The Princess and the Frog

"There is no way I'm kissing a frog and eating a bug in the same day."

Tiana (Rose) longs to make her late father's dream of owning a restaurant come true.  She works hard as a waitress, saving her money to buy the property and cook at her own restaurant.  She is too focused to spend time with friends, or fullfill her mother's (Oprah Winfrey) dreams to make a wedding dress and get grandchildren.  To reach the final total, Tiana agrees to cook and serve at her wealthy friend Charlotte's (Cody) masquerade party to celebrate Mardi Gras and the arrival of visiting royalty, Prince Naveen (Campos).

Prince Naveen is in trouble.  He wants a carefree life, playing jazz and doing what he wants, but his parents are not giving him anymore money, so he needs to marry wealthy... making Charlotte the perfect candidate.  But before meeting his future bride, Naveen meets the "shadow man" Dr. Facilier (David), who offers to use his "friends on the other side" to help Naveen get what he wants...

But it isn't that simple, and Naveen becomes a frog.... seeking a princess to give him a kiss and break the spell.  When he mistakes Tiana for a princess, she turns into a frog as well...

I am Naveen, Prince of Maldonia, and she is Tiana, the waitress. (whispers) Do not kiss her.

And Disney animation is back!!  Hand drawn animation AND a princess film... heck yes!

But it is more of a re-imagined Disney princess.  She doesn't want to be rescued... doesn't want to wish on a star and wait for her prince... she plans to work hard to make her dreams come true.  She is determined and quite capable of saving herself. Anika Noni Rose, from Dreamgirls, brings the right amount of sass and fun to the role.

And then there is the character of Charlotte, the princess wanna-be who wears the foofy dresses and waits for her literal prince to show up.  The character could easily go wrong, or be overly obnoxious, but Broadway vet Jennifer Cody makes her vulnerable and loveable (which she does with all her Broadway shows, love her).  And Bruno Campos is a suave and dashing Prince Naveen... and Michael Leon-Wooley (the voice of Audrey II in the Broadway revival of "Little Shop of Horrors") is great as the jazz loving crocodile Louis.  And two well-known voice-over actors appear as well: Keith David as creepy voodoo dude Dr. Facilier and Jim Cummings as the Cajun firefly Ray.  What a great cast!

The music, by Randy Newman, is great as well.  Fun and upbeat at the right times, serious or sentimental at other times... and always memorable.  Worth a listen (check them out at YouTube).  Great job Disney, keep on doing hand drawn animation!!!

The Princess and the Frog (2009) 97 minutes
Directors: Ron Clements & John Musker
Starring: Anika Noni Rose as Tiana
Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen
Keith David as Dr. Facilier
Michael Leon-Wooley as Louis
Jennifer Cody as Charlotte
Jim Cummings as Ray
Peter Bartlett as Lawrence
Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie

Cats Don't Dance

"Wow! My own dream come true."
"Yeah, yeah. But remember: 10% of that dream is mine."

Hollywood doesn't have much use for animals on screen... parts are few and far between, and the animals who have stayed lose sight of their dreams.  Then a cat with big dreams, Danny (Bakula), arrives from Kokomo, IN, with a plan to make it big by the end of the week.  Luckily for Danny, Mammoth Studios is casting animals for "Little Ark Angel," starring Darla Dimple (Peldon / Ridgeway) "America's Sweetheart, Lover of Children and Animals," and Danny gets a single line part.  When he tries to jazz it up, Darla screams for her massive ape butler / bodyguard Max (Mark Dindal) to scare some sense into Danny and the other animals.

Mammoth Studios revolves around Darla, their philosophy being "Simple, it's Dimple."  But Danny hopes to show the studio head what the animals can really do...

What if I could get you an audition with L.B. Mammoth?
L.B. Mammoth? Head of Mammoth Studios?
I'm sure he'd appreciate good talent.
After nothing but Darla, he's gotta be starving for it!

But first he has to convince the other animals: cynical cat Sawyer (Guy / Cole) who has an amazing voice, optimistic Tillie the Hippo (Najimy), cranky goat Crantson (Holbrook) and his dance partner sassy fish Frances (Gerson), nervous T.W. Turtle (Knotts), piano playing Woolie the elephant (Rhys-Davies), and Danny's best friend Pudge the penguin (Herried)... and then find a way to stop scheming, animal hating Darla.

