Category: Movies

African Cats is a nature documentary that came out in 2011. It is about a pride of lions and a litter of cheetahs.  If you like Disney’s nature docs than you will like this movie.  If you like a little more science in your nature documentaries you will be left wanting.

The movie follows a mother lion Layla and her cub Mara as they hunt and try and survive in the harsh African wilderness.  Meanwhile a cheetah mother Sita tries to do the same with her kittens.  The movie compares and contrasts the two techniques and lifestyles of these African Cats.

The problem I have with this movie is that they try and humanize the animals and tell a story instead of tell you about that cats, but the story they tell is cute and heartwarming if not super informative.

One of the major selling points for this film is how it looks on a high definition television.  The picture is absolutely stunning.  This is one of those Blu-Ray disks that prove the format is worthwhile.  It will not look this good on streaming video.

If you like cute stories about cats or a looking for a movie to try out your new TV, African Cats might be just the ticket.  If you are looking for a lot of information about the animals look elsewhere.

Disney recently re-released Robin Hood on Blu-Ray.  Robin Hood was never considered to be one Disney’s top classics, and that is probably why this re-release was not given the fanfare of a lot of their films, but it is still well thought of, and since my wife is a Disney freak, I decided to buy it for her.

The film follows an anthropomorphic fox version of the titular character as he works to steal back the money that was taxed from the poor by interim king lion Prince John.  Robin Hood is also trying to win the heart of the beautiful vixen Maid Marian.

The film is super simple, and does not tell a deep story, but it is effective.  The shots of all the poor animals in chains are quite moving, and they play Robin as the perfect likable rouge doing what he can to help the people out.

The upgrade to Blu-Ray has done wonders for this film, and it looks great in high definition with its bright colors and well drawn characters.  Some people complain that some of the detail is lost when these old movies are upgraded, but I can see none of that here, and it definitely looks better than a VHS version would on a big screen.

This movie is simple and makes me smile.  It has fun characters and a big heart.  If you are a Disney collector than the Blu-Ray is a must buy, and if not it is still worth it because it is a fun family film that can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Seven Psychopaths is a 2012 film written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges).  Much like In Bruges,  Seven Psychopaths is about violent men, but this movie is much more self aware and strange, and even now I am not sure whether I loved it or hated it, but I do know it made me think.

The film fallows Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell), who is trying to write a new screen play for a movie called Seven Psychopaths.  He is having writers block, so his friend Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) is trying to help him by pointing to real life killers through either the news or an add in the news paper asking the psychopaths to come to him.  Billy has a side business with Hans Kieslowski (Christopher Walken) where he steals dogs and Hans plays the good old man that found the dog for reward money.  Business is good until they steal a dog from Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) a local mob boss and psychopath, and now all their lives are in danger.

This is one of the more bizarre movies I have seen in awhile.  It feels like you are watching the movie being written right in front of you, and Martin McDonagh has a lot to say.  He knows you are watching the movie for a funny violent buddy comedy, and he does give that to you partially, but he also uses Marty to rag on the current state of film scripts, with their dumb over top action sequences, or poorly written women that are only there to die or be eye candy.  Giving the film a very meta feel.  It is almost like he doesn’t like the genre of film he made.

The violence in this film is strange as well.  It alternates between the dumb over the top kind, but then during the psychopath interviews it gets very real and graphic, and at times horrifying.  McDonagh is subverting what you started to watch this movie for, and instead showing you what this would really look like, and it is not something you are in general really wanting to see.

The actors are all great in this film.  If you know me, then you know that you know that anything with Christopher Walken gets bonus points, and this part was obviously meant for him.  His character is strange, but still totally relatable.  Sam Rockwell’s character almost represents the dumb movie this could have been by just being off the wall crazy, but since he is such a good actor he pulls it off.  Colin Farrell’s character is in the movie mostly to observe the madness, so his role is not as dynamic, but he plays it well.

If you are looking for a movie that is a change from the norm than Seven Psychopaths might be it.  Like I wrote before, I am not sure how I totally feel about this movie, mostly due to its graphic nature, but after I watched the movie it left me thinking, and that is a good thing.