How to Train Your Dragon is Dreamworks latest 3D animated adventure featuring Vikings, dragons, and monsters. The story is a sort of Androcles and the Lion parable where the main character "Hiccup", is a nerdy 98 pound weakling of a Viking who desperately wants to kill a dragon to impress the hottest girl in the village.

During a devastating dragon attack, Hiccup manages to shoot down one of the most dangerous and elusive dragons. Unfortunately, it is still alive and he can't bring himself to dispatch the helpless critter with his only weapon - a tiny, rather symbolic, knife.

Instead, Hiccup discovers the dragon can be quickly tamed, trained and flown - which doesn't sit well in a village where every building has had to be rebuilt due to dragon attacks and the art of killing them is considered a necessary survival skill.

The movie is cleverly written and the art design excellent. The story moves pretty well right up until it gets to the anti-war on terror message. The message may act as a bit of a sucker punch for adults, but will likely be missed by the kids. The final outcome of the story tends to moderate the message in any case.
Pet peeve: the usual PC female lead who can and does literally kick the butt of the protagonist.



Related Reviews:
Animated movies
Chicken Little (2005)
Chicken Run (2000)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Culture Catch
Robert Ebert




Click here to buy your copy of
You Are What You See and learn
to change the world from your couch

Labels: adaptation, Amadeus, America Ferrera, animated, Craig Ferguson, film, Gerald Butler, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, movie review

I've heard some very good things.

I also have two young boys begging to see it.






Screenwriters: Dean Debois (Lilo & Stich) and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stich)
Directors: Dean Debois (Lilo & Stich) and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stich)
Actors: Jay Baruchel (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian), Gerard Butler (300), America Ferrera (Lords of Dogtown), Craig Ferguson (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events), Jonah Hill (Funny People) and Kristen Wiig (Ghost Town)






Click here to buy your copy of
You Are What You See and learn
to change the world from your couch

Labels: America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, film, Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, movie trailer

Telling me Russell Brand is part of the cast isn't doing yourself favors. I think films should advertise when he's not involved.

This trailer isn't doing too much. So, this is a knockoff of Spy vs. Spy in 3d? The ad doesn't give any reason to see the movie. Their selling point is that Steve Carell is providing his voice to the production. The least they could have done is insert a laugh or two into the pitch.

Perhaps there is more to the movie, but no one will know watching this trailer.








Screenwriters: Ken Daurio (Horton Hears a Who!) and Cinco Paul (The Santa Clause 2)
Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Sergio Pablos
Actors: Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music), Ken Jeong (The Hangover), Jason Segel (I Love You, Man), Steve Carell (Get Smart), Kristen Wiig (Extract), Will Arnett (Blades of Glory), Danny McBride (The Fist Foot Way) and Miranda Cosgrove

Labels: Danny McBride, film, Julie Andrews, Ken Jeong, Kristen Wiig, movie trailer, Steve Carell, Will Arnett

I am a fan of Mike Judge. Dating back to when he erupted on the American cultural landscape with Beavis & Butthead through his low-key but clever films (Office Space, Idiocracy), I have always considered him to be one of the most insightful comedic writers working. His criticisms of American life and the vacuous state of our culture have been dead-on.

Unfortunately, Judge has decided to pull away from his satirical brand. Extract is more of a straight comedy, playing on the uncomfortable fumbling of a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with his unsatisfying life. Missing is Judge's biting humor. The situations have no deeper meaning beyond what is happening on screen so any humor is likewise distant.

Judge's work is character-based. One can't walk away from his previous works without some connection with the people in the story. In this film, other than a bitter, assembly line worker and a lawyer, the characters are rather thin. It seems Judge had little affection for the people he is writing about. Either that or he had no idea who they were. This is seen in the second half of the film where the story simply swings from catastrophe to catastrophe without deepening emotional payoff. Layers of bad things pile up and then POOF, there's a flimsy resolution.

More times than not this is a character issue in the script. When characters are properly developed and managed, their motives will grind against one another. These conflicts will all lead to the same point where a single, clearly defined resolution is achieved. If the writer is unclear on his characters, who they are, what they want, the conflicts will get jumpy and misaligned. While it is possible to smooth over such faults throughout the story, it will always come to light in the final act.

I am a fan of Judge but I have to turn this one down. I can't recommend this movie. It is poorly written, contains unnecessary crudeness and way too much Ben Affleck. Three strikes, this one is out.




Related Reviews:
JK Simmons movies
Juno (2007)
The Ladykillers (2004)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Culture Dogs
Movie Cynics

Labels: Ben Affleck, David Koechner, film, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, movie review

My advice is to watch the first twenty or so minutes of this movie and then walk away if you something else to do. The movie opens with Bertram Pincus D.D.S. (Ricky Gervais) a detestable, anti-social, crank struggling through the frustrations of his life. All he wants is to not be bothered - ever. We follow Pincus as he deals with patients at his dental office and then an incompetent surgery staff at a hospital. Throughout the opening scenes, Gervais shines giving what I believe to be the best comedic performance I've seen in a great long while. He has a talent for sarcasm and he's given prime material to display his skill...for twenty minutes. Gervais' Pincus is a perfectly defined and delivered character but he is drowned out by a clattering plot.

Pincus dies, at least for a while, on the operating table. After his brush with death he discovers he is able to see ghosts. Yes, the story echos of The Sixth Sense. Soon he is being chased around New York as the dead seek to get him to do favors. Fronting the mob of the dead is Frank (Greg Kinnear,) a adulterous lout who wants help breaking up his widow's upcoming marriage. When this plot begins to move it overtakes what is otherwise an enjoyable movie. Writer/Director David Koepp (Spider-Man) is kept so busy managing his story that he has to sacrifice his characters. The issue is that the plot is contrived and has no energy on its own. Koepp is forced to push characters into situations and motivations in order to force things forward. The entire time I kept wanting the story to settle down so I could get more of Pincus reacting to the world. C'mon Dave, stop it! Can't you see your lead is doing something great here?

I know Gervais has been around a while and he's seems to be someone people love or hate. This was my introduction to his work and I am very impressed. He obviously has the goods. I hope he pulls this Bertram Pincus persona out in another production. In the right setting, he could really offer something great.

I do recommend this movie not because its a good movie. Honestly, on a technical level this fails. I recommend the film based on two performances. First Rickey Gervais is in command of his role and given better circumstances could have given a classic performance. The other notable performance comes Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig. Wiig has a supporting role as the mousy, insecure surgeon who oversees the operation that temporaily kills Pincus. There's an old saying in acting circles "there's no small roles". She proves the addage. She's only in a couple of scenes and is ultimately incidental to the plot but she is hilarious and makes a great deal from her role. Again, this is not a great movie, its not even a very good one. It is good comfort cinema and I guarantee you will laugh at a few times and that's more than you can say about most comedies these days.



Related Reviews:
Greg Kinnear movies
Unknown (2006)
As Good As it Gets (1997)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Roger Ebert
The Critical Critics

Labels: comedy, film, Greg Kinnear, Kristen Wiig, movie review, Rickey Gervais, Tea Leoni