The Lion King

My generation is defined by the Disney movies that came out in the late 80’s and 90’s. This era, know as the Disney Renaissance, has produced some Disney classics. And most people of my generation have their favorite Disney movie from this period. While some movies I can understand, like “Beauty and the Beast,” one movie is always said which bugs the crap out of me. That is “The Lion King.” Now some people may call me heartless for this post and discredit all of my previous entries. But here’s the thing, they are just opinions.

Now before I start explaining why this movie is over-hyped and massively over-rated, I want to get two things across. First, there will be spoilers of the plot. Sorry, but it happens. Second, I DON’T HATE THE MOVIE. Some may think, “But you called it over-rated. Therefore you must hate it.” I said I thought it gets more credit than it deserves. NOT that the movie is the worst thing to happen to cinema since Mac and Me (we’re talking 1900’s-1994 timeframe here). So those are two things to keep in mind.

First I think I should talk about what I do like about this movie. I love Scar. He is one of Disney’s greatest villains in my opinion. He kills his own brother and is a schemer. I really like that in a bad guy. I also like Scar’s accompanying song “Be Prepared.” It is awesomely dark and full of allusions to Nazis who are histories second greatest enemy right behind Zombie Nazis. I like Mufasa for his voice and nobility that he exudes. And it is based on Hamlet which is my favorite Shakespeare play. Aside from that, nothing else in the movie stands out as fantastic.

I have three main issues with the movie. The first is the subtle and not so subtle references to pop culture (who didn’t facepalm when Zazu sang “It’s a Small World?”). This movie came after “Aladdin” which was the first to do it. But when that movie did it, it did it throughout the movie with one character. The Lion King more or less does it every now and then with different characters, but not as a streamlined idea. More like a running gag than anything else. My issue is that if you are going to do something like that, keep it consistent.

My second issue is Simba. I’ll say it, the hero of the movie is one of Disney’s weakest protagonists. When he is a little kid, he’s a little jerk. Sure he’s young, but he has everything handed to him and still wants more (seems to be a trend of the Disney Renaissance huh?). Then when he becomes an adult several lion years later, he become Angsty McAngster Weiner. I get it, your dad died (spoiler, but that is like Darth Vader being related to Luke Skywalker spoiler in the sense that everyone knows it even if you haven’t seen the movie). But that is no reason to pout like a little girl all the time. Your childhood friend tells you your home has gone to Hell and what does Simba do, he runs off like a wimp. It is only once he sees his dad in the sky that he decides to grow a pair. What does that teach kids? “If your dad dies when your six, you can only become tough if you see your dad in the sky.” I blame the gay meerkat for parenting him wrong. But now I’m getting side tracked.

The last thing I don’t like is the soundtrack. When your movie starts out with a high pitched scream of stuff I don’t understand, odds are I may not like the song. And you’d be right. This soundtrack contains some of the most over played songs in Disney history. I do like two songs though. “Be Prepared” is awesome like I described earlier. I also enjoy “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” because of the good beat and great visuals that accompany it. Everything else I can do without from my iPod. But everyone only wants to hear “Circle of Life” or “Hakuna Matata.” I liked those songs at one point. But once I heard them for the 5,987,547,234 2/5 time, I figured enough was enough.

So those are my issues with ‘The Lion King.” The useless pop culture references, over played songs and wimpy hero really hold it back for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy watching “The Lion King.” But there is a reason it is #16 on my Top 30 Disney Films List. I just don’t think it is worth all of the hype.
Overall Rating: C+

Please send all hate mail to thesolidrockonwasu@gmail.com and I will respond depending on how much you swear at me. (The less you do it, the faster I’ll reply)

Bye ya’ll and until next time.

