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Croodly Entertaining

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  • Title: The Croods
  • IMDB: link

The CroodsTo be honest there’s not much to DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods. The simple premise of a scared family of cavemen braving a world of uncertainty they are ill-prepared for does, however, offer some laughs along the way.

The Croods consist of the curious and precocious teenager Eep (Emma Stone), her more obedient and dimwitted brother Thunk (Clark Duke), her feisty grandmother Gran (Cloris Leachman), her terror of a baby sister, and her parents Grug (Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (Catherine Keener). All of Eep’s life Grug has kept the family safe by hiding in their cave from anything new which could be dangerous, only allowing The Croods into the light to gather food when necessary. Even Grug’s bedtime stories underline his philosophy for his family’s need to be obedient, cautious, and fearful every day of their lives to stay alive.

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Not So Epic

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  • Title: Epic
  • IMDB: link

EpicWith a nice pro-environmental message and a story cobbled together from a variety of sources, Epic is an inoffensive, if mostly forgettable, animated feature. Our protagonist is M.K. (Amanda Seyfried), a young teen struggling with the recent death of her mother and being forced to move out into the middle of nowhere with her absent-minded father (Jason Sudeikis) obsessed with finding proof of a colony of tiny 2in. people in the nearby forest.

Through a series of events M.K. accidentally gets shrunk down and becomes involved in the struggle of the Leafmen (an army of good guys protecting all life in the forest) trying to save the forest from the forces of Mandrake (Christoph Waltz) and the Boggans (evil creatures who are trying to bring forth the rot and destroy the forest). The death of the Leafman’s queen (Beyoncé Knowles) has given the villains a window which to strike where no power in the forest can stop them.

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Backdraft

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  • Title: Backdraft
  • IMDB: link

BackdraftReleased in 1991, Backdraft may be director Ron Howard‘s most underrated film. Starring William Baldwin and Kurt Russell as estranged brothers and firefighters, the script by Gregory Widen (mostly known for his ties to the Highlander and Prophecy franchises) deals with several themes including family dysfunction, a mystery concerning a rash of unexplained arson, and the younger McCaffrey brother’s (Baldwin) quest to prove himself in the line of work that killed his father and consumes his older brother to the point it cost him his marriage.

Despite featuring Howard’s weakest leading man, Backdraft has held up well over two decades and the scenes of characters both fighting fire and discussing it remain its biggest strengths. Russell and Baldwin sell the contentious older/younger brother dynamic and the backstory of Brian’s historic lack of direction also explains his older brother’s attitude towards his new career.

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Legends of Awesomeness – The Scorpion Sting

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  • Title: Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
  • wiki: link

Legends of Awesomeness - The Scorpion StingThe second DVD collection of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness collects half-dozen of the show’s episodes including “Scorpion’s Sting” which was the first episode of the series to air on Nickelodeon as Po (Mick Wingert) and Monkey (James Sie) set out on a quest to the Valley of the Scorpion for the cure to Tigress‘ (Kari Wahlgren) fever.

Other highlights from the collection include Po’s attempts to find a girlfriend for his father (James Hong), Monkey accused of being a thief, Po fearing he may turn evil like a previous member of the Furious Five, Crane (Amir Talai) trying to regain his confidence with Po’s help, misadventures with magic Kung Fu shoes, and Po’s search with his father for a legendary monster.

The random order for these releases is a bit confusing but fans should still enjoy the collection. The only extra on the single-disc DVD is the code to the game app “Scorpion Maze” to unlock power-ups and downloads.

[DreamWorks Animation, $14.98]

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Much Ado About Nothing

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  • Title: Much Ado About Nothing
  • IMDB: link

Much Ado About NothingFilmed over the period of 12 days in director Joss Whedon‘s home, Much Ado About Nothing is a low-key character-driven of version of William Shakespeare’s play that comes off quite different than the far more lavish version Kenneth Branagh dazzled audiences with two decades ago.

Set in present day, shot entirely in black-and-white, and filled with performances of several of Whedon’s favorite actors, it could be easy to dismiss the film as a vanity project. To do so would be a mistake.

The film casts two of my favorite Whedon actors in Alexis Denisof, as the quick-witted Benedick, and Amy Acker, as the sharp-tongued Beatrice. Having spent many a night in Shakespeare readings with Whedon, as well as the time together on Angel, the pair have an obvious comfort level and chemistry that would impossible to create with such a short shooting schedule.

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