Took Me Long Enough... "Kung Fu Panda 3"

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, J.K. Simmons, David Cross, James Hong

Directed by Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh

The Story:

Po (Black) reunites with his long lost father (Cranston), much to the chagrin of his current father (Hong) and they journey to the hidden Panda village so that Po can master his chi. Kai (Simmons) has been defeating the masters both in the spirit world and is now back in our world, more powerful than ever. Po must teach the new pandas how to do the Fu in order to save his friends, and the world!

So you might remember earlier this year when the kids went to the movies and saw this one:

"There was a very good plot. A great balance between the action and the humor.  It didn't let me down with the franchise and go out on a low note.  I'd give it an A!"

"Amazing.  I give it an A!"

"I think it was very funny, not too serious and not all action. I really liked what the movie did with both of Po's dads. I give it an A!"

"So far the best film I've seen all year. It didn't exceed the the greatness of Part 2, but it may very well have equaled it. Definitely an A."

"It was great. There were two sad parts that made me cry sad tears. I was glad I got to see it."

" It was phenomenal. By far the prettiest of all three movies and the animation was just spectacular. Not quite as good as Part 2, but really, really, really good nonetheless."



How am I supposed to compete with those kinds of reviews?

:)

So the movie has been in our house since the release, and I managed to walk in at the part where Po begins training the panda village.

I didn't really want to review half a movie, so I figured I'd probably catch the beginning sooner or later.

That said, what I had seen was the usual awesome work from Dreamworks, and a lot of fun from the cast.

Especially inspired work from a villainous J.K. Simmons who seems to be having a blast as the baddest bad guy that nobody has ever heard of.

Then the movie came to Netflix streaming, and it's played a few times since then, and I seemingly always arrive when it's time for Po to start training the village.

So I finally grabbed the remote and started it from scratch.

I wasn't disappointed.

Again, Cranston's hot streak of great movies chugs along, and it's a nice conclusion to the Kung Fu Panda trilogy.

Whether they continue, or not, it's been a great series of films, and Dreamworks should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

Can't argue with the kids on this one.

It's really good, and possibly just a bit less awesome than Part 2.

But what a great trilogy they've entertained us with!

Final Grade: A

Time To Get With "The Program"

The Program (2015)

Rated R

Starring Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Dustin Hoffman, Lee Pace, Jesse Plemons,

Directed by Stephen Frears

The Story:

David Walsh (O'Dowd) is a reporter for an Irish newspaper who has been covering the Tour de France for years. When he sees his colleagues become enamored with previously not-that-great cyclist Lance Armstrong (Foster), he expresses his doubts. The more Armstrong begins winning, the more sure Walsh is that he's cheating.

This is based on the book that Walsh wrote on Lance Armstrong doping, and duping, the entire world.

And it's a good movie, but it's not great.

It unfolds in a straightforward fashion with Lance not being very great on the hills of France and then slowly, methodically, he works his way to the top of the mountain, both figuratively and literally.

Foster is an amazing Lance Armstrong, the guy that everyone loved once upon a time.

The American that beat The Tour!
The American that beat Cancer!

Then he got greedy and had to come back for more.

And that's when things began to unravel.

Had he simply stayed away from the limelight, it's quite possible that his legacy would have endured.

But the ego, the need for the spotlight shines through in his performance, and you can see it as his true undoing.

O'Dowd makes for a great reporter, going after the story that nobody else wants to believe.

The weird thing, for a story that involves his work to uncover the story, the reporter is absent for most of the proceedings, which is a shame.

It seemed like the story was missing the dramatic cues that allow Armstrong to stay one step ahead for so long, or perhaps it's just knowing what happens, there's never a sense of real drama or tension to elevate this film from a "should see" to a "must see".

Now streaming on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade:  B-

Special Guest Reviews: "Kung Fu Panda 3 "

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, J.K. Simmons, David Cross, James Hong

Directed by Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh

The Story:

Po (Black) reunites with his long lost father (Cranston) and they journey to where the rest of the Pandas are located.  However, while he is away, a new villain, Kai (Simmons) begins defeating the Kung Fu masters. Po must teach the new pandas how to do the Fu in order to save his friends, and the world!

Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008 to much commercial and critical success.

In 2011, Kung Fu Panda 2 came out and did the unusual and unthinkable: it was the sequel that was better than the original.  It matched the humor of the original, but this time it brought some emotional heart to the festivities.

I never bothered with either for years, until I finally watched both last year. Hmmm. I guess I should've thrown some reviews on the site! ;)

So with the release of Part 3, I sent the experts on all thing Panda into the theater to do my dirty work for me.

