Inside Out (2015)

Inside out is a movie about a young girl who is forced to move away from her home for some reason we never really understand. Her family moves into a new house far away from her old friends and hobbies. She is having trouble coping and becomes increasingly frustrated by this. The gimmick though is that the movie takes place mostly inside her head. Each person has 5 little creatures that represent various emotions that control how we feel at any given time. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. They can manipulate their person and try to steer them towards the emotion they feel is appropriate at that time. They can also show them past memories or even change how that person perceives a memory if they want. Basically they control that person and manipulate them as they see fit.

Joy and Sadness are removed from the control center and spend the majority of the movie trying to make it back there. Riley, their person, has lost her core memories which make up her personality. Joy and Sadness are in possession of them and are trying to return them in hopes that it will “fix” Riley and her current issues.

The movie itself is more of a comedy thought it does tend to deal with rather heavy situations. At one point the girl tries to run away for example, and they have a re-occurring joke about a dog dying. Trying to mix the dark humor into the movie was not a horrible idea, one of their main characters is perpetually depressed after all. However the execution of it was a miss for me. The joke about the dead dog for example, I didn’t care for it. Yes it made sense given the context, but that doesn’t make it enjoyable. We are presented with an imaginary friend at one point we are supposed to care about. But we see him kill another imaginary character as a gag. There is even a scene in the end where Joy uses dozens of imaginary characters as a ladder while sentencing each and every one of them to their deaths. The logic was they were all willing to die for Riley, so why not allow them to if it benefited her. The movie constantly tries to get you to care about these characters, but then it gives you reason to dislike them. The comedy fell flat, and with the majority of the characters being unlikable, I had trouble find something to enjoy in this one.

I did enjoy a few of the emotions, Anger, Fear, and Disgust were all entertaining for the most part. They also had the smaller roles so that may be why. I also liked the various creature that populated the rest of Riley’s head. There was a scene where somebody forced her to listen to a commercial jingle over and over again. It kept popping up during the movie and it was the only thing to make me constantly laugh. It was a shame the rest of the movie tried too hard to be so unique or it could have all been enjoyable. We had prolonged scenes dealing with abstract thought, or simply showing how random a 11 year olds thoughts are. They bogged the film down and added in very large boring spans of time. The animation was decent, but the overall design of the characters and sets left a lot to be desired.

Everybody told me how amazing this movie was when it came out. After seeing it I can see the potential for that, but it failed to deliver that type of experience. The characters were interesting, as was the story. But they were all very annoying and just unlikable. Sadness was the only real likable one of the main group, but that wasn’t enough to carry the film either. I expected better from Pixar, this one was very disappointing. I couldn’t even recommend renting it after my viewing. Just pass on it and move on. 

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of F (2015)

If you read my last DBZ review for Battle of Gods, you know I am a fan and have been since I was younger. So I won't go into all that again, just know that the last movie was a huge deal to me. This one is some what lesser as we now have a new weekly show as well as manga coming out again. However while the franchise is seeing a enjoyable revival, that doesn't mean I was not excited just as excited to see this movie as I was the last one. Battle of Gods was something that came with the promise of potentially more. Resurrection of F is the direct result of that. The "F" of course stands for Lord Frieza who was easily the most memorable villain from the franchise. His story is considered to be the best arc by a large portion of the fans. He is a alien who was heir to a great empire. His family ruled portions of the galaxy through fear and power. They would enslave races or wipe them out completely. The main character is Son Goku who is also a alien, and his entire race and planet was destroyed by Frieza years ago. Goku of course killed Frieza in the comics and show but was unable to save the planet they were fighting on. That is a major plot point, just how strong these people are. One of them destroyed a planet like it was nothing. In this movie Frieza's henchman decide to bring him back to life using the Dragon Balls and their own technology. Gathering the 7 Dragon Balls gives you a wish, so that is how that works for those who may be new to the franchise. Frieza is revived and decides to take revenge on those who killed him thus setting his sights on earth. The rest of the movie is just a huge battle between him and his troops, and Earths mightiest warriors.

If that first paragraph is confusing to you, or sounds silly, I think I can already tell you whether this movie is for you. Dragon Ball is a classic, one of the all time greats. But it is also hundreds of episodes long and filled with magic and fantasy that comes off rather poorly if you did not see the franchise build into what it is now. It started off about a young boy who journeyed around the world with his friends trying to simply grow stronger and help other people out. By the end he is a grandfather who travels across space and realms for similar reasons. There is so much progression from where it started that for the fans bringing somebody back from the dead is nothing. Being able to instantly wipe out a world is nothing. For newcomers though it will all seem rather silly, and sadly maybe even idiotic.

If you follow the show then you know Frieza should be unable to compete with Goku at his current power. The movie does deal with that, and while the explanation does seem a little lacking, it is sufficient enough for me. Frieza never trained before and when he fought Goku before that was just his natural ability and power. So after being brought back he decides to train in earnest in order to surpass his rival. It takes him 6 months to do so, and he manages to gather a army 1000 strong before launching his attack on Earth. Thankfully this all occurs off screen and the movie gets everything out of the way quickly to set up what we all really care about, the action.

There are some fun moments in the movie that feature lesser characters. Pilaf and his gang are still children and Mai is apparently dating younger Trunks. Jaco who is a character from another one of Akira Toriyama's works has a very large role in the film as well. He was rather funny and his back and forths with Bulma were some of the comedic highlights of the film. Fans of Yamcha and Chiaotzu will be disappointed to know they don't even show up. That was odd due to the fact that Master Roshi actually fought and held his own during the battle against the 1000 troops. I always assumed he was weaker then they were, but maybe I was wrong. Fans will be happy to see the few moments which deal with the popular characters outside of battle. Krillin as a super cop, Vegeta and Goku training with the gods, Piccolo baby sitting Gohan and Videl's kid. There is more action in this then the last movie, but it still does a good job of showing what the various parties are up to, and I always enjoy that stuff.

If you saw Battle of Gods, the animation in this is pretty much the same. Good high quality but with some odd 3d animation thrown in which just seems out of place. Thankfully the God Transformation is different in this one, and comes off looking better to me. Fights are animated well, and they put emphasis on the power of the main characters by showing exaggerated reactions that worked quite well given the context. Goku breaks out the Bruce Lee one inch punch which was by far the coolest part of the film. We see Frieza's whole body move back a few inches and a explosion of power come out of his back. His face contorts and you can just see how much it hurt him. They kept this level of detail through out and I loved every second of the action. A lot of the characters did have new looks, but no real dramatic changes and I think the new designs all looked great.

A band called Maximum the Hormone put out a song simple titles "F" which was about the Frieza character. Toriyama the creator of Dragon Ball heard the song and apparently came up with the idea of this film from that. Cool little note, that song appears in the film when Frieza is being revived. Dragon Ball has used hard rock before, but hearing the metal come across was a cool moment and I am sure those guys loved every second of it.

