Thursday, February 25, 2016
Side Note: Updating
Due to some issues that I do not wish to discuss, The Critical Frog has been sent to a college transitional program, which allows only 1 visit to the movie theater a month. To keep his fans happy (if he has any), Frog will attempt to express his thoughts on other aspects of the media. Let's see how this goes, shall we?
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Critical Frog: Deadpool
Superhero films are notable for taking well-known characters, and bringing new life to their stories with talented actors and astounding effects. Typically, in addition to being good films, these reintroduce popular characters into the mainstream of media and can also work to reboot not only heroes, but entire universes. But with a character like Deadpool, with a major foothold already in modern pop culture, it's much more difficult to completely revamp without quite a bit of anger from the character's fans. So, what does a filmmaker do? They give you exactly what you wanted, of course!
Where do I begin with a superhero like Deadpool? I guess I should start with his origins, for those who don't know Deadpool, First of all, welcome to the internet! Enjoy your stay and try to avoid going on DeviantArt. Secondly, Deadpool is the Marvel Comics name for a wisecracking, unkillable mercenary by the name of Wade Wilson, who gained his powers from a radical mutation experiment that granted him hyper-regenerative powers and super-strength. Deadpool's quick thinking and anti-hero status lead to him quickly amassing a large fanbase with his commentary and fourth wall humor. Eventually, his popularity branched out so far that Hollywood got word, and decided to give the Merc with a Mouth his very own feature film. Fans are delighted, but critics.......meh.
The film explains the origins of Deadpool quite well, and makes the character's reasoning very understandable. Wade Wilson, a bounty hunter/mercenary by trade, leads a comfortable life with his wife Vanessa until he is diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Desperate to find a way to return to his normal life, he signs up for an experimental treatment that alters his body into the mutant form we all know and love. Nervous about showing his now-grotesque face to his wife, he spends his days living with an old lady and trying to find the project's head, in hopes that he can fix Wade's face. But when the X-Men get involved, things get much more complicated.
I'm not saying that Deadpool is a bad film- in fact, quite the opposite. The first time around, the film comes off as funny- a nice action/comedy with touches of romance and a massive amount of self-aware snark- but it's the repeat value that hits Deadpool in the sensitive area.
The one issue with the film, and in extension, Deadpool himself, comes from it's ability to be just as entertaining the second time around. With films nowadays allowing for multiple plots, background elements and multiple branches of jokes to add reasons to see the film again, But when all your comedy relies on just a few traits, The issue with a character relying on one joke is that it loses a lot of it's luster once you've heard the joke before. If you take away the fourth wall from Ferris Bueller, you still have a cool character who gets his way through pluck and wit. Take it away from Deadpool and you have just another Deathstroke. And without a good replay value, this film won't be the groundbreaker it wants to.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
----------------------------------------
Hey, Critical Frog! Awfully kind of you to let me in the blogging room!
Wait....what? How'd you get in here?
It's me, Deadpool! I heard you were reviewing my film. Did you like it?
Err.............
Where do I begin with a superhero like Deadpool? I guess I should start with his origins, for those who don't know Deadpool, First of all, welcome to the internet! Enjoy your stay and try to avoid going on DeviantArt. Secondly, Deadpool is the Marvel Comics name for a wisecracking, unkillable mercenary by the name of Wade Wilson, who gained his powers from a radical mutation experiment that granted him hyper-regenerative powers and super-strength. Deadpool's quick thinking and anti-hero status lead to him quickly amassing a large fanbase with his commentary and fourth wall humor. Eventually, his popularity branched out so far that Hollywood got word, and decided to give the Merc with a Mouth his very own feature film. Fans are delighted, but critics.......meh.
The film explains the origins of Deadpool quite well, and makes the character's reasoning very understandable. Wade Wilson, a bounty hunter/mercenary by trade, leads a comfortable life with his wife Vanessa until he is diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Desperate to find a way to return to his normal life, he signs up for an experimental treatment that alters his body into the mutant form we all know and love. Nervous about showing his now-grotesque face to his wife, he spends his days living with an old lady and trying to find the project's head, in hopes that he can fix Wade's face. But when the X-Men get involved, things get much more complicated.
I'm not saying that Deadpool is a bad film- in fact, quite the opposite. The first time around, the film comes off as funny- a nice action/comedy with touches of romance and a massive amount of self-aware snark- but it's the repeat value that hits Deadpool in the sensitive area.
The one issue with the film, and in extension, Deadpool himself, comes from it's ability to be just as entertaining the second time around. With films nowadays allowing for multiple plots, background elements and multiple branches of jokes to add reasons to see the film again, But when all your comedy relies on just a few traits, The issue with a character relying on one joke is that it loses a lot of it's luster once you've heard the joke before. If you take away the fourth wall from Ferris Bueller, you still have a cool character who gets his way through pluck and wit. Take it away from Deadpool and you have just another Deathstroke. And without a good replay value, this film won't be the groundbreaker it wants to.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
----------------------------------------
Hey, Critical Frog! Awfully kind of you to let me in the blogging room!
Wait....what? How'd you get in here?
It's me, Deadpool! I heard you were reviewing my film. Did you like it?
