So That's Where Babies Come From..."The Boss Baby"

The Boss Baby (2017)

Rated PG

Starring Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Buscemi, Tobey Maguire

Directed by Tom McGrath

The Story:

This is the story about how Tim (Bakshi) and his little brother (Baldwin) first met, and how they saved the world from not having anymore babies. At least as recounted by Tim (Maguire) now that he's much older.

Well, if you would have told me at the beginning of the year that 2 of my favorite animated films of 2017 would be studies on where babies come from, I would have called you crazy.

But here we are.

After the surprisingly touching Storks taught people how to be better parents, along comes Boss Baby with a lesson on what it takes to be a sibling.

Along with all the laughs, be prepared for an emotional moment or two as well.

This is nothing new of late, as Dreamworks Animation keeps killing it with their movies.

I know the rest of the world clamors for whatever Disney or Pixar is putting out next, but Dreamworks seems to be the most consistent maker of animated hits in our household.

Baldwin shines as Boss Baby, and he basically plays himself, or at least what audiences have come to perceive as Alec Baldwin, just as a tiny baby. Sure, it sounds crazy, but it works.

However, don't look past the role of Tim, which Dreamworks veteran Bakshi imbues with a lot of heart and soul. Graduating to a starring role versus just one of the kid characters he's played before, he holds his own with Baldwin and provides the emotional punch for the movie in the finale.

Apparently a sequel is heading our way. Not sure how they'll pull that off, but I'll be ready for it.

Final Grade: B+

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

Is It Time For Cameron Crowe To Say "Aloha" ?

Aloha (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, Danielle Rose Russell

Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe

The Story:

Brian (Cooper) a former military contractor that had been left for dead returns to Hawaii to work alongside some former co-workers (McBride & Baldwin) and the former love of his life (McAdams). The Air Force assigns him a liaison (Stone) to keep him out of trouble as they prepare to launch a satellite for a billionaire (Murray). Will Brian have his edge back, or are familiar surroundings going to overwhelm his sense of duty?

I think the only thing I heard about this film was that there were complaints about having Emma Stone portraying someone who is supposed to be part Hawaiian. Apparently complaining about things is the new 21st century pastime.  Then the film pretty much tanked at the box office.

Is it game over for Cameron Crowe as a writer/director?

Not so fast.

This is hardly the worst film of his career. Yet that was seemingly the buzz that surrounded this film. Sorry, but that honor belongs to Elizabethtown (which I've seen) or possibly Vanilla Sky (which I haven't).

This is a fine ensemble cast that does their best with what they are given. It's certainly watchable, and with the amount of comic actors in this film, the humor is subdued as Crowe was not out to make a "comedy" but a slice of real life and capture the humor within.

The best part is near the end between Brian and Grace (Russell) that says so much with no dialogue at all. Heartwarming and tender, it lifts the rest of the movie right up with it.

Final Grade: C+

The Real Review... "Rise of the Guardians"

 

Okay, now that I had my April Fool's Joke yesterday, let's bring you the REAL review today...

 

 

The only thing that can stop the Boogeyman...

The Story:

The Guardians watch over the children of the world.  North (Alec Baldwin) is the guardian of wonder.  E. Aster Bunnymund (Hugh Jackman) is the guardian of hope.  The Sandman is the guardian of dreams.  And the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) is the guardian of memories.  When all of this is threatened by Pitch (Jude Law) who is attempting to destroy all of childhood's hopes, dreams and wonders.... can the addition of perpetual mischief-maker Jack Frost (Chris Pine) tip the scales in favor of good, or is humanity doomed?

After months of tears and begging, I finally gave in and watched the movie.

It was everything that my kids swore to me, and more.

Much darker than Wreck-It Ralph, that doesn't mean there isn't a sweet side to this story.

It's fun, but not "funny", so the two films are on entirely different spectrums of animated entertainment.

You want fast visuals and fart jokes? Wreck-It Ralph is for you.

You want something deeper for yourself as a parent and for your kids to gather, then this is that film.

The animation from Dreamworks is superb, as always.  The voice acting is stellar, again you never lose sight of the character onscreen due to the voice of the actor in a stunt-casting role.

In fact, Alec Baldwin is all but unrecognizable as North enlisting a jovial Russian/German hybrid for his Santa.

I can see why many people could be turned off by the darkness of this film, but you're wrong.

It was a well-made film, and a shame that we have a generation of kids (and adults) that may not be able to appreciate that.

My only complaint with the film?

Whoever decided to end the film with THAT musical interlude...  I don't care what your intentions were, and from what I read, the idea behind it was sweet....

But that was just plain awful.

Maybe that's where DreamWorks went wrong?  You walk out of the theater, and the song over the credits is your last feeling, and if you walk out to that, you're not feeling it.

Final Grade: A.  You missed out on the + due to the musical choice.

Would I Own It: Already done!  The kids were suitably impressed.

 

 

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 33 ~ The Hunt for Red October

A movie I not only own, I saw it for the first time in the theater.  Though until I saw it at home, I was under the impression that the entire movie was just some crazy dream, because I had missed the opening scene where Alec Baldwin explains that he can never sleep on an airplane.

So yeah, I walked out a little disappointed the first time I saw it!

The Jack Ryan franchise began here.  Not sure what is truth and what is fiction after all these years...

Harrison Ford was originally offered the part, but didn't like that Connery would receive top billing... which seems strange since they had just worked together on The Last Crusade.  Either way, Ford would get the part later, but those movies just don't hold a candle to this one.

Maybe it's the screen presence of Sean Connery... maybe a tighter script...  maybe a little less focus on Jack Ryan...

Either way, this is a heckuva thrill ride from start to finish.

For those that have never seen it:

A Russian submarine captain decides to defect to America, taking his state of the art submarine and officers with him in the process.

The Americans think he's attacking, so they set out to sink him.  The Russians are also out to sink him.

But one man thinks he knows the truth...and they have to try and save him.

Directed by John McTiernan...the man has only directed a total of 11 films in his career, but nearly all of them are exceptional films to watch, and there is one still to come on the countdown.

The film is an all-star cast, with no stunt casting or people wasted in their roles.  They all take a back seat to the story, and you'll sit glued to your seat enjoying it...regardless of how many times you've watched it.

It is available to stream from Netflix as of this review.