Song of the Sea

Ben (Rawle) loves the stories his mother, Bronagh (Hannigan), tells and the songs she sings to him.  He is devastated when he looses her, and blames his baby sister Saoirse (O'Connell).  Six years later, their father Conor (Gleeson) is consumed by his grief, and Saoirse does not speak.  On her 6th birthday, Saoirse discovers that she turns into a seal when she goes into the sea.

Conor sends the children to live with Granny (Flanagan) for their protection.  But the children are miserable and decide to find a way home.  Along the way, they learn that Saoirse is the key to saving the spirit world and others like her.


I loved director Tomm Moore's animated feature film The Secret of Kells and was overjoyed to hear he was making another animated film.  The story is based on the Celtic myth of selkies; selkies are found in Irish, Scottish, and Faroese folktales.

Like The Secret of Kells, the animation is beautiful.  The characters come alive with movement, and the score is beautiful.  Lisa Hannigan, who voices Bronagh, is an Irish singer with a beautiful voice.  She performs most of the songs on the soundtrack.  The story is engaging and the voice casting is excellent, each actor lends so much to the performance.

A wonderful film that will stay with you long after it ends.

Song of the Sea (2014) 93 minutes
Director: Tomm Moore
Starring: David Rawle as Ben
Brendan Gleeson as Conor / Mac Lir
Lisa Hannigan as Bronagh
Fionnula Flanagan as Granny / Macha
Lucy O'Connell as Saoirse

The Upside of Anger

"Be nice!"

"That's not in my nature."

Terry Ann Wolfmeyer (Allen) is angry.  Her husband Grey (Danny Webb) has disappeared and they believe he ran off with his former secretary, with whom he was having an affair.  Bitter and angry, she pushes away her daughters and spends her time drinking.  Her drinking buddy is their neighbor Denny Davies (Costner), a retired baseball player turned radio host, and relationship forms.

Her daughters are dealing with the loss of their father in different ways.  Hadley (Witt) graduates from college, marries her boyfriend David (Harper), and becomes a mother, in quick succession.  Andy (Christensen) gets a job at Denny's show and begins dating his producer Shep (Binder).  Emily (Russell) wants to become a dancer, and Lavendar "Popeye" (Wood) is an amateur filmmaker.  Can Terry and her daughters move forward together, or will bitterness drive them apart?


My uncle suggested I watch this film.  I vaguely knew of the film, but it wasn't really on my radar, and without the recommendation I probably would have never seen the film.  I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  It was first experience with a Mike Binder film, and I enjoyed his writing and direction.

The casting is excellent.  The film is a showcase for Joan Allen, who delivers on every occasion, making you grow to care about Terry and her situation.  She has excellent chemistry with Kevin Costner, who plays a loveable character.  Costner gets numerous opportunities for his character to grow and change, and it is fun to watch his journey.  Alicia Witt, Erika Christensen, Keri Russell, and Evan Rachel Wood have a believable chemistry as sisters, and each get a moment to shine.

All around a well-made, well-acted film.  It will never be a big hit, and may be polarizing for some viewers, but it is worth looking into.

The Upside of Anger (2005) 118 minutes
Rating: R for language, sexual situations, brief comic violence and some drug use
Director: Mike Binder
Starring: Joan Allen as Terry Ann Wolfmeyer
Kevin Costner as Denny Davies
Erika Christensen as Andy Wolfmeyer
Keri Russell as Emily Wolfmeyer
Alicia Witt as Hadley Wolfmeyer
Evan Rachel Wood as Lavendar "Popeye" Wolfmeyer
Mike Binder as Adam "Shep" Goodman
Tom Harper as David
Dane Christensen as Gordon Reiner

Tommy Boy: 700th Review

And now for my 700th movie review.

100 Monty Python and the Holy Grail  /  200 Duck Soup  /  300 Super Troopers  /   

400 Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein  /   500 The Odd Couple  /  600 Stir Crazy

"I'm starting to picking up your sarcasm."

"Well, I should hope so, because I'm laying it on pretty thick."

Callahan Auto is the savior of the small town of Sandusky.  The family owned company has been in business for decades and provides numerous jobs for the town.  The company is run by Big Tom Callahn (Dennehy), who is a born salesman and well-liked by everyone.  His son Tommy Callahan (Farley) has finally graduated from college (after 7 years), and returns home to work at the factory.  He also returns to the news that his father is getting remarried.  Beverly (Derek) has already moved into the family home, along with her son Paul (Lowe).

