Movie Review: "The Secret Life of Pets" 07/08/16

This is a movie review for "The Secret Life of Pets", released July 08, 2016. I watched this via Netflix.


Trailer

Cast


Louis C.K. - Max (voice)
Eric Stonestreet - Duke (voice)
Kevin Hart  - Snowball (voice)
Jenny Slate - Gidget (voice)
Ellie Kemper - Katie (voice)





Plot

Pets don't necessarily act as good as you think they do when you leave (to go to work or shopping or whatever). They also might be doing something that you can't imagine while you are away, leading a secret life you don't know about.

Max is a dog owned by Katie. He tries his best to be a good boy while she is gone, though he misses her super lots. One day, she brings home a dog from the shelter. He is Duke, a massive dog compared to the little Max, and he doesn't really share well with the little one. Max thinks his life is completely destroyed so he tries to find a way to get rid of Duke, which accidentally gets him into more trouble than he expected. How can he get home before Katie does?





Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.



3/5 - I thought it was a good story but the abandoned pets in the sewer hurt me more than anything, especially their leader Snowball. Rabbits grow up and need to be adopted (not thrown out). To see a cute rabbit being an evil leader against the main characters put me out. As a rabbit lover (and Bunny Mama), I cannot approve of this movie for Snowball. Sure, he gets a home in the end but the girl might abandon him later too since she's a little girl, but that's how life goes...

I was disappointed in this movie because the trailer that I saw was not so intense as the actual trailer. It showed more of a "the pets are mischievous while you are gone, but only at home" kind of light. The movie and the trailer above are more serious than that. It was almost a "Homeward Bound" kind of movie, but set in a day. If the movie had been like this following trailer, I would be raving about it (though it may not have done as well in the theaters).

Also, the sausage factory was TERRIBLE! What the heck?! That really knocked the rating down. And logic regarding Snowball driving the bus....





Here's "Everything Wrong With The Secret Life of Pets in 16 Minutes or Less":

Movie Review: "Moana" 11/23/16

This is a movie review for "Moana", released November 23, 2016. I watched this on Netflix.






Trailer

Cast

Auli'i Cravalho - Moana
Dwayne Johnson - Maui
Rachel House - Gramma Tala
Temuera Morrison - Chief Tui






Plot

Moana is a chief-to-be for a tribe in ancient Polynesia, or something like that. Lately, the fishing has become scarce, the farmed plants aren't growing well, and the coconuts are rotten when harvested. Though the food supply is having issues, the leader, Chief Tui, refuses and forbids the tribe to leave the island. His mother, however, says that leaving the island to find Maui (a demi-god that can shape shift) and helping him return the heart of Te Fiti (the earth goddess) to her body [which happens to be an island...] would save the tribe. So, Moana feels called to the ocean to save her people, though her father has tried to tell her time and time again no. He had lost a friend years ago when they tried to cross the reef and therefore thinks that the ocean beyond the reef is dangerous. [Sounds like Triton from Disney's The Little Mermaid - they are dangerous! As well as Merlin from Finding Nemo - the ocean is dangerous!]

After her grandmother's death, Moana finds an ocean ship and leaves the island to find Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti (which the ocean conveniently gave to her). Can she save her people?








Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

3.5/5 - This movie was good and very catchy but there were things that I did not like. Sure, it was a good story but not very realistic, even if it was to be "mythology" for Polynesia. The fact that Maui claims most of the advantages that the islanders have was his doing ["planted a snake and grew coconut trees", "brought fire", "brought the sun to make the days better"] is rather egotistical and, even for mythology, a LOT for a demigod.

As I was watching this, I was reminded a bit of Disney's Mulan. Father says don't but the daughter does anyways and it saves the people. Like seriously, why do parents try to force certain beliefs/destinies onto their children (especially daughters) and say that this is the way that it has to be. I was almost expecting to have Moana sing "Reflections" from Mulan. I guess "How Far I'll Go" is her version? "I wish I could be the perfect daughter but I come back to the water no matter how hard I try." WHY is there a "perfect daughter" mentality!? Geez. Maybe there needs to be a "perfect son" story....? I have no space in my queue for more ideas. The ones that I have are already enough for one brain.

Here's "How Far I'll Go":

I HATED the world of the gods. Seriously that was messed up. It made the story completely ridiculous. When the gigantic crab started singing, I nearly threw in the towel. HERE:

What is with the pop music and modern idea of consumerism? Very much gross and that's why I knocked the rating.

You can show this to your kids but I would suggest previewing it first! This is not one that I would say is very kid friendly for the whole thing, but like I said, it has a lot of catchy songs. I wouldn't want my kids (though I don't have any myself) singing "Shiny". If you want a popular movie to show the kids, PLEASE consider say "Frozen" (which still has issues but is so much better than this movie).

