Ahhh Monsters!

Pixar has finally released the trailer for Monsters University and it looks very cute. We have to wait another year before it comes out, but I'm definitely looking forward to it!

 

Brave

Sad day. I missed the opening of Cars Land because I was in Arkansas for my cousin’s wedding. I actually had a blast so it was ok. I never thought I would enjoy Arkansas. Anyway, I made up for missing Cars Land by getting to go to the world premiere of Brave at the grand opening of the Dolby Theatre. Lots of stuff premiered. I have wanted to see this movie since I first saw the title art. Then, when I found out about the short, La Luna that went along with the movie, I was even more excited. Well, I have to say that I was not disappointed in the least. The entire night was awesome.

Let’s start with the red carpet: it was grass. So fun! Disney always goes above and beyond for their premieres. They always find a way to do some clever stuff. At least with the 3 I have been to. I was kind of hoping to see John Lasseter, but sadly he was no where to be seen. We went into the theatre and were handed our 3D glasses and naturally I wasn’t too thrilled with that, but I know that Pixar knows what they’re doing. I grab my free Brave bucket full of popcorn and am placed in the very first row.

La Luna starts and I suddenly forget that I’m in a movie theatre. I was completely enchanted. Clever and cute just like every single short Pixar has ever made. They continue to out do themselves. The short is about a boy who learns the “family business” by venturing out with his grandpa and father. I don’t really know what else to say without ruining it so I’ll leave it at that. You’ll just have to see for yourself.

Then, Brave starts and I felt like I was there in Scotland with all the characters. Maybe because our seats were so close, but the movie was seriously beautiful. The animation and the scenery were just incredible. And to top it off the story is very heart warming and the movie was just good overall. Once again, Pixar has created a hit. A movie that you could watch a million times and never get bored.

The movie opens everywhere tomorrow and you MUST see it! I’m definitely preparing to buy the DVD.

Evil Hotness

Holy hotness batman! Hotness is everywhere in Snow White and The Huntsman. If you’re a boy, you will revel in the hotness. If you’re a girl, please just admire and maybe touch a little. I never ever thought I would say that Kristen Stewart is hot. When I saw the previews there was no way I was going to believe that Kristen Stewart is supposed to be “fairer” than Charlize Theron, but whatever they did to Kristen in this movie, they did it right. It was perfect. She barely spoke and just sat there and looked pretty. All she ever really needs to do…ever. Even when she spoke it was ok and I didn’t want to kill myself. Of course, Charlize is more beautiful and waaaaay hotter, but it wasn’t as far fetched as I thought it was going to be. The movie could have gone one of two ways. It could have been horrible and cheesy or freaking awesome. I have to say that it was pretty awesome. I read that even the producers were surprised at how well the movie is doing and now they’re planning a second one.

The movie is just so pretty to look at too. They go into the dark forest and the forest of the fairies and it’s just so well done. But the best part is that the story is well done too. You don’t get caught up in anything cheesy. This is not your typical Disney fairytale. The writers clearly read the Grimm’s version and threw out the Disney version to make it more of an adult movie.

 I hoped I pushed you off the fence with this one too. Definitely another good summer movie.

MIB III

Men in Black 3? Really? They made a third one? That’s what I was thinking when I saw previews because I don’t think anyone saw the second one. I forgot they even made a second one until I saw the number 3 after the movie title. The first one was awesome so it was worth a shot and it was a very entertaining shot. Will Smith hasn’t been in a movie in years and this was definitely the one to come back with. All the same humor and alien action plus time travel. How can you go wrong?!? Definitely a good summer movie to catch with some friends or even buy on DVD and watch every once in a while.

A very scary alien with lots of teeth is released from jail with revenge in his eyes. He’s after Tommy Lee Jone’s character for shooting his arm off years ago. He wants to go back in time and kill Tommy. Of course, Will Smith travels back in time and saves the day. Jumping off buildings and jumping onto space shuttles. Awesome! All while keeping his suit unwrinkled. Bad ass is the word you’re looking for.

Definitely a must see. I hope I pushed you off the fence if you were sitting on it.

Back from the Dead

Woah. It’s been crazy under the rock that has been my home for the last month or so. Between work and volunteering with the American Cancer Society, things have been nuts. I have done a lot of things and seen a lot of movies and I want to write about all of them! So in the next coming days, my goal is to catch up on everything from California Adventure opening this coming Friday and all the new merchandise they have to offer to every movie I’ve seen in the last few weeks: Avengers, Dark Shadows, Men in Black 3, and Snow White and The Huntsman. It’s going to crazy so hang on.

