Quick Movie Review

Frankenweenie (2012, USA) | Rating: 3/5
I was fortunate enough to see the original short of this in class last semester, so watching a full length version of Tim Burton's vision was interesting. It was nice to go back to Burton's animation roots and not be dazzled or swayed by his newer techniques that have become more or less short of displaying his true talents. It does add a little to the short, but it could also be viewed as slightly unnecessary. Either way, I enjoyed it and the expansion opened more options of the consequences of manipulating death.



Seven Psychopaths (2012, USA) | Rating: 3/5
This movie was recommended by a friend and I heard some mixed reviews about it. I didn't know exactly what this movie was about and while watching it was definitely nothing I could've guessed either. I guess I should be able to relate to the storyline in some way by being an aspiring screenwriter, but I felt little connection. This didn't kill my enjoyment of the movie at all. Since I didn't know what to expect, it made it all the more entertaining and the characters majorly helped with that as well. They were funny, believable, and had good chemistry between each other.



The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, USA) | Rating: 4/5
It was a shame that I couldn't experience this movie in a theater and an audience. Sometimes I think they like to hoard all the good movies in limited releases. Anyway, I've been really looking forward to watching this movie and it met, and possibly exceed, my expectations. The characters were very relatable, the situations felt real, and everything was just put together extremely well. When the movie was over, I wondered what the time period was because of the music selections made by the characters and there is no definite era from what I could find, which I think is a very good thing. No matter what year it is, teenagers can relate to the situations happening and connections made throughout the film.



The Croods (2013, USA) | Rating: 3.5/5
Originally, I wasn't planning on seeing this in theaters, but I heard a lot of good reviews and praise for it, so I went ahead and saw it with a friend today. We saw it in 3D due to limited time selections, but the 3D was quite good. The story is pretty simple, but it caters to both kid and adult humor. It was a fun little adventure with this caveman family and a breath of fresh air from school stress. I really enjoyed the realistic textures of the environments and textiles and the counter of slightly cartoonish design of the characters. Also, I have to add, I don't see how this is relevant to Avatar at all, but whatever.



ParaNorman (2012, USA) | Rating: 3/5
I wasn't super interested in seeing this movie either, but I heard some fairly good things about it as well. I traded with a friend one weekend and watched it. I thought this movie was a bit mature for a PG rating, maybe they should've considered a PG-13, but I think some of the more mature humor would've went over kids' heads. Anyway, I thought the movie was entertaining and I always enjoy this type of animation to the oversaturation of CGI movies. Nothing wrong with them or anything, but it tends to stand out a little more. The characters were bold and unique to not just children's films, but film in general. It's no Coraline, but it's worth checking out.



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