Movie Review- Zootopia

 Disney + Animals =  things I love =  I was very excited to see Zootopia. Dan and I went to a matinee showing for Zootopia at the AMC Prime in Century City.

A non- Zootopia related note: the Century City AMC is one of our favorite theaters, but the mall is undergoing a major reconstruction. I mean MAJOR- about 2/3rds of the mall is completely gone. Parking is nearly impossible. If you live in LA and haven't been to Westfield Century City recently, you might want to avoid it until late 2016, when the first phases of the construction are projected to be finished. I think it's going to be amazing when it's done, but for the moment, the whole area is a disaster. We ate lunch at Rocksugar (excellent food) and as we sat on the patio, we were serenaded by construction noise. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

PLOT - Zootopia imagines a world where animals, both prey and predators, live in harmony. Although this is the ideal vision; prejudice, fear, and misunderstanding are still a problem. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) has a dream to be the first bunny on the police force. Despite her small size and the perception that rabbits are dumb, Judy doesn't lose sight of her dream and succeeds. She is given an assignment in Zootopia, a metropolis very different from the countryside where she was raised. Judy heads to Zootopia, with an idealistic dream of promoting justice and harmony, but she soon learns that life is very complicated. 

LIKE- I was fairly certain that I would like Zootopia, but I was unprepared for how much I would love this film. For me, it always boils down to storytelling. Zootopia has all of the elements that make a great story- unforgettable characters, a plot that is both exciting and unpredictable, and great dialogue. Zootopia is often hilarious, but it also handles difficult subjects with sensitivity. Having trouble taking to your kids about discrimination, bullying, and prejudice? See Zootopia and it will open up a dialogue. Zootopia is a mirror for our own society and it's very timely. Dan and I walked out of Zootopia gushing about all of the parts that we loved. Even though they show the DMV sloth scene in the trailer, it was still just as funny to see it again. I don't think that DMV Sloth's will ever grow old. 

DISLIKE- Nothing at all.

RECOMMEND- Yes!!!! Zootopia has shot to the top of my list of favorite Disney movies, it's that good. It's creative, funny, and has a strong message. Plus, it has the voice of Jason Bateman. You can't go wrong with Bateman!

Movie Review- Mad Max: Fury Road

Dan and I were eager to try the new "Dolby Cinema Prime Seating" at AMC Theatres and Mad Max: Fury Road seemed like the ultimate movie to test drive this new experience. The theatre features enormous, leather recliners, enhanced sound and imaging. The seats were super comfy and the quality of the sound and picture was noticeably better. The sound was so good, that it felt like it was vibrating through the seats. It's definitely worth upgrading to prime, especially for a big, blockbuster film.

PLOT - The movie starts with Max (Tom Hardy) alone in the desert, when a he is pursued and kidnapped by a group of men. They take him back to their compound, which is controlled by a warlord named Immortan Joe ( Hugh Keays-Byrne). Joe controls the people by controlling the water supply and crops. Max is used as a universal blood donor assigned to Nux (Nicholas Hoult) who is a warrior boy in Joe's army. 

Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is a driver in Joe's army. When she is tasked with a routine run outside of the compound, she deviates from the plan in an effort to smuggle out five of Joe's beautiful wives, women that are being held against their will to breed with Joe. Furiosa plans to take them to the "green place" an area many miles across the desert that is run by women. 

When he discovers Furiosa's plan, Joe sends his army after her, which includes Nix, who straps his blood doner to the front of his vehicle. In the scuffle, Max and Nix find themselves with the women, all trying to survive in the dangerous desert.

LIKE - This film had a lot of failings, but it was never actually dull. There are many spectacular action sequences. I laughed quite a bit. Mad Max: Fury Road doesn't intend to be a comedy, but it is. Trust me.

I got a kick out of seeing Elvis' granddaughter, Riley Keogh and Zoe Kravitz ( Lenny's and Lisa Bonet's daughter) as Joe's wives. Model, Rosie Huntington- Whiteley, plays Joe's favorite wife and she was a good actress. It's impressive when Charlize Theron isn't the most beautiful woman in a movie...although, she still looked gorgeous; bald, missing limbs and beat up. 

DISLIKE- Mad Max: Fury Road is a style over substance mess. It reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil's KA in style, but with far more gore and action. The story was lacking and often didn't make even sense.

SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!

Why is Max haunted by a little girl? How did Furiosa lose her arm? Why are these army boys white and why do they need to drink blood? Will they really be reborn when they die? Why the heck do they need to spray their mouths silver before they die? What's the deal with the mother's milk and why are they transporting it across the desert? How does this group of women survive in the desert? Why does Joe sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown? Why does the army have overly complicated vehicles and a cheesy band? What's with all of the dumb names? Why were Joe and his other warlord buddies waiting for them in the canyon? How did they know that the women would turn around? It makes no sense that they would just wait around.

It's just very ridiculous, all of it. 

The dialogue is sparse, but that's a blessing, because it's overly dramatic and doesn't usually clarify the story. You know a movie is lacking when it has to turn up the volume of the score to punctuate dramatic moments. 

The ending is an odd, anticlimactic moment for such a high intensity movie. 

Last thought...why didn't they have a Jeep? Seriously, our Jeep does better rock crawling than any of the modified vehicles in the film. We made it over more intense rocks in a tighter canyon, just a few weeks ago. 

RECOMMEND - Eh. If you need to see Mad Max: Fury Road, this is a big-screen, 3D worthy film. If you like spectacle, you might enjoy it. If you value story, this completely misses the mark. It's not my cup of tea.

I can't believe that a follow up is in the works.