Ed's Review Dot Com

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Ed O’Neill, Taraji P. Henson, Susan Lucci, Jason Lee, Idina Menzel, Anika Noni Rose, Judy Reyes, Grant Show, Ana Ortiz, Ming-Na Wen, Rebecca Wisocky, Paige O’Hara, Linda Larkin, Mariana Klaveno, Daria Ramirez, Tom Irwin, Edy Ganem, Irene Bedard, Jodi Benson, Anthony Daniels, Gal Gadot, Kristen Bell, Mandy Moore, Kelly Macdonald, Auli’i Cravalho

Ralph (John C Reilly) and Vanellope are still best friends. Ralph enjoys life, living in the arcade, and enjoying the down time when the Arcade is closed, but loving the sunrise every morning and looking forward to going back to Fix-It Felix. But Vanellope is looking for a bit more. She’s getting tired of the same six courses and she already knows all the secrets of the game and wants a new challenge. There is something new in the arcade though as the owner Mr Litwak (Ed O’Neill) plugs in a WiFi router to connect his business to the Internet. When Vanellope’s game is broken, She and Ralph head out through the wifi to the internet to find the missing part. Naturally things go really wrong as they always seem to do. This Disney film is a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph.

I really enjoyed this movie, although a lot of people were left feeling that it was lacking something. The problem is that a lot of people have a great deal of nostalgia for the old games in the past. I too feel a longing for the old Arcade and miss the games of old. Times were simple then, and video games today are extremely complex and I have a tough time getting into most of them. Sometimes I long for the old days when Donkey Kong jumped over barrels and a little yellow circle ran though a maze eating dots. But the internet just doens’t have that kind of nostalgia as we feel from the 70’s arcade days. There are a number of really cute references to old obsolete web sites that have long been replaced and sent to the the bit cemetery in the back realms of the internet, but nothing that really strikes a chord with the younger folks. It doesn’t hold the same kind of place in our hearts. Another problem is that Disney has gone overboard with the political correct stuff, and most of the less successful movies of late are so preachy that they really turn people off. Looking back at films like Wall-E for example are a “humans are bad” to the max experience. This movie would have been a lot better if it had not been overly skewed to the “You’re a bad friend and I don’t want you anymore” side. This movie is more about how Ralph pissed off Vanellope and she retaliates by turned against him. The key message of this film is insecurity and toxic friendship. It shouldn’t be. If you have not seen the original, then this isn’t a bad movie at all but as a sequel to the original, it’s bound to let you down as it’s just not a sweet and charming as the original. I think it could have been, but it went off course into a place I wish it hadn’t. I enjoyed it a lot, but it didn’t wow me like the original did.

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Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, GreeneStreet Films,

Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Jeremy Allen White, Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Kieran Culkin, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Justin Long, Leslie Bibb, Uma Thurman, Kristen Bell, Bobby Cannavale, John Hodgman, Halle Berry, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks, Stephen Merchant, Nicole Polizzi, Johnny Knoxville, Richard Gere, Jack McBrayer, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Terrence Howard, Chloë Grace Moretz, Josh Duhamel

Charlie Wessler (Dennis Quaid) is a washed up producer who is going nowhere. He weasels his way onto the studio lot to pitch his latest idea for a blockbuster Hollywood film to producer Griffin Schraeder (Greg Kinnear). Unfortunately it is a series of extremely inappropriate sketches. This movie is basically a really far out series of unrelated stores tied together with the efforts Charlie makes to get his idea turned into a movie at all costs, even at gunpoint with hostages if necessary in this hilarious star studded off-the-wall comedy.

Outrageous is an understatement for this film. The sketches are the most inappropriate stuff you have ever seen. This movie has it’s roots in the classic 1977 “Kentucky Fried Movie” but rather than just being short sketches, this one ties it all together with Dennis Quaid’s efforts to get this piece of crap made, even though Greg Kinnear is going to do everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen. What happens is a series of extremely funny bits with a TON of major stars. I don’t know how they talked all these people into being in this crazy film, but it must have been a real blast making it. It gets so out of hand, and goes where no film has gone before. I really enjoyed the craziness of this film. It is really out there. You have to be able to deal with the gross subject matter as nothing is off limits, and it’s really nasty sometimes, but the outrageousness of it is what makes it really funny. If you remember Kentucky Fried Movie, and if you enjoyed that, then you’re sure to crack up over this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Walt Disney Animation Studios,

John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong, Sarah Silverman, Brandon T. Jackson, Stefanie Scott, Scott Menville, Jamie Elman, Jack Angel

Wreck-it Ralph is a video game in the arcade. Wreck-it Ralph (John C Reilly) is a bad guy who smashes up the building, breaking windows and punching holes in the walls. Fix-it Felix (Jack McBrayer) is a repairman who can fix all of Ralph’s damage. If he fixes it all in time, the occupants of the building hold a party in the penthouse where they toss Ralph off the roof. Ralph lives in a dump and is always the bad guy. He dreams of one day being invited to the party and to be able to live somewhere besides the dump. So he gets the idea that if he could win a medal, then he would be a hero and the others would accept him. He heads out to visit other games looking for his chance to be a hero. Along the journey, he meets some special people and has to learn to look inside himself for the answer.