The movie was good fun, the animation was solid, the music set the tone nicely. I liked the small changes they made to the characters and how they showed some of them outside of their training and fighting roles. Krillin as a cop was fun, and it was nice to see Gohan actually doing something again. They even give Vegeta his time to shine as he truly had the best reason to be fighting Frieza. The movie was made for the fans, and they did a good job of correcting or at least addressing some of the issues the show has created in the past. The movie actually seemed like it could work as a ending to the franchise, though with the new show on it is nice to know that won't be the case. They really did a great job on this one, and while I think I enjoyed Battle of Gods more, as a fan there was something special about this one.

If you are not a fan of the franchise, or have never seen it, that rating is not for you. I would say expect a 2 or 3 star film then. The silliness of some of the mechanics they use such as dragon balls and magic will not come across well for some new comers.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

A movie that looks at a world where the Justice League is comprised of murderers and potential villains. But a world where they still are perceived as heroes despite this. The movie opens up with a quick origin for the new Superman Hernan Guerra who is the son of Zod instead of Jor-El. We are then treated to a scene where the 3 members kill 50 or so terrorist without a second though, and get to see vampire batman drain somebody. I wouldn't say it was jarring as much as being almost comical to see these 3 killing people like it was nothing. It is not what you expect from the Justice League, and even though they showed much worse in the various shorts they used as advertising, I was still a little surprised at the whole thing.

The story for the movie revolves around the idea that the league could take over the world if they wanted. They know it, the people know it, everybody knows it. A group decides to start killing off scientist using super powered beings with abilities similar to the league in order to frame them and turn the world against them. As the league isn't exactly filled with boy-scouts in this world, that is not all that difficult. We are then presented with a world that hates and fears them, but now has the power to stand against them. Will the league become the villains or the heroes of the story?

The league consists of 3 members, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Purists might be put off by these variations of the characters, but DC did a good job of addressing this. They changed the identities of all the characters so that it would not tarnish the classics. Batman is not Bruce Wayne but Kirk Langstrom who you may remember as Manbat from the main continuity. Wonder Woman is Bekka wife of Orion from Apokolips who is also another established character. I was not familiar with Superman's new persona, so maybe Hernan Guerra was a new character. Each is given a brief origin story in the movie to time them all together, and each fits into the over all story as well. It was kind of neat to see the new team and I enjoyed the different take we were presented with.

This is a straight to DVD animated movie, so the animation will not be on par with things you would see in the theater. It is still good though and reminded me more of the classic batman animated stuff then the newer justice league movies. The style was charming, but not overly realistic. As far as parental advisory goes, I believe it was pg-13. There was some very minor nudity, a decent amount of blood, and a older kid being burned alive at one point. I think the pg-13 is fair, but it should be established it is not a movie geared towards children. So the younger crowd may need to skip this one depending on your own personal views.

There really is not a lot more to say about this one. The concept was a darker Justice League and that is what you get. It served as a starting point and there will be a digital comic series launching alongside the movie on the 28th that furthers the story. I do think they built it up a little to much, and that it failed to deliver on the Evil has a new Playground tag line they went with. The 3 animated shorts we were given as adverts actually had a much darker moment in them then anything the final product did. Seeing Superman forced to kill a toddler version of Brainiac was a horrible moment the film never came close to touching. It also did a much better job of showcasing the evil vs good argument for those characters as well. The film felt like a missed opportunity after that, almost like they were afraid to pull the trigger on these new versions. While it was still overall enjoyable, it never became that great classic it wanted to be.

Big Hero 6 (2014)

I ended up seeing this movie a few weeks ago while on vacation. I never got around to doing a write up on it, and sadly forgot about the whole thing until just recently. So while the movie is no longer fresh in my mind, I figured I could still put some something about it.

The story is about a young boy named Hiro, his brother Tadashi, and a robot named Baymax. Hiro has lost his way and is starting down a path that his brother does not want to see him on. Tadashi manages to trick Hiro into visiting his school and introduces him to his friends who are all Scientist or Engineers in one way or another. Well except for Fred, he is just the school mascot. This visit inspires Hiro who decides he wants to join his brother. Hiro is a robotics genius and has been making money fighting in illegal backroom battles up to this point. With the help of Tadashi and his friends he is able to make something truly amazing and wows everybody at the audition. If everything went well however, we would be left without much of a movie. Suffice to say something bad happens, and a villain is born. Hiro teams up with Baymax, a nurse robot, and goes after the bad guy.

The movie is based off of a older comic series with ties to the X-men franchise. That comic book series was awful. Seriously don't go read it, trust me on this. The heroes are all pretty unlikable, which given their ages makes sense. And they vary so much from their movie counterparts, that the only real connection is the names. Wasabi no Ginger goes from being a magic blade wielding sushi shef, to a hippy simply called Wasabi. Honey Lemon goes from being the sex symbol of the team and fighting with only a open jacket to a frumpy conservative. Baymax is the biggest change from not only his abilities to his entire persona. While these may sound like changes I didn't like, it is actually the opposite. They changed all the characters into more likable and better variations of themselves. They even changed all their powers to be science based which was cool. They created a team that children could look up to, and that parents wouldn't mind their kids being exposed to.

There are a lot of great moments in this film. From the low power Baymax sequence that makes him appear almost intoxicated, to pretty much every battle sequence. The film has a lot of emotion early on and does a good job of carrying it for the duration. I never felt like I wasn't invested once it took off. And a lot of that has to do with the great writing and voice work. There are a few known names in the film. Alan Tudyk has a decent size role. Damon Wayans Jr. who you may remember from the simply awful "Let's be Cops." Maya Rudoph played Hiro and Tadashi's aunt Cass. And T.J. Miller played Fred, the school mascot and comedic relief of the film. Everybody did very well however, even those I did not mention. Everything about the presentation of the film was spot on and really added to the overall experience. The art style was amazing and I loved the city shots. The animation was fluid and when the robots and battles started up, it was damn impressive to see.

The movie had a good comedic tone to which surprised me. Baymax had a simple intelligence and constantly had me laughing with how the robot responded to the world. From his fist bumping, to the way he talked about the cat. He never failed to make me smile, and I don't recall any of his attempts at humor just falling short. He also provided some of the more emotional moments in the film. I really enjoyed this character, and would say he is easily the best thing Pixar has come up with in years. Fred was the other spectrum of the comedy. He was stupid, but in a good way. He had some good moments, but nothing that compares to Baymax. Also he had a entire segment about his underwear that was a complete miss for me. It is only worth mentioning as it was also re-used in the post credits scene. That one may not be worth sitting around for, at least it wasn't to me.

So Big Hero 6 at a glance.....Good story with strong emotion and great moments. Stunning animation that is fluid and visually appealing. Great voice work and mostly solid writing. Add in a strong ending that had my full attention until the credits started, and you have a solid winner in my book. The fact that they changed all the characters to be better influences is a plus. And I loved the way they mixed up the power sets.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

The first movie was a epic tale with great story, character development, awesome visuals, great voice acting.....good action....good this...great that. It was a solid movie that delivered on all fronts. The second movie had a lot to live up to, and frankly I would have been surprised if they had managed to come up with something better. As it stands they did not, they didn't even come in at the same level as before. So the question simply is, Was it still a good movie?