I remember first seeing the trailer in elementary school and completely fell in love.  1) It's a musical, which I LOVE, 2) it's animated (reminiscent of classic Disney cartoons), and 3) Gene Kelly was the choreography consult (because the man knew dance!).  Years later I'm still excited about this film, and admit some of the songs have graced my iPod.

The characters are voiced by talented actors... and in the case of T.W., take on the persona that made the actor famous (T.W. is uber nervous, which was Don Knotts shtick).  Also, the time period works well for the film.  It is supposed to be the 1930s, a time period of big studios and studio heads.  It was also the time when precocious child super stars, Shirley Temple and Darla Hood, dominated the screen.  These girls are the obvious template for Darla Dimple.  There are other little inside jokes, based on other films from the decade.  Even the dance sequences are fabulous (they should be, Gene Kelly was a consultant!!). 

It isn't Disney, but still works as an animated classic.  Pretty much every article I read about this film talked about studio drama that kept it from receiving the heavy promotion these films normally get.  Which is sad.

Excellent film... I can't think of any aspect I didn't really enjoy.

Cats Don't Dance (1997) 75 minutes

Director: Mark Dindal

Starring: Scott Bakula as Danny

Jasmine Guy as Sawyer (speaking)

Natalie Cole as Sawyer (singing)

Ashley Peldon as Darla Dimple (speaking)

Lindsay Ridgeway as Darla Dimple (singing)

Kathy Najimy as Tillie Hippo

John Rhys-Davies as Woolie Mammoth
Betty Lou Gerson as Frances

Hal Holbrook as Cranston

Matthew Herried as Pudge

Don Knotts as T.W. Turtle

The House Bunny

"They're kicking me out?"
"Maybe it's because of your age."
"But I'm 27."
"But that's 59 in Bunny Years."

Shelley (Faris) has a good life.  She lives in a beautiful mansion, gets breakfast in bed, and gets to put everything on the "mansion tab."  Shelley is a playboy bunny

I'm an expert at parties and boys! I'm a bunny! Men write to me from prison, sometimes even in their own blood, which I think is theirs, but I don't know, I'm really nervous because I really want to help.

A-a bunny? You mean, like, centerfold?
Oh, bless your heart, no, just a few pictorials, like "Girls from the Midwest" and "Girls with GEDs."

But everything changes after her 27th birthday.  A letter with breakfast tells her to get out.  She misses life at the mansion, but finds a way to cope when she walks onto a college campus and sees the sorority houses.  Each sorority has a house mother who lives with them... like a mini Playboy Mansion.  The only house without a house mother is Zeta... the sorority in danger of losing its charter because no one wants to join.

There are 7 girls in the sorority: the de facto leader Natalie (Stone) who is brilliant but can't talk to boys, Mona (Dennings) the individual who hates superficiality, Harmony (McPhee) the pregnant hippie, Joanne (Willis) hides behind her body brace, Carrie Mae (Goodman) the overly aggressive hillbilly, and Lilly (Williams) who communicates via text messages.  Can Shelley helps the girls find confidence and new members?


Cute and funny...  Anna Faris proves female comedians can carry a comedy film.  She owns every scene in this film.  Making Shelley adorable and funny and still believable.  She is incredibly dumb (filling the typical "dumb blonde" role), but there are only a few moments where you want to smack some sense into her.  The rest of the Zeta's are funny, but only Emma Stone stands her own when Faris is on screen.

The rest of the cast just can't keep up.  Colin Hanks' Oliver seems misplaced or miscast or something.  Maybe it's just the character.... Christopher McDonald as the Dean and Beverly d'Angelo as Mrs. Hagstrom (the snotty House Mother) are underused.  Both could be convincing villains (McDonald has been a villain many times), but they barely appear on screen... and the other character who provides conflict is never explored as a character and disappears early.  Better / more convincing villains could only help the film.

Funny... but not incredible.

