Heart Warming

The internet has been teeming with Frozen references for some time now, references that I did not understand at all. I was finally able to correct this deficiency by seeing Frozen, and I am quite happy that I did. This movie is just as entertaining as you expect a Disney movie to be, but it also has some endearing qualities that may not be obvious on first blush.

The story follows the lives of two sisters who find themselves alone and needing to figure out how to get through life together. If that sentenced sounded a bit coded it is because it was to try and avoid spoilers. The characters that Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee managed to develop in the movie were memorable, and Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Jonathan Groff did their parts, but it was the way the story unfolded that was truly worth your time. One thing about Idina Menzel. If you haven't see John Travolta butcher her name do yourself a favor and watch it here. Good, now continue reading.

The prototypical Disney story has a damsel in some sort of distress being rescued by some prince charming. Seriously, that is like every movie except maybe The Lion King and Peter Pan. Some people find Disney sexist. If you want to explore that viewpoint even further here is a Youtube video with 100k+ views. What the creators of Frozen did is make the first Disney movie, I am aware of, where the female characters are almost exclusively responsible for saving the day. This is no small feat on their part and a bit of a cultural watershed moment. Does this portend a new future for Disney? Probably not entirely, but it is certainly progress.

There are multiple reasons to see Frozen; the music, the characters (especially Josh Gad's performance as Olaf the Snowman), and the groundbreaking story. I give it 8/10, would watch again fo sho.

Smaug Delivers

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is yet another excellent addition in the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle Earth mythology. Every time I see Peter Jackson's renditions in this genre I always think of Meet the Feebles. It's amazing that it is the same director. You would think his early work doomed him from every heading up an A-list franchise.

I think that The Desolation of Smaug is possibly in the group of sequels that are actually better than the movies that precede them. I would throw The Godfather: Part II, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Dark Knight, and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. Yes I know these are not controversial positions to take. Oh my gosh, how could I forget Terminator 2: Judgment Day? Anyways, this is not to say that TDOS (that's "The Desolation of Smaug" in case you were wondering) is as good as the sequels already listed, but I think TDOS is better than The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. TDOS has more action than AUJ (that's "An Unexpected Journey") and the characters start to come into their own beyond the introduction period of AUJ.

Listen, this is pretty simple. If you like the Lord of the Rings movies, or fantasy movies (there aren't really a ton of these) then you will like The Desolation of Smaug. 7/10, good solid entertaining movie.