Recollection Reflection Review: 'How To Train Your Dragon 2'

Continuing my series of How To Train Your Dragon reviews, today I'm revisiting How To Train Your Dragon 2 and I have my eyes set on soon sharing a review of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Otherwise, you can expect my annual Oscar coverage, an Alita: Battle Angel review, and possibly my long-delayed review for Can You Ever Forgive Me? to all surface online over the weekend and beginning of next week (don't worry, I'll space it out appropriately)!

'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Review

Nominated for: Best Animated Feature.

Recollection- How To Train Your Dragon 2 Review.

Reflection- I first saw How To Train Your Dragon 2 five years ago when it was released in theaters, and I remember being quite impressed with it from the get-go! 2014 was a solid year for animation, and it was not only one of my favorite animated movies to be released that year but one of my favorite movies of 2014 as well. My opinion hasn't drastically changed, but I'm excited to further elaborate on what I love about it this time around.

Review-

Synopsis: Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting the nearby unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons and a mysterious dragon rider. Hiccup and Toothless then find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior named Drago.

Runtime: 102 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for adventure action and some mild rude humor)

Who should see it? Since there are darker story elements than the original, I'd recommend it for those ages 8 and up.

Serving as the follow-up to How To Train Your Dragon, How To Train Your Dragon 2 saw writer-director Dean DeBlois strike out on his own to continue the animated film series adapted from Cressida Cowell's best-selling children's books. In the realm of animation, DeBlois had previously partnered with Chris Sanders to co-write and co-direct the first How To Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch, but he'd never directed a feature-length animated film on his own before. Sanders stuck around as an executive producer, but he and Dreamworks let DeBlois take the franchise reigns. Given the success of the original, Dreamworks was eager to make a sequel, but DeBlois remained apprehensive because he was interested in creating something original. Eventually, DeBlois agreed on the condition the franchise be a trilogy. 

One of the more fascinating aspects of How To Train Your Dragon 2 is the decision to age up Hiccup and other Vikings of Berk with the audience. Doing so enables Hiccup to be a more believable action hero and also grants him a compelling arc as he faces the expectations of becoming village chieftain. Naturally, the grown characters demand a more mature narrative with higher stakes and large-scale action. Well, Dean DeBlois delivers all this and more by leaning even further into the series' action-adventure element. This sequel is epic in every sense of the word.

Additionally, How To Train Your Dragon 2 expands its world extraordinarily well. The new locations offer elaborate ecosystems that are visually stimulating. Given the four year distance from the first film, the animation also improved tremendously. Most notably, the character designs are more refined and detailed while the environment evokes a photorealistic aesthetic. It coalesces quite nicely. Elsewhere, John Powell's sweeping accompaniment consists of varied arrangements ranging from grand and heroic to intimate and personal. All of which is an auditory delight.

Reprising their roles, Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig each provide excellent voice work while Cate Blanchett and Kit Harington join the ensemble. Of the bunch, I'd denote Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, and Gerard Butler as stand-outs since their characters are of greater importance, and all four actors step up to the task. All the while, Hiccup's dynamic with Toothless remains a highlight, as this sequel puts their bond through the wringer for the ultimate test.

Rounding out the cast, Djimon Hounsou's Drago is a formidable foil to Hiccup. Hounsou sells the gruff, barbaric nature of the character, but unfortunately lacks the necessary screen time and development to be a memorable antagonist when all is said-and-done. He's powerful and intimidating, but his motivations could have been further fleshed out.  

Animated sequels in the same league as their predecessors are hard to come by, but How To Train Your Dragon 2 flies awfully close to the original. Though it may not measure up on all accounts, How To Train Your Dragon 2 retains the heart, adventurous spirit, and constructive messaging of the first film. It is, by all means, a worthy sequel. 

Film Assessment: A

Throwback Thursday Review: 'How To Train Your Dragon'

After a bit of a break, I'm bringing back Throwback Thursday Reviews. I won't be returning to the weekly Throwback Thursday review schedule due to the demands of school, but I'll write one when there's a corresponding release. Since I hadn't previously reviewed How To Train Your Dragon, I figured just before the release of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World would be the prime time to do so! On that note, I actually caught a screening of The Hidden World already so I'll try to have an early review for it next week as well as a Recollection Reflection Review over How To Train Your Dragon 2. Otherwise, anticipate Oscar coverage and reviews for Alita: Battle Angel.

'How To Train Your Dragon' Review

Nominated for: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. 