After the wedding, Big Tom dies suddenly, leaving the company in a difficult position.  The bank is reluctant to provide a loan for the new brake pad section, but without the loan the company cannot survive.  Tommy decides to go on his father's sales trip, along with his father's assistant Richie (Spade).  He also gives his shares of the company, along with his house, to the bank to keep the company in business until he returns with orders.  Tommy has no sales experience and does not get along with Richie, can they save the business and the town?


There is no denying that Chris Farley was a talented comedian.  He dove into physical comedy with gusto and delivered hilariously weird characters.  This film captured that joy let Farley go as big as he needed to go.  He gets many funny moments throughout the film.  My favorite scene is pictured above when he is telling a story with model cars, that gets out of hand fast.

Farley is joined by his friend and Saturday Night Live co-star David Spade.  Farley and Spade made three films together, Coneheads, Tommy Boy, and Black Sheep, and of those this film is considered their best collaboration.  It incorporates Farley's physical comedy with Spade's sarcasm.  The movie is endlessly quotable with gags that still work decades later.  Everyone involved gets a laugh, including Rob Lowe doing physical comedy in an uncredited role.

It is a hilarious movie that everyone should have to see, even if it's just the edited for TV version.

Tommy Boy (1995) 97 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sex-related humor, some drug content and nudity
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Chris Farley as Tommy Callahan
David Spade as Richie Hayden
Rob Lowe as Paul Barish
Brian Dennehy as Big Tom Callahan
Bo Derek as Beverly Barish
Dan Aykroyd as Ray Zalinski
Julie Warner as Michelle
Sean McCann as Frank Rittenhauer
Zach Grenier as Ted Reilly
James Blendick as Ron Gilmore

Sharknado

"Storm's dying down."
"How can you tell?"
"Not as many sharks flying around."

A hurricane moves up the Mexican coast and towards California, bringing huge waves.  Surfers Fin Shephard (Ziering) and Baz (Simmons) hit the Santa Monica beach to enjoy the waves, and learn that the storm has also brought a large number of man-eating sharks close to shore.  They help people get to safety and head back to Fin's bar on the pier to evacuate everyone.  They get off the pier just before a huge wave takes it out, and head inland with waitress Nova (Scerbo) and regular patron George (Heard).

The hurricane also brings torrential rain, that causes coastal flooding and the influx of more sharks further inland.  Fin and his group head to the home of his ex-wife April (Reid) to get her and his daughter Claudia (Peeples) to safety.  Water spouts begin popping up around the city, containing sharks, and turn into shark infested tornados.  Can they survive the storm and find Fin's son Matt (Hittinger)?


This is a SyFy channel original movie... SyFy is known for it's ridiculous horror movies, that are escapist fun with outrageous concepts.  It's the type of campy film that you can't take seriously, or expect too much out of: you need to expect the ridiculous.  When I first heard about this film, I rolled my eyes and moved on... but people tuned in and talked about it, and somehow it became a hit.  It even had a limited release at Regal Cinemas, that was a sold out showing.  It has become a cult hit.

Since then I have been meaning to watch it, but kept putting it off.  It was pretty much what I expected: the writing is bad, the acting is fascinating, and the effects are poor... and yet you can't help but keep watching to see what outrageous thing they will do next.  It's the kind of movie you want to watch with friends, for the joy of mocking it or laughing at the crazy things happening on the screen.  The cast seem to be having fun, and everyone involved seems to be in on the joke, which certainly helps.

Due to the popularity of this film, SyFy ordered a sequel Sharknado 2: The Second One, which premiered in February 2014.  A third film (Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!) is scheduled for a 2015 release.

Sharknado (2013) 87 minutes
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Starring: Ian Ziering as Fin Shephard
Tara Reid as April Wexler
John Heard as George
Cassie Scerbo as Nova
Jaason Simmons as Baz
Aubrey Peeples as Claudia Shephard
Chuck Hittinger as Matt Shephard

Trouble Along the Way

"How'd you do last season?"

"We showed up for every game."

"I'd say that was raw courage."

St. Anthony's, a small Catholic college, is on the cusp of closing due to financial problems.  Father Burke (Coburn) is reluctant to give up on the school and convinces his superiors to give the school a chance to pay off their debt in order to stay open.  While his peers believe he is getting senile, Father Burke has faith that they can save the school.  He decides to hire a professional football coach to help their team play better and bring in some revenue.

Their only hope is Steve Williams (Wayne), a disgraced former college coach.  Williams now spends his time in pools halls.  He has a young daughter, Carol (Jackson), who he is raising alone.  His selfish ex-wife, Anne (Windsor), decides to stir up trouble and tells Social Services that he is an unfit father.  Social Services sends Alice Singleton (Reed) to study the case and provide a ruling.  With no where else to turn, Williams and Carol move to St. Anthony's to coach the football team, but they need a miracle to save the school.  Can Williams keep his daughter, save the school, and get the girl?