*Spoilers*

Here's "Everything Wrong with Moana in 15 Minutes or Less":

Movie Review: “The Hours” 02/13/03

This is a movie review for “The Hours”, released February 13, 2003. I watched this on a DVD that I bought a while ago.

Trailer

Cast

Nicole Kidman - Virginia Woolf

Julianne Moore - Laura Brown

Meryl Streep - Clarissa Vaughan

Plot

Three women (the writer Virginia Woolf, a house wife named Laura Brown, and a party organizer named Clarissa Vaughan) have lives from completely different time lines but are connected more than they knew. Virginia writes a book that Laura reads and a friend of Clarissa calls her according to that book’s main character "Mrs. Dalloway". However, there are two other things - homosexual curiosity and suicide. Dealing with the curiosities in times that is not accept homosexuality (for Laura and Virginia) sends the two of them to deal with wanting to commit suicide. How can all three understand their sexual tendencies and stay strong when dealing with suicide, or will they allow society’s views to change their lives for the worst?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

4/5 - In all fairness, the cover and the trailer of the movie was more interesting than the movie itself (in my opinion). The plot was good and it was intriguing to see a character play as Virginia Woolf [whom I wish to learn more about]. The whole "suicide" thing caught me off guard because I thought that the movie was merely a homosexual curiosity movie, per Netflix putting this in the gay/lesbian section of their collections. The homosexuality in this movie is prevalent but not the main issue. It is touched upon but that's not the main issue. The main issue is the suicidal tendencies or how someone else's suicide changes their life.

As the niece of a successful-suicide-committed uncle, this hit me hard. It made me cry and think about him. It made me think about how some people just don't see any options aside suicide. This thought line made this movie really depressing but quite intriguing. The subject is taboo. It might be something that should be talked about more often, to give those people a chance to do something with their lives or to find other means of coping with the stresses/hardships of life. How to discuss such a topic amongst others, especially children? That is a difficult proposition but is necessary, not as an option to commit but to avoid and tell them "Hey, your life matters. Suicidal thoughts occur, especially when things are dismal, but PLEASE talk with others and try finding a different way." Maybe this movie is something to bring up the topic of suicide so that it can be discussed... Not for all ages, though.


This is a good writer movie, as one of the women is Virginia Woolf and she is struggling to write a story.

Movie Review: Netflix’s “Death Note” 08/25/17

This is another movie "recently" viewed via Netflix, released August 25, 2017: "Deathnote".


Trailer

Cast

Nat Wolff - Light Turner

Lakeith Stanfield - L

Margaret Qualley - Mia Sutton

Shea Whigham - James Turner

Willem Dafoe - Ryuk (voice)

Plot

A Death God named Ryuk drops a death note down on the human world, in America. A high school student (somewhat nerdy and very lame) named Light finds it on the school grounds and picks it up. Reading about it, he meets Ryuk who suggests to try it out so he can learn of the powers inside of the book. He chooses  a bully at the school and, after writing in the Death Note, the kid gets decapitated next to the school after an odd coincidental (fatal) sequence.

Afterwards, he takes down the guy who killed his mother a while ago (leaving the house to just cop dad and Light). With the score settled, Light decides to right some more wrong by executing other criminals via the Death Note but the life of a teenager (even a Death Note wielding teenager) gets complicated, especially when a Sherlock Holmes like detective starts narrowing down on finding him and when Light gets a girlfriend (relationship drama for the Fail!). Can Light survive the Death Note, the inspection by L, and his odd relationship with his girlfriend Mia?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.


3/5 - As an adaptation of the anime series, this was TERRIBLE. I'll get to that momentarily but let me say that the movie (not regarding as an adaptation) by itself is lacking. Don’t set something up randomly and expect the viewer to know what it is without explanation. If L and Light are going to meet, set up the scenario instead of having L just pop up without warning. If you’re going to make Light’s mom dead, you should explain the back story. There was too many things left out to explain the movie (with or without the background of the anime). Needed more as a stand alone movie.

As the adaption of the anime, it was horrid. They changed the last name of Light (and dad) and set it in the USA instead of in Japan. Why the heck did they put it in the United States? And changing Light to a whiny brat that doesn’t show intelligence? What the flying heck?! Light was, in the anime, a clever person that was not ruled so much by emotion. Sure, in the anime Misa was still attached to him, but that didn’t change his plan. In this movie, Misa was changed to Mia and there was not a second death note. She just happened to be a girl from his school who had a crush on him. Why did he reveal the information about the death note to her? I don’t know exactly but again I say that this Light is not as intelligent as the one in the anime!
Going back to family, why did Netflix decide to take Light’s mother and sister out of the picture? Sure, it gave Light something to angst about and make him want to revenge on his mother’s death but they didn’t say much of what happened so...
As a fan of the anime, I DEFINITELY do not recommend this. The rate would be 2/5 but the movie (as is) was decent and therefore that’s why I rated it a 3/5.



Watch Mojo's "Top 10 Dumbest Changes in Netflix's Deathnote"

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