Brave

I enjoyed the story; wasn't expecting how it developed. It was a nice surprise. The animation was fluid and very nicely done. It had a "How to Train Your Dragon" feel when it came to the male characters, and I specifically liked the Scottish/Irish accents and overall appeal. Being of Scottish descent (the red beard, and able to drink like one) I was immediately impressed with the colors. 

As for a children's movie, I think that taking my 4 year old could have been a mistake. There were some darker, scarier parts that I wasn't expecting for her to see. With that being said, I think it was a good mix of happy-feel-good, love, laughter, and a hint of danger. 

Overall, I give it a B+, because in the end it's still not something I would rank up with some of the bigger titles that we know today. But, it has it's own unique feeling and story that doesn't deserve a worse grade.

Battleship: The Movie?

We've all heard of the game, and to fabricate a movie about the game seems a little far fetched.  I guess there could be worse things to write about, or they've run out of decent script ideas.  Then again, I'm no script writer so I can't really hold a candle to the writers.  However, there are certain plot holes that can obviously be picked through.  For instance, how alien ships can travel through millions of miles of space, have advanced technology, exo-suits to help protect them from the sun, unparalleled targeting systems, and a giant force field.  Even with all that, they can't fly and just take us out with their seemingly unlimited arsenal.  I especially didn't like how the alien warships hopped from spot to spot in the ocean.  Not saying that I was rooting for the aliens, but come on.  And what were the purpose of those round things with tails?  I don't remember that being in the game.


My biggest complaint about the movie though, besides the somewhat weak script and plot, is how similar the feel is to the latest Transformers movies.  When seeing that it was different studios, I was hoping that maybe it would have a different feel.  Perhaps it was my mistake for immediately thinking it would be similar to Transformers, but that was planted when seeing the previews.  Plus the sound effects were very "transform-ery."


It had it's moments though.  The explosions were good, full bodied, and appropriate.  I liked how the alien canister missiles were shaped like the little pegs from the board game.  And a few cheesy, but expected lines like "You aren't gonna sink our battleship!"


Overall, with the light script, weak plot, and decent explosions, I give it a solid B.