As I have mentioned before, I grew up watching John Wayne films.  I thought I had seen most of his films, but there are still quite a few that are new to me.  I discovered this film a few years ago when I was researching my Top 10 John Wayne Films post and was intrigued... but couldn't find the film.  Since then it has move around in my Netflix queue until it finally reached the top.

Wayne is best known for his serious western roles... or his war movies.  However, he made several comedy films and proves that he is quite adapt at humor.  This film gave him the opportunity to embrace the humor and play a shadier character, and does so with success.  The cast really make the film pop.  Charles Coburn is adorable and endearing as Father Burke, with a twinkle in his eyes.  Sherry Jackson is funny and has great chemistry with her co-stars.  Marie Windsor and Tom Helmore are the right amount of smarmy, and Donna Reed is good.  And well-known character actors populate the smaller parts.

The script is entertaining and moves at a good pace. And the filmmakers left the ending ambiguous, it suggests the future, but leaves it to your imagination... which works here.  Tying up all the story lines wouldn't be as satisfying with the tone of the rest of the film.  A lesser known gem in the Duke's filmography, definitely worth the effort to find.

Trouble Along the Way (1953) 110 minutes
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: John Wayne as Steve Williams
Donna Reed as Alice Singleton
Charles Coburn as Father Burke
Tom Tully as Father Malone
Sherry Jackson as Carol Williams
Marie Windsor as Anne Williams McCormick
Tom Helmore as Harold McCormick
Dabbs Greer as Father Peterson
Leif Erickson as Father Provincial
Douglas Spencer as Father Procurator
Lester Matthews as Cardinal William Patrick O'Shea

Click here to see more reviews of Wayne films.

The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)

"Wow... we could buy a car!"

"Yeah, and in five years we could drive it!"

The Baby-Sitters Club are excited about summer vacation.  Club president Kristi Thomas (Fisk) has the great idea to hold a summer camp for their regulars.  The rest of the club agrees to give up their summer to run the camp, and get permission to have the camp at Mary Anne Spier (Cook) and Dawn Schafer's (Oleynik) backyard.

Meanwhile, the club is dealing with outside issues.  Kristy's father (Peter Horton) is back in town and wants Kristy to keep his presence a secret, which means lying to her family and friends.  Stacey McGill (Blair) falls for an older boy and lies about her age.  Claudia Kishi (Joe) has to go to summer school, which she must pass or her parents will force her to quit the club.  Mary Anne's boyfriend Logan (O'Brien) is being pursued by Cokie Mason (Sokoloff) and her entourage, while they pick on Mary Anne.  And Dawn has to deal with their new neighbor Mrs. Haberman (Burstyn), who does not like having the camp disrupting her peaceful life.  Can the club and their friendship survive camp and the summer?


I grew up reading Ann M. Martin's "The Baby-Sitter's Club" books.  The series began in 1986, with Martin writing the first 35 books.  In 1990 other authors starting writing the series, while still publishing as Martin.  The series ended in 1999 with book #131, along with 15 Super Specials, 36 Mysteries, 4 Super Mysteries, Portrait Collections, 3 Special Edition Readers' Requests, and 12 Friends Forever books.  There were also 3 spinoff series: The Baby-Sitters Little Sister, The Kids in Mrs. Colman's Class, California Diaries.  In 1990 it became an HBO TV series, with 13 episodes.  Over the course of the series, there were 10 members of the club, and they were all perpetually in Middle School.

I enjoyed the book series, and was lucky enough to have a good friend that owned the majority of the series.  I remember loving the series, but I also remember outgrowing the books around Middle School.  This film captures the joy of the series, while providing a new story for fans to dive into.  The cast were popular teen actresses, many of which are still acting today.  I enjoyed the film, but I wish it focused more on the club as a whole and not just on Kristy's issue.  That said, it is a decent teen film, that still kind-of holds up today.  A must-see for girls reading the books.

The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) 94 minutes
Director: Melanie Mayron
Starring: Schuyler Fisk as Kristy Thomas
Bre Blair as Stacey McGill
Rachael Leigh Cook as Mary Anne Spier
Larisa Oleynik as Dawn Schafer
Tricia Joe as Claudia Kishi
Stacy Linn Ramsower as Mallory Pike
Zelda Harris as Jessi Ramsey
Christian Oliver as Luca
Jessica Needham as Karen Brewer
Ellen Burstyn as Mrs. Haberman
Austin O'Brien as Logan Bruno
Marla Sokoloff as Cokie Mason
Aaron Michael Metchik as Alan Gray

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

"This is tied for the most terrifying day of my life!"
"Tied with what?"
"Every other freaking day of my life!"

