MOVIE: The LEGO Movie (2014)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The LEGO MovieYear: 2014Rating: PGLength: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours As a child, LEGO was my toy of choice. I collected it. I built with it. The endless possibilities it provided gave me endless hours of entertainment. In translating this toy to the big screen, the primary concept of imaginative play is front and center. The LEGO Movie (2014) benefited from an alignment of two forces that made it into an instant classic. First, the animation accurately depicted the feel of these plastic bricks. Second, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have created another comedic masterpiece for kids and adults. The debt that The LEGO Movie owes to all the kids (and adults) who used the bricks to make their own stop-motion films is unavoidably huge. The LEGO video games were a bit more flexible in their character animations...sometimes to their detriment. By keeping the models stiff and abiding by the blocky limitations of the medium, The LEGO Movie made each scene feel...
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MOVIE: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Year: 2009 Rating: PG Length: 90 minutes / 1.50 hours One of the most memorable books of my childhood was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I was skeptical a short book with no plot could become a feature-length movie. But, just like trying new foods, I gave Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) a chance. The result was something hilarious that both kids and adults could enjoy on different levels. Somehow, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller transformed this beloved book into a fun movie with lots of valid points about life. For their first film, Lord and Miller knocked it out of the park with their style of humor. It was goofy. It was smart. There's no doubt that this movie helped catapult them into other projects like The LEGO Movie (2014). Sure, there were the occasional bathroom humor bits, but there were so few of them as to not ruin the vibe. The voice acting fit...
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