REVIEW: Big Hero 6

7/10 - Way to go Disney, you didn't totally mess this one up!

Disney's Big Hero 6

After ripping apart Frozen for the past year I was hesitant to even approach Big Hero 6 fearing it would be the far stupider step child of an already dumb family. What a terrible metaphor. I digress, Disney animation has cranked out some pretty poor family films in the last few years, with movies that have lots of shelf appeal and no substance. Big Hero 6 looked to be about the same. And after hearing Doug Loves Movies refer to the infamous "YEAAAAHHHH SCIENCE" line ad nauseum I was expecting something along the lines of Wreck It Ralph. A movie painfully paint-by-numbers.

So, when I put on Big Hero 6 it was because I was looking for something wafer thin, and as light and fluffy as a cloud. To my surprise, it's actually not a bad story.

Hero, a robotics-loving/prodigy kid. His older brother, Tadashi is working on a robot project of his own at his university, a personal healthcare robot named Baymax. Some spoilerish stuff happens and the group of friends band together with their robotics know-how to save San Fransokyo.

First of all, San Fransokyo. That's where they live. A semi-futuristic version of San Francisco meets Tokyo. That also means many of the main characters are Asian inspired white people. There's something about white washing the characters that doesn't sit well with me. It would have been nice to see some racial diversity in a Disney movie, aside from aliens and talking animals. It doesn't really help that all the friend characters are themselves MASSIVE cliches.

Main Cast from Disney's Big Hero 6

The robotic lead, Baymax is like someone made a robot out of a Wii U. It's got none of the
functionality you actually want in a robot, and it's "non threatening hug-able" appearance is accompanied by soft lights and synthetic tones. It's an inflatable Wii Fit game.

Once you get past that, the fantastic performance by Scott Adsit makes Baymax a great character. His actions are a reflection of the person who did the programming and that's a delightfully fresh approach to robots on film.

I really enjoyed the overall story arc and the approach to themes in this film. It's a collision of violent vengeance with compassion and healing. Although there are some annoying cliches that come with an "origin story" the superhero aspect is somewhat of a b-plot. It's an excellent adventure movie along the lines of How to Train Your Dragon. It's charming with a lot of humanity.

Big Hero 6 also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature this year so congratulations! You beat The Lego Movie because it wasn't nominated.

• IMDb - Big Hero 6 (8.0)
• Wikipedia - Big Hero 6
• Rotten Tomatoes - Big Hero 6 (90%)
• Amazon.ca - Big Hero 6

REVIEW: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Picture Nominee

Best Original Screenplay Nominee

3/10 - I don't like this movie. 

I literally don't know how to review a movie so polarizing, when I'm on the hate side. Actually it's not even polarizing. It's pretty much unanimously acclaimed. I just straight up don't get it. 

I've enjoyed a few Wes Anderson movies, like The Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox. They were ok. I get the two two dimensional stylization. I understand that some people love it and think it's the bee's knee's. I'm on the side of loathing one word defined characters and paper thin plot lines. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel is about some random stuff that I didn't care to follow. I swear to god, I watched this movie twice and that's the best I can come up with. A bunch of white guys run around, some of them have guns. I don't know what to say. It was like watching a foreign film without subtitles. 

For me, I simply cannot connect to an endless stream of identical characters who all look and behave the same. Compound that with my utter lack of interest in following the story of these people and I'm done for.

I've watched a lot of movies. I've seen a lot of weird stuff. I usually try to get the weird stuff, and understand the point of view, even if I don't like it. This movie... The Grand Budapest Hotel is a brick wall. This is going to a concert to see a band and getting a puppet show. 

This is not the movie for me. I hope it loses everything. Sorry not sorry. 

IMDb - The Grand Budapest Hotel (8.1)

Wikipedia - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Rotten Tomatoes - The Grand Budapest Hotel (92%)

Amazon.ca - The Grand Budapest Hotel

REVIEW: Whiplash

Best Picture Nominee
Best Adapted Screenplay

9/10 - At least half the audience left thinking they were jazz music experts.

