Phantom Boy
Unapologetically original, decidedly strange, and crosshatched with wiry animations that slink, bob, and slither, directors Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli create a charcoal version of New York City that breathes Parisian sensibilities into the mouths, exhaust pipes, and window slats of a very American metropolis.
Zootopia
Sitting down to see a movie can be a daunting task, especially when a seven year old child parks it right next to you and begins kicking the seat in front of him or herself.
A Letter to Momo
Fun for the Whole – – – What Is That?! Review written by Robert D. Patrick Hiroyuki Okiura’s pastel swept yarn is an eccentric, emotionally debilitating dive into self-doubt, skewed modality, and grief induced psychosis – the perfect kids movie! In A Letter to Momo, an eleven-year-old girl moves to an island, soon after her father’s untimely death, and internalizes her crackling guilt. Unable to...
Rise of the Guardians
Not the Sequel to Owls of Ga’Hoole Review written by Robert D. Patrick Starring: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin When you think of folklore and mythology, you think about the ethereal candidness of the sandman or the spectral enchantments of the tooth fairy. Maybe the portly mass of a bellowing Santa Claus or the wonky pattering of the Easter Bunny. How about the whittled teeth of the Jersey Devil or the dour expression of the Moth...
Wreck-It-Ralph
Do Kids Even Go to Arcades? Review written by Andrew Younger Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer Director Rich Moore latches on to 8-bit nostalgia with Disney’s perfunctory holiday CG offering Wreck-It Ralph. The eponymous Ralph (John C. Reilly), who lives and works as the villain inside a Donkey Kong/Rampage hybrid arcade game named Fix-It Felix Jr., decides during the game’s twentieth anniversary that he no longer...
My Dog Tulip
Less Flowery Than the Title Implies Featuring Voices of: Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave Written by Robert Patrick J.R. Ackerley was an English writer who, in 1956, wrote a book about his German Shepherd, Tulip. A veteran of the great war, the old gentleman confided in no one, living out his years in pensive solitude, until, one particular day, he brought a scruffy, misbehaving canine home. The cartoon – made for adults, the...
Fantastic Mr. Fox
A Malleable Character Always Moves Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep By Robert Patrick I’m not sure I ever expected to hear The Rolling Stone’s music rumble over stop-motion animation, but if there was a man to do it, director Wes Anderson would be the culprit. I can imagine Anderson, his trademark locks washing over his face, as he wears one of those creamy cappuccino dress suits. I can see a scarf wrapped around his neck, like...
The Battle for Terra
The Planet the Death Star Really Needed to Destroy Starring: Luke Wilson, Evan Rachel Wood By Robert Patrick The Battle of Terra, the newest installment in the frightening regime of popular 3D movies, is a clunky parable for our social climate. The film has serious undercurrents that deal with moral equity, the impulsivity of violence, and the righteousness of maintaining tolerance within multicultural societies – all of this...
Monsters vs Aliens
Monsters are Always Bigger in 3D Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogan By Tom Bevis The Blob! The Creature From the Black Lagoon! The Fly! Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman! These movies will forever be cradled in our memories as monster flicks that shook our souls. Okay, maybe that last one is a little obscure, but there’s no denying that the others were trademarks in a genre still struggling for legitimacy in our market. It...
Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest
I cant seem to remember an animated feature that’s more ineffably difficult to watch than director Michel Ocelot’s Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest. The story, dealing with archetypical children’s themes such as tolerance, friendship, and honesty, has its heart in the right place, but fails at much else. The computer animation looks cold and wooden, with its characters painted in chalky pastels, moving unnaturally to each...
