THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)

Opening Day: 6 February 2014 Synopsis: An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: G
Released By: GV
Official Website: http://thelegomovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Opening Day: 6 February 2014

Synopsis: An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.
Movie Review: 
If there was a postage system that can send letters to the past, this writer would pen a letter to his younger self - say, to the primary school kid he knew 25 years ago. And this is how the letter would read.
Dear John (from the past),
This is your future self writing to you. It’s the year 2014 and much has changed. The Internet is amazingly fast, and almost everyone I see on the street is busy looking at some sort of electronic gadget. Most importantly, I have seen The Lego Movie, and this is the reason why I feel the need to tell you about it.
The 100 minute directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller is one you had dreamed of ever since you owned your first Lego construction set. That toy wasn’t an elaborate castle of city set, but it sure brought you endless wondrous hours of imaginative fun. The police car (and the minifigure that comes with it) was a reward for your spelling test, and boy, was it a reward well earned.
Ever since then, you’d imagine an entire movie starring Lego minifigures, embarking on adventures in the different Lego backdrops. I have seen that movies 30 years on, and here are five reasons why I think you should look forward to it every single day of your life – till you’re 33.
Reason 1: The movie is a fine example of good ol’ storytelling. The protagonist is an ordinary Lego minifigure (yup, one of those yellow faced common folks you’d lose if you had a humongous city set) who mistakenly gets recruited to stop an evil tyrant from destroying the Lego universe. The story by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, and the two directors is encouraging, inspiring and a feel good tale about how every individual has the potential to go a long way. Trust me, you may hear a lot about this in school now, but some 20 years on, the cynicism of the world will get to you. The plot of this movie, however, will steer you in the right direction to do good things about your life.
Reason 2: The movie is hilariously clever. The jokes are fast and furious, and while you may not understand the puns spouted by the minifigures now (if the movie was playing in 1989), it would make your teacher chuckle. Clever references to pop culture and the Lego brand are aplenty, and it is one movie you’d want to revisit repeatedly.
Reason 3: The movie is a technical achievement. I’m not sure whether you’re familiar with the concept of stop motion, but go ask your teacher and you will be amazed by the amount of work needed to produce a stop motion clip. This movie infuses computer technology (I won’t go into details of how scarily advanced this has become in 2014) with stop motion and the end result is an enjoyable visual treat.
Reason 4: The movie is chockfull of cameo appearances. As the years go by, you’d hear how everyone wants to see Superman and Batman in the same movie. This animated feature is the first to make that happen. On top of that, other well known characters appear as well. The names probably won’t make sense to you now, but when you grow older, you’ll understand why certain wizards from a popular movie franchise are a big deal. Oh, there are also characters from a certain galaxy far, far away; and a fellow yellow faced personality who make this movie a must watch for all nerds and geeks (I meant that in a cool way, of course).
Reason 5: The movie has got heart, lots of it. Some movies may be too obsessed with showing off its technical prowess, and forget about how it touches the human soul. This one is different. The revelation is one affecting turn of events, and trust me, it’s one of the most relevant and heartfelt plots you’d ever see.
Before signing off, my advice to you is to hang on to that Lego police car set, continue to let your imagination take you to places, and all things will be good.
Yours sincerely,
John (from the future)

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THE NUT JOB (2014)

Opening Day: 13 March 2014 Synopsis: The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe and is about the previously untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Huston) and William Burroughs (Foster) at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that would lead to their Beat Revolution. This is the true story of friendship and murder that led to the birth of an entire generation.

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Peter Lepeniotis
Cast: Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Liam Neeson, Brendan Fraser, Stephen Lang, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham
RunTime: 1 hr 25 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: GV
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/TheNutJobMovie

Opening Day: 13 March 2014

Synopsis: The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe and is about the previously untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Huston) and William Burroughs (Foster) at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that would lead to their Beat Revolution. This is the true story of friendship and murder that led to the birth of an entire generation.

Movie Review: 

When we talk about animated films, we often think about Pixar and DreamWorks. If the entry is from neither of these big names, then there surely needs to be a ‘wow’ factor to convince and draw crowds to the cinema for the animated feature. Unfortunately, that can’t be said of ‘The Nut Job’.

The Nut Job is a story about a community of animals living at the park, trying out all ways to gather enough food for the winter. An outcast squirrel, Surly (voiced by Will Arnett), plans to raid a nut store to get enough food for only himself. However, a more righteous female squirrel, Andie (voiced by Katherine Heigl), propose that they work together for the good of everybody at the park. However, behind all these, it turns out that the leader of the lot, Raccoon (voiced by Liam Neeson), has deeper motivations all along…

In short, the story is one that is predictable and unattractive. It’s even mind boggling as to why the ‘human gang’s bank robbery’ was even worth mentioning in the movie’s official synopsis. It certainly did not have any anchoring or value-add effect to the film. The development of the movie was also too cliché – even little children will need more engaging storyline to maintain their interest.

