Cars 3 has heart and impressive animation

Movie Title:  Cars 3 (Theatrical)

Grade:  B+

Rating:   G, 109 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This family-friendly flick is the third installment in the Cars franchise.  By the way, the Cars ride at California Adventures next to Disneyland in California is really great.  You’ll need to race over there first thing in the morning to get a Fast Pass. They have done a really good job creating a Cars area too. 

Uplifting theme: 

• “You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.” – Mater (Larry the Cable Guy)                 
• “Don’t feel failure.  Be afraid of not having the chance!” – Sally (Bonnie Hunt)
• “Try something new.” – Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson)
• “You can use anything negative as fuel to push through to the positive.” – Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo)
• “The truth is always quicker.” – old car (What’s his name?)
• Believe in yourself.

Things I liked:

• The animation is extremely impressive.
• The training sequences were pretty cute.
• A lot of really beautiful landscapes and environments.
• It earns its Pixar magic in the Third Act.  Very sweet.
• Parents and grandparents might be able to relate to the feeling of aging and being  past their prime, like Lightning McQueen feels.  There is a positive lesson here for all of us old farts.
• It’s great to hear John Ratzenburger’s voice again. Other familiar, favorite voice talents include Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, Bonnie Hunt, Kerry Washington, Nathan Fillion, Bob Costas, and of course, Owen Wilson.

Things I didn’t like:

• The story is very similar to the first movie in that an old driver (Doc Hudson) has-been tries to make a comeback.
• How many kids (which is the target audience) are going to be able to relate to a midlife crisis?
• There is a LOT of time spent racing.  That might lose the interest of some little girls.
• Despite being a racing moving, it's a little slow-moving.  Ironic, eh?
• There isn't as much humor as the first movie.

Trivia:

• Paul Newman was the original voice of Doc Hudson.  They used some of the unused audio clips from the first movie to add his voice to this film after his death.  By the way, did you know Paul Newman was a race car driver for many years?
• Mack drives through Arlo’s family farm, which was shown in Pixar’s movie The Good Dinosaur.
• One of the new racers whose number is 31 is sponsored by Triple Dent Gum, which was the gum commercial that annoyed Anger in the movie Inside Out.
• The only other Pixar film to have a 3^rd movie installment is Toy Story.
• All three Cars movies came out around the same time as Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
• Look closely and you’ll see a Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story during the demolition scene.

Funny lines:

• “Life’s a beach and then you drive.” – Lighning McQueen

Tips for parents: 

• This is very safe for children of all ages.  There is no profanity or anything inappropriate. 
• There are some car crashes.

Want to catch up on the first two movies in this franchise? 
Cars
Cars 2


@trinaboice 

Zoolander 2 has more cameos than humor

Movie Title:      Zoolander No.2

Grade:   C+

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 40 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Blue steel is back!  If you loved the first Zoolander movie, like I did, you’ll generally get a kick out of this sequel.  If you didn’t enjoy it, then you’ll want to pass on this one, because it’s more of the same goofy nonsense.

Filled with TONS of celebrity cameos and a very thin plot, this ridiculous satire of the fashion industry and pop culture features Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen.

Uplifting theme: 

• “How can you expect to love 11 people when you don’t even love yourself?” – Kiefer Sutherland (playing himself)
• What’s inside you is more important than what’s outside.
• Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Things I liked:

• The film includes special appearances of some of the icons in the fashion industry: Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang, Valentino, Alexander Wang, Anna Wintour, and Mark Jacobs.
• Benedict Cumberbatch!
• You get a little history lesson in the beginning to fill you in on what has happened since the first Zoolander movie came out.  Has it really been 15 years?
• Other celebrity cameos include: Billy Zane, Ariana Grande, Kiefer Sutherland, Willie Nelson, Katie Perry, Sting, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Susan Boyle, Madonna, Usher, Lenny Kravitz, John Malkovich, M.C. Hammer, Olivia Munn, and many more.  Susan Sarandon appears and quotes a line she said in the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show .
• #oops!
• Penelope Cruz works for Interpol in the Fashion Division.  Ha ha
• There isn’t a surprise at the end of the credits, but you can watch Mugatu dance as they roll.
• I liked what they did with Fred Armisen’s character.
• The beginning of the movie with Justin Bieber was pretty funny.
• A lot of the movie is filmed in Rome!  I love Rome!  Here are some pictures I took there during my last visit there a couple of years ago.

Things I didn’t like:

• Kristen Wiig’s character is so repulsive and hard to understand that there is very little humor on the screen when she appears.  I do, however, think it’s funny that she “floats”, rather than walks.
• Some of the fashion gags get a little tired.
• I actually laughed out loud several times, but most of the humor is really, really, ridiculously stupid and you can see them coming a mile away.
• For a movie to have a sequel, it has to have a good reason to exist.  Other than a money grab, there just isn't much there.  Huge Zoolander fans will probably be disappointed by that.

