Captain America: The Winter Soldeir

Rating: 95%
Sorry it's been a while since my last review, but I've been busy with a few things for the past few weeks and so haven't had time to look at some films let alone review them. But I'm back and I just saw this movie so here's how this movie turned out.


Plot: Two years after the events of The Avengers, Captain America has been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. with Black Widow, while still trying to adjust to modern society. But things get even harder for the Cap, when Nick Fury is attacked by the mysterious Winter Soldier and tells Cap that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised before being gunned down. So Captain America and Black Widow are on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. who has branded them as fugitives.

Wow. Just...wow. I had no idea that...well okay let me back up a little. As a man who so wisely prefers to be clueless as possible in terms of images and trailers for movies like the Marvel films, my general thoughts about this film from what little I knew about it, was that I hoped it would be good...even if the story line was going to be completely predictable when it came to the Winter Soldier. I won't give anything away for people who haven't seen this film, but let's just say that knowing who he is, is sort of common knowledge for comic book nerds like me. So that kind of made this film seem like the film was going to be a "meh, let's just get this over with" kind of movie in terms of going into this specific story line in Captain America's history. So from the moment I knew about the Winter Soldier until the moment I started watching the movie, I thought this movie was going to be somewhere into the good but not great category as much as I wanted otherwise as a Marvel fan. So with that said, I did not really expect to find Captain America: The Winter Soldier to give me so much more than I ever thought to be even considerable in terms of story telling and character/world building for both Captain America, and the all around big picture in the Marvel cinema universe. But boy was it beautiful. I know that is a odd choice of words for a movie like this. But the fact of the matter is that so many big things happened to Captain America and everyone and everything around him and the makers of the film did such a great job in almost every single thing about it. It was deep, suspenseful, thrilling, full of development among the characters and the all around Marvel universe, and it was all done so remarkably that... for a fans like me, calling it beautiful kind of fits. But let's get into details as to why starting with the character development starting with, who else, Captain America. In my review to the first movie, I stated how I was very skeptical at first with the casting, and admitted that Chris Evans turned out to bring us the character very well in terms of giving up Cap's willingness to save lives and care for the individual. Then in my review for The Avengers, I said that he gave the same quality, with The Avengers, but focused more on him as a leader, being focused on the mission and his lack of being up to speed in the modern world. Now he goes deeper then ever before with everything he's already given us, but is also giving us Cap going through more of how he's a man out of time, but is facing very political and ethical problems with S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, Black Widow, and even some other characters that you may or may not have expected to be in this film. (which is another plus about this movie: there are some characters that make some surprising appearances, and all of them were great additions.) Some people have said that as far as Cap fighting goes, he made his shield more awesome in terms of using it for both defense and offense. Personally, I always thought he carried out doing both in the last two films pretty well, but I will admit that there was a little more offense than in those films in hindsight. Then you got Black Widow who got a huge amount of development! She was this total mystery in both Iron Man 2 and most of Avengers, and yet here we are where despite being an opposite of Captain America, finds her life to begin to crumble and begins to be a little vulnerable. And she has developed a very deep and sometimes funny friendship with Cap which is very enjoyable. I have heard that they are working on a solo film for Black Widow, and all I can say for now is that when it comes to going deep into her as a character, this film has brought her up to a terrific start. They've done a great job with other characters, like Nick Fury and Winter Soldier, but I won't go into a whole lot of detail about them because a lot of stuff about them contains spoilers. The only characters I can think of that didn't really get their due in terms of development was Maria Hill and Sharon Carter. Maria Hill kind of just popped up a couple of times and helped out occasionally, so we didn't get very far with her. And Sharon Carter did have at least some development, but not quite to a satisfying amount. But at the same time, it was very nice to have her appear at all, and when it comes to these Marvel films, who knows if we'll get more of her. Now to world building. I can't say a whole lot as to what made this great for the sake of spoilers, but in a nutshell, despite the fact that it's Captain America's movie, it was also kind of a movie for S.H.I.E.L.D. and what is happening to it as an agency, which is mainly what made this film so big in terms of world building in the Marvel universe. After that, all there really is to say is that the action is really great, it was very loyal to the comics, and the story itself was very mind blowing when they kept adding more things and the stakes were raised higher and higher. Also, you might not like this moving if you want really big funny moments like with Avengers, Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, but this film is meant to be more serious than funny in a very good way, and I think it works okay with the funny moments it does have.

And that's my review for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. What I thought was going to just be a nice, good film, turned out to be a surprisingly great one filled with great character development, world building, action, and just gives a great, giant story for both Captain America, and Marvel in general. I'd say more, but this review is already almost as big as my review for Man of Steel, so I'll say for now that if you haven't seen it, do so now!

