 So, if you were able to make it past this title being placed in my Screening Suggestions category, perhaps you came to find out just what it is I see in this movie that, admittedly, isn't what one would call a "good movie" let alone a "great movie". This is, however, a total guilty pleasure. It's not out to win Oscars, it's just out to invite you to be a fly on the wall of the single, not greatest, but certainly craziest party ever thrown.
The plot? Three unpopular high school friends who decide to throw a legendary party to make a name for themselves at their school. Said party gets out of hand to a ridiculous extent, and the film is essentially found footage from the party. The kids in question are, indeed, a set of odd main characters. You've got Thomas (Thomas Mann), our main character who plays host to way too many people. Costa (Oliver Cooper), who, admittedly, I don't like much, though he's got a few funny lines. And then we have my personal favorite of the group, JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown) who believes himself to be a know-it-all about what makes women tick, and portrays the lovable loser of the bunch. Most people who view this movie seem to give it negativity based on not caring about these characters throughout the film. And that's all well and good and understandable, but I just see it from a different perspective. These guys ARE losers who you don't care about, that's the whole reason they're throwing this massive party, so they can make their mark. Perhaps there's just a bit of me leftover from my high school days that can relate to their situation. Anyway, I'm not recommending this for much more than what I enjoy it as. I can't explain it much better than hey, this is the party of the century, you're invited, come and have some fun. Now, with that said, I really should forewarn onlookers that there's some uncomfortable stuff going on through this movie from time to time. Let's just say that animals and people were all monitored in a controlled environment, as it was pretty much necessary from all angles. I would almost consider this movie to be an outlet for those of us who weren't looked upon too fondly in high school. This is our chance to be a part of one of those amazing parties we've heard so much about, and it happens to be the craziest time ever had. There's even a cameo from Miles Teller. This was when he was still best known for his roles in movies like 2011's 'Footloose', and 'Rabbit Hole', so it's an interesting one to look back on nowadays. In closing, this movie plain and simply will not be for everyone. In fact, according to most reviews, it's not for most. But the select few of us who can see maybe just a little bit of ourselves in one of these three guys (mostly JB for myself) might find a hidden gem in this found footage of a night gone far too out of hand.
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 While everyone in the world was seemingly still preoccupied with the battle of 'Frozen' vs 'Tangled', with 'Frozen' kinda crushing it because of one very annoying song, some of us went the other direction by 2014 and absorbed this movie as our escape from those "Princess Wars". This was just a straight up animated family feature about, for lack of a better term, superheroes. The last time it happened was 'The Incredibles', and we were ready to see what else Disney could pull out of their superhero box. Or at least anything but princesses for once in a few years.
The interesting thing about this one was that it was an animated Marvel movie, and thus far the first and only Disney/Marvel animated film to exist on a theatrical scale. That said, this movie is NOT canon in the MCU. The creators have expressed that this is a Disney film over being a Marvel film. 'Big Hero 6' tells the story of a 14-year-old prodigy child named Hiro (Ryan Potter), who's a bit of a genius with technology, and upon seeing his brother, Tadashi's (Daniel Henney) school decides he wishes to go there. When it's discovered that someone has stolen the technology that Hiro uses to wow the school's recruiters, Hiro assembles a team of talented teens to get it back. Joining the cast here are the voice talents of T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, and Scott Adsit as the real star of this movie, Baymax; a medical assistance robot that Tadashi creates with the desire to help people in need. This is just such a great movie, through and through. Without spoiling anything, I can admit that this is one of those titles that manages to engage my every emotion, and it pulled me in very quickly. The truth of the matter was this was only my second viewing of it. I somehow managed to miss this one in theaters, saw it in the summer of 2015 for the first time, and just watched it recently to see if I liked it more or less. The answer is clearly more. Although it may be more effective the first time around considering all that happens, there's something to be said about revisiting it with your love for these characters, particularly Hiro, Baymax and Tadashi. This is a title well-worth checking out without having to be a Disney or even a Marvel buff. It's good fun for the whole family, and even remains a bit tough, focusing on deeper issues to do with separation, friendship and even revenge. I'll have to see about it's watchability over the years, but there's a very solid chance this MIGHT be my all-time favorite Disney animated film... MIGHT be. Either way, it's pretty damn good.  Well, if you were anywhere near anyone who watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, you've probably heard the news that Netflix is airing a new 'Cloverfield' movie that answers the many questions that this, the original, did not. And in my own, sinister way, I'm kinda sorta happy that it turned out to be a flop. But more on 'The Cloverfield Paradox' later, with it's review tomorrow.
There are two schools of thought on 2008's 'Cloverfield'. One suggests that this was a complete waste of time and money, and or often complaining that this story offered up absolutely no explanation of what the creature was, or where it came from. The second, the one where I come from, sees how groundbreaking this movie was for the time, and enjoy the whole mystery behind the Cloverfield creature's origins. We appreciate the fact that Abrams allowed our imaginations to work, and that we got to discuss it with one another. Let's not forget the amazing ad campaign for this movie that mostly took place online through fake websites. For example, every character had a MySpace page (because it was still a thing back then, just barely dying), and a fake "Slusho" website - a sort of Slushie drink that was often seen on t-shirts and various merchandise in the film. Then of course the trailer had NOTHING TO IT except a brief clip of the Statue of Liberty's head getting thrown across Manhattan and landing in the middle of a street, followed by not a title, but the film's release date splayed on the screen. It was just so interesting and original the way it was all handled, and the mystery is just part of the charm of the movie. So, what's it about? Here we have a simple case of a found footage film about a group of friends who are caught in the middle of a giant monster rampage in New York City while attempting to rescue a love interest character, and that pretty much sums it up. It's this particular group of friends' experience caught on tape. Being that it's found footage it lends itself to it being "okay" to leave some mystery to it. But that's my opinion, and others vary greatly, and that's perfectly fine. But that's where I tend to stand on it, and it's why I share it as a recommendation. The cast was more or less unknown at the time, likely recognized for one or two minor roles. Lizzy Caplan, for example, was in 'Mean Girls' by then already, but not much else. Being that found footage was still pretty fresh back then, it may have felt a little more realistic than it does now, where it's kinda obvious that these guys are acting. But that doesn't, at least to me, make it unenjoyable either. Most of what makes this movie good lies in the mystery experience, and the fact that this was pretty much the first time they added special effects on a grand scale to a found footage film. One has to keep in mind that by January, 2008, 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Paranormal Activity' were your best examples of the genre - so this was kind of a turning point for found footage. That said, the blame could be placed on this for these types of movies starting to get out of hand. But for that matter, 'The Matrix' can also be blamed for anything "bullet time" that came after it, along with most of Zack Snyder's career. I tend to give it more credit than blame, because it changed things up a bit. Instead of ghosts, they decided to do Godzilla because why the hell not? And since then, we've had a few interesting ones like 'Chronicle' and 'Project X'. Hey, love or hate 'Project X', it was original... kinda... it's a guilty pleasure, leave me alone. Anyway, this is an easy one to get through if you enjoy the genre and haven't seen this yet. It's at the top of my own personal recommendation list for found footage, and of the three films they've released with a 'Cloverfield' title, I'd have to say this is hands down the most enjoyable. But that's just me. For some, none of these films are gonna cut it, and that's just a matter of taste. |
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