Whiplash was the surprise sleeper hit of 2014 for sure. I'm pretty sure if you asked people on the street they would be like "uhhh I think it's a movie?" For a film nominated for Best Picture it's certainly not making waves the way best picture films have in the past. But you know what? None of the nominee's this year have been big movies. So maybe it was just a weird year all around.

Damien Chazelle wrote and directed this semi-autobiogrpahical film, which frankly makes me a little terrified of him. It's a film about an aspiring drummer named Andrew (Miles Teller) who's ambition while attending a prestigious music college lands him in front of the most intimidating man to ever hold one of those tiny conductor batons. J.K. Simmons plays Fletcher, the conductor, teacher, mentor, and living nightmare who demands greatness from his students through insane threats of violence.

It really it a compelling story. The journey that these musicians take really is comparable to the rigors of athletics, as the film so graciously points out. It's an examination of dedication and what it means to have personal stakes in something you're so driven and passionate about. We've all seen the sports movies about sacrifice but the music industry doesn't usually get depicted in such a way. Typically on film, musicians are just gifted natural born talents. I think Whiplash sort of throws that in the face of the audience. Everyone has something to prove, but are you going to do the work to get to the place where you actually can prove it?

What really strikes me about this kind of film is how perfectly the tone enhances the storytelling. For a minimalist movie about two characters, there are some vivid images and scenes of tension that I just can't shake. The concept of jazz music being the source of so much conflict seemed like an oxymoron before I saw the film, but the sharp and surprising musicality fits wonderfully into a story that does the same.

Don't even get me started on JK Simmons. What a perfect role. Whiplash is one of those great movies where you actually forget it's a movie because those characters are so real, with such an honest and genuine performance. Fletcher is a truly unpredictable character. I can't think of the last movie I saw that featured anything close to that.

I do hope Whiplash wins a few trophies on Oscar night. As a film, it's perfectly succinct and brilliant. It's a real modern drama, without needing to be a historical period piece, or human tragedy. Whiplash is dark and thrilling, with a story every bit as worthwhile as those other typical drama winners.

IMDb - Whiplash (8.6)
Wikipedia - Whiplash
Rotten Tomatoes - Whiplash (95%)
Amazon.ca - Whiplash

REVIEW: Burt's Buzz

6/10 - A story of an old man and bee's wax.

Burt Shavitz.

As you can predict from the image on your lip balm, Burt is a dirty hippy through and through. Now approaching 80, he lives a reclusive life on a farm in Maine. As his company became a massive corporation, his lifestyle never changed. He hangs out with his dog and wood stove. Oh and his name is associated with a billion dollar corporation, but whatever.

To be fair, this is a documentary about Burt. Burt just happens to be associated with Burt's Bee's. This is not a docu about lip balm company in any way. I suppose it is in a little way, but there isn't really a sufficient story about Burt's Bees to call that the focus of the movie.

Burt has done a lot of fascinating things in his life. He was a successful photojournalist, an activist, he was a bee keeper (duh) and reluctant business man, now he's the face and spokesperson for a company he has no stock or investment in. What's even more interesting is how reclusive his life is. It felt a bit like the documentary crew had a difficult time finding people to talk to about Burt. He is very isolated, and is quite content to live that way even after spending stretches in 5 star hotels.

That being said, Burt is also the kind of person you can size up immediately. What you see is what you get. I found this film to be a bit aimless, as they tried to unveil facets of his character that were quite clear from the beginning. Without any revolutionary or unbelievable scenes, this movie ends up a bit boring. While the concept and the person might be memorable, the movie itself isn't.

IMDb - Burt's Buzz (6.5)
Rotten Tomatoes - Burt's Buzz (73%)
Amazon.ca - Burt's Buzz