The Good Dinosaur Movie Review

I'll get the cons out of the way so I can spend the rest of the time talking about what The Good Dinosaur does right. Really there is just one glaring con that I couldn't shake: The Western Theme. The film follows a cowboy-great plains motif which is fine, save it comes with all the stereotypes of that theme. The country accents. The slack-jawed yokel (which, ironically, is played by a velociraptor and they are supposed to be one of the smartest dinosaurs to walk the earth). Farming and rustling livestock. I don't hate westerns. In fact, some of my favorite movies are in fact westerns. I respect that Pixar was trying to do something different with an overused genre like dinosaurs but...westerns and dinosaurs just don't mix. It caused me to lapse in and out of the movie at times and that's never a good thing. If you can get past it, though, what you have left is a pretty good movie.

The movie centers around Arlo and Spot, a young brontosaurus and kid respectively. Their growing relationship over the course of the movie is really what makes the movie shine. As they grow closer and learn things from each other, you are watching a friendship form that is both funny and touching at the same time. Disney has always had a way of taking two different types of cultures and personalities and throwing them together to create a positive explosion. There were a couple of touching moments that I'm glad no one was watching my reaction to.

I would go on to state that this is also one of Pixar's best jobs imagery-wise. Some of the landscape shots make it hard to believe that the film is completely animated even if it is digital. Pixar took their time on this one and they got it right for the most part. All in all, I give The Good Dinosaur a 72.

Peanuts Movie Review

Based on the Sunday comic strip, Peanuts centers around young kid Charlie Brown and his quest to get the new girl in town to like him. The gang is all here. Peppermint Patty. Lucy. Lionus. Schroeder. Pigpen. All of those pale in comparison to Snoopy who steals any scene that he is a part of.

As I mentioned earlier, Snoopy makes this movie. The majority of the times I found myself laughing was during scenes he was in. There's one particular scene towards the end of the movie that had me in hysterics. Besides Snoopy, I also loved the fact the movie came with a heartwarming message. Unfortunately, it came a little too late. By that point, Charlie Brown had been raked through the mud too many times to count finally causing me to scream, "Enough already. Good grief!" It was almost like watching an animated version of The Pursuit of Happyness.

While Snoopy saved a good portion of the movie, it wasn't enough to keep me fully engaged or make the movie memorable. There were a lot of lulls, particularly when Snoopy would do his Red Baron bit. Once is enough of that. Five times? Way too much. My final thought: I give this movie a 54.

Playing the Odds

With the launch of the new Star Wars movie coming up next month, I'm hearing rumblings of people not wanting to go because of fear of a potential mass shooting. It got me thinking of the chances of being shot in a movie theater. These are some facts that I dug up:

1. There are about 42,814 movie theaters in the US and Canada combined.

2. The average number of movie theaters have about fifteen screens.

3. Let's say the average movie screen has about four showings a day. 

Taking all of this into account, you have about a 1 in 2,568,840 chance of being the unfortunate moviegoer to be attacked in a movie theater. In terms of percentages, that's 0.0000003893%. And that's assuming someting like this happens everyday which it definitely does not.

Am I telling you to go to the movies? Absolutely. Life is too short to live in fear. I'll be watching Episode VII on opening night. Will you?

Goosebumps Speed Review

Based on the bestselling series and childhood favorite of the same name, Goosebumps is a story of mayhem and monsters. Zach played by Dylan Minnette and mom Gale (Amy Ryan) have moved to a small town in Delaware for a fresh start. He quickly develops a relationship with the girl next door Hannah (Odeya Rush), but is warned away by her dad who we learn from the trailers is the author of the Goosebumps series himself R.L. Stine (Jack Black). Tucked away in Stine's house is a bookcase filled with original manuscripts he's written, all locked tight. One of the books happens to get open, unleashing a monster, and the mayhem ensues.

Fans of the series like myself will find the film quite enjoyable. Not sure if all the monsters from the series inhabit the movie, but the screen is filled with them. While Jack Black stands out as the main attraction, the rest of the cast doesn't disappoint either. For a kids movie, there were a number of comedic moments that had me cracking up. On the downside, I felt like this was a movie that struggled with its identity. It started with a comedic punch, then combined comedy with action. Towards the end, though, I felt like it tried to take itself a little too seriously. My final recommendation: A great watch for a home-viewing experience. I give it a 79.