Zootopia (2016)

Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush
Written by Way too many people to list… Like seriously, too many people. Come on Disney! Calm Down!
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba and Jenny Slate

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Going into the theater, what I was expecting was a fun, clever and heartwarming story about some animals who think they're people. And that expectation was delivered, as promised. However, what I was not expecting was the blatant, yet incredibly important social commentary about prejudices and mob mentality.

"Zootopia" proved to be a more meaningful family film than anticipated. It is quite possibly the most vital animated film in history. It is more than just a self-confidence building film that Disney is mostly known for. It is about more than just accepting yourself. It is also about accepting others and not judging people because of their heritage.

The middle act of the film was so intense and topical that it feels as though this is the perfect time for this story to be shared with children. It perfectly mirrors much of the hate being spread right now and I was pleasantly shocked at how mature the themes were. But perhaps I'm over thinking it.

Great thematic elements aside, this film provided me with many laughs and a great couple of hours of entertainment. It is a fun movie that I feel the entire family will enjoy and it is incredibly clever. It is rare that I find a Disney movie lives up to it's hype. I feel most people are blinded by the "magic". But this is one that did not disappoint.

My Rating: 7/10

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson
Written by Daniel Taplitz, based on the film "The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum" written by Assi Dayan
Starring Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage and Melissa Leo

A perpetually angry man is informed he has 90 minutes to live and promptly sets out to reconcile with his family and friends in the short time he has left.

Throughout the 83 minutes that this movie plays, the quality goes up and down from being bad, then flirting with the line of being good, only to fall back down again. It never fully satisfies with it's story telling.

Opening with a nice, picturesque scene of a family having a picnic, your image of the father is immediately shattered when they cut to him stuck in traffic 25 years later. It is obvious that this was done on purpose, but I felt that Robin Williams character never fully goes back to that original state of happiness, rendering the entire movie meaningless.

Why would you go to the hospital without a shirt?

With little humor and a lot of yelling, perhaps this film was made more for those who actually live in New York and could relate to the protagonists experiences. But to the rest of us, at least for myself, it fell flat.

That's the perfect word to describe this movie. It wasn't good or bad. It was just flat. Although some scenes peaked my interest and others pushed me away, my emotional connection with the film stayed the same throughout, never changing from the "Yeah… I'm watching a movie…" emotion.

The best part about the movie was seeing Robin Williams. Perhaps this is a new phenomena since his death, but it is quite enjoyable just to see him on screen. It's hard to miss him, even when he's yelling at everyone.

My Rating: 5/10