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.

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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.

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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

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Last night I watched How To Train Your Dragon and in short, it was awesome. To be honest, I feel the 8.2/10 rating it received on IMDb is a bit of an injustice — It should be in the 9/10 region.

How To Train Your Dragon is the tail of a hapless young Viking named Hiccup, who aspires to hunt dragons like his father. However, Hiccup has an unlikely fate where he befriends a young dragon himself. In spending time with this young dragon, he learns that there may be more to these creatures than he assumed and what has been instilled in him.

DreamWorks really nailed it with this movie, it works on many levels and is a really moving picture. The script is very good in terms of dramatic depth, within it we also explore many other interweaved topics such as ethics, social conscience, family and friendship to name a few. The good thing about the way this movie is laid out is these topics are not bombarded into the script, they just flow through it smoothly.

The animation side of things is superb as well. From the action sequences, effects to the characters and dragons – it is all crafted wonderfully. Last but not least the soundtrack – I thought this was done pretty well too. During the action sequences it really gives a sense of adventure and during the more emotional scenes, it makes it feel more like a heartfelt moment.

All in all, the story and animation tie in very well together and make How To Train Your Dragon a very enjoyable watch. I would love to see a sequel to How To Train Your Dragon, however I think it could potentially tarnish what this movie has already accomplished.

Well, I’ll leave it at that.. I’m off to watch it again – I suggest you watch it too. I’d post a link to the trailer, but I feel it reveals a bit too much.

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Currently, Predators is rated 6.7/10 on IMDb. I’m stumped as to how this movie even got past 5/10.. Yet, there are even positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, surely I can’t be that wrong?

To put it bluntly, this movie was crap. I can hear it now, fanboy cries of “omg, wtf r you on about it was awesum!!1″.. Yeah, perhaps it was if you’re a 14 year old who has never seen the original or one of those real die hard Predator series fan. After I finished painfully watching Predators, I decided I’d put on the original and cult classic: Predator.

So, what did I learn? I learned what 23 years difference makes. Back then, you were given a classic, a franchise maker.. now you’re a given movie that milks and butchers franchises. This movie is B-grade, and if you thought otherwise – you’re wrong. The movie is labelled a sequel, yet it stinks purely of an adjusted remake.

I thought I was totally wrong in my diagnosis of the movie with all the positive reviews I saw on Rotten Tomatoes, until I found quite a few which I could relate to:

“This small-minded reshuffling of the “Predator” franchise that began in 1987 is little more than a modern sci-fi B-movie filled with more plot holes than you can count.”
“A stolid, uninspired imitation of the original… “
“An unnecessary reboot of the 1987 cult movie. Quite literally every image, every idea in Predators, is a straight steal from another film.”

And they are correct. The plot is all over the shop, the actors are so-so, they obviously didn’t have to deliver much – was Adrien Brody bored? The lines were average, heck – they could of almost made the movie without any. Lawrence Fishbourne made a cameo, perhaps to generate some buzz? The only real interesting and most exciting scene was towards the end when Hanzo, (a Yakuza killer) took on a predator in a sword fight. Apart from that, I was bored shitless.

Comparing this to the original which had a decent soundtrack (including a memorable theme tune anyone?), good action scenes, memorable lines such as (but not limited to) Dillon! You son of a bitch! Runnnn, Gooooo, Get to the chopperrrrr! and some plot credibility, Predator should started and finished in 1987.

Filed in Delayed Movie Reviews