Movie Review: The Muppets (PG)

The Muppets are back! In the same style of the old Muppet shows, Disney brings us an all new movie in theaters just in time for Thanksgiving. Lovers Mary and Gary venture off to Los Angeles for their 10th anniversary. Gary brings along his brother, Walter (who happens to be a puppet), so he can visit the original Muppet Studio. But here's the catch: The Muppets haven't been together for years, and the studio is abandoned. Walter is determined to get the gang back together and restore the studio. They must raise $10M or else an evil oil driller will tear down the studio and get oil. Can the Muppets raise enough money? Or will the studio be torn down for good?

Filled with plenty of Muppet style jokes, songs, and action, Disney puts together a film that many will enjoy. As for me however, the cons well outweighed the good parts. I love Amy Adams, and have fallen in love with her through movies like "Enchanted" and "Leap Year." In "The Muppets," however, I don't think she got enough screen time. She has such great charisma and charm about her, and Disney didn't give her enough time to show it off. She does get a solo song, though, which was very enjoyable. Jason Segel gives a very lacking performance. His character (Gary) had zero chemistry with Mary. As I watched the dialogue roll off their tongues, I cringed as it seemed like they were reading a script. For something as professional as Disney, I was very disappointed with Jason Segel's performance.

As a Muppet fan, I had high expectations for this movie. I went to go see a matinee showing on Thanksgiving Day, 2011.


Pros


Fun songs to get your feet tapping
Great puns and jokes for the adults in the audience


Cons


Poor plot
No chemistry between main characters (except Miss Piggy and Kermit of course)
Very poor performance from Jason Segel
Got boring at points
One of those movies you keep expecting to get better, then never does


Conclusion


It's worth a $1 rental from Redbox, but not a $9 purchase from your Box Office. If you're a diehard Muppet fan then you'll probably like it. As for the rest of us, it was okay.


★★✯☆☆

Movie Review: Puss in Boots (PG)

Dreamworks presents "Puss in Boots" and it's NOT Shrek 5. Some may say the company is milking the Shrek phenomenon for all it's worth, "Puss" however is a whole new movie. No references to our favorite green ogre are made. Antonio Banderas pulls off the perfect voice for our feline friend known as Puss... IN BOOTS! As he and his friends Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Soft Paws embark on a magical journey to steal the magic beans from outlaws Jack and Jill, they find that humor, love, and forgiveness goes a long way. Dreamworks did a fantastic job with the humor, timing, and characters. 

PROS

No Shrek references

Charming and funny

CONS

Little over the top with bathroom humor, but not too bad. It made the smaller kids in the theater laugh, but that's all. 

★★★★☆

Movie Review: Winnie the Pooh (G)

Yup. Winnie the Pooh. It didn't last in theaters long. Probably because Harry Potter 7 came out on the same. Sad day, cause Pooh was great. I saw it at the dollar theater, and I must say I enjoyed it. No, I'm not 7 years old. I'm a teenage boy, and I'm proud to say that Pooh is on my list of favorites. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. The music was fabulous. And yes, I began humming along in the theater. The voices were almost spot on to what I remember them sounding like when I was just a little kid. Disney decided to make a Pooh film that followed the original style of the old cartoons. The animation was just the same, the characters just as rememberable, and it even included the theme song at the beginning. Winnie the Pooh hits stores on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, October 25. Netflix will release it on the same day.

Winnie the Pooh teaser poster

Pros

Great for kids and adults alike
G-rated. Clean, nothing offensive.
Feel good cartoon
Includes a 5 minute short

Cons

It was only a little over an hour long, left me wanting more
No references to Heffulumps :)

★★★★★ (out of 5)

Product Review: My New iPad

Hello everyone, this is my first blogging experience, so please pardon the mess. I am technologically savvy but close to clueless about blogging. Well, the title of this post is "My New iPad". I figured I'd share my thoughts on Apple's newest tablet.

I got myself the iPad 2, 64gb wifi, black. I've had it almost a week now. The display is no different from the first iPad, but that's okay because the screen looks gorgeous. The new iPad is super fast, has a great battery life (10 hours) and fits perfectly in my bag. So far I've managed to get along fine without Adobe Flash. I don't miss it too much. Many websites that use flash (such as YouTube.com) have an app on the App Store, and they fit the screen perfectly. I'm also not missing s USB port or SD card reader because I can transfer files through iTunes or email stuff to myself (you can purchase the iPad Camera Connection Kit for $29, it lets you import photos directly from your digital camera). The keyboard is a little difficult to type on, but I'm sure that I'll get used to it (I'm typing on my iPad right now). You can hook up a Bluetooth keyboard, and the Apple Wireless Keyboard is a perfect fit.

Some of the only cons of the iPad is the pricing. It costs $500-$800 depending on the model. If you take a look at other tablets like the Motorola Xoom, the Galaxy Tab, and others, (more and more are coming each month) the iPad is actually competitivilly priced. I think you can manage to get a tablet for around $100 bucks, but they work like garbage.