Salma Hayek plays the titular Beatriz a woman who is a masseuse and a holistic healer. She came as a young woman illegally into the United States and is now a citizen who works at a cancer center and feels the pain of any living thing around her. After her car breaks down while on a home visit, the lady of the house (Connie Britton) invites her to stay for dinner. Here Beatriz clashes with Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) a rich corporate man who goes against everything Beatriz stands for.
At first Strutt believes Beatriz is a maid and from there the clashes continue. The film is directed by Miguel Arteta and while there is a lot of good material to work from some moments do not stand out as much as they should although Hayek and Lithgow do deliver solid performances. Hayek and Lithgow are both naturals in their roles and they play off of each other delightfully. Lithgow steals the show though as one of the most unpleasant men to ever grace the screen.
I think most people will agree that making Cars 2 into a spy movie was a bit of an odd direction to go in making a Cars sequel. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it was boring. The storyline was weak and it was obvious that the main reason in making the film was to sell toys. With this new installment, Disney and Pixar are washing their hands of that film and bringing back what made the first film good.
Cars has always been an odd film in the Disney/Pixar canon. The first film succeeded in the box office but never gained as much popularity as previous Pixar films before it. The second film did not fare well with critic or audiences. When news of a third Cars film was coming most people did not seem to care. In fact several of my friends on Facebook said they would be skipping this film altogether. It does have its fanbase, but overall the franchise is one people don't see a point in existing.
This film once again focuses on racing. Lightning McQueen is now an aging race car and begins losing to his younger opponents. With pressures mounting on him to retire, he knows he has to win in order to prove himself. He begins training and meets a young car with former dreams of becoming a racer. She mentors him as much as he mentors her. There are many moments in which the movie reminisces on Doc Hudson and his relationship with Lightning.
While it is nice that this film focuses more on what worked in the first film, I still do not see why these characters need to be explored. This film is a huge improvement from its predecessor it is still a little too long. The film can spread the message it is trying to send while being shortened considerably.
When the film opens up Lightening McQueen (Owen Wilson) is still the best race car there is. This changes suddenly when newcomer Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) appears on the scene. He easily beats Lightning his first time competing against him and continues to do so in all the subsequent races. The older generation of race cars are either retiring or are being fired by their sponsors. Lightning is not ready to retire and his new sponsor has him train with Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonso). Knowing he has to step up his game he also seeks guidance from Smokey (Chris Cooper) the car that trained Doc Hudson.
Most the original Cars from the first film are relegated to small roles and hardly appear in the film. The main focuses are Lightning, Cruz and all the other new cars met along the way. The new characters are likable and the voice acting is strong. Still it seems a little odd to have the original characters mainly on the sidelines.
No, there is still not really in point for this film's existence, but at least there was a lot of heart and effort put into the film. Even the animation in the second film felt sloppy, but not in this one. The animation is vibrant and colorful. There is a lot of effort put into all the little details of this world.
As with all Disney films nowadays there is a short film before the feature film. Lou is the story of lost and found items at a school and the bully who grows from those items. It is cute, but not particularly memorable.
Cars 3 is what it is. It is most certainly not a bad film, but it is still not one of the greatest films in the Pixar lineup. There is a lot more heart in this one and it does have a good message. It does its job in keeping the audience entertained. I don't know if this will be the final Cars film. There are many franchises which have stated they are done only to continue making films. The audience won't necessarily want a fourth film, but after this venture I don't think they'll completely ignore it either.
I personally never saw the first two smurfs films that came out most recently. I never had any interest. The smurfs were not something I grew up on and thus their stories were not something i needed to see. the need to make smurfs films seems a little odd to me as most kids nowadays have no inkling that smurfs have existed for a long time. still it seems that the franchise is succeeding. the smurfs are back and in this completely animated film. no live action in this one.
This film follows smurfette (Demi lovato) as she tries to figure out her place in smurf village. created by gargamel years before to reveal the location of the smurfs, she was made good by papa smurf. this is the first children's film i have seen aimed solely for children that i have seen in a long time. there are no adult jokes (or intentional ones at least) and there is a lot of slapstick humor that kids will get a kick out of.
i appreciate the overall message of the film. smurfette crosses into the forbidden part of the forest with some friends even after being grounded by papa smurf (mandy patinkin). Smurfette needs to know what she has to offer to the village she loves so much. anytime she tries to help she makes things worth. Smurfette and her friends come across a the lost village of smurfs. these smurfs are all female and for once smurfette feels as though she finally fits in. trouble ensues, smurfette blames herself, but is clever enough to figure out a solution on her own and ends up saving the day.