Robocop (2014)

Rating: 70%
Around high school my dad showed me and my brothers the original Robocop movie, and we thought it was the best bad movie we ever saw. Now we have the reboot which my dad and I just saw.

Plot: A powerful company called OmniCorp is is the center or robot technology for the military. But when a act in the U.S. government keeps them from selling their robots for use in civilian law enforcement, they decide to put a human in a machine. So when a good cop named Alex Murphy is critically injured by a car bomb, they put him in a cyborg suit and display him as a robotic police officer for Detroit.

As a reboot from a popular campy movie from the 80's...generally I liked it. Yes, it is by no means a masterpiece. But what they did for a reboot was surprisingly good. Or at least, very admirable. The original film (at least as far as I can remember it) was a bad, but fun to watch kind of popcorn, "shoot em' up" kind of film that was very over the top with it's action and gore, and had a very simple story. But here, it's less about the violence and more about the story and some of the main characters. Roughly similar to what The Wolverine is compared to Wolverine Origins, this movie focuses less on the big, fun mindless action, and more on the main character and what he's going though. In this case, this mostly focuses on his experience becoming RoboCop and trying to be in control over his cyborg body. And that's what made the film so surprisingly enjoyable. I was expecting a movie that had some new elements that are lightly put in, but mostly just mindless violence. But instead, it acted more three dimensional about the concept of RoboCop and who he is as a person all from a different point of view, with some decent, fun action on the side. Joel Kinnaman plays RoboCop and while he wasn't amazing, he did all around give an acceptable performance. We also have Gary Oldman as Dr. Norton and he gives a very likable performance and really helps out in making the story feel more thought out. The biggest problem for me personally however, was how they didn't really give us much with RoboCop's family. True, they were a part of the story unlike the family in the original film, and they weren't completely bland per say. But they still were not as well developed as the rest of the cast, to the point that neither of them- especially the son, really had anything close to an identity. As great as it was to go more into RoboCop as a person who is going through all of this stuff, their biggest flaw to that aspect was that they didn't give us focus on the family in a way that strengthens what they were doing.

And that's my review for Robocop. If you are looking for a mindless action movie, you're probably not going to enjoy this film. But all in all, RoboCop was a likable movie that was more heavy on the story and the characters then on the action. It's not done great, but to me, it's something to really admire the makers of the film for making this film both as an action film and as a reboot for a mere concept like RoboCop.         

My Top 10 Favorite Animated Couples (that are not Disney princess couples)

Well there's little doubt about it. I am a sucker for love stories. Not that I will watch anything that has a romance or an attempted romance mind you. But whether from film, tv, comics or video games, there can be some truly great love stories that I can enjoy. And there can be some especially great love stories that have been brought into animation. So to celebrate Valentine's Day, I'm going to give you my personal top favorite animated couples from either film or TV. Now there's a couple of things to keep in mind to this list. Firstly, I am leaving out Disney Princess couples because some of them would kind of be cheating to put into this kind of list. Belle and the Beast especially would possibly make it to #1 without a care with the kind of love story they have that so many of us love. Also what counts as a couple is either a pair that either are a genuine couple or even a pair where either person want to get with the other and thus, we as audiences would like to see happen too. So as much as I would love, love, LOVE (pardon the pun) to put for example some of my favorite shipping pairs from MLP such as FlutterMac, SweetieMash or Sparity, they don't count because the mere possibility of either of them hooking up in the show is currently not cannon. That being said, let's take a look at my top 10 favorite animated couples (that are not Disney princess couples)




# 10 Fry and Leela from Futurama

She is a mutant who is a smart, tough fighter, he is a stupid lazy guy who was frozen for a thousand years. They are a polar opposite couple that have probably the most jumbled of relationships in this list...at least when you look at the series as a whole. Fry is like a younger and skinnier version of Homer from The Simpsons, except he is a lot dumber in his own way to the point where he really should've gotten killed ages ago, and his laziness also makes him sloppy and filthy most of the time. But when it comes down to his feelings for Leela, he's there to save her, comfort her, tell her that she's beautiful the way she is, heck, it's thanks to him that she found her real parents. Leela is of coarse the smarter, stronger and also the more organized. She is naturally the leader of the delivery group at Planet Express and tends to be the most logical out the entire staff. Fry often annoys her with his immaturity and occasionally his rather obnoxious moves that he makes on her. But eventually she begins to see how he gives her a sense of security and how he really values her as a person compared to other men like Zapp Brannigan (or is it pronounced Zapp Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrannigan? I've heard it both ways). Their affection for one another becomes clearer as the show went on, but again, their development also is rather jumbled. Their relationship has always gone on and off throughout the show, and a lot of that comes from them having a romantic/potentially romantic episode at first, but right after that episode, the show continues with each of them going their natural way in the show as if the past episode never happened at all, and it stays that way for about half a season or longer until the next romantic-ish episode comes along that comes out as its own story rather than one that picks up where the last episode left off. I guess going through the series, I personally found that confusing and a little annoying as things kept going back and forth between them without any real explanation. But it all ties down to the series finale and I won't give anything away, but what happens is rather fitting for the two of them. Whether things go romantic between them or not, Fry and Leela are a futuristic couple to enjoy.