In the first movie Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, is the son of the chief of his village. He is expected to becomes a great dragon killer, and a all around fearsome viking. He instead comes to care for the dragons and sees they are not the evil creatures everyone thinks they are. He unites the two and they fight a big bad dragon in the end. Simple enough but we see a lot of growth. Dragon 2.0 is 5 years later. Hiccup has changed the village to be more like him, but he still does not want to be part of it. His father wants him to take over as chief, and he has no desire to do so. He simply wants to fly around and map out the surrounding areas. As in the first book, he is more interested in Knowledge then anything else. While traveling he finds out there is a man named Drago Bludvist who is trapping and controlling dragons to make a army for conquest. Hiccup gets his attention and he decides to take his villages dragons. There is a big fight and that is the story. There is a side story that goes on about Hiccups family, but I won't ruin that for you. It was the one decent thing the movie had going for it.

So the story is weaker, and we have already met all these dragons so the wow factor is gone. They do introduce some new species, but it is not done with the same exuberance as the original film. As this is more of a battle movie then the first, you would assume that is where the movie would shine. Sadly not so much. The flying sequences in the first film out shine the ones in this one. Hiccup has fashioned a flying suit so he can soar around with his dragon. It was a cool idea but they seem to focus on that more then trying to create exciting moments around the dragons. The flying portions are still neat, but simply don't get the attention they did in the first film. The battles also seem quite tame, which is odd as they are the main focus. The trappers won't kill the dragons, as they want them. So there is no real suspense for the most part. The dragons won't really kill the people either, as it is a kids movie. There is a lot of flying around, and a few focused moments of combat, but it just feels lacking. The big moment of the film does involve somebody finally killing somebody else, but it was not enough to save the film. Also the final fight was just a dragon sitting still taking pot shots at a much larger foe.

So less excitement, a bland story....so what does the movie do right? Well the visuals are still cool. The animation is well done, and if you enjoyed the original you will still enjoy this one. It may not be as good, but it is still far from bad. It seems to lack the direction of the first film, and doesn't seem as focused on providing a quality story. But the story is still fun for what it is. The humor was hit or miss for me, miss more often then not. But it was still nice to see more of Hiccup and Toothless. If you have kids, they won't care about the parts I didn't like. While I did expect a lot more, I still had fun with it.

Trailer has a Huge Spoiler in it....as they all seem to these days. If you have not seen much advertising for this movie yet, maybe skip the preview. 

Brick Mansions (2014)

A remake of a french film 2004 called District B13, or Banlieue 13. Oddly enough it actually stars the same actor in one of the 2 main roles. David Belle reprises his role as Leito, although he is renamed as Lino in this film. Even after 10 years he still looks about the same, and it was odd seeing him return for this. The other lead was Capt. Damien Tomaso played by Paul Walker. And the Rza rounded out the cast as the main villain, Tremaine. If you saw the original, you have already seen most of this movie. From what I remember of the first one, it seemed to follow it pretty closely with the exception of the ending. The story being that there is a neighborhood that has been walled up and separated from the rest of the city. That is Brick Mansions, or B13 in the other film. Crime had gotten so bad and so far out of hand, we just rounded up what we could and gave them their own area. Tremaine is the head of Brick Mansions, and controls a huge drug empire. He is also credited with killing Capt. Tomaso's father. Tremaine comes into possession of a bomb that activated when he opened the case incorrectly. It is now ready to blow up the Mansions, killing everybody inside. Tomaso is sent in to deactivate it, and is partnered up with Lino as he knows the area and how Tremaine works.

The story actually doesn't sound to bad, but if you saw the original you know there is more to it then that. Without spoiling to much, I will say the ending left me disappointed. The way they handle it doesn't seem in character with the rest of the film. And it was also the biggest change between the two films. Keeping the original would have made for a much stronger experience overall. That being said, everything else with the story worked pretty well. It had a good set up to get the action started, and it did a good job of pissing you off and getting you invested at key moments. They give each of the two leads a reason to be there, and a reason to try there best to get to Tremaine.

This was a movie about Parkour before parkour really took off. Lino bounces around and flips all over things while running up walls and diving through any window he sees. Even Walker tries to get in on the action from time to time. That was actually one thing I didn't understand. We see Walker doing back flips off of people, and flipping around on dumpsters. But when the time comes for him to flip off of a pipe and into a 3 foot opening, he can't do it. It seemed odd and out of place that he suddenly wasn't a acrobatic god anymore. For the most part though the action was fairly solid, and the parkour scenes were usually entertaining. The movie has a lot of shooting, and fist fights. The shooting was where it seemed to lack the most. Paul Walker is given a scoped rifle and hits a very small target the size of a briefcase. He then misses a person sitting in a chair from the same range 4 or 5 times in a row within the same minute. This is kind of a metaphor for the way guns were handled in the movie. Bad guys have guns, don't worry, they won't hit anything unless it is important so you didn't really react or care. The mostly seemed to be used as loud noises to try and get some sort of excitement out of you. If they put the guns down though, you knew something cool was about to happen.

Acting is not something you worry about in a film like this. That doesn't mean it was bad, but it was not the main focus. The actors did alright with what they were given, I would say The Rza was probably the stand out here. And if you are familiar with his acting, you know that is not a positive to the film. I like Paul Walker, but he has never been known for his amazing acting abilities. He is good, but not great. And honestly that sums up pretty much everybody else here.

This seems like such a odd film to be remade, and so long after the original. Did we really need it? They didn't even really try to do anything new with it, and I don't recall it being advertised all that much. I had not even heard about it until yesterday. It does a good job of showing what the original film was all about, and tries to go for the same message that the first one did. But due to how they altered the end when we are supposed to be putting everything together, the movie just falls flat. We have decent action, but not much else. It was a enjoyable movie, but the ending seemed oddly out of place. It felt like they just took the easy way out, instead of trying to figure out a complex but appropriate answer to the issue. For a popcorn flick, it was decent enough. I would rent it, but I would never buy it. If you just want to see what Walker was working on before he did, check this out. If you just want a action flick, there are better options. Still it did keep me entertained for the most part.

Summer Wars (2009)

A older movie today, well older in the sense it did not just come out on dvd or at theaters. When I was a kid I was obsessed with Digimon. They were monsters that lived inside computers, and they had tv shows, toys, card and video games. One of the movies titled "Our War Game" came out int he late 90s and was directed by Mamoru Hosoda. When released state side it was slightly edited down and put along side 2 other feature films to create the US digimon movie. Our War Game stood out from the rest of the film however. It had a much more interesting animation style and over all story then the other two. So years later when Mamoru Hosoda directed another film that was being called a much grander version of that same story, it caught my interest. I have been sitting on a copy of Summer Wars for a few years now. But my fondness for the Digimon one kept me from watching it. That may seem odd to most, but as somebody who still plays the old digimon games and watches the shows, I didn't see how it could provide anything better then what I had seen.