Here then are some of their thoughts on the movie:

First we'll start with the biggest fan of  Kung Fu Panda in the house -

There was a very good plot. A great balance between the action and the humor.  It didn't let me down with the franchise and go out on a low note.  I'd give it an A!

Next kid:

Amazing.  I give it an A!

How about # 3?

I think it was very funny, not too serious and not all action. I really liked what the movie did with both of Po's dads. I give it an A!

As for the oldest that saw the movie on Friday:

 So far the best film I've seen all year. It didn't exceed the the greatness of Part 2, but it may very well have equaled it. Definitely an A.

And the opinion of the youngest:

It was great. There were two sad parts that made me cry sad tears. I was glad I got to see it.

Apparently it was so good, the oldest had to go see it on Sunday to see if it was indeed truly as good as everyone said.

Her text: It was phenomenal. She elaborated later that it was by far the prettiest of all three movies and the animation was just spectacular. Then her comments seemed to echo just about everyone else, not quite as good as Part 2, but really, really, really good nonetheless.

Overall final grade (for now):  Looks like the A's have it. Sounds like a contender for Best of the Year if I know what's good for me.

The real grade will be revealed when it comes out on Netflix or for sale later this year.

;)

Sole Man..."The Cobbler"

The Cobbler (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Adam Sandler, Method Man, Steve Buscemi, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Barkin

Written and Directed by Tom McCarthy

The Story:

Max (Sandler) is an old-fashioned cobbler who runs the shop his dad (Hoffman) left him. It's a family tradition that goes back seemingly forever. One day, Max needs to fix some shoes in a hurry for a customer (Method Man), but his machine breaks. He heads down to the basement and uses the old hand stitcher. However, when Max slips on the shoes, he uncovers an amazing family secret!

Well, for those that claim there is nothing on Netflix that they haven't streamed or seen already, I would challenge you with this film.

Granted, as it stars Adam Sandler, 85% of film goers have already fled to the hills.

That's a shame, as he really plays the part subdued and effectively.

Whether it's his best performance in years, as the hyperbole that often gets shouted with films like this, it is the most non-Sandler performance in ages.

There are several laughs throughout the film as Sandler gets to inhabit the bodies of those whose shoes were fixed at his shop.

But, there's also a touch for the dramatic as well as Max deals with the legacy left to him by his father, and all that it implies.

There's also other parts of the story as well, but I don't want to spoil everything!

Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

A Movie You Can Sink Your Teeth Into... "Chef"

Chef (2014)

Rated R

Starring Jon Favreau, Oliver Platt, John Leguizamo, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, Emjay Anthony

Written and Directed by Jon Favreau

The Story:

Chef Casper (Favreau) is preparing a master feast for the premiere restaurant critic in town (Platt) . However, the owner (Hoffman) wants to play it safe and go with the old standby, after all, that's what made them famous. The critic tanks the place, Casper loses his mind, and his son (Anthony) just wants to hang out with his dad. However, when Casper gets an old food truck, his best friend (Leguizamo) and son and go on a cross-country trek during the summer, Casper rediscovers the magic that had been dormant for so long and his food is going viral, but in a good way. :)

See also the autobiography of Jon Favreau replacing food with movies. ;)

Favreau started as an indie crowd pleaser before getting called up to the big leagues to helm big studio hits (Elf, Iron Man).

Apparently along the way, he lost a bit of himself and what he wanted to do was see if he could reclaim his magic.

In Chef, he does just that.

He brings his indie sensibilities back to the forefront, but this time he's able to bring some of his A-list pals that he's made along the way with him.

They are brief, but memorable characters, but at the end of the day, this is a story about a man reconneecting with the passions in his life:

1) Food
2) Son
3) Wife

Now is the part where I have to dock Favreau just like everyone else or then I appear to be a hypocrite.

The story of a son and father reconnecting?
That's PG-13 fare my friend.

Dial the language back a bit, broaden the audience, let me share a pretty fun road trip with the family, and you've got an instant addition to the library.

Again, that's me and my soapbox.

To me, a few of the tirades are fine (and funny).  However, that's the point of language.

Restrain it, and when you do unleash profanity, it underscores the emotional impact of the scene.

Use it all the time, it's just another adjective or adverb that keeps the audience limited.

My two cents.

Either way, still a good movie and worthwhile viewing.


Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again, and like I said, had the language been toned down, this would have been a no-brainer for best of the year honors.