No Wonder Audiences Have Connected With Wonder, It's A Real Heartfelt Treat

Live-action family movies that don't star CGI chipmunks or aren't remakes of classic animated Disney fare have become a rarity in theatrically released American cinema to the point that Pure Flix (the studio behind God's Not Dead and other pieces of cinema of similar top-caliber quality) is the only studio in America these days regularly producing such films. That makes Wonder a rarity for sure as well as a reminder of how good these movies can be when produced right. Live-action family movies don't just have to be vehicles for CGI versions of 1960's cartoon characters to make pop culture references, they can instead be actually entertaining movies with heart.

Cars 3 Delivers A Shocking Amount Of Emotionally Engaging, If Sometimes Formulaic, Storytelling

In many ways, Cars 3 feels like a companion piece to last summer's PIXAR movie, Finding Dory. Not only are both sequels but they arrive in an era of PIXAR's filmography so heavily dominated by sequels it's become understandable to question whether the more bold storytelling instincts the studio was relying on for its first 15 years of existence have escaped them (though Inside Out is the kind of masterpiece demonstrating how good this studio can be when it really swings for the fences). Cars 3, even moreso than Finding Dory (whose predecessor never really spawned much in the way of merchandise) is mostly a gamble to create toys and assorted paraphernalia that these Cars movies have become most noteworthy for.

The Darjeeling Limited Is Sometimes Tonally Disjointed But Still Entertaining Wes Anderson Cinema

In every Wes Anderson film, the elements of whimsy and reality are always prevalent, with the whimsy usually coming in the form of the sets and dialogue while reality rears its head in the character arcs, plot points and overall themes of the stories. In his three most recent movies, Anderson has found phenomenal success going for more heightened stylized tendencies while also exploring fresh new dramatic terrain that's more complex and mature, helping him solidify his place as a truly remarkable artist. Just before that trio of masterpieces, Anderson created The Darjeeling Limited, which, interestingly, leaned on realism more heavily than a number of other movies in his filmography.

Bottle Rocket Review (Classic Write-Up)

Recent years have been kind to American auteur filmmaker/genius Wes Anderson. Merging his unique visual aesthetic with introspective themes and emotional content has made his last three films among the best of the still young century. My adoration of the man's work meant I carried a large amount of interest in watching his very first feature film, Bottle Rocket. This 1996 feature film debut for Anderson was an expansion on an earlier short film subject of the same name that also starred the two leading men of this film, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson, two actors (most notably Owen, who, along with Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, ended up becoming the Leonardo DiCaprio to Wes Anderson's Martin Scorsese) who would become staples of Andersons future work.

Zoolander 2 Review

Let's say you're making a comedy film, but not just any sort of cinematic yukfest, no no no. You've got a cast at your ready disposal containing legendary comedians like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell. Oh, and it's a continuation of Zoolander, one exceptionally funny motion picture. With all of those humorous tools in your arsenal, you'd think the results of such a collaboration would result in something even ever so slightly funny. But no. All we get are endless jokes about how fat the son of Zoolander is. That's the level of creativity Zoolander 2 populates, the area where fat jokes are considered the height of innovation and novelty.

The Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Trailer For Inherent Vice Is Here

I've only seen two films of Paul Thomas Anderson (I know, I know, I'm simply awful), The Master and Punch-Drunk Love. The Master I found to be a film I admired very much, especially the outstanding performances in it, but it kind of just left me cold overall. Punch-Drunk Love was actually pretty great, though I did feel it occasionally lacked focus. But man have I been anticipating his next movie, Inherent Vice, which just unleashed it's first trailer, which you can watch below.

There's Another Night At The Museum Coming Out And Here's The First Miserable Trailer For It

I have a soft spot in my heart for the first two Night At The Museum movies. They're just clever and fun endeavors that contain some great actors (Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Steve Coogan, Owen Wilson) yukking it up as recognizable characters from history. I actually thought 20th Century Fox was letting the franchise go after the second movie in 2009, which I thought a nice gesture on their part. Unfortunately, the franchise is back, and boy howdy does it look bad. Check out the trailer below and prepare for a rant of mammoth proportions.

So, I Was On Netflix: Free Birds

Not since Beverly Hills Chiahuahua has a movies
poster had such a true claim

Each Tuesday I review a film that can be found on Netflix Instant Streaming. This week, what happens when time travel and turkeys get mixed together. Spoiler Alert: an awful movie happens.