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House of Mouse (2001)
Original Disney characters last stand
Back in the early 2000s, I was already leaving childhood and entering the teenage years. Already you could see Disney's deterioration with the lack of original Disney cartoons been shown or new series and movies with the characters appearing. Then with Lizzie McGuire coming along, I thought Disney was doomed for sure.
This show was a really nice surprise. Even though it integrated modern aspects of society like cellphones and the internet, it stayed true to the original Disney spirit. All the characters(Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy...etc.) acted as they always had, so it felt as if you were continuing their stories from over 50-60 years ago. This show even presented some of the old shorts and integrated them as part of the past of the characters.
In addition to the old shorts, they made new shorts in the show that, although modern, stayed true to the innocent, fun and sometime educational old school Disney. We had episodes like Goofy going through 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s fashion with a narrator explaining everything much like the original Goofy cartoons talking about how to dance. We saw Donald Duck again having issues with his nephews and pretty much everything in life. Pete's story of trying to shut down the club was very in character with his general sleazy nature from the old cartoons and Goof Troop.
Lastly, this show ingeniously integrated all the other characters of previous movies and series from Snow White all the way to The Emperor's New Groove.
It saddens me to write this, because this shows success in making such an accurately canon Disney show with all the original characters, it basically makes it the last stand for the original Disney characters.
I saw one episode of the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". I saw enough. The magic is totally gone. These are not the same characters we've known for the past 60 years. The stories are gone. The magic is gone.
Farewell, guys. You've had a good run. I guess good things must come to an end.
Pineapple Express (2008)
Funny, but laking in plot and good acting from several characters
This movie had a lot of good raunchy humor that gives people a laugh in almost every scene. Definitely, a good movie to watch with your friends and will make the day of even the most depressed of peoples. However, what prevented this movie with a lot of potential from being great was the weak story and weak acting from certain characters.
On the story, there were not any real moments when you feel that the characters learn something. There is one moment when one character seems to realize the bad direction this person's life is taking. However, this epitome comes so rushed and had little built on it. The character just snaps. However, even after this realization the character, and the others, have eventually, they don't seem to be truly acting upon it and whether or not they changed is left hanging in the air. This weakness was what make raunchy humored movies like "40 year-old virgin" and "Knocked up" great. In the first one we had an Andy who is so shy about women and how slowly his friends begin breaking his fear. Then, when he begins a relationship, you have good build up were he fights his insecurities until finally he falls in love and marries the woman. In "Knocked Up", the guy transitions throughout the entire movie from a pot smoking bum, to a responsible and sensible husband and father. We see this transition and build up in both of these movies. But we don't see that in "Pineapple Express". They simply wake up to that for a few seconds and they seem to go back. A good comedy is not just having a lot of laughs. It needs to have a strong plot and key dramatic moments that this movie did not have. It was a joke from start to finish.
On the acting, the only good acting came from Seth Rogen. He seemed believable and worked. I was disappointed in James Franco. He was just to cartoonish. The antagonist were even worse, especially the two gangsters. They were too ridiculous and cartoonish. In the mentioned movies, even the secondary and tertiary and most ridiculous characters, did not go that far. Many even had their dramatic moments and had some depth and reasoning to their way of being. But in this movie, none of that existed.
So, I recommend the movie because it is very funny. However, don't expect it to be great or as in-depth as comedies of similar manner like the mentioned movies.
The Borinqueneers (2007)
Good and well represented documentary
This documentary is an good portrayal of the experience of the Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th Infantry.
We get a good amount of history that serves to contextualize the origins of the 65th Infantry and historical elements that contributed to Puerto Ricans joining the army, as well as explaining their behaviors and conducts in war, whether good or bad.
With all of the interviews they including, with soldiers, their superiors and military historian, the viewer is able to understand different aspects of the Puerto Ricans in Korea, as well as the events that occurred before and after the battlefield.
I find, however, that the documentary could have benefited from more interviews from the families in Puerto Rico and their families in the War shaped the reality of Puerto Rico, especially its towns. Their perspective would have been particularly good also for the latter part of the documentary.
Other than that, great documentary! I recommend it.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The Darkness is its Strength, not its weakness
---Most likely not real spoilers, but just in case---------------------
Before going to see the movie I kept hearing how certain people were complaining about the movie's darkness. Yet it was this darkness that compels the most.
Harry is going through many horrible experiences that are complemented by the troubles that come to all of us during this period of our lives. In this internal struggle Harry must make sure to remain good and preserve his own life. All the psychological elements that affect Harry, plus the experiences, creates the strongest challenge he has ever faced.
The drama that takes over the movie makes you forget, at least for a while, that this is a fantasy. The experiences we see Harry go through are so humane that it is hard for anybody not to relate at some point or another. The key element to the darkness is the element of temptation; how well is Harry able to resist them? These temptations, although having fantasy elements in it, are humane in the sense that they can be carried out in the "muggle" way, with the exception of the tools being used.
That is why the darkness is its greatest strength.
Aside from this strength, the movie has a lot of magic for kids and adults, without leaving the first out. There are amazing visuals which are very realistic, bound to impress even non-fans of magic.
The concept of a youth rebellion for a just cause is bound to attract the young and not worry the adults, they would specifically like it. Especially with the "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man how to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" concept applied.
Lady's and gentlemen, I give you the best Harry Potter to date!
Transformers (2007)
The Best Sci Fi in 10 years
Without a doubt the best Sci Fi in the last 10 years. I case your wondering, I have thought about the Star Wars Prequels and War of the Worlds. Honestly, this beats them both.
For starters it breaks away from this standard of making fictional, comic book-like colorful character from being too psychological. The director is basically saying, forget these standards, I'm making a movie about non-human characters, the best way to make this movie is by creating a fun movie about robots smashing each other. He keeps the plot simply and straight-to-the point, as it should be.
The screen-play kept you hooked. It presents such daily issued that almost anybody can relate with and merges it the transformers movie. We have the military and leadership perspective, the scientific perspective and the regular people perspective that is balance to the point of keeping our adrenaline pumping and have several laughs along the way. This is a breather from the all too serious Star Wars and, to mention Comic Book, Spiderman. Especially with Star Wars, you felt like it was a soap opera. Transformers is very true to the human reactions to the events; people running away, military and intelligence people trying to figure out was is wrong. Or even before the fighting starts, we say regular people living their regular lives and acting according to their backgrounds. Granted, the humor placed on it is a bit exaggerated, but no more exaggerated than the negative human reactions in Star Wars, which were way over the top.
What prevented it from being a perfect movie was that it over extended its "increasing conflict" and the lack of more action scene. Adding a few more robots, starting the battles quicker and extending them a bit would have made it truly exceptional. My advise to Michael Bay on this is not to be shy to make bigger Sci Fi movies. He has what it takes to make the big and great.