12 Years a Slave (2013)

Genre: Biography, Drama, History



My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ½   (out of ★ ★ ★ ★)
    (Click here for more info on my rating scale)



Alright, imagine if you are living an ordinary day; and then the next suddenly you find your life torn away from you, and you are thrown into a different life, full of misery, despair, oppression, and brutality, possibly for many years.  Well, this is exactly what happened to Solomon Northup, a free black man who, in 1841, was kidnapped, beaten, and sold into slavery.  And he remained in slavery for twelve years, until he has rescued in 1853 from a plantation he was working on in Louisiana.  In fact, Northup only one of the numerous people to whom this actually happened, but he was one of the only ones who regained their freedom.

Shortly after regaining his freedom, he published his story in a book titled 12 Years a Slave, which I read prior to seeing the film, and which director Steve McQueen has now adapted into said film, with the same title.  Many reviewers have already summarized essentially how I personally feel about this film, so I apologize if this review feels redundant to you readers.  Rather than just trying to grab money and capitalize on the market, McQueen brings to the screen an honest, accurate portrayal of the harsh conditions and life of slavery.  And it old through the eyes of a man who was not born and raised as a slave, but a free end educated man who ended up having experience in both the slave and free worlds.  As for the cruelty and brutality, the film doesn't tone any of it down.  In fact, some scenes were difficult to watch, they were so disturbing.  This film actually allowed me, to a considerable extent, to experience a bit of antebellum Southern United States slavery as it actually was.  IT could also be argued that the film offers a strong view of how cruel and evil humans can be, and have been at times in the past.

The performances in this film are excellent.  The script doesn't give Northup much "development," but Chiwetel Ejiofor gives his character depth and humanity through his powerful, superlative performance.  He reached out grabbed by emotions strongly, pulling me into his experiences, from a free man, to his abduction, and through his experience as a slave, during which he kept the fact of his freedom mostly silent but nevertheless remained determined to someday get it back.  I especially liked the way he conveyed so much emotion though facial expressions, and especially through his eyes.  I predict an Oscar nomination for Ejiofor.

All of the other performances were highly commendable as well.  Not all of the white people portrayed in the film, however, are cruel.  A counter example is William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Cumberbatch's character in the film is a 180 turn around from his performance as the evil and menacing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness.  His character, Ford, while blinded by the social and cultural mores of the antebellum South, treats Northup with unexpected kindness (and I look forward to future performances by Cumberbatch).  Another such counterexample to the common white cruelty of the time is Bass (Brad Pitt), who eventually helps Northup to escape.  As for the not-so-kind people, there are two who reflect the general beliefs and unpleasantness of many southern whites.  They are Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a plantation owner and one of Northup's owners, and John Tibeats (Paul Dano), a worker for Ford.  And yes, Fassbender and Dano's performed well.

While scenery is certainly not the primary draw of the film, I want to give a thumbs up for the film's cinematograpy and visual aspects, and Hans Zimmer's music score, which helped enhance the experience.  As for the screenplay, John Ridley did a good job adapting the book into a screenplay.  He did make a few minor tweaks and condensed the story a bit - in fact, there are one or two particular scenes that I think should have been included in the film, and I think that they would have made the film even better - but other than that the film is true to the book and the events.

If I were to criticize anything about the film, it would be that I really think that the feeling of twelve years passing, while effective, should have been stronger.  In fact, while I liked the film and the way everything was handled in it, I felt that everything could still have been stronger - more intense, more vivid, more horrifying, more suspenseful, more gut-wrenching, more emotionally powerful, etc.  But again, all of these aspects, and more, were still pretty strong in the film.

So, overall, 12 Years a Slave wasn't great like I wanted it to be, but it was good, and one of the best films of 2013; and it is an experience that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.  Solomon Northup himself would have been proud of this film.



Cast and Credits:
Solomon Northup: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Edwin Epps: Michael Fassbender
William Ford: Benedict Cumberbatch
Patsey: Lupita Nyong'o
Tibeats: Paul Dano
Bass: Brad Pitt
Burch: Christopher Berry

Directed by Steve McQueen
Based on the novel by Solomon Northup himself
Screenplay by John Ridley
Music by Hans Zimmer
Running time: 134 min.

