Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

"And no crop circles!"

"Aww, all the other aliens get to make them."

 As Stitch (Sanders) and Lilo (Fanning) get used to their new family, which includes Lilo's sister Nani (Carrere) and Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Stier) and Pleakley (McDonald), Stitch has a recurring nightmare.  Then he begins acting strange, having bouts of destruction.  Jumba understands why Stitch is having problems and works on a fusion chamber to charge Stitch's molecules and save the day.

Meanwhile, Lilo is trying to create an original dance for her hula class competition, which her mother won years before.  Lilo and Stitch vow to win the competition and go on an Elvis scavenger hunt for inspiration.  Can Lilo follow in her mother's footsteps and can Jumba finish the machine before Stitch's destructive programming takes over?


After watching Lilo & Stitch through Netflix's instant streaming, I discovered this film... and since I wasn't feeling well, I figured why not try it (especially since it was only an hour).  Apparently there is another film that falls between Lilo & Stitch and this film... but it felt like a natural sequel (and apparently Stitch the Movie isn't very good).

It is a cute, direct-to-video film.  Not Disney's best film, but not the worst either.  The characters you love from the original are back, acting in ways you expect... the animation is the same style and there are still good laughs.  Check it out if you love the characters of Lilo and Stitch.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) 68 minutes
Director: Michael LaBash & Anthony Leondis
Starring: Chris Sanders as Stitch
Dakota Fanning as Lilo
Tia Carrere as Nani
David Ogden Stier as Dr. Jumba Jookiba
Kevin McDonald as Pleakley
Kunewa Mook as Kumu
Jason Scott Lee as David

Lilo & Stitch

"Oh, good! I was hoping to add theft, endangerment, and INSANITY to my list of things I did today!"

"Ha ha! You too?"

Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Stiers) is on trial with the Galactic Federation for illegal genetic experimentation.  His latest experiment, number 626, is

He is fire-proof, bullet-proof, and can think faster than super computer. He can see in the dark, and lift objects three thousand times his size. His only instinct... to destroy everything he touches!

The Grand Councilwoman (Caldwell) is not impressed and orders Jumba's imprisonment and 626's destruction.  However, 626 escapes and crashes on Hawaiian island of Kauai.  The Grand Councilwoman sends Jumba and Earth expert Pleakley (McDonald) to retrieve 626 without alerting the native population.

626 is taken to a dog shelter, where he is adopted by imaginative Lilo (Chase).  Lilo is being raised by her older sister Nani (Carrere) after the recent death of their parents.  Nani is being reviewed by their latest social worker, Cobra Bubbles (Rhames), who gives a 3 day window to get their lives in order.  Lilo is excited to have a pet and names him Stitch (Sanders), but she notices from the beginning that Stitch has a dark side: "This is your badness level. It's unusually high for someone your size. We have to fix that."

Can Lilo change Stitch or will his evil programming take over?


A sweet and emotional Disney film, that also has a lot of fun... here are 4 trailers that place Stitch in other Disney films (in fact, one of the posters for the film is classic Disney characters glaring at Stitch, "there's one in every family"), with entertaining results:

Everything about this film works.  There are beautiful watercolor backgrounds (according to IMDb.com, this was the first Disney film to use watercolor backgrounds since Dumbo) that make you want to pack a back and go to Hawaii.  The soundtrack is a combination of traditional Hawaiian songs and classic Elvis Presley songs.  The animators worked hard to perfect the hula style, while the actors worked on achieving the correct dialog / accent.  The cast are funny and perfectly suite to their roles, especially David Ogden Stiers, who once again voices a "bad guy."

The film was an outright success for Disney and spawned 3 sequels (Stitch the Movie, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, and Leroy & Stitch) and a TV show (Lilo & Stitch: the Series).  Stitch is cute and cuddly with a funny voice and an expressive body... and Lilo is quirky and imaginative.  They are a great pair and the film is great.

