Monsters University (2013)

Year: 2013
Director: Dan Scanlon
Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Charlie Day, Steve Buscemi
Monsters University is now showing in cinemas everywhere

Twelve years on from when we first met Mike and Sully in Monsters Inc., we take a step back in time to when these two lovable monsters first became best friends at university.

If you are expecting Monsters University to be the same sort of film as Monsters Inc., it isn't that. As a sequel, it isn't as good as the first film, which is what one would have been expecting anyway. However, it is a very different film with not as much feeling and heart, but still has the focus on friendship and will make anyone reminiscent of their college days.

Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) has been dreaming of attending Monsters University to study to be a scarer all his life and finally his time has arrived. When he arrives, he is faced with the same doubt he has been receiving all his life about how scary he actually is by his classmates and superiors including natural scarer, James "Sully" Sullivan (John Goodman). Mike is an outcast in his school of monsters, but when he and Sully are kicked out of the Scarers program by Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), the two join take part in the Scarers Games in order to win a wager to get back into the program. They join forces with a group of misfits to make sure their dreams stay alive.

Monsters University is an entertaining film for the most part. It takes awhile to get going, but finds it's momentum in the latter half of the Scarer Games. The world of the Monsters University is well created and a lot of fun. Disney Pixar films are always a joy to watch and this film is no exception. It is visually perfect and the use of colour is brilliant.

While Monsters Inc. was suited for all ages including little children, Monsters University is not quite as suitable for this age bracket. Children may not be able to relate as much to seeing Mike and Sully go to university as they are not familiar with college days as of yet, but they will still enjoy seeing the children later in the film. Those who have been to college will enjoy all the clever parallels that the university in the film has with the actual college experience. There is college football, Welcome Week fair's, frat parties and, of course, lectures and exams.

While the actual content may not be relatable for children, the characters are always relatable. There is every type of person you would find in not just college, but in every year of school itself. There are the jocks, the sorority girls, the arty types and the outcasts who are all on the outer of the cool kids for different reasons.

One thing that Monsters University is not is cliché. This is almost a refreshing change to many Disney animated films, yet it is at the same time confusing and a tad unsettling. The lesson you feel you are supposed to be learning is a harsh one regarding dreams that come true and dreams that don't. Some people will enjoy something different from a Disney film, but other people would much rather feel the Disney magic the way they feel it should be. There isn't a great deal of emotion to be felt throughout the film, which is something that is greatly missed. Monsters University is nowhere near as heartfelt as what Monsters Inc. was. Even as a stand alone film, it feels like you should be feeling the same disappointment as the characters and feeling sympathy for them, but it just isn't there.

The screenplay is still well written, but has the obstacle that being a prequel, it was always going to be slightly predictable as to where the best friends end up. However, this is dealt with well and has a few little surprises along the way.

Billy Crystal and John Goodman bring back to life Mike and Sully extremely well. They are both fine voice actors as they allow their voices to morph into their characters. Helen Mirren is also great and quite chilling as Dean Hardscrabble. Steve Buscemi's Randy doesn't have as big a role as in Monsters Inc., but still puts in a great vocal performance in his time.

Monsters University seems to be slightly confused about what it is. It's college related content suggests that older children and adults may be able to relate to the film better than small children, yet the film itself can be a little too slow to be thoroughly engrossing for older audiences. Still entertaining, but not overwhelming.

6/10


You may have also seen John Goodman in....
The Artist as Al Zimmer
Argo as John Chambers

You may have also seen Helen Mirren in.....
The Last Station as Sofya Tolstoy
Hitchcock as Alma Reville

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Year: 2013
Director:  Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Ruth Wilson
The Lone Ranger is now showing in cinemas everywhere

Not much good has been said about  Disney's The Lone Ranger since it has been released.

Straight off the bat, the expectations for The Lone Ranger were always going to be incredibly high for the fact that it's production company is Walt Disney Studios. Disney are one company who are always capable of creating a classic. It is true that The Lone Ranger may not be a classic, but it is definitely not the worst movie of 2013. It is far from the best, but there is something about this bunch of silliness that does make it entertaining enough.

In 1866, a train chugs towards the future carrying lawyer, John Reid (Armie Hammer), as well as prisoners, convicted criminal, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and Indian, Tonto (Johnny Depp). Cavendish escapes in what appears to be a set up, which leads to a man hunt by John's brother, Dan (James Badge Dale) and the deaths of all the search party at the hands of a traitor. In a strange turn of events, John starts working with Tonto and finds out more than he would have liked to have known about the dealings of the white people with the Indians of the land.

