internationally televised tryout in front of representatives of 24 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams draws near.

The film benefits from a great ensemble, yet is ultimately underutilized as almost all of the attention is given to Hamm and the trio of Sharma, Mittal, and Pitobash. Mandvi’s character is there mostly to keep the plot going, and Arkin’s character, who I almost guarantee will get the most laughs in virtually any viewing of this film, disappears for the second act. Lake Bell plays Brenda, Hamm’s sub-letter and love interest who basically serves as the moral compass for most of the film. While the romantic subplot is well-performed by Bell and Hamm, it does feel a bit unnecessary most of the time. But great performances, particularly by Hamm, Sharma, Mittal, and Arkin, kept me interested and had me rooting for these characters, even though I already knew how it ended (which I won’t spoil here, but a simple Wikipedia search for either Rinku Singh or Dinesh Patel will give you an answer). Ultimately, Million Dollar Arm is much like a hot dog at a ballgame; it’s not the best thing for you that you could be eating, but there’s some nutritional value there. It tastes good, and will leave you feeling good for a while after you eat it. So while Million Dollar Arm isn’t a grand slam, it’s a stand-up triple, and as any baseball fan will tell you, that’s not too shabby.

Million Dollar Arm opens in North America on May 16th 2014

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Although The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't a Disney-released Marvel Studios film, we thought it would be interesting to highlight the differences in Sony's filmmaking with Marvel as compared to Disney's.

Ryan Dosier - Last night I trudged along to the theater to see Sony's latest contract-keeping Spider-Man feature, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  I'll be the first to admit that I didn't love the first film in Marc Webb's series, but I didn't hate it either. That is most certainly not the case with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, because I despised it. The film is a clunky, convoluted, and (dare I say it) boring chore. I left the theater not feeling at all impressed and left with nothing but frustration at the amount of wasted potential that was flopped on the screen.

The plot of the film is one of the most all-over-the-place and disjointed I've seen in a superhero flick. The movie tries to cram in Peter and Gwen's will they/won't they romance, Peter's relationship with Harry Osborn, Peter's relationship with his Aunt May, Peter's relationship with his dead parents, Harry's sudden and fatal disease, Gwen's acceptance into Oxford, Jamie Foxx turning from a nerd into a super villain, and New York's acceptance of Spider-Man. Plus a bunch of other things I'm probably forgetting. It's unbelievable and it doesn't work. At all.

Of all the terrible things in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the greatest offense has to be the terrible performances delivered by really talented actors. Dane DeHaan (Chronicle) is the worst of the cast as Harry Osborn, which is terrible because Dane DeHaan is a very impressive young actor. His dialogue is ridiculous (although almost all of the dialogue in this thing is), he chews his way through scenes in the worst way, and he has the most unbelievable character arc. My biggest issue with the film is that Harry is just dropped into the middle of the story with the most heavy-handed expositional scene I've ever seen and then we're just supposed to believe that he and Peter are best friends after one exchange... even though we've never seen this character before. Ugh.

Jamie Foxx, Emma Stone, Chris Cooper, Paul Giammatti, and Sally Field are other actors who suffer immensely due to a disjointed script and poor direction. Jamie Foxx has some lines that are truly laughable ("It's my birthday. Time to light my candles.") and his performance is stoic and unmemorable. Chris Cooper and Giamatti are relegated to glorified cameos. Sally Field's randomly thrown in to dish out sage advice and Emma Stone is a plot device and nothing more, which is despicable.

The effects and fight sequences in the film are paradoxical. For every great thing, there's a laughably stupid thing. There's a huge battle sequence early on in Times Square that was really, really well done... but Jamie Foxx's Electro looks idiotic. There's wonderful montage moments of Spider-Man protecting the city... and then Green Goblin shows up and looks and acts so foolish that it derails what was left of the film. It's endlessly frustrating because Marvel's other, non-Sony films have shown us that it can be better.

As you've probably realized by now, I haven't mentioned Andrew Garfield yet. That's because he is far and away the best part of this film. In fact, Garfield is really, really good. He's snappy, brilliant, and embodies Peter Parker and Spider-Man better than anyone else could. Garfield is such a fine, fine actor and he is the only reason The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is even passable. Garfield is as smart and charming as ever in the film and it's an incredible shame that he (and the Peter Parker/Spider-Man he embodies) is saddled with such a mess of a movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 loses all the wit and charm of the first movie and replaces it with seven plots going on at once. There were a whopping four writers attached to the screenplay, and it shows in the most terrible way. The film is two and a half hours long and yet nothing really happens until the last 30 minutes. No intrigue, no real danger, nothing interesting. Spider-Man is one of the greatest superheroes of all time and he deserves so much better than what he's given here. This will probably be the last film in Sony's Spider-Man series I see in theaters.

