Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone worked because we got to see the magic for the first time, we got to see Hogwarts, a man steal light from a street and a cat transform into a woman.  A great hall with candles floating in the air, and all the other things the magical world had to offer.  Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows worked because we had fallen in love with every single person in that movie over a decade and were so invested in them that we had to know what was going to happen and make sure everyone got out alive.  Well mostly, sorry Fred.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them fails completely because it is hardly magical, and provides us little in the way of new magical wonderment, while also giving us characters who are terribly boring, and that we would never care about.  I hate to be writing this, but I was terribly disappointed by Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.  Instead of Hogwarts we are given the streets of New York, and a department of magic that is shown for a few minutes, and is lacking in anything new or magical.  Very little in the way of a magical world, these are magic users in the real world.  It felt so empty.

We have a lead who doesn’t move his face, he feels emotionless and awkward.  He says he cares for the beasts, and they show him caring for the beasts, but he never has that connection that Hagrid did.  He talks quietly and without emotion.  While his female counterpart also is quiet, lacking any feeling or really doing anything of note.  I was just so confused by these characters, why would I want to invest another 4 movies into these horribly boring wizards and witches.

It all felt like the polar opposite of The Harry Potter movies, and maybe that was the intention, but it did not work for me.  The tomato meter is at 86% at the moment for this movie, so I guess I am one of the few who didn’t like it.  I would wait to rent this movie or catch it on HBO.  I would not pay for it, go see Arrival instead.

You know what I haven’t seen in a long time, an animated action movie, that wasn’t anime.  Thinking back I am having a hard time thinking of one.   I guess Big Hero 6 was one, but it didn’t feel like it.  The Incredibles was for sure.  That was over 10 years ago.   Maybe I am just forgetting, but they seem to be scarce enough that it made Kubo And The Two Strings even more welcome.

I had a wonderful time with Kubo.  Sometimes the stop motion animation can not quite hit on the emotion and the facial features that standard digital animation can, or at least that is what I used to think.  Kubo And The Two Strings did not have this issue at all.  It was amazing looking.  The Animation team did a stellar job and really brought to life these characters.  Better than any previous movie this studio has done.  It was beautiful looking.  Make sure you stay half way through the credits for a little behind the scenes of how they did some of the work.  It really shows the dedication to this movie.

The story was very fun as well.   Japanese culture, action, very cool characters and a good story really made Kubo work on many levels, not just the animation.  I loved the music and the magic that this movie created.  It was fun, funny, and has some very cool scenes.  I really can not get over the art direction in this movie.  This feels like Laika’s masterpiece.  Such a good recovery after The Boxtrolls.

So I think it is pretty obvious that I would recommend seeing this movie this weekend.  It is totally worth paying to see in the theater.  Also for sure skip the 3-D, this movie is darker than most animated movies and the 3-D ruins the beauty of it.

I need to first state that I watched this movie in 3-D and it was so dark that I could not enjoy this movie.  It was so dark with the 3-D glasses on that I took them off half way through the movie and watched it without the glasses on.  It was easier to watch fuzzy than it was with the 3-D glasses on.  So I really think my ability to properly review this movie is compromised.  I just have a bad taste in my mouth about it.

So I can already tell I am not in a good mood about this review.  Thinking about the 3-D issue has made me upset and it is making the flaws glaring and the good parts fade into the darkness that was Finding Dory in 3-D.  So I guess let’s just go with the 3-D review, because you all are going to watch this movie anyway, with or without my review.

Most times I find 3-D to be completely useless.  Seeing all movies that are available in 3-D has made 3-D visually unviewable to me for most movies.  If the color is right, then I literally will not see the 3-D effects.  If there is an issue with the 3-D it effects the movie greatly.  This is usually in the form of color, or darkness.  The 3-D glasses are practically sunglasses, and if they do not adjust the color upwards to account for that, you get a lot less detail.  Finding Dory has a lot of dark scenes.  Scenes in dark pipes, or kelp gardens that are very dark.  I felt like I missed over half the movie because of the color issue.  If they were not on the surface or at the reef I felt like it was too dark to watch.  Usually animated movies have the least problems with 3-D because the color adjustments are made during the creation process for 3-D, but it doesn’t seem like it happened with Finding Dory.  So it is pretty obvious if you are at the box office and looking at if you should see it in 3-D or not.  Skip it, stop paying for it and the studios will stop doing it and I will not have to watch all these damn movies in 3-D anymore.

There is a lack of wonder in these Wonderland movies.  A couple of talking rabbits does not make Wonderland wonderful, and without Wonderland what is the point of following Alice through the looking glass.  Sure there is a large special effects budget, and the visuals are top notch, but they are empty.  There is nothing behind those ticking clocks and plant monsters.  There is no madness, no fun, and nothing that is really that bizarre about the Wonderland that Alice visits for the third time.