Err.............
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Critical Frog: Alvin And The Chipmunks- Road Chip
It seems like time after time, musicians attempt to branch out into more than their fair niche. From Weird Al meeting the likes of Batman and Pinkie Pie to Scooby-Doo joining forces with KISS, there's always something to be said for these unexpected celebrity crossovers. While somewhat tiring after a while (at this point Scooby-Doo has solved mysteries with pretty much everyone in existence. including Batman), these can be insanely entertaining when finding an unexpected voice actor among the typical roster (like realizing Ozzy Osbourne was the villain in an episode of "Bubble Guppies") or letting the total lunacy of a situation take control (the logical answers behind Scooby-Doo mixed with the insane fantastical realms of KISS). But what happens when the musical act was already kind of made to perform in cartoons in the first place? Enter: Alvin and the Chipmunks.
I've never been a Chipmunks kid- as mentioned before, I was raised primarily on superheroes and dark comedies- but I do understand the basic premise: a music producer named Dave discovers three chipmunks who can sing, and the trio quickly become a hit while making mischief and having one-syllable personalities (Alvin= Jerk, Simon= Smart, Theodore =Fat). This franchise was huge in the early days of cartoon tie-ins, and led to a popular TV show adaptation that received a live-action reboot in the recent decade. Personally, I never saw the big deal- the characters were bland (especially the Chipettes- Girl Alvin, Girl Simon and Girl Theodore) and the high voices kind of got on my nerves- but I can see why people like it. What I can't see, however, is the point of the moral choices in The Road Chip.
Here's one of those comedies that gets the idea of divorce confused with a plot device. Self-appointed Chipmunk father Dave begins seeing a lovely woman named Samantha, and the chipmunks look forward to having a mother. The only downside is that this woman has a terror of a son by the name of Miles, who does not get along with our protagonists- except on the decision that his mother is better off without a husband. So when Dave takes a wedding ring to his vacation with Samantha, leaving Miles and the 'munks (that really sounds like a band name) home alone, they decide toput their differences aside for the purpose of getting to Miami and stopping the proposal- after which they never have to see each other again. Armed with only their wits and some cash, they start their odyssey with an air marshal by the name of Suggs in hot pursuit (no word on if he is related to Marvin Suggs, who plays the Muppaphone).
The main problem with this film comes not from the squeaky-voiced main characters, but from Miles- or, more specifically, his story. His father died when he was a toddler and this has turned him into a jerk, resilient to change and cruel to those he does not know. As someone all too familiar with the concept of having divorced parents, it's fair to say that not all kids turn out as jerky and misguided as Miles (or maybe he just doesn't want to be related to three singing chipmunks) Divorce used as a plot point or reasoning for a character's behavior has always been a pet peeve of mine, and here it's no different. I've harped on this before, so no point in it- but the forced emotion in these scenes drives me nuts.
The comedy here is no different from the other films- primarily jokes about small furry animals and butt waggling. It would be nice to have jokes aside from, "Look! Chipmunks!" once in a while. The one exception comes from a cameo by John Waters, involving Alvin making a reference to Pink Flamingos. I'll admit, it wasn't what I was expecting- but it did get me thinking how much more interesting it would have been for Dave's newly acquired beau to be the late Divine.
OVERALL RATING 4/10
----------------------------------
I wasn't a chipmunk fan before, and I'm still not. Those squeaky voices can carry some tunes, but divorce comedy isn't one. The best way to counter a bad film on a topic is with a good one- and luckily for us, there are two great ones in the Oscar nominated animations this year currently in theaters. Both the simplistic We Can't Live Without Cosmos and the wonderful and inventive Bear Story deal with separation much better than this while starring fewer characters and shorter running times. In a case like this, take quality over quantity.
The main problem with this film comes not from the squeaky-voiced main characters, but from Miles- or, more specifically, his story. His father died when he was a toddler and this has turned him into a jerk, resilient to change and cruel to those he does not know. As someone all too familiar with the concept of having divorced parents, it's fair to say that not all kids turn out as jerky and misguided as Miles (or maybe he just doesn't want to be related to three singing chipmunks) Divorce used as a plot point or reasoning for a character's behavior has always been a pet peeve of mine, and here it's no different. I've harped on this before, so no point in it- but the forced emotion in these scenes drives me nuts.
The comedy here is no different from the other films- primarily jokes about small furry animals and butt waggling. It would be nice to have jokes aside from, "Look! Chipmunks!" once in a while. The one exception comes from a cameo by John Waters, involving Alvin making a reference to Pink Flamingos. I'll admit, it wasn't what I was expecting- but it did get me thinking how much more interesting it would have been for Dave's newly acquired beau to be the late Divine.
OVERALL RATING 4/10
----------------------------------
I wasn't a chipmunk fan before, and I'm still not. Those squeaky voices can carry some tunes, but divorce comedy isn't one. The best way to counter a bad film on a topic is with a good one- and luckily for us, there are two great ones in the Oscar nominated animations this year currently in theaters. Both the simplistic We Can't Live Without Cosmos and the wonderful and inventive Bear Story deal with separation much better than this while starring fewer characters and shorter running times. In a case like this, take quality over quantity.
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