Rated R for violence and cruelty, some nudity, and brief sexuality

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Release Date: May 16, 2013

My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ½   (out of ★ ★ ★ ★)
      (Click here for more info on my rating scale)

Currently my third favorite Star Trek film.

I wouldn’t call myself a true Star Trek fan, but over the past few years I have become a bit fond of the franchise.  I have seen most of the movies, and I have seen a number of episodes from the original series, but nothing more.  But I have enjoyed most of the films and episodes that I have seen so far.  Now, my viewing experience of Star Trek Into Darkness marks a pretty big point in my experience with Star Trek: it is the first Star Trek film that I have seen in the theater.  And I don’t regret it; I liked it.

The 2009 film brought about an “alternate” timeline/reality to the Star Trek franchise, providing some good and even refreshing opportunities.  Star Trek Into Darkness picks up sometime after the previous film left off.  While saving a planet from a volcanic eruption, Kirk (still a bit cocky and arrogant, like before) violates the federation’s “Prime Directive.”  As a result, the Federation gives the Enterprise back to Admiral Pike, and Kirk is demoted to First Officer.  However, an old Starfleet Commander declares war on the Federation, setting off a bomb in London and then attacking the Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, during which Pike is killed.  The Enterprise is given back to Kirk, along with orders to track down Harrison and bring him to justice.

I’m going to keep my review simple.  I found this movie overall to be better than the 2009 film in just about every way.  Not only are the action and effects better, but I found the story to be better and more emotionally compelling (and with a few twists), and the emotional journey of the characters and their relationships is good, and stronger and deeper than in the last film.  Oh, and yes, there are some humorous moments as well.

This film doesn’t feel quite like the older Star Trek films, but it also pays homage to them, especially one in particular (such as a revelation later on where we learn Harrison’s true identity…).  There’s even one particular sequence late in the film which is very similar to that of that particular aforementioned Star Trek film that this film pays homage to (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it – if, of course, you have seen that particular film).  This sequence (with a role-reversal though) is one of my favorite scenes of the film, and it pays homage to that other film quite well.

The cast memebers all do a good job as well, and put on good performances.  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the rest of the cast all bring out their characters well; and they pay homage to their respective characters in earlier movies as well.

The flawed content that the film has is mostly in the middle portion of the film; it’s not bad or anything, but it’s definitely a slight dip in quality from the first and third acts of the film.  It has a few minor pacing issues here, and it goes a little overboard on the action and effects, and it falls just short of the emotional level it should be at (but it still gets close).  That being said, I very much liked the first and last half hours (approximately) of the film.

Overall, I liked this film.  In fact, as of right now, this is my third favorite Star Trek film, right underneath my first and second favorites, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, respectively.  Star Trek Into Darkness doesn’t particularly go where no film has gone before, but it’s good.


Cast and Credits:
Kirk: Chris Pine
Spock: Zachary Quinto
McCoy: Karl Urban
Uhura: Zoe Saldana
Harrison: Benedict Cumberbatch
Pike: Bruce Greenwood

Paramount Pictures presents
A film directed by J. J. Abrams
Running time:

After Earth (2013)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Release Date: May 31, 2013 (USA)

My Rating:  ★ ★ ½   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ½)
     (Click here for more info on my rating scale)


My time and money weren’t completely worth the experience, but they weren’t wasted either.

I have to say, as much as I like M. Night Shyamalan, I was unsure as to whether or not he would get any directing jobs after his failure of that terrible Last Airbender movie.  But, despite the negative reviews that After Earth has been receiving, I decided to give Shyamalan another chance and go see it.  It does suffer from several flaws, not the least of which are weak acting and some uneven pacing among other things, but there were some things I liked and will remember about it.  And if you ask me, it’s definitely a step back in the right direction for Shyamalan.

The film takes place a millennium after humanity was forced to leave Earth and settle on a distant planet.  Katai (Jaden Smith) wants to become a soldier like his father, General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), but he fails his test for cadet promotion.  He and his father have an estranged relationship; they are obviously emotionally distant from each other, and they even maintain something of a military-like relationship and behavior even at home.  Eventually, he and his father are on a ship, which is damaged in an asteroid storm and crash lands on Earth, the only survivors being Cypher and Katai.  Since the humans have left, the living organisms of Earth have evolved into dangerous, lethal forms.  Cypher’s legs having been broken in the crash, Katai must travel 100 kilometers across this dangerous terrain to where the tail of the ship is in order to retrieve a beacon.

