Reviews

I'm a big fan of Kaufman and a casual fan of Dreamworks so I was looking forward to this one and did my best to avoid all trailers, spoilers, etc so I could go in without any preconceived notions. Have to say I was largely disappointed by the writing and story as it just felt riddled with a lack of continuity. I found the premise itself engaging but felt like it was very poorly executed and that the writing painted itself into multiple corners which it just explained away with a deus ex machina style reliance on the fact that it was a fantastical story.

I get that anything can happen in a fantasy but I really felt like Kaufman phoned it in on this one for the paycheque, and all the incoherent jumping around in plot and story just seemed like a gimmicky contrivance more than an engagingly layered and nuanced story. It felt embarrassingly like a blatant attempt to copy recent Pixar stand-outs in this style like Inside Out and Soul.

The animation was about what I'd expect from Dreamworks and unfortunately that was about the best part of this for me as the films from this studio that stand out in my memory do so far more for good story than exceptional animation. There was some pretty interesting eye-candy to enjoy though, I just wish it was part of a more cohesive and engaging story with a more satisfying ending.

Overall I wouldn't say I hated it but I doubt I'll watch it again. Many people seemed to really enjoy it though so maybe I just missed something. I'd say give it a go if you're curious. At the very least it's an enjoyable watch visually and some of the ideas within the overall story are interesting to think about.

What a seriously underrated comedy! If you can enjoy Mel Brooks, Chevy Chase, (the early comedy of) Bill Murray, Zucker Bros, Python, Mike Myers,Tim & Eric, Eric Andre and the like then your Hahaguffawchuckleamalus has most likely not been damaged beyond repair and I'm willing to bet you will enjoy this movie. Maybe you will even LOL at it like I did.

Maybe it's because I'm gen-x and grew up with actual comedies (not serious dramas with one or two moments of comic relief touted as "comedies") but I watched this with my boomer dad and we actually laughed a lot while watching it. It's goofy, zany, silly, and above all, funny!

Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy an Iñárritu, Kaufman, Wes Anderson, Aronofsky, etc too, and love all kinds of film, but when I wanted a comedy that would make me laugh, this one fit the bill quite nicely.

My 8 star rating is most likely a bit high, I wanted to give it a 7, but felt like I had to try and tip the average a bit as well. If you like to laugh and you don't think every film you watch needs a critical analysis or it's garbage, then I highly recommend this movie!

Another Hollywood film of no real substance that gets praise heaped on it for all the wrong reasons. Good cast for the most part but that was wasted on a vapid script and horrible directing and editing. Felt like a 90s rom-com trying to masquerade as a a more contemporary drama but failing hard at it.

I felt like it was written for spoiled tone deaf white American women, so was not surprised when I looked up who wrote and directed it... Apparently when the end of the world comes, the poor people in the cities will all riot, but every last rich suburb in the world will remain positively communal and peaceful... American audiences continue to disappoint me.

All I could keep thinking while watching this was "north American problems". (And I actually live within a 100 mile radius of where this was made.) But I tried to keep an open mind and see where the film maker was going before passing judgement. But the smarmy, over- simplified, instagram-moment ending just confirmed my initial impressions.

Don't get me wrong, I watch a lot of indy and foreign movies and love finding those hidden gems but I am baffled at why stories of this sort get any traction and are given any merit in our culture at all. Why do the petty, self inflicted problems of these spoilt first world children matter to us? And what is the value in scrutinizing them in such agonizing detail? This just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

But of course this is just my opinion and your mileage may vary. Obviously there are some people out there that think this is one of the best films they have ever seen. I just found it to be a bunch of self- absorbed pretentious tripe. So much so that it prompted me to write this review. Ugh.

I can see why many people would dismiss this. Like the reviewer who watched "52 minutes" and turned it off because none of the characters were likable so it would be a waste of time to continue.

Those who expect life to be a series of plausible outcomes, logically following some kind of cause and effect order are always disappointed by honest works of art, not to mention life itself. One of the very themes of this film are those kinds of people and their need to cling to some sort of tradition, structure, and belief in order to deny their fear.

Another theme was perspective and perception. That what may seem mundane and meaningless may be filled with the most profound meaning and that which we place so much value in may be worth absolutely nothing.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you."

If you can enjoy a movie that leaves you with questions as much as one that attempts to provide answers then I highly recommend a viewing.

It doesn't surprise me that this has a relatively low rating on IMDb but as usual this doesn't accurately reflect the quality and depth of an original work of art such as this. Some people watch movies to be entertained and some watch films to expose themselves to something that might challenge them and make them think. I can do both but if you ever find yourself in that latter group then I highly recommend that you watch this film. If you find yourself strictly relegated to the former group I'd suggest you don't waste your time.

Original, innovative, raw and challenging. There is a depth of emotion and an unravelling sense of mystery here that pulled me in and kept me captivated for the length of the film. Not to mention kept me thinking for days afterwards. It also ended satisfyingly well which is what I find most movies incapable of doing.

View with an open mind and I believe you will be rewarded. I highly recommend this film.

It was only a matter of time before the money changers took up residence in the temple. As pioneers of a new art form (the CG feature length) Pixar had a good run but this is definitely their fall from grace.

There really was no reason for a Toy Story III in my mind although many would beg to differ. Almost everyone agrees though that Cars II was completely unnecessary and nothing more than the type of money grab Disney has become infamous for.

It was bound to happen of course. Disney itself was one of the great pioneers of a new art form in the early years of the twentieth century (animation itself) but any new medium will always suffer once it becomes profitable and industrialized. I've been a fan of Pixar since day one however so, although I knew this was inevitable, seeing this in the theatre tonight was bit of a sad moment for me.

As a humour and action packed eye-candy diversion it's still up there amongst the best of course, which is why I'll give it something and say I don't feel like I wasted the price of my ticket, but as a Pixar feature it was a major letdown. This was only enhanced by the reuse of the Toy Story universe for the "opening cartoon". (Day & Night was the last piece or inspired animation to come out of the studio in this viewer's opinion.)

The Brave trailer did look promising though so here's hoping the studio will continue to release some story driven gems in between the profit driven product releases.