Smurfette learns valuable lessons along the way. As do her friends Hefty (Joe Mangianello), Clumsy (Jack McBrayer) and Genius (Chris Pudi). Smurf Willow (Julia Roberts) offers a lot of wisdom as the equivalent to Papa Smurf. This film was not meant for me and for this I respect it. Sure many animated films are aimed to please children and parents a like and I feel as though this has spoiled us. We expect every film we take our kids to engage us as well and why should it? Let kids enjoy what is theirs for it does not belong to them for very long. 3.5 stars.
Patty Jenkins's "Wonder Woman" is told as a flashback. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) is working at the Louvre when she receives a picture from Bruce Wayne. You see a photo with Diana and four men taken during World War I. We are then transported to Diana's past.
This film is thankfully nothing like the Christopher Nolan or Zach Snyder films we've received from DC in the past. There are still dark moments, but those come naturally from the events in the film. "Wonder Woman" is the female superhero this generation needed and Patty Jenkins delivers.
"Wonder Woman" has a lot more heart than its DC predecessors. It still has all the action needed to make this a pleasing superhero film as well. The film is also genuinely funny with great jokes and deliveries. Patty Jenkins had been trying to make this film for awhile and it shows in all the detail she put into this film. It adds that Gal Gadot does a wonderful portrayal of the titular character.
"Wonder Woman" starts its flashback on the beautiful island of Themyscira. Diana is surrounded by fierce female warriors and wants nothing more than to be like them. Her mother, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) prevents Diana from getting this training, but Diana begins training with her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) in secret. Diana's ideal life comes to an abrupt halt as an adult when Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) flies into the zone of the island on a German warplane while being pursued by the German army. Diana learns of World War 1 and the biggest horror that is yet to come in the war: poison used as a weapon of mass destruction. Diana decides to join Steve so that she may help in ending the war.
Diana is convinced that the war will end once she kills the god of war Ares. She finds Ares disguised as General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and she sets out to kill him. She does not understand why Steve is not as concerned as she is in defeating this one man. Gadot portrays Diana well from her fierceness to her naivete once she gets off of Themyscira.
Up until this point we see glimpses of Diana's true powers. We also see her interact with the men and women who live in London. Through out we get good laughs out of all the characters reacting to one another. Little by little we see Diana begin to fight as we head to the final battle. True to fashion things do not work out as she would like. It's awesome to see her finally fight in full Wonder Woman gear. The way the men fight alongside her is also cool to see. Diana, Steve and the rest of their team head to Ludendorff. The men want to stop the poison from being used and Diana wants to kill Ares. All the battle scenes are cool, but the one that takes place in no man's land and the village just beyond it is the best.
Seeing Diana go into battle simply because it is the right thing to do. I definitely appreciate her willingness to do what is right without expecting anything out of it. Steve Trevor knows that you cannot save anyone in this war and up until this point, this truth has prevented him from doing more. That is saying a lot as Steve already does a lot to try and save as many innocent people as he can. Wonder Woman is also filled with awful truths. Diana believes destroying Ares will bring an end to all the evil in the world. This is simply not true and Diana loses hope after this realization.
Diana's upbringing actually proves to provide more trials than advantages. She grows up being trained for battle, but her upbringing is still incredibly sheltered. Diana is also unprepared for her growing feelings for Steve. She finds this feelings wonderful, but of course, love also brings a lot of pain.
It is also cool, and unfortunate, to see how the events taking place in the past are still taking place today in many ways. There are people who see war as the only solution. You hope that defeating these evils will bring peace, but one evil is defeated another arises. It is easy to blame those who are different for the evil in the world even when those like you prove evil can live within them as well. Humans can be inherently evil, but there are many who want to do good.
Wonder Woman passes down knowledge from person to person and generation to generation.The stories we are told are meant to teach us something and will hopefully keep us from repeating history. It is a warning for us. We can all be Wonder Women if we fight for what is right for no other reason that to do good. There may not always be a reason to fight, but when that need arises take it.