After a Very Long Break, here is a Review

Hey ya'll
Man I've been gone from the blogging world for quite sometime. I've just been really busy. But hopefully I can update this and post my own reviews of movies. But for now, here is a review of a movie that I feel is VERY under appreciated: "Scott Pilgrim vs The World."
Before I start, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I think Michael Cera is a terrible actor. I think he plays the same character over and over. So when I went to see this, I was expecting him to play Michael Cera. Boy I'm glad I was wrong.
First reason why this movie kicks so much butt is actually Cera himself. Despite how much he plays geeky awkward teen in all his other movies, Cera is actually playing Scott Pilgrim. He is socially awkward, but he is determined to get what he wants even if it means breaking skulls. He is a narcissists, cheater and just a terrible person overall. But I felt strangely attached to him and wanted to see him win.
Another reason I liked this movie is for the supporting cast. They are all different and each have their quirks that makes them shine. Ramona is the snarky girl, Knives is super obsessive, there is a gay roommate of Scott's that is hilarious, and a whole collective group of cleverly written characters.
But the best reason to see this movie is for the battles with the 7 Evil Exes. These are the highlights of the film and its the movies greatest strength. Each is designed to be original from the previous one and each has their own little gimmick to make it interesting. My personal favorite fight is the battle with the 5th and 6th exes that involves a battle of the bands amp vs. amp situation. Which brings me to another reason to love this movie: the soundtrack/score.
This ranks up there with my favorite film soundtracks of 2010. All the licensed music is great ranging from indy to The Rolling Stones. But the score is where the movie gets it right including an 8-bit rendition of the Universal theme, Dave Patel's Bollywood inspired song, the Bass Battle, and the Sex Bob-Omb vs Katianaygi Twins amp vs amp. All of it is good.
So why is it that a movie with good characters, good story, and good soundtrack bombed at the box office? Because the film was so focused on pleasing its demographic that it almost alienated the rest of the consumers. This wouldn't be a problem had the market they wanted to attract be one that had a little more income to go to the movies. But I know it will have strong DVD and Blu-Ray profits to make up for what it lost at the box office.
So that is my review of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I give it an "A"
Next week, I'm going to do something that most people in my generation would never dare do. I'm going to explain why The Lion King isn't that great of a movie. It's good, but not amazing.

After A Long Awaited Break, My Top 30 Disney Animated Movies

After having to deal with the stressors of college exams and overcoming my laziness, I have finally compiled my Top 30 Disney Animated Movies. Now when defining a Disney Animated Movie, there needs to be clarification. So here is the credential: It has to be made by Disney Animated Studios. So that is why you will not see any Pixar Movies (that is for another day) or A Goofy Movie (which I do hold in high regard). So here is the list.

Top 30 Disney Movies!

30 The Fox and the Hound

29 Cinderella

28 Tarzan

27 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

26 Bolt

25 Oliver & Company

24 The Great Mouse Detective

23 Fantasia 2000

22 The Aristocats

21 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

20 The Rescuers Down Under

19 Peter Pan

18 The Little Mermaid

17 Mulan

16 The Lion King

The Top 15 Disney Movies!

15 Lady and the Tramp

This movie always captured me by how it tells the tale of opposites attracting. The songs are good and it has some great characters.

14 Dumbo

Two words: Pink Elephants. This movie is always enjoyable and tell people that even if you are different, you can still come out on top.

13 Hercules

Loosely based on Greek mythology, this movie is hilarious. James Woods as Hades and an eclectic cast of characters makes this movie a good one.

12 Aladdin

Good songs and great characters. It would have been higher if it had not produced the song "A Whole New World." Seriously, it has to be the most overplayed song next to "Don't Stop Believing."

11 The Princess and the Frog

The newest entry and it plays it safe on a lot of accounts. It takes inspiration from a lot of other Disney movies so that is it's biggest flaw. But it still delivers on songs, character, and a cool villain.

10 Robin Hood

In my opinion, the most entertaining version of Robin Hood. Prince John is still funny and the story still holds strong today.

9 Alice in Wonderland

This movie manages to tell a whole lot about nothing. The whole movie is told through one character and she is not only interesting to follow, but the people she meets and her reactions to them are great. Now if only Tim Burton would have made a movie just as good as this, then his version would have been spectacular.

8 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The very first movie done by Disney. But by watching it, you never would have known. It looks good and the characters are fluid. Great songs, great characters and an amazing scenery.

7 One Hundred and One Dalmatians

This was one of the first movies I remember watching. I still enjoy watching it today. Horace and Jasper are cinemas finest bumbling idiot goones and of course it has one of the all time meanest villains. Great movie.

6 Lilo & Stitch

Once again, a newer movie but this took more risks than "The Princess and The Frog." And what we get is a finer product. It can balance the line between being funny and serious. This movie started the glut of animation movies in the mid 2000's, but it is the best out of all of them.