The story for this film is very similar to the Digimon one. A online company has created a digital world called Oz. In Oz you can do pretty much anything you could think of online. You can watch movies, play games, chat using a advance program that instantly translates speech into any language. You can buy items from any online store, you can pay your taxes and buy a car. You get the idea, Oz has grown so large that pretty much everything internet related has been attached to it in one way or another. Kenji and his friend are spending their summer working maintenance on Oz. However a girl from their school named Natsuki begs for one of them to take her up on a part time job. She needs somebody to accompany her into the country for 4 days while she visits her family. Kenji ends up going with her, unsure as to what exactly is expected of him. We find out Natsuki's grandmother is turning 90, and the entire family is trying to get together for the party. Natsuki is part of the Jin'nôchi family, a old family from back in the Tokugawa period (Samurai). It turns out Kenji was hired to play as Natsuki's fiance. The logic behind it seemed poor, but she wanted her grandmother to be happy. It sounds as if she thinks she will die soon, however she also says she will claim they broke up shortly after the trip is over.

So we have what appears to be a normal romance story with some comedic tones. However Kenji is a math wiz, and loves solving math problems. He receives a text from Oz with a few thousand numbers and is simply tasked with solving it. Thinking it is some sort of game event, he does just that. The next morning his picture is all over the news as a cyber terrorist. What he solved was the encryption to Oz, and now his account has full access to every ones user info. Who ever has taken over his account uses it to start causing wipe spread panic across the globe. Everything internet related goes through Oz. Gps system stop working. Traffic lights go crazy. Those alert buttons old people keep in their homes, they all go off. Fire alarms start ringing in around the clock, with no actual fires. The world falls into chaos as the internet is now working against us. The movie is about Kenji trying to figure out what exactly he has done, and how to fix it before to many people die.

The movie raises a interesting point. Just how dependent are we on the internet? It was neat to see how the different parties reacted to what was going on around them. Some didn't believe that what was happening was real, others tried to band together to fight the threat. But what really made the movie work, was how we had just as much time outside of Oz as we did in it. There were multiple stories going on at once, but it never lost focus on what it was trying to do. Everybody got their time to shine, and each character was fleshed out in at least some detail. For the large cast this movie had, that alone was impressive. I also enjoyed how Oz was filled with games, which allowed for them to make the computer sequences more action orientated. One of the main heroes was a champion in the Oz fighting games. His avatar was a giant rabbit who used Shaolin Kung Fu. He challenges the villian, who goes by the name "Love Machine" to a game. They then have a very over the top and well animated battle. By having Oz as the fighting ground, we are able to see them compete against the threat in a variety of ways that would not normally be present in a computer hacking movie. It all comes together in a final showdown where they essentially play a card game against the Villain while betting user accounts instead of money. It is just so absurd, but it works flawlessly in the confines of the film.

The story has its emotional moments, it has good action, and it is very touching and relatable at times. It uses the two different worlds quite well, and I enjoyed seeing the digital representations of each family member as they appeared. At its core though, this is a movie about family. We have the 20ish members of the Jin'nôchi family all helping each other out in this conflict. They are actually the ones who declare war on the Villain and give the title to the movie. The Jin'nôchi have been around for many generations, and have many different jobs in our current society. A fire fighter, a EMT, a doctor, a police officer, and more. We get to see the havoc from their perspective as they try to assist and help as many people as they can before coming together to make a final stand. It was actually quite interesting how the main Character Kenji had so little to do most of the film. Really the Jin'nôchi were the stars here, and they did most of the work while Kenji was on the sidelines.

The animation was handled by Madhouse who has a very extensive list of works. They did a wonderful job with this one. There were two very distinctive styles that differed depending on which world they were in. The world of Oz was by far the most visually impressive. Vibrant colors, and harsh shading to create a distinctive look I have not seen outside of this film. Well other then in "Our War Game". In the real world they went with a more realist approach, and subtler line work. But even that world was beautiful. The scenery shots were fantastic, and frankly I have no idea how one draws like that. Madhouse really delivered on this one. The different avatars for each of the characters in Oz were varied and unique. They presented a different look at the personality of each of the characters. Each avatar was carefully constructed to reflect each of the different people. Even all the background avatars seemed unique and interesting. The world of Oz was truly the visual highlight of the film.

A strong story, with different tales to tell. A romantic story filled with action and a few laughs. A few tears and powerful moments, mixed with very impressive animation. Summer Wars really does deliver on all fronts. If your a fan of anime, or even just animated films in general, give it a shot. I am sorry I waited so long to. While it was a very similar movie to the digimon one, it had so much more going for it.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)

*This movie is not for kids. Yes it is a cartoon, and most parents will rent it for their children from redbox without looking at the content. We see Batman shooting people in the head, literally blowing their brains out. We see children being killed, one having their throat slit. We see somebodies heart ripped out, limbs removed, people disintegrated and burned. DC makes animation for adults, and they stick true to the comic source. If your kid is in his teens or older, they are probably fine. But just know what you are giving them.

I love DC animated films, they consistently deliver super hero goodness at a level most other films fall short on. Recently I reviewed X-men Days of future past, I enjoyed it. However They did not follow the actual story, and the variations they did make, ended up making for a weaker story overall. Why do companies do this? Because comics are a very different medium, they tell long stories over many months and sometimes years. A movie can not do that, you have 2 hours and have to make it work. Big studios won't take risks, but a straight to dvd animated feature can. And DC always delivers on these.

The story is about Flash, and since he is getting his own tv series, it seemed like a good time to bring this film up. Barry Allen is the flash, and he has a decent life. However his origin like most, is not a happy tale. His mother was murdered when he was a child, and he blames himself for not being their. One of his main villains is Eobard Thawne from the 25th century. He also goes by Professor Zoom, or the reverse flash. If you don't know about Flash, his powers come from the speed force. I won't go into that, but know other people who draw from that, all draw from the same source. So there is a limited amount of power, so having 2 flashes active at one time weakens their potential. Zoom uses the speed force as well, which is a major plot point. Flash is almost killed, but him and the Justice League save the day as they usually do. He wakes up however in a world that is different from the one he knows. Batman is a murderous vigilante that uses firearms and blades instead of the non-lethal hero who hates such things that we know. Some villians are not good guys, some heroes are now villians. Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, and humanity is being wiped out as a casualty of said war. Barry believes something happened int he past to alter how the world would turn out, but he now has no powers and can't really influence or change the past to right the events.

The other world is the main setting for the movie, and it does a great job of taking the established heroes and creating something new from them. In that world Bruce Wayne's parents never died, instead the killer murdered Bruce in that alley. His father then beat the mugger to death while his mother went crazy. Batman is now Bruce's father Thomas Wayne, and his mother is now the Joker. Now imagine if every hero has had their past altered to that degree, and you start to see the creativity and opportunities this story has to offer.

As I said in the opening, this movie is not for kids. It is violent, and slightly graphic. While most of the dirty is done off camera, you do have some "oh ****" moments. The movie does not shy away from showing you the horrors it creates, and I think it is better for that. I couldn't help but think, they would never do a live action like this, while watching. Which is to bad, because I honestly think if they did it right, it would be a amazing comic book film. But if I have to stick to animated, I am glad DC is behind it. The animation style was fantastic, and everything looked great. They always get solid voice actors to. Nathan Fillion is one again Hal Jordan. Which reminds me, why is he not always Jordan? Why does he not play him in the live action films to? Flash was played by Justin Chambers who I had never heard of before, but he did a great job with the character. And Bruce Batman was done by Kevin Conroy, as he should always be.

