Special Delivery..."Storks"

Storks (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Anton Starkman, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Danny Trejo, Stephen Kramer Glickman

Directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland

The Story:

Storks deliver babies. Or at least they used to, until one stork (Trejo) became too attached to Orphan Tulip (Crown) and refused to deliver her. After that, Hunter (Grammer) turned the service into CornerStore.com and the storks deliver packages to your doorstep with much less muss and fuss. Today, their top deliverer, Junior (Samberg) finds out he's going to be promoted. His first order of business is to fire Orphan Tulip.

Meanwhile, Nate (Starkman) pens a letter to the storks requesting a new baby brother with mad ninja skills. His parents (Burrell and Aniston) simply don't have the time to spend with him, so he wants someone to share his life with.

You can guess how these stories are about to converge, can you not?

:)

Warner Brothers Animation delivers an adorable and very funny animated film to kick off 2017 for our house.

It runs the gamut of emotions, and had quickly become a new family favorite in our house.

I should stop for a minute to mention that the film was written by Nicholas Stoller who also directed this alongside Doug Sweetland, a former Pixar animator. Both make their animated directorial debut with this film, and they've set the bar high for future installments and for the future of Warner Brothers Animation department.

The voice cast is superb from top to bottom and the story is compelling as you wait with each scene to see what is going to happen next.

The relationship between Tulip and Junior is one of the sweetest comic pairings in ages.

And no, they don't have some awkward physical relationship, but they do provide proof that a family is what you decide to make of it.

Add to the mix some of the craziest side characters ever in an animated film, especially Key & Peele's wolf pack and Pigeon Toady (Glickman) and you have a recipe for a very fun film, and one that will be revisited at the end of the year.

How you like me now?

:)

Final Grade: A-

They're Baaaaaaaack..."Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising"

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)  

Rated R

Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Chloe Grace Moretz,

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

The Story:

Mac and Kelly (Rogen & Byrne) are moving out of the neighborhood and into a new house. They just need to wait 30 days for their current house to close.  And that's when Shelby (Moretz) rents the place next door. She starts her own sorority where the girls are allowed to party and have fun. And if you're going to start a sorority and throw a party, who better to have as your consultant than Teddy (Efron), the guy who made life miserable for Mac and Kelly a few years earlier?

If you watched and enjoyed the first Neighbors film 2 years ago, you pretty much know what to expect this go round.

It pretty much stays right on path with parents against college students, until decisions are made that cause Teddy to switch allegiances.

It's not high art, but the artists will get high.

A lot.

That's what they do.

This is Seth Rogen after all.

:)

However, his chemistry with Efron is fun to enjoy, and if you had a good time with the original, you're likely to have as good of a time this go round as well.

I found it to be just about as good as the first one, with a new mix of old and new cast members and a satisfying conclusion to the story.

Will there be a 3rd movie?

There shouldn't be, but if they do, or if Efron and Rogen team up again in something else, I'll swing by and check it out.

Final Grade: C+

With "Neighbors" Like These, It Might Be Time To Move!

Neighbors (2014)

Rated R

Starring Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

The Story:

Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) have just bought their first house and are raising their (really adorable) baby. The house next door is for sale, and they wonder who will move in. Cue the bad boy fraternity of the local college that just happened to have burned their last home down! The President (Efron) and Vice President (Franco) seem nice enough at first, but their partying and the neighbors trying to raise their kids soon begin to clash. Things are about to get ugly.

Funny, but ugly.

I set the bar low for this one.  I had seen the previews, and watching Rogen get blown through the roof with the airbag gag was funny.

It was still funny in the film itself.

This was an escalating revenge comedy as the neighbors and frat members attempted to outdo the other in their game of making life as horrible as possible for one another.

Efron continues to distance himself from his Disney past, and so far he's doing a fine job on both the comedic and dramatic sides of the coin.

Rogen continues playing his usual goofy everyman self, and he does a fine job at it.

The movie works nicely by not giving you either side to really root for or against.

After all, you would think the audience would side with the couple, yet they aren't exactly blameless in this whole thing.  Makes a nice counter-balance for the audience to decide who they want to root for.

Oh, and as I mentioned previously, the daughter? Absolutely adorable.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Better than I was expecting, but not good enough to earn a spot in the library. Could be viewed again in a few years for a few laughs.