Here Fishy Fishy..."Finding Dory"

Finding Dory (2016)  

Rated PG

Starring Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy, Diane Keaton, Sigourney Weaver, Idris Elba, Hayden Rolence,

Directed by Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

The Story:

A year after their big adventure of finding Nemo, Dory (DeGeneres) is feeling restless. She's remembering bits and pieces of her life as a baby, and wondering if her parents (Levy & Keaton) are still out there. She begins her journey, and Nemo and Marlin (Rolence & Brooks) take off to find her and bring her back...home.

Well, the odds are good that if you liked Finding Nemo, you're going to enjoy Finding Dory just as much.

If you think 2003's Nemo is slightly exaggerated on how awesome and important a movie in the Pixar catalog, and animation as a whole, then you'll find nothing here that's new and exciting, and simply appears as Pixar's attempt to print money.

Guess which camp I fall in?

:)

As always, I'll give Pixar their due, their animation is top notch, and there are scenes where you'll swear you're staring at live action scenery, not recreated backgrounds.

However, neither of the Finding pictures makes my personal Pixar Top 10.

That said, they are not unwatchable, like The Good Dinosaur, so there's that.  : )

There are some fun new characters, and a few returns from the original as well.

The most notable new addition is Hank (O'Neill) the octopus that's going to help Dory in ways he can't even imagine.

Amusingly, most of my kids didn't see this one, as most were indifferent towards, or have never even seen Finding Nemo.

It is now streaming on Netflix, so I'm sure sooner or later, someone will give it a click, and we'll see how they enjoy it.

Final Grade: B-

April Showers Bring Christmas Movies! "Love The Coopers"

 

Love The Coopers (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Ed Helms, Steve Martin, Amanda Seyfried, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde, Anthony Mackie, Jake Lacy,

Directed by Jessie Nelson

The Story:

The Coopers are all coming home for the holidays. Along the way they are going to confront some uncomfortable truths about themselves and their family. After all, that's what the holidays are for.

While stacked with a lot of comedic actors, this movie isn't so much funny as it is amusing.

It's a dramedy about family dynamics and life choices that don't always turn out the way people want or expect them to.

You've got the parents (Goodman & Keaton) who are going through the motions for the benefit of their children. This will apparently be their last Christmas together and the reasons why are not immediately recognizable but will be slowly unearthed as the movie progresses.

The oldest daughter (Tomei) who runs into a bit of problem with the law (Mackie) trying to decide what to get her sister for Christmas.

The youngest daughter (Wilde) is not ready for another year of being looked down upon, so she grabs a stranger (Lacy) and convinces him to be her fiancée for the holidays.

Then the son (Helms) whose marriage has tanked and he's having issues of his own being a good dad.

Finally grandpa (Arkin) who has the sweetest story of the bunch about his relationship with a young waitress (Seyfried) at the local diner.

Marriages on the rocks. Feelings that have been hurt for years, it will all culminate in the happiest ending possible for this family.

All tied loosely, and rather strangely by narrative from the family dog (Martin) which is rather annoying because he's the dog, and sometimes they use his narration, sometimes they don't. An omniscient narrator would have been just fine, and slightly less annoying.

Worth a viewing, but doubtful to become a beloved holiday tradition in many families.

Final Grade:  C+

Nothing Much Happens "5 Flights Up"

5 Flights Up (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton, Cynthia Nixon

Directed by Richard Loncraine

The Story: 

Alex and Ruth Carver (Freeman & Keaton) have lived in their apartment for decades. However, they're getting older, and the prospect of marathoning those 5 flights of stairs is becoming more daunting with each passing year. With the help of a realtor friend (Nixon) they're going to put their apartment up for sale and hopefully find a new one that they like as well.

Yep, that's it.

There's your movie.

There are also 2 additional subplots that provide the drama and tension of the movie:

Their dog needs surgery and may not survive!
There is a possible terrorist in town who is making the apartment selling/buying experience harder than it should be.

We are treated to a series of flashbacks of Alex and Ruth when they are just starting out to give some background to their life together, and how they made that apartment their home.

But essentially, nothing really happens throughout the movie.

If not for Morgan Freeman who gets to do some voice-over narration (The Manhattan Redemption!) to the story, this film would have a much lower rating.

Freeman makes everything better.

Final Grade: C

An All-Star Cast is Usually An All-Out Flop..."The Big Wedding"

Til death do they part.  Or Divorce.  Whichever comes first.

The Story:

Don (Robert DeNiro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton) were married once.  They had 2 children: Jared (Topher Grace) and Lyla (Katherine Heigl).  They adopted Alejandro (Ben Barnes) a few years later, but it was too little, too late to save their marriage.  Don has moved on, and in, with Bebe (Susan Sarandon), Ellie's best friend.  However everyone is coming back home to see Alejandro tie the knot with Missy (Amanda Seyfried).  However, Alejandro needs a favor from his parents:  could they please pretend to still be married this weekend?  His real mom is coming to America, and a strict Catholic would simply not approve of the divorce. 

What could possibly go wrong?

This is another all-star comedy that mostly works.

It's more amusing than flat-out comedy, and one that embraces it's "R" rating.

Which again, sometimes I lament that screenplays feel the need to throw that around in a movie that could otherwise easily grabbed a PG-13 rating and appealed to a wider audience.

Otherwise, no real complaints with the movie.

The performances are all enjoyable, as we have a consummate group of actors on display in this movie.

It was a treat to see Susan Sarandon again, as she seems to have mostly disappeared from movies as the years go by, which is a shame.  She's a natural at comedy, and has a great time with her role.

Robin Williams is also included in a minor role as the priest who will perform the ceremony.  He is restrained, and possibly the only sane member of the cast. ;)

The only real casting misfire comes at the end when Lyla's boyfriend is revealed.  When you have a "beautiful cast" of great actors... you couldn't spring for one more to play the boyfriend, if even for a moment?  I suppose they want to give hope that real life works that way, but rarely do you see someone like Heigl dating a caveman...

: )

Final Grade: B-/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  No need to own it, but I could watch it again if it was on.  No big hurry though.

Up Before the Crack of Dawn... "Morning Glory"

Go back to bed, it's early...

The Story:

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) lives for the news.  More specifically, she has dreamed of being the producer of  The Today Show since she was a little girl.  Doing her best at a local morning show in New Jersey, her life abruptly changes when she is canned due to budget cuts.  She is desperate to get back in the game, and takes the plunge at the ratings challenged Daybreak show on IBS.  Can she pull her series out of the ratings basement before it's too late?

This is a comedic gem of a movie.  I absolutely love to watch it, and I make no apologies for that.

First and foremost, it's a comedy about the morning news programs.

Second, and wisely, there is a romantic comedy entanglement that plays second-fiddle to the first part of the story, which works great because in the real world, that's exactly what would happen.

Becky has an odd assortment of characters on her show to deal with.  She opens her career with a bang by firing one co-host, leaving her other star (Diane Keaton) to wonder what's going on.  Combing the archives, Becky realizes that she can get curmudgeonly anchorman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) on her show due to his contract.

Becky tries, but the ratings keep getting worse, and her boss (Jeff Goldblum) threatens cancellation.  Becky pulls out all the stops... and amazingly the ratings begin to rise.

It's good fun throughout, and I can't help but think this is the best role that Harrison Ford has had in the movies in over a decade (Air Force One). 

It's well written, believable, and funny.  And when the weatherman (Matt Malloy) rides the roller coaster, I bust up laughing.  Every time.

Currently available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A-

Would I Own It: Yep, and I do.  Very re-watchable.