Top 5 CGI animated films: Film Synopsis courtesy of IMDB.com

Best Short Film: Presto

This latest comical short film from Pixar Animation Studios follows the escalating high jinx of the amazing Presto, his rabbit Alec, and what happens onstage when a star magician’s ego provokes some clever revenge from his neglected costar.

5. Wall*E

In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

Starring Ben Burt, Alissa Knight, Jeff Garlin

4. Cars

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family.

Starring Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman

3. Toy Story

A cowboy toy is profoundly threatened and jealous when a fancy spaceman toy supplants him as top toy in a boy’s room.

Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Laurie Metcalf

2. The Incredibles

A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world.

Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson

1. Finding Nemo

A father-son underwater adventure featuring Nemo, a boy clownfish, stolen from his coral reef home. His timid father must then travel to Sydney, and search Sydney Harbour find Nemo.

Starring Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould

I believe I have found the next Audrey Hepburn. Any thoughts?
Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada

Hit - Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman

The city of Gotham continues to be the playground for crime and criminals as Batman and James Gordon continue to fight against evil. Newly appointed District Attorney, Harvey Dent is also on their side, attempting to take down the horrible bank robber named The Joker. The closer they get to the Joker, the more he begins to make them unravel.

The Dark Knight is one of the best films of the year. I know that marking this film as the best of the year may be a little hasty because most of the best films of the year come out around the holidays, but I can honestly say that it is the best film that I have seen this year, so far.

This has every element that one is looking for in a great film. It has an amazing cast, a fantastic story, direction, cinematography, and art direction are the best I have ever seen in a Batman film. This film is the best of the series and includes fabulous performances.

I can’t say much more praise about this film because I want you to see it yourself. I will say this in terms of negative criticism… the movie is long, and Christian Bale’s “Batman voice,” gets annoying towards the end. Otherwise, it is a work of art.

Bottom Line: See it for yourself.

Action

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.

Running Time: 2 hours 32 minutes.

Hit - Starring Brendan Fraiser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem

Professor Trevor Anderson is on a mission to discover what happened to his missing brother. In the process of unveiling the events of his dissappearance, he ends up on an amazing journey to the center of the Earth.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is your typical family action / adventure. It has great elements of peril, excitement, and moments of fright. Since I am at a loss for words at the moment, I will leave it at that.

Bottom Line: Journey to the Center of the Earth with your family.

Action / Adventure

Rated PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments.

Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes.

Miss - Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Dominic Cooper

Sophie is about to get married to the man of her dreams, everything is perfect, except she wants her father to walk her down the aisle. The only problem is, she doesn’t know who her father is. To find out more, Sophie reads her mothers diary and discovers that there are three possible fathers. Therefore, Sophie invites all three gentlemen to the wedding. Imagine her mother’s suprise when she finds out.

As a lover of musicals, I find it interesting that this movie had so many opportunities to succeed and yet it still failed to provide the most essential film element - a story. Well, technically there is a story, but it is so drab that it doesn’t carry the audience through the entire film. The advertisements for the film make people believe that the main character of the film is Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) but in actuality, the main character of the movie is Sophie’s mother Donna (played by Meryl Streep).

Another area where the movie fails to deliver is in casting. Pierce Brosnan cannot sing to save his life. Every time he would open his mouth to sing, the entire audience would bust up laughing. This is not what the filmmakers were going for as the tone of the film is not burlesque. Now that I think about it… maybe the tone is burlesque… nah! Meryl Streep can sing but friends have expressed to me that they felt she was not a very good singer. Either way, she got the job done.

This movie had so many great elements. There was excellent choreography, songs, art direction, costuming, and general filming location. It is unfortunate that the story is so bland and they failed to realize that someone like Michael Crawford would have been a better fit for the Pierce Brosnan character.

Bottom Line: Mamma…mia.

Musical

Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments.

Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes.

Top 5 Animated Films: Film synopsis courtesy of IMDB.com

5. Snow White (1937)

A young princess finds herself on the run from her wicked stepmother and finds refuge in a small cottage out in the forest with seven pint-sized men who immediately decide to adopt and protect her with their lives.

4. Aladdin (1992)

When a street urchin discovers a magic lamp, he unwittingly unleashes a wild and wacky genie who grants him three wishes.

3. The Little Mermaid (1989)

Dreaming of life on the land as a human being, a young mermaid princess makes a bargain with a sea witch in order to win the heart of a prince (whom she is love with).

2. Fantasia (1940)

A collection of animated interpretations of great works of Western classical music.

1. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

In order to break the spell placed upon him and his servants, a beast (an enchanted prince on the inside) must learn to earn the love of a village girl or risk remaining in his animal state forever.

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Hit - Starring Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver

The year is 2700 and the humans have left earth but have forgotten to turn off a robot named WALL*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class). WALL*E spends every day collecting knick-knacks and doing what he was made for. With the help of space robot EVE, he will soon discover what he was meant for.

Wall*E is a cute digital animated film for the summer that has children around the world calling his name. It is important for screenwriters to remember that this is a children’s film as the theme of the story is way too complex for children to grasp. The main thing that little ones will take away from this film is a love story between Wall*E and Eve. They will also take away the fact that it is important for Wall*E to ensure the safe transfer of a particular Earth particle, to a nearby space ship (where the humans live).

Most children will not be able to pick up on the post-apocalyptic themes, the idea of being “green,” (not in the Kermit sense), and the fact that when robots do everything for humans and humans do not have to do anything for themselves (they don’t even have to walk); the effect is that they become morbidly obese.

Children will like the visual stimulation that this movie provides but will find themselves ready to leave the film 20 minutes before the credits roll. While this movie is cute, it could have been more interesting as a short film.

Speaking of short film, Disney / Pixar placed a short film before the feature which turned out to be a highlight of the theatre experience. The short film is called Presto and it is about the shenanigans that happen with Presto (a clever magician) forgets to feed his magic show co-star Alec (his rabbit). This film was brilliantly pieced together into a five minute short which was delightful. I believe it is the best short film to come out of Pixar.

Animation

Rated G

Running Time: 1 hour 43 minutes