Movie Review - HOME

HOME

Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, Brian Stepanek, April Lawrence, Stephen Kearin, Lisa Stewart, April Winchell, Derek Blankenship, and Nigel W Tierney

Directed by: Tim Johnson Screenplay by: Tom J Astle and Matt Ember Based on the Book by: Adam Rex Music by: Lorne Balfe

Premise: After the Boov take over Earth, Oh finds his new life there unexpectedly much like his old one. But when he makes the mistake of sending off a party invitation to ALL, which includes the dreaded Gorg his people had run to Earth to escape, Captain Smek and all the Boov want to arrest him. Realizing he made a mistake and trying to hide, Oh inadvertently runs into a human girl. One who accidentally didn't get carted off to Humanity Land like the rest of the Earth's population two weeks before. Now they need to make the effort to understand each other before things get any worse. (Rated  PG)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Jim Parsons is fun as the clueless, well meaning Oh. Rihanna is totally adorable as Tip. Steve Martin as Captain Smek was a perfect choice. Matt Jones also added some great levity as Kyle.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Dreamworks Animation did an awesome job on the film. The Boov's cool color changes and gradations were neat to watch and gave a different dimension to the alien characters. The circular thematic theme for all things Boov was also very well done. Watching iconic Earth structures floating in bubbles left no doubt things on Earth had changed.

I loved the bizarre clumps of floating things considered useless Earth items by the Boov. The weirdness of the Captain as he found other items to adore and use in non-human ways was highly amusing. There are four quick shorts at the film's site that are basically taped experiments of human devices - definitely amusing.

Pig, Tip's corkscrew tailed cat, was a hoot. His fur swayed and moved even as he purred. The silent but no less entertaining character added a lot of lovely flavor.

The Slush Car, a weird amalgamation of 7-11, Back to the Future, and Herbie the Love Bug, was totally awesome. Talk about using the resources available to the most advantage! The car rocked!

The Gorg ships and their planet destroying Mother Ship were quite impressive.  The Gorg in all their forms were fascinating as well.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The commercials and the original "Almost Home" short shown as part of Mr. Peabody & Sherman conveyed a somewhat wrong impression of what the movie would be about, so it takes a little adjustment. The film though does pick up exactly where the short left off.

As the title implies, the main theme of the film is an exploration of what we emotionally call/feel is home and our struggles to fit in in society. Family is also a large theme in the film, as well as friendship and reaching mutual understanding between species.

The plot is pretty straightforward, containing few surprises, but it will definitely stir your emotions at a couple of spots. The reunion scene was quite moving. Some of Boov's reactions were most amusing. Though I have to say that with the things they eat for sustenance, some of the jokes with regards to things best not eaten, fall slightly flat.

Conclusion: HOME is entertaining and cute and will move you, but it won't excite or surprise you. Plenty of fun and action for the kids. The animation is great and has lots of nice inventive touches.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better for Matinee)


In case you missed it - this played before Mr. Peabody & Sherman - ALMOST HOME

Movie Review - Battleship

Battleship

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano, Hamish Linklater, Liam Neeson, John Tui, Jesse Plemons, Gregory D Gadson, and many more.

Directed by: Peter Berg Written by: Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber Original Music by: Steve Jablonsky Cinematography by: Tobias A Schliessler

Premise: Six years after an advanced form of communication is used to send a message to a planet very much like Earth, aliens descend on the planet. Unfortunately for them, they can't see Earth's tech and their long distance communications ship hits a satellite and crashes in Hong Kong. Now the remaining four ships land in the Pacific and place an energy shield over a huge area so they can use the communication relay in Hawaii to call their planet. The only thing standing in their way is a Lieutenant on his way to getting booted out of the Navy, a scientist who fears just about everything, an admiral's daughter, and an army man trying to adjust to life with prosthesis. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Thumbs Up: Great job by all, especially the supporting actors. Rihanna was a lot of fun as Petty Officer Raykes. A lot of the extra personnel were actual navy, so it was a nice touch to have them do what they've trained to do, lending a layer of authenticity to the film it might not otherwise have had.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: As can be seen in the previews, there are a lot of special effects and they were excellent. From the different alien ships, the different technology, the aliens, and the destruction they caused, they were super detailed and entertaining. I was fascinated by the alien ships and their odd manner of movement on the ocean surface - very reminiscent of water bugs.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: This film is from Hasbro, who puts out the long played game called 'Battleship'. A game where two opposing fleets try to guess the location of their opponents and sink their ships through strategy and narrowing of their possible locations on the board. The film tries to integrate bits and pieces of the game, but not blatantly so. The shape of the alien's bombs resemble the white and red pegs of the game. For unexplained reasons, neither side's tech is capable of seeing the other through instruments, only through visual means. The ingenious way Captain Nagata comes up with to try to track their movements, gave us the grid of the game. Too cute.

There's some iffy science involved in a couple of places and some 'suspension of disbelief' is called for on several occasions. On the other hand, the story also had growth arcs on several of the characters. So there was some substance to the plot and that was a plus.

Also surprisingly, there were many comedic moments in the film. One skit sequence was done to the Pink Panther theme. It was hilarious!      

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: With all the explosions and destruction happening around them you have navy personnel being thrown left and right and they made it look convincing. Kudos to the stunt person used during the totally hilarious skit at the convenience store - priceless.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Some very beautiful shots of the ocean and of the Hawaiian islands crossed the screen throughout the film. And what better place to film a movie dealing with the navy than on actual destroyers and battleships? Genius.

Conclusion: The previews of this film give audiences a very different idea of what it will be about than what it actually is, which unfortunately won't work in their favor to get people into the theaters to see it. Despite the bad science in a couple of places, the film moved at a good clip and was very entertaining. The comedic moments were priceless.

Make sure to sit through the credits! There's a cute bit at the very end.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)