MOVIE: Epic (2013)

by benmweilertNo Comments
EpicYear: 2013Rating: PGLength: 102 minutes / 1.70 hours One reason I loved the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) growing up was the different perspective it brought. When characters are tiny, a yard can be a vast forest. Steps are enormous cliffs. Danger is multiplied. This is not an original idea by any means, but shrinking down characters to experience a much smaller world seems to always have some merit. Even books like Micro have touched on this subject. Epic (2013) is merely another entry in the "miniaturization" trope, but with some good action and world-building to back it up. As with many films like this, Epic wraps its main character, M.K. (Amanda Seyfried) in the troubled trappings of a teenager who is somewhere she does not want to be. It takes an adventure in the nearby woods to appreciate her nerdy father (Jason Sudeikis) and his attempts to connect with her. This revelation is only loosely connected to the battle...
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MOVIE: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

by benmweilertNo Comments
How to Train Your Dragon Year: 2010 Rating: PG Length: 98 minutes / 1.63 hours There are a few movies I would consider pinnacle achievements in story, animation, and heart. When I saw How to Train Your Dragon (2010) in theaters, I knew I had just witnessed something special. It felt like DreamWorks had finally grown up from the bodily humor of the Shrek (2001) era and into something that could be taken seriously. It's no wonder that I still consider How to Train Your Dragon to be one of my favorite films of all time. I have always appreciated the stories that successfully convey the "brains over brawn" mentality without being too critical of either side. This film not only emphasizes a creator/tinkerer mindset, but the importance of empathizing with nature. That it made sense to kill dragons without the full context of why the dragons behaved the way they did didn't make the "brawn" side of the equation the enemy in the way...
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