Rated:PG for brief mild language.

Genre:animation, family

Release Date:18 September 2009

Runtime:90 min

Director:Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Cast:Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam… Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett’s beloved children’s book of the same name, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS follows inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) and brainy weathergirl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) as they attempt to discover why the rain in their small town has stopped while food is falling in its place. Meanwhile, lifelong bully Brent (voice of Adam Samberg) relishes in tormenting Flint just as he did when they were kids, and Mayor Shelbourne (voice of Bruce Campbell) schemes to use Flint’s latest invention–a device designed to improve everyone’s lives–for his own personal gain. Mr. T. voices by-the-books cop Earl Devereaux, and James Caan voices Flint’s technophobe father, Tim.

The movie was not only good as a kids movies but was a great comedy in general. A light-hearted film suitable for children teaching a lesson about sticking with your dreams and passions. Moreover it works as a great comedy for adults with subtly mature humor, and a perfectly chosen cast.

carole Animation, Family

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy

Release Date: 9 September 2009

Runtime: 79mins

Director: Shane Acker

Cast: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore, Elijah Wood, Alan Oppenheimer

When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

A truly gripping film that includes personalities that are familiar to us. #1 (Plummer) the elder leader, stubborn and stuck in his ways.  #2 (Landau) an older individual who inspires and has been around a long time, however younger in his mindset and in search of new things. #5 (Reilly) a younger male stuck between wanting to follow the rules and wanting to rebel, knowing that he can guide the others in the right direction. #6 (Glover) slightly off the ball, however is able to lead the others to the source of their problems. #7 (Connelly) macho woman, the savior and most skilled at combat there to defend. #8 (Tatasciore) the bodyguard and ‘pet’ of #1, does as is told. Last but not least #9 (Wood) the youngest of the group, the rebel looking for a better life, refusing to accept things as they are, insisting he can save the group from extinction.

The film is rated 13 for a reason, it was definitely not made with children in mind, it was genuinely scary at parts. Truly another winner in the animation world. Acker, with the help of animation superstar and creative genius Tim Burton, have managed to create a film (initially a animation short) that will appeal to mass audiences, including the not-so-into-animation movie watchers out there.

carole Adventure, Animation, Fantasy

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Release date: July 24, 2009

Genre: Action, Adventure, Animated, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Cast: Bill Nighy, Zach Galifianakis, Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Nicholas Cage

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer

G-Force is the first 3-D film to hit the big screen for Jerry Bruckheimer, who teamed up with Disney to produce this combination of live action and well-done animation. These exceptionally natural-looking Guinea Pigs each have a distinct personality and are to be trained by a covert government to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws.

tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist.

I was quite impressed with the 3-d action, the humor is consistent and enjoyable, the story and special effects all work together to boost the overall effect of this film. G-Force is cute and fun and suitable for any age. I Suggest it to all, you will leave the theatre with a nice big smile!

Jenn Action, Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi 3-D, Animation, Disney, G-force, Guinea pig

Rated: PG

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family

Release Date: July 1, 2009

Runtime: 97mins

Director: Carlos Saldanha & Mike Thurmeier

Cast: Queen Latifa, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Seann William Scott

It is almost here, the next addition to the Ice Age series. It is not often I go back to theaters to watch a sequel, however with Ice Age I itch for the release date. There is just something about the team made up by Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo) that makes me want to come back for more. The first movie was about individuals coming together by finding one common goal that, by the end of the film, brought them together turning unlikely friends into the best of friends. The second movie was twice as funny in my opinion with the addition of Ellie (Queen Latifa) and her brother and their voyage trying to find the arc to save them from the melting ice.

This third addition takes place after the events of Ice Age: The Meltdown, as many sequels things change between the characters, although not all. Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved slippery acorn consequently finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte (Original isn’t it). Manny and Ellie, both mammoths, having since become an item and are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and worries that his soft side has allowed others to forget who he truly is inside. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs (new characters in the series).

