She's Out of My League

Goolphipp Award: 4.3 (Worth 11 Bucks)

Goolsby:
I love this movie. Hands down, I love this movie. Everything about this movie was pretty much perfect for me. It gave me unexpected elements, very unexpected - I'm talking about the out-of-left-field shaving scene involving two men. But even this unexpected scene was done with some bit of class. There was no unnecessary nudity and there was enough humor to cover up any awkwardness.

I loved the story line. A 5 guy dates a 10 girl. I loved the message at the end of this movie, that numbers don't matter. I loved the supporting cast too. Leading man Jay Baruchel plays Kirk and the British Alice Eve plays Molly (by the way, she did a pretty good job covering up her accent). I'm a fan of the gangly Baruchel. He knows how to own his geeky awkwardness.

This movie is all in the details. You would think they might have problems with the cliches of the basic plot line, but they side stepped all of the gimme moments and packed the movie full of "Did that just happen?!" moments. There is a scene where Kirk's ex-girlfriend clotheslines him. He goes down like a bag of hammers, and I couldn't stop laughing. I have to give some props to Nate Torrence who plays Kirk's friend Devon. Torrence has some amazing comedic ability and I'm so glad he was part of this movie.

The only bad part? One of Kirk's other friends Stainer, played by T.J. Miller reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite too much. Perhaps it was just his looks, but his character just had that annoying jerk quality that I couldn't embrace. Maybe too much jerk and not enough redeeming loveableness.

Goolsby overall: 4.75
This movie will someday soon be part of my collection.

Phipps:
This movie did horribly at the box office, and that's too bad. It actually was worth seeing. Like I've said before, I'm really wary of comedies, because they tend to be overly raunchy. While this movie had those moments - all the other moments far outweighed them. I laughed through most of the movie...good mix of physical comedy and wit. Disney jokes were made. People fell. But most of all, the movie had some heart. The characters were pretty ordinary with ordinary hang-ups - crazy families, webbed feet, and ex's you can't get rid of. One thing I'm grateful for is airport accuracy in this movie! People can't run through the airport to chase down the love of their lives anymore (unless you know people in TSA). As I think over this movie, I realize how much fun I had watching it. I don't have too many complaints. As Goolsby said, there were unexpected moments, but all in all, I think it was as tastefully done as possible. I wouldn't watch it with my parents, but I sure had a good time. If I remember right, the soundtrack even contributed to some laughs. As far as audience, I would say 16-18+. It's not squeaky clean, but it's probably as close to a "made for people in their 20s" comedy as it gets.

Phipps overall: 4
Pretty darn funny.

Alice in Wonderland

Goolphipp Award: 4.3 (No Peanuts Chucked)

Where we stand: Excited fan and general watcher

Goolsby:
Call me the excited fan. I love Alice in Wonderland. When I was about six, my parents bought me an Alice dress from Disneyland, and I never understood why my hair couldn't be blond like hers. I love the story, and I love the characters. I was prepared to hate this film after my bad experience with Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So I was prepared for the worst. Turns out I didn't need to be so worried...

Phipps:
Honestly, I was never a big fan of Alice. I liked one scene from the Disney movie - the singing flowers. Apart from Goolsby, I doubt I would have seen the movie. From the start, I worried about the abundance of CGI-ness. I like seeing real sky. And, at the end of day, I'm not a fan of Tim Burton. There are very few of his movies that capture my fancy.

Audience: Family with discretion

Goolsby:

I think this movie might be a bit scary for small jumpy kids. I think it's fine for most families, but you never know. So fantasy fighting with monsters and what not.

Phipps:
Yeah, I agree, there are scary monsters and weird looking folks in this movie. Take your kid's personality into account. I'd say the 8-10 bracket of kids is the youngest you should go.

Special effects: Intense

Goolsby:
This movie was dark. The color scheme was dreary which is such a huge difference from what I grew up loving. The punches of color that the movie did have stuck out like headlights, which created an odd color palette. I loved the coloring and movement of the Cheshire Cat, it was on point the whole time. Johnny Depp's contacts were a bit distracting at times, but well done. I did notice the March Hare was a bit strange. He was completely animated and didn't look as well done as the White Rabbit. We did not see the movie in 3D so I cant comment on that aspect, but I have a feeling 3D would be great with this movie.

Phipps:
I was prepared for this movie to be all green screen, and I wasn't disappointed. It was done well. Most of the animation fit together seamlessly. I won't lie, I'm not a fan of green screen movies, but I suppose it was almost necessary in this case for all the wonderland-like components. I think the most successful integration was the work on the Red Queen, who sported a cranium the size of Jupiter - which probably allowed her to steal every scene she appeared in.

Story and continuity: Return to Wonderland

Goolsby:
Sometimes sequels or return movies feel strained or stretched. That wasn't the case of this movie. I appreciated that Alice refused to accept the fact that she was the "right" Alice. The one big complaint that I have with the movie is that I wanted it to return to the bright vivid colors. Once the White Queen came to power I wanted some type of magical transformation to happen in Wonderland. I wanted the colors that I grew up with to come back.

Phipps:
Storywise, I'm glad it was absolutely stressed before Alice was released that it was a sequel, which gauranteed that nobody was sitting there confused. The movie itself was action-packed. And while I don't think I'll ever own this movie, I wasn't bored. I had fun exploring Tim Burton's interpretation of Wonderland. I was wondering why the White Queen never lowered her arms though, she walked around with them slightly raised and away from her body. Reminded me of a ballerina meets space cadet. At any rate, I liked the story and how it developed. Character development was also good. I don't really have any complaints in this area.

