The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

Let me be upfront from the very beginning here, if LEGO did a version of one of the movies I hate most (e.g. Elephant by Gus Van Sant) then I would watch it, I would enjoy it, and it would be something I would buy. I grew up with tubs of mismatched LEGO, I continue to look on eagerly if I see LEGO sets being built by small children I might be able to bump out of the way and hold back while I work with the bricks, and I have been mightily impressed by the almost all of the LEGO movies I have seen so far, both the cinema releases and the smaller titles (they have been doing better DC films than the proper DC moviemakers for a few years now).

I didn't really know what Ninjago was, and I'm still not sure. Basically, it seems to be some kids who turn into ninjas when they need to battle evil. It's also the name of the city in which they live. That city keeps coming under threat from a villain named Garmadon (voiced by Justin Theroux), which keeps Green Ninja (voiced by Dave Franco) and the rest of the good ninja group very busy. Green Ninja is also known as Lloyd, when not hidden in his suit, and Lloyd is actually the son of Garmadon. Uh oh.

Directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan, The LEGO Ninjago Movie keeps the fun and laughs coming thick and fast throughout, with one or two inventive action sequences doing enough to keep the main characters in peril as they learn some life lessons. Everyone involved in the LEGO movie universe seems to understand the universal appeal of it, and how to make the most of it for that brick-centric visual style and the many brilliant gags. The script here, written by Logan, Fisher, William and Tom Wheeler, Jared Stern, and John Whittington, makes the most of the strained father-son relationship at the centre of everything, while also utilising the tropes of martial arts movies (Jackie Chan is a lot of fun as the wise old master).

All of the voice cast do well, although some are immediately more recognisable than others. The leads, obviously, and Kumail Nanjiani and Michael Pena were the ones I already knew, as well as Olivia Munn, (as Koko, Lloyd's mother) but Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, and Zach Woods also lend their voices to some of the main characters, and all are good in their roles.

Once again mixing in some live-action elements with the main animated section of the film, this might not be as good as The LEGO Movie, and might even fall short of the level of fun of The LEGO Batman Movie, but that is just a reminder of how great those two films were. This one is very good, and manages to be very good without any one main identifier (e.g. Benny wanting his spaceship in The LEGO Movie, and, well, Batman in the The LEGO Batman Movie).

I am not sure, as of this moment, what we can expect next from the world of LEGO movies. I am only sure of one thing; If they build it, I will watch.

8/10

Pick up the disc here.
Americans can buy it here.

Ani-MAY-tion Month: Turbo (2013)

After being unexpectedly entertained by The Croods, I now have to say that Turbo is another film ignored by many that I'll be highly recommending to lovers of fun animated movies. Both came from DreamWorks Animation, both feature Ryan Reynolds in a main role, and both were unfairly (in my view) dismissed last year. The Croods actually managed to do decent box office, so I guess I just missed out on any of the positive comments made about it, but Turbo didn't do that well at all, despite being just as good.

Theo (voiced by Reynolds) is a little snail who dreams of big things, hence the name that he gives to himself - Turbo. He wants to be fast, he wants more to his life than just helping to deal with over-ripe tomatoes. His brother, Chet (Paul Giamatti), just wants them to stay safe and do their part alongside the other snails. While looking out over a motorway, Theo ends up blown away from his sightseeing position by a passing vehicle. He passes through a motor, somehow surviving as he is moved through the engine. Once out the other side, Theo heads home and soon finds that the experience has changed him. He's a snail transformed, and might just have enough speed under his shell to achieve his dream - a shot at the Indy 500.

With a fantastic cast lending their voices to the characters, and some gorgeous CG animation, Turbo is always doing enough to keep people entertained, at the very least. There aren't any surprises, there rarely are in animated movies aimed at kids, but a lot of the gags work and the whole thing has a sweetness to it that shows how much it aims to please without tipping all the way over into saccharin territory.

Reynolds has a voice that lends itself well to animated characters, and Giamatti is always recognisable, but Luis Guzman and Michael Pena also do well in their roles, Bill Hader is a lot of fun as Guy Gagne (the champion driver who views Turbo as an amusing trier, as opposed to any real competition), and Samuel L. Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz and Mike Bell are all entertaining snails who feel the need for speed. Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez and Richard Jenkins also pop up, as well as Kurtwood Smith and even racing superstar Mario Andretti.

Director David Soren (who co-wrote the screenplay with Darren Lemke and Robert D. Siegel) does a great job of mixing the fun with the heart. I seem to be in the minority of people who really like it, but I hope that others give it a chance. If I can convince just one person to watch it, and if that person ends up liking it almost as much as I did, then my work here is done.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo-Pack/dp/B00E00P5JC/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398291394&sr=1-1&keywords=turbo

Fifty Pills (2006)

A decent, if unspectacular, comedy that ends up feeling like some extended episode of “Undeclared” thanks to the cast of fresh faces and the number of quirky characters, Fifty Pills tries hard to be likeable and just manages it.

Lou Taylor Pucci is Darren, a young man who has just lost his college scholarship thanks to a party that was thrown by his roommate (drug-dealing Coleman, played by John Hensley). This is despite the fact that Darren wasn’t even there at the time. He is given a little bit of time by a sympathetic housing manager and Coleman gives him fifty pills, hence the title, that he should be able to sell at $20 each to earn the money he desperately needs to be able to stay on in college. And so Darren sets off on a quest to sell the pills, make the money and keep his life on track.

Director Theo Avgerinos and writer Matthews Perniciaro seem to be aiming for a hip, fun vibe but don’t get enough in the mix to make Fifty Pills anything more than a passable attempt to belatedly rife the coat-tails of Go. The script isn’t all that sharp and the direction isn’t all that stylish but, thankfully, the cast and characters do a lot to raise the whole thing up to a rating of just-above-average.

Pucci is okay, if a bit bland, in the main role, Hensley is as good as he so often is and the potential love interest comes in the form of a young Kristen Bell. Nora Zehetner is fun for her limited time onscreen, Eddie Kaye Thomas is hilarious, Michael Pena provides a few laughs and Monica Keena gets to have a lot of fun. The gorgeous Diora Baird is onscreen for less than a minute (sigh) and we get a few moments of magnificent scene-stealing from Jane Lynch and John Kapelos as Darren’s parents.

 

It moves along briskly enough, and tries hard to please, but Fifty Pills is certainly not a movie that would be deemed unmissable. It is, however, worth 90 minutes of your time if it comes on and you have nothing else scheduled. 

6/10.

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