Disneynature's Bears Film Review

Mitchell Stein- Well, they’ve done it again. DisneyNature’s latest film, Bears is a wonderful ture-story adventure, following very much in the wonderful footsteps that DisneyNature has built itself on throughout the past ten years.

The film begins by introducing us to our main stars of the film, a mother bear named Skye and her newborn cubs, Amber and Scout, who just woke up from their long winter hibernation. In order to be able to survive the next winter, Skye and her cubs must journey to find food to stock up on to last them through their next hibernation. On the way, they encounter lots of dangerous obstacles and predators that will question their survival. The movie is narrated by John C. Reily, known well in the Disney circles as the voice of Ralph in Wreck-It-Ralph. Reily adds much comedy to the story, making this a really fun and enjoyable experience, besides being somewhat educational. 

It’s a really beautiful film, filled with emotion and beautiful cinematography. Some shots are so beautiful and breathtaking, and I applaud the entire camera crew on this wonderful achievement, as they follow these bears and other animals they encounter along the way. The film is directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey both known for their work in previous Disneynature films.

Even though Disneynature was only launched in 2008, it stays far ahead of all its competitor documentary film industries. Although the movie could have been chopped down by 10-15 minutes, at no time did it become boring or unenjoyable. Very often it felt very much like a real movie, rather than a documentary style film. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this film very much. It’s beautiful story and highly entertaining. I also wasn’t expecting there to be such a large amount of comedy, which was a major bonus. Disneynature has not yet disappointed with a film yet, and this one lives up to its predecessors. Keep up the good work Disneynature! Here’s to waiting an entire year until their next film, Monkey Kingdom hits theaters. 

Make sure to stay through the credits to see a behind-the-scenes look at how they filmed some of the scenes in the movie! 

Disneynature’s Bears hits theaters on Earth Day in North America. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Film Review

Mitchell Stein- Following up to Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, The Winter Soldier follows up directly after the events of The Avengers which took place in New York, and Steve Rogers (a.k.a Captain America) is currently trying to settle down in Washington D.C. and adapting to his new current lifestyle in the present day. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D colleague comes under attack, Steve gets tangled up inside a series of events that would ultimately put the entire world at risk.

Ever since Disney purchased the Marvel franchises in 2009, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown tremendously with incredible new movies, and they have really outdone themselves this time around, really stepping up the game in superhero flicks in general. This movie steps up from being the "silly comic book" movie with the typical building smashing and the good guy vs. bad guy for two hours. Rather, this movie felt more like a spy thriller, filled with suspense and uncertainty. No one can be trusted any longer.
I won't go any more in-depth than that, as there's just an enormous amount that can easily be spoiled for this movie, but I will say I enjoyed it throughout the whole fim. Although, if you are expecting another version of "The Avengers", you'll be disappointed. The Avengers was a once-in-a-decade kind of film, and therefore is not manipulated in the other Marvel films. This is probably one of Marvel's more realistic movies, which ends up being a fairly good thing.

Chris Evans returns to play Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson returns to play SHIELD director Nick Fury. One of my favorite things about this film is the spotlight that Fury gets. In the other movies, he’s overshadowed by all the other superheroes and only makes cameos in the other ones, but in this installment, we finally get to see some more of Jackson’s interpretation of Fury, and he does it rather well. I would have to say that Fury really steals the stage in this movie out of all the characters.
Also starring in the movie is Anthony Mackie as Falcon, and Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, who seems to be one of the people who currently run S.H.I.E.L.D.

As a fan of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC) I enjoyed this movie on an even higher level. The two current story-lines inter-connect to each other but doesn't affect any of the continuing stories. Since The Winter Soldier is mostly based around "S.H.I.E.L.D", it would only make sense for Agents of SHIELD to have a tie-in to this film, which is rumored to air next week. I’m assuming this film is really just a preparation for next year’s Avengers: Days of Ultron, unless Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is also supposed to tie into that film, which there’s a lagre possibility which could end up happening.

The Winter Soldier is directed by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, who you may know from directing episodes of Arrested Development, Community and Up All Night. They translate well into this this new Marvel action thriller, and fill it with a lot of great comedy.

If you didn't know, every Marvel film has an additional scene at the end which teases at an upcoming movie. Please stay all the way until the final credits to see both additional scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film a lot. It really raised the bar in super-hero films and sets the stage for next year’s Avengers movie which will wrap up “Phase 2” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before heading into “Phase 3”.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens nationwide today across North America 

Chase Beecher Reviews...Muppets Most Wanted!

This article includes minor spoilers. 

Chase Beecher- They've got another go to show. They've ordered a sequel. The studio thinks they're a viable franchise. Yes, friends, this is how the Muppets open their movie. Well, this movie. Yes, the Muppets.... again. No, that's not the name of the film.

