"Zootopia" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

“Zootopia” is about an ambitious young bunny named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lives in a modern society where animals all get along, predator and prey alike. Despite the pleas of her protective parents, Judy ditches the idea of becoming a carrot farmer and pursues a career as a police officer. She overcomes all adversity and graduates the police academy at the top of her class to become the first police bunny ever. Upon graduation, Judy is sent to Precinct 1 located in the heart of the great city of Zootopia. Judy’s parents caution her to be wary of predators like lions and tigers and bears, but especially of foxes. As Judy’s parents see it, despite how far society has come in the world of “Zootopia”, some animals will always revert back to their “savage” ways. Judy reluctantly accepts the anti-fox mace spray her parents give her and hops on the train to the big city.

Zootopia is nothing short of a grand metropolis with gleaming buildings and distinct neighborhoods. Just a few include the “Rainforest District”, “Sahara Square”, and “Tundratown”. Judy is stationed in the downtown area where she is rudely greeted by her superior officer, an Ox named Bogo (Idris Elba). Judy the bunny looks out of place in a room full of tougher animals such as Timberwolves, Cheetahs, Lions, and Rhinos. Bogo addresses the room about fourteen missing persons from around Zootopia and promptly assigns all of the tough animals to the separate cases. He sticks Judy on parking duty, making her nothing more than a “meter maid”. Through a series of events, Judy is allowed to investigate a case regarding a missing otter named Emmett Otterton. Her lead witness in the otter’s disappearance is a clever fox named Nicholas “Nick” P. Wilde (Jason Bateman). Judy and Nick become a kind of team when investigating the case, which leads them all around Zootopia and into a grand conspiracy involving the highest members of government.

For all of the colorful scenes and silly characters, there are certain points in which “Zootopia” is for adults rather than kids. In one scene Judy and Nick stumble into a metro car that has been turned into what resembles a meth lab where creepy ram named "Doug" stomps around in a gas mask mixing chemicals. His yellow suit is reminiscent of Breaking Bad. At one point Judy and Nick are led to a “naturalist” club called “The Mystic Spring Oasis”. Judy and Nick gawk at the naked animals meditating and doing yoga around the club while they try to gather information. What would this scene look like in a movie with humans? These two scenes and many others exemplify a level of grittiness that was surprising for a children’s animation film. In another scene the duo encounter a crime boss named "Mr. Big", a tiny rat, who hilariously resembles Don Corleone from "The Godfather". "You come into my house the day my daughter is to be married" he says... I couldn't stop laughing.

In the world of animation, details are often what make a movie great. “Zootopia” nails everything on the spectrum. There are little parodies including Starbucks as “Snarlbucks”, Macy’s as “Mosuey’s”, and Lululemon as “Lululemmings”. More importantly, the animals have a full gamut of facial expressions that give them life, and make them a real character. Although “Zootopia” is set in a fictional world, there is plenty to take away from the movie and apply to real life. In several scenes, “Zootopia” plays around with this real life application. When Judy and Nick have to identify a license plate number and go to the DMV, all of the workers are sloths…literally. Early on in the story as Judy is working as a meter maid, a frustrated driver yells at her, “my taxes pay your salary lady.” These were jokes most of the kids in the theater wouldn’t understand but drew plenty of laughter from the parents. More importantly, “Zootopia” confronts the ever-contemporary political issue of xenophobia and racism. Throughout the film, there are conflicts between predators and prey. The film dares to ask, can predators be civilized? Or will they always revert back to their biological behavior?

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of “Zootopia” is its versatility. It has the makings of a fun children’s animation film, a detective thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a politically charged drama. Amazingly, “Zootopia” succeeds in all of these endeavors. The directors of the film, Byron Howard and Rich Moore, have extensive experience in animation as well as clear-cut political views regarding diversity and acceptance. In many ways “Zootopia” is the anti-Trump of animation films. While “Zootopia” doesn’t quite match the brilliance of Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out”, it is certainly one of the best animation films I have seen in recent memory, and bears a vitally important message about the world we live in today.

P.S. The movies theme song ("Try Everything") is performed by a gazelle named "Gazelle". She is Zootopia's version of Shakira, and the song is definitely worth a listen.