Based on an American legend, The Lone Ranger is all just a bit silly. It is so over the top and cliché in it's execution and there is really nothing you can take seriously about it. The romance aspect of the film adds nothing to the story and really could have been cut out of the film entirely, which would have shortened it's 149 minute running time. The idea of having an elderly Tonto tell a young boy at a San Francisco fairground the story is also completely useless and the film would have flowed a lot better if it was told in real time rather than a series of flashbacks. Therefore, it is the screenplay, written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, that is one of the key factors in what fails to make this film a Disney classic. The story itself isn't too bad as it does have some unpredictable revelations, but the screenplay tries to do a little too much.

As it is promoted, The Lone Ranger is from the same people who have brought us Pirates Of The Caribbean. So what a lot of people are saying and quite rightly so is that this is a western version of Pirates Of The Caribbean. Chances are if you weren't a fan of those swash-buckling films, you won't be a fan of this film. Johnny Depp's Tonto is a native American version of Captain Jack Sparrow and the choreography of the action scenes is also very similar. The good thing is that if you are one of those people who did love the Pirates films, then you may be a fan.

However, the good news is that with all it's faults, The Lone Ranger is at least entertaining. The best part of the film is the last half an hour which is almost like a cleverly composed dance number set in the west. The musical score is almost strangely selected, but does serve its purpose by setting the scene and creating a feeling of suspense and excitement. A great film needs to be this the whole way through, but the last 30 minutes is worth watching the whole film for.

Johnny Depp has always been the actor who loves to perform "different" roles and has made different his norm. He may not be the best native American ever on screen, but he still pulls off the role believably enough. He is also, of course, entertaining as we all know Depp to be. Armie Hammer does fine as John Reid, but it is arguably not a very hard role to play and does not require too much emotion. Helena Bonham Carter's character is not particularly needed in the film, but she is always a treat on screen. Ruth Wilson is another who's character as Reid's sister in-law/ romantic interest is not particularly needed and not a particularly exciting character on screen.

The Lone Ranger perhaps doesn't need to be accused of being as big a disaster as it is being made out to be, but it is not a Disney classic. Just a splash of entertainment for the here and now.

5/10



You may have also seen Johnny Depp in......
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as Captain Jack Sparrow
Alice In Wonderland as The Mad Hatter

You may have also seen Armie Hammer in.....
The Social Network as Cameron Winklevoss/ Tyler Winklevoss

Rising Star: Zoey Deutch

It's official! Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters is currently in production!

For those who are not familiar with the book series written by Richelle mead, Vampire Academy is not your typical vampire story. We're not talking a typical Twilight style, young adult romance here. Think more along the lines of Harry Potter meets Underworld. Yes, there is a splash of romance here, but teenage angst is far removed from the picture. The lead character, Rose Hathaway is one tough cookie and as a Dhampir, she is a bodyguard to her best friend, Lissa who is a vampire princess. Rose, as opposed to many other female leads in YA romance these days, is the one young girls should be looking up to. She is the one who puts herself between her best friend and danger and never backs down from what she believes in.

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters currently has a 14th February 2014 release date in place (subject to change). Mark Waters, of Mean Girls, Mr Popper's Penguins and Freaky Friday fame, is directing the film and an impressive cast has been assembled including Gabriel Byrne, Olga Kurylenko, Joely Richardson and Sarah Myland. The lucky girls who have landed the roles themselves the lead roles are Lucy Fry, who is to play Lissa, and Zoey Deutch, who is Rose Hathaway.

So in preparation for Vampire Academy, Zoey Deutch is our Rising Star for July 2013.



Deutch is no stranger to show business and acting runs in her blood, as she is the daughter of actress, Lea Thompson and director, Howard Deutch. Born in Los Angeles, California on the 10th of November 1994, she studied dancing from a young age and attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts with a double major in Theater and Visual Arts.

Her break came when she appeared in "The Suite Life On Deck" in 2010 and became an instant Disney channel favourite as Maya Bennett. She made her film debut at age 16 when she played her real life mother's daughter in Mayor Cupcake. She also has had small roles in "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigation Service", "Criminal Minds" and had an ongoing role as Juliet Martin in "Ringer" alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar).


Most recently, many people will remember Deutch from the 2013 film, Beautiful Creatures where she played Emily Asher, the most popular girl in school at Gaitlin. Deutch was a joy to watch in Beautiful Creatures, and over-shadowed many of her co-stars when on screen with her Christian morals conflicting her jealousy of the new girl, making her a very interesting character to watch.

Deutch is currently in the United Kingdom filming Vampire Academy, but when she is at home in the states, she is an active supporter of many charities including the Corazon De Vida Orphanage in Tijuana and The Alzheimer's Association. Her greatest love is her cat named Stinky Pete, who is outnumbered by having six dogs, as well as an African Grey parrot, several horse and a pond of fish to share his space with!


 Check out this interview with Zoey Deutch and her Beautiful Creatures co-star, Thomas Mann.

We wish Zoey the best of luck and we can't wait to see her in Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters!


References
The Internet Movie Database
Zoey Deutch Online
The Official Website Of Vampire Academy
Zoey's Official Facebook Page