If you like the comics, you need to check this movie out. It acts as a prequel to Justice League War, and was honestly a little better then that one was. I loved the new world with the messed up time line, and seeing what eventually caused it was a great reveal. It told a clever story, with a fresh look at the heroes we know and love. While I never read the flashpoint books, this telling of it was amazing and something I can't recommend enough.

Son of Batman

This is a animated movie about, well Batman's son Damian. If you are unfamilar with Damian, you are not alone. One thing I really enjoyed was reading reviews for this movie on various sites. Before it actually came out, it was rated 1.5 stars on redbox.com. The reviews have been deleted, but there was one that simply gave it the lowest score possible because "Batman doesn't have a son. And who is this woman, she is not catwoman." I guess stuff like that shouldn't surprise me, not everybody reads the Batman books. Most people simply know him from the movies, and the many tv shows. So let us start with some history, I promise not to geek out to much here.

Batman, or Bruce Wayne, had a kid with Talia al Ghul. She drugged him, and pretty much had her way with him. They kind of skim over that part in the movie, it is alluded to but they don't go to big into it. Talia was in the Nolan batman movies, so if you saw the more recent films, you may remember her. She was in the last one they put out. Her role wasn't to large, but she ended up being one of the main bad guys and was killed at the end of the movie. You should know her father though, Ra's al Ghul, who was the main villian of the first Nolan movie. He was played by Liam Neeson. Bruce and Talia do have a relationship of sorts, however her being unable to give up her assassin heritage stops it from advancing. Ra's is the leader of the League of Assassins. He wants Bruce to Marry Talia and take it over. Now that he has Bruce and Talia's kid, he wants him to take it over.

The story starts at that point. Damian is 10, and has been trained by the League of Assassins since birth. He is violent, a killer, and very skilled in various forms of martial arts and weapons. Deathstroke, who you should know if you watch the tv show "Arrow," was once thought of as a possible successor to the league. He attacks the league and kills Ra's in order to take it over. Talia and Damian escape, and she confronts Bruce and tells him about his son in hopes that he will protect him. Damian is mad and wants revenge for his family, he swears to kill Deathstroke and is unable to comprehend why Bruce is so against it.

A good portion of the movie is spent on trying to establish the relationship between Damian and Bruce. Bruce did not know he had a kid, and he has no real idea how to be a father. So he ends up treating him like a new Robin for the most part. He is impressed by his abilities, and tries to teach him that there is another way then killing. Some of the more enjoyable scenes are when the two are out of costume. Damian showing up at Bruce's job and catching booking mistakes that he missed. Or Alfred and Damian arguing over the small things. They really did a good job of establishing the Damian character. He is not likable, but you feel like he can be. He was raised as a killer, but you can see that there is hope for him to be something else. He wants to impress his father, and he is receptive to his ideology.

The animation isn't to bad, I would say a notch above what you normally see on cartoon network. I think the more recent Justice League movie was a bit better in this department, but I was still happy with what was offered. The writing was decent, but nothing special. And the story was about the same. This was a solid straight to dvd film, but compared to some of DC's other offerings, it did feel a little lacking.

While this is a Batman movie, Damian really is the star of it. Damian gets the final fight, he gets the main story, everything is about Damian here. That works well enough, Damian is pretty entertaining after all. Seeing a 10 year old beat a big man almost to death is oddly satisfying. However people who are unfamiliar with him may not find it as endearing as I did. If you are a fan of the comics, and think Damian is the best robin, this movie is for you. If you have no clue who he is, well it might be a pass. It was a good enjoyable DC animated film. But it does not live up to some of their better offerings. If you just want to get into batman, I would recommend finding a copy of Under the Red Hood instead. That is the Batman movie as far as I am concerned. Or check out Justice League War, which is also currently at redbox this month.

The Lego Movie (2014)

I saw part of this movie in theaters when it first came out. I made it about 2/3rds of the way into it, then something came up and I left the theater. I always wanted to finish it, but never made it back. So when it finally showed up on amazons instant video, I was very happy to see how it all ended. So I sent the kid off to grandmas for a weekend, and the wife and I decided to sit down and enjoy this. While it is billed as a kids movie, it has plenty to offer adults as well. I honestly feel if you approach it with a open mind, anybody can find something to like about this one.

The story of the lego movie is simple, yet complicated. At its core it is a story about a villain trying to take over the world. Lord Business, played by Will Ferrell, collects relics of great power. Vitruvius, Morgan Freeman, is a wise old hippy who claims a prophecy of a "Special One" that will appear and stop Lord Business. The movie is about a average guy named Emmet, who is believed to be that "Special One." The story is pretty easy at first, business is bad and is oppressing the free will of the other lego people. He controls there entire life and gives them instructions to follow each day in order to be happy. He controls what is on tv and the radio, and unknowingly to them, controls pretty much their every action. But then the Master Builders come in. They can look at the world around them, and build anything out of it. They represent the kids who don't follow the instructions. The ones who just buy legos, then make their own sets out of them. Now the story is about which is the correct way. Should we buy sets and build them as intended, or make our own things out of them? It continues to take it a step further at the end, in a scene that was oddly depressing given the tone of the rest of the movie. But without spoilers I can not get any more into it. Just know that the movie does have a lot going on. And I mean that in a good way, the various layers added so much to it. And they resolved it in a way that will leave everybody happy, regardless of how they choose to use their legos.

I feel the animation is something that should be talked about. If you have seen the previews, it looks almost like they are using real legos and stop motion animation. That is not the case, but it is clearly what they were going for. The animation style was wonderful, and works very well for the movie. Seeing Emmet trying to do jumping jacks, then just moving his legs and arms in the limited fashion a lego is able to put a smile on my face. Seeing a world where the water, and even the explosions are comprised of bricks was astounding. If you play the lego video games, you know they don't use legos for the ground or the levels themselves. This movie did, everything was lego. While the site gags are enjoyable, the legos are given more movement in most scenes. But they still looked just like the toys, and whoever came up with the process to make that happen deserves a lot of credit for it.

They also include many different lego sets in the movie. From the older sets, 1980 something space guy, to the newer ones like the Ninja Turtles. You will see many people you know, and each new appearance will make you happier and happier. I love Green Lantern, I read the books, I have a silver GL ring.....GL is my favorite comic hero. In this movie, he is portrayed very differently. But it was fun, and seeing a GL voiced by Jonah Hill, harassing Superman over and over again. Shaquille O'Neal voiced himself in a great cameo. He busts out the Jock Jams song from Space Jam of all movies, in one of the better one liners the movie has to offer. The stand out role though was Will Arnett as Batman. This is not the batman you know and love, however I would argue this one is better. He writes his own song about darkness and being a orphan, and how being rich makes it better. It is a bit of dark humor that runs in the background of a scene. He only uses black and dark grey bricks when building, and he names everything the bat something or another. He is also the biggest jerk in the movie, and it is awesome. Charlie Day as Benny, the 1980's space man was another great role. The movie has such a large cast, but everybody gets their time to shine.