It is the grand opening of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum, featuring an exhibit of the costumes of the villains that were unmasked by Coolsville's own Mystery Inc.  Fred (Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Gellar), Velma (Cardellini), Shaggy (Lillard), and Scooby-Doo (Fanning), are on hand for the opening.  While they are talking with reporter Heather (Silverstone), the Pterodactyl Ghost is reanimated and wrecks havoc on the museum.  He is under control of a masked figure who vows to destroy Mystery Inc.

They return to headquarters to start the investigation.  Shaggy and Scooby overhears the others talking about them and decide to act like real detectives and solve the case on their own.  The gang suspect the original Pterodactyl Ghost, Jacobo (Nelson), is behind the attack.  But they also believe their first villain, Old Man Wickles (Boyle) is involved.  As more foes are reanimated, can the gang solve the mystery and save Coolsville?


Although the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie was lambasted by critics, Warner Bros. greenlight a sequel.  The sequel reunited the original cast and director Raja Gosnell, and was again written by James Gunn.  This film was also panned by critics, though they felt the film was closer to the series than it's predecessor.  The film won the Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel.

I enjoyed the film.  The casting is spot-on, and the script is fun.  The monsters reanimated in this film all appear on the TV shows, and will be familiar to long-time fans.  This was the last Scooby-Doo film to feature this cast, the next 2 films were prequels that featured younger versions of the characters, which is a shame because I enjoyed this cast.  An enjoyable film.

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) 93 minutes
Director: Raja Gosnell
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy
Linda Cardellini as Velma
Seth Green as Patrick
Peter Boyle as Old Man Wickles
Tim Blake Nelson as Jacobo
Alicia Silverstone as Heather
Neil Fanning as Scooby-Doo

Hector and the Search for Happiness

"We should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness, but a happiness of pursuit."

Hector (Pegg) is a psychiatrist who likes his life to run on schedule.  He is well-liked by his patients and in long-term relationship with Clara (Pike)... but he believes something is missing from his life.  He decides to take a vacation from work and research happiness.  Clara is unable to join him, but gives him a blank journal to fill with his thoughts.

He travels to China, Africa, and America.  Along the way, he everyone in his path their opinion on their definition of happiness, which he records in his notebook.   As his relationship with Clara suffers, can Hector learn to be happy?


I first discovered this film on Netflix when I was researching another film with Simon Pegg, and immediately added it to my queue.  I love Pegg in comedic roles, but he has proved that he can also tackle serious roles with ease.  This film continues to prove that Pegg carry a comedy or serious film.

The story is adapted from the novel "Le Voyage d'Hector ou la Recherche du bonheur (Hector and the Search for Happiness)" by French writer Francois Lelord.  Lelord was a psychologist, before turning to writing.  "Hector and the Search for Happiness", published in 2002, was immensely popular and in 2010 it was released in the United States.  He later published 2 sequels: "Hector et les secrets de l'amour" in 2005 ("Hector and the Secrets of Love" in the US in 2011) and "Hector et le temps" in 2006 ("Hector and the Search for Lost Time" in 2012).

I have never read any of Lelord's books, but I enjoyed the film.  It was charming, and I loved the animated pictures and handwritten notes on screen.  It was serious and heartbreaking, but also had light and funny moments.  Pegg is surrounded by talented actors, who give strong performances.

A great film, but don't go in expecting a comedy.

Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014) 114 minutes
Director: Peter Chelsom
Starring: Simon Pegg as Hector
Rosamund Pike as Clara
Toni Collette as Agnes
Barry Atsma as Michael
Stellan Skarsgard as Edward
Christopher Plummer as Professor Coreman
Jean Reno as Diego Baresco
Ming Zhao as Ying Li
Chris Gauthier as Roger

Big Hero 6

"There are no red lights during car chases!"

Hiro Hamada (Potter) is a teenage robotics prodigy.  His older brother Tadashi (Henney) is also a genius, and is a student at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.  Hiro is impressed with the work that Tadashi and his friends are doing, and throws himself into a project that will impress Professor Callaghan (Cromwell), the head of the program.  The show goes well, and Hiro is accepted, but a fire breaks out on campus and Tadashi and Callaghan are killed.