Synopsis: A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Runtime: 98 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for sequences of intense action, some scary images, and brief mild language)

Who should see it? Appropriate for all ages, but younger viewers may be scared by dragons and combat sequences.

Based on Cressida Cowell's best-selling children's book, How To Train Your Dragon is co-directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders and features a screenplay penned by DeBlois, Sanders, and William Davies. Following its release, How To Train Your Dragon quickly became one of Dreamworks' flagship franchises alongside the likes of Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. A television series, four animated short films, an arena and ice show, and several comic-books, graphic novels, and video games were all inspired by the film. While merchandising, awards and noteworthy box office receipts undoubtedly played a hand in green-lighting those offshoots, I think there's a deeper reason why the feature was such a hit... Audiences resonated with the tale of a boy befriending a dragon.

It's the classic "human bonds with an otherworldly creature" story everyone's familiar with, but involving species prejudice with the twist of a Viking-era Nordic setting. At its core, How To Train Your Dragon is all about acceptance though. DeBlois, Sanders, and Davies implore us not to judge a book by its cover or allow our perspective to be clouded by stereotypes. The messaging is pretty profound for an animated film, and it's communicated with such subtlety via the Hiccup/Toothless relationship. Heart trickles through every frame of this feature largely due to the bond formed between them. There's just something so endearing about watching the two begin to trust one another. 

Of course, it helps tremendously that the CG-animation is so detail-oriented and well-realized, with plenty of attention drawn to texture, environments, and character design. In particular, there's a dynamic versatility evidenced in Toothless' design which enables him to quickly alternate from a fierce, fire-breathing Night Fury to an adorable pet dragon of sorts. The change of expression is articulated immediately once his eyes widen and his ears perk up. Otherwise, I must say that the animation holds up remarkably well considering it's nine years old, and the varied dragon designs ought to be commended. I also can't continue without applauding John Powell for his sumptuous score. 

Lastly, the voice cast composed of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig who each lend an array of warm personalities to their respective roles. Front and center, Jay Baruchel is aptly awkward and unsure of himself as Hiccup while Gerard Butler plays his father, Stoick, as a gruff Viking chieftain and concerned parental figure. Aside from the Hiccup/Toothless relationship, their father and son interactions lend further emotional weight to the proceedings when all is said and done. 

Full of heart and high-flying adventure, How To Train Your Dragon soars mighty high amongst my favorite animation! 

Film Assessment: A+

'Mid90s' Review

Hello everyone! I realize it's almost been a month since I last shared a review, but that's largely due to a series of extenuating circumstances I've dealt with these last few weeks. If you'd like to know about the cause of these delays, I'll indulge you with a paragraph rambling about such. Otherwise, feel free to go ahead and proceed to the review. 

Aside from facing plenty of schoolwork, I mostly didn't go out to the theater much last month due to lacking interest in most of the new releases. However, I was also out of town for the weekend of October 21st, so I didn't go to the theater that weekend, then my car was broken into and my laptop was stolen mere days after I returned from that outing and a day after I saw a screening of Mid90s  Since that's what I used to write reviews and create promotional banner images, this review was put on the back-burner. I went ahead and purchased a new laptop, but had to deal with importing my most recent back-up (luckily, my Mac backed up the day it was stolen, so I didn't lose any files). Then, I, of course, had homework assignments to complete and turn in. After that, I made more progress on a video about Star Wars: The Last Jedi I've been working on since September. I plan to have that completed by December 15th to share on the year anniversary of The Last Jedi's theatrical release for those curious. Then, I got sick at the tail-end of last week and was home practically all last weekend. Again, wasn't able to get out and watch anything at the theater. Since I was stuck at home, I began binge-watching Breaking Bad for the first time and admittedly became quite obsessed with the series (watching all five seasons in about six days and starting Better Call Saul soon afterward). 

Anyways, I went out to see Bohemian Rhapsody with a friend this Tuesday and then saw Suspiria (2018) Thursday evening so you can expect reviews for those two films in the coming days. I'll soon be seeing Overlord, Beautiful Boy, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald so look forward to those reviews as well. Otherwise, I haven't really seen anything new in a while so I'll try and catch up where I can, but don't be surprised if I just never get around to certain films due to November's crowded slate of releases.

