The Lego Movie

"Uh, guys? We're about to crash into the sun."

"Yeah, but it's gonna look really cool."

Emmet (Pratt) is a construction worker that follows all of the rules and has no creativity.  After work one day he discovers Wyldstyle (Banks) and falls into a hole.  At the bottom of the hole, he discovers the mythical Piece of Resistance, which fulfills a prophecy by Vitruvius (Freeman).  According to the prophecy, the person that finds the Piece of Resistance is the Special and is capable of stopping the evil Lord Business (Ferrell).

Wyldstyle saves Emmet from Lord Business' henchmen Bad Cop and Good Cop (Neeson).  She and Vitruvius are disappointed in Emmet, but believe he has potential and take him before the other Master Builders.  The Master Builders are not convinced and most refuse to help.  When the Master Builders are attacked only Emmet, Wyldstyle, blind Vitruvius, Batman (Arnett), spaceman Benny (Day), optimistic Unikitty (Brie), and pirate Metal Beard (Offerman) manage to escape.  Can Emmet and his friends save the world from the Kragle?

Originally I wasn't planning to see this film... I assumed it would be an epic fail.  But it turned out to be a mega hit and a sequel is already in the works.

I grew up loving Legos.  My brother had a large collection, which included a Lego table (that had hollow logs for storage) and a clear bin filled to the top.  We spent hours building and playing.  The film does a great job of making everything look like Legos and that it all belongs there.  The world is impressive along with all of the visual gags.

The cast really makes the film special.  Chris Pratt is loveable as Emmet.  He is the perfect actor for this part.  Will Arnett is hilarious as Batman.  He has the best puns and delivery.  Charlie Day and Alison Brie bring joy and excitement to their roles.  Nick Offerman and Will Ferrell play to the bleachers in their parts.  Morgan Freeman is a delight as Vitruvius.  Liam Neeson and Elizabeth Banks round out a great cast.

Directors / writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller deliver a funny script.  They also have hidden gems from their previous films, the most obvious is 21 Jump Street.  The main song "Everything is Awesome," written by Shawn Patterson, is fun and infectious and will be stuck in your head for days.

A fun film for the whole family.
They made a sequel in 2019 The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

The Lego Movie (2014) 100 minutes
Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Starring: Chris Pratt as Emmet Brickowski
Will Ferrell as Lord Business
Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle
Will Arnett as Batman
Alison Brie as Princess Unikitty
Nick Offerman as Metal Beard
Charlie Day as Benny
Liam Neeson as Bad Cop / Good Cop
Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius

Transcendence

"I need you to wait here."
"What? Where are you going?"
"Everywhere."

Dr. Will Caster (Depp) is a scientist focused on creating a sentient computer.  His controversial research has made him famous and a target.  At a prestigious fundraising event, he is shot.  The shooter is part of a radical group call RIFT (Revolutionary Independence From Technology).  Simultaneously they attacked other A.I. labs across the country.  Will and his wife, Evelyn (Hall), are contacted by the government to continue his research, with the technology rescued from his colleagues.

However, Will is dying from his wounds.  Evelyn refuses to let him go, and begs his best friend Dr. Max Waters (Bettany) to help transport Will's brain into his computer so that his mind will live when his bodies fails.  They are successful, but Max is worried about the long term effects.  Their actions catch the attention of RIFT, led by Bree (Mara), and Evelyn hides her actions from the rest of the world.  Can Evelyn and Will find happiness?


I had high hopes for this film.  This is Wally Pfister's directorial debut.  He has worked closely with Christopher Nolan on several of Nolan's critical hits, as the cinematographer.  Nolan served as a producer for the film.  The cast is well-known and the premise is intriguing....

However, the film was a critical flop.  Most reviewers hated the script, characters, ending, etc.  I agree that it could be better, but it was still an interesting film.  Would I watch it again... probably not.  But it was ok for what it was.  It is unsettling and leaves you with questions... but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Final word: there is so much potential here, but it never gets there.  Decent directorial debut and I look forward to Wally Pfister's future projects.