Lilo & Stitch (2002) 85 minutes
Director: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
Starring: Daveigh Chase as Lilo
Chris Sanders as Stitch
Tia Carrere as Nani
David Ogden Stiers as Jumba
Kevin McDonald as Pleakley
Ving Rhames as Cobra Bubbles
Zoe Caldwell as Grand Councilwoman
Jason Scott Lee as David
Kevin Michael Richardson as Captain Gantu

Starbuck

David Wozniak (Huard) is a 40+ slacker who owes a significant amount of money to the wrong people.  He is on thin ice at his job, as the delivery guy at his family's butcher shop.  And his girlfriend, Valerie (LeBreton) is pregnant and doesn't want him involved.  He learns that through a mix-up at the sperm bank, he is the biological father to 533 children.  Of that group, 142 are suing the sperm bank to learn the identity of Starbuck, the alias he used.

David turns to his friend Avocat (Bertrand), a lawyer, for advice.  Avocat suggests pleading insanity, but turns over an envelope of information about the 142 children.  He decides to keep the secret from his family and Valerie, while still secretly finding and helping the 142.


This film burst onto the scene in 2011, gaining significant buzz from Cannes and other film festivals.  People praised Patrick Huard's performance and the script, co-written by director Ken Scott.  In 2013 the film is once again on people's minds as Ken Scott is remaking the film in America, now called Delivery Man and starring Vince Vaughn.  So it felt like the time was right to discover this film.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  Huard is a revelation: charismatic and completely believable as the lovable slacker, which makes the rest of the film work.  He is funny and heartbreaking and you want to see him succeed.  The film works because of his strong performance, along with the entertaining cast of supporting characters.  It is consistently funny, but doesn't go for the cheap / easy laughs.  The ending is incredibly moving and emotional (if you don't tear up a little bit, you obviously weren't paying attention to the rest of the movie).  An excellent, unexpected film (yes, it might be a bit schmaltzy, but it works).

I'm a little nervous about Delivery Man, but I'm still willing to give it a shot (but I'll wait until it's out of theaters).

Starbuck (2011) 109 minutes
Rating: R for sexual content, language and some drug material
Director: Ken Scott
Starring: Patrick Huard as David Wozniak
Julie LeBreton as Valerie
Antoine Bertrand as Avocat
Dominic Philie as Frere sombre
Marc Belanger as Frere sympathique
Igor Ovadis as Pere de David
David Michael as Antoine
Patrick Martin as Etienne
David Giguere as Porte parole
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse as Julie

The World's End

"We're going to see this through to the bitter end. Or... lager end."

The town of Newton Haven is home to a stretch of 12 pubs, known as "The Golden Mile."  In the 1990s, five childhood friends, Gary King (Pegg), Andy Knightley (Frost), Steven Prince (Considine), Peter Page (Marsan), and Oliver Chamberlain (Freeman), attempted the epic pub crawl.  They never finished, and their failure becomes an obsession for Gary:

Tonight, we will be partaking of a liquid - as we wind our way up the golden mile commencing with an inaugural tankard in The First Post, then on to The Old Familiar - The Good Companion, The Trusty Servant, The Two-Headed Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive, The King's Head, and The Hole In The Wall for a measure of the same. All before the last bittersweet pint in that most fateful, The World's End, leave a light on good lady, although we may return with a twinkle in our eyes, we will be in truth blind - drunk.

Twenty years later, Gary is an alcoholic and decides the time is right to reunite with his friends and try "The Golden Mile" again.  His friends are now successful adults with full-time jobs and families: Andy is a successful lawyer, Steven is an architect and dating a younger woman, Peter is a partner at his father's car dealership, and Oliver is a realtor.  They are skeptical, but agree to the plan and return to Newton Haven.

They begin the quest at The First Post, joined by Oliver's sister Sam (Pike), who has a history with Gary.  Life at home is not what they expect: no one remembers them and people are acting strange.  As the night goes on they realize that there is more at stake than reaching The World's End...



The high anticipated third and final film in Edgar Wright’s “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” (with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) reunites director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.  Unlike it's predecessors that tackled very specific films/genres (Shaun of the Dead was a reaction to George Romero's zombie films, while Hot Fuzz tackled the buddy cop genre, like Bad Boys), this film film tackles the science fiction genre (as a whole) and reflecting on youthful ambitions / relationships.  On the surface it may seem like a science fiction comedy, with plenty of action / violence, but it also tackles deeper issues in relevant ways.

