Movie Reviews – Sept 2014
Planes: Fire & Rescue Disney’s sequel to its successful Planes film and in this one, world-famous air racer Dusty finds a new career as a fire-fighting plane. This anthropomorphic character charms us once again in a tame adventure that you can feel comfortable taking your preschoolers to. KIDS FIRST! Video review available here: http://youtu.be/PDQWRqNc1j4 What a funny and entertaining film! I did not know what to expect, this is the fourth film in this vehicle’s universe with the two Cars movies and then the first Planes movie. I was wondering if maybe Disney pushed it a little bit. However, Planes: Fire and Rescue is an entertaining film that is a fantastic sequel in this magical franchise. The story isn’t about just one topic. This is a little bit of humorous romance and also a lot of action. They make some pretty funny jokes while adding a little sprinkle of drama and a great message for the kids as well. The story starts when Dusty sadly learns that a key component in him is broken and he thinks he will never race again. When a fire breaks out in his airport, they realize the town needs a second firefighter. Dusty steps up to the plate and goes into training. If you want to find out what happens and if he becomes a firefighter, you have got to watch the film. What a great add-on to the series; the jokes are perfect. Julie Bowen (Lil’ Dipper) is funny through the end. Also, there are a lot of great messages and a lot of references to things in real life. However, this film is very predictable. Ten minutes in, I knew the ending, so it probably would be more captivating for a younger audience. Also, Planes: Fire and Rescue is very similar to the last three films. There is a challenge, a serious character and some comedy. Other than that, the voices are well done and they even changed a Native American folk tale into the version of vehicles just for this film! Very clever! My favorite scene is when Dusty first arrives at the firefighting station for his training. He is introduced to some Smoke Jumpers, cars that parachute into the fire to tackle fallen trees and save wildlife. One nearly takes off his head and the other two introduce themselves. Once they all get acquainted, the first fire breaks out and cars and planes all get into action in a wellchoreographed manner! This is a kid’s film and nothing really is here that parents should be worried about. I recommend it for ages 3 to18. Even kids that don’t understand it will enjoy the bright colors. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars for great jokes and a fantastic story line, even though a bit predictable. Transformers: Age of Extinction It’s been years since the Decepticons and the Autobots battled for the fate of the humans in Chicago, and human defenses against alien forces are at an all-time high. A government branch of humans is targeting all Transformers, Autobots and Decepticons alike, with the help of a menacing assassin. While all of this is going on, Cade Yeager, a struggling inventor from Texas, tries to make enough means to keep his property and put his daughter Tessa through college. While looking for parts to help his inventions, he stumbles upon a broken-down, rusted truck and decides to fix it up. To his surprise, the truck turns out to be the mighty Optimus Prime. Cade fixes him and decides to help him defeat the forces coming for Earth yet again once he realizes what the government is doing to Transformers. Now, the fate of the entire human race lies in the hands of Optimus and this family of humans, and without them, we might just face extinction. This film is entertaining and visually very well done. Director Michael Bay uses the first IMAX Digital 3D camera, making the images more immersive and stunning than anything that’s been seen on the big screen so far. It’s very intense to be sitting in the IMAX Theater seeing these 50-foot robots captured in such a realistic way. If you’ve seen any of the previous films from this franchise, you know that they are nothing short of action packed. The cinematography and CGI are able to show the intense battle scenes and large-scale attacks in a breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat way. One thing that I don’t like about the visuals is the inconsistency of the Transformers from film to film. The main characters look the same but some of the Autobots that are introduced in this film are designed completely different than in any of the previous films. I am really sick of the way girls are portrayed in this franchise. Every single leading lady looks like a model, is completely helpless about 75 percent of the movie, can never figure out how to help herself and has to be told to run before she does. Near the end, they have one moment of courage, and that’s pretty much all. It’s a formula that is completely predictable in all of the Transformer films, but alas, it’s what sells. As I said before, this film is entertaining and enjoyable. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and recommend this film for ages 13 to 18 due to the violence and language. However, if you have seen the previous films and are under 13, then this film should be suitable for you.