#9 Batman and Catwoman from Batman: The Animated Series

These two are very low on the list because technically this has to do with Batman and Catwoman in general rather then just them from the animated series, but that doesn't change the fact that their relationship - like a lot of things that were in this particular show - where delivered extremely well to the basic story between them. Catwoman is normally just a thief who steals because she does what she was to do to survive. But in the case of the show, she also is a socialite and animal rights activist which tends to get her to do what she believes is justly right whenever she is not just stealing jewelry or artifacts. And naturally when that happens, that's when Batman is there to either stop her from harming someone or to temporary be allies with her to stop whoever is the bigger problem. This of coarse is where they begin to fall in love, but rarely let their feelings get the better of them. In this way, their relationship going on and off makes more sense then it does for Fry and Leela because it is clearer why their love keep going back and forth. They don't entirely trust each other and tend to have other things get in the way between them such as Batman's code and Catwoman also in love with Bruce Wayne. This of coarse leads them to keep changing between being allies or enemies. What makes them so likable is how they are very similar in how they will dress up and do what they think is right, even if Catwoman is also a thief on the side. Plus you can tell that they're meant for each other. True, Batman has been with a lot of women, and some you could debate are the one that is meant to be with someone like Talia al Gul. But ultimately he has the bigger connection and the most similarities with Catwoman. What other reason is there to root for these two in the show? It's Batman and Catwoman.













#8 Danny and Sam from Danny Phantom.  
 

 

They've been best friends for years and they only discovered their feelings as the show went on. Everyone else in Amity Park seems to think they are dating, even Danny's crush, Paulina went on a date with him only to try to make Sam jealous as payback for calling her shallow. They do sort of like different things as Sam is all into the dark and gothic stuff and Danny... isn't into that and also wants to become and astronaut...I guess they didn't give him a whole lot of things he likes by himself when he's not fighting ghosts in retrospect. But regardless, they do enjoy hanging out a lot and enjoy each others' company. They'll have argumenst and in some occasions hate each other and Danny would be more interested in other girls, but they always make up and be there to help the other out. They start to really open the idea of becoming more then friends when a ghost named Ember puts Danny in a romance spell, causing him to focus on Sam which forced her to break him heart in order for him to be able to stop Ember. Since then, a relationship between them has been considered from time to time even when, again, Danny will be interested in other girls like Paulina and Valerie. But at the end of the day, they would begin to discover that they truly love each other and want to be together.

#7 Phineas and Isabella from Phineas and Ferb

Egad! This couple is taking forever to get together!!!!! When the heck is this going to happen!?!?! Now at first I was going to go with Ferb and Vanessa because when I started watching the show, I started to root for the idea that he would grow on her and inspire her to be more of a good person despite having Doofenshirtz for a father. But when I recently caught up with the show, I realized A) their age difference is a little weird in hindsight, B) She is with Major Monnagram's son and he seems to be that kind of boyfriend for her and Ferb seems to be okay with that, and C) you kinda of have to root for Isabella getting with Phineas because its more sad how she really wants to get together with him and he's totally in the blank. They do a ton of things together (all in the course of just one summer that feels more like 4 years to Doofenshmirtz) and it's clear that he does care about her and always wants to help out whenever something is up with her like having the hiccups, getting her tonsils out, or something that has to do with the Fireside girls. But whenever he is doing something romantic to help out some other couple, Isabella is left irritated that he does all these things for some other couple, but never even considers doing something like that for Isabella. There's an episode that came only a few months ago where she sings a song expressing that at this point her expectations are so low, that all she really wants is to spend time alone with Phineas no matter what it takes. Even if it's doing something like the two of them eating french fries, getting stuck under rubble or going to the orthodontist in a smelly subway. (yeah that's weird, but hey, it's stuff like that, that makes the show so fun and original.) And it's very clear that if he knew, he would want to be with her too. There's a scene at the end of the TV movie Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension that ends with everybody getting their minds erased, and right before that happens, Isabella kisses Phineas dead on the lips and leaving him surprised but happy. So if he knew the truth without getting his mind erased, he would be on board with the idea of getting together with Isabella. It's unknown if they will ever end the show with them finally together, but if it they did, it would not have come soon enough.