Funny lines:

• “I miss not knowing things with you.” – Derek
•  “Prison changed me.  I’m bad to the core now!” - Mugatu
• “Don’t drink the water or you’ll die.” – VIP
• Farm-to-table Wi-Fi….ha ha
• “All is all just married hermself.  Mono-marriage is legal in Rome now.” – VIP
• “We were a joke out there…a total laughing stick.” – Derek
• “Please accept my apologies, Derek.” – Valentina Valencia

“None taken.” – Derek

• “You’re the most narcissistic person I’ve ever met.” – Derek Junior

“But that’s not how I see myself.” – Derek

• “I’m not fat.” – Derek Junior

“He’s Plus Size!” - Derek

Tips for parents:   

• 1 F-bomb, although you get to hear Justin Bieber say “Oh fudge!”  Penelope Cruz swears in Spanish.
• Like the orgy scene in the first Zoolander movie, there is another one with Hansel.  
• Penelope Cruz is practically falling out of her bathing suit and blouses in every scene.  Zoolander grabs her chest in one scene and has an “aroused” profile in another.
• Mugatu and Todd have another odd sexual facial exchange like in the first film.
• Most of the characters are extremely shallow.  Talk to your kids about self-esteem and the importance of not judging people by their appearance alone.

Night at the Museum nods a fond farewell to fans, Robin Williams, and Mickey Rooney

Movie:  Night at the Museum 3

PG, 1 hour 30 minutes

Grade: B

In a Nutshell:  If you’re a fan of this edutainment franchise, you’ll enjoy seeing some of your favorite characters again, as well as meeting a few new ones, including a Neanderthal that looks like Larry Daley (Ben Stiller)  and Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey Season 1-3 ).  We get to visit the famous British Museum while slapsticking our way through calculated goofy moments and funny lines.

The door is always open for another sequel, but it also feels like the dust may settle on this one as an appropriate and fond farewell.  There are a few touching moments and enough humorous ones to keep the entire family entertained.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Be careful or the magic might die.  (Is that a lesson that the new writers learned while writing this?)

   *  Family is who you surround yourself with.

   *  Enjoy every moment of life.

·          

Things I liked:

·         It was wonderful seeing Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt again.  We miss you.  Before the credits rolled at the end, the screen displayed the words “In loving memory of Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams.  Magic never dies.”  Sweet.

·         I also loved seeing Dick Van Dyke.  He’s still got moves!

·         Hugh Jackman makes a cameo performance, playing himself.  Ben Stiller's character runs past him and says “I just want to say, you’re the whole package.”

·         The star constellation performance was super cool.   "Of course they're special effects!  How could they not be special effects?"   (Dr. McPhee)

·         Capuchin on silks.  Ha ha

·         I thought the research librarian was hilarious.   “Oo la la.”

·         Great aerial views of London.  I’m going there next June with the fam!

·         Ricky Gervais does a great job playing the quirky Dr. McPhee.  The comedic timing during his awkward moments scene with Larry was fantastic.

·         Nick Daley is almost all grown up now. Skyler Gisondo has natural talent.  You might have seen him in The Amazing Spider-Man ; The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , as well asHalloween .  I'd like to see more of him.

  .    Rebel Wilson as Tilly the British Museum security guard was hilarious and should have been used more.

·          

Things I didn’t like:

·         Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan) don’t have the same magical spark they did in the first installment of this trilogy, but they were still cute.

      I would have liked to see more exhibits and characters in the British museum come to life.  There were so many more ways the movie could have poked fun at our beloved Britts.

·          

Funny lines:

·         “Who would have ever thought…I’m wax and she’s polyurethane, but it works.” – Teddy Roosevelt

·         “Summon the apparatus!” – Octavius

·         “I don’t know what’s come over me, but I like it.” – Jedediah

·         “You’ll rue the day you mocked us with your hypnotic blue eyes.” – Octavius

·         “Keep the scrunchies.”  - Tilly

·         “You can’t catch light.  It’s as evasive as human happiness.”  - Jedediah as he watches YouTube videos of kittens chase a flashlight.

·         “My boyfriend says he doesn’t like the way I do my hair.  He says it looks like a golden poo.” – Tilly

·         “With their size, they’ll bake like tiny, little scarabs in the Egyptian desert.  Too dark?” –  Rami Malek

Interesting things:

·         The investor guy with glasses in the beginning of the movie looked like the bad guy in Indiana Jones' Raiders of the Lost Ark. He says “I can’t help but feeling we’re making a terrible mistake.”   The Indiana Jones character in this movie then says “We’re not making a mistake; we’re making history.”

·         You don’t need to stay until the end of the credits.  There are a few clips of the crew dancing, but nothing else shows once the credits begin rolling.

·          

Tips for Parents:

·         Octavius makes several odd homosexual innuendos about Sir Lancelot.

In case you missed the first 2 installments, check them out here for cheap!