Hiro is devastated and withdraws from everything and everyone.  One day he accidentally awakens Baymax (Adsit), Tadashi's healthcare robot.  Baymax was designed to help people, and will not stop until Hiro feels better.  Together they stumble on a mysterious stranger, who is using Hiro's microbots.  Hiro wants justice and turns to Baymax and Tadashi's friends: science super fan Fred (Miller), GoGo (Chung) and her speedy experiments, Wasabi (Wayans Jr.) and his laser experiments, and Honey Lemon (Rodriguez) and her chemistry experiments.  Can Hiro upgrade them to become the heroes their city needs?

This is Walt Disney Animated Classics' 54th film.  The film is the first superhero film in Disney's animated canon, and the first to capitalize on their union with Marvel.  The Big Hero 6 debuted in 1998, and was created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau.

In 2009, after Disney acquired Marvel, they started looking at some of the obscure characters and teams to potentially use in animated films.  Don Hall discovered Big Hero 6 and pitched the idea to his superiors.  They wanted the idea to feel fresh, so the screenwriters had minimal interactions with the comic.  The end result is very different from the comic.  The character names and some abilities are the same, but not everything translates.  Unlike other Marvel films, this one does not belong to the same cinematic universe, but it does have a Stan Lee cameo.

Reimagining the story works here... it makes the story acceptable for children, while potentially introducing them to the larger Marvel comic world.  The story is funny, while still packing an emotional punch.  The voice cast is good as well.  Scott Adsit does so much with such limited range, and you fall in love with Baymax easily.  T.J. Miller is hilarious as Fred, and Damon Wayans Jr. gets laughs as Wasabi.  Jamie Chung and Genesis Rodriguez are powerful women, with fascinating characters.  Ryan Potter and Daniel Henney are good.  And once again Alad Tudyk voices a morally questionable character.

Another solid Disney animated film.  This film received numerous award nominations, and ultimately walked away with the 2015 Oscar for Best Animated Feature.  Check it out, and here's hoping for a sequel.

Big Hero 6 (2014) 102 minutes
Director: Don Hall & Chris Williams
Starring: Scott Adsit as Baymax
Ryan Potter as Hiro Hamada
Daniel Henney as Tadashi Hamada
T.J. Miller as Fred
Jamie Chung as GoGo
Damon Wayans Jr. as Wasabi
Genesis Rodriguez as Honey Lemon
James Cromwell as Professor Robert Callaghan
Alan Tudyk as Alistair Krei
Maya Rudolph as Aunt Cass

Scooby-Doo (2002)

"Kinda makes you nostalgic for the homicidal creatures, doesn't it?"

Fred (Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Gellar), Velma (Cardellini), Shaggy (Lillard), and Scooby Doo (Fanning) are the crime solving team Mystery Inc.  Despite their impressive success, the Mystery Inc. team decide to go their separate ways.  Two years later, each are invited to Spooky Island horror resort.  Emile Mondavarious (Atkinson), the owner of the resort, believes something nefarious is happening to the college students while they are on the island.

The team refuse to work together and each decide to solve the mystery individually.  Shaggy meets a girl, Mary Jane (Fisher), which strains his relationship with Scooby Doo.  Daphne wants to be taken seriously, Velma wants to be included, and Fred wants to be in charge.  Can they put aside their differences to save the day?


In 1969, the character of Scooby-Doo debuted on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon show Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?  He became a popular character and starred in numerous shows from 1969 to present and several TV movies.  Most people grew up watching some version of Scooby and his friends solving crimes and it is surprising that it took so long for Warner Bros. to make a live-action film with these characters.  I grew up watching the old TV shows, I think I've seen half of the TV incarnations of the character (there have been 12 Scooby-Doo TV shows).

The original opening for the film, which survived as a deleted scene, was animated, helping to introduce the audience to the characters and show that they were going in a new direction.  Ultimately that introduction was scrapped, but I definitely preferred that opening to the one used.

The script, written by James Gunn, takes the formula from the show and turns it on it's head.  The characters are the same as you remember, with a few surprises.  The casting choices are spot-on, especially Matthew Lillard as Shaggy.  Early versions of the story were darker, but ultimately they chose to make a family film with lots of in-jokes for long-time fans.

Even though the film was mostly panned by critics, it did well enough for Raja Gosnell and the cast to return for a sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed and two prequels (Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster).  And the film sparked renewed interested in a Scooby-Doo TV show; there have been 4 TV shows made since then (What's New Scooby-Doo?, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!).

Scooby-Doo (2002) 86 minutes
Director: Raja Gosnell
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy
Linda Cardellini as Velma
Rowan Atkinson as Mondavarious
Neil Fanning as Scooby-Doo
Isla Fisher as Mary Jane
Miguel A. Nunez Jr. as Voodoo Maestro