What was the best: Cats and Clothes

Goolsby:
As I mentioned, I loved the Cheshire Cat. It was the attention to small detail that I really enjoyed in the film. The Cheshire Cat would be used as a shield by other characters then disappear. Loved it. I think the film did a great job keep all the small bits going. I also enjoyed the throwbacks to the original film -the flamingos and hedge hog made me smile.

Phipps:
Hands down, I loved how they dealt with Alice's clothes. It does stand to reason that Alice's clothes wouldn't grow or shrink with her, and with each resizing, she got a new dress. I thought that was quite clever...and it made for interesting dialogue and situations. A close second is the Red Queen herself. What a character. I have to agree with the rest of the world - Helena Bonham Carter is the real star of this movie.

Goolsby overall: 4.75
Call me an elitist if you want... almost perfect.

Phipps overall: 4
I like seeing real skies. Not my cup of tea (pun intended).

Goolphipp Award: 4.3 (No Peanuts Chucked)

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The Princess and the Frog

Goolphipp Award: 4.5 (No Peanuts Chucked)

Goolsby:
The long awaited black princess. The Princess and the Frog delivered on all levels. It strange to think of new Disney movies as "classic" but that is what happens to all Disney films - they either become classic or fade. Watching this movie as an adult was fun. Disney dropped several throw backs to other films. The first thing I saw in the opening number was the magic carpet. The Little Mermaid characters made several appearances too. This movie was fun to watch. I loved the vivid color palette. They brought the bayou culture to life and it was awesome. I loved the firefly Ray, definitely my favorite. This movie was great, a new princess movie for the masses, but I wasn't blown away - and I can't tell if that's because I'm an adult or something minor in the movie.

Goolsby overall: 4.5
Who doesn't love a frog?

Phipps:
I was excited to see this movie. Who doesn't like a good Disney movie? I know some would call Disney's move to classic hand-drawing risky, but I enjoyed it! The old classics haven't gone out of style because they don't have the Pixar stamp. I appreciated the nods to the other movies too. I want to watch it again so I can catch all the hidden funsies.

The traditional Frog Prince fairytale always makes a fun plot, and the New Orleans twist was inventive. I'll confess that I was a little worried about having a fairytale set in the twentieth century - I was wondering where the magic was going to come from. Voodoo, of course, which I discovered was just as creepy in a cartoon as it is in the Skeleton Key. I'm actually wondering how small children reacted to that aspect of this movie, because the scary shadow spirits rivaled Snow White's Queen-in-ugly-witch-form.

Aside from the voodoo, the rest of the movie was quite fun. It had something for everyone. Talking animals. Humor. Romance. A blind, good witch. Handsome princes. Kisses. Trumpets. Jazz. Firefly tour guides. Good triumphing over evil. Action. Dreams coming true. Happily ever after.

I liked the underlying message too. You have to work toward your dreams - ie, owning a fabulous restaurant, but that shouldn't be your whole life. Love, family, fun should be a part of the equation too.

Cast was wonderful. Animation was great - as Goolsby said, the color palette was unique. I'm not going to say it's going to make it to "classic" status, because it's too early to tell...and I don't want to jinx it.

And one last thing - Tiana's wedding gown? Perfect.

Phipps overall: 4.5
Go on, kiss the frog.

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earth

Goolphipp Award: 3.75

Audience: All Ages

Goolsby: Who doesn’t want to see our furry friends? Bring the whole gang and wait for the collective “Awww” to overtake you all.

Phipps: There’s nothing to worry about for little kids in this one. It’s landscapes and happy animals mostly. There are a few predators, and they only show them getting their prey a couple times, without blood and ripping flesh. So moms, cart your little ones to this movie!

Where’s the Objectivity: Solid
Following a couple animal families through a calendar year.

Phipps: Literally, the circle of life in the frame of the year. Not much else to say. I liked this documentary, which is saying a lot. I’m not the biggest animal fan. But I thought it was presented fairly truthfully and straightforward. I was like a little boy though, I wanted to see the lion shred up an elephant – but I also understand that it was a Disney movie. I was surprised that there wasn’t more overtly liberal. I’m happy to report that it stayed with the facts, and made one comment at the very end. A very solid documentary based on the “Planet Earth” series.

Goolsby: From top to bottom of the planet you get a good overview of how the animal kingdom thrives mostly unbeknownst to us, and definitely unbeknownst to the kids. The facts are presented in a very accessible simple and straight forward form to the kids, who are the real target audience.

Cinematography: Gorgeous

Goolsby: Pristine. Stay for the credits to get a look at the difficulties some of the cinematographers’ had – lets just say, balloon chair meets tree, ouch. Thanks guys for getting dirty and most likely injured to deliver this timeless feature.

Phipps: Just beautiful. Great shots. They did a good job in the editing room, as this movie was a splice-and-dice of the “Planet Earth” footage. Word on the street is it took a month to get the shark shots, and I must say, it was well worth it.

Delivery: No Complaints

Phipps: James Earl Jones – you can’t beat him, ever. He’s got that voice. One small complaint, there was an overuse of the word “starving.” It was a little annoying, but other than that, no complaints.

Goolsby: Now Phipps thinks that the use of “starving” was a bit overdone – I however feel that the word “starving” is one of the few words that really conveys an animal’s true hunger. For kids, and even adults, we have many feelings of hunger. From, “I could go for a cookie,” to I-haven’t-eaten-all-day-stomach-pains, we have a wider base of hunger. But for animals, I think it’s a bit different, especially with their food resources growing limited. I think “starving” conveys primal hunger efficiently. So I’m okay with the use of the word starving – kids can identify with it.

Phipps overall: 4
Solid.

Goolsby overall: 3.5
A good documentary.

Goolphipp rating: 3.75 (No Peanuts Chucked)

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