Coco (2017)

"What is going on?"

"You the Rivera family? ... Well, you're cursed."

Miguel Rivera (Gonzalez) loves music and dreams of being a musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Bratt).  However, his family hates music.  The late family matriarch Mama Imelda Rivera (Ubach), banished music and musicians from her life.  The family has continued this tradition and focuses on the shoe-making business she started.  Miguel wants to follow his family, but cannot deny his love of music.  He has a special connection with his great grandmother Mama Socorro "Coco" Rivera (Murguia).  As the family gathers to celebrate the Day of the Dead, Miguel breaks a picture and discovers a picture of Mama Coco with her parents.  The father's face is missing, but he is holding de la Cruz's guitar, and Miguel believes de la Cruz is his ancestor.

He runs away to enter a battle of the bands and steals de la Cruz's guitar.  In the process, he becomes invisible to everyone around him, and he sees skeletons moving around.  He bumps into his skeletal ancestors, who take him back to the land of the dead to ask Mama Imelda how to fix the situation.  Mama Imelda offers to send him home, but only if he forgets music forever.  Unwilling to part with his dream, he seeks the help of con artist skeleton Hector (Bernal) to help him find de la Cruz and reclaim music in his life.  Can they find de la Cruz and get Miguel home before he turns into a skeleton?


This is Pixar Animation Studios 19th animated film.  The film is centered around the celebration of Dia de los Muertos.  Dia de los Muertos is the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead.  It is the celebration of family and remembering ancestors.

The screenplay was written by Adrian Molina (who co-directed the film) and Matthew Aldrich.  Lee Unkrich, who directed Toy Story 3 contributed to the original story and directed the film.  The story is interesting and full of vibrant colors and characters.

The score was written by Michael Giacchino, with original songs by Germaine Franco, Molina, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.  The Lopez's are the duo who wrote the songs in Disney's Frozen.  The songs are heart-warming and catchy.  "Remember Me" packs a punch, but my favorite is the instrumental "Jalale" which is performed by the Mexician Institute of Sound.

The cast is comprised of all Latino actors.  The only exception is Pixar regular John Ratzenberger who has a single line.  Anthony Gonzalez is great as Miguel and is a talented singer.  Benjamin Bratt is convincing as the swaggering Ernesto de la Cruz.  He performs "Remember Me," but all of his other songs were performed by Antonio Sol.  Gael Garcia Bernal is fun as Hector.  It is a strong cast and everyone works well in their roles.

The film won numerous awards, including 2 Academy Awards.  Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson won for Best Animated Feature, which Unkrich also won for Toy Story 3 in 2010.  Anderson-Lopez and Lopez won Best Original Song for "Remember Me."  They won the same award in 2013 for "Let It Go."

Coco (2017) 105 minutes
Director: Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina
Starring: Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel Rivera
Gael Garcia Bernal as Hector
Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz
Alanna Ubach as Mama Imelda Rivera
Renee Victor as Elena Rivera
Ana Ofelia Murguia as Mama Socorro "Coco" Rivera

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

"Has it occurred to you that there are too many clues in this room?"

In December 1935, American millionaire Samuel Ratchett (Widmark) is murdered in the first class car of the Orient Express.  The train is stuck in snow and Signor Bianchi (Balsam), who works for the company that owns the train, wants the matter resolved before they reach the next stop.  He turns to his dear friend Hercule Poirot (Finney), a world-famous detective who is also traveling in the first class train.  Poirot believes the murder was committed by someone in the first class car as all of the train cars were locked at night and there are no tracks in the snow around the car.  He confiscates all of their passports and asks Bianchi and Dr. Constantine (Coulouris), who did not sleep in the first class car, to assist with the investigation.

Poirot interviews each passenger about the events of the previous night.  Ratchett was traveling with his secretary Hector McQueen (Perkins) and valet Edward Beddoes (Gielgud).  McQueen and Beddoes are not upset by their employers death and have secrets.  Harriet Hubbard (Bacall), who had the room beside Cassetti, is an American widow and claims a man was in her room that night and must be the murderer.  Greta Ohlsson (Bergman) is a Swedish missionary who struggles with English.  Count Andrenyi (York) is a Hungarian diplomat traveling with his wife Countess Andrenyi (Bisset).  Colonel Arbuthnot (Connery) is a British Indian Army officer who smokes a pipe and is always watching English teacher Mary Debenham (Redgrave).  Elderly Princess Dragomiroff (Hiller) is traveling with her maid Hildegarde Schmidt (Roberts).  Antonio Foscarelli (Quilley) is an Italian car salesman who talks like a gangster and Cyrus Hardman (Blakely) is an American theatrical agent.  French conductor Pierre (Cassel) is also a suspect, while aiding Poirot's investigation.  Poirot uncovers a deep connection to the famed Daisy Armstrong murder of 1930.  As the train breaks out of the snow, can Poirot discover the murderer and finally solve the missing piece of the Armstrong case?