 

"Muppets Most Wanted" is the film's title. You will want to see it. Not only is it a funny madcap caper following the Muppets on a worldwide tour of "The Muppet Show" it's a tale of a pig and a frog,and another frog.

Our beloved Kermit is frognapped and replaced by the world's number one frog and criminal, Constantine. He is a dead ringer for Kermit. Almost. He has a mole on his upper lip that he paints green and has a terrible 80's movie Russian movie villain accent. Constantine is brilliantly performed by Matt Vogel, who is the MVP of this film. Of course, The Muppets have not noticed Kermit has been replaced, all except Animal. ( no one believes or understands him.)

Kermit ends up in a Russian gulag ran by the ruthless Nadia (Tina Fey-- who can sing!) and filled with cameos. (Seriously, don't blink during this film. You will miss a big star with a one liner cameo.)

As the film paces on (at a breakneck speed) more and more crimes are being committed at the same time and place The Muppets are performing. (Berlin, Dublin, Spain) Ricky Gervais, who plays Constantine's number two, and the evil little frog are committing and stealing things galore. Gervais is hilarious as a tour manager for our fuzzy group, who secretly is trying to frame them for all this mischief. 

Ty Burrell as an Interpol agent, and Sam (the American) Eagle as a CIA agent, join forces and bump heads the entire film to find out "who did it." Burrell is great as an Inspector Clouseau-type. Sam is great as a bird.

In the mean time, Piggy gets one of her biggest dreams to come true: to sing a ballad with Celine Dion. (Which I'm sure we will hear at the Oscars next year.) Rizzo and Robin walk away with the biggest laughs in the film. (People applauded at my screening after hearing his line.)  More classic Muppet gags are found and callbacks to their other movies are had too. 

The film's climax takes place in London and is suspenseful. It's the most action I've ever seen in a Muppet movie. (Kermit dangling from a helicopter?! A wedding?! Fozzie poses as a bearskin rug?!) The film ends happily and everyone is together again.  Again. 

This film is the funniest Muppet film I have seen to date. 2011's " The Muppets" was funny and full of nostalgia to remind people of these characters while introducing them to new fans. Now that we have that out of the way, let's cut the Muppets loose and let them do what they do best: put on a show. The rip roaring, laugh out load fest is just under 2 hours, but it flies by. 

Director James Bobin knows exactly how to treat these characters as does screenwriter Nicholas Stoller. I consider "The Great Muppet Caper" to be "the crown jewel" of Muppet films. This comes very close. This film has Jim Henson's texture and feel all over it. I wouldn't be surprised to learn he came back and made it himself.

If you're having doubts about seeing this consider this: I was seated next to another blogger complaining that Muppets were too "cute" and "not very funny" and he didn't want to be there. By the film's second act he was laughing so hard he was crying and snorting. That was not "cute."

I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Now, hurry up. Go see it. They've made a sequel. 

Muppets Most Wanted Film Review

Mitchell Stein- Jumping right back on the big-screen after the tremendous success of their last film, The Muppets return once again to movie theaters with an all-new absoloutley brilliant adventure. I honestly can’t contain all my positive thoughts in just one review article, but I’ll do my best to keep it short. I won’t spoil anything for you of course, so don't worry, this review is completely spoiler free. Unless you're worried about finding out if it was any good. 

Thank goodness for us, just moments after their last film, The Muppets are renewed for a sequel. The furry freaks break out into a rousing musical number about their new film, and how sequels don’t quite live up to their predecessors. This song does not just break the fourth wall, it completely demolishes it! This broken fourth wall effect remains throughout the entire film, and the Muppets are constantly making references to their older films and they even poke fun at them! This is the Muppets humor at its absolute best.

The human cast is incredibly brilliant. There was some dispute over Ricky Gervais playing the main human role, with one side in favor of Gervais and the other against, but I can assure the latter group that at no time does Ricky take over and make his own film, he’s really just there to move the story along a lot faster with a brilliant sense of humor. In fact, I was super excited when he was cast in this movie. I was a fan of Ricky Gervais a while before this film, and he plays his part so well, has a splendid singing voice, and dances! Dance monkey, dance!

Tina Fey does an excellent job at playing Nadya, a Russian gulag prison guard who kind of ends up having a thing for Kermit. She’s funny, but at no time is this movie about her, the humans really do help things speed along in these films, and Ty Burrell (well known as Phil Dunphy on ABC’S Modern Family) plays Jean-Pierre Napoleon, an Interpol agent working alongside Sam the Eagle in this crime case that the Muppets end up getting tied into. Burrell easily steals the show out of the three main human actors, delivering the most comedic slapstick moments and great one-liners. This cast is easily my favorite human cast in a Muppet movie. The celebrity cameos are fantastic in this film, but they at no time steal the stage from the Muppets. The cameos which I least expected to like were by far my favorite, and the ones I was looking most forward to wasn’t really as much as expected, and some were even cut from the film!

