I Should Have Let It Stay A Secret..."The Secret Life Of Pets"

The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey,

Directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney

The Story:

Max (Louis C.K.) is a terrier who lives a happy life with Katie (Kemper). Until one day she brings home a stray named Duke (Stonestreet) and the two just don't get along. Naturally, one day Max's attempt to get rid of Duke wind up with them both on the lam from the law, and when Snowball (Hart) shows them the seedy underside of abandoned pets in New York City, they both just want to get home as soon as possible.

Sound familiar?

Yep, it's the plot to Toy Story, only this time substitute pets for toys, and you're guaranteed a smash hit for the whole family.

Except for all the charm and heart, this movie forgot to add most of that in.

The framework for the story was already done for them by Pixar, Illumination Entertainment forgot to add in all the fun, excitement and warmth that made Toy Story an instant classic.

Instead, they relied on a host of funny comedians and hoped that they would be enough to make this one fun on its own.

Ooops.

Doesn't really work that way.

I think the two most enjoyable characters in the film were voiced by Albert Brooks and Dana Carvey, and they were minor characters that show up in the 2nd half of the film.

At the end of the day, it's not unwatchable.

I've just seen too many animated films by all the studios continually push that bar ever higher, and it's not enough, for me anyway, to just be an animated film to entice families to watch together.

Final Grade: C

Trying Too Hard..."Concussion"

Concussion (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse,

Directed by Peter Landesman

The Story:

Dr. Bennett Omalu (Smith) is a forensic neuropathologist in Pittsburgh who happens to be on duty when the body of former Steelers great Mike Webster (Morse) arrives at the morgue. As Bennett attempts to discover what really killed Webster, he makes the discovery of CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This discovery should be heralded as a scientific breakthrough, but instead threatens the very nature of the NFL.

In the 2015 edition of Trivial Pursuit, this will be the answer for why Jada Pinkett Smith boycotted the Oscars.

This was Will Smith's Hail Mary (see what I did there?) at an Oscar nab.

The problem is, the movie is rather uneven and therefore not worthy of Oscar buzz.

He gives a fine performance, but when he spoke for the first time with his accent, all I could think about was Eddie Murphy doing a similar accent decades earlier and laughed.

Probably not the correct first reaction to a riveting drama!

The science, the football, it's all good.

The sad decline of some of the NFL's fiercest warriors and the grim realization that Dr. Bennett was right years after bringing it to the attention of the NFL, and largely being ignored, brings the movie to a somber close.

What really isn't that great is the relationship with Prema (Raw). Whether it happened in real life like it does in the movie, I'm chalking that portion up to "who cares?" .

It seems tacked on and very poorly conceived, almost a tender romance bone to throw to the ladies in the audience that have to endure a football movie with their husbands.

Hands down, the best character in the movie is Bennett's boss, played by Albert Brooks. When he's onscreen, the movie picks up and hums along nicely. Sadly, he's not there nearly enough.

Still, no discounting the subject matter.

There was much potential here, but just like the NFL, the opportunity to do something historic was fumbled.

Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

Where Does the Time Go? "This is 40"

Nobody ever said life was easy...

The Story:

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are both celebrating their 40th birthdays.  Naturally, if that wasn't enough of a crisis, they have to deal with their kids, their relationship with their parents(John Lithgow, Albert Brooks), their relationship with each other and the stress and toll of their jobs on their life.

It's funny because it's true.

So you've seen this pair before if you saw Knocked Up.  Judd Apatow returns to write and direct this semi-sequel.  And there are indeed some quiet truths espoused amongst the go for the jugular comedic gags.

Some work better than others, but the performances by all of the actors save even the worst gags from failing (and flailing) on the screen.

The biggest problem... there's really no payoff.

The movie loops around leaves us almost back at the start. 

Has there been some character progress throughout the movie?  Yeah... a little, I guess.

But really, many of the questions aren't answered so much as they are pushed off to the side in favor of the next big gag.

It's a Judd Apatow comedy, what else was I supposed to expect?

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again if it's on, Rudd is always hilarious, but much like Knocked Up, I don't need to own it.