The movie is very fast paced, and it comes off as very hyper. The diolague is pretty good, and it has some great comedy moments. Seeing Vitruvius get Gandalf and Dumbledore mixed up for example. There are plenty of one liners, sight gags, and running jokes. Liam Neeson's Bad cop has a prolonged war against chairs that cracked me up constantly. It comes off feeling like something a child put together, then some great writers took that idea and ran with it. It was a visual treat, and any fan of lego's or comedy should enjoy it. Yes it is a movie geared towards children, but there is enough there that adults can enjoy it to. It even manages to fit a moral lesson into the equation, and not just one for children. While the ending did get into a very different tone, and slow down the movie, I felt it tied everything together nicely. It made you appreciate the rest of the film, and the fact that they were able to take that sort of risk and have it pay off. In the end I really enjoyed this movie, and it is one I will watch again. For me, that is not all that common.

And a Lego version of the Lego trailer.

Justice League: War

Justice League: War is a animated movie that serves as the set up for the new DC animated continuity. What that means is, moving forward, the DC animated films will fall into the same universe. Similar to how Marvel's live action films all take place along side each other now. It also serves as a new Origin for the Justice League, and is based off of the "New 52" version of them. Two years ago DC decided to relaunch all their series, and most restarted with new beginnings or Origins. This film is establishing those changes, and does so in a spectacular way. If you are a fan of the comics, you will notice Aquaman is not present in this film. He was replaced by Shazam, another established hero who has been associated with the JL in the past. Also worth knowing, this is not really a kids movie. I assume most people will be renting it for children, but the language is fairly bad in this. While hearing Green Lantern call Batman a douchebag made me laugh, they do say shit a few times as well as some other words. Given the context it makes sense, these are supposed to be real modern people in horrible situations. But if you don't like your kids hearing some bad words, and seeing some blood, maybe keep them away from this one.

The story is very interesting in this, and features the villain DarkSeid. He is using a teleportation system to send his minions into our world where they are trying to plant various devices around the globe. The various hero's, who at this point are unfamiliar with each other, start to find the devices and are trying to figure out what they do. Batman being the genius he is, puts it all together pretty quickly. He also brings most of the Heroes together to form the team. It turns into a war of sorts, and the action takes off. There is a sort of Mystery vibe to it, but it never really focuses on that. Still we get to see a side of Batman that the live action films has completely neglected. Batman is after all the Worlds Greatest Detective, and even DC stands for Detective Comics because of him. This is one reason I think the animated films come out so much better then the DC live action ones do. They don't try to change everything, and that makes the characters really shine.

The animation style was....well it was alright. For the most part, everything looks really good. The faces were odd to me though, something about the spacing and the way they did Green lanterns mask. Still a minor complaint. The scenery though, and all the action sequences were very well done. It had its own style, and if this is how they continue to animate going forward, I would be very happy with it. You can tell a lot of pride and effort went into this, and it really helped further my enjoyment of it.

In movies like this, voice acting can make or break a character. Thankfully they got everyone pretty much right in this. Green Lanterns voice was very different from any of the other actors they have used before, but once I got accustomed to it, the voice actually seemed to fit him pretty well. The only real stand out was Wonder Woman. She talked with a weird speech inflection or cadence that just sounded odd and unnatural. They have toyed around with this before in the other movies, but it always came across sounding much more natural in those. It got to the point I would get annoyed if she said more then a few words.

The story was very well done, and there are a few emotional moments tossed in. Seeing each hero and be introduced to them was a treat. We are not given much information on them however, so if you are unfamiliar with anybody other then Cyborg, you may be lost. Cyborg is given a origin story however, and for me it was one of the stronger sequences in the movie. If you like animated films, action, and have any interest in the heroes portrayed, this one is for you. I would also recommend you check out DC's other animated features if you enjoy it. Also be on the lookout for "Son of Batman" which should be popping up in redbox over the next month.

Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery

So kind of a odd review this time, a new Scooby Doo movie featuring the World Wrestling Entertainment superstars. This movie comes out tomorrow on the 25, and though I don't see it on redbox.com, I would assume it will be there in a month like normal. So if you are familiar with Scooby-Doo, you know they like to do guest star spots, so seeing him paired with the likes of WWE's John Cena isn't that odd. However Scooby-Doo is pretty dated, and this movie takes place in modern times. Does Scooby's usual antics and style of humor hold up over the years?

Let us start with the basic story, and no I won't nerd out and go into the WWE history side of things. Imagine if Pro-Wrestling was real, and for whatever reason WWE decided to build its own City. This city is where all the Wrestlers, or Superstars as they are called, live and train. WrestleMania is the big event they put on at the end of the year, and is their largest PPV. Scooby and Shaggy win a trip to WWE city to see the ppv, and spend some time with the WWE superstars. As it always does, a mystery arises, and the gang has to solve it in order to save the day. The way they incorporate the WWE guys into the story, is they are the ones being target by the monster. So they have a reason to help out Mystery Inc while they try to solve the case. Anything else would go into spoiler territory, so I will just leave it at that. There was also a subplot about a uncle and his nephew Ruben. The uncle was a known name in wrestling, but got injured before he could win any really big matches. The uncle doesn't want his nephew wrestling, as he is afraid he will hurt himself as well. I felt they could have done more with this, as there is a great potential to talk to kids about these kind of situations. It is not abnormal for people to have dreams that there guardians are unable to understand after all. But in the end they never really get a chance to talk it out, and it just felt like a missed opportunity for a kids movie to actually have a good lesson. The story works well enough for a movie, though there is plenty of padding in order to lengthen its run time. Scooby has a dream sequence where he wrestles food so that he can eat it after he wins the match. Granted that is probably something Scooby would dream of, but it takes to long and serves no real purpose other then to remind you, hey this is a movie about wrestling. I also found they liked to name drop in the movie, and they did it far more frequently then I would have liked. I can understand them introducing each superstar, as some people will not know who they are. But having to say their name multiple times, every time they are on screen seems odd. They also say "WWE" far to often, as if they had to reach a quota of times plugged, in order to use the license. It doesn't detract much, but it was annoying.

However the actual use of the WWE superstars, and brand, was a positive overall. Seeing the superstars, most of which were voiced by themselves, interact with Mystery Inc turned out better then I would have thought. John Cena was the stand out role, as he tended to be the one usually paired with Scooby. One thing I really liked about it, was how they poked fun at the superstars in ring personas. Cena is known for his larger the life personality, and is often referred to as Super Cena as he tends to win matches were the odds are stacked against him. That carried over into the movie, and was used in a comical way. He performed feats of strength that no real person could do, and even helped fight the Bear Monster in hand to hand combat. Hearing his entrance music go off though, when he jumps in to save the day, will put a smile on any fan of his. And really that is the main thing here, this is a movie for the fans. The wrestlers are often spouting out their catchphrases, and seeing them acting out their characters in this environment just mad me happy. If you are a 6 year old, or a 30+ who is still a fan of WWE, this movie will have something for you.