So yes, After Earth is a futuristic science-fiction film, but it has a morality tale at its core.  It explores themes of fear, courage, coming of age, and the father-son relationship, and it even contains an ecological message.  It also has good visual effects, and a decent music score.  This is definitely a different type of film for Shyamalan; it didn’t even feel much like a Shyamalan film.  However, this film does have some unique and interesting aspects about it.  And, like some of Shyamalan's previous films, it even has a family relationship story (again, the father-son relationship).

The film’s main issues, however, have nothing to do with any reliance, if any, upon the effects.  In fact, if you ask me, it tries to truly focus on the characters, their relationship, and their struggles.  But it stumbles.  It suffers from some uneven pacing and storytelling and some weak dialogue, a few lines of which are unintentionally funny, and its level of intensity and emotion wavers throughout.  There were parts of the movie in which I felt some relatively strong emotion, intensity, and even suspense.  But other parts of the film came up short on it and weren’t as emotional, suspenseful, intense, or scary as they should have been, and instead ended up feeling a bit too dry and empty.

Another thing I thought the movie suffered from was its handling of its backstories and character development.  These should have been fleshed out and explored more, and several things about it could have been interesting and could even have contributed more to the story, emotionally.  Unfortunately, the film didn’t go into this as much as it should have, and instead it went a little over the top with scenes of Katai out in the wild (a few of these particular scenes did feel a bit like unnecessary “filler”).

Another major issue is the acting.  If you ask me, I think it’s a bit obvious that Jaden Smith only got the role because he is Will Smith’s son.  I found him tolerable and mostly effective, but his acting is wooden.  Will Smith’s acting is decent and effective, but even his acting is a bit stiff.

However, the film does make an effort, and while it does come up short on several aspects, I would say that it tries, and it doesn’t completely fail.  Overall, I didn’t much like the film, but I did find it a bit entertaining, and I felt that the effort, themes, and ideas behind it definitely showed through.  Now, again, I didn’t think the film was great; I just thought it was adequate, or so-so; but I’m still a bit glad that I saw it.  And again, it’s step back in the right direction for Shyamalan, in my opinion; maybe there’s still hope for him after all.  My time and money weren’t completely worth the experience, but they weren’t wasted either.



Cast and Credits:
Cypher Raige: Will Smith
Katai: Jaden Smith

Columbia Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment, and Blinding Edge Pictures present
A film directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 100 min.

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some disturbing images

Epic (2013)

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Release Date: May 24, 2013

My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ½   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ★)
    (Click here for more info on my rating scale)

Hardly epic, but good.

The way things a currently looking, this might very well not be a Pixar year.  A much as I might enjoy Monsters University and possibly Planes, they may very well not be my favorite animated films of the year, and they probably won’t be.  The Croods is already my favorite animated film of the year, and this movie, Epic, in my opinion, is also pretty good.

The main protagonist of the film is Mary Katherine, or M. K., a likable (and cute) teenage girl who, after her mother’s death, goes to live with her eccentric and reclusive father.  Her father believes that there is a miniature world of magical little people and creatures that live in the forest, and of course other people, including M. K., don’t believe him.  However, she soon magically shrunken and discovers this little world, which she must save.

And so on.  I admit, the movie is not very epic; it is a bit generic and has just about every cliché possible: good vs. evil, balance of nature, dysfunctional parent/child relationship, etc etc.  The film resembles a number of other films, such as FernGully, Avatar, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids, among others.  One of the main characters, the Nod, even resembles Flynn Rider from Tangled pretty strongly (but this wasn’t a problem for me). However, I disagree with everyone who is calling it charmless, forgettable, too reliant on visuals, and weak in terms of character, plot, heart, etc.  That’s right, I actually enjoyed it.

I actually thought the movie was handled fairly well and has a decent, solid, enjoyable, well-paced plot and decent character develop.  The film started out a bit slow, but I started to get more interested as trouble started brewing in the miniature forest world and then M. K. gets shrunken; from then on the movie was much better, and I got interested and emotionally involved in the story.  The film also has likable characters and relationships, and good voice performances by Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Beyoncé Knowles, and the rest of the cast.  It even had some good humorous parts, including a pair of mollusks and a three-legged dog.

