Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) movie review

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Directors: Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn

Writers: Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, & Erica Rivinoja

This animated family comedy that was released September 27, 2013 in theaters follows Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) who finds his most infamous machine is causing trouble again. Back on his home island, the machine is creating food-animal hybrids, so he returns to his home to stop the machine. Sam Sparks (voiced by Anna Faris), Tim Lockwood (voiced by James Caan), Brent McHale (voiced by Andy Samberg), Manny (voiced by Benjamin Bratt), Steve (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), and Earl Devereuax (voiced by Terry Crews) join him on his journey. New to this movie is Chester V (voiced by Will Forte) and Barb (voiced by Kristen Schaal) which are fun additions to Flint's back story and to the current story line.

Now Rotten Tomatoes has this movie at 70% and I just don't agree with that (link). This movie was far better than that! I absolutely loved this movie! There was bad pun after bad pun, and I absolutely love bad puns. They are mostly food puns, but they just had me laughing for most of the movie. Even the storyline was nicely done. It wasn't an overly predictable plot, but there are a few moments that are easy to guess. There is a slight twist, and I didn't get it till the movie was about to reveal it. Mostly because I was too excited about the movie to use my brain for thinking (it was completely devoted to just enjoying the movie).

The movie was thoughtful with its execution. The detail and creativity with the island was something that I was not expecting. The food-animal hybrids are so fun to see! It was like the first time you saw the pan of the island in Jurassic Park. I'm torn between loving the elephant watermelons, potatoes hippos, and whatever the onion stalks are (they look like dinosaurs). There were also the random moments with the leaks that I just couldn't help but laugh about.

There really wasn't much that I didn't like about this movie. Even better, you can drag people to this movie that haven't seen the first one. Within the first few minutes of the movie, it completely covers what happens in the first movie (link). I absolutely adored this movie, and I didn't think I would because I wasn't overly in love with the first one. This is a movie that I will likely buy on DVD (even though I don't have the first one). 

My favorite thing about the movie is probably just how Chester V moved. It made absolutely no sense to me. Even sillier, I was trying to do what he was doing while I was sitting in the theater. If you saw the movie let me know your favorite part or moment. Hope you have a stress-free day!

All images shown and more can be found at the Rotten Tomatoes link.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland review

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes 59%

ABC

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was created by Jane Espenson, Zack Estrin, Adam Horowitz, & Edward Kitsis and is a drama, fantasy, and adventure show. It started early this month (October 10, 2013).

The only actors in the cast that I knew were John Lithgow who is the voice of the White Rabbit (and also from 3rd Rock from the Sun) and Keith David who is the voice of the Cheshire Cat (and also the voice of Flame King from Adventure Time & Mongul from Young Justice). The rest of the actors consists of people born in the United Kingdom so I haven't the foggiest who they are.

The plot to this series revolves around Alice and her love for a genie named Cyrus who subsequently came from Agrabah (both pictured to the right). She is also thought of as crazy in her hometown which is why she feels more at home in Wonderland. The whole thing is a mash up of Aladdin characters and Wonderland characters. The thing that I liked most about the story is that it answers the question of what happened to Alice after she came out of that rabbit hole as a child and where her life went. It is a little confusing with the method that they have chosen to tell the story. The begin is rather jumpy and odd to follow, but the more I watch the series the less confusing it seems.

The main thing that bugs me about the series is the CGI use. It feels like it came from a decade or two ago rather than the turn of the century. I could live with the crappy CGI backgrounds, but the CGI characters are what truly bug me. The White Rabbit and the Caterpillar are just not that great; and the White Rabbit is in much of the first episode. Their designs are also kind of creepy; and not even like Tim Burton cool creepy, just straight creepy. There is also a fight scene with the Cheshire Cat where Alice should have been getting cuts, but there is no marks left on her at all. (Red Queen pictured to the left)

While the CGI didn't have the feel of being smartly used, the camera angels are done beautifully for most of the other scenes. There are a lot of action and fight sequences that have truly been thought out. Not just the camera angles are wisely chosen, but also the choreography for the fight sequences is done smartly. It all truly feels thoughtfully done which I truly appreciate, because crappy fight scenes can kill it in my book.