Also while talking about the wrestlers, I figure I should point out they do fight in this movie. For me it was fine, but not exactly what I expected from Scooby-Doo. Scooby has done shows about wrestling before, but never with this much action. I don't think it comes off in a bad way however, and I would not consider it to violent for children by any means. You get John Cena in a match against Sin Cara. You get Scooby and Shaggy against Kane, and then a cage match to finish it all up. There are also training sequences, as well as Scooby-Doo's odd food fight dream. They also catch the bad guy this time, by beating them down in said cage match. Thinking back on it, not exactly what I would have expected from this franchise, but it works given the guest stars.

So the wrestlers work well, but how does Scooby hold up over the years? And which version of Scooby do we even get? If you are a younger fan, you are probably familiar with the recent series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. Why I enjoyed this series, it was very different from old school Scooby-Doo. The gang are high schoolers, and the monsters are usually real instead of people in costumes. As this is the most recent version of the show, I was surprised to see they went with the classic variation where monsters don't exist. It was nice to see the 70's version though, and the voices sounded enough like the originals, which I guess would have bothered nobody but me had they not. The humor is very similar to the old show, and they even re-used some old gags. Stuff like running down a hallway with many doors, and then coming out of random ones and causing a pile-up. Not sure if that humor would work on new viewers, but old fans will enjoy seeing it. Still this is a kids movie, and I think they will be able to enjoy it for what it is.

In the end we have a passable story, and a mystery that you will have solved about 20 minutes into the movie. The first half is a little weak and slow, but the 2nd half more the makes up for it. There are some attempts at good lessons for the kids, but mostly they fall flat or go un-used. A little padding in order to get that full length, instead of a hour long special, and some odd action sequences to round it out. So is it worth buying for you young ones, or older wrestling fans? Yes and no, or no and yes given the order I worded that. If you like Scooby-Doo, this movie will not really do much for you. The antics and gags that made Scooby work are present, but take a back seat to the inclusion of WWE! I used the ! because they yell WWE at you so damn often during the film. Also I figure most younger people now know the more recent variation of the Scooby-Doo franchise, and would be confused as to who these people are, and why they are so different. If your a WWE fan, well you will enjoy this more. Seeing a comical approach to the superstars was oddly satisfying. And seeing The Miz taken out by a ghost bear put a huge smile on my face. If you like both the Doo and the E, well then you are who this movie was made for. Go enjoy it

Frozen

Frozen is a new Disney film staring Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Oddly enough, I hadn't really seen any advertising done for the film. So it was kind of nice going into it with no real knowledge or expectations. After quite a few previews, and as many amc adds....why advertise the theater I am already in? After all that, the movie began, except not. You are treated to a Mickey Mouse short that frankly could have been removed and I would have been happier. I am not sure if it was included due to Pixar usually doing something, but it fell flat and started the movie off with me annoyed. This brings me to another point, the sound. The sound was awful at the theater I saw it at. The Universal Studios theater. It sounded all filtered and distorted. I know this is not the movies fault, so I will not hold it against it. But since it was a movie with lots of singing, understand that is why I don't really spend much time on that section.

The story, with minor spoilers, is that Anna and Elise are princesses of some land with a name I don't remember. They are very close as children, but over the course of a musical number we see that all change. Elise has magic powers that allow her to create and control ice and snow. Afraid of her hurting her sister with her powers, the parents decide to seal off the children from the world. They raise them separately  and they no longer interact with each other. The main story kicks in when they are older and Elise is becoming queen. After finally seeing her sister again, Anna gets carried away and angers her. Elise looses control of her powers and sends their kingdom into an eternal  winter. 

Voice acting is very different from regular acting. It requires different talents and skills. I don't recall Kristen Bell doing voice work before, so it was very nice to see she took naturally to it. From what I could tell, she also did well with the singing portions. Her character Anna was the main role in the movie, and Bell was fantastic. The person who surprised me though was Josh Gad. I had no clue who he was going into the film, but his role as Olef the snowman was a show stealer. He does a musical number about how he wants to see summer, so he can finally do whatever it is snow does when it gets hot. Between his dopey but lovable demeanor, he easily had some of the more humorous and memorable parts. Groff also did well, but other then one musical portion, his character really doesn't stand out much. 

Sound...yeah. Music sounded like it was all well done, and a few of the numbers were very clever. Nothing really stood out as just being bad from what I could tell. Oh if you see it with your family or friends, make sure to ask them who voices the reindeer with a serious face. Don't worry, you will know when the time is right to ask.

Animation was pretty good in this one. It was done in a similar style as Tangeled or Brave. The people looked rather realistic, but the faces are often done in a more exaggerated manor. It seems like it allows for a wider range of emotions, but that could also be just in my head. The snow was cool though, and the magic stuff was impressive to see. You expect a certain level from a big Disney animated film, and this one easily met it. Seeing Elise manipulate her surroundings was always enjoyable.

The story overall was decent. Seeing the sisters trying to deal with their issues was a nice change of pace. While it wouldn't be a Disney movie without a romance subplot, this one felt unique enough to stand out. It never takes the main stage, and it didn't feel forced. The sound was hard to gauge, but I think everything was good with it. And the voice work was animated and enjoyable. Great animation quality, and cool magical visuals to round everything up. Honestly I enjoyed this movie more then I thought I would. It is a great date night movie if your lady is into these kind of films. And a great family movie that I think both male and female kids would enjoy. Hell, I can even say as a almost 30 year old male that I enjoyed the musical princess film.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

Dragon Ball started as a weekly comic back in 1984, published in the Shonen Jump books. It ran for 11 years with over 500 chapters, and was turned into a well received animated series as well. If you grew up in the 90's, chances are you have seen or are at least familiar with the show or books. While America did get everything much later, the show did very well over here. For years you could not turn on cartoon network without seeing something Dragon Ball related. Stores were filled with the merchandise, everything from clothing to video games. Even today the series still has a strong presence. When I looked up how long it had been since the last Dragon Ball film, I was shocked. The Path to Power came out March 4, 1996, around 17 years ago. Maybe that was why I was so excited to finally see Battle of Gods. After so long, anything new from Dragon Ball was sure to excite the fans. However hype does not always work in your favor. This was my major concern for the film. That after so long, it would not be able to find its footing again.

The story is simple enough, and frankly it works better by being so easy to digest. Bills is the god of destruction. He is presented as being the strongest entity in existence. He wakes up every dozen or so years to destroy a few planets, and then goes back to sleep. Our hero Goku learns of Bills existence, and decides that fighting him sounds like a good time. If you are familiar with the show, you know Goku is not the smartest guy around. But taking on a god and potentially pissing him off in the process is pretty much what we would expect from him. Bills has a dream before he sets out though, that there is a Super Saiyan God somewhere, and he will finally be able to give him a great fight. Saiyans are a alien race that was wiped out a long time ago. Only a handful remain, 5 of which live on earth and comprise of the major characters in the show. The movie is about Bills trying to find his Saiyan God, while enjoying his time on earth and deciding if he should destroy it or not.

