MOVIE REVIEW: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon is one of those movies you dismiss upon first glance after seeing the ugly title trailing numerous cartoony antics in the previews. So, of course, nothing else compelled me more to see it than after it started gaining a certain amount of buzz in the past year. It's not the next Shrek and it wasn't anywhere near as compelling as Toy Story 3, but it was damn fine entertainment than most kids movies I'm coerced into watching, from time to time.

In the ancient times when vikings pillaged the Nordic seas, dragons were once their only foe. And for vikings, hunting dragons was a celebrated (and inescapable) pastime, due to the rash of dragon attacks affecting their lands for years. Unfortunately, for young Hiccup (who's a hilarious dead-ringer for Justin Bieber), dragon-hunting is not his forte. Hiccup decides to change things when he proves his worth for dragon-fighting school, after incidentally shooting down a young dragon. However, when Hiccup begins to bond with the dragon, who he names "Toothless", he discovers there's more to the fractitious relationship between humans and dragons than he originally believed.

Dragon is a meaningful story about learning acceptance for others and following one's dreams. Yet in true Hollywood fashion, it's cleverly disguised as a vivid, CGI fantasy tale for kids. The pace is brisk and the voice acting is stellar. Not quite sure why all the vikings speak with Scots-Irish brogues, but it amused me for sure. At least they didn't have them go all-out "Swedish Chef", or something horribly stereotyped towards Scandinavians. The story does unearth some of the typical good-versus-evil cliches every now-and-then, especially towards the conclusion. But there is actual pathos in Dragon, rather than a cop-out happy ending for sentimentality's sake. There's lessons to be learned for each of the characters, and that's what makes the film most significant amongst the crop of kids flicks of the past year.

8/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Rango (2011)

My first reaction to seeing the poster and trailer for Rango was "Kermit the Frog's cracked-out chameleon cousin" (there's even a joke in the film about the relationship between amphibians and reptiles, go figure). The characters in Rango are so odd-looking, I'd expect the most overprotective of parents to be repulsed by their appearances in fear of how their kids might react. Nevertheless, Rango is a case of "never judge a book by it's cover", the story, spirit, and voice acting are what make this otherwise unorthodox, strikingly Tarantino-esque children's film very memorable.

A thespian chameleon with an identity crisis, Rango comes to adopt his name after his knack at improvisation lands him a new job as the sherrif of the town "Dirt". As he brings the town to believe that he's a tough, gun-slinger, he investigates a town water-shortage that's been brought on by a recent drought. Rango rounds up a posse, made up of the local town critters, and they go on an adventure that features some of the funniest action and adventure sequences I've seen in an animated film in years. Packed with homages from Apocalypse Now, to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, even the humor is enough to entertain adults as much as the kids.

Is there anything really that bad I can say about Rango? Well, I guess it can be a little cliche and abstract at times. It's also incredibly irreverant, so be prepared for some moments of weird humor that otherwise falls flat in comparison to most of the other wittier gags. If you're an adult seeing Rango thought, you're probably seeing it for the performances, and Johnny Depp, as usual, is fantastic. It was refreshing to see him play a socially awkward, occasionally wimpy-type since Sleepy Hollow, and the cartoon medium serves his performance wonderfully with Rango's un-humanly, wacky body language. Perhaps this may very well be my pick for Best Animated Film of The Year; not nearly as much of the emotional depth of last year's winner, Toy Story 3, but a lot of fun, for sure.

8/10

Peace,
- Jon