‘Cars’ sequel a lemon

‘Cars’ sequel a lemon

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/cars-sequel-a-lemon/

Courtesy Disney/Pixar

“Cars 2”

Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine

Director: John Lasseter and Brad Lewis

Studio: Disney/Pixar

Grade: C

It’s a sad day when a Pixar movie disappoints.

Disney/Pixar’s newest film, “Cars 2,” celebrates Pixar’s 25th year of animation. Unfortunately, it seems the studio forgot some things about what it takes to make a good sequel.

“Cars 2” begins in the middle of the Pacific Ocean as spy car Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) begins to gather information on a vague — but obviously dastardly — plot that appears to be organized by villainous Professor Zündapp (Thomas Kretschmann).

Cut to Radiator Springs, where Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) still lives with his friends, including Mater the tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy), during his offseason from racing. After another car, Francesco Bernoullii baits him to travel to and race in the World Grand Prix, McQueen begins to fight with Mater, whose redneck habits embarrass him. Then, following a series of coincidences, Mater is mistaken for a secret agent who’s supposed to meet with McMissile.

The entire film becomes an action-packed series of Mater-driven shenanigans filled with explosions and jokes, meant to convey a message about being yourself and cherishing your friends. Too bad it doesn’t work.

Remember the first film, where McQueen was forced to slow down in a small town? The film had a relaxed atmosphere, with developed and realistic characters who told a relatable story. It wasn’t perfect — some critics complained that the first film was too slow — but it was still enjoyable.

The sequel overcompensates— it’s too fast. Character development and tension got torn out because there’s no time for anything to develop, and the story drags audiences along without time to fully enjoy the jokes. And the action almost completely hides the message the movie tries to deliver.

Worse, the fast-paced drive of this film completely undermines the point of the original — slowing down. Pixar doesn’t take the time to combine the best of both worlds to create an interesting, fun sequel with some emotional depth. Instead, it makes “Cars 2” pure action.

As an added blow, most of the old characters (minus Mater) feel hollow during their 10 minutes of screen time. Mentor Doc Hudson, voiced in the first film by Paul Newman, disappears completely after the actor’s death, and with him goes one of the strongest characters. The others, including McQueen, receive the same kind of treatment, with lazy voice acting and poor characterization failing to add familiarity to what already feels like a brand new world.

Both best and worst of all, the film begins with a traditional short story clip about the characters from “Toy Story” following the conclusion of the third film. It coaxes a smile out of fans while also delivering a punch in the gut, as Pixar reminds audiences that it has made sequels that surpassed their predecessors.

Perhaps one of the only saving graces in this film is Michael Caine’s voice-acting and the new characters, which distract from the various disasters going on elsewhere. In addition, the animation impresses and creates a decent atmosphere by capturing the excitement of traveling the “Cars 2” world, the elation of flying through the air and, occasionally, the suspense from the nefarious plot that’s afoot as bullets and explosions threaten Mater and the spy cars..

Still, the animation cannot repair the damage done to this established franchise. Frankly, Pixar should have made this story into a film independent of “Cars.” As is, it completely ignores the themes of the first film and accordingly — aside from the familiar characters — barely feels like an actual sequel.

While it has its moments, “Cars 2” turns so far away from its predecessor that it’s almost unrecognizable. In the end, it’s just an immature film which deviates from Pixar’s style of appealing to both children and adults. Better luck next summer, Pixar.

Fifth film explains enmity between Professor X and Magneto

Fifth film explains enmity between Professor X and Magneto

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/fifth-film-explains-enmity-between-professor-x-and-magneto/

“X-Men: First Class”

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Studio: Marvel Entertainment

Grade: B

The third “X-Men” film was iffy and the fourth flopped — so when the trailers for “X-Men: First Class,” a prequel to the former flicks, first appeared, fans of the original movie groaned.

But those fans might have lamented too quickly. “X-Men: First Class” breathes new life into the series with an energetic cast and an action-packed story. The plot shifts its focus from the franchise’s main characters, instead telling the tale of a newly varied group, including two of the big players from previous installments, Professor X and Magneto.

The “X-Men” series explores a world in which human mutations have created beings with special powers. Themes of prejudice and acceptance dominate throughout as mutants attempt to co-exist with normal humans, who often fear or loathe the powerful hybrids.

“First Class” focuses on the leaders of the future mutant movement as young adults living during the Cold War.

The movie departs a bit from the storyline of the “X-Men” comics, which is understandable — as so many variations exist in the comics that translating the complex stories to the screen creates headaches for directors. It’s refreshing to see filmakers take inspiration from original source material while putting their own spin on the story.