The best part of the film is the animation; dazzling, lively, meticulously detailed, and it helps bring everything to life.  Like Avatar, this movie has what I found to be an interesting, immersing, well-designed setting.  Also, like Avatar, it has a good, strong ecological message, which I appreciate.  It also has heart, charm, and genuine emotion, and additional good moral messages such as friendship, love, bravery, and selflessness.

Bottom line: If you ask me, Epic is hardly epic, but it’s good.  And it was especially enjoyable for me on the big screen.  Kids well certainly love it; and if you are an adult, like me, just let out your inner child and have fun.

Cast and Credits:

M. K.: Amanda Seyfried

Nod: Josh Hutcherson

Queen Tara: Beyoncé Knowles

Ronin: Colin Farrell

Blue Sky Pictures presents

A film directed by Chris Wedge

Running time: 102 min.

Rated PG for mild action, some scary images, and brief rude language

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

Release Date: March 1, 2013

My Rating:  ★ ★ ★   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ★)

A fun, decent, fast-paced action/adventure fantasy flick, and a worthy retelling of the old Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale.

As James Berardinelli points out in his review of this film, Hollywood currently seems to be going through a trend of fairytale/folklore re-imaginations. Unlike what Disney does in their re-imaginations of such stories, these are tending to be darker and more mature, with more adult elements. A couple of these are Alice In Wonderland and Snow White and the Huntsman. I haven't seen the former, but I have seen the latter, and to be honest I wasn't overwhelmed. Now, Hollywood decides it's time for such an adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk, and along comes director Bryan Singer, who helms Jack the Giant Slayer, which I saw on its opening weekend (sorry I'm so late in posting my review) and found to be somewhat enjoyable, and a worthy addition to the current trend.

Nicholas Hoult plays the title character, Jack, a farmboy who has grown up hearing about a legendary tale about giants living in a place between the earth and heaven. Jack soon comes into possession of some magic beans, and soon inadvertently grows a beanstalk that sprouts out from under his house up into the sky, all the way up to the giants' world (carrying the house up with it). Princess Isabelle happens to be in Jack's house when this occurs, and she is caught up in the gigantic sprouting vines and carried up to the giant world (talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time).

Jack climbs up the beanstalk along with the princess's protectors and her fiancé, Roderick, to search for her. However, Roderick has with him a legendary magical crown with the power to exercise control over the giants, and secretly plans to use it to assemble the giants and take over the human world below. Jack, meanwhile, searches for, and eventually falls in love with, the princess.

I was expecting this film to be dorky, and yes, it is a bit so. However, it was actually not as stupid as I thought it would be. In fact, it does have some fairly smart elements. The story follows a fairly simple, straightforward, and predictable trajectory, and it had the potential to expand and be a lot more, and some of the plotting could have been better, but it is entertaining. It even has some good comical moments here and there. The CGI and effects are pretty good. Everything is very well designed and feels alive. The setting is portrayed excellently, especially the giant world. The giants are truly menacing, and, well, if any of these giants existed in real life, I certainly wouldn't want to get near them. The action sequences are good too, although some scenes may be a bit too intense and violent for little children. But what I liked most of all, in terms of the CGI and effects, was the beanstalk.

As with a number of films these days, some of the action and CGI sequences tend to be a little too long and over the top. This is not much of a problem, although they could have cut some of it. The characterization is relatively simple, and character development is a bit lacking, but even so, I liked and cared about the characters. Jack is a good protagonist, and Nicholas Hoult portrays him pretty well. Isabelle is an enjoyable love interest and damsel in distress. And all the other characters, while again, a bit underdeveloped, are all enjoyable in their roles. I even found Ewan McGregor's character likable. And overall, the film does offer a good sense of adventure.

A little while back, I watched Snow White and the Huntsman, and overall I found the film to be so-so. However, in Jack the Giant Slayer, I did find the beginning (up until the beanstalk sprouted and the story really began) to be a bit slow, but after that, I got somewhat interested in the story, world, and characters, and stayed that way for the rest of the movie. Although, as some reviewers have pointed out, only male giants are seen in the film. Where are the females (if any)? If not, how do the giants reproduce? They are not immortal, as some of them die in the film. But still, this does not spoil the film in any way. Again, it is not a great movie; it's most certainly not Oscar material or anything like that. And it's not even trying to be. It's a competent, unpretentious film, neither pretending nor trying to be more than what it is; a fun, decent, fast-paced action/adventure fantasy flick, and a worthy retelling of the old Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale. Don't go see it expecting an incredibly complex and thought provoking film; just sit back and enjoy the show.

One of the main reasons I went to see this film (among others) was because Bryan Singer directed it. I enjoyed the first two X-Men movies and Superman Returns (yes, I liked it), and so I was curious about 

this film. As it turns out, Bryan Singer proves that he is still a competent film director.

Cast and Credits:

Jack: Nicholas Hoult

Isabelle: Eleanor Tomlinson

Elmost: Ewan McGregor

Roderick: Stanley Tucci

New Line Cinema presents

A film directed by Bryan Singer

Running time: 114 min.

Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language

The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

Genre: Crime, Drama

Release Date: March 29, 2013 (USA)

My Rating:   ★ ★ ★ ★   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ★)
      (Click here for more info on my rating scale)



An emotionally riveting, multi-layered, thought-provoking masterpiece.

The Place Beyond the Pines opens with a very long tracking shot that follows a motorcycle stunt driver, Luke (Ryan Gosling), across a carnival and into a tent containing the spherical metal stunt cage.  This long tracking is an indicator that this is going to be an ambitious, self-aware piece of filmmaking.  And that’s what it is.  Piercing through jumble of other films of the early spring like a high-intensity electromagnetic wave comes The Place Beyond the Pines, a well-written, well-acted, well-directed, emotional, intelligent, suspenseful, multi-layered, thought-provoking film, and, in my opinion, one of the best films of the year so far.  It is three-part drama that unfolds over a completely justified running length of nearly two and a half hours.

The first part of the film is about the aforementioned tattooed motorcycle stunt daredevil, Luke, a good-hearted but reckless and troubled man.  Ryan Gosling puts on an excellent performance, bringing this character to life.  A great portion of his performance is dialogue-free and big on actions and facial expressions.  When he does speak, he speaks quietly and deliberately.

Eva Mendes plays Romina, whom Luke had slept with in the past, and is now the mother of his infant son as a result of that fling.  She is now with another man, but Luke, determined to provide for her and his son, quits his job as a motorcycle stunt driver and resorts to robbing banks to provide for them.  This is a bad decision, obviously, and it leads to even worse decisions.

This eventually leads Luke to cross paths with police officer named Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).  Pretty soon, the first act ends.  The second act focuses on Avery, whom Bradley Cooper portrays with an outstanding performance.  Avery is an ambitious rookie cop who looks to quickly move up the ranks in the corruption-riddled police department in which he works.  The third act of the film takes place fifteen years after the end of the second act, and it focuses on the sons of Luke and Avery, who are now in high school and are haunted by the past sins of their fathers.

I don’t like this film as much as, say, The Godfather, but it is pretty far up there; it is bold and innovative, with a strong emphasis on character and plot development; it is a good example of expert storytelling.  Also, this film has a very strong personal touch to it; I truly cared about the characters and felt all of the emotions that they felt throughout the course of their experiences – love, guilt, emotional torment, embarrassment, stress, etc.  As the story progresses, it takes some surprising and sometimes shocking turns, and there is a riveting sense of tension all the way through the film.

This film is great character study, and it really gives us some things to think about.  It explores themes including, but not limited to, guilt, justice, revenge, love, and even a father’s love for his son.  However, there is one theme that stands out above the others explored in the film: consequences.  Actions have consequences, the effects of which affect other people and the world, and can even ripple through time and generations.  The film emphasizes and illustrates this theme very strongly, and it gives us some good food for thought on the subject.

The movie is excellently filmed, and while the camera work and cinematography is by no means the primary draw of the film, it really enhanced the experience and helped pull me into the film.  The music score is also very good.  Overall, I can think of very little to criticize about this film.  Although, I do have to admit, the third act of the film was slightly less powerful than the previous two, and a little too slow.  But I still found it very compelling.

Again, overall, this film is en excellent example of what can result from a great script, great performances, great directing, and lots of heart and emotional punch.  This film has one of the strongest and most genuine heartbeats that I have felt in a film in quite a while.  I highly recommend this film.

Remember, actions have consequences.  Never forget that.  Negative actions result in negative consequences.  Good actions result in good consequences.  For example, Derek Cianfrance put in a great deal of focus and effort into making this film, and the consequence is that he made an emotionally riveting, multi-layered, thought-provoking masterpiece, which has earned high praise from me, and will hopefully at least receive an Oscar nomination.

Cast and Credits:
Luke: Ryan Gosling
Romina: Eva Mendes
Avery Cross: Bradley Cooper
Deluca: Ray Liotta

Focus features presents
A film directed by Derek Cianfrance
Running time: 140 min.

Rated R for language throughout, some violence, teen drug and alcohol use, and a sexual reference.

The Croods (2013)

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family

Release Date: March 22, 2013

My Rating:  =       (Click here for more info on my rating scale)

A delightful surprise.

I found The Croods to be a pleasant surprise. It exceeded any expectations I had prior to seeing it. Twentieth Century Fox has teamed up with the studio behind How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek, put How to Train Your Dragon director Chris Sanders on the helm along with Kirk De Micco, and come out with this lively, rousing, and highly entertaining work. It doesn't quite rise up the level of Shrek or How to Train Your Dragon (the latter of which is my favorite DreamWorks animated film), but it's definitely one of DreamWorks's better films. It certainly contains the studio's style, and some elements from (and a few references to) a few of its previous films, including the aforementioned Shrek and HTTYD.

The Croods tells the story of a caveman family, (yes, you've guessed it) the Croods, the last surviving family in the region in which they live. They live by hiding in their cave most of the time, only going out to hunt. They always play it safe and live in fear, especially of anything new; as the father, Gurg (Nicolas Cage) says, "Never not be afraid."

The exception to this is Grug's teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone), who, instead of wanting to play it safe all the time, is willing to take risks and learn new things. Because of this, she is a bit distant from her family. One night she ventures out of the cave and meets a young man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who warns her that the world is about to end. Sure enough, an earthquake occurs soon afterward, destroying the Croods' cave (but this is just the beginning). This sends the family on a journey with Guy across an incredible land that they have never experienced, full of fantastic creatures and more, while heading to a mountain where they will supposedly be safe.

I honestly cannot think of much to criticize about the film, except maybe a little bit of the plotting, but that's about it. Again, it doesn't live up to How to Train Your Dragon, but it's still good (and it is admittedly a bit better in terms of character development). It is full of clever humor, wit, and energy. The humor is neither too childish nor too adult. The film also contains true emotion and good, valuable morals. And it is absolutely full of heart. The animation is excellent; colorful, lively, and dazzling. And I want to give a major thumbs-up to Alan Silvestri for the score, which is lively and rousing, just like everything else about the film.

Another especially noteworthy aspect of the film is Eep. Strong female protagonists seem to be fairly popular these days, and Eep is no exception. All of the characters shine, not completely dominating any of the others, but she does shine a bit more than the others. Her appearance brought to mind Fiona from Shrek (which is not surprising, as the same studio is behind them both). She is strong, bold, daring, and rebellious, and her personality recalls that of the aforementioned Fiona, Astrid from HTTYD, and even a bit of Merida from Brave. And yes, there is definitely a bit of Astrid in her; just look at the way she treats Guy when she first meets him. However, they do eventually develop some feelings for each other (which Grug is not too happy about). Eep and all of the other character of the film are lovable, as are the interactions and family values, dynamics, and bonding. The voice performances are good too.

From beginning to end, there was not a single moment anywhere in the entire film where I was bored. Again, it's not great, but it is good.  It is a clever, witty, humorous, energetic, rousing, heartwarming delight, and I hope it gets nominated for the Best Animated Film Oscar. I will not be surprised if it becomes a childhood classic for future generations. I even stayed for the credits. And its primary moral message is one that anybody can relate to: don't let your life get stale – go out and learn and experience new things, live up to your potential, and really live your life and dreams.

Cast and Credits:
Grug: Nicolas Cage
Eep: Emma Stone
Guy: Ryan Reynolds

DreamWorks Animation presents
A film directed by Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders
Music by Alan Silvestri

Running Length 98 min.

Rated PG for some scary action.