#6 Robin and Starfire from Teen Titans

I only just watched the entire show this past fall, but if there was only one thing that kept me wanting to see more as I watched it, it was watching these two together. Since the very first episode, it was beyond clear that these two deeply care about each other and have a very strong bond. They couldn't hide it even if they really tried. Robin is the leader of the Teen Titans, and in a lot of ways he's much like Batman in that he can be very serious and determined on the mission at hand. Starfire is an alien princess who is extremely cheerful and optimistic and likes to learn new things with joy and/or intrigued curiosity. And whenever they are fighting together, it's great to watch. You harm or capture one, you usually piss off the other. And the best parts of the show are when their relationship slowly begins to grow. From Starfire forced to get married, to being alone stranded in an alien planet, you can't get enough of what is going on between them. But by far the best episode is where Robin is forced to take a super villain's daughter to her junior prom and Starfire becomes extremely jealous is a burning passion. (HE DOES NOT ACCEPT!!! YOU HEAR!?! ROBIN DOES NOT ACCEPT!!! *chuckles* I hardly got enough of repeatedly watching that scene) But I also feel like their relationship grew a little too slow. Their bond was clear as day throughout the series without a doubt, but episodes like the ones I just listened were lacking rather appallingly. It was still fun to see them together whether something was happening between them or not, but the show was most enjoyable when something did happen. Because whenever it did, that is when we would get some of the best drama, comedy and of coarse, romance in the entire series. And in the end, things between were concluded in a nice bow at the end of the series final movie. As Cyborg himself said, it was "about time."

#5 Arnold and Helga from Hey Arnold!

Yep. Definitely a classic. I never was allowed to watch the show growing up, but deep down I was interested in the premise of Arnold and Helga's relationship. So when Hey Arnold! was on Netflix for a while, I finally got to watch the whole show for myself and boy was I far from disappointed...when I didn't get to the movie or the end of the series yet. Arnold is the kid who often is trying to help others and do the right thing, and Helga appears to him and everyone in the city as the child bully who simply loathes him. And yet...*over-dramatic voice* SHE LOVES HIM!!!! She is right out madly in love with Arnold and is obsessed with him to no end. And the fact of the matter is, as likable as Arnold may be in his own right, it's likely that for many people like me, the real heart of the show and of coarse the relationship is Helga. There's a cartoon review on YouTube called Chad who stated on his channel LewToons saying "Instead of her being just a supporting character and nemesis to Arnold like Cindy is to Jimmy (from Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), we actually view her as sort of a second protagonist whom we also root for in her own right." And deep down, that she really is a second protagonist. When she's around Arnold or anyone else, she of coarse will be a bully without so much as a thought. But when she's all alone, we see her true side as a girl who has a fascinating but creepy desire to be with Arnold. She keeps a picture of him shaped like a heart at all times, she writes poems, she cherishes a piece of his hair or a piece of gun he leaves under a bench, she dreams of fantasies of them being together, she has a shrine in her closet, she just does the creepiest things to express her love for Arnold and it's a ton of fun to watch every time she says "oh how I hate him...and yet...I love him!" and goes all Shakespearean on how much she wants to tell him how she feels. During the final season, we get this back story about her upbringing and how she began to fall in love with Arnold. This resulted in her becoming easily one of the most three-dimensional characters in Nickelodeon. Naturally, Arnold is completely ignorant of her feelings and doesn't really like her because she's a bully, which often makes her scared to ever express her love to him. But at the same time, Arnold occasionally suspects that there's something more to her then being just a big bully which raises the hope that they could be together. Sadly it is not cannon as to whether or not they do get together because the second movie that was meant to tie up loose ends for things in the show like Arnold and Helga, never got a green light after the first one - as I have no doubt implied in my review for it - turned out to be a bland, non-energetic, despicable piece of crap. But in the end, that's okay. Because as Chad also said, "somehow we all kind of know that Helga and Arnold ended up together and had tons of unibrowed, football-headed babies."