Not even just human cameos, but the Muppet cameos are incredible! I won’t spoil the surprises, but I will say that I was super excited to see some characters after many years off the screen. There are some characters that I was never expecting to see ever again, and some of them only appeared in one Muppet production. If you thought the last movie had fantastic obscure Muppet cameos, prepare yourself for even more obscure characters. There’s less than in the last film, but the ones that can be found are fantastic and really, really obscure. I love it. 

I can understand why some people prefer the last film over this movie. The last movie was really all about the nostalgia. It looked back at the Muppets and paid tribute to the Muppets past productions and successfully rebooted the franchise. While the last movie was about looking at the past, this movie turns around and moves towards the future of the Muppet franchise. I admit, I got a little teary eyed at the end of the last film the first time, (I’m waiting for the Muppets to induct me as a Muppet too. Lucky Walter.) and of course during the “Rainbow Connection” scene (which Muppet fan didn’t?), but if they continue to look at the past the franchise will move nowhere. They have to push ahead and come up with a lot more wackier storyplots and keep people interested. This movie won’t make you cry, and it’s really not trying to. It’s another very Muppety adventure starring the Muppets as the main stars! It’s a great adventure and there’s just so much happening in it that it requires multiple viewings.

Some people are concerned about the film’s running time. At 113 minutes, Muppets Most Wanted marks the longest Muppet movie in history, but to be honest, doesn’t feel a moment too long. At no time did I start nudging around in my seat, or at all bored. This is easily the most jam-packed Muppet movie and it all moves so quickly, it’s so much fun. 

Not only is the humor and story a lot of fun, but the cinematography in this film is by far the most advanced puppetry to ever be seen in a Muppet movie, and probably in any puppet-related production for that matter. You’re drawn into this world where you just completely forget that they’re puppets at all, and they do such incredible things which some of them you’ve probably seen in the trailers. It’s fantastic, kudos to the entire special effects crew. The only thing that kind of bugged me was a terrible green-screen effect near the end of the movie. You’ll know when you see it, it’s impossible to miss.

Other than that, this movie deserves an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in the 2015 Academy Awards. I’ll flip over a table if it’s doesn’t get a mention at the Oscars.

The soundtrack is great! I’m not going to go into detail of every song, but from the moment Kermit strums the strings to his banjo to “We’re Doing a Sequel” which is so catchy and so hilarious. The extended version of the song can be heard on the movie’s soundtrack which became available on March 18^th.  “I’m Number One” is catchy and I feel like dancing every time I hear it. “I’ll Give You Anything You Want/Cuckoo in Malibu” is perfect and sounds like an 80’s style romantic disco song, which is really what it’s set to feel like, but it’s much better than the last film’s “Me Party” scene. It’s just perfect. “Something so Right” is a beautiful slow song sung by Miss Piggy and Celine Dion, it’s so perfect that I hope this makes it into the mainstream media and becomes the next “Skyfall” for a couple of months. I hope Celine Dion has that star-power.

There’s just so much to say about this movie, there’s just so many things that Muppet fans will go crazy for. There’s so many callbacks to original films, Muppet cameos, and every Muppet is in-character and hilarious. The action is incredible and was not something I would find in a Muppet movie, especially the fact that the stars are puppets. Filming a James Bond action type sequence with the Muppets was not something I expected.

Because I’m worried that if I keep talking I’ll probably end up spoiling it for you, I’ll wrap it up here. I’ll just let it be known once more that I was not disappointed at all, I was just left wanting so much more, I didn’t want it to end, but of course, all great things must come to an end, and an ending that will make Muppet fans jump out of their seats in happiness. I did not see that coming, as I avoided all spoilers in the past few months. I was just disappointed that many scenes had to be cut due to time, and some were so heavily used in the trailers that I was looking forward to some of those. I really hope those make it to the Blu-Ray release. 

That’s all I’ll say for now. If you enjoyed the last film or are a die-hard Muppet fan like myself, you’ll be entertained throughout the entire feature. It’s a great new Muppet adventure and I hope they continue making many more movies.

If that’s not enough, the movie has a short featuring the Monsters University characters named Party Central which is really funny and sets the stage well for the feature to come. You really get a bang for your buck when you pay to see Muppets Most Wanted in theaters. 

Muppets Most Wanted opens in North America on March 21st 2014.

Our other half of The Mickey Mindset, Ryan Dosier wrote his review on our sister site, The Muppet Mindset. Read his review right here!