When the series first started, it felt very rushed. So episode one left me not really caring about the characters at all. After watching the second episode, the speed is slowed a little so I kind of care. I'm hoping that the series will slow to a better pace because at the moment I think they are just trying to fit too much into any given moment. It isn't aided by the fact that there are two bad guys within this series. There is the Red Queen and then there is Jafar. Even weirder, they both seem to want the same thing yet they are still fighting with each other. There is also a weird sexual tension between them that makes their scenes rather uncomfortable.(Jafar pictured to the right)

One thing that I look forward to with each episode is the randomness that Wonderland has to offer. There are dragonflies that are actual dragons. There is a conversation about needing a ferry to get across a lake. So after clapping at the lakeside, a fairy shows up. That made me giggle for a bit. There are other random things that don't make sense to me, however. Apparently genies and silver don't mix, I always thought that was just a werewolf thing.

Overall, I wouldn't suggest this series to people who already have like a full line up of shows that they love to watch. My line up had a gap that needed to be filled by something a little ridiculous. This show completely fits that build. I also have a feeling that the storyline is just building to be something cool (or it could sadly fall flat). With each episode, the series just seems to be getting better. Alice also surprised me when she tricked everyone, because she doesn't seem quite capable of doing so at first. It is also worth mentioning that I may just fancy the Knave of Hearts which may be why I enjoy the show. It bothers me slightly that I already like the non-love interest character more than the actual love interest character. Though, I do appreciate the use in actor choices, because Alice has a proper English accent because the actor is from England. I'd rate this show with a 6.5/10 after having seen only two episodes. (I'm hopefully that the series will get better and move up to a 7 or 8). (Knave of Heart pictured to the left)

All this pictures, and more, can be found at the ABC link provided at the top of the page.

The Breaker (manhwa) manga review

The Breaker

Writer: Jeon Keuk-Jin & Illustrator: Kamaro (Park Jin-Hwan)

 

The Breaker is a series with a genre of Martial Arts & Drama with a pinch of Romance. The series is composed of 10 volumes with 72 total chapters. After reading this series, I see it more as a prequel to the The Breaker: New Wave. The Breaker is finished while The Breaker: New Wave is still being written.
 
The story mostly focuses on Chun-woo who is a substitute teacher at a school. It is at this school that he meets a bullied boy named Shin-woon. After having Shin-woon throw himself into a deep river to prove his commitment, Chun-woo begins teaching him martial arts and introducing him to the world of Murim. The world of Murim has martial arts and techniques that go far beyond the realm of normal human strength. Fair warning: the series does end on a bit of a bomb shell and is a giant cliff hanger. Side note: the next series focuses on Shin-woo.


The characters are decently done. There is this air of mystery surrounding a lot of them which makes connecting with them a little difficult in the beginning. I also continually felt surprised by the characters whether it had to deal with their pasts or with their actions in certain moments. This isn't an easily predictable storyline which I really enjoyed. 

I loved the art style used in the series. It has this grungy look which helps set the tone for the series. More often than not, things that weren't the focal point were kept simple which made things easy to follow. There weren't many panels that I remember being confusing to understand, but I did have some trouble because I'm not use to reading things that come from Korea. I have a better understand of Japanese language and culture, so there were some things that I struggled to understand. I know the main hard part for me in the beginning was following the characters names, but the drawings made it easy to keep up with who was who. So I knew there faces just not their names.

This is a series that I would suggest to those who already enjoy reading manga (or manhwa). This isn't a great beginning series. It is also written for those in the late teens and older, and it is more tailored for a male audience. It has a few raunchy moments, and there is a lot of violence in the series. Thus far the series has only been translated into French, Italian, Russian, and Korean as far as I can tell. 

Overall, I think this story has fallen into my top ten favorite manga (both included). The first series left me feeling lost like a little kid in a grown up conversation where as the second series I'm more prepared and understand more of the Murim world.

If you want to learn more about the series, you can check out their wikia page: The Breaker

I do not claim to own this images. You can find them and more at The Breaker Wikia Page or in the manhwa itself.