Sony Pictures Animation began in 2006 with "Open Season", then a year later came out with "Surf's Up" and followed that in early 2009 with the direct to DVD release of "Open Season 2". Each of those films is very funny, but "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is the studio's best yet!

"Cloudy" is loosely based on the popular children's book of the same name. We first meet the main character, Flint Lockwood, as a young boy. Flint is an inventor, and he's always wanted to invent something great so he could become popular and people, especially his father, would be proud of him.

After a series of bad inventions, Flint, now in his early 20's, hits it big by inventing a machine that makes food fall from the sky. He lives on an island where the people only eat sardines, so Flint's new invention brings him instant fame on the island and around the world, thanks to a TV weather girl, named Sam Sparks, who comes to town to cover the story.

However, the machine goes out of control and Flint, Sam and his pet monkey, have to try to shut-down the invention and save the world.

"Cloudy's" 90-minutes are packed with more great scenes and laughs than any movie of 2009. year. It's a comedy, love story and action-adventure film all in one! I can't wait to see it again to catch all the funny lines and inside jokes that I missed the first time.

Bill Hader voices Flint and leads an impressive cast that includes Anna Faris, James Caan, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker and even Mr. T.

The animation is fantastic, especially the cartoon food. And the fast-paced action scenes, especially when Flint is moving his hands so quickly on the computer, are amazing. I saw "Cloudy" in IMAX 3-D, which was phenomenal. No doubt the DVD and Blu-ray versions will look fantastic. And there is 2-disc Super Sized edition with plenty of cool extras.

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is rated PG for some brief, mild language and mild cartoon violence. It's appropriate for everyone 5 and up. Just don't watch it when you're hungry.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" gets a B+.

It finished #3 on my list of the Best Films of 2009.

"9" is like no animated movie you've ever seen. And that's both good and bad.

"9" is set in a futuristic world where all humans are gone, killed-off by man-made machines. The only living things still on Earth are a group of dolls, created by a scientist who hoped that they could help save the planet. Each of the dolls is numbered 1 thru 9.

The machines are constantly searching for the dolls, trying of killing them all off. Doll number 9 meets-up with the others and together, they try to defeat and destroy the machines.

Visually, "9" looks fantastic, great animation, especially in the many action scenes. But the rest of the film is a bit disappointing. The movie jumps right into the action, and we really don't get any time to learn about the different characters and so we never really care about them. The story never works on you emotionally. The trailer provided more tension than the entire movie.

And the plot is very basic: dolls fight machines, a few of them die, they fight again, a few more die, and they fight some more. No "edge of your seat" moments. Much too simple and straight-forward.

Elijah Wood voices 9. Christopher Plummer and Jennifer Connelly are among the other voice actors but none of them add much to their characters.

"9" is rated PG-13 for action violence and some scary images. Younger children may be frightened by some of the scenes. The film isn't designed for young kids, but it really isn't as scary as it's being advertised. It's appropriate for ages 9 and up, but if your children are only used to animated movies with talking toys, sea creatures and zoo animals "9" is not for them.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "9" gets a C, a much lower grade than I was expecting to give.

Tim Burton was a producer on "9", but this is young writer-director Shane Acker's baby, developed from his Oscar nominated (2005) short film of the same name. It's too bad Burton didn't have more of a creative role because he definitely would have made the story more interesting.

In the early 1940's, an extraordinary event happened in the life of Walt Disney, and it had nothing to do with Mickey Mouse.

The new documentary, "Walt & El Grupo", a the story that very few people, even Disney fans, know about. Just prior to the start of World War II there were troubled times at the Walt Disney Studios - a strike! Walt needed a way to escape the troubles and get his studio back on track. At the same time, the U.S. government was looking for a way to make South America friendly with our side in the upcoming war, and keep the Nazi's out.

So, the government paid for Walt and 13 other artists from the studio (the El Grupo) to take a trip to South America, which lasted for 3-months. The documentary chronicles the trip through letters, old pictures and movie footage and the words of relatives of the people who made the trip, which resulted in two movies: "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Caballeros".

This is an engaging story, directed by Theodore Thomas, the son of famed Disney animator Frank Thomas, who was on the trip. I interviewed Thomas following the screening I attended in Hollywood and he told me of the tremendous amount of research that went into making the film and that the original cut was over 5-hours long!

