Movie Review - Kung Fu Panda 3

Kung Fu Panda 3

Starring: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Kate Hudson, James Hong, Randal Duk Kim, Steele Gagnon, Liam Knight, Wayne Knight, Barbara Dirickson, Al Roker, Willie Geist, and many more.

Directed by: Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh Written by: Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger Art Direction by: Max Boas Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: Li gets a message about the location of his missing son. This sends him to Po's village in the Valley of Peace. But the happy reunion is short lived as Kai, a battle comrade of the late Oogway, has gathered the chi of all the masters in the spirit world to come back to the land of the living. His objective? To destroy all Oogway once held dear, especially his prodigy, Po, and the pandas from the secret village. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The great cast from previous Kung Fu Panda films are back to give us a dish full of awesomeness! There are also a lot of new characters and great actors joining the fun as Po is finally reunited with his own kind.

J.K. Simmons was fun as Oogway's frenemy Kai. Bryan Cranston shows a nice range of emotions as Po's father Li. Kate Hudson plays Mei Mei, a panda who knows what she wants and how to get it - she cracked me up. There were no small parts in this film - everyone brought something amusing to this entertaining tale.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Dreamworks has always shown extra effort on the Kung Fu Panda films, and number 3 is no exception. I really hadn't thought they could top the awesome visuals of KFP2, but they did. For the audience to experience the maximum effect, this one must be seen in 3D. The spirit world scenes are spectacular in 3D. The film has some truly gorgeous graphics.

The textures of the animation were also very impressive. You almost believe you can run your fingers through the pandas' fur. This makes for a wonderful contrast to the cold, sheen surface of the 'jombies' (jade zombies) Kai controls. When the two get brought together during the climax of the film, the differentiation is beautifully magnified.

Dreamworks also introduces some new visual story techniques to their repertoire as well as playing around, as they're known to do in these films, with mixing arts styles to differentiate between flashbacks or stories from the real world.

Wait until you see the super fun dragon warrior sequence in the spirit world. It's sweet! :)

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: The storyline tackles several themes at once. Themes like family and friendship, relying on others, inner strength, knowing who you are, allowing yourself to be changed by those around you, and being yourself. Within the themes themselves they play with the concepts of duality and ying and yang. Though light on the surface, they dive into deep waters ewith regards to emotional topics and do a good job as always.

I thought the film did a wonderfully at representing the feelings of both Li and Mr. Ping with regards to their roles as Po's fathers. The solution the two eventually come up with on how to deal with their current positions was great. I also loved the little panda girl and how they used her with Tigress. It was a tale told about the two totally in the background of the main proceedings, but it made it no less poignant and definitely fun.

As the concepts of ying and yang are explored, the film also weaves all three of the KFP movies into a giant circle/wheel as we see Po become what he'd pictured himself as all along. And a fun treat awaits at the end for anyone from the 70's. You'll see. :)

Conclusion: Kung Fu Panda 3 delivers all the things we love about the previous KFP films -  gorgeous animation, heartwarming storytelling, and a touch of asian mysticism. Fun film for adults and kid of all ages. If you're already a fan of KFP, you won't be disappointed. And if you can at all manage it - see it in 3D! Well worth it!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

Movie Review - The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Tom Wilkinson, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Mathieu Amalric, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, and many more.

Directed by: Wes Anderson Story by: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness Screenplay by: Wes Anderson Inspired by the Works of: Stefan Zweig Cinematography by: Robert D. Yeoman Music by: Alexandre Desplat

Premise: Jumping back from the 80's to the 60's then the 30's, a tale unfolds about the Grand Budapest Hotel, it's concierge M. Gustave, and the hotel's newest lobby boy, Zero. When one of the hotel's long time patrons dies, and she's bequeathed a priceless painting to the concierge, he suddenly finds himself accused of murder. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Ralph Fiennes was captivating as the hard working, mature ladies man, and amazing concierge, M. Gustave. Tony Revolori turned out to be a perfect foil for Mr. Fiennes as the soft spoken, yet incredibly brave, Zero. And there were many well known and familiar faces in the rest of the cast, Edward Norton and Jeff Goldblum, but two of the throng.

2)  Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The makers of the film went 'old school' and used stop motion animation to give the film a lot of its quirky feel. The large chase scene was done almost entirely with stop motion animation and looked great. Other special effects used in the film were visual or had to do with presentation. They were all really well done and did much to create a great atmosphere for the film.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: The story is told in a very unique way as we start in a small eastern country at a cemetery and a young lady who hangs an old fashioned hotel key off a pedestal with the bust of a famous author. Then we see said author alive in his later years and as he speaks, he leap back in time yet again to the 60's, and we see the Budapest Hotel as it was then. It is here that the mystery begins as author meets the widely known owner of the hotel. In the telling of how the owner obtained the hotel, we then leap back to the late 30's, where the Grand Budapest Hotel was at its peak yet about to begin its slow descent into obscurity.

In many ways the film reminded me of an operatic farce - with things overblown toward the absurd, but never entirely crossing the line. The prison escape sequence is a perfect example.

Watching all the different odd characters interacting was just too much fun. Yet there's also a depth and sadness to the tale as we see the world changing as war boiled up then ran rampant during that time. Even with our own worries, the world beyond moves on, and nothing is ever certain.

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Filmed in eight different locations in Germany, many of them castles, there is plenty to 'feed the eyes'. Many of the rooms and hallways were fabulous. Some of the long shot angles gave many of the hallways an almost supernatural look. There's even a shoot out scene that will make you cringe every time a bullet hits the gorgeous hotel's columns.

Conclusion: "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is a lovingly quirky and quite entertaining film. It pretends to be light, but has a lot of unexpected depth behind it. It was also a lot of fun.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)