I will be sure to write a review on the actual film once I have seen it. I highly doubt that this movie will be an upset. What does this movie have that the last two in the series didn’t have? It is in digital 3-D which seems to be the trend these days with animation films. I suggest this be a movie you choose not to miss out on.

carole Animation, Comedy, Family

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Release Date: November 20, 2009
Director: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, John Cleese

The ever growing love for animated movies over the years is more than justifiable, Design and animation allows for limitless posibilities when it comes to creation. wether it is making the animals we love even cuter, providing us with new characters to love or a new place out of this world, animators never cease to amaze dedicated movie lovers and recruit a whole new generation of movie watchers. The newest animation hitting theaters this summer is Planet 51, opening doors to fresh ideas, new experiences people cant provide and giving us a break from all the sequels.

Planet 51 is an animated alien adventure comedy revolving around an American astronaut named Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker, who lands on Planet 51 thinking he is the first person to step foot on it, going as far as to plant the US flag before noticing his surroundings. To his surprise he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a stereotypical 1950s, white picket fence world, very Pleasant Ville like. Their sole fear is that of running into alien invaders, similar to Captain Chuck. With the help from his robot companion “Rover” and his new local resident friend Lem, the Captain attempts to avoid capture and navigate his way through the bewildering landscape of Planet 51 in order to recover his spaceship and to avoid becoming a permanent part of the Planet 51 Alien Invaders Space Museum.
The movie sounds decent, although it just does not have that special ring to it like a Pixar flick would, and it is definitely not making a buzz like Up! did during the months before its release. Being the person that I am, a true fan of animation, I will definitely be making my way to the theaters, come November, to check out this little movie.

Jenn Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family

9

Rated: PG- 13

Genre: Animation, Action, Fantasy

Release Date: September 9, 2009

Director: Shane Acker

Cast: Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Fred Tatasciore

Big names are a dime a dozen in Hollywood whether they be actors, writers, producers or directors. However there is one name that stands out above the rest, in three out of four of the aforementioned categories. Tim Burton is the definition of talented producer/director/writer. He is famed for his dark and often far-out themes, such as Edward Scissorhands, moreover his stop motion characters found in films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are easily distinguishable, not to mention his blockbusters including Batman and Sweeny Todd.

His latest project, to be released September 9th, is an upcoming animated action/fantasy film that is based on director, Shane Acker’s Academy-Award-nominated short film of the same name, initially screened in 2005. Unlike Burton’s other animations which run on stop motion, this film will be CGI with a stop motion look to it, although a different technique altogether, the trailer proves that this mix has resulted in beautiful animation results.

9 takes place in a post-apocalyptic world parallel to our own, in which the very legacy of humanity is threatened. A group of rag dolls, find one of their own, 9 (Elijah Wood), who proves to carry leadership qualities that may help them to survive. The struggling, but lively group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a courageous warrior. Like any movie there are always forces fighting against the main characters, this film has at least several malicious creatures fighting them; namely, the cat-skulled robot creature from the short film. This film is definitely one to wait for and expect great things from, possibly joining the numerous other films directed by Tim Burton to win a nomination for animation

carole Action, Animation, Fantasy

up

Rated: PG

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family

Release date: 29 May 2009

Runtime: 96 min

Director: Pete Docter

Voice Cast: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Jordan Nagai

No matter the age of an individual or how old people get, there is always that inner child that wants to come out and play. For over a decade there has been one company that has remained on top of its game making sure that this inner child gets the attention it seeks, and this company is Pixar animation Studios. Pixar amazed us in 1995 developing a full feature animation film entitled Toy Story, that created quite the buzz becoming the highest grossed animated feature film of that year. This was the beginning of Pixar truly making its mark in Hollywood and in film. Not including it’s short films, Pixar’s portfolio of animation films continued to grow with hits such as: A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and Wall-E. Each film stirring up great expectations, and not once has Pixar let down its audience.

Pixar’s latest project, Up, has been completed and is ready for release on May 29^th. The movie looks promising for many reasons, primarily because when at the cinema the trailer got it’s well earned laughs and movie whispers of people claiming they want to come back and see it. Another reason is for the simple understanding that it is a Pixar movie therefore chances are its great. From personal experience I have never been let down by any of their short movies or their full feature films. I expect nothing less from Up.

The movie revolves around the story of a 78 year-old balloon salesman, Carl Fredricksen, who by tying thousands of balloon to his home, sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, an 8 year old wilderness explorer, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip

carole Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family