If you are a Disney buff, this films is a must.

"Walt & El Grupo" is rated PG for historical smoking. That's right, HISTORICAL SMOKING. The movie is appropriate for all ages, though most kids will be frustrated that there is very little animated footage and a lot of the film is in subtitles.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Walt and El Grupo" gets a B+. It's being released in NY and LA this week, and then will slowly make it's way around the country. If you see that it's coming to your city makes plans to see it. It's entertaining, educational and the music is great!

"Shorts" is a Robert Rodriquez creation, so you'd expect a lot of special effects. However, "special" is a word that should never be used to describe this movie. "Awful" is that word.

In "Shorts" a kid named Toby, who has no friends, meets a couple of kids and they find a rainbow-colored rock that allows wished to come true. All of a sudden everyone wants the rock, including the adults, who are hoping to become rich, powerful, happy and everything else that people wish for.

Right from the start "Shorts" is a disaster. There's an opening staring contest sequence that isn't funny and continues throughout the film. The main story is predictable and goofy (in a bad way). Laughs? Forget it.

As for the acting, all of the kids are painful to watch. Meantime comic actors Leslie Mann and John Cryer and serious actors James Spader and William H. Macy are all part of the cast, and the way the film turned-out they can't be happy that they're associated with it.

And as for those effects, they're cheap, and often disgusting.

"Shorts" is divided into parts or "shorts", and the stories bounce back and forth in a way that's both confusing and reveals parts of the plot out of order.

Rodriquez had a hand in every aspect of the film: writing, directing, editing, picking the songs. He even had most of his family members playing roles. Yikes!

"Shorts" is rated PG for mild fantasy action. It's not appropriate for anyone. I saw "Shorts" at Grauman's Theater in Hollywood this past summer. I still can't believe that the first film I ever saw at that historic theater was, what could be, my worst film of the year. 

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Shorts" gets an F.

There are going to be too many good movies out this holiday season for you to waste your time and money on renting or buying "Shorts". And if anyone gives it to you for Christmas, as for the receipt.

"Ponyo" is the latest, charming animated film from Oscar winning director Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle". This time Disney was involved as the distributor and many famous celebrities lent their voices to the American version of this Japanese hit. Miyazaki's other classic films are being re-released as well, so if you enjoy "Ponyo", definitely take a look at the others.

The movie tells the story of a young fish who wants to become human and the 5-year old boy who finds her and takes her out of the sea. The boy names the fish Ponyo. Ponyo's mean father wants her back and wants to keep her as a fish. Kinda sounds like "The Little Mermaid", doesn't it?

Ponyo is determined to be a little girl and she and the boy, named Sosuke, are put to the test, after a tsunami floods the entire village. If their young love is true, the planet will return to it's natural balance.

"Ponyo" is unlike the animated movies that come out of Hollywood. It's traditional cel animation, full of elaborate colors and wonderfully imaginative sequences. No 3-D. No CGI. Yet it's as vibrant as any film I've seen this year.

The voice cast is top-notch, led by Tina Fey and Liam Neeson. Miley's Cyrus's younger sister Noah does the voice of Ponyo and the youngest Jonas Brother, Frankie, plays Sosuke.

"Ponyo" is rated G. It's good for everybody, but parents, understand that this is not a Disney or DreamWorks creation. The Japanese style may surprise or confuse some kids at first, but don't let that stop you from taking them to "Ponyo", as both they, and you, will enjoy it.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Ponyo" get a solid B. It's a sweet, cleaver and fun film for the kids and perfect for a nice. calm day at home.

It's a movie about high school kids...and music. But it's not from Disney and Zac Efron is nowhere to be seen.

In "Bandslam" a high school student named Will moves to New Jersey. He didn't have any friends in his old school so he's hoping things will be different this time. He meets two girls: one who he has to do a school project with (played by "High School Musical"'s Vanessa Hudgens), and the other who wants to start-up a band (Aly Michalka of "Aly and A.J.").

Will becomes the manager of the band, decides to make some changes and then enters the group into the Bandslam competition, where the winner gets a recording contract. Along the way he, and the other members of the band, deal with issues of romance, anger and the battle to become famous.