One thing I have always enjoyed about the Dragon Ball movies, is they don't take themselves to seriously. The Books were fairly fast paced, and while they had some comedic moments, it was not the main focus. This movie however did a great job of being both a comedy and action film. The entire first half has almost no fight in it, which was surprising given that is what the series is known for. However it remained very entertaining by relying on its humor and story telling. Bills visits Goku on King Kai's planet, and they have a very short physical encounter. While it could have been a easily forgettable scene, it was sold by the smaller details. Seeing King Kai, a god, visibly shaken by Bills presence really helped sell just how big a threat he was. This is actually a theme through out the film that just works wonderfully. The majority of the movie takes place on earth at a party. Bulma is turning 38, and being one of the richest people on the planet she throws a very extravagant party for herself. She has a Bingo game where the prizes comprise of a castle and a plane, so very rich. Four of the Five Saiyans are at the party, as she is married to one, and one is her son. So Bills ends up there enjoying the food and festivities, and for a minute it seems he will spare earth simply for the food. Vegita is aware of who Bills is, and why he is there. So we get to see a side of him we are not used to. He tries to entertain Bills, and plays advocate every time something comes up that may annoy the lord of destruction.

So after almost a hour, and no real action, the movie finally shifts into gear. Bills decides the earth is annoying, and that is all he needs to destroy it. The good guys jump into action, and get swatted down like they are nothing. I won't spoil it, but this was one of the better moments in the film. Something happens that pisses one of them off, and the first shot against Bills is finally landed in a very satisfying moment. We even get a moment where Vegita finally surpasses Goku in power...for about 5 minutes. Then Goku comes in, figures out the trick to Super Saiyan God, and transforms for the final fight. I wouldn't say the final fight was a let down, but most of the issues I had with the movie stem from that. Let us just say for now, the finish was lacking. But the actual ending to the film was enjoyable, and continues the theme that action was not the main focus of this particular movie. I don't know if it sets up a future movie, but if another one comes they could incorporate this movie easily enough.

As for those issues, I want to start with animation. I have not seen a anime movie in a few years, so I am not sure if it is a new trend or not. But they mixed traditional animation with 3d animation in this movie. Most of the movie was traditional, however the city and battle grounds were 3d for the most part. Also when Goku goes into his God form, his aura was 3d. For the most part, the 3d animation did not look bad. But when movement was brought into play, it all fell apart. The way the traditional art flows, does not match up with the 3d models. It creates a very jarring effect that took me out of the action. When Goku and Bills are flying around at high speeds, it appeared as if the backgrounds were movie in different directions then they were. Or maybe a better way to say it would be, the characters movements did not appear to match what was happening in the background. Another example was Goku's Aura, or energy radiating from his body. In god form it looks almost as if his body is engulfed in flames. This is a common thing in the series, but the aura was always animated before by hand. It made it easier to match the bodies movements, and it looked natural. With the 3d flames, we get the same issues we had with the 3d backgrounds. It does not move correctly, and it just looks odd when Goku moves or fights. When he fights outside of God form though, it reverts back to the traditional animated aura. We also get by far the best minute of fighting in the entire movie at this point. The animation is so smooth, and everything flows and looks right. The music gears up, and really sells the moment. It was a stark contrast to the last few moments and really made the 3d animation flaws stand out. I don't know why they used that sort of animation for God form. Maybe it was cheaper, or maybe it is easier, but it detracts from the overall product.

So we get a Dragon Ball movie light on action, but heavy one story. Though to be fair, after 17 years that does seem like the best option. It was like seeing a old friend again, and I very much enjoyed it for that. There are plenty of stand out moments, from Drunk Gohan to Bulma going off on a God. There was even a Emperor Pilaf story tossed in. I also really enjoyed the new Villain of Bills. He was funny, and very charismatic. I actually had trouble viewing him as a bad guy because of this. Yes he kills planets and the people on them, but you never really see that.

If you are a fan, or were a fan, you owe it to yourself to check it out. You won't be disappointed. The Blue ray can be bought on amazon.com right now, but be aware it does not have English Subtitles. I do not know when the full English version will come out, but they have announced it will happen.

It was close to perfection, but a few animation flaws held it back in the end.

Iron Man: Rise of Technovore

This is a animated film that in no way is associated with the big screen Iron Man films of the past few years. While it does have some of the same characters in it, it exists in its own separate world from those films. It is also a very different movie in both tone and content, and as such has been receiving some pretty negative feedback on user submitted sites. Redbox.com for example is filled with user reviews complaining about how the movie is not in English. Most of the issues people seem to take with this one are not un-founded, however simply reading the description of the film would solve most of there confusion. What this is, is a Iron Man movie made in japan, and it contains none of the actors from the other films. It has a more adult tone, and lacks the comedic atmosphere of the live action films. And while yes it is in Japanese, the dvd has English tracks on it that are very well done and some of the better dubs I have seen. So if you are reading this because you are interested in the film, you now know pretty much everything you need to before moving on.

The story revolves around a satellite Stark is trying to launch into orbit. It will allow him to monitor pretty much everybody on planet 24 hours a day. Some people are calling it a invasion of privacy, while he claims it should allows us to prevent and respond to situations in a more efficient manor. While trying to launch said satellite, a terrorist group attacks and they are lead by a young boy who uses a suit far more advanced then even Tony's. His suit is able to take over other technology, and is the Technovore. The majority of the movie is Tony trying to track the kid and suit down, while running from Shield. The story comes off as ambitious, but about half way into the movie you start to realize they are doing nothing with it. Most of the film has nothing to do with the main villain, and seems to be more about Cameos then anything else. We see Stark Teaming up with the Punisher for a small portion, and we see Hawkeye and Widow working together for awhile. Rhodey, or War Machine, also has a major role in the film. While it is neat to see all these characters interacting with each other, it feels like the villain should have been a bigger focus. He honestly only has one real attack, and then a showdown at the end. The way they tell the story just felt disconnected, and poorly paced. The villain gets all of his development at the end of the film, and spends the rest of the time not really doing anything.

The action makes up for this, and the animated style really helped out as well. The movie opens up with a race between Iron Man and War Machine, and like most of the fighting sequences, it is fast and fluid. The animation is much better in this then the american marvel animated films, though there are a few hiccups. Certain sequences just look cheap and poorly done, mostly when using what appears to be 3d models along side the drawn portions. The contrast between the two styles is very obvious, but overall it is a small complaint. While the visuals are very Japanese, I really did like how most of the characters came out. While Technovore looked like a 80's anime villain, pretty much everybody else exuded style. Seeing Iron Man vs Gatchaman was odd, but you go into anime movies expecting stuff like that.

Closing thoughts, this was a neat experience for me. I have not had any experience with the Marvel anime since they started. I know they have a few series, and maybe even other movies, but I have not seen them. I did not know what to expect, and what I got was pretty decent. The first half of the movie was far better then the second, and the story didn't deliver like I would have hoped. But seeing Iron Man in this setting I was not used to felt fresh and new. While the movie does have a few cliches from other anime, such as the villain having multiple forms....it did well enough for itself and kept me entertained. For a redbox rental, I think it was well worth the price. It is not one I will be going out and buying, but I am glad I saw it. I enjoyed it more then the last theatrical Iron Man, though that is not saying much.