There is a story that is happening in Through The Looking Glass.  It is about time travel, family and all of those other things that we should touch on when we are making a Disney, or family movie.  There is animated humor, and family action.   It does all the thing that it should do, and it does everything just fine.  There is nothing wrong with Alice Through The Looking Glass, there is just nothing really great about it either.  It is a another step in the long history of Alice and the screen.  Where the 2010 version lacked in depth of story it had glimpses of the magical world that I was hoping for.  Through The Looking Glass was supposed to take that magic and grow upon it after having learned that they can make these movies live action and do them well.  Through The Looking Glass did not deliver here and instead feels too glossed over with the boring brush compared to what it could have been.  Elements on time bending, Wonderland possibilities and seeing it in different points in time really meant they could of done a lot, and instead did just enough to get by.

I am not going to say that you should not go see Alice Through The Looking Glass.  The movie is fine for everyone in the family and it is entertaining enough to allow everyone to have a good time watching it.  I just wish there was more to it.

If you are like me, you were a little worried about Inside Out.  Based on what you have seen so far, it didn’t look too good.  It didn’t seem to catch your imagination from the trailers, and it looked a little too junior for you.  Well I am here to tell you to throw out all those prejudices and get to the first screening you possibly can for Inside Out.  The best Pixar movie ever made.

Whoa whoa whoa…The Best Pixar Movie Ever Made?!?  Yes!  I am not discounting the ground breaking work Toy Story did, or the amazing level of feelings we never felt for an animated character before from Boo and Sully in Monsters Inc.   Those movies were stellar amazing works of art and I am not saying they are any less great.  However Inside Out is a work of pure genius.  A culmination of 20 years of work finding the best artists, computer scientists, actors, writers, and directors, and every other person who touched this movie to make one of the most creative, amazing, funny, beautiful, pieces of animation that has ever been created.  I truly think every person in the world should see this movie by the time they are 8 years old and then every couple of years after that.  It is a amazing look at ourselves, our minds, and who we are as a people, and maybe help everyone understand everyone else just a little bit more.

I can not say enough good things about Pete Doctor the writer and director of Inside Out, and writer of Toy Story and Monster Inc.  He is truly a creator of amazing works that touch us in amazing ways and I think Inside Out is his best work.  I hope he never stops creating and and we get to see more from him.

I think without Amy Poehler and Lewis Black this movie might not have been as great as it was.  Both of them with their amazing way they conveyed their very specific characters with their voices was pure perfection.  They helped make the vision of Inside Out come to life in an amazing way.  I think this movie is the best movie of the year, and might be the first time an animated movie will win best picture at the Oscars.

It is so hard to say more without explaining what happened in this movie, so I am not going to say anything more about it.  Just that you should go see it tonight if you can.  Take off of work tomorrow.  Take your kids this weekend, whenever you can find the time.  Inside out truly is a magical experience, and well worth the full, 3-D whatever super ++ theater experience you can see it in.

One Sentence: Watch the Disney animated version instead.

Rated: PG

Nudity: None

After Credits: None

The difference between Alice In Wonderland and Cinderella is that there is so much in Alice In Wonderland, so you can get away with it being a live action movie.  Cinderella has almost no story.  We all know it and unless you change a lot or add a lot there is not enough there to carry a full movie.  Even the animated movie feels a little weak, but they have the advantages of being made in 1950 and being a cartoon, so it can get away with a little bit less plot.

This 2015 version feels cold, empty, and boring. It is almost literally the Animated movie version with just a few more characters, a little less magic and Cate Blanchett being amazing.  Without her being an amazing evil stepmother, this movie would of been complete garbage.  It is beautiful, Disney brought together their normal flare for visually amazing things.  However that was not enough to retell the story of a girl who lives with her stepmother, goes to a ball, and marries a prince.

This was really the fault of whoever thought that this movie should of even been live action.   Jungle Book, yes.  Beauty and the Beast, sure.  Peter Pan, been done many times.   These work because there is a lot to tell.  Cinderella felt like it had to fill time just to make it to the end of the movie, and the story already isn’t very good.  So you combine all of that together and this movie just was doomed to fail before it was ever made.

So you do not have to rush out by the last strike of 12 to catch Cinderella in the theater.  There is nothing here for you to have to pay the big bucks for.  I wouldn’t even really rent it.  You have seen it all before in one of the many other better versions of Cinderella out there.

One Sentence: Ok, make them all now Disney.

Rated: PG

Nudity: None

After Credits: None

As a critic I am tasked with pointing out the good and the bad with a movie.  In fairness I did say this to my fiance last night.  “I wish the dragon fire was green, and I wish the guys that threw the mud looked a little less cartoony. ”  There it is, my huge list of things that are wrong with Maleficent.  I loved this movie.  I loved every minute of it.  Before this movie I felt like things like The Warcraft movie might of still been a bit too complex.  All of those thoughts are gone.  I now believe that anythings visually can be created for a movie.  It was stunning.

