The Emoji movie is not only "Meh", but "Bleh"

Movie Title: 
The Emoji Movie

Grade:  D

Rating: PG, 86 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Meh. Rumor has it that this film was Sony’s last effort to make a good movie before going bankrupt.  I doubt that's true, but I have a feeling they’re not going to be posting any happy emojis when they see how audiences are reacting to this disappointing movie.

Unfortunately, It appears to be a blatant money grab, as well as a copycat of Pixar’s successful movie Inside Out (Theatrical). 

Based on the idea that high schooler’s lives revolve around cell phones, the animated emojis live in a colorful, nonsensical world called Textropolis.  In fact, the narrator (Meh) exclaims cell phones as the “most important invention in the history of communication.” Ummm...no.  I love using emojis too, but I love language even more...and real human interaction.

Uplifting theme: 

• Individuality, express yourself
• “Being #1 doesn’t matter if there aren’t any other numbers.” – Meh, Jail Break
• “I’d rather have a real friend.” – Meh, hand
• It’s OK to have a lot of different emotions.
• Friendship, loyalty

Things I liked:

• The talented voice cast includes T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Christina Aguilera, and Sofia Vergara.  Can you believe Patrick Stewart plays “Poop”?!
• Good music.
• The parents of “Meh” talk in monotone, which is pretty funny, especially when you recognize comedian Steven Wright's voice who is absolutely perfect for his role.
• The YouTube video of the kitten getting tickled got more reaction out of the audience than anything else in the entire movie.  

• Tons of poop jokes.  Who doesn't love the poop emoji?  Some movie critics are using it to describe this movie. The poop emojis are in a lot of scenes and easy to write gags for.  I thought it was cute when the young poop followed his dad out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck on his foot.
• There’s a quick look at WeChat, which Meh describes as “a whole other world.”  That’s for sure.  I’ve been to China twice this year and have been completely amazed with WeChat.  You can invite a friend out to dinner, make a reservation at a restaurant, call a taxi service to take you there, pay for dinner, and all without ever leaving the app.  You can even pay for vending machines, go shopping, shake your cell phone to win prizes, and soooooo much more, all on WeChat.  It’s like all of America’s apps built into one.
• When you see The Emoji Movie in the movie theater, you’ll also get to see the animated short called “Puppy”, based on the characters from Hotel Transylvania.

Things I didn’t like:

• Really dumb script and plot.
• It’s just not funny.  When I arrived in the theater, kids were bouncing out of their seats with excitement.  Once the movie started, they became almost comatose.
• Predictable, obligatory dance number at the end of the movie that fell flat.
• The sub-plot of Meh's parents almost divorcing was bizarre.
• A ridiculous amount of product placement.
• Some of the dialogue is just absurd.

Funny lines:

• “My mom just joined Facebook.  Can you believe she wanted to friend me?” – school girl
• “We’re number two!  We’re number two!” – poop emojis
• “What could a teenage boy possibly want to hide from his parents?” - Meh (T.J. Miller)

Dumb lines:

• “We have business to attend to.” – monkey emojis

“What kind?” – Meh

“Monkey business!” – monkey emojis

• “Words aren’t cool.” – boy’s friend’
• “That’s what matters in life: popularity.” – High 5 (James Corden) 

Tips for parents: 

• Your kids deserve a better movie.
• Talk of piracy, skins, and a ton of social media programs.

MOVIE REVIEW MOM

@trinaboice 

Nerve has more suspense than brains

Movie Title:   Nerve

  

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 96 minutes

In a Nutshell:  “Nerve is a 24 hour game like truth or dare minus the truth.”   

This suspenseful movie is made for teens who are obsessed with themselves and think everyone else is too.  It appeals to adrenaline junkies who want to be “instafamous” and offers an interesting commentary about social media.

Teenagers will probably think this movie is super cool.  Be forewarned:  Do NOT try these dares at home…or any other place.

Themes: 

• “Are you a watcher or player?” - Nerve game
• “Life is passing you by.  You need to take a few risks every once in a while.” – Sydney (Emily Meade)
• Everyone has an inner desire to be famous.
• “It’s easy to be brave in a crowd.” – Vee
• Even though we can be anonymous online, there are still very real consequences to our virtual actions.

Things I liked:

• This is surprisingly entertaining.  The action is non-stop.
• Pretty good music soundtrack, although it usually tells you how to feel in almost every scene.
• I like the size of Sydney’s cell phone.  Ha ha
• It’s definitely suspenseful.
• Emma Roberts and Dave Franco have great chemistry together.
• New York City and Staten Island vistas at every turn.
• Hey, this isn’t a remake! Finally, a summer movie that isn't a remake of something else! There is, however, another movie made years ago with Michael Douglas called “The Game”, which has a similar story but without all of the digital effects and social media aspects.
• Almost every scene has neon in it.  The movie feels young and energetic.
• Some movie critics say there isn’t really any resolution in the end, but I actually thought it worked.  It was fast, but then so was the entire movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• The idea is that the camera sees everything, yet there is no one actually there filming at every angle.  Don’t think very hard, because most of the things in this movie don’t make sense.
• This is what happens when you have kids with more time than brains.
• The loss of a loved one and the inability to move on is a clichéd background story.  The movie doesn't spend very much time on character development, but does insert a brief backstory that fuels the motivation for each character.
• NOT a spoiler alert: I don’t appreciate that they make the cops out to be the bad guys. 
• I hate it when people are afraid to report crimes being committed because then they're labeled a snitch.  Isn't the crime a LOT worse than being a "tattle-tale"?  One of the rules in the Nerve game says "Snitches = stitches.”  I wish people felt more safe reporting crimes in general.

Interesting lines:

• “I don’t want space.  I want you.” – Nancy
• “I’m sorry.  When you said ‘live my life’ did you mean live my life in your shadow?” – Vee
• “Vee, do you really trust that guy?  He’s the one who got you into this mess.” – Sydney

“I’M the one who got me into this mess.” – Vee

Funny lines:

• “You guys are the dumbest smart kids I’ve ever met.” – Nancy (Juliette Lewis)
• “Crazy first date, huh?” – Ian (Dave Franco)

“Is that what that was?” – Vee (Emma Roberts

Tips for parents:   

• There is a LOT of VERY risky teenage behavior.
• Direct democracy = mob mentality.  Talk to your kids about why America's Founding Fathers did all they could to prevent our government from being a direct democracy and why they chose to create a Republic instead. 
• Do your kids know about the “Dark Web”?  They probably know more about it than you do.
• Farting.  More farting.
• Profanity.
• You see people text crude comments on their cell phones.
• You see 2 teens in their underwear.
• You see another 2 teens making out on a bed at a party without all of their clothes on.