#4 Sheeta and Pazu from Castle in the Sky  

I believe one of my best friends, Candra summed up Sheeta and Pazu the best: adorable. And for the most part she his it pretty close. Sheeta and Pazu go through so much together and as a couple, it is adorable to see them face these things as they try to find Laputa. Sheeta is an orphan who inherited a magical crystal that turns out to be the key to finding the castle in the sky, Laputa, only to have the evil Colonel Muska capture her in attempt to find Laputa for himself. She escapes (in a manner of speaking) and comes across a young miner boy named Pazu who also want to find Laputa, but only to prove that his father was not crazy when he discovered it himself. They instantly grew fond of one another and would do anything for each other. Pazu especially was often resourceful and even unusually brave whenever he was off to try to rescue Sheeta. Even to the point of climbing some vines upside down right under Laputa which is thousands of miles above the ground. Dude, not even a twitch of fear? That's quite the amount of courage that boy has. But in some ways Sheeta will do her best to protect Pazu as well, even if it's doing something like telling him to leave her in order to save his life, but also breaking her heart in the process. They share their goal to find Laputa more and more as they try to discover more about Sheeta's past and proving Pazu/s dad right, and that's what make us root for them more. Again, they go through so much crap with Muska, the army and the family of pirates going after them. But when ever they are fighting for their lives or learning more about Laputa or each other, it's just...well...adorable to watch.

 

#3 Kim and Ron from Kim Possible.

Yep. Another classic that was going to make it into this list sooner or later. Again, I wasn't exactly allowed to watch this show when I was growing up, but it was great to see once I was grown up. Kim and Ron are one of the most infamous of couples where opposites attract and it's the best friends who get together. They've known each other since preschool and have hardly stayed apart since. Kim is...well Kim Possible, she can just about do anything. She's smart, independent and is a skilled fighter. Whereas Ron is silly, laid-back and often goofy. Their relationship is similar to Danny and Sam in how one is a crime fighter while the other is there with a unique personality, and that they were just best friends until the possibility of them becoming more grew as the shows went on. But Kim and Ron do it better for several reasons. First, the makers of the show gave much more time to see them as friends a lot longer before there was so much as a hint of them getting together. This gave us more time to think they're just friends and made it less obvious as to whether or not the idea of them getting together should be even considered, as opposed to other couples on this list like Danny and Sam, Robin and Starfire and Fry and Leela. Second, there's the fact that their relationship makes Ron a mighty conqueror of the evil, dreaded Friend zone. Because as I said, Ron is more of a goof then anything else. But as the show progressed, we began to see how Ron became less of a dorky sidekick, and more useful as a partner who has one or two archenemies of his how, and always has Kim's back. Even Kim herself knew that she couldn't save the world without Ron. And the mere fact that Kim could fall in love with him, makes him an inspiration for guys who are in the Friend zone and want to overcome it. Which is obviously a rare thing for any guy to accomplish. And finally, one MLP analyst, AnY Pony, pointed out how when they were in a relationship, they did not get all "snoogy-woggy" about it. For the most part they were just in a relationship and not much else. It is rare for a cartoon show like this one to have even just one season that takes place after the couple gets together. But Kim and Ron made their last season work because they really were just simply in a relationship. They rarely kissed, they never gave each other goofy boyfriend/girlfriend names, heck, it was only once that Kim officially stated that she was falling in love with Ron. All that and more is what make Kim and Ron probably the best animated couple on TV. What else can I say? It's the girl who can do anything and the guy who escaped the evil friend zone like a boss.

 

#2 Max and Roxanne from A Goofy Movie.

Almost anyone who grew up with this movie will most likely love that these two made it on this list. I think Max and Roxanne might be the first couple I began to root for that's not a Disney Princess couple or from any of Disney's theatrical animated films, and whose story doesn't simply end with them getting married or something like that. Max and Roxanne only have a few scenes together, but they still are very lovable moments. Roxanne is is the cute, likable popular girl, and Max is basically the shy boy that wants her to like him. This leads him to try to get into the concert of their favorite rock star Powerline, when their date gets dropped because Goofy takes him to a surprise fishing trip. But even though he succeeds, it turns out that she already likes him ever since the first time she heard him laugh. Aside from a couple of comics, Roxanne only made one more appearance in an episode of House of Mouse where she and Max have a date at the House of Mouse that turned into having some embarrassing moments, but ultimately they had a good time. After that...she is more or less never seen again...and then replaced by Max's girlfriend in Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas...which is not okay at all. This couple may have the smallest amount of time together compared to all of the other couples on the list, but it doesn't make them any less likable from that little time that they had. Both of the characters are likable in their own way, the chemistry between is very cute and charming and you do want to see them getting together and live happily ever after. Roxanne reappearing at all does seem very unlikely, but perhaps one day Disney will realize that as far as giving romantic interests to some of the supporting Disney characters go, there is no point in giving one to Max without the interest being his high school crush, Roxanne.

