Home

DreamWorks

Preceding both Mr. Peabody and Sherman and Rio 2 during their respected theater runs last year was the animated short Almost Home featuring the voice talents of Steve Martin as Captain Smek, the leader of an alien race called Boovs that are in search for a new home planet. As I watched this short not once but twice, I realized that I was enjoying myself far more than anyone else in the theater. Of course it garnished a few giggles from the young audience but nothing like the roaring praise of laughter that I was giving it throughout. This short though was just the beginning, as it was an early promotional tool for a feature film by the name of Home.

So finally, one year after this short premiered, Home is here and although I never reached the level of laughter that I did with the short, I can easily say that I was satisfied with the experience nonetheless. One of DreamWorks broader appealing entries; Home is a thoroughly entertaining and a sincerely heartfelt animated film that gets better with each minute that is added to its running time.

Where is home for the Boov’s? A question they have been asking themselves as they have been running away from their enemy the Gorgs, looking for a safe planet to call ‘home’. They finally find that place in the form of Earth, so they quickly invade the planet, move all the humans to different parts of the world and take over their former homes. The Boov’s all appear to be a lot of a like besides Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons, taking on several of the characteristics of his Big Bang Theory character Sheldon Cooper, a naïve but creative and up beat Boov that has been somewhat out casted by the others due to his knack for making mistakes but mainly because he is different than everyone else.

Oh makes his biggest mistake yet though when he accidentally sends an invite to everyone, including the Gorgs, to a party he is throwing at his new place. Because of this, Captain Smek, reprised by Steve Martin but in more of a supporting part than a lead, along with several other Boovs are on the search for Oh, so he must go to a place on earth where they won’t find him. In the process he crosses paths with a young girl nicknamed Tip (voiced by Rihanna) that was not transferred away from her home and is now searching for her mother Lucy (voiced by Jennifer Lopez). So after Oh builds a hovering car that is fueled by slushy mix and featuring several other gas station novelties, the two embark on a journey to find Tips mother, get Oh out of trouble and prevent the Gorgs from destroying earth.

One thing that DreamWorks animation has made clear is that the younger audience is their main concern. A DreamWorks release tends to be a goofy type of fun but in doing so becomes rather one note. Out of the gate, Home is not different as Oh, along with the rest of the Boov’s are introduced and as they invade earth, the younger audience should enjoy the antics of Oh and Captain Smek that take place during this time.

With this said though, there is some creativity that can be appreciated by everyone. As I mentioned in the plot description, using typical items you would find in a gas station, Oh makes a car mobile again by allowing it to hover above the ground. What fuels this invention? A slushy called Busta Lime. Sure, children won’t understand this but it did earn a chuckle or two from me. One thing that enhances Oh and the other Boovs is the way that a change in emotion causes their normal purple skin color to change. Red is anger, blue is shame, yellow is fear and green is deception. It’s not groundbreaking by any means but it seems to always enhance the moment, increasingly becoming more interesting as the film goes on.

It is when Oh and Tip team up that an older generation will start to find the most value in Home. One major reason that Home can connect with an older audience compared to most animated films is the add complexity to its story. Instead of an introduction, dilemma and then ending, there is a thought-out introduction to the characters, especially Oh, and then there are more than just one dilemma keeping Oh and Tip from accomplishing what they are set out to do. It is not often you see this happen in a movie such as this but because of this both Oh and Tip along with the story grows on the audience, to the point of being invested in what is going to happen next. It is in these dilemmas, that you will find a story about how emotions play a powerful role in who we are and how we face problems. As where a Boov runs from problems, a human takes them head on and are prompted to so by their feelings and emotions. The idea that mistakes make us who we are and are a part of life is also something that Oh learns. As Oh realizes this and that being different is a good thing, the film reaches its highest points.

When watching Home, I was the only one in the theater so it is hard to tell if it is capable of keeping the kids interested when it takes this more sentimental route. But with high tempo, pop style music and eye-catching images taking place up to the credits, a younger audience should still find a level of entertainment. Because of this, Home is DreamWorks best since How To Train Your Dragon.