"How to Be Single" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

 “How to Be Single” is like a multi-season New York City sitcom jam packed into a feature film. Alice, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, is the main character study; but an ensemble cast includes ten other important yuppies.  Alice has just graduated from Wesleyan and broken up with Josh (Nicholas Braun), her boyfriend of four years, in order to experience single life in New York City.  Upon arriving at her new job, Alice befriends Robin (Rebel Wilson), an energetic party girl who knows all about being single in the city.  With the help of Robin, Alice meets Tom (Anders Holm), a bar owner with a die-hard swinger mentality.  They have sex and Tom explains how he handles single life, including a tour of his girlfriend-proof apartment with no breakfast foods and no running water.  Satisfied with her experiment of being single, Alice tries to reconnect with Josh.  Much to her disappointment, Josh has found another girlfriend and even criticizes Alice for her lack of commitment when they graduated.  More hook-ups and plot developments ensue.  Alice meets David (Damon Wayans Jr.), a wealthy developer who has recently been widowed and left with a daughter. Alice and David start going out, but she is pushed away because David cannot confront his grief and is protective of his daughter.  Ultimately, Alice comes to a realization that being happy as a single person is relative, and for her it means fulfillment in moments of absolute stoicism. Adjacent storylines include Lucy (Alison Brie) and Meg (Leslie Mann). Lucy doesn’t want to be single, but cannot find a man that fits her stringent criteria.  Meg is Alice’s older sister who is focused on her career but still wants to have baby.

The main flaw in "How to Be Single" is a severe lack of character development. Most of the people in the movie represent stereotypes rather than intelligent human beings. Tom is the swinger and to him relationships are a waste of time. Lucy is the straight-laced girl who knows exactly what she wants (her character is reminiscent of Monica Geller/Bing from the sitcom "F.R.I.E.N.D.S."). Robin is a rambunctious partier who drinks and does drugs and sleeps around and doesn't care what you think of her (similar to the character portrayed by Amy Schumer in "Trainwreck"). Out of the entire lineup, Alice and David were the only characters that have enough heft to actually care about.

Another major issue with "How to Be Single" is the plot. It doesn't make sense. There are two separate scenes where Meg (Leslie Mann) emphatically breaks up with her boyfriend citing her need to be independent; neither is acknowledged in the slightest by the boyfriend and he just keeps showing up. By the end of the film, three of the main characters have inexplicable changes of heart. In the most shocking example, Josh abandons his "nice-guy" stereotype and makes a purely sexual advance on Alice. The possibility of Josh needed to be eliminated, so his character is hastily warped into a villain. These, and several other scenes feel forced either for the sake of a couple laughs or the structure of the plot.

The misdirection in "How to Be Single" is ultimately the biggest hindrance to the truly relevant characters. David is a compelling person with an interesting backstory, yet he gets maybe 15 minutes of screen time while Robin, an utterly meaningless character receives closer to an hour. A prime example of the writers of "How to Be Single" sacrificing their own creations for a couple jeers comes near the end of the movie in a scene between Tom and Alice. The two are hanging out discussing their relationship woes, when Alice starts counting the number of drinks they have shared. The "drink number" was a bit introduced by Robin earlier in the film where she explains that between two friends, there is a number of drinks that constitutes a definitive sexual encounter. In this scene, Alice frantically counts the beer bottles; she is seemingly adverse to the idea of sex with Tom. Yet Alice counts to the "drink number" and has sex with Tom, a decision she immediately regrets. What are Alice's motivations in this scene? She doesn't have to have sex with Tom. The drink number was a Robin joke, not a rule handed down by God. In this scene the joke is made at the expense of Alice’s character within the movie. But this is a comedy. Why am I fretting over character depth and how realistic the plot is? While "How to Be Single" is labeled as a Romantic Comedy, it makes a concerted effort to be "deep", and the second half of the film is surprisingly somber compared to the first half.

Somewhere hidden in all of the nonsensical scenes that comprise "How to Be Single", there is an attempt to explain how a young woman lives in a post-materialistic society. This is a compelling topic, yet the movie is too distracted and unsure of itself to make provide any concrete answers. "How to Be Single" tries to be a raunchy comedy, a relationship drama, and a philosophical expedition all at the same time. When you break up the movie into each individual storyline, it's easy to see the shallowness of the overall story and the lack of substance within the characters. In the end all that is left is a weak rom-com that wastes its talented cast by not fulfilling any one of its many storylines: it is ironic that a lack of commitment is the downfall of "How to Be Single".

