A Bug's Life

Pixar time again, wrapping it up since I've reviewed nearly all of them.



Boy it has been a minute and a half since I watched this movie! Like over 15 years so I knew this was gonna be an interesting walk down memory lane, how does it hold up? I like it but that's all I'll give it. The story revolves around a colony of ants being harassed by a gang of grasshoppers for food, and a young imaginative ant named Flik journeys out to find warrior bugs to help solve their problem, he meets a group of circus performers who he mistakes for fighters, and has to come up with more plans to save the colony. It's pretty much Walt Disney's Seven Samurai in concept, obviously the movie goes about it's own way but the template is undeniable. And I gotta say for just the second Pixar feature film the animation genuinely holds up pretty damn good! It's stylized of course, there be no Lion King remake realism here, but the colors, the physics of certain natural elements, the environments themselves, it's solid man! I wasn't thinking the movie was gonna look aged to shit, but I also didn't truly notice such details when I was but a wee lad. In fact my complaints of the movie really just stem from the boring ass tired liar revealed trope, and even though it hardly takes up any runtime I fast forward cause I just don't like it. But the cast is really good, David Foley as Flik has a lot of youthful energy and fully knows he is a nuisance to the colony but he is just trying to do the best he can. Julia Louise-Dreyfus as the princess Atta has some nice chemistry with Flik and even has some humorous moments so it's anything but stale. Kevin Spacey as Hopper is the reason you should watch this movie period, and I couldn't tell at all that was his voice but he has some real moments to shine and aside from our circus crew made me laugh the most. Now there's a lot of people in the circus troupe so I'll narrow it down to 4 characters. Denis Leary as the ladybug Francis, even with not much to do is a welcome addition and again I couldn't place the voice. I may be getting more senile with each passing week folks. David Hyde Pierce as a stick insect named Slim may be my favorite, just his deadpan delivery and resentment to be a prop really hit my funny bone. Bonnie Hunt who I've come to realize has had history with Pixar before, appearing here, Monsters Inc., Cars, Toy Story 3, and Zootopia, plays a black widow spider named Rosie, I can't explain it I just love her voice and this kinda ditzy persona she brings, again not too much screentime but the woman has my attention. Last but certainly not least John Ratzenberger as their manager P.T. Flea, it's frickin' John Ratzenberger he's always awesome and his fast talking money grubbing persona was a joy to watch. The movie made me laugh a bit and whenever there was a laugh it was a strong one, it doesn't emphasize a lot of the comedy it's more about the story and while there are a slight few puns the performances are mostly what sells it. That and just the sheer uninterested look Hopper has when he literally crushes 3 of his goons to desth just slayed me. Something else I never noticed was, the sound design is very very good in this movie. The grasshopper wings droning, all the little sound effects of the natural environment when interacted with, hell I'll even go to say the movie has striking moments based on sound. Silence to thundering revs of the wings of grasshoppers, the slow but heavy footfalls as they walk through a dense fog, and the movie takes something as simple as rain and makes it feel fucking apocalyptic as you see it sweep across the land and bombard the anthill. That's impressive man, I cannot commend that more if I tried. It has striking moments, decent characters, animation that I feel entirely stands the test of time, and a basic story told decently. Is it great? No. But as a studios second film where they were still very much finding their footing after the powerhouse of Toy Story, I'd say it's okay. I give it 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, and tomorrow another trip down memory lane as we step through a doorway to visit working class individuals keeping their city up and running.

In Retrospect: Baby Driver

Yeah, been awhile since The Seventh Seal but I'm back!

