Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

I decided to do this today even though it's my birthday, to not only compare notes but to leave no loose ends.

When you get right down to the two Clone Wars series we have could not be more night and day. This series is all about the visuals, with grand scale battles, excellent design, and short but satisfying stories. And when I say short I mean short, the first episode is 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The entire series clocks in a bit over 2 hours, so it's practically the most action packed Star Wars movie ever made. Now you might be thinking, well how could it be so good if each episode is so damn short? Well it's difficult to explain, though most episodes don't have much dialogue you can get easily invested, and each battle is significantly different so the show never feels stale for even a microsecond. Plus the fact that the dialogue is minimum and not full of exposition means anybody can watch it regardless of age or language and totally get it. That is visual storytelling and that's just Genndy's style. The first season follows up after Episode 2, and the end of season two is literally where Episode 3 begins, it could not match up better! I guess it all depends on what you want, if you want large scale battles with great lightsaber duels and stuff you won't find anywhere else in any other Star Wars film or TV series then this is definitely the series for you, but if character and story arcs is what you love then you have the new series. I love both but for very different reasons, though both shows are great. You can watch both seasons on Youtube for free because the DVD's that I bought way back when are ludicrously priced, so you're not gonna lose anything. It's such a well crafted show, with great visuals and designs, excellent action, but also knows when to take a break and give some nice character moments, and it's filled with stuff you just never seen before even with the new series. I never knew that a lightsaber could work underwater, or what would happen if a duel occured during a rainstorm, how Ventress was recruited by Dooku, why General Greivous had damaged lungs, it gives a lot more weight and significance to even small details of Revenge Of The Sith. It's expertly crafted and must be seen by any true fan, you won't regret it.

And thus concludes for now my love for the animated Star Wars series and that's kind of it for Star Wars for a good long while, unless I get a severe urge to watch the Holiday Special which I got news for you, ain't happening. So until December my friend, just remember....no one's ever really gone.

Hotel Transylvania 3

Happy Friday The 13th, and what a better day to begin celebrating the coming of Halloween.

You know, if they said there would be no Hotel Transylvania 4....I would be glad. By no means is this movie bad, it's a decent ending(?) to a good series. So a bit of time has passed since last we were at the hotel, and Mavis has set up a holiday cruise for Drac and family to unwind and relax a bit while Dracula has formed an attachment to the ship captain, who is of course a descendent of Van Helsing. I think the filmmakers knew hey, we've had 2 movies with nary a drop of conflict we need to actually do something this time around. And I do think they did a good job with it, since there's actually plot and conflict going on. And you know what I noticed? Now I have to be clear, I know every character has their own design, that is to be expected but in the case of Ericka Van Helsing there was something off about her and I figired it out. She looks like a Dr. Seuss character, with her off set oval shaped eyes, exaggerated chin line, the hair, it all screams Dr. Seuss drawing to me. That's not a bad thing by any means but you look at Johnny and his family in the last movie and they look pretty standard. I found that really interesting and the fact that she is voiced by Kathryn Hahn just makes her a bit better though oddly she doesn't get all zany on us. I think it was just fun to see all these classic monsters in such a fresh new environment, you know outside the castle and the woods, and they take advantage of it which gives more variety and sort of development for all the characters. It's a entertaining fun movie, perfect for adults with or without kids, I mean honestly this series has kind of done remarkably well given all the circumstances and audiences do genuinely like these movies. Not to say the first one had no appeal whatsoever and it was a miracle it was a hit, but this could be a very decent end to a loved, well done, and very enjoyable series. So of course I urge people to see it, definite two thumbs up, perfect for a weekend with the family or small ones. And of course this is a good preamble to the spooky goodness of the future, which I am of course excited for. Until next time monster lovers.

Hotel Transylvania 2

You know if we follow this trend I seriously think Hotel Transylvania 3 could be the best of the series.

I had a major blast watching Hotel Transylvania 2. It is a fantastic, highly entertaining, very funny movie that does what any great sequel should do. So Mavis and Johnny get married, we fast forward a year and they have a son Dennis and speculation starts on whether he will be more on his mother's side or not. Drac of course, wants a vampire grandson so he tries his best to bring out the fangs in the kid before Mavis and Johnny move away. For a basic plot, very much like the first with no real conflict, it is surprisingly entertaining and holds your attention from beginning to end. It's more about the adventure than a central conflict, which is one of many reasons why I love this series. I'm already a sucker for monsters, but you add in very good comedy, fun characters, and just this sort of ramble on story with no real problems, and you got a movie that could not be up my alley more. I especially love the true sense of love and family between Mavis, Dracula, and Dennis though Johnny is there he is surprisingly more in the background. I don't know, it's very easy to experience the movie and enjoy it so much and yet very intangible to explain why I love it so much. It's just fun, and there is much to enjoy whether a horror fan or not. I love the relationship between Dennis and Winnie, it is so friggin' cute I can barely stand it, I love the sort of underlying I guess situation where old school parenting meets modern parenting, for some weird reason I crack up when the gps has the voice of Peter Lorre, seeing Mavis experience human culture is a lot of fun, there's just so much to love. The animation style is still energetic and fast, the colors are vibrant with my own special favorite being California at dusk, the jokes are fun and hardly ever crass, and it just makes me excited to see the 3rd movie this Friday. I of course highly recommend this series and this movie, 2 thumbs up, and I will see you this Friday.