Grade: B+

Review written by Brad Shawgo. Visit his blog, ShawGoesToTheMovies, for more great film reviews and movie posts.

Published on 6/2/2015 10:39:38 PM

Get Hard

Warner Bros.

Without a doubt, the teaming up of Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart has the makings to be a strong comedic duo. Everybody is well aware of the work Will Ferrell has done over the past 15 years and how he has managed to stay towards the top when it comes to funny men on the big screen. On the other half of this duo, one could easily argue that, at the current moment, the man in that number one spot is Kevin Hart as nearly everything he has been a part over the past few years has found great success. So putting them side by side in the same movie should make for one extremely funny experience. On paper that is. But, using a popular sports term, they still have to play the game. The game being the actual movie they star in and the actual movie being Get Hard. Get Hard solely relies on Ferrell and Hart to make it funny but in doing so, proves that even the most entertaining men in the business need something to stand on.

Get Hard begins with introducing the audience to Ferrell and Hart’s characters along with the type of life they live. James King (Ferrell) is a successful hedge fund manager that has the extraordinarily big house and sexy fiancée (Alison Brie) to prove it. Then there is Darnell Lewis (Hart), a manager of a car washing service at the building James works at, who also happens to be struggling to find the needed funds to send his daughter to a better school. So when James is sentenced to ten years in a maximum security prison after he is falsely accused of embezzlement and is willing to pay Darnell 30,000 dollars to toughen him up for prison, as he assumes, because he is black, that he has been to prison, Darnell is quick to take the Job and has 30 days to complete the task.

As far as the type of humor that Get Hard attempts, if you are a fan of prison rape jokes then stop what you are doing and go watch this movie now as this is sure to be well worth your time and money. Yes, Get Hard is prison rape joke, after prison rape joke with some more prison rape jokes. Maybe the first two or three times it is semi-funny but just because you describe it differently or use a different tone does not keep it funny. To the scripts credit though, but not really, towards the end of the film, the "Get Hard" term is used as a double entendre. What a surprise.

Other than this, there is not much more to the script as it really only revolves around the concept that James does not want to get raped in prison. Yes, you could call it a lazy script as Ferrell and Hart are expected to carry the film by making several clever less jokes and plot points seem funny but to say there was no effort put into it would be wrong. It is obvious that lots of effort went into squeezing as many prison rape jokes in as possible and making sure that nobody gets in the way of Ferrell and Hart’s attempt to save the script. Even the lesser entries in both Ferrell and Hart’s body of works have a handful of characters that lend comedic support. Not here though. It is, for the most part, all Ferrell and Hart. Nobody else is given much of a meaningful role such as Craig T. Nelson as James’ boss or Alison Brie as his fiancée who are both given little screen time (on a side note, while on the subject of Ferrell and Nelson in the same movie, I’m still waiting for a Blades of Glory spin off focusing on Nelson’s Coach character). As far as humor goes, any other comedic moments not given to the two leads go to T.J. Jagodowski (the guy in the passenger’s seat in the Sonic commercials), a gay man a café James and Darnell go to, who at times out shines everyone with only a couple minutes on screen. T.I. could be considered the exception when saying that it’s just Ferrell and Hart as he is given more to do than anyone else other than them but still amounting to very little and nothing as far as humor goes.

If you have read any other reviews or even just happen to see any headlines regarding Get Hard, you were sure to notice claims of the film being offensive. Sure a lot of it could be considered offensive. Isn’t offensiveness at the foundation of several comedic situations? This film, along with countless other comedies over the years could be picked part when determining if they are offensive or not. For the most part, anything that can be considered offensive in Get Hard has been seen or heard before. I will say however, and maybe my eyes and ears have been harden to these things, the only thing that really stood out as offensive and way off base was a comment made by Darnell when toughening up James that suggest that gay men were easy or would always partake in a sexual scenario if given the chance. I’m sure this is not the first time that this type of offensive humor has been attempted but it just felt a little out of line.