While this is their third film collaboration, it still feels fresh.  Pegg branches out and plays against type, allowing Frost to step up and shine in this film.  Their friendship remains a strong theme of the film.  They are surrounded by a strong cast, including actors from their previous films and from their TV show Spaced (also directed by Wright).  Fans of Wright, Pegg, and Frost’s collaborations will not be disappointed in the casting choices.

I have been anticipating this film for years... I have watched all of the Wright-Pegg-Frost collaborations with one of my closest friends from high school (we watched Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Spaced, and Asylum, and Paul), so it only felt right to see this film in theaters with her.  During the film we kept pointing out regulars from these previous collaborations (the biggest excitement for us was seeing Julia Deakin, Marsha from Spaced, and Mark Heap, Brian from Spaced) and laughing along with the rest of the audience.  It was a good film, but didn't quite meet our expectations.  I want to see it again, once it is released on DVD, to see what else I pick up and to see if I like it more with repeat viewings.

A worthy addition to Wright’s trilogy.

The World's End (2013) 109 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg as Gary King
Nick Frost as Andy Knightley
Paddy Constantine as Steven Prince
Martin Freeman as Oliver Chamberlain
Eddie Marsan as Peter Page
Rosamund Pike as Sam Chamberlain

Astrópía

Hildur (Steinunn Jonsdottir) is a socialite and regular fixture in the celebrity press.  When her boyfriend Jolli (Por Jonsson) is thrown in prison for fraud, she loses everything: their apartment, money, etc.  She ends up staying with her old friend Bjort (Gudmundsdotti) and Bjort's 8 year old son, Snorri (Sigurdsson).  She has no skills or experience, but manages to get a job at fantasy-shop Astrópía selling role-playing games.

She doesn't understand the products, to the annoyance of her co-workers, Floki (Por Sverrisson) and Pesi (Sigfusson).  Her boss, Goggi (Magnusson), helps her find skills in the store and invites her to join his role-playing game.  Goggi is the game-master and they play at the home of Dagur (Engilbertsson), who Hildur does not like.  They are joined by Scat (Ragnarsson), a nerdy rapper, and Beta (Vilhjalmsdottir), a violent tomboy, and begin their game.  As Hildur is drawn into the game, she gains new confidence and self-esteem.  Can she maintain her new life and friendships when Jolli gets out of prison?

I discovered this film through Netflix instant streaming.  I'm not sure how I found it, but it sounded interesting, so I added it to my queue.  I finally found time to sit down and watch it, and I was not disappointed.  The film is a love letter to nerds / geeks, with in jokes about "Star Trek" and role-playing games, but still enjoyable if you don't get all the jokes.

The film is interesting, with elaborate fantasy sequences where the characters are acting out the role-playing adventures.  The characters are funny and draw you in from the beginning.  The story is good, if implausible, and flows seemlessly.  It has a short running time (or at least it feels like it) and leaves you wanting more.  The film is in Icelandic, with English subtitles.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Astrópía [Dorks & Damsels] (2007) 93 minutes
Director: Gunnar B. Gudmundsson
Starring: Ragnhildur Steinunn Jonsdottir as Hildur
Snorri Engilbertsson as Dagur
David Por Jonsson as Jolli
Sverrir Por Sverrisson as Floki
Petur Johann Sigfusson as Pesi
Halla Vilhjalmsdottir as Beta
Jorundur Ragnarsson as Scat
Halldor Magnusson as Goggi
Sara Marti Gudmundsdotti as Bjort
Alexander Sigurdsson as Snorri

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

"Artistic talent runs through my family. In fact, it practically stampedes."

Winnie the Pooh (Cummings) is out of honey again, and on his search for some, he runs into Eeyore (Luckey).  Eeyore has lost his tail, so Pooh and friends agree to look for a new tail and award the one that finds it with a jar of honey.  They all have good intentions, but can't seem to find the perfect tail.