Transcendence (2014) 119 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality
Director: Wally Pfister
Starring: Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Caster
Rebeccca Hall as Evelyn Caster
Paul Bettany as Max Waters
Cillian Murphy as Agent Buchanan
Kate Mara as Bree
Cole Hauser as Colonel Stevens
Morgan Freeman as Joseph Tagger
Clifton Collins Jr. as Martin

Muppets Most Wanted

"There's only one guy in this world who can save us! There's only one frog who can restore order, bring justice, and set things right!"
"You are talking about Kermit, right?"

The Muppets decide to take their show on a world tour, with Dominic Badguy (Gervais) as their manager.  Kermit (Whitmire) is hesitant, as they just got back together, but finally gives in.  The rest of the Muppets want to do new acts that are too dangerous, too long, or too bad to be added to the show... but Dominic likes all of the ideas.  Kermit takes a walk to clear his head and is attacked by a mysterious figure, who glues a mole to his face.  Soon Kermit is arrested and sent to a gulag in Siberia.  His attacker is Constantine (Vogel), the most dangerous frog in the world, who conceals his mole with makeup and poses as Kermit.

Constantine and Dominic are planning a series of heists across Europe and use the Muppets as a cover.  As the Muppets perform their new acts, Constantine and Dominic commit their crimes.  The heists are investigated by Interpol's Jean Pierre Napoleon (Burrell) and CIA's Sam the Eagle (Jacobson), who immediately dislike each other.

Meanwhile, Kermit tries various methods to escape the gulag.  Each time he is caught by Nadya (Fey) who orders him to direct their annual Prison Follies.  Kermit holds onto to hope that his friends will find and rescue him.  But the Muppets don't notice Kermit is missing.  Can Walter (Linz) figure out the truth, so they can save Kermit and stop Constantine?


After the success of The Muppets, a sequel was inevitable.  As a fan of the Muppets, another film.  This is the 8th Muppet feature film: The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, The Muppets, and Muppets Most Wanted.

Most of the personnel from The Muppets returned for this film.  James Bobin returns as the director and Nicholas Stoller (co-wrote The Muppets with Jason Segel) wrote the screenplay.  The script is entertaining across the board and has many meta jokes.  Bret McKenzie once again wrote all the new songs.  My favorites are "I'm Number One," "The Big House," and "The Interrogation Song" but all of the songs are catchy.  I just bought the soundtrack so I can continue to enjoy these songs.

The main human characters are entertaining.  Ricky Gervais is very funny as Dominic, toning down his performance style to suit the Muppets.  He is great in "I'm Number One" and has a funny payoff at the end.  Ty Burrell is the funniest human character as French Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.  He is brilliant opposite Sam the Eagle.  Their chemistry spills into "The Interrogation Song" which gets better each time you hear it.  Tina Fey kills it as Nadya.  She sports a thick Russian accent and gets some great jokes.  Her character is the most unexpected, from start to finish.

Once again the cameos are hilarious.  For this film they wisely chose to keep some of the cameos a surprise.  My favorite is Danny Trejo as inmate Danny Trejo.  Some are so brief that you might miss them, but all are entertaining.  McKenzie's partner from The Flight of the Conchords, Jermain Clements is the Prison King and gets his own song (which is a cover, but still funny to watch).

My main complaint, the smaller roles for fan favorite Muppets.  I missed Gonzo's craziness.  The soundtrack features the full length versions of all of the songs.  Most of the songs were trimmed for the film, losing a funny version in the process.  I did love Matt Vogel as Constantine, a welcome addition to the cast.  Hopefully he appears in subsequent Muppets features.

Muppets Most Wanted (2014) 107 minutes
Director: James Bobin
Starring: Ricky Gervais as Dominic Badguy
Ty Burrell as Jean Pierre Napoleon
Tina Fey as Nadya
Steve Whitmire as Kermit, Statler, Beaker, Rizzo the Rat, Link Hogthrob, The Newsman
Eric Jacobson as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, Animal
Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, Waldorf
Bill Barretta as Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef
David Rudman as Scooter, Janice, Miss Poogy
Matt Vogel as Constantine, Floyd Pepper, Sweetums, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry
Peter Linz as Walter

The Hollow Crown: Richard II

"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me."

Richard II (Whishaw) is the king of England.  He is childish and prefers to cater to his own whims than to help his subjects.  When his cousin Harry Bolingbroke (Kinnear) and Lord Mowbray (Purefoy) accuse each other of treason, he banishes both.  Mowbray is banished for life, but Bolingbroke is only banished for six years.  As they depart, Mowbray predicts that Richard will be overthrown by Bolingbroke.

