Posts

Posted on

Kubo And The Two Strings Was 2016’s Best Animated Movie!

If you have followed my site, you know that I have a giant soft spot for stop motion animated movies, and Laika in particular brings me more joy than any one animation studio should.  That being said, Kubo and the Two Strings might be my favorite movie of theirs yet.  I just watched it, but I already want to watch it again.

The movie is about a young boy named Kubo (Art Parkinson) who has to find his father’s magical armor.  He will be joined on this quest by a talking monkey (Charlize Theron) and a beetle samurai (Matthew McConaughey).  He is armed only with his mother’s magical shamisen (kind of like a Japanese guitar).

There is so much to Kubo and the Two String’s story, but I don’t want to give any of it away.  It is simple in its premise and plot, but it excels in its execution.  It is sad, scary, funny and hopeful in just the right amounts.  The movie is an hour and forty minutes long, and none of that time is wasted.  It is fantastic story telling.

The look of this movie is flawless.  There are always incredible things to see.  I haven’t had this much fun just looking at a movie in a long time.  It is truly candy for the eyes.  It makes other films dull by comparison.  Even if I have a bias towards stop motion, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe me when I say Kubo and the Two Strings is a visual feat.

Another bias I have is Charlize Theron, so you will just have to trust me that she was great anyway, and she brought the monkey to life with her voice perfectly.  McConaughey and Parkinson also did amazing jobs.  With their talents it is easy to forget that you are looking at little models in front of a green screen.

Kubo and the Two Strings is so good that if it was a blanket I would wrap myself up in it and never take it off.  Sadly (thankfully?) it is not.  One word of warning, Kubo can be a tad scary, so if your kids are easily frightened you might want to wait until their are older.  Other than that, Kubo and The Two Strings is a great film for the whole family, and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Posted on

Nintendo Switch Controllers Cost How Much!!!!

Some people have been griping about the price of the Nintendo Switch.  It will cost $300 with both the left and the right Joy-Con controllers and the dock.  That doesn’t bug me too much.  If it is $300 now it won’t be long until you can find a sale where they are probably $25-$50 less than that.  The Dock costs $90, again not a big deal.  How many people are going to need more than one Dock?  Since I work in the IT industry I can tell you that $90 for an HDMI dock isn’t that bad.

What is bad is the controller price.  You would think that when you buy a new Switch controller that it would include both the left and the right Joy-Cons, you know so you could play any game with it, but that is not the case.  Each left and right costs $49 each.  You do save $20 buying them together for $79, but still, $79 for a new non-premium/special edition controller is a lot to swallow.  It makes it hard to justify for families.  I know that like the console itself the price will drop on those pretty quick.  However, that means they will be $60ish on sale.  The price of a full price game.

The Switch still looks really cool, and I can’t wait to try one myself, but those controller prices are ridiculous, and that is coming from a guy who spent $150 on an Xbox One Elite controller (I still love it by the way).

Posted on

Is There Any Room Left In Avengers: Infinity War?

With the announcement that they are adding in Peter Dinklage and Zoe Saldana’s Gamora to Avengers: Infinity War my question is, how will any of these people have any screen time?  My only thought is that they have to start killing off some heroes.  Meaning Thor probably doesn’t make it through Ragnarök, and then Hulk stays on his planet, so that would take out a couple of characters.   Having said that, Civil War didn’t have Hulk or Thor in it either, and it had too many people in it.

I can only hope that most of these folks just show up for the titular Infinity War, so we only really follow a couple of people for most of the film.  My guess would be Thanos and Stark, since the Avengers movies are pretty much the new Iron Man movies, and there is no way Robert Downy Jr. would play a bit part.  Not to mention after four years teasing if Thanos isn’t a big part of this movie it would have been the worst long con of all time.

I hope this all turns out, but every time they announce another big actor to be in the next Avengers movie, I get apprehensive not excited.  Marvel has had a pretty good track record, so they get the benefit of the doubt, but there is a fine line between jam-packed and overstuffed.

Posted on

Shmee Gets Acquainted With The Trollhunters!

I am a huge Guillermo del Toro fan, but his new show Trollhunters just doesn’t seem to click with me.  It has a cool visual style that I love, but it is just missing that hook that makes me want to keep watching.

The series follows Jim (voiced by the late Anton Yelchin), the first human ever to be name Trollhunter, as he learns about the troll world and how to protect the world with his new powers.  Meanwhile a threat is growing for both troll and man, and ready or not Jim is the only person who can stop it.

It is the standard good kid becomes a superhero plot, and of course his friends have to help him on his way.  I think this is why I am having so much trouble with Trollhunters.  It all feels so familiar.  Like I said, visually it I a homerun.  The cave world of the trolls in particular is amazing.  I just wish some tropes were turned on their heads is all.

To be fair I haven’t finished the show, but that is because I am having a hard time staying interested.  With twenty-four episodes it is twelve hours of TV to watch, and I already have a lot of TV to catch up on, so if the hook of the show isn’t great in the first few hours, I am going to have a hard time finishing it.  Something tells me if I was in the target demographic I would probably love this show.  Maybe I will have time later to finish this show, and I will change my mind.  You will be the first to know if I do.

Posted on

Casting Gotham City Sirens!

Well the time has come again for me to help out Hollywood and cast their movie for them.  This time I am casting Gotham City Sirens!  We are in need of a new Poison Ivy and Catwoman.  Here are my top five choices for each role!

First up Poison Ivy:

5: Emma Stone

Emma is busy earning awards right now with La La Land, so it is the perfect time to turn her attention to pulp fiction.  She has the wit and charm to make Poison Ivy her own.

4: Isla Fisher

Thanks to Wedding Crashers we know Isla can do crazy and sexy, so Poison Ivy should be prefect for her, and since she is funny, she should be able to keep up with Harley Quinn’s high-jinks.

3: Christina Hendricks

Has there ever been a more seductive red head then Christina?  Even Captain Mal succumbed to her feminine wiles.  She would be great for this role.

2: Eva Green

Sadly I have to admit that I am ranking her this high partially because her name is Green, but still she needs something to do after finishing Penny Dreadful, and she would be amazing as Ivy.

1: Rose Leslie

Thanks to Rose (another name pun!!!) we know that John Snow knows nothing, but I could see her kicking in teeth in Gotham City with the best of them, and she would be fun new face for Poison Ivy.

Now on to Catwoman:

5: Mila Kunis

We know Mila has the action stuff down, and since somehow she isn’t already a superhero/villain, we should really change that.  She would be great as Catwoman.

4: Keira Knightly

Keira has been doing too many period pieces lately!  It is time for her to stop wearing crowns and gear up to kick some butt.  She started out in action movies, and it is time for her get back in to them.

3: Anne Hathaway

I know what you are thinking, “She was already Catwoman!”  Yes but she was great at it, and she said she would love to do it again.  It would be a fun bit of continuity, and DC does love carrying over random roles.  Though usually they end up as different characters.

2: Emily Blunt

As Mugatu would say, “She is so hot right now!”  And she would bring a lot of interest to this picture.  If any person can co-lead a film at this point it is Emily.

1: Olivia Wilde

The fact that Olivia isn’t in the Marvel or DC Universes is criminal, so why not make her one of the most recognizable Batman villains of all time?  She would knock this role out of the park.

Those are my top picks for Poison Ivy and Catwoman.  I would love to hear who you would pick.  This movie is getting under way soon, so we should be getting official casting at any time.  My track record is not good, but I like my chances with these two lists.