The House Bunny (2008) 97 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language
Director: Fred Wolf
Starring: Anna Faris as Shelley
Colin Hanks as Oliver
Emma Stone as Natalie
Kat Dennings as Mona
Katharine McPhee as Harmony
Rumer Willis as Joanne
Kiely Williams as Lilly
Dana Goodman as Carrie Mae

Couples Retreat

"You got a pose called yoga guy gets his ass kicked? Cause that's my favorite one."

Three married couples and a recently divorced friend, with his new girlfriend, go to beautiful, four star resort in Tahiti for intensive couples therapy.  Jason (Bateman) and Cynthia (Bell) organize the trip to see if they want to stay married or if they wasted the last 7 years.  They have been trying to have a baby... but all their planning and powerpoint presentations can't solve the problem.  Joey (Favreau) and Lucy (Davis) got pregnant during high school and married right away.  They can't stand each other and are counting the days until their daughter goes to college so they can officially split up.  Dave (Vaughn) and Ronnie (Akerman) don't have time for each other and barely spend any time together while juggling work, remodeling, and their two sons.  Shane (Love) is trying to move on from his disastrous divorce, and recently starting seeing Trudy (Smith), who is 20 and loud.

They came for fun in the sun, but the Eden East Resort has other ideas.  There is an early wake-up, awkward counseling sessions, and other obstacles to happiness.  Will they ever meet owner Marcel's (Jean Reno) standards and find a way to the other side of the island, Eden West, with the singles and their fun parties?


I was hopeful that this film would be good.  There was so much potential... a great cast, an interesting premise, gorgeous locale.  But somehow the film feels uneven.  There were funny moments and quotes, but overall the plot felt weak.  So I was underwhelmed.

BUT, based on the trailer, it was better than I expected.  Overall I enjoyed it (especially in comparison to "Four Christmases" also starring Vince Vaughn... which was so disappointing), but it wasn't great.  There were unnecessary scenes that were disgusting and could easily be removed... and there were scenes that could be expanded.  Not horrible, but definitely not noteworthy.  Come on Vaughn and Favreau, I expect more from both of you!

Couples Retreat (2009) 113 minutes
Rating: PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and language
Director: Peter Bilingsley
Starring: Vince Vaughn as Dave
Jason Bateman as Jason
Jon Favreau as Joey
Faizon Love as Shane
Malin Akerman as Ronnie
Kristen Bell as Cynthia
Kristin Davis as Lucy
Tasha Smith as Trudy

Sherlock Holmes

"Why are you always so suspicious?"
"Should I answer chronologically or alphabetically?"

In 1891, detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) stops occultist Lord Blackwood (Strong) from ritually killing another woman.  A few months later, on the eve of Blackwood's hanging, he requests an audience with Holmes.  He leaves with a warning... Blackwood will return, "death is just the beginning," more people will die, and Holmes will go crazy trying to solve the case.

Days later Blackwood's tomb is destroyed, from the inside, and he is seen walking around.  And Holmes gets a surprise visit from Irene Adler (McAdams), ex-girlfriend and professional thief / con artist, who wants help finding one of Blackwood's collaborators.  With the help of trusted friend, Dr. John Watson (Law), Holmes tries to discover Blackwood's plans and potential victims before it is too late.


When I think Sherlock Holmes, I always picture Basil Rathbone... wearing a brown trenchcoat and deerstalker hat and pipe.  It is an iconic image.  But it feels like a good time for a reboot.  This Holmes is different - no pipe, no deerstalker... and his Watson is different as well.  Gone is the bumbling, heavyset man who is just one step behind.  Jude Law as Watson?  This version of Watson, yes.  And Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice for Holmes.  His career is doing great (with Tropic Thunder, the Soloist, and the Iron Man franchise in the bag), and he has the confidence to pull off the character.  The friendship / bromance between Holmes and Watson works.  They work as best friends... you know the person so well, and they irritate you so much, but you've still got their back when it counts.

I like the way everything was revealed... and that the audience doesn't know how it was done or how Holmes will solve the case.  Action, mystery, little bit of love.... and sets-up a potential sequel / franchise with this character.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) 128 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes
Jude Law as Dr. John Watson
Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler
Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood
Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade

Up in the Air

"You're awfully isolated the way you live."