And my favorite animated couple that is not a Disney princess couple is...

1) Howl and Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle

If I can think of an animated couple that has the most epic, original, and kind of complex love story, then that couple would be Howl and Sophie. Which is surprising to say because the first couple of times I saw this movie, their relationship made almost no sense at all. I still liked the touching romantic moments and the movie in general, but their story is so original and told in way very different way from a lot of couples in other films, that at the end of the day I was totally lost. I mean it seemed like they were going to fall in love, but then she's old, and then all these totally different things happen, and then they are actually in love, and then she's saving his life and the prince is suppose to be her true love and... it was just totally confusing. Part of that comes from the fact that at the time, I had yet to learn how Miyazaki often has a unique way of telling his stories with very different structures and beats that seem off at first, but the more you look into them, the more you see how it's really clever and creative how he tells them. And in my opinion, none of his films do that in a way that's quite as creative as Howl's Moving Castle. And the real heart to it is the relationship between Howl and Sophie. Sophie is a quiet innocent girl who runs her father's hat shop and meets  Howl who charms her by saving her from guards that are trying to hit on her and the Witch of the Waste's henchmen. The Witch of the Waste, who is in love with Howl, turns Sophie into an old woman out of jealousy. So Sophie leaves town in search for a cure and makes a deal with Calcifer the fire demon that if she has break the curse on him, he will do the same for her. This results in her becoming Howl's new cleaning lady and a whole bunch of stuff that I won't go into detail about. What make their relationship so unique is how they experience some very different things together (what with living in a fantasy-ish world of witches, wizards and war). More often then not, Sophie is an old lady, which is in some respects makes her a completely different character whenever the curse is still on her. And Howl is often very hard to understand as he could sometimes be extremely serious because of what is happening with the war, then in some other scenes he's either being a coward or a big baby, and in every other scene he just has this smile on his face and takes everything like there really isn't a problem or change from the ordinary that will bring him down. Together, they begin to fall in love with each other, it's just done in very different ways. They begin to develop a bond at first when they first meet, but they seem start over again when she's old and is working as his cleaning lady. The more they slowly but surely fall in love, the more they began to help each other. Sophie begins to be the mother figure for everyone in Howl's Castle, which includes taking care of Howl, and wants to be there to help whatever is wrong with Howl as she learns more about who he is. She also gives Howl the courage to face his fears and to stop running away all the time without even realizing it. In turn, Howl is there to tell her that she truly is beautiful even though she doesn't see it, and is always there to look after her as he realizes how she is something that he wants to protect. By the climax of the movie, their love for each other is clear, and the romantic moments that follow are scenes that I just want to watch repeatedly every time I'm watching the movie. And what makes it even sweeter is how a part of the very end kind of connects to the day they first met. Their story may be the hardest to understand compared to all the other couples, but that just makes it part of what makes it the most unique. Howl and Sophie's relationship make more and more sense the more times I watch it, and that makes me enjoy it more. All this and more is why Howl and Sophie are my favorite non-Disney Princess animated couple.

The Lego Movie (2014)

Rating: 90%
*singing* Everything is awesome!!! Everything is cool when you're part of a team!!! Everything aweso- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE FIND ME A SONG THAT WILL GET THIS ONE OUT OF MY HEAD!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Plot:Emmett is a normal, construction guy who doesn't really stand out from anyone else in the lego city. But then he finds an artifact called the Piece of Resistance and comes across a woman named Wyldstyle who believes that he is The Special One. So she takes him to see a wizard named Vitruvius who send on a journey in attempt to train him to use his building skills (despite having none) to defeat Lord Business.

