Raptor and Slacker
The Paw Print
Sucker Punch (2011) takes place on three planes of consciousness. On the highest level, Baby Doll (Emily Browning, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events) is put into an insane asylum by her jealous and abusive stepfather after her mother dies.
The second level takes place in Baby Doll’s head as a means of coping with her imminent disposal. On this level, the asylum has changed into a brothel. The other patients of the asylum are now dancers for the ruthless owner, Blue. It is also at this level that Baby Doll learns about four objects that she needs in order to escape.
She meets the other patients/dancers: Sisters Rocket (Jena Malone) and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens, Beastly and High School Musical) and Amber (Jamie Chung). These four fiercely loyal friends help Baby Doll in getting the four objects. The third level of the movie is an alternate reality that Baby Doll escapes into when she dances. The events of this level also represent the quest to get the four objects in the brothel level. Here the girls fight many different enemies.
This movie is written and directed by Zack Snyder (300 and Watchmen) and highly resembles
the graphic novel quality of his other movies. While this movie is not based on any other works, there are several scenes that look like a video game.
This is one of those movies that takes focus when watching. Because the story jumps between three different realities, it can be easy to get lost and confused.
Raptor: I was not paying much attention when I started watching this movie, so I was confused at the beginning. But as soon as I figured out what was going on, I was completely into the movie. My advice: if you want to understand and enjoy this movie, make sure you are able to really focus on it. I loved the different levels of the story and it really reminded me of Inception. I really liked the visuals of the film and I thought the look of a graphic novel or video game was a great touch. The acting was not of award-winning quality, but for this type of movie, it was good. Overall, I would give this movie 7 out of 10.
Slacker: This was an awesome movie. As a video gamer, this movie was great. If it were a video game, most gamers would be able to tell where the boss battles would be. I felt like I was playing this awesome videogame with no control. I really thought that it was based off of a game or an anime. While watching the epic fight scenes, with the sword, the gun and the outfits, it made it looked like a real Japanese anime show. I loved it as an action and thought provoking movie. I think if you took Inception (2010) mixed with Gamer (2009), with an all female cast, you would probably get close to the idea of this movie. However I don’t think I have seen any movie like this before. Plus Baby Doll was so hot in her schoolgirl outfit. I would give this movie a 9 out of 10 because I think it could have had some more depth.
Movie Review: Rio
Rio (2011) tells the story of Blu (Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”), a domesticated blue macaw, who lives in a small town in Minnesota with his owner, Linda (Leslie Mann, “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”). When a Brazilian bird scientist, Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) convinces Linda to bring Blu to Brazil, Blu’s quiet life is changed dramatically. They arrive in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of Carnival, Rio’s biggest festival.
Once in Brazil, Blu is introduced to Jewel (Anne Hathaway, “The Princess Diaries” and “Alice in Wonderland”). Blu and Jewel are the last living blue macaws in the world, and they are brought together with the intention to mate. But being the last blue macaws also means that they are worth a lot of money. Blu and Jewel are stolen by smugglers to be sold and are chained together before they manage to escape from the smugglers and Jewel learns that Blu cannot fly. They meet Rafael (George Lopez), a toucan who agrees to help them. Blu and Jewel are also being hunted by Nigel; the Cockatoo (Jemaine Clement), a washed up TV star who is now a pet to the smugglers. While Blu and Jewel encounter many obstacles in their race through the city, Linda and Tulio are also searching for the pair of birds. Everyone finally ends up in the Carnival parade in a final effort to be reunited.
“Rio” was made by the creators of “Ice Age” and produced by Twentieth Century Fox Animation. The movie looks very similar to the Pixar movies and contains many of the same feel good themes.
Raptor: This movie was ok. I am not really a fan of animated movies or movies with talking animals. Considering this, it was cute and would be a great movie for kids. One thing that I did like about this movie was there was not an extremely strong, hit-you-over-the-head emphasis of happy themes like there often is in other animated movies. There were some elements in the movie that focused on using your heart more than your head, but this was not the entire focus of the movie. I liked that some of the voices in the movie were recognizable because it helped me connect to the actors more than if I didn’t know who the voices were. There was also some grownup humor in the movie, which would make it enjoyable for parents to watch with their kids. Taking into mind my lack of interest in animated movies, I would give this movie a 5 out of 10.
Slacker: I liked this movie to a point. It was cute for kids of all ages to watch and there were hidden jokes for the adults, which are in every kid movie, so the parents don’t get bored. The story seemed too redundant for my liking. Over all as a bird owner and lover, the movie was a good representation of a bird’s life and some difficulties they may have to go though living a domestic life. I thought the voices they choose were great for this movie it made the characters more relatable. I would give this movie a 5 ½ out of 10 because it was not the best animated kids movies I have seen.
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