Now I would like to take a moment and talk about Angelina Jolie.  I have never loved her.  However I can not think of anyone else to have played this role.  She was perfect as Maleficent.  She invoked emotion and pain without speaking.  Her movements were amazing.  Her face and the makeup were so amazing it made for the best creation of an animated character come to life I have ever seen.  Without her this movie would of been cool, but she made this movie outstanding.    I fell in love with the character that she played in this movie, it is rare that I say that.

Along with all of that, this is a Disney animated movie come to life.  It is magical, and beautiful, colorful and dark.  There are princes, and princesses and fairies, and dragons.  It has made me say that I am ready for them to remake all of these movies in live action.  I believe they can do it and I believe they can deliver some amazing movies, based on some very classic stories.  I haven’t been this excited about Disney work since John Lassiter took over as hard of Pixar and Animation at Disney.  I can not say enough good things about Maleficent and I think you all should go see it as soon as your possibly can.

One Sentence: Funnier than the first.

Rated: PG

Nudity: None

After Credits: Yes, but short.

The Muppets are back and after their relaunch they are less about a lesson and more about crazy Muppet humor. Which is what I wanted anyway.  The gang is still here and they are going on a world tour.  It is everything you would want in a Muppet movie, songs, dancing, chickens, pigs, drum solos, Siberia and explosions.

Brent McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame is back from his Oscar win from the last Muppets movie to write more songs for Muppets most wanted. The opening song is a great launch to the movie and really sets the stage for a full  set of amazing funny songs.  The whole movie is very funny and I think funnier than the last Muppets movie.

Then there are the Celebrities filling full parts and wonderful Cameos which there are a lot of.  Tina Fey was amazing, and Ricky Gervais was fun.  Ty Burell was hilarious, and there are just so many great cameos you can go just to see who showed up on set.  I really had a fun time with this movie and it seemed to capture the magic of the Muppets that I felt like was missing in the last movie.  This is a great movie for everyone to see, and I would go this weekend to check it out for sure.

One Sentence: New princesses for your children to want toys of.

Rated: PG

Nudity: None

After Credits: Clip after credits.

I am thinking about Beauty And The Beast, and the montage of the song where Belle is in the castle with Beast and they play in the snow, and show the growth of being together and her seeing something new in Beast.  It is an amazing use of montage, for time reasons and is really well done.  Frozen delivered a montage that was about the loss of a connection, and rushed by everything else.  It is 20 minutes longer than Beauty And The Beast but felt so much shorter, and that there was far less story.

Frozen is beautiful, with 2 beautiful princesses that play in the snow.  They have 2 beautiful castles, and have a funny little snowman friend.  They sing songs that sound cute but are quickly forgotten.  The movie hits all the points you need it to.  Peril, love, danger, comedy and a villain…sort of.  It does all the things a Disney movie should do, but only a few times did it feel like a magical movie experience.  It felt lost and wandering, trying to make magic happen, instead of it just being a magical story.

In the end it felt like I got new characters, and a new kingdom and castle, but nothing else with it.  I got the toys, and vinylmation figures, the Norway pavilion remodel at EPCOT, but I didn’t get the reason for all of it in the movie.  I don’t want to go as far as to say it felt like a cash grab, because it was a quality work, and I had a good time with it.  I just didn’t have the magical Disney moment you hope to have every time you see that castle on screen at the beginning of a movie.

One Sentence: This isn’t a Pixar or Disney Animation Studios movie.

Rated: PG

Nudity: None

After Credits Scene: None

So the first thing I noticed is that the word Disney appeared above the title of the movie on the promotional material I had been given.  That was an immediate red flag, that means that this movie wasn’t done by Pixar.  Which doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t going to be a great movie, but it was just something that made me think, what else were they trying to pull off with Planes.  It all became very apparent over the next 1.5 hours.

They were trying to pass off one of the worst animated movies I have ever seen as something that people would pay for.  After getting out of this horrible press screening, I started doing some research on Planes…I shouldn’t be shocked that Disney tried to do this, but I do feel a little betrayed.

Planes was produced by Disney Toons Studios, which is their direct to DVD studio.  Planes was originally a direct to DVD release that was not in 3D.  Someone got the great idea to do a 3D conversion on it and put it in theaters.  With the intent that we wouldn’t notice it wasn’t a Pixar release if the planes had eyes.

This movie was awful.  It really felt like a farmed out cash grab that someone got the idea if they release it in theaters people will go see it.  The backgrounds were dead and lifeless.  Nothing like the world of Cars.  More like the barren wasteland of Cars.  It wasn’t funny, at all.  The story was weak and not thought out.  It was a 3D conversion so it was horribly dark and the 3D was a joke.  It was exactly what it was intended to be originally.  A DVD release for very young children that like the visual representation of Cars without the substance and quality of a Pixar movie.

It is rare that I am so disappointed in a movie studio that I feel like I was conned and lied to about a movie.  I felt this way about Disney Planes, and I hope the word gets out.  Do not go pay to see this movie.