5 Fantasia

A movie that, once again, took risks. Combining classical music with Disney animation. What we got was a great piece of cinematic art that still hasn't been replicated today. Once this movie comes out on Blu-Ray, I will be buying it along with a Blu-Ray player.

4 Beauty and the Beast

The first animated movie to be nominated for best picture. With that credential alone you know this movie will be good. It has a great villain, a great hero and a message that comes across very well without being preachy. Bottom line, this movie is awesome.

3 The Emperor's New Groove

David Spade, John Goodman and Patrick Warburton all in the same movie. This is the funniest entry on the list, in my opinion. Mainly because of the character Kronk. Imagine Alan from the Hangover, but a cartoon and not a pedophile. It also has a great message too about how we shouldn't be wrapped up in what we want all the time, which can actually be a very positive Christian message. But you could say the same thing about a lot of other Disney movies.

2 Pinocchio

Most people consider this to be the best Disney movie. And it shows. With a great selection of songs, a great cast of characters, and a wonderful story that focuses mainly on Pinocchio, this movie is straight up awesome. This movie scared me as a child, but now I can watch it and only be mildly terrified of it. But regardless, I love to watch it and I will always let my Jimmy Cricket when I am in danger.

1 The Jungle Book

This is not only my favorite Disney movie, but overall movie. The movie has a minimal plot, to literally get from point A to point B. But this minimal plot approach allows for some stellar character development. It also has some show stopping tunes and a great villain. If I could make a movie half as good as this, I would consider it a massive success.

And there are my top 30 Disney Animated movies. My next post will be a double review of two superhero movies from this year. Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2.

Part 3 of a 3 Part look at R-Rated Comedies

So here is the last part of this series where I will review the movie Extract, the latest Mike Judge movie. Overall, this movie is solid.

What I liked

Story

This is the only movie on this list to not have nudity and a lot of language. It is also the one with the best story. The plot is that a guy who runs a flavoring company wants to have sex with a co-worker, but he can't because he is married. So he hires someone to sleep with his wife so he can do it with an easy mind. The problem is that he decides to do this after taking a horse tranquilizer. So this causes him to have a bunch of difficult problems and he goes crazy. The story makes a lot more sense when you watch it though.

Characters

Though only Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman are the two most well known actors, they play their parts well and let everyone else have a great time. Kristen Wigg as the wife is good and the factory workers are fantastic. But my favorite character is the man whore. He is so stupid that he makes Alan from the Hangover look like a genius. There is also a lot of development and great interactions.

Humor

One thing: there is a band named "God's Cock." I know it is sacrilegious, but man it is funny. There are also a bunch of other really good lines and visual gags.

What I didn't like

Pacing

The movie moved a little too slow for my liking. But it is only 90 minutes so it is a quick watch. Though it feels like a two hour movie.

Bottom line

This is one of the best R-rated comedies to come out in a while. It is funny, has a great story, great characters, and doesn't need to swear all the time to get a good laugh. Definitely something worth watching.

Grade: A-

Preview:

This Saturday, the biggest Top list done on the blog. THE TOP 30 DISNEY ANIMATED MOVIES! (not counting pixar)

Part 2 of a 3 Part Rated-R Comedy Series

Welcome to part two of this series. Today's movie is one that came out last weekend and I got to see it at the midnight premier: Hot Tub Time Machine

Let me start by saying this is the dumbest concept for a movie ever created. A group of guys spill a Russian energy drink on the control panel of a hot tub which causes them to go back in time. I honestly think they smoked a lot of pot while writing this script. But does it work?

What I liked

Characters

This movie has the stereotypes of every movie in the genre. But it still manages to make them feel fresh. The movie's four main characters are hilarious and you can empathize with them on a personal level because nearly everyone has felt what they have (embarrassment, loneliness, and losing a loved one). My personal favorite actor in this movie is Craig Robinson. He knows how to play the straight man so well. His dead-pan delivery and having an attitude-but-not-showing-it-overtly mentality makes him stand out. I also enjoyed John Cusak, Rob Cordry and Clark Duncan as well. Overall, this movie had a great cast of characters.

