I guess I’m just a big kid, because I love animated movies. So when I saw “A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure” I got quite excited as it looked promising. But that wasn’t the case..
.. Well, for me anyway. I’m not quite sure what it is about this animated movie that left me a bit disappointed. The last animated movie I saw was How To Train Your Dragon and I loved it to bits. So much so, that I think I’ve seen it close to half a dozen times. It had a simple, straight forward plot was an action packed ride.
With Sammy’s Adventure, I figured by looking at the quality of animation and storyline, I was in for an “animated adventure”, I was wrong. I’m sitting here thinking about the movie and how to write this review, and I’m a bit confused to say the least.
A sea turtle who was hatched in 1959 spends the next 50 years traveling the world while it is being changed by global warming.
By reading the brief plot outline, one would assume the movie is about what’s stated (which most movies are). Yet, I’m thinking otherwise. First and foremost, I have to say that this animated movie is really strung out, even though it only went for 1.5hrs, it really felt much longer. The company I watched it with agreed, I think some were starting to fall asleep at one point.
Secondly, I feel they tried to fit too many concepts into this film. From chasing after a female ‘Sammy’ meets at the start of the movie, to finding a so called ‘secret passage’, all mixed in with ecological and environmental messages which I must say became cliche after a while. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good thing that these messages were put in, but it almost felt like they were being shoved down our throats after the first two.
Thirdly, one could clearly tell this movie was intended to be watched in 3D with the amount of specific visual sequences present. I counted at least 5-6 sequences where a character was isolated purely to ‘pop-out’ at you and display the visual effects of 3D. I was only able to see the movie in 2D, so I was a bit bummed about that.
In terms of characters; I think they could of done a lot more in this area. Some ques from Finding Nemo would of come in handy.. Where the main character talked to some other characters, they didn’t even verbally respond. Only in action or gestures. Now, I’m not sure if this was intentional but it just seemed out of place for some reason. One example were some additional voice dialogue could of made an action sequence a bit better was when a great white shark was chasing Sammy, I think it would of added a bit more ‘thrill’. I didn’t really find myself becoming attached to any of the characters either.
In saying the above and whilst this is not a Disney or Pixar production, overall it was very well made. But perhaps it was simply intended for kids.
Filed in Delayed Movie Reviews
I originally saw the trailer for this movie and being a dog lover, I thought it would be a good watch with the high IMDb rating it received, I wasn’t wrong..
Coincidently, what sparked my interest to finally watch this movie whilst being stuck at home sick was the fact that my mother managed to watch this movie before me (which is a rare occurrence) and the feedback I got from her was “Why did you give this movie to me? I was crying non-stop”. I thought to myself, how upsetting can this movie really be? Well, I was in for a surprise..
To loosely describe the plot of the movie; it is based on the true story of a college professor’s bond with an abandoned dog he takes into his home. For the real and full background of this remarkable dog, check out this Wikipedia entry
The movie is definitely watchable if you just pick it up without having an understanding of the temperament of this certain breed. However, knowing the background of this breed will give a better understanding of its character and the type of personality they have. The “Akita Inu” is renowned for its intelligence and loyalty to its owner, as witnessed throughout the movie. It also goes to show that sometimes even animals hold values and traits better than some humans can; loyalty and faith in this instance.
Initially, it seems as though Professor Parker Wilson (played by Richard Gere) is the main character in this movie, but when the Professor passes away – we come to learn that Hachi really is and always was. What I thought was a nice touch was the fact that not only were we given a view from the humans side, but also a view from Hachi himself – a dog’s eye view which really helps to gather feelings and an understanding of the dog.
The movie is quite enjoyable up to the point where the Professor passes away. At this point, you are strapped into an emotional rollercoaster with no way out.. Even as a grown man I couldn’t hold myself together emotionally. I think I pretty much cried until the end of the movie and some more after it was actually over, the last 20-30 minutes of the movie are just simply that upsetting.
I can honestly say I have never been that upset after watching a movie based around animals. I guess because of the fact I’ve had strong bonds with several dogs over the past decade and a half (1 being my own, 3 being my cousins dog’s), I can sympathise and understand how Hachi would be feeling.
As a young kid, did you need a tissue at the end of Free Willy when he was set free? Well, have a towel ready if you find the courage to watch this movie, because I’m telling you now, you will without a doubt be crying by the end of it.
Hachiko: A Dog’s Story needs to be watched, at least once – as a dog lover or not.
Filed in Delayed Movie Reviews
The Legendary MacGruber. Former Navy SEAL, Army Ranger and Green Beret. Served six tours in Desert Storm, four in Bosnia, three each in Angola, Somalia, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone. Recipient of sixteen Purple Hearts, three Congressional Medals of Honor, seven Presidential Medals of Bravery and starting tight end for the University of Texas, El Paso.
It seems there is a lot of negativity towards MacGruber in the reviews. 5.2/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, 5.6/10 on IMDb – it’s not to say that these ratings are unjust, but I feel people are taking MacGruber too seriously or perhaps it simply caters for those who have a wider humour spectrum. The movie itself is all nonsense and literally ridiculous, but you simply can’t help but laugh at foul mouthed dialogue, mini-parodies, raunchy soundtrack and play on words – ‘cunth’ anyone?
MacGruber is an ex-special operative who is called back into action to take down his archenemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who is in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Washington, D.C.
Although the plot is straight forward, It feels as though it was almost written overnight or by a 13 year old – but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things considering the movie is purely driven on its dialogue, not to mention one of the funniest sex scenes I’ve seen in a movie since Team America.
MacGruber is said to be the best of the best, the elite, cream of the crop but in reality he can only be described as a big douche. He dresses like Macgyver, drives a Mazda and carries his car radio everywhere – at one point, he even goes as far as to put a celery stick up his ass to divert attention – classic MacGruber. His sidekick, if you can call him that is Lt. Dixon Piper (played by Ryan Phillippe) who MacGruber makes out to be the clueless rookie, yet probably has more qualifications and training than MacGruber himself.
Then you have Dieter Von Cunth (played by Val Kilmer) the token bad guy, I can’t help but laugh every time I hear “Cunth”, for obvious reasons. If you’re unsure of what I mean, you can read up on it here. While the character of Dieter Von Cunth doesn’t get much screen time, any that he does is usually absurd – he is either belittling MacGruber or painting portraits of naked old ladies with drooping tits.
I’d say this movie would be a cross between Get Smart and Austin Powers in terms of that raunchiness and plain stupidity with the exception being MacGruber is filled with about 10x 50x more memorable one-liners and humour which is crude – sometimes it leaves you thinking, “dude, are you normal?”. But you can’t help but laugh at it all. I can see myself and my boss at work repeating some of the dialogue for months to come.
The action sequences in MacGruber are pretty average, just your run off the mill type – apart from the half dozen throats ripped out within the space of 10 minutes by the man, MacGruber himself.
MacGruber is one of those movies that if you go into it expecting something serious rather than just 90 minutes of pure nonsense, stupidity and laughs you’ll probably end up turning it off after 9. So sit down, shut up and just enjoy it.
Trailer
Filed in Delayed Movie Reviews