'Mid90s' Review

Mid90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old boy living in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

Serving as his feature-length directorial debut, Mid90s is written and directed by Jonah Hill. Though Mid90s admittedly isn't as impressive as many of this year's other feature directorial debuts, Hill's film is a sold coming-of-age story, to say the least. Like its central crew of skaters, Mid90s is a little rough around the edges, but its imperfections only enable the film to feel all the more authentic when all is said-and-done. The story's structured rather sloppily yet the human drama manages to be quite affecting in moments. The editing's a little less than ideal, but the film flows fairly well at a brisk hour and twenty-five minutes. For all its faults, Mid90s still manages to successfully persevere and endear. 

Without a doubt, the camaraderie and kinship amongst the skaters is the film's primary selling point. Hill wisely went out on a limb by casting non-professional actors, but the decision paid off since their youthful exuberance felt much more genuine. Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, and Ryder McLane each effectively underscore that juvenile sensibility while the young eleven-year-old Sunny Suljic turns in an excellent lead performance, exhibiting maturity and depth far beyond his years. Otherwise, Katherine Waterston made for a credible, authoritative figure as Stevie's mother who was ultimately underserved by the script while Lucas Hedges seemed miscast as an abusive older brother. 

The only other thing that somewhat bothered me was how Hill seemed to glorify underage drinking, drug use, and sex, seeing as children partake in each of those. The latter of which was especially awkward, though nothing was technically shown. I understand the audience is witnessing all of these events through the eyes of adolescent boys, but much of this had no bearing on the story at hand so it could have easily been cut out.

Narratively, Mid90s ticks many of the boxes indie coming-of-age films tend to abide by, but Mid90s still skates confidently into its stride on behalf of its assured direction, prime performances, and endearing imperfections.

Film Assessment: B

'War Dogs' Review

Wednesday evening I attended an early screening of War Dogs with no idea what to expect seeing as the film was marketed as a crime drama based on a true story and came from the director of The Hangover, Todd Phillips. Would it be serious or would it be hilarious? I had no idea and now that I've seen it, I can shed some light for those apprehensive to checking it out.

'War Dogs' Review 

War Dogs tells the real life story of a pair of friends, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who became arms dealers, bidding on smaller military contracts for a large profit margin. War Dogs wasn't as lighthearted as I expected judging on the  marketing material that made War Dogs appear as though it would take the true story concept and show the outrageous things these arms dealers would get themselves into and it delivers on that promise, to an extent. 

Todd Phillips brilliantly submerges the viewer into an uneasy state the further these arm dealers get into these larger government contracts. I found myself more and more engrossed with the film as the running time wore on as the protagonists actions and morality became increasingly more questionable. This was in large part to Phillip's exceptional direction and the incredible screenplay penned by Phillips and co-writers, Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic. The writers expertly explain the logistics of complex military contracts and the greedy perspective of actual "war dogs", emphasizing that they see war as a prime opportunity to make profit. 

As for the performances, Miles Teller makes for a fascinating entry point into the film, David Packouz is the more relatable of the two leads. As he gets nearer and nearer to the grungy side of arms dealing, the audience becomes more anxious and I feel that Teller's performance did a great deal to channel these feelings. His character lends voiceover narration somewhat reminiscent of that to be found in The Big Short or The Wolf Of Wall Street and War Dogs is similar in nature to both films. 

However, Jonah Hill steals the show bringing a complex shifty demeanor to Efraim Diveroli that only makes his character more and more intriguing as the events proceeded. Diveroli is edgy, sarcastic, and only a short fuse away from blowing up and Hill brilliantly captures that characterization. His chemistry opposite Teller is virtually unmatched as they have electric charisma onscreen together and have some tense scene that will leave you on the edge of your seat as you worry for their safety despite their questionable decisions. 

Bradley Cooper also gets a great supporting role as a shady middleman and is terrific in the capacity used. Don't expect too much screen time from him though as the nature of the role means he's quite elusive. 

While War Dogs wasn't quite what I was hoping for it to be, I can say I was pleased with the end result and that my reflection upon the film has only made it more engaging. War Dogs features two remarkable leads, a thrilling unbelievable story, and precise direction making for one of the summer's biggest surprises as the summer blockbuster season draws to a close.  

Film Assessment: B+

'Sausage Party' Review

I walked out of Sausage Party wondering what in the world I had just watched, and that's coming from someone who had a general idea what he was in for. Essentially it's about marketplace food discovering what actually happens to food when it's purchased and the insane shenanigans that follow.

At it's core, Sausage Party clearly mocks many tropes of Disney/Pixar style animation opening with an outrageously humorous song composed by Alan Menken, known for scoring Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin, and Hercules, and borrowing the central idea of living inanimate objects and their lives from Toy Story but trust me, they are distinctly different in terms of appropriateness and quality.