Gags

This movie has several references to the 80's, but I have two favorite running gags and references. The first is how the movie tries to be a hard-R Back To The Future. It has time travel, them wanting to get back, trying not to screw anything up, but then saying screw it and changing the timeline forever. I liked how it was done. They did it without directly crediting it. My other favorite gag was this one running joke about a hotel clerk having his arm cut off. I don't want to ruin anything because it is really funny

Humor

This movie has "guy humor" and lots of it. Sex jokes, drug jokes, poop jokes, and several other of the style. But the movie also has some great one liners like, "I write Stargate fan fiction, I know about time travel." This movie left me leaving the theater with a sore throat from laughing a lot.

What I didn't like

Language

This movie loved the f-word. I don't mind a movie using the word, but it needs a purpose. I hate when a movie says "f-this" and "f-that" for no reason. It did get a little annoying hearing the f-word for the 192nd time at the end of the movie. If the language was toned down, this movie would be amazing.

Overall grade

A cheese ball story mixed with great humor, gags and characters made this movie enjoyable. There really isn't any moral, it is a good movie to go see and enjoy. But just know that the movie earns its R-rating.

Grade: B

Check back on Thursday for the 3rd review of this series: Extract

Part 1 of A 3 Part R-Rated Comedy Blog

Hey guys, so for this week I'm going to review the 3 most recent movies I have seen in the order that I did see them. They all just so happen to be R-Rated comedies. So here is the first review:

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

What I liked:

The Will Ferrell cameo

This is hands down the funniest part of the whole movie. Will Ferrell is sky-diving and rather than having a parachute, he grabs a bag full of sex toys by accident. What ensues are some really funny lines like, "I really don't want to die next to this dildo!" The whole movie would be horrible if not for this scene.

What I didn't like

Everything else

This is juts a movie that tries its hardest to be really funny but I can't find a joke that really works. I chuckled a few times, but nothing hilarious except for the scene mentioned above. The plot is also bland and uninventive. The characters are stock and bland. But what bothered me the most is this one woman who is trying to seduce a ten year old. Granted, the ten year old is played by Rob Riggle. But still, the thought of a full grown woman trying to have sex with a ten year old is gross and disturbing. But the biggest waste is Jeremy Piven. He is hilarious as Ari Gold from "Entourage." But here he really isn't given anything outstanding to do. IT is a shame to considering this is his first starring role.

Bottom line

This movie was a big disappointment. A lot of the funny parts were shown in the trailer and there isn't anything special about it to make it stand out with the slew of R-Rated comedies released now adays. I would rate this movie a solid D.

Check in Tuesday for the review of Hot Tub Time Machine.

Movie Review: "Up"

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the best movies of 2009. After Wall-E, I had pretty much all confidence in Pixar in the sense that they can do no wrong (most of the time). And while Up did seem like it would be a simple little enjoyable movie, it takes you on a ride deeper than its bright colors and talk dogs would lead you to believe.

What I liked

Plot

This movie had a very strong story: two kids like each other, get married and live life until one of them dies. After she dies, the husband becomes an old hermit and fulfills an old promise. This is probably one of Pixar's deepest stories in the sense that you in other films you could almost see what was coming and when it was. But this movie takes you in so many different directions. It also handles transitioning between plot elements very well.

Characters

This is a very eclectic cast of characters. An old man, a fat Asian boy scout, a tropical bird, and a lovable talking dog. This seems like they combined other characters from other movie, but man they make these characters work off of each other very well and it is emphasized by giving each character a chance to shine with Carl and Russell given the main attention. This movie also made me so attached to the relationship between Carl and Elie (the wife who dies) that it had me crying in 15 MINUTES! I have never had that happen to me in a movie. The fact that they made the characters that believable that you can connect with them on that deep of a level, that is a win in my book.

Setting

A jungle is great for this movie. While I'm not a big fan of a good looking movie over a good driven movie, here you get not only a good story with great characters, but it looks good too. At times I thought that the movie was real and not CGI.

Humor

This movie is probably Pixar's funniest. All I have to put for this is one of my favorite lines, "My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you!"

Score

It is no surprise that this movie won the Academy Award for Best Score. The music compliments the movie well and is one of the reasons why I got connected to the characters in the first 15 minutes.

What I didn't like

Nothing

Yeah, there wasn't much to complain about. There are some minor grips, but nothing that keeps it from being an overall great movie.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, then go and get it. Not rent it first, I mean buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray. This is a great movie from a great movie studio.

Overall Grade: A