MCM Hot Mess/WTF Were Thinking Celluloid- Seth Rogen in Sausage Party (2016)

Hello, my name is Frank. I’m a Fancy Dog that resides in Shopwells Grocery Store.

I’m awaiting selection to go to The Great Beyond. We have waited our entire lives for that.

Also, I’ve got a soft girlfriend named Brenda. She’s a bun and I’m a weiner. We’ll be a perfect fit. We’ve touched tips but it shouldn’t upset the Gods.

Honey Mustard got returned but he’s popped his seal. He talking about groceries being murdered and eaten. He’s not tough to cut the mustard or himself.

Brenda and I have been selected. Great Beyond is going to be great. Uh oh, mustard got pulled again and he’s hot. He’s not going back again. Let’s just say that his world’s been shattered.

Brenda and I tried to stop him. Now, it’s too late and we’ve missed selection.

Will we spread Honey Mustard’s message or just let it expire? Will Brenda and I fulfill our destiny?

Sausage Party is one of 2016’s Best Films. Seth Rogen has produced, co-written, and voiced a brilliant satire.  It is the type of film that will make Mel Brooks giddy with joy.

He doesn’t shy away from questioning religious and social beliefs. The food is a stand-in for immigration, racism, sexual/social mores, and geopolitical conflict.

The groups represented include Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, Latinos, Gays, and douche bags.  Well, one of the characters is literally a raging douche.  However, the others listed are of higher merit than that D-Bag.

Viewers will be laughing and thinking the whole film.  It’s refreshing to see this in an animated feature.

Sausage Party is the most original and bizarre film of 2016. Don’t be surprised if this feature gets 2017 Oscar nominations. It is a great choice for Best Original Screenplay, Song, & Animated Film.

Viewers make a note to place the film on top of the shopping list.

Oh, This Is A Film for Grown Folks.  Leave Your Children at Home!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Rogen

Resolve Celluloid- Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

“To be accepted by the in-laws”

Hotel Transylvania 2 finds Jonathan (Andy Sandberg) and Mavis (Selena Gomez) on the verge of marriage.  Dracula (Adam Sandler) approves surprisingly along with the rest of the Drac Pack:  Frankenstein, Griffin, Wayne, and Murray.  Linda (Megan Mullally) and Mike (Nick Offerman), Jonathan’s parents, are surprisingly accepting of the unusual in-law and extended family.  Several years pass,  the newlyweds are expecting their child but Mavis begins to crave a change of scenery.

However, the new child brings another dilemma, Vlad (Mel Brooks).  Vlad is old fashioned and believes that humans are to be scared and eaten?  Well, Dracula is more willing to bathe in holy water than for him to meet the new family.  Will Vlad go medieval on the humans?  Will Mavis decide to leave Transylvania forever?  Does Griffin have an actually, invisible girlfriend or is he hallucinating?

Hotel Transylvania 2 has a shocking revelation.  Ready?  Adam Sandler has found a perfect niche:  family films.  He has an infinite audience for his new brand of mild, toilet humor:  children under 8.  However, his jokes in this installment are funnier than any of his previous PG-13 or R-rated comedies (excluding the Drew Barrymore team-ups).

The voice-over actors are nicely cast including Molly Shannon, Dana Carvey, and Rob Riggle.  However, the new editions of Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman are wonderful.  Their human couple captures overcompensating in-laws to the best degree.  They go to outlandish links to find weird, monstrous couples in California (Surprise, No Kardashians?).  Yet, Mel Brooks steals their thunder as the hasidic Vlad.  Presumably, he has no soft spots except for his grandchild.

Viewers shouldn’t go in expecting Meet the Parents or Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.  However, they will be pleased with Sandler’s lighter side.  In retrospect, he should’ve reunited Carl Reiner with Mel Brooks one more time. 2000 Year Old Vampire anyone?  Hmm, well where would we find a coffin big enough for those two.

Gather a Drac Pack and make the B-line to Transylvania for this can’t miss laugh fest.

 

Altered History Celluloid- The Good Dinosaur (2015)

What if the asteroid didn’t kill the dinosaurs 65 Million Years Ago?

The Good Dinosaur revolves around this concept.  We find a brontosaurus farming family of two on hatch watch.  They are blessed with three:  Libby, Buddy, & Arlo.  Libby and Buddy are normal sized but Arlo is the runt.  Arlo’s siblings are more apt to bigger tasks but he gets the smaller task.  He is frustrated until Poppa decides to give him a challenge: catch and smash the creature taking the winter rations.  The creature is caught but Arlo can’t seal the deal.  It presents a bigger problem when Arlo and Poppa go after it.

Will Arlo leave his mark?  Will the creature live?

Dinosaur is the latest offering from Disney/Pixar.  Peter Sohn directs a film that is more for adults than families.  He guides through a land of beauty and wonder but with scary dangers as well. Adults will find themselves moved by the hardships faced by the characters.

The film has more of a western flare that is atypical of Pixar.  It is a western because the unlikely son has to prove himself worthy of responsibility.  Also, he must grow up to learn survival, fighting, and agriculture.  He will learn to understand, love, and appreciate the unknown.  The children will enjoy some of the less scary dinosaurs and animals.

Viewers should be prepared to have adult conversations with children regarding death, responsibility, and tolerance.  This is a very emotional film more for the adults than for the children.  However, it is a starting point for transitions that we all face throughout life.

 

Resolution Celluloid- The Peanuts Movie (2015)

“To be a winner…”

The Peanuts Movie is based on the iconic Charles Schulz comic strip. We find Charlie Brown again as the odd boy out of sorts. However, a red headed girl moves into town.  Her arrival makes Chuck strives to get out of that extended slump (well, Cubs & Indians fans know the struggle).   Will he fit in finally? Will Snoopy defeat the Red Baron? Will Lucy Let Him Kick The Football?!