The film features the younger versions of telepath Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), later known as Professor X, and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), called “Magneto” because of his ability to generate and control magnetism.

“First Class” begins with the young Erik losing his mother in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He spends the following years hunting down those responsible, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Charles lives with Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), a shape shifter, as the pair of close friends study at Oxford.

When a CIA agent comes to Charles for help, fate brings him and Erik together during a brief fight against the film’s villain, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) — a man from Erik’s past intent on causing nuclear war. The two then team up to track down mutants around the world as they search for potential help against the enemy.

Throughout the film, Charles believes that the good he and his fellow mutants can do for mankind will outweigh the bad. Erik, doubtful, plows ahead with plans of revenge on Shaw.

For fans of the franchise, it’s blatantly obvious during the film what the final outcome will be — Professor X and Magneto as enemies. Despite this, Matthew Vaughn spins a tale interesting enough to keep all viewers entertained during the journey.

The characters are rounded overall: Their personalities develop over time, and they deliver some humor along the way. They interact well as comrades and also gradually exhibit the fear and betrayal that is inevitable in the story.

One of the best — and worst — parts of this film are the attempts to connect it with the other parts of the franchise, such as showing the design for the ship used in previous movies. They don’t always work and will sometimes leave fans scratching their heads. But the film is generally tied together well andfeatures cameos from a few recognizable and much-loved characters — including one vulgar appearance from the universal favorite badass of the series.

This film never quite succeeds in making the setting feel like the 1960s: The characters feel, dress and act too modern to pull the time period off. But this is a minor pitfall. There are times when the performances, too, lack believability because of those too-modern touches, but that’s quickly forgotten during the riveting final battle.

Overall, this is a slightly flawed but fun addition to a popular series, and it certainly signals an upswing from the last two “X-Men” movies.

‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ leaves room for more movies

‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ leaves room for more movies

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/kung-fu-panda-2-leaves-room-for-more-movies/

Courtesy DreamWorks Animation

Jack Black poses with his character Po.

“Kung Fu Panda 2”

Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman

Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Grade: A

A villainous peacock is out to take over China and must be stopped by a band of epic kung fu warriors — one of whom has a personal connection with the terrifying enemy.

It sounds laughable, but DreamWorks managed to convert this incredible concept into a legitimately dramatic and tearfully emotional plot in the making of “Kung Fu Panda 2.” The animated action comedy might now become a six-part series as its success continues.

Fans of the first “Kung Fu Panda” should remember how the adventure began: A panda named Po (Jack Black) worked with his father in a noodle shop while dreaming of being a kung fu warrior fighting alongside the Furious Five, a group of famous martial artists, each of whom practiced a different style of fighting. Po turned out destined to be the sixth fighter — the Dragon Warrior. The first film left off with Po having earned the respect of his peers.

“Kung Fu Panda 2” picks up from there, and viewers follow the story of the previously dysfunctional band of warriors who have forgotten their differences and begin to work together as an intimidating team.

The group’s next task is to defeat Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), a white peacock who commands an army of wolves, uses machinery and cannons to defeat his enemies and plans to take down all kung fu warriors. The Furious Five and Dragon Warrior must defeat Lord Shen to save China as well as the art of kung fu.

Along the way, though, Po finds himself struggling with his past. He ultimately must find inner peace to master the next step in his training and defeat Lord Shen.

This film is surprisingly epic. Whereas the first film focused on a small group of characters facing a single enemy, its sequel pits the team of warriors against entire armies.

The voice cast strengthens the film throughout. Oldman makes for an impressive villain. Jack Black and the other cast members certainly portray their characters well and achieve an emotional energy that draws in the viewer.

The lifelike animation makes the kung fu scenes in the film phenomenal; — animators obviously paid attention to detail. The direction increased the scale of the project for film two and created larger scenes with more fighters, moves and effects.

Between the images, character development and acting, “Kung Fu Panda 2” is not only dramatic and action-packed but also intense and emotional. It runs the risk of bringing tears to viewers’ eyes as they learn about what happened to Po and why he ended up being raised by a goose rather than by his biological parents.

The only real downfall of the film is that occasionally the humor doesn’t work. Some jokes act as throwbacks to the first film and don’t quite function in the dramatic mood being set by such a large adventure. Still, this only serves as a minor and forgivable pitfall.

Don’t be surprised when a third “Panda” comes out — the ending of this movie was as clear a sign for a pending sequel as we’ll ever get.