This film is based on Agatha Christie's 1934 novel "Murder on the Orient Express."  Her story was inspired by the Charles Lindbergh case in 1932.  She chose the location based on the 1929 story of the Orient Express being stuck in the snow for 5 days near Istanbul.  This is the 10th of 45 stories (8th novel) featuring Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

Christie disliked most of the film versions of her novels, but she was persuaded by the producers to allow this adaptation.  It was her favorite adaptation.

All of the main characters are played by well-known actors, delivering excellent performances.  Albert Finney does well as the quirky detective.  The majority of the film occurs on the train, but it never feels claustrophobic or boring.  The film takes a leisurely pace to setup the characters and the plot, but you are invested the entire time.  The film stays true to Christie's story, with only a few changes.

The film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards: Best Actor for Finney, Best Supporting Actress for Ingrid Bergman, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score; but only Bergman won.  Bergman's small role has a 5 minute speech that runs the gamut of emotion, and was filmed in a single take.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, everything worked well and fit the world of the story.  I want to see the 2017 version, with Kenneth Branagh as the director and star, but I think I will prefer this version.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) 131 minutes
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall as Harriet Hubbard
Martin Balsam as Signor Bianchi
Ingrid Bergman as Greta Ohlsson
Jacqueline Bisset as Countess Andrenyi
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Pierre
Sean Connery as Colonel Arbuthnot
John Gielgud as Edward Beddoes
Wendy Hiller as Princess Dragomiroff
Anthony Perkins as Hector McQueen
Vanessa Redgrave as Mary Debenham
Rachel Roberts as Hildegarde Schmidt
Richard Widmark as Samuel Ratchett
Michael York as Count Andrenyi
Colin Blakely as Cyrus B. Hardman
George Coulouris as Dr. Constantine
Denis Quilley as Antonio Foscarelli

Thor: Ragnarok

"Last time we saw you, you were trying to kill everyone.  What are you up to these days?"

"It varies from moment to moment."

Two years after the events of Sokovia, Thor (Hemsworth) is looking for Infinity Stones.  He learns that his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), is dying and Ragnarok, the destruction of Asgard, is approaching.  On his deathbed, Odin tells Thor and Loki (Hiddleston) that they have a sister: Hela (Blanchett).  Hela is the goddess of death and Odin's death will release her.

Hela plans to lead the people of Asgard, by force if necessary.  She easily destroys Thor's hammer and defeats both of her brothers, who barely escape.  When Thor wakes, he is a prisoner on the planet Sakaar.  Scrapper 142 (Thompson) captures him and takes him to the Grandmaster (Goldblum).  The Grandmaster rules the planet and uses his prisoners as gladiators.

Can Thor escape the planet and save Asgard from Hela?


This is the fifth film in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it is also the third Thor film (Thor in 2011 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013).

Each Thor film had a different director and style.  The original film was directed by Kenneth Branagh and build the world of Asgard.  The sequel was directed by Alan Taylor and took on a darker tone.  This film, under the direction of Taika Waititi, takes a more comedic approach.  The risks are still high, but they don't shy away from lightening the mood.

After sitting out Captain America: Civil War, this film pairs Thor and Hulk for an adventure of their own.  Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo have great chemistry and it is fun to see the relationship between Thor and both sides of Banner.  In this film, Hemsworth gets the chance to show his comedic side, while still staying true to the character.  Thor's trusty hammer, Mjolnir, is destroyed so he has to adjust fighting style for this film.  Ruffalo gets to do double duty, portraying Bruce Banner and voicing the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno voiced the character in the Avengers films).  Hulk gets a bigger vocabulary and a bigger role in the film.

Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki, along with Idris Elba as Heimdall.  The Warriors Three (Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, and Zachary Levi) make a brief appearance, along with Anthony Hopkins as Odin.  Cate Blanchett is the villain, clearly enjoying herself, with a little help from Karl Urban as Skurge, her executioner.  Jeff Goldblum plays to the rafters as the Grandmaster and Tessa Thompson adds attitude and more muscle as Scrapper 142.  And Waititi voices the character of gladiator Korg.

It is an interesting story that keeps the action and laughter coming.  The entire film takes place away from Earth (unlike the previous films), with most of the action on Asgard or Sakaar.

The mid-credits scene teases Avengers: Infinity War.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) 130 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive material
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Cate Blanchett as Hela
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster
Tessa Thompson as Scrapper 142
Karl Urban as Skurge
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Anthony Hopkins as Odin