It would appear that Get Hard is a laughless mess and although it is is closer to this than a thoroughly entertaining comedy, it is important to note that in between the bad is a little bit of good. The thing about Ferrell and Hart is that because of their charm and approach, they are able to make poor material somewhat bearable. And even though they are not on top of their game here, they still manage to provide a few laughs here and there. It’s just not enough though due to the lack of support provided to them, therefore causing Get Hard to be a less than average comedy that will surely find a place towards the bottom of both stars list of work.

Grade: D+

Review written by Brad Shawgo. Visit his blog, ShawGoesToTheMovies, for more great film reviews and movie posts.

Published on 6/2/2015 5:44:20 PM

Top Movies for 5/9/2014

Just when the studio comedy was looking more and more like a thing of the past, Seth Rogen stepped up his game and brought us his a winner with This is the End in his directorial debut. Now, a summer later his starring vehicle, Neighbors, is the most anticipated comedy since Anchorman 2. Neighbors looks to be a solid comedy. Critics have granted their approval noting that the chemistry shared by Rogen and costar Zac Efron is greater than anyone expected it'd be. Neighbors is the top movie this week and definitely one that everyone needs to see.

Universal Pictures

The Amazing Spider-man 2 had a huge opening weekend last week but experts aren't expecting it to be nearly as large this weekend. Likely anyone who was excited about the film saw it last weekend as comic fans are rarely ones to wait long to see their heroes on the silver screen. If you have a fleeting interest in Spidey I'd recommend you skip the sequel. If you're bored and looking for something to do, have seen Neighbors already, and haven't seen Spidey 2 go see it!

Let's face it, Mom's Night Out isn't impressing anyone and it won't set the world on fire this weekend, but if you want to escape your life for an hour and half this is as good as any. Critics have been harsh on the mom-com but that doesn't mean there's no light-hearted fun to be had.

The Other Woman is coming to the end of its run in theaters but this weekend is as good a time as any to check it out. Last time I checked it still has Kate Upton in it and unlike the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit catalogs, Kate actually moves around in the film.

Finally, we have Captain America: The Winter Soldier pulling up the rear. Maybe it'll "on your left" The Other Woman next week but for now it's at five.

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Published on 5/8/2014 9:06:33 PM

Top Movies for 5/2/2014

It's officially comic book season at the movie theaters. With the first weekend in May upon us we have the token super hero series of our generation The Amazing Spider-Man 2 releasing. The second film in the rebooted series lives off the idea of quantity over quality. That's not really bad thing in a genre where more is always better than less but I would have liked them to tone it down a little bit. The sequel is better than its predessor but that's not saying a whole lot. It'll be huge at the box office and will be great water cooler fodder for the next couple of weeks.

The Other Woman has proven to be a winner with viewers and critics. See it.

Brick Mansions didn't clean up at the box office last weekend and that's okay. It'll be seen by hundreds of every Saturday on FX a couple of years from now.

In fourth we have Captain America 2 which is finally slowing down. Capt had a great run at the box office and is still a better movie than the Spider-man sequel. Bears pulls up the rear. Check it out, it has bears in it.

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Published on 5/2/2014 4:18:46 PM

Top Movies for 4/25/2014

Finally, a movie has unseated Captain America 2 as the top movie! This we get Paul Walker's second to last movie, Brick Mansions right here in Central Illinois. Brick Mansions, though not critically acclaimed, is a must see for action-crime movies.

The number two movie this week is the decent The Other Woman starring Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann. It's a comedy in a similar vein to Diaz' Bad Teacher. It's not going to change the world but it is most definitely a great film to look at when you consider that Kate Upton plays a major role in it.

The number one through three movies from last week were bumped down to three through five this. There isn't much else I can say about any of them other than Captain and Bears are solid, Transcendence is not the best.

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Published on 4/24/2014 9:57:34 PM