Sausage Party is a raunchy animated comedy, and I feel that's something that's important and should be expressed if you plan on watching it, because this film doesn't hold back on it's jokes and crosses the line fairly quickly with no plans to tread backwards. If you are easily offended by racial stereotypes or inappropriate humor, this is not the comedy for you. Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon's direction lends itself perfectly to the filthy comedy as every creative choice is certainly a bold one.

The animation is sub-par and never near the heights of Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, or even Illumination Entertainment but that's no surprise considering Sausage Party had a budget of $19 M and the Sausage Party's aesthetic isn't the film's primary focus. It's purpose is to make you laugh and Sausage Party's biggest hurdle for me was that it's rarely as it funny as makes itself out to be.

The screenplay from writers Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogan, and Evan Goldberg offers up some gags that had me laughing hysterically but not every joke landed. There are some sequences that offer up plenty of shock and awe as things unfold that are absolutely bananas, so I can give them props for daring to go that far, but at the same time I was very weirded out by it all. Surprisingly the screenplay does offer up some fairly smart social, political, and religious commentary, but once again not as high brow as it'd like to be since it juxtaposes these messages with some grungy jokes and racial stereotypes for cheap laughs.

However with that all being said, Sausage Party boasts a massive ensemble of comedic talent including Seth Rogan, Kirsten Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, and Nick Kroll along with many, many more brilliant comedians. Some voices are instantly recognizable while others had me on the ropes and part of the fun of seeing the film is trying to figure out which celebrity talent is associated with which character so I won't discuss their performances individually.

Overall, Sausage Party is definitely not for everyone, but if you love raunchy comedy this will scratch your itch. Oh and please DON'T bring your children to see Sausage Party as it may appear to be a cute animation, it's nothing of the sort. I also didn't find the experience to be heightened by seeing it in a theater so if you're iffy on Sausage Party, wait for the home media release and check it out then. In conclusion, Sausage Party is a brilliant parody, but only a passable comedy. It offers up enough unique humor for at least one viewing, but honestly I don't feel as though I would ever watch Sausage Party again.

Film Assessment: C-

'Hail, Caesar!' Review

Nominated For: Best Production Design.

Hail, Caesar! follows the daily life of a PR man who must solve many behind the scenes issues with the various talent at Capitol Pictures, a movie studio at the height of it's powers. I've been looking forward to Hail, Caesar! since the first trailer released for the film hoping it would be similar in tone to The Grand Budapest Hotel, even though I was completely aware that different directors were behind both projects. So as may be apparent from the date I'm publishing this review, the combination of school and work as well as releases of films I was anticipating a bit more constantly delayed me from seeing the film. The delay however has allowed me to see the general response to the film, which was unlike any I had ever seen. In this case, I've noticed that critics enjoyed it and audiences hated it, and having seen the film I think I might have discovered why that is. The film boasts a star studded ensemble cast that's filled to the brim with great talent. However, the cast is used sparingly with a few actors relegated to a few scenes sprinkled throughout the film and I think that's one of the issues that audiences have with the film. They saw the name talent that compelled them to see the film and were disappointed by the underuse of some of these actors. I'm going to discuss them in order of actors who were on screen the least to the more important characters. Most notably absent was Jonah Hill, who is relegated to a one scene cameo yet is featured prominently on the poster and quite a bit in the promotional material for the film. However Hill's role does service the narrative in a small capacity and he's great for his minute on screen. Ralph Fiennes plays the snide Hollywood Drama director Laurence Lorenz, which works perfectly juxtaposing with Alden Ehrenreich's western star Hobie Doyle forced into drama as the studio attempts to change his image. This allows for a hilarious scene between the two where Lorenz is trying to get Hobie to correctly say a line, which Hobie is unable to do. This gag runs a bit long but it only gets funnier and funnier. Fiennes is limited to a few scenes but fantastic in the capacity used. Scarlett Johansson gets to take on the role of DeeAnna Moran, an Esther Williams esque actress, enduring some personal problems of her own that the studio wants to sweep under the rug. Johansson is primarily featured in a mermaid synchronized swimming sequence that's just a delight that leads into a particularly funny bit in the film. So she's restricted to about two or three scenes but also great when onscreen. Tilda Swinton gets to play twin rival journalists, Thora and Thessaly Thacke, who are trying their best to get an intriguing scoop about one of the studio's stars and she's the perfect balance of irritating and snoopy for both characters. Swinton is brilliant as usual but utilized conservatively in the film with a few scenes sprinkled around. Channing Tatum plays a Gene Kelly type as Burt with a spectacular tap dance and song number. Tatum continues to impress me again and again, first proving he can be a comedic and action star in the Jump Street movies, and now getting to flex more of his musical talents. I'm aware Tatum's acting career began with dancing in the Step Up films but tap dancing is a whole other animal that requires rhythmic precision. I was amazed at Tatum's abilities on display for the sequence and he also shocked me when I learned he could carry a tune as well. Channing Tatum's character is an interesting case as I can't go into too much detail without spoiling the film but he has one scene that had me laughing hysterically throughout. On the flip side of that, there are the members of the cast that carry the narrative focusing on George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, and Josh Brolin. George Clooney gets to play the dunce movie star, Baird Whitlock, who is kidnapped in the film by a nefarious secret organization, which makes for an intriguing reveal that at times allows for some effective comedy. Alden Ehrenreich, who I mentioned a bit earlier, plays the cowboy western star Hobie Doyle and is surprisingly a standout among the cast with great comedic timing and heart. Josh Brolin is perfect as Capitol Pictures' studio fixer, Eddie Mannix, and really the main character of the film as it follows a day in his hectic life. Speaking of this, the film feels very unfocused which is certainly a problem but after I saw the film I realized that this is to reflect how insane Mannix's life is because of the crazy talent he must deal with on a daily basis. Conclusively, if you are interested in Hail, Caesar! because of the cast, I'd be very wary. The cinematography, score, and direction are all standard and effective but nothing particularly stood out to me. The Coen Brother's do a fine job and achieve what they set out to do with the film as they clearly are fascinated with 1950's Hollywood. Another strange thing was the style of editing that would would randomly jump from one part of the story to another without the proper groundwork and foundation to understand what is going on initially. In summary, the Coen Brothers created a strange love letter to old, classic 1950's Hollywood that I'd recommend for rental or home media purchase as opposed to checking out in theaters. 

