Hop

Hop (2011)

Starring James Marsden, Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Perkins, and Gary Cole

and Featuring the vocal talents of Russell Brand, Hank Azaria, and Hugh Laurie

Directed by Tim Hill

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, and Brian Lynch

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Anastasia

Anastasia (1997)

Featuring the vocal talents of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, and Angela Lansbury

Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

First, let's dispel the notion that Anastasia is a Disney movie.  Upon its release in 1997 and in subsequent years after, the public often assumes that this Don Bluth/Gary Goldman directed feature is a Disney film.  Admittedly, the film arrived at the end of Disney's 1990s animation renaissance and Bluth and Goldman tailored the flick to mirror Disney's successes in that era.  Our title character looks like a mash-up of Ariel and Belle.  The film opens with a song sung by the townsfolk.  The typical fairy tale storyline is certainly present.  But Anastasia is not a Disney film.

That being said, this flick is actually better than I remember it being and, with the exception of one fairly major problem area, Anastasia is a success.  Granted, it simplifies the tale of the Russian Romanov family whose dynasty was overthrown by public revolt, but considering this is a film aimed at children, I'm okay with that notion.  The film weaves its tale around Anya (voiced by Meg Ryan), a teen girl who ten years prior showed up at an orphanage unaware of who she was or how she became abandoned.  It turns out that Anya is the only surviving daughter of the Romanov clan, but she has no clue of her legacy.  Out for a quick buck, young Dimitri (John Cusack) and older Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) have set out to find a young girl who can pass for the missing Anastasia and present her to the girl's grandmother -- the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury) -- to earn reward money.  Little do Dimitri and Vladimir know that Anya truly is Anastasia.

I must admit that I liked the plot above.  I found the premise intriguing and the internal conflicts of the above characters surprisingly mature for a film of this type.  Unfortunately, feeling the need to spice up the plot, the film flounders hugely by throwing in an unnecessary villain in Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd).  Here, Rasputin has sold his soul to the devil and is essentially dead and living in hell where is various body parts fall off for purportedly comedic effect.  Rasputin's one mission in life is to end the Romanov blood line and he'll utilize a variety of witchcraft and sorcery from his underground lair in order to achieve this.  The film doesn't need him whatsoever.  There's plenty of surprisingly emotional conflict to be had without his fake magical powers.  By placing Rasputin at the crux of the flick's denouement, the film falters greatly and ends in a disappointing fashion.

Animation-wise the film is solid, but I don't think it can really compare to the Disney films of the era (although I'll soon find that out as we continue on our Disney Discussion journey).  However, I appreciated the voice acting, particularly that of John Cusack who admittedly isn't doing much else other than being the stuttering John Cusack who we all know, but for some reason proves successful.  I found the songs and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty quite good as well and much better than I remembered them being.  While it's certainly true the songwriters and screenwriters are following the Disney formula, it's a formula that works.

I must say that I didn't go into this expecting to enjoy it at all, but I found Anastasia a surprisingly solid animated film with an admittedly major flaw.  Remove that and the flick would've been great, but with it, it just ends up lukewarm.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Lovelace

Lovelace (2013)

Starring Amada Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Chris Noth, Bobby Canavale, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

Deep Throat is the highest-grossing pornographic movie of all time.  Made in 1972, at the very least the film grossed $100 million although some estimates have it grossing $600 million (which is seemingly unfathomable for a film that played in only X-rated moviehouses).  The star of Deep Throat was the "normal-looking" Linda Lovelace who became incredibly famous thanks to her...um...oral capabilities. Termed a "sexy Raggedy Anne" by a character in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Lovelace, Linda was seemingly a gal who never imagined becoming a porn star, but was pushed into the industry by her husband who was desperate for money and essentially pimped out his wife in order to keep his head above water.

Following the film, I did a tiny bit of wikipedia research on Linda Lovelace and her story may have easily been sugarcoated for this film which is a love letter of sorts to the woman who only starred in one porn film and then managed to get out of the industry.  Still, despite the possibility of being one-sided, Lovelace is a decent picture...and this is coming from someone who's never particularly fond of biopics.

I typically can't stand Amanda Seyfried, but I think she gives her best performance to date as Linda.  Because of the way the film is cleverly set up, we see Linda's introduction to the porn industry through two different lenses -- one being the "excited" face she puts on for those around her and then, in a flashback, her seemingly true feelings about the industry.  Seyfried embodies both sides of Linda quite well and she absolutely makes Linda a relatable character.

As her husband Chuck, Peter Sarsgaard is a frightening and scary presence.  Having won over Linda's parents with his charm and grace, once married to Linda, his personality changes and his disgusting treatment of his wife is fodder for the second half of the film.  Sarsgaard is always good at playing a creepy guy, but here he successfully adds a menacing aspect that I haven't yet seen from him.

The rest of the cast is full of well-knowns and they all do fine work.  If anything, the film doesn't allow these other characters to develop as much as Linda and Chuck thanks to the brisk pace that the directors employ.  Still, overall, Lovelace is a film that I wasn't expecting anything from, but found an interesting look at an "important" moment in the film industry.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Love and Other Drugs

Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, and Josh Gad

Directed by Edward Zwick

When womanizing drug rep Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) travels to Ohio for his new job with Pfizer, he meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway), a no-nonsense gal whose dry humor and unabashed affinity for sex seem to be a perfect fit for him.  Things aren't ideal, though, as Maggie has been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease which any movie-watcher will know will turn this rather nice adult romantic comedy into quite a downer by the film's end.  And that's the problem with Love and Other Drugs, a film that works surprisingly well for its first hour and then never quite finds its footing during its final half when it unsuccessfully attempts to pull at my emotional heartstrings.

I'm not afraid to admit that Jake Gyllenhaal's Jamie is charming here.  It's not surprising to see why Anne Hathaway's Maggie who was adamant about not being in a "relationship" quickly falls for him.  Hathaway also exudes a wry sense of humor and isn't the least bit hesitant to show off her body (which certainly won't garner complaints from me).  The two of them have a good chemistry here during the film's first more humorous half.  Their two light-hearted personalities mesh quite well together.  However, neither Gyllenhaal nor Hathaway pulled me in enough to really give a damn when the film veered towards the dramatic during the final 45 minutes. 

It certainly doesn't help that the two actors are forced to change seemingly with the snap of the director and screenwriter's fingers from lighthearted romance to melodramatic disease-of-the-week Lifetime movie.  What should have ultimately been touching and moving doesn't work because it feels like we're watching two separate movies (and that's more the fault of director Ed Zwick and the trio of screenwriters including Zwick himself).  It also doesn't help that the latter half is peppered with unnecessary and poorly written jabs at the state of the American health care system.  These asides just come off as silly and desperate.

Still, I genuinely liked Love and Other Drugs for about an hour.  I found myself laughing at Gyllenhaal, Hathaway, and side players like Oliver Platt as Jamie's co-worker and Josh Gad as Jamie's brother (a character plopped into the film only to provide laughs...something I usually hate, but really kind of liked here).  I just wish the second half could have resonated with me instead of falling flat.

The RyMickey Rating:  C