This movie is still really damn good guys, like I was surprised how much I was still invested and gave a crap about the story even though I saw it all play out before. Ansel Elgort is still fantastic and I want to see this guy in more movies, Kevin Spacey is still Kevin Spacey and I love that guy, the action and driving is still incredibly done. And Edgar Wright has steadily become a name I am familiar with and look forward to seeing attached to a project, just the style of editing and music mixing is sublime and is really the driving force behind the movie, editing can make or break a movie and this movie is made in aces. I do think it will be one of those movies that does live on, well regarded and has it's fans but by no means a big blockbuster or classic, but it's a fine movie that will be appreciated and enjoyed for years to come. I have to say, when I first saw the movie I knew barely any of the songs which disappointed me a bit, but now I'm a much bigger fan of the music and own a bit of it which is funny because only until recently have I really been expanding my horizons and listening to different music. Most people do that in their teenage years, so I'm a late bloomer without a doubt but I'm happy to find new stuff that I love. And that's an undeniable fact, with film and music there is always something new to enjoy.

Baby Driver

This movie was better than I anticipated.

Baby Driver is a great crime drama directed by Edgar Wright following a beyond expert getaway driver trying to settle down in life and leave the ways of crime behind him. I have no issue saying 50% of the reason I saw this movie was to listen to the soundtrack, this is a musically driven film, with the expert editing and direction of Edgar Wright. All the actors do great jobs, although mind you, only Baby and his girlfriend Debora are the nice characters, just about everyone else is a dick. But hey, this movie ends kinda the way you wanted it. Music selection (save for one song) I did not know but by God did I still enjoy it. The action is decent, the comedy is non-obtrusive, it's more a character driven film and not just a vroom vroom bang bang movie like the trailers have been leading you to believe. Actually, that's an interesting point. If you watch the first trailer then watch the others, it goes from drama and character to, CARS EXPLOSIONS GUNSSSSSS!!!!!! It's stupid. Guys, give this movie a shot. I highly, highly recommend it. Dig those groovy tunes, and tell me what you think.

Elvis & Nixon

Hey that was a cool movie man.

A simple movie at heart, with lots of charm and love towards The King, Elvis & Nixon follows the events up to the famous picture of the The President and The King in the Oval Office. When I first heard about this movie I really liked the idea, and wondered what it would be like in the end and I was very, very pleased with the movie. Michael Shannon plays Elvis with conviction and style, to the point where you sometimes forget it's an actor and not the real Elvis and Kevin Spacey as Nixon potrays the President as real as he was and does a hell of a fine job in the end. The movie takes place in the early 70s, so the soundtrack is a lot of fun, and even some of the shots look like it was filmed with a super 8 camera with film grain and all, it really solidifies the feel of the movie. The focus never takes off of Elvis and I would really recommend this movie for just two scenes, where it's pretty much a monologue of Elvis, one touching on the other side of the coin of being famous, how the real person gets lost in the identity of the star and what it does for that person, and also about the day of his birth that can easily tug at the heartstrings for some, including myself. The movie is not about the sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, which is why it is elevated to a much better movie, it merely tells the story of one of the most bizzare moments in the annals of American history. I expected a decent movie, and got something much more meaningful than I would ever have anticipated. Definitely check it out if you have the time.

Horrible Bosses

What the hell, why not? It's an awesome movie and it deserves reviewing.

Horrible Bosses is a hilarious movie centered around the one thing that everybody thinks about at least once, murdering their boss. You're a liar if you say you've never thought about that, everybody has had a rubbish boss at least once. So our story follows three friends, each of which have their own horrible bosses and they soon get sick of it and decide to kill each of them. Hijinks and comedy ensue. Simple plot, but the comedy and the characters are what saves the film from mediocrity. I'm actually really happy this is a rated R comedy and not PG-13 cause they can do so much more with an R rating. Like Jennifer Aniston's character is this complete slut who constantly hits on this guy and gives whole new examples of sexual harassment for years to come, and it is the most hilarious part of the movie because they could go all out with the dialogue and the situations. And any film that has Kevin Spacey in it is immediately awesome (Except for Superman Returns.)! You really can't just talk about this movie, you need to see it to understand why it is so funny. I was hesitant about the film when I saw the trailers, but eventually I sat down to watch it and I greatly enjoyed it. A damn good comedy, with memorable scenes and an all star cast. What more could you ask for? And that is it for this week viewers, thank you so much for tuning in. Next week, I really want to hit up some more recent films cause there's actually a bit out now that I wanted to see so to Redbox we will go...