"Isolated? I'm surrounded."

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) lives without personal connections.  He travels the majority of the year, spending most of his time in the air and living out of a strategically packed suitcase.  He dreads returning to his empty, white apartment in Omaha, Nebraska.  He is further removed by his work, where he is forced to distance himself from people.

That's because I don't work here.  I work for another company that lends me out to ******* like Steve's boss who don't have the balls to sack their own employees.

And spends all day giving people options for the future.  He is content with life... and then everything changes.

During one of his travels, he meets a woman, Alex (Farmiga) who also travels often.  They begin a casual relationship... planning rendezvouses whenever they are near each other.  And then his boss, Craig Gregory (Bateman) takes the advice of the youngest member of the team, Natalie (Kendrick), who wants to save money by streamlining and using video conferences to fire clients.


Not what I was expecting.  I like Jason Reitman's films... "Thank You For Smoking" and "Juno" were great, and this was critically acclaimed, but I didn't love it.  I guess I wanted a little less ambiguity in the end... a clear cut ending, a nice wrap-up, but that isn't reality.

George Clooney has an effortless charm and that works here.  It is hard to tell the difference between the actor and the character.  His female costars, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, hold their own on screen, portraying strong women.  Each of the three has an arc and changes your perceptions.  Some of the people who were fired on film were recently laid off.  It made these scenes more realistic... although some of the people fired are actors.

Good, but not excellent.

Up in the Air (2009) 108 minutes
Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: George Clooney as Ryan Bingham
Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran
Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener
Jason Bateman as Craig Gregory

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

"Well, me, I just don't happen to believe in ghosts... particularly."

Newspaper typist, Luther Heggs (Knotts) longs to be a reporter for his paper... and when he hears a woman screaming murder, he thinks it is his big chance to cover a story.  But when the man turns out to be alive, Luther becomes a joke.

A filler piece he writes for the paper about the mysterious Simmons Mansion, where two murders occurred 20 years before, sparks local interest.  The owner / editor of the paper, George Beckett (Sargent), decides that someone needs to spend the night in the Simmons Mansion, but not just anyone... someone gullible with an imagination: Luther.  He agrees, to impress the beautiful Alma Parker (Staley) who is dating reporter Ollie Weaver (Homeier).

Luther is easily scared and is spooked by the tales that are passed around the town about the house and the couple who used to live there.  As the night goes on freaky things begin happening... will Luther stay in the house all night and will anyone believe him?


Don Knotts is amazing.  His face is incredibly expressive and excels at showing fear.  I was watching reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show" the other night, and everytime Don Knotts appeared on screen I thought of this film.  It leaves an impression.  The first time I saw it I was terrified, I was 9ish.

It isn't a long story... and it would be nice to develop some of the supporting players.  The supporting cast is compromised of incredible character actors, who are underused.  Everything else is great, and it is a great showcase for the many talents of rubber faced Don Knotts!  An oldy, but a goody :)

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) 90 minutes

Director: Alan Rafkin

Starring: Don Knotts as Luther Heggs

Joan Staley as Alma Parker

Liam Redmond as Kelsey

Dick Sargent as George Beckett

Skip Homeier as Ollie Weaver

Philip Ober as Nicholas Simmons

The Brothers Bloom

"The perfect con is one where everyone involved gets just what they wanted."

From an early age brothers Stephen (Ruffalo) and Bloom (Brody) learned to con people.  Stephen was the storyteller, concocting elaborate tales that hinged on the mark making a specific decision.  Bloom is the main character in each story... the one who can gain a mark's trust and be the face of the operation.  After 25 years, they are well-known among their peers.  They are always successful and use a different team each time, with the exception of Japanese explosion expert Bang-Bang (Kikuchi).  Stephen is content with his chosen lifestyle, but Bloom  wants something more... a real, unplanned life.