The next day, Christopher Robin (Boulter) is missing.  He left a note behind, which is taken to Owl (Ferguson), since he can read.  Owl believes Christopher Robin was taken by the mischievous "Backson".  Rabbit (Kenny) forms a plan to trap the Backson and gets everyone to help.  Can they save Christopher Robin and find a tail for Eeyore?


After watching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, I was interested to see the 2011 film Winnie the Pooh.  Would it keep the beauty and innocence of the original, or would they try to turn it into a computer animated mess?

My fears were immediately set aside as John Cleese started the traditional narration while panning across Christopher Robin's room.  They kept the book format, with the pages and words on the screen.  The story even began with the Sherman Brothers' (Robert Sherman and Richard Sherman) "Winnie the Pooh Theme", this time performed by Zooey Deschanel.

Deschanel performed many of the songs in the film.  Her group, She & Him contributed the song "So Long" which plays over the end credits.  The other original songs were written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

The film is short, featuring 2 major storylines (from 3 of A.A. Milne's stories), which should work well for children with short attention spans.  The animation is adorable and nostalgic.  The film was critically acclaimed, but some people felt the film dumbed down the characters.  I thought it was the right amount of ridiculous and simplistic, and children will enjoy it.  I applaud Disney for treating this film / character with such grace and love.  A cute little film!

Winnie the Pooh (2011) 73 minutes
Director: Stephen Anderson and Don Hall
Starring: John Cleese as Narrator
Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh / Tigger
Bud Luckey as Eeyore
Craig Ferguson as Owl
Jack Boulter as Christopher Robin
Travis Oates as Piglet
Kristen Anderson-Lopez as Kanga
Wyatt Dean Hall as Roo
Tom Kenny as Rabbit

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

"Isn't this a clever disguise?

"What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a little, black rain cloud, of course."

The narrator (Cabot) reads, and interacts with the characters, some stories about Winnie the Pooh (Holloway), a bear of very little brains.

This could be the room of any small boy, but it just happens to belong to a boy named Christopher Robin. Like most small boys, Christopher Robin has toy animals to play with, and they all live together in a wonderful world of make-believe. But his best friend is a bear called Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh, for short. Now, Pooh had some very unusual adventures, and they all happened right here in the Hundred-Acre Wood. 

Pooh loves honey, but when it's time to eat he doesn't have any.  What's a bear to do?  His friends Christopher Robin (Reitherman, Walmsley, Turner), timid Piglet (Fiedler), gloomy Eeyore (Wright), talkative Owl (Smith), enthusiastic Tigger (Winchell), bossy Rabbit (Matthews), Gopher (Morris), Kanga (Luddy) and Roo (Howard, Whitaker) are ready to go on adventures.  Can they save Pooh's honey from a blustery day, a flood, and Heffalumps and Woozles?


I grew up loving this film.  And that love has not diminished seeing the film again as an adult.  Winnie the Pooh reminds me of my childhood and has a special innocence that most children's movies don't seem to have anymore.

The film is based on A.A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" children's stories, which were based on his son Christopher Robin's stuffed animals.  Originally Disney conceived 3 short films featuring the characters: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974), which each featured original music by Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman.  In 1977 they combined all three shorts into a feature film.  In 1983 Disney created another short film Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (which is a bonus feature on the DVD for this film).

The film is cute, using the book as a narrative device.  The characters interact with the narrator, the words on the page, and the pages themselves.  It is a fun method that works well to link the stories together.  The characters are fun and voiced by talented character actors (I still associate John Fiedler as Piglet... even when I see him other films I say "that's Piglet!").  The songs are memorable, especially the opening "Winnie the Pooh Theme" (yes, it will be stuck in your head afterwards) and "The Tigger Song."

A timeless children's classic!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) 74 minutes
Director: John Lounsbery & Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring: Sterling Holloway as Winnie the Pooh
Sebastian Cabot as The Narrator
Junius Matthews as Rabbit
Barbara Luddy as Kanga
Howard Morris as Gopher
John Fiedler as Piglet
Ralph Wright as Eeyore
Hal Smith as Owl
Paul Winchell as Tigger
Clint Howard & Dori Whitaker as Roo
Bruce Reitherman & Jon Walmsley & Timothy Turner as Christopher Robin