Spoiler Alert: She pulls it back per usual.

It is one of 2015’s ten best films.  The seamless direction of Paul Martino is a beautiful mixture of CG and hand drawn animation.  The screenplay was adapted by Brian Schulz (Charles’ grandson), Craig Schulz (Charles’ son), and Cornelius Uliano.  Brian & Craig Schulz made sure that the family tradition remained intact. Meghan Trainor contributed “Better When I’m Dancin'” and “Good to Be Alive” to the soundtrack.  She should receive an Oscar nomination or two for those upbeat tracks.

It is the best family film overall. It should be a contender for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song at the 2016 Oscars.  Fans will find themselves laughing, smiling, and tearing up (a little).   They will find this film as satisfying as The Lego Movie.  Gather friends, do the Snoopy happy dance, and go see this film.

Oh, stay during the credits for the spoiler and various Peanuts comic/film stills over the past 50 years.

Animated Celluloid- Inside Out (2015)

What is going on inside of our minds? Could this the basis for a Ph.D. in Psychology or Psychiatry? (Possibly but not in this case.)

No, it’s Inside Out.

Inside Out goes inside the mind of an 11 yr. old girl named Riley. Her emotions are Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Riley is uprooted from Minnesota because of her father’s employer. The family sets up a new home in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Joy is the centerpiece in managing Riley’s thoughts. However, Sadness makes a costly decision that changes this process.

Inside Out shines with a diverse voice cast including Richard Kind as Bing Bong, Diane Lane as Mom, and Kyle MacLachlan as Dad.  Poehler and Smith share a symbiotic chemistry together as Joy and Sadness. Lewis Black is hilariously brash as Anger. He is on the same comedic par with Don Rickles’ Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films.

Pete Docter doesn’t top the Oscar winning film, Up.  However, he does make viewers feel that anything is possible. Also, he succeeds in highlighting our perceptions, fears, and dreams.

Inside Out reminds us that even if something is bad, good can come from it.  Every emotion has its time and place and occasionally does help resolve an issue.

(This review contains portions written on July 11, 2015 .)

TBT Holiday Celluloid- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Remember coming down stairs and seeing Santa.  He looks skinnier than a young child would imagine.  Then, the magic moment happens; he hands the gift over, up the chimney, and into the night.  Parents come downstairs and the present is opened: A Shrunken Head?  What’s This?

The Nightmare Before Christmas takes place in an alternate world to humans.  The world of immortals is one of ghouls and more.  The town of interest is Halloween Town and home to the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon).  Jack’s completed another frightfully, smashing Halloween.  However, he’s left yearning for something else and not of his realm.

Meanwhile,  Evil Scientist (William Hickey) has a creation that’s out of control; her name is Sally (Catherine O’Hara).  She, like Jack, wants to feel a void but it transcends all creatures.  So, Jack decides to take a walk in the woods with his ghost dog, Zero.  He stays up all night and comes upon some mysterious trees.  The trees have different marking such as one with a pink egg (Easter) and a green, star-topped tree (Christmas).  Hmm, Jack’s drawn to the green tree and gets transported to a snowy, cheerful place filled with toys and decorations.  He comes back inspired to change Halloween but not exactly.  Instead, he’s destined to change Christmas with the help of Lock, Shock, and Barrel.  They are given two instructions:  Kidnap Santa Claus and Don’t Involve Oogie Boogie!  After all, what could go wrong?  This is Halloween on Christmas?

Nightmare soared thanks to a beautiful score by Danny Elfman (Skellington’s singing voice) and Henry Selick’s brilliant direction.  The inspiration for this film was Tim Burton’s original story as adapted by the late Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice)and scripted by Carolyn Thompson (Edward Scissorhands).  Deane Taylor’s art direction was equal parts Salvador Dali and Maurice Sendak.  It was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 1994 Academy Awards but lost to Jurassic Park.

However, Selick continues to direct animated features.  He’s best known for James and The Giant Peach (1996) and his Oscar-nominated direction for Coraline (2009).  Nightmare was a critical and financial success when first released and continues to influence countless fans.

Just one parting thought:  Keep Halloween Spooky, Fun, and Full of Imagination! After all, Christmas and Halloween can agree on two things:  fun and candy.

Weekend Matinee Animated Celluloid- Shaun The Sheep (2015)

Remember passing by Moss Bottom Farm and seeing an askew sight involving sheep.  No, it’s not that type, Thank Goodness!

Shaun The Sheep revolves around the daily lives of farm animals on Moss Bottom Farm including sheep, pigs, and a clumsy dog.  The sheepish routine involves waking up, being fed, sheared occasionally, and being counted.  However, Shaun, an atypical sheep, tires of the mundane and sees by a bus ad that states:  Take A Day Off.  So, he devises an elaborate diversion to detain the Farmer in a camper. The plan works but there’s a catch.  The camper begins rolling down the hill and goes into the Big City.   Does Shaun stay on the farm along with the other sheep?Ewe have gotta be kidding me.

Sheep provides some of 2015’s biggest laughs with limited dialogue.  It does that by relying on physical comedy, mild humor, and great heart.  The stop motion animation that Aardman is refreshing in a world dominated by CG features.  The character, art, and animal design is realistic and beautiful.  The Big City and Moss Bottom Farm should be a museum or Banksy inspired attraction.  Shaun the Sheep follows in a new tradition of family message films such as The Lego Movie and Disney’s Up.  No matters how much life shears, there is always green grass at home.