After giving the verdict, Richard decides to fight a war in Ireland.  He claims property of his late uncle, John Gaunt (Stewart) and levies heavy taxes on the people.  While he is away, plans are put in motion for his destruction.


I was an English major in college.  As such, I read and studied many plays and poems written by William Shakespeare (and I now own his complete works).  However, I have never read any of the history plays, but my interest was piqued by the miniseries Uncovering Shakespeare.  I was intrigued, especially when they showed clips from The Hollow Crown and immediately added it to my Netflix queue.

Shakespeare's Richard II is the first play in his tetralogy, the Henriad and sets in motion the events of the subsequent history plays.  BBC's The Hollow Crown will cover all of these plays (the first series is Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V).  These kings and their lives would be common knowledge for Shakespeare's audience, who would understand the political maneuvering.

To appeal to a mass audience, BBC condensed some scenes and characters, while still protecting the overall content of the play.  The casting is superb.  Ben Whishaw, who won a BAFTA for Leading Actor for this part, is mesmerizing as Richard.  He exudes an otherworldly-ness, which is the main reason director Rupert Goold cast him (watch the "Making of" feature on the DVD for more information).  He draws you in from the beginning and evokes sympathy even when he is doing / saying terrible things.  He is matched by Rory Kinnear, who has a strong presence on screen.  Their scenes together are a masters class in acting, especially the scene pictured above.

Whishaw and Kinnear are surrounded by legendary actors, who keep your attention from beginning to end.  The film is beautifully acted and shot.  Hopefully it will be a spark that leads people to reading the play and diving into other Shakespeare plays.

The Hollow Crown: Richard II (2012) 149 minutes
Director: Rupert Goold
Starring: Ben Whishaw as Richard II
Rory Kinnear as Harry Bolingbroke
Patrick Stewart as John of Gaunt
David Suchet as the Duke of York
David Morrissey as Northumberland
Tom Hughes as Aumerle
James Purefoy as Mowbray
Clemence Poesy as Queen Isabella

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

"It's enough to make a grown man cry. But not this man! Get back in there, tear!"

After Flint Lockwood (Hader) rescued the town of Swallow Falls from a food storm, created by his invention, the residents of Swallow Falls are relocated to San Franjose while the scientists of Liv Corp clean up the food residue.  Liv Corp is run by inventor Chester V (Forte), a successful scientist and Flint's idol, and he gives Flint a job working at Liv Corp.  After failing to land a prestigious spot on Chester's elite team, Flint is given a special mission: return to Swallow Falls and destroy his FLDSMDFR.

Unbeknownst to Flint, the FLDSMDFR survived and is now creating living food creatures.  Flint takes a USB drive from Chester and assembles his friends to find and disable his machine.  His team is comprised of his meteorologist girlfriend Sam Sparks (Faris), her cameraman Manny (Bratt), supercop Earl (Crews), former celebrity Brent (Samberg), Flint's father Tim (Caan), and talking monkey Steve (Harris).  They are joined by Chester, his team of scientists, and Barb (Schaal) an orangutan with a human brain.  Can they save the world again?


In 2009, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller brought the book "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" to the big screen.  The film was a success, critically and with audiences, and sparked a sequel.  This film picks up minutes after the first and continues the fun of the first film.  Once again Lord and Miller deliver a funny script that will appeal to all ages.

Once again the cast dive into their roles with gusto.  All of the original characters return, with only one notable change: Terry Crews replaced Mr. T as Earl.  The new characters are a welcome addition and bring new life to the story.  Also, the film boasts some impressive visuals, especially the foodimal creations.  Barry the strawberry is adorable and endearing and the rest of the foodimals are equally entertaining.  Be sure to stick around for the closing credits and the brief scene that follows.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) 95 minutes
Director: Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn
Starring: Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood
Anna Faris as Sam Sparks
James Caan as Tim Lockwood
Will Forte as Chester V
Andy Samberg as Brent
Benjamin Bratt as Manny
Neil Patrick Harris as Steve
Terry Crews as Earl Devereaux
Kristen Schaal as Barb