How To Train Your Dragon 2 success turns movie-goers into readers

Here's another shout-out to a book that made it big at the box office!

Movie Title:  How to Train Your Dragon 2

PG, 1 hour 45 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:  Everyone in the family will enjoy this adorable DreamWorks sequel by Dean DeBlois.  It impresses with FANTASTIC textures and surfaces: fur, leather, hair, metal, wrinkles on skin, dragon scales, tears, chin hairs, etc.  It’s simply amazing how far animation has come.  I didn’t even see it in 3D!

The narrator begins “With Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger.”  And so it is.  A good sequel builds upon the solid foundation of its original movie, adding new layers and fun surprises.  This movie does just that.  The audience has grown up since the 2010 original, and this sequel has too, developing a rich story that provides substance to the silliness.

Uplifting theme:  There is an environmental message about caring for animals against evil human predators.  Just so you know, no dragons were harmed in the making of this film. Family and forgiveness are also addressed, as well as courage and love.

Things I liked:

• There are several running gags that weave throughout the movie.  One features  Ruffnut, the Viking twin sister of Tuffnut, as she falls in love with Erit, a new Viking with bulging biceps.  She's not the least bit feminine and is always fighting with her twin brother, so to see her swoon is unexpected and delightful. She is voiced by the talented Kristen Wiig.  T.J. Miller voices her twin brother, who also plays the comic relief in the newest installment in the Transformers movie franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction .    
  
• Another running gag features adorable sheep who are used for a dragon version of Harry Potter’s Quidditch.  Hilarious.
• I love movies that take time to provide random and humorous details.  Icicles on mustaches.  Freckles.  Beards braided with leather bows.
• I want a pair of Astrid’s cute, fuzzy boots.
• The many air scenes will seriously make you want to fly.
• “The Dancing and the Dreaming” song with lyrics by Shane MacGowan and music by Jon Thor Birgisson and John Powell is very sweet and feels like a believable song of Viking ancestry.
• I adore Cate Blanchett.  Other voice talents in the film are Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Craig Ferguson, and Kit Harington.
• Sure, the flick is fairly predictable, but it's still a fun ride.

Things I didn’t like:

• Who names their baby “Hiccup”?  A Viking, I guess.
• SPOILER ALERT:  As awesome as dragons are, I would never leave my baby boy to go live with dragons instead. 
• Drago.  Really?  They couldn’t think of a more creative name?

Did you know?

• Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois were not the original directors, but were later hired to create a movie that would appeal to the rug rats AND their parents.
• Did you know these “Dragon” movies were inspired by a 2003 novel?  Astrid (played by America Ferrara) is a character created just for the movie, as she wasn’t even in the original novel.
• The character voice of “Toothless” was created by mixing sounds from horses, elephants, tigers, and even the voice of the Sound Designer, Randy Thom.
• A lot of the scenery is based on real places in Iceland and the Pacific Coast.

Interesting lines:

• “Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with.”  - Stoick
• “You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon.”  - Valka

Funny lines:

• “Soil my britches!”  - Erit
• “Me likey!” – Ruffnut when she sees Erit for the first time.
• Ruffnut says “Erit was the man of my dreams.”  Gobber says “But Baby, I grew facial hair for you!”
• Astrid:  “That’s your mother?”

Hiccup: “Now you know where I get my dramatic flair!”

Tips for parents:  There is some fighting and a few scary dragons, but otherwise, even young children should enjoy watching this film.

For your family's collection:
 

Golden Globe winner Cate Blanchett may have an Oscar to add to her collection

 
With the season of award shows beginning, I thought I would share one of my movie reviews that features Golden Globe winner Cate Blanchett.

Movie Title:   

Blue Jasmine

PG – 13, 1 hour 38 minutes

Grade: B+

In a Nutshell:  The best part of this Woody Allen film is the stunning Cate Blanchett, who just won a Golden Globe for this role, as well as an Oscar nomination with buzz of a win.  She plays Jasmine/Jeanette, a wealthy Park Avenue wife whose life unravels, leaving her to discover and reinvent herself. It’s a bit depressing, but darkly funny.  Some people will find some satisfaction in watching a rich snob fall to the bottom of the financial barrel.  Of course, Alec Baldwin is completely believable in his role as a Bernie Madoff type of husband.  Andrew Dice Clay hardly has to act and British actress Sally Hawkins is delightful as Jasmine’s sister Ginger.

Uplifting theme:  It’s a cautionary tale of sorts for women.  Girls, pay attention to your finances; don’t “let” your husband take care of it all.  Be an informed partner.  Jasmine’s brother-in-law Augie said about her “She’s a phony and had to know.”  Did she?  We hear one of Jasmine’s wealthy gal pal’s advise her “Just don’t file a joint tax return.”  Jasmine sighs “I sign anything…I’m very trusting.”  Famous last words.   

Jasmine’s step-son asks “Did you not suspect anything or did you not care?”  Good question.  She turned the other eye at her husband’s dishonest business dealings, but ironically, she drew the line at his cheating.  Jasmine is so delusional that she makes a remark about another man who can’t seem to live without a woman, but in reality, she is the one who can’t live without a man.  She criticizes her sister for choosing to date losers, but Jasmine’s husband Hal is the bigger loser, albeit an extremely wealthy one.

Jasmine said “There’s only so many traumas a person can withstand before you take to the streets and start screaming.”  Perhaps those who judge “crazy” people mumbling on the park bench will now stop to consider what pains and sorrows brought the person to that point.

Things I liked:  Cate Blanchett is simply mesmerizing to watch. Woody Allen is a master at building characters and choosing his leading women.  I loved Jasmine’s gorgeous home on the beach.

Things I didn’t like:  I hated watching women being lied to by married men.  I was surprised that there was nothing interesting to see at the beginning…just rolling names on the screen. I might have panned across beautiful homes of the “rich and famous” or the The Hamptons: Life Behind the Hedges .  Same thing.  The film is a bit messy at times, but I suppose that matches the lives of the people in it.

Funny line:

• “I changed it. Yeah, Jeanette had no panache.”  - Jasmine
• Can you believe I had to move out of my beautiful home and take a place in Brooklyn?”  - Jasmine
• Ginger asks Jasmine “How did you fly First Class” and Jasmine answers “I don’t know.  I just did.”
• “I suppose I’m going to have to invite them to my birthday party now.” – Jasmine
• “Tomorrow I’m definitely taking the day off. I’ve neglected everything: my yoga, my pilates…”  - Jasmine

• “Not bad taste for a Philistine businessman.”  - Hal when he gives Jasmine an expensive bracelet”

• “Nurses are hot to go to bed with.” – Ginger’s new boyfriend
• “They say every year millions of brain cells just die off.” – Jasmine as she throws back a glass of alcohol
• “He’s sexy and he doesn’t steal.” – Ginger
• “Edison’s Medicine – because they use electricity to get you thinking straight again.” - Jasmine

Things to look for: 

• The way she treats people in the service industry at the beginning.
• The “infinity pool” in her backyard
• Jasmine checks her watch when Ginger & Augie come to visit
• Jasmine’s gigantic diamond wedding ring

Tips for parents:

This is really not a movie for children.  The film is a character study with no action.  In other words, they’ll be bored to death.  Some profanity, but no F-bombs.  Some sexual discussions and a terrifically awkward groping scene with a pathetic dentist.