Film Assessment: B-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'

Wolf Of Wall Street will be my first Throwback Thursday review of 2016 and my reasoning behind reviewing the film was to review a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio since The Revenant will be given a wide release in theaters this Friday. Therefore, I wanted to review the most recent film in which Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar. I have mapped out most of my Throwback Thursday Reviews for the year so next week I will start reviewing the Bourne films, I will review about one a month or so till the upcoming untitled Bourne 5, then the next two weeks I will review Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 to lead up to Kung Fu Panda 3.

'The Wolf Of Wall Street' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Martin Scorsese, Best Actor; Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor; Jonah Hill, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Wolf Of Wall Street is based off of Jordan Belfort's memoir that tells of Belfort's life, providing an intriguing perspective on Belfort's assent and descent in his career as a stockbroker.

First off, I feel it should be stated that this film is outright repulsive in the sense that it is filled with drug use and sexual content, but I actually feel that it's justified for the film as it adds an intuitive layer to the film showing just how corrupt and depraved Jordon Belfort became.

Martin Scorsese directs and brings his message about the rotten core of American society to the forefront though elaborate setup and some hilarious comedy.

The performances on display are all delightfully despicable. The Wolf Of Wall Street showcases Leonardo DiCaprio in another Oscar worthy lead performance to which he was once again teased with another mere nomination. DiCaprio really manages to delve into the role of Jordan Belfort and not only plays the part but becomes the character while onscreen, which I believe to be a tremendous strength of DiCaprio's acting abilities.

Jonah Hill is a scene stealer as an overweight nerdy hasty type of character as Donny, Belfort's neighbor and business partner, providing quite bit of the comedic relief aside from DiCaprio.

Margot Robbie is another shining supporting cast member who proves that her casting in Suicide Squad was spot on. The remaining cast are each terrific in their limited capacity, but still collaborate to elevate the film.

Despite the film's three hour runtime, the film never drags and will keep you entertained through it's comedy, characters, and the outrageous message. I recommend it for those who aren't appalled by the premise of the film or are huge fans of DiCaprio.

Film Assessment: A+

'22 Jump Street' Review

This was another sequel that was released this weekend that was better than it's predecessor. This film is filled with great humor and has some awesome action scenes in it. Although the story is similar to the original it has plenty of great laughs that makes it worth the trip to the theater. I went to go see it with my father, who normally falls asleep during movies, for Fathers Day and he loved it! Overall I enjoyed the humor and references in the movie and definitely recommend seeing it!