So judging by the 90% you of coarse assume I like it just as much as everyone else right? Well...yeah I like it. I can't say I grew up and I was all about Legos (The Pokemon era and all. I'm sure you understand) But I did play some Legos around the time, but I mostly was a fan of the video games like Lego Star Wars, and especially Lego Lord of the Rings. But I can tell you that when it came down to taking advantage of the mere concept of Legos put into a movie, this movie did not disappoint. Unlike Wreck-It Ralph that gave us only some characters from actual video games and then just focused on their own characters and worlds, The Lego Movie used close to every single world that they have ever made with Lego. Granted, some might be used only briefly and have just a line or two just as Lego Harry Potter and Lego Lord of the Rings just having Dumbledore and Gandalf appear and have a brief joke about them. But at the same time, you don't entirely care because it's great to see that they make sure almost every toy line has some for of cameo. The only one that they left out that I can think of is Marvel superheroes, but more then likely that's because that product line is so brand new and thus wouldn't have as much of an effects as the other ones. The film also took advantage of how creative you can be with Lego. One of the things that the trailer left me curious about was whether or not it would tackle the concept of just building things with Lego and not only did they do that, but they were really creative with it at some points. Then there's the characters themselves which are really likable. What really helps is the voice acting, which really helps make these characters a ton of fun. My favorite characters by far where Batman and Bad Cop. Batman was just what a parody of Batman should be. He's full of himself, he makes bat puns, he like to make anything that happens appear totally awesome, it's great. Bad Cop was also very fun to watch. There's something about him being voiced by Liam Neeson that just come out as enjoyable in whatever he does. He was however downplayed rather harshly around the second half of the film. Which is a shame because he had started out so strong with his personality and his habit of repeatedly kicking chairs that kept me laughing. But then by the second half, they hardly do anything with him. I think that's the biggest problem I have with this film personally, but I felt they could've done more with the development and humor with him. But I digress. The story itself is a great story to tell with the concept of Legos. It started off slow at first, but once it got going, it kept getting bigger and bigger and they kept adding more and more things to it. Some people might find this to be a problems and think that it makes the film feel a little too long, and I can see why. But what most likely is the real cherry on top for this movie is the last 15-20 ish minutes. Without spoiling anything, those last few minutes really help make the story itself turn out very thoughtful.

And that's my review for The Lego Movie. It takes advantage of the concept, it has fun jokes, fun characters and gives a surprisingly thoughtful story. Yes, some people might find it long and I for one didn't l ike how Bad Copw as downplayed, but at the end of the day, *singing* Everything is awesome!!!! (Aw, not again!!!) Everything is cool when you're part of the team!!!! Everything is awesome, when you're living the dream!!!!! (aw heck, one more time!!!) Everything is awesome, when you're living the dream!!!!!

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Rating: 25%
Well I said I was going to watch at least two of the other animated feature nominees besides Frozen and maybe The Wind Rises. So let's take a look at Despicable Me 2.

Plot: Gru has now stopped all of his plans as a villain and is now a devoted father to Margo, Edith and Agnes. But when a secret base gets stolen by an unknown villain, the Anti-Villain League recruits Gru to use his knowledge as an ex-villain to find out who is behind it. So he goes out to find the villain behind this with an agent named Lucy as his partner, while also dealing with his oldest adopted child, Margo, is starting to have feelings for a boy.

Okay, for the many of you who have mostly likely not seen my review for the first film...I didn't like it. I really, really wanted to. The trailers looked like it was going to be so hilarious and clever, but I thought it was so predictable and almost everything about it from there was just not that interesting, thus the hilarious and clever movie I thought I was going to see turned out to be Megamind. Which is ironic because I thought that was going to be stupid. Yeah, yeah I know, don't judge a book by its cover. So the other one was...better, but not by much. The story was less predictable, but not by a whole lot, it was a little nicer to see the girls and Gru together with the events of the first film behind them, and while I don't find the minions, they were giving a little more variety with their jokes. So the improvements are there...or at least the idea of those improvements. But I otherwise found those improvements to give me a film that's lacking almost as much as the first film. I mean I did try to see what was the big deal about it, but I just don't find it that funny or interesting. In some respects, I don't even think some of the side stories where structured that well. I mean how many scenes do the girls and Lucy have before the very end? Just one? And I feel like they were putting their faith in the minions a little too much when it came to the comedy. I mean a rendition of Y.M.C.A., really? And how so many of their other jokes in terms of slapstick and butt/fart jokes are as basic as you can get. I just can't get into it! Okay for all my criticizing, I will give the movie credit for the quick intro sequence of El Macho. That was pretty clever. But otherwise, I feel like I'm in the same boat I was in from the last film. Somewhere in there, this film can be more clever and funny then this. Granted, a lot of people seem to like this movie even more then the first, so maybe I'm missing something or expecting too little after the first movie. So I guess it's just something that isn't for me.

And that's my review for Despicable Me 2. It was doing some things better for what it's worth, but in the end, what I found was a movie that still faced the same problems of being predictable, unfunny and uninteresting almost just like the last film. You might like it better then I do considering how so many other people seem to enjoy it, but it's not my kind of film. If you want, take a look and see for yourself.