I have seen more movies in the last few weeks than I have seen in the last year. I used to go to the movies all the time, but then things got busy and I just didn’t have time to go anymore. Plus, there were very few movies that I really really wanted to see. This movie season has definitely proven worthy. Everyone knows that Avengers was awesome so I feel like I would just be wasting a blog if all I did was rant about something everyone already knows so I think I’m going to skip that one and go right into the most disappointing movie of the year, Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. What could go wrong? Apparently, no matter how good you are at making a movie, you have to have a good script. You can have every great actor and the best director, but if your script sucks, you’re screwed and that’s exactly what happened with Dark Shadows. I never watched the TV show so I was going in blind expecting greatness. But as I mentioned, the script was boring and I didn’t give a shit. Of course Johnny was awesome and the movie was pretty to look at, but that’s where it ended. Johnny’s character is cursed by a witch when he falls in love with someone other than her. She turns him into a vampire and locks him in a coffin until he’s found by construction workers decades later. Naturally, the witch is still alive and has taken over his family business. He tries to get it back from her and blah blah blah. I’m bored already. All comedic timing was lost and I was left asking “WTF?” Very disappointing, especially because all the people who watched the TV show were pretty much boycotting the movie. The least Tim Burton could have done was made this movie freaking awesome so people would have no choice but to see it. Maybe next time, Tim. Long story short, don’t see this movie. Don’t even waste the $1 at Red Box. Don’t even download it illegally.

World Domination

Google might be taking over the world and as much as I love Google, their new business plan doesn’t sit very well with me. There are 2 things as of late that I don’t like. The first is a set of glasses that connects to your phone and allows you to see everything that happens with your phone. Say for example, you receive a text message. It will pop up in your glasses for you to see and you can speak out load to respond to the text and the phone will do the rest. It’s almost like Siri in the form of glasses. You can ask for directions and a map will pop up in the glasses with turn by turn directions. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, are our cell phones really that important that we can’t walk down the street without them? Do we need to see what’s happening on our phones all the time? I’ve seen the demo video for the product and it does look like a cool new invention, but it’s also an awful invention. Imagine someone driving with these glasses and seeing all these texts and email alerts popping up in their line of sight. You think you’re going to continue to pay attention to the road? Hell no. People already look like cyborgs with their blue tooths and now we’re going to add these glasses? I’m out. I can understand having these glasses maybe for a themed type of thing. Maybe an interactive ride at a theme park or a new way to guide people through museums with information about the piece of art their looking at, but for everyday, I think this is a little much. There is absolutely no need for glasses like this. Maybe I’m too scared of technology because I’ve seen too many movies and read too many books. I just don’t see the need for people to literally see the activity on their phones 24/7. Leave it in your pocket and if it vibrates, look at it.

The second invention by Google is a virtual museum called the Google Art Project. This one I’m a little torn about because it is kind of cool. Google has set up a museum guide similar to Google maps where you can guide yourself through museums around the world. They figure that if you can’t visit the museum, they will bring it to you. This is a good idea for people who just can’t travel around the world, but to me the best part of a museum is experiencing the museum itself. Being able to walk around is all part of the experience. Seeing a picture of a piece of art or virtually walking through a museum doesn’t even begin to compare to seeing it in person. I completely understand not being able to travel to the opposite side of the planet, but I have a feeling that if a teacher assigns a student to go to a museum and the kid is too lazy, they’re just hop on this site. But I guess kids will find ways around anything so maybe that’s a bad argument. So maybe Google does have something good here. I guess that I just have to raise my kids to actually want to go to a museum.

Good Bye to a Legend

Sad freaking day! For all of you Disney animated movie fans, Glen Keane retired on Friday after working as a Disney animator for 38 years! How insane is that?!? He drew the Beast in The Beauty and the Beast, Ariel in Little Mermaid, Alladin in Alladin and most recently he drew Repunzel in Tangled. I have watched many Disney animation documentaries and he has been in every single one of them. He went to CalArts and then worked for Disney immediately after he graduated and has been there ever since. I heard rumors not too long ago that DreamWorks wanted him for something so part of me wonders if he retired so he could explore more animation worlds. Obviously, Disney is the place to be if you want to be an animator, but there's still a big animation world out there. Either way, it makes me sad to see such a legend go. Here's the letter he wrote to his collegues:


Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Walt Disney Animation Studio,

After long and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to leave Disney Animation.

I am convinced that animation really is the ultimate art form of our time with endless new territories to explore. I can’t resist it’s siren call to step out and discover them.

Disney has been my artistic home since September 9,1974. I owe so much to those great animators who mentored me—Eric Larson, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston—as well as to the many other wonderful people at Disney whom I have been fortunate to work with in the past nearly 38 years.

Over these four decades I have seen so many changes, but the one thing that remains the same is that we all do this because we love it.

I am humbled and deeply honored to have worked side by side so many artists, producers and directors during my career here at Disney, and I am tremendously proud of the films which together we have created. I will deeply miss working with you.

With my most sincere and heartfelt good wishes for your and Disney’s continued artistic growth and success,

Glen

I hope where ever he goes, he still does amazing things.