Tag Archives: Animation

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

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With “The Lion Guard,” you have to keep telling yourself, it’s mainly a show for the kids, and you might be able to forgive some of the mistakes it makes. While it does make the wise choice of somewhat ignoring the lackluster sequels to “The Lion King,” it also adds unnecessary dimension to what was already a complex animated movie. Since the series “The Lion Guard” is touted for kids, I doubt Disney will do much to patch up continuity problems, so you have to decide if you want to acknowledge “The Lion Guard.” This time around, “The Lion Guard” is set somewhere during Simba’s reign and obviously before “The Lion King 2.” As a matter of fact, “The Lion Guard” essentially ignores “Simba’s Pride,” altogether.

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World of Tomorrow (2015)

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The crude animation for “World of Tomorrow” seems like something that would distract from the overall experience, but thankfully Don Hertzfeldt’s short is still very powerful. The impact of the message and the ideas about time travel and unchangeable destiny still resonate, and the crude animation and simplistic voice work almost seem to compliment the abstract ideas presented here.

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Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)

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Boobs! Big Boobs! Big beautiful breasteses! Now that that’s out of my system, “Heavy Metal 2000” is primarily a sequel to pay tribute to the walking Amazonian that is Julie Strain. While it is adapted from a “Heavy Metal” novel like its superior animated entry, this is a film very much of its decade that is hell bent on convincing you that Julie Strain is a goddess. Not that it takes much convincing, mind you, but Strain succeeds in pull off a heroine who is very sexy but also tough as nails, and doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty; especially when her equally sexy sister is taken hostage.

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Heavy Metal (1981)

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There was always something about a rotoscope animated astronaut driving a top down corvette convertible from space to Earth that always screamed the eighties to me, and surprisingly it still works in encapsulating the surrealism of “Heavy Metal.” If you can accept the film for what it is, which is basically a man’s wet dream filled with misogyny, sex, big breasts, and mild exploitation, “Heavy Metal” is a solid animated anthology with some damn good music to accompany its epic sprawling tale. After the astronaut Grimaldi brings home mysterious green orb from space for his daughter, he’s melted and his daughter is shown by the sentient sphere named Loc-Nar, the extent of its power and influence through time and space.

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Our Top 10 Films of 2015

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I have to admit, 2015 was a great year for movies. We saw a huge glut in horror films, the welcome ongoing resurgence of the anthology film, Tarantino smashed in to theaters with his new film, and audiences told Hollywood which type of nostalgia is genuine, and which is just exploitative crap trying to take our cash. Some nostalgia like “Creed” and “Goosebumps” were a success, while other efforts like “Jem and the Holograms,” and “Tomorrowland” bombed big time inspiring groans and eye rolls. Most of all we saw the return of “Star Wars,” the “Jurassic Park” series, and the Western. To add some pleasing news to the latter, Kurt Russell was a part of two of the most talked about Western entries of the year. Long live Snake Plissken.

As always our commitment to covering the indie film world has prevented us from watching every movie in 2015. Especially now with many films available on various formats in digital and physical form. It’s tough to keep up. But out of the large array of films we saw in 2015, these were the best.

GREAT MOVIES that almost made the cut includes the horrific We Are Still Here, the darkly funny and creepy The Visit, the underdog superhero flick Ant-Man, another Marvel Cinematic Universe installment The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the shocking and haunting dramatic thriller The Gift, the meta horror comedy adventure Goosebumps, the wonderful feature film adaptation of Charles Shulz’s comic strip The Peanuts Movie, the beautiful Pixar animated drama Inside Out, the gory Tarantino mystery The Hateful Eight, the sequels Fast and Furious 7 and Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, the entertaining horror anthology Tales of Halloween, the gripping documentary Call Me Lucky, and Ridley Scott’s exciting survival drama The Martian. Now on to the Top 10…

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The Peanuts Movie (2015)

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I wish Hollywood would display this much respect and restraint with Dr. Seuss as they have with Charles Shulz. As a hardcore fan of Peanuts, I was initially very weary about how the series would be treated for a more mainstream modern audience. Thankfully my fears were laid to rest watching “The Peanuts Movie,” which isn’t just an adaptation of the original series, but is also a love letter to boot. Fans of the series will love how Steve Martino treats Charlie Brown and his world, opting for a wholesome respectful film, rather than ramming in pop culture references, and a sugary pop soundtrack. There’s nothing remotely cloying or obnoxious about “The Peanuts Movie,” and the new animation format even works in the series favor.

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How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

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It’s hard to imagine a more perfect adaptation of a Dr. Seuss story than the 1966 Chuck Jones feature; perhaps, “The Butter Battle Book.” In either case, I was one of the many children that grew up watching the TV version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” It’s such a wonderful combination of talents and rich enthusiasm for the source material, that it’s tough to not like it. There’s Boris Karloff, Chuck Jones, and Dr. Seuss, not to mention the perfectly simplistic tale about anti-materialism and the true meaning of Christmas.

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