But he agrees to one final con.  Their mark is secluded heiress Penelope Stamp (Weisz) who wants a little excitement.  She literally crashes into in Bloom, and they bond over a desire for something more from life.  Penelope finds and masters various hobbies, such as creating pinhole cameras for everyday objects, but never leaves her home.  When Bloom offers her the chance to go on a trip, she doesn't hesitate to join.  Soon they are swept in a whirlwind of antique dealing and smuggling... and the presence of their old mentor, Diamond Dog (Maximilian Schell), who seeks vengeance against the brothers.


Once again director Rian Johnson delivered a complicated story with intriguing characters.  The plot twists and turns, keeping the audience guessing.  The main question is "what is real?"  And the audience learns the answer as the characters do.  That is both a strength and weakness of the film.  I appreciate that the plot is unpredictable and the ending is not completely known until the end (though there is some discrepancy about the final outcomes)... but some of the twists could have been cut, it drags on too long in some places with all the layers.

The cast is great and believable in their roles.  The most memorable character has to be Bang-Bang.  She doesn't talk much and doesn't show much emotion, but steals every scene.  The character is so much fun, whether she is beating Bloom at cards or making cameras with Penelope or dancing with Stephen or blowing up Barbie dolls, you can't look away.  Brody and Ruffalo have an interesting on screen chemistry, and fit into their roles well.... and Weisz makes her closed off character likeable, which couldn't be easy.  I could do without the Diamond Dog character.  Perhaps more exposition on his relationship with the brothers would make the character more interesting / relevant.

Watch the beginning closely for cameos by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehetner, the stars of Johnson's first (previous) film "Brick."

I look forward to future projects by Rian Johnson.

The Brothers Bloom (2008) 114 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for violence, some sensuality and brief strong language.
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Rachel Weisz as Penelope
Adrien Brody as Bloom
Mark Ruffalo as Stephen
Rinko Kikuchi as Bang Bang

Brick

"Do you trust me now?"
"Less than when I didn't trust you before."

A few days after receiving a desperate and confusing phone call from his ex-girlfriend, Emily (De Ravin), teen loner Brendan (Gordon-Levitt) discovers her dead body.

Heartbroken, he vows to find why she was killed.  He starts by enlisting the help of an old friend, The Brain (O'Leary), to be his eyes and ears on the outside.  Then he uses old connections and knowledge to attempt to infiltrate the seedy drug underbelly of his high school.  To keep the school authorities out of the way, he agrees to work undercover for the Vice Principal (Richard Roundtree).  Meanwhile, Brendan starts to make an impression and claim a few scars at the hands of the local drug lords: The Pin (Haas) and his muscle, Tug (Fleiss),

"You got Tug to bring you in here, which he never does. And you got me listening. So, I'm very curious what you have to say, and it better be really, really good."

... and finds an unexpected ally in popular beauty, Laura (Zehetner).  Who will crack under pressure and confess?

A noir film (think the black and white crime  flicks of the 1930's, like "The Maltese Falcon") set in a modern day high school... it could only be awesome or an epic fail.  Thankfully it falls into the first category.

I fell in love with this film when I first saw it at the cinema, and with each subsequent viewing.  The story moves at a brisk pace, and it helps to understand the lingo (they use noir terminology heavily)... although it can become easier to understand the more times you watch.  Every aspect of the plot is connected and you need to pay attention.  They are like falling dominoes, each event directly affects everything that follows.  It is awesome, and I find new things with each viewing.

Another note worthy aspect of the film is the music.  The music was composed by Director Rian Johnson's cousin, Nathan Johnson, and the Cinematic Underground.  Interesting fact: they (Nathan and the Cinematic Underground) came to my college the month the film debuted.  They talked about the music in the film and even showed us clips... which was pretty awesome!  Each of the main characters has a sound (like "Peter and the Wolf") or melody, and they overlap in interesting ways.  It is hard to describe, but once you notice it, it is easier to pick out themes.

The only downside to the film is the effects... but there are only a few, and they aren't the main focus of the film.  The story, cast, and music more than make up for it.  I look forward to future films by Rian Johnson!!

Brick (2005) 110 minutes
Rating: R for violent and drug content
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan
Nora Zehetner as Laura
Lukas Haas as The Pin
Noah Fleiss as Tugger
Matt O'Leary as The Brain
Noah Segan as Dode
Megan Good as Kara
Emile De Ravin as Emily