In its attempt to pitch at achieving ‘family entertainment’, there were several attempts at getting laughs from adults as well. Sadly, they didn’t work out well. The intended jokes were too intentional and stale, barely entertaining anyone in the theatre.

Expectedly, given the current technology, the graphics were vibrant, sharp and clear. The computer animation was also smooth and easy to watch. These would have worked to the advantage of the film, but the design of the characters simply lacked characteristic and charm. That, coupled with a rather bare storyline, hardly made the 90-min in the cinema worthwhile.

Overall, The Nut Job is at best a boring pastime film. Since a sequel of this film has already been decided for release in 2016, we can only wish the best for the team. FYI, the trailer of the film is cut very well. You may wish to watch that 10 times over on YouTube than to set foot into the cinema for this film.

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TARZAN (2014)

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Reinhard Klooss
Cast: Kellan Lutz, Robert Capron, Jaime Ray Newman, Spencer Locke
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 March 2014 

Synopsis: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ TARZAN® -- one of the most classic and revered stories of all time - returns to the big screen, completely reimagined for a new generation. It is now present day. On an expedition in the remote African jungle, John Greystoke and his wife are killed in a helicopter crash while investigating a mysterious meteorite site. Only their young son J.J., nicknamed Tarzan, survives. A group of gorillas discovers the boy in the wreckage and takes him in as their own. Tarzan grows up learning the harsh laws of the jungle for nearly a decade until he encounters another human being - the courageous and beautiful young Jane Porter. It is love at first sight. But things get dangerous when William Clayton, who travels to Africa with Jane under false pretense, reveals his true - and greedy - intentions. Tarzan, now a man like no other, must use all his jungle instincts and intellect to protect his home and defend the woman he loves.

Movie Review:
Can you believe that it’s been more than a decade since Edgar Rice Burroughs’ titular character last made its appearance on the big screen? Indeed, some of you may recall Disney’s 1999 hand-drawn animation with the popular Phil Collins ballad ‘You’ll Be In My Heart’, though nostalgia alone doesn’t quite justify the mediocrity of this German-backed production from the studio behind ‘The Mortal Instruments’ and ‘Pompeii’. Yes, if you’re looking for no more than a fast-paced action adventure to keep the tykes occupied, this motion-capture animation will do just fine; otherwise, swing away fast.
Assuming both the role of writer and director is Reinhard Klooss, who has three German animated films to his credit and only one English-language feature called ‘Animals United’ that you probably have not seen. At least for the first hour, Klooss borrows heavily from his Disney predecessor, setting up the origin story of how the young son of millionaire John Greystroke is left abandoned in the jungle when dad and mom die in a helicopter crash and finds himself adopted by the kind mother ape Kala who recently lost a son and raises him as her own.
As Tarzan grows from a kid to an adolescent and finally a full-fledged adult to be voiced by ‘The Legend of Hercules’ star Kellan Lutz, he meets the ecologist Jane Porter (Spencer Locke) visiting the jungle with her dad (Les Bubb) - and anyone with a semblance of knowledge of pop-culture will know just what needs to happen in order for there to be the phrase ‘Tarzan and Jane’. Of course, Tarzan hasn’t yet learnt the English language, so in between introducing her to the breathtaking sights of his jungle home, the pair engage in some simple pantomime leading up to that classic - and therefore mandatory - ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ scene.
To give the German-based Ambient Entertainment its credit, the animation looks pretty impressive. Tarzan’s top-to-bottom ratio may look a little disproportionate, but once you’re willing to look past the physics of his vine-swinging, you’ll find that the ‘Avatar’-like tropical flora and fauna are vividly rendered. Ditto for the large cast of jungle creatures whom Tarzan counts as friends; surely benefiting from the experience they had animating such creatures in Klooss’ aforementioned earlier feature, they do a fine job making the monkeys come alive.
On his part, Klooss keeps the pace swift and steady, and even though the storytelling isn’t particularly inspired, he at least covers the obligatory plot points without falling off the vines. Tarzan finds his nemesis here in an opportunist (Trevor St John) who has no qualms with razing the entire forest in order to locate a lost meteorite with potentially extra-terrestrial energy. There is an eco-message that Klooss tries to make about sacrificing nature for profit and development, but admittedly it feels tacked on and ripped from the pages of ‘Avatar’.
And indeed, originality is what seems consistently lacking in this reboot of the classic Apeman. Its plot seems recycled from a combination of Disney’s ‘Tarzan’ and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’, its animation largely drawn from compositions of the latter, and its man-versus-nature lesson made more emphatically in many other movies. But for the young ones of whom a visual presentation would be a much more memorable introduction than a textual one, ‘Tarzan 3D’ - the first to feature the character with the additional dimension no less - is as good a place as any to start.
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