"Deadpool" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

Quite frankly, Ryan Reynolds hasn't been in too many good movies. He has never been able to land a role that really maximized his strengths. It's ironic that Reynolds' greatest film achievement was called "Buried", in which he was stuck in a box for the duration of the movie. Now, Reynolds finally has gotten his chance with "Deadpool". All of that pent up snark and pizazz has been let loose, and in a Marvel superhero movie of all places. Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson, an ex-special-ops soldier turned mercenary. Wilson's life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin) and they fall in love. However, he is soon diagnosed with terminal cancer and confronted by a shady businessman (Jed Rees) who offers a cure to his cancer.

After initially dismissing him, Wilson accepts the offer and is brought to a ramshackle clinic in a dingy city basement. Quickly, Wilson realizes he has been tricked into taking part in a private experiment to turn humans into mutants. And so, through a gruesome process Wilson's "mutant genes" are brought to life. He becomes incredibly strong and immune to any kind of injury; he heals like Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in the "X-Men" movies, but much more rapidly. However, the procedure leaves Wilson looking like he has third-degree burns covering his entire body. Wilson breaks out of the prison clinic and decides he can't reunite with Vanessa because, "looks are everything", and he is now ugly. Infuriated by the loss of a future with his girl, Wilson takes on the superhero name "Deadpool" and seeks revenge on the people who made him what he is.

The plot in “Deadpool” isn't all that special: it is a basic revenge story where the hero must confront some inner demons and win back the girl. But "Deadpool" is so much more than just another superhero click added to the Marvel canon. This film is R instead of PG-13. There is bad language, sex scenes, and plenty of blood and gore. This is the MTV of superhero movies. Reynolds totally immerses himself in the character and it is so much fun to watch. One of Deadpool/Wilson’s trademarks in the movie is characterizing everything using drawn out descriptions full of references. In the opening scenes he describes living in a life without love as "two hobos fucking in a shoebox full of piss". That doesn't make sense, but Reynolds delivers each strange qualification with such energy and enthusiasm you just have to shake your head and laugh. In another scene, Deadpool calls Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart) a “creepy, bald, Heaven’s Gate-looking motherfucker”. I’m not advocating vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity or gore for the sake of gore, but in “Deadpool” those things contribute to the overarching prank on Hollywood superhero flicks.

Besides the hilarity of the jokes, "Deadpool" is refreshing because it feels more real. Deadpool/Wilson isn't an eccentric billionaire living in a bat-cave or a Malibu mansion, instead he resides in a run down apartment with an elderly, blind, African-American woman named Blind Al (Leslie Uggams). Instead of traveling to fight the bad guys in an X-Jet or a Batmobile, Deadpool has to take a taxicab. Perhaps the greatest irony of Deadpool is the fact that he is gross looking. Superheroes aren't supposed to look like a horror movie monster just like Ryan Reynolds isn't supposed to be able to act without a pretty face.

The director of this unconventional superhero movie is Tim Miller, who is accredited in the opening scene as an "overpaid tool". I would disagree. Before "Deadpool" started I saw six trailers. One was for a franchise produced by J.J. Abrams. The next for a CGI fueled film called "Gods of Egypt", which looks like Gerard Butler cashing in on the last fumes from "300". And the next four were for these movies: "X-Men: Apocalypse", "Captain America: Civil War", "Suicide Squad", and "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice". Notice anything excessive? I had to laugh a little because after all I was about to see a superhero movie. But "Deadpool" isn't just a movie about a good guy in a costume fighting bad guys. Miller has created a spoof of the superhero fad that is dominating the theaters. And it's not only good in its own right as a superhero origin story; it's uniquely hilarious and entertaining from start to finish. Deadpool might not be able to fly or shoot lasers from his eyes, but at least he has the freedom to call his worst enemy a "wheezing bag of dick tips" and actually watch him bleed. In an America where the next president might be Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, we need a superhero that speaks his mind and doesn't care; Deadpool is that hero.