If you are one of those people who saw the trailer or read about "Bandslam" when it was released last summer, thought it looked corny and predictable, and skipped it, here's your chance to make-up for your mistake. The script does not follow the typical formula for these kind of stories.

The performances are great, led by newcomer Galen O'Connell as Will. And Lisa Kudrow is very believable as Will's mom. And the songs are quite catchy.

This is more of a smaller film than, say, the "HSM" trilogy, but I liked it that way. The plot is simple, but the film keeps you entertained from start to finish. There are some light moments but also some serious ones, with a nice, underlying message about the importance of friendship.

"Bandslam" is rated PG for some mild language and dramatic moments. It's good for kids 7 and older, but younger fans of Hudgens and Aly may be disappointed that they don't spend the whole time on camera singing. However, anyone who plays an instrument or belongs to a band will really get into it.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Bandslam" gets a high B! It was one of my favorite films of 2009. Check it out and see why.

This summer Paramount brought us three big-budget action films. The first one - “Star Trek - was a big hit with critics and at the box office. The second - “Tranformers 2” - didn’t get great reviews but is the highest-grossing film of the year.

The third was “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, which, for me, was a pleasant surprise. 

The movie is based on the very popular Hasbro toys. My dad had one of the original G.I. Joe action figures when he was a kid. Now he has three…but none of them look like these guys.

The main characters in “G.I. Joe” are a pair of Army soldiers (played by Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayons) who join the elite Special-Forces Team called “G.I. Joe.” These soldiers are only called-upon for the most dangerous missions.

And they have one, as an evil weapons dealer has gotten his hands on a group of metal-eating micro-robots and he plans on using them to take over the world.

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” could’ve easily been called “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Special Effects”. About 90% of the movie is car chases, explosions, fighting scenes, flying scenes, and stunts (including one involving the Eiffel Tower). And none of it looks real, but you know what? That didn’t bother me.

“G.I. Joe” is all about “Fantasy Action”. The kind of stuff that kids would dream-up while playing with their G.I. Joes. Wild and crazy stuff…that’s also exciting and fun.

A lot of the scenes in the movie are loud, but not as painful as “Tranformers 2”. And even though it’s 2-hours long, “G.I. Joe” moves along pretty quickly. The plot is basic and easy to follow, though there are a few twists.

None of the actors who play the soldiers have much acting to do. Dennis Quaid plays the Commander of the Joes and Sienna Miller plays the girlfriend turned bad.

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is rated PG-13 for all the action-violence and a couple of bad words. It’s appropriate for kids 8 and up.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” gets a B!

The end of the movie sets things up for a sequel. No word from the studio, as yet, if there will be one. Maybe the DVD sales will decide it.

Write a comment

• Required fields are marked with *.

Name:
Email:
Subject:
Comment: *

anonymous
Posts: 3

Re: Movie Reviews
Reply #1 on : Sun April 11, 2010, 10:52:58

---

BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the past few years Disney has churned-out several live-action films with talking dogs, including "Underdog" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua". In "G-Force" Guinea pigs take center stage.

The movie centers around a group of animal special agent super spies, known as G-Force, who are put into action to try to stop an evil businessman from using his appliances to take over the world. The agents - 3 guinea pigs, a fly and a mole - were trained by the government, but the government decides to shut them down, so they have to work on their own to try to save the day.

Have we seen stories like this before? Yes. The plot of "G-Force is very predicable at times, though there are a few interesting twists.

The movie is funny, but not "laugh out loud" funny. There are some cute lines and references, but not enough original jokes or funny situations. There are some decent action sequences and the 3-D, for a live-action film, is top-notch.

The voices are O.K. Tracy Morgan adds some personality to the voice of Blaster, Oscar winner Penelope Cruz voices Juarez and Nicholas Cage is undetectable as Speckles the mole. Most of the performances by the real actors aren't very convincing, especially Will Arnett, who plays a mean government official.

"G-Force is rated PG for some mild action-violence and a few scenes of peril. It's aimed at younger kids - say 5-9, who should enjoy the talking animals. However, unlike many animated movies released this year, there isn't much in "G-Force" to keep parents interested.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, Disney's "G-Force" gets a C.

One of Disney's most disappointing films of the year, but then again, you can't always expect to be pleased by Guinea pigs.