The Croods (2013)

Rating: 70%
So the Oscars are about a month away and for a while I wanted to take a look at the competition Frozen has for Best Animated Feature. Now as plenty of my friends and family might be aware, I of coarse will be infuriated with a desire for vengeance if for some demented reason Frozen "loses" to any other nominated film. But I am willing to be the bigger guy and see at least some of the other nominees. I might be able to see The Wind Rises before the Oscars when it comes to worldwide theaters on February 28th, and Ernest & Clestine...I just don't see winning in the slightest. But in the meantime, there's The Croods and Despicable Me 2 to take a look at and see if they actually have a chance against Frozen. I make no promises to believe any of them will, but for now, let's just take a look at these two, starting with The Croods.

Plot: The Croods are a caveman family who survive by hiding in a cave under the protection of the overprotective father, Grug. But when his daughter Eep disobeys and finds a boy named Guy, the family goes after her only to find their cave destroyed by an earthquake. Guy convinces them to head to a mountain where there is supposedly a paradise called Tomorrow that will save them from destruction.

Okay so when I saw a poster for this movie at AMC, I thought it was going to be stupid, and the fact that Emma Stone was in it, made me quiver with fear. You know, what with her being my favorite actress and all. The Audience: *groans* WE KNOW!!!! H.A.K.: All right! All right! Sheesh! Anyway, when I saw the reviews for it, I thought I'd see it at some point and just find it to be "eh". Now at last I've seen it and...surprisingly it was better then I thought it would be. The characters were fun (especially Grug and Eep), the animation was great, the creativity for the animals were great to look at, and the comedy for the most part had a lot of clever jokes. Some of the comedy even had to do with just the facial expressions some of the characters had to make. Grug especially has some really funny and well delivered faces that I just had to rewind and watch multiple times. The biggest problem I have with the film is that the story is pretty cliched. There was a number of stuff in the story that I more or less predicted would happen and it came out pretty distracting. But they at least delivered some of the beats during the very end fairly well that it didn't always turn out as distracting as I thought it would be.

And that's my review for The Croods. It's not too special in terms of the story, but it still has fun characters, good comedy, very good creativity with the creatures they gave us, and great animation to go with it all, making it not worthy of beating Frozen, but is still a nice film. If you haven't seen it, it's not a bad animated film to see.

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Rating:100%
As some of you know, I am very behind on how many best picture winner I usually see before the Oscars air, but luckily one nominee that I've been anticipating for a while is back in theaters for film buffs like me to see. So here at last is my review for 12 Years A Slave.

Plot: Solomon Northup was a free man living in New York with his wife and children until two men drug him and sell him into slavery. Dispite his pleas to get home with his family, he is sold to William Ford who starts out in good terms with Northup until a problem occurs with one of his men that forces him to sell him to another man named Edwin Epps. Epps is a much crueler man who whips his slaves bare believing it to be his right. All the while Northup's hope begins to diminish on whether or not he will be rescued.

The description for this movie that seems to be commonly said is that it is apologetically and/or unflinchingly brutal. And that pretty much fits the bill. 12 Years A Slave not only tells a story about slavery and racism that we haven't quite heard before, but gives us a more harshly detailed view to it that we haven't experienced in film before. In a way, you could say that Django Unchained was a prologue for this movie, in that how it goes a little into some details such has how slave owners viewed their slaves specifically as their property. But this film goes so much more realistic then Django Unchained ever really was. The beatings, whippings, the different kinds of slave owners, even rape. This film hardly backs down on how visually realistic everything that was happening back then was. But just like Captain Phillips, a lot of what this film bring could not be possible without the fantastic work from the cast. Whether it was Chiwetel Ejofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, even Brad Pitt surprisingly yet briefly enough, or whoever, the entire cast gave us so many big moments that really brought what was happening to the film. What also helps I began to realize was the editing, and how it had some scenes where they would hold a shot for a very long time such as when a woman was just looking up at the sky for 2-15-20 ish seconds before singing for a funeral or just a good half a minute of Northup thinking and looking around. At first I thought those moments seemed off to what was happening in the movie until I started to remember what I learned in film school about editing and how - for some editors, emotion is often the most important thing to capture when editing. So when I thought more about it, the more I began to realize that the editing really does the film credit even when it may take some time just holding a single shot of an actor just displaying all the emotion that their characters feels. Will this film win Best Editing? Maybe not. But thinking more about it, I can clearly see what makes it work so well that it has at least been nominated.      

And that's my review for 12 Years A Slave. It's an exceptional film that goes deeper then before on racism and slavery back in the 19th century with an excellent cast and editing that is more brutal but realistic view then what we've seen in most films like it. Will it win Best Picture? It's not quite for me to say since this is the third nomination I've seen, but if anything, it looks like one of the stronger nominees that has the potential to win as far as I can tell.