Category: Movies

It is believed in Hollywood that movies headlining women can’t make much money, but Frozen and The Heat have done their best to disprove that misconception.  The Heat came out in June of 2013 from 20th Century Fox, and is your typical foul mouthed buddy cop movie, but the twist is that it stars two women.  Not just any women, but Oscar winner Sandra Bullock, and comedy “it girl” Melissa McCarthy.  They were a blast to watch in this movie.

The plot is pretty much the same as any other buddy cop movie:  Straight laced by the book FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has to work with a foul mouthed slob of a local Detective, Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy).  Together they have to take down a high profile and mysterious Boston drug lord.

Despite the fact that this movie has been made like 3,564,456 times, the writers pack enough jokes and action in the movie that you will be too entertained to care.  They really went all out with this movie, and didn’t treat it like just another generic buddy cop flick.

The two leads are fabulous in this movie.  They play off each other perfectly.  Whoever had the idea to put these two together, I hope is rolling around in all the money this movie made because they deserve it.  There is not a scene that doesn’t have a laugh or twelve.  Bullock and McCarthy know how to be funny, and they really know how to be funny together.  I could see The Heat becoming the next Lethal Weapon franchise.

I think you can tell that I liked this movie.  Like all comedies, not all of its jokes land, but there are so many of them, and so many good ones that it more than makes up for the couple duds.  I know Bullock has had trouble with sequels in the past (Speed 2, Miss Congeniality 2), but I would love to see more Heat movies.

The Great Gatsby is a 2013 film released by Warner Brothers Pictures, and directed by Baz Luhrmann.  It was a major hit for the studio, and it was Luhrmann’s most successful film to date.  There is no doubt after watching this movie that Luhrmann has a gift for visual flare, but he may need to work on his dramatic direction a bit more.

If you have somehow missed the classic 1925 novel’s plot that this film is based on, I will bring you up to speed.  The film follows Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) after he moves in next door to Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).  A man known for throwing the greatest parties in all of New York City.  Gatsby has a thing for Carraway’s cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) who is married to an unfaithful jerk Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton).  They all drink and party a lot, and no one is happy.

This story works well as a book because it is really short; however, it is hard to watch in this film because it is really long.  I Think I could have read the book in less time then it took to watch this movie.  If they had shortened this film up by at least a half hour it would have made a world of difference.

The movie still has its moments because of the amazing spectacle that is the first half of this film.  Luhrmann brings 1920’s New York to life in glorious fashion.  Crazy parties, fast cars, great fashion, and then he mixes it all together with a hip and current sound track.  When all of this is going on it reminds us that film is a visual art, and that there is nothing wrong with a grand visual feast.  Sadly the second half of the film abandons all that and deals with the drama of the story.

This leaves the very talented cast, who were playing larger than life characters to match the pomp and circumstance of the first part of the film, out to dry.  Since now they have to try and shift gears and try to act in a character drama.  It doesn’t jive, and the editors should have taken a hatchet to most of it.

If you like the 1920’s, or crazy visual effects this movie is still worth watching.  It just looks cool.  It is a shame that it comes to such screeching halt in the second half.

Frozen was by far the best American animated film to come out in theaters last year, and it was one of the most successful movies period, so far earning north of a billion dollars worldwide.  I reviewed the movie when I saw it theaters last year, and I loved it.  My thoughts on the film haven’t changed much, so this mostly going to be a review of the disk itself, and anything else I think needs to be said.

Like pretty much all computer animated films, this movie looks wonderful on an HD TV.  All the colors just pop, and even if you do not have a 3D set, the images seem to come out of the screen.  You feel like you can run and jump in the snow with Anna, Elsa, and the rest of the gang.

One thing I did notice on my second viewing, is that while the movie is better then anything Pixar has done in a couple of years story wise, Disney Studios still has a ways to catch up with their digital film counterparts as far the animation goes.  The characters can still look a bit stiff, and separated from their environment.  It is almost not fair for them to have to be compared to Pixar all the time, but the bar has been set, and Disney Animation falls just a tad short.

There are not a ton of extras on this disk.  Their are couple of deleted scenes, but they are roughly drawn, and not fully animated.  They do give a glimpse of what Elsa would be like if she was evil, and a little more info on the sisters’ relationship.  There is a “making of” featurette, and some music videos as well.

This is a great movie, and it looks fantastic on an HD TV.  You should have no worries about bringing this movie home.  If you have kids this is probably a must buy.  I hope Disney Animation Studios continues to make great movies like Frozen.