This is a charming new movie from the Disney Animation team, and is old fashioned 2D animation of the finest. Disney still knows the secret to a successful film is the story. This is exciting enough and certainly colorful enough to keep they youngsters interested, but there is a bunch of classic video games that make cameo appearances in this charming film, that is very nostalgic to the older folks who remember the original games. A lot of the characters we loved make their appearance in this movie. But most of all, it’s a fascinating story with a lot of heart, but also a lot of excitement and suspense as well. This will be a very success film because of the quality of the story line. It’s very interesting and will keep the attention of everyone from toddlers to great grandparents. Disney has hit the mark with this movie, and I recommend you don’t delay, but get out there and see it right away!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

DreamWorks SKG, Saturn Films, Varsity Pictures

Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, Ruby Dee, Allison Janney, Ariel Winter, Justina Machado, John Witherspoon, Jack McBrayer, Jordan-Claire Green

Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a fast talker. He’s a literary agent, and wants to sign the new book of the latest Indian Guru at any cost. He strikes up a deal, makes some huge promises and promptly finds it all falling apart. When he arrives home, he finds a strange tree in his yard. The tree loses a single leaf for every single word he utters. Jack needs to learn the consequences of the things he says.

I went into this film not expecting much. Poor Eddie’s had a rough time lately, and I was afraid this would be horrible. It appears a lot of people agreed, because it came and went without any attention whatsoever. So when it arrived on DVD, I figured it was worth taking a chance on it. It’s a very small and understated film. I expected crazy, over the top humor. It wasn’t. It was very low key, with good jokes and humor that fit the story, but with a touching story that really gets to the point. It reminded me of Liar Liar in a way, but was still unique in the way Eddie played it. I expected that it was a curse set upon him by the guru, but it appears it was simply Karma teaching him a lesson. It was a hard lesson for poor Jack to learn, but in the end, he found out what is really valuable and what is trash. This is not the kind of movie you run out to spend $13.00 to see in the cinema, but it’s well worth watching on DVD. I recommend you take a quiet even and pop this one on and see what you missed. One of those hidden gems that we miss in the theater and DVD gives us a chance to enjoy. This is not Beverly Hills Cop or The Nutty Professor, but it’s definitely worth watching and enjoying.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

CD2 Films, Mad Choice, Polymorphic Pictures

James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate, Katt Williams, Bette Midler, Neil Patrick Harris, Sean Hayes, Wallace Shawn,  Roger Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Dun can, Chris O’Donnell, Jack McBrayer, Fred Armisen, Kiernan Shipka

The battle between Cats and Dogs has been going on for centuries.  But in this war, one feline took it a step too far.  Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for MEOWS (a cat spy organization) has gone rogue and has a plan to bring her canine enemies under her power, but also to take down the rest of the cats, and rule the world of cats and dogs herself.  She uses and evil invention (a low frequency signal only dogs will react to) to turn dogs into her own personal slave robots.  They must do what she says.  She had an ugly hairless cat henchman sent off on a the quest to conquer the world.  The rest of the cats and the dogs have to band together to try to overthrow her and save mankind!

I really did not like this movie at all.  I didn’t think any of it was really funny, and although they had tons of stars lending their voices to the characters, there story is really bad.  They are mostly puns.  Roger Moore’s character, for example, is named Tab Lazenby.  How cute.  Make fun of another Bond actor.  The plot is like a bad “Pinky and the Brain” epsiode, except that Pinky and the Brain was somewhat funny, and only lasted about 15 minutes at a shot.  Truly I would much rather attend a Phineas and Ferb marathon that this film! It would be much, much more entertaining.   It was so boring that I could hardly make it through.   Seriously, 1950’s Saturday Morning adventure cartoons were more interesting than this stuff.  The original Cats and Dogs came out a decade ago.  What happened in the 9 years that have passed since then?  Why this stinky sequel?  I don’t think a little kid would be able to enjoy this film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog