CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 Review - it's like an animated jurassic park. with food.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Animated, 2013
1 hour, 35 minutes
Written by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Erica Rivinoja
Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn
Rated PG for "mild, rude humor"

Starring
Bill Hader
Anna Faris
James Caan
Will Forte
Andy Samberg
Terry Crews
Kristen Schaal
Benjamin Bratt
Neil Patrick Harris




I don't watch many kids movies other than whatever Disney puts out. Because let's face it, Most of those other Dreamworks movies are far too deep in the kids movie range. Disney and Pixar films are so finely crafted, they don't bullshit, and there are plenty of jokes for adults. They're fantastic.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a great movie on it's own. Strong voice acting and fun animation make for a fun movie for all ages. It's a great adaptation of the kids book, despite taking a very different direction with the story, but hey, it's a movie.
Cloudy 2 was definitely made with the intention of "hey we made a fortune on this and people liked it, let's do another one!" And it works. Despite following some very familiar story and character tropes, I found it to be quite enjoyable. Careful watchers will see that Cloudy 2 has taken a few notes from Jurassic Park, and there are a few great adult jokes (in particular, a device that's called a BS USB, which had me cracking up).

However, the best part of the movie is the puns. Holy shit, so many puns. All food puns. They're amazing. So many I don't even know where to start, but they're all fantastic, and they add a ton to the movie.

The voice work is top notch. All of the original cast, except for Mr. T, returns for the sequel. It's all the same characters in all of their absurd quirky selves.
The only thing that doesn't work quite as well are some of the themes. There's a whole bit about abandoning your friends, but it just doesn't have quite as much payoff as you'd expect it to. Not in terms of story, because it's not like it just happens, but as far as just storytelling goes, it just doesn't work as well as it should. On top of that, it's just far too predictable, but then again, most kids movies are.
And that's okay.

So if you like punny movies and Jurassic Park, then you'll probably get a kick out of this.
It should also be noted that there is an adorable little strawberry thing named Barry and he's adorable as fuck. Like, Jesus. I want a little toy outta that guy he's so cute. I can't even... Jeez. You know how girls get when they see small mammals? JUST LOOK AT THAT FUCKING ANIMATED STRAWBERRY!!!

Just look at that fucking cute face. SHIT I can't take how adorable he is. He's a fucking animated strawberry with giant animated eyes. Fuck. I can't handle this. I can't. I'm outta here.

Just see the movie, it's great. Not really on my top 10 of the year, but still pretty great.
9/10

RUSH - Review

Rush

Sports Drama, 2013
2 hours, 2 minutes
Written by Peter Morgan
Directed by Ron Howard
Rated R for "sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use."


Starring
Chris Hemsworth
Daniel Brühl
Olivia Wilde
Alexandra Maria Lara
Christian McKay
Natalie Dormer
Pierfrancesco Favio



I don't know a lot about Formula One racing, but I've watched a couple of movies about it. I feel as if I were to watch Formula One in real life, I'd be bored out of my fucking mind.
Thank God Rush isn't boring. It isn't quite the best movie I've seen this year, but it's definitely a good one.
For those who don't know, Rush is the true story about two racers, James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and their intense rivalry as racers. They're both fairly interesting guys, both of them very skilled racers, yet they're both polar opposites. Hunt is a regular playboy, picking up various women and finding no happiness in his sexual exploits. Lauda, on the other hand, is more focused on his cars than he is women... that is, until the right one comes along, of course.
Their story begins one day during a Formula Three race (Formula Three, from what I understand, is just a lower tier of Formula racing) in which Hunt takes the win, just barely, out of Lauda's hands. From that moment on, the two of them become fierce rivals. Both of them make their way into the prestigious Formula One league, and they both are incredible racers. Then, one day, Lauda's car crashes, and receives severe burns on his face which horribly disfiguring him. This further builds the tension between the two of them.
Both lead actors are excellent in their roles. It's easily Chris Hemsworth's finest role to date, definitely better than he is as Thor. I got nothing against Thor, but yeah. It's better. Daniel Brühl, most known for his performance as the Nazi who fucks everything up in that bar scene in Inglorious Basterds. He's wonderful as Lauda, expertly capturing the emotionally and physically tortured man. The cinematography is great. The use of color, as well as the shot composition, is great. The racing scenes are tightly shot and edited, and the visual style adds a lot to the film.
The film seemed a bit long at times, but it also was frustrating because half the time, you have no idea who to root for. The protagonist/antagonist relationship is constantly shifting. Lauda will do something shitty, making Hunt look like a good guy. Then Hunt does something kinda douchy and make Lauda look like a good guy. It's kind of strange, seeing as there's no firm antagonist despite the fact that the film seems to set one up.
Overall, its a solid movie. It might be one of Ron Howard's better movies, but it's not amazing.

8/10

ELYSIUM - Review

Elysium

Sci-Fi/Action, 2013
1 hour, 49 minutes
Written and Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Rated R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout"

Starring
Matt Damon
Jodie Foster
Sharlto Copley
Diego Luna
William Fichtner
Alice Braga
Wagner Moura



God. Fucking. Damnit.
Remember District 9 and how FUCKING AMAZING that movie was? Not only was it an incredible modern day science fiction masterpiece, but it was made on a shockingly small budget for a film of that caliber. It boasted a strong performance from newcomer Sharlto Copley, impressive special effects, a beautifully and fully realized alternative present day South Africa. Not to mention, the film is textbook hero's journey, not just in a storytelling sense, but in a very literal sense of "character transformation."
And it was all thanks to writer/director Neill Blomkamp.
So you can imagine how excited I was to hear about Elysium, Blomkamp's first followup to District 9. Matt Damon wearing a badass exoskeleton suit toting a fucking huge rifle that reads CHEM-RAIL on the side (whatever the fuck that means) looked pretty sweet. The trailer is still pretty awesome. So was the set up.
Unfortunately, Elysium isn't all it's cracked up to be. Despite promising high concept science fiction, its execution and story structure falls a little flat. There are plenty of very exciting moments and the action is intense and (mostly) great, but the whole movie comes down to one really absurd plot-hole.
So basically, what you can deduce from the trailer, its about a cancer-stricken Matt Damon who needs to get cured by going to Elysium, a space structure in space. For rich people. And up on Elysium they have these things that can cure cancer and pretty much anything wrong with someone. It fixes people in literally seconds. But it's only for the RICH people.
People back on earth don't have this technology, despite the fact that they need it more than ever. And these people on Elysium are filthy fucking rich, so they could afford healthcare if they were even back on earth. So why aren't these pods on earth? There's no real explanation other than "rich people are assholes." And that's a HUGE driving point of the movie! Really kinda ruined it for me.
But, plot-wise there was a nice curveball that took the film in a direction that I didn't see coming. I don't want to give it away, but basically, it gives Matt Damon the opportunity, if played correctly, to change the course of human history for the better. It's pretty cool and was naturally integrated into the story, so that was a nice touch.
So despite a MASSIVE logic plot-hole and some spotty storytelling, Elysium isn't really that bad. It has some redeeming qualities, namely the performances (especially from Copley) and its GORGEOUS visuals, Elysium is far from perfect. It had lots of potential and I got really excited for it so whatever. It is what it is. Still worth a watch, I think.

7/10