I join CTV Atlantic’s Stephanie Tsicos to talk about the biopic “Tony,” the dino drama “The End of Oak Street,” the kid’s flick “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie” and the stoner comedy “The Wrong Girls.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about the biopic “Tony,” the dino drama “The End of Oak Street,” the kid’s flick “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie” and the stoner comedy “The Wrong Girls.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 15:06)
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie,” a new animated film for kids spun off from the popular TV series about a heroic puppy search-and-rescue team, the canine heroes discover an island populated by dinosaurs. “No dino’s too big, no pup’s too small!”
CAST: Carter Young, Mckenna Grace, Terry Crews, Jennifer Hudson, Jameela Jamil, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Mckenna Grace, Ron Pardo, Lucien Duncan-Reid, and Nylan Parthipan, Bill Nye, Henry Bolan. Directed by Cal Brunker.
REVIEW: After a daring adventure to rescue a cat named Mr. Fluffy Butt from a burning yacht, the Paw Patrol finds themselves shipwrecked on what they think is a deserted island. When the clumsy Dalmatian Marshall (voice of Carter Young) tumbles down a hill, he soon finds himself face-to-face with one of the island’s many inhabitants, a dinosaur named Timmy the T-Rex.
But this isn’t Jurassic Park.
These dinosaurs are friendly, at least that’s what Rex (Hayden Chamberlain), a friendly paraplegic Bernese Mountain Dog who has been stranded on the island after falling overboard years before, says. “Dino Island is the greatest discovery in the history of the world.”
Meanwhile, the Paw Patrol’s arch-nemesis Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo), and his coterie of naught6y cats, are released from jail. “No more cheating,” he says. “No more lying! No more get rich quick schemes!” But, when he sees a news report on Dino Island, and notices a large cache of diamonds in the background, his path on the straight and narrow takes a U-turn and he heads to the island to face his old canine foes and steal as many diamonds as he can.
“Paw Patrol: Dino Island” does not cater to adult sensibilities by wedging in jokes or double entendres for the older folks à la “Shrek” or “King Fu Panda.” Instead, it’s a gently paced action adventure aimed directly at kids. So, no clever pop culture references just kid-friendly action that, as the third movie in the franchise, is bigger than anything they’ve attempted in the past.
The richness of Pixar and the playfulness of Illumination and their millions of Minions is missing in “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie.” The direction, by Cal Brunker, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bob Barlen, is workmanlike, keeping their core audience, age 3 to about 8, top of mind. The result is a cute but bland movie stuffed with good messages about teamwork, helping others and perseverance, and some high-flying action but little in the way of memorable sequences.
SYNOPSIS: “Elio,” a new Disney and Pixar animated adventure now playing in theatres, centers on Elio, a space-obsessed young boy who accidentally gets beamed up to the Communiverse, a cosmic hub where representatives from Earth meet with extraterrestrials. Mistaken for an ambassador from the blue planet, Elio learns about other civilizations and himself. “Back home I didn’t fit in,” he says. “I thought Earth was the problem, but what if it’s me?”
CAST: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, and Shirley Henderson. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina.
REVIEW: As empathetic as it is predictable, “Elio” treads familiar ground but packs a light emotional punch with its story of an outsider who learns he is not alone.
Humans have always gazed at the stars and wondered, “Are we alone?” That includes Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) an eleven-year-old boy being raised by his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) after the death of his parents. Despite Olga’s best efforts, Elio feels abandoned and alone. “There’s 500 million inhabitable planets out there,” he says to her, “and maybe one of them will want me because you don’t.”
When his efforts to be abducted by aliens lead to trouble, he’s sent to a military school where his ham radio helps connect him to the stars and he is beamed up to a colorful world whose aliens think he is an ambassador from Earth who will save their “Communiverse” from the evil Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett).
“Elio” is a kid’s film, with imaginative, vibrantly colored characters and fanciful new worlds, that looks to what Carl Sagan (whose voice appears briefly near the film’s end) called “the deepest of human concerns: Are we alone?” It’s a big concept for a film aimed at the little ones, but it’s presented with a sense of childlike wonder that makes it accessible for all ages.
Beautifully animated in Pixar’s signature style, it looks great but doesn’t have the nuance or deeply felt emotion of the company’s classics. Films like “Up” and “WALL-E” masterfully wove story and sentiment together to form soulful movies that hit the head and heart in equal measure. “Elio” reaches for the stars but remains earthbound in terms of finding the texture that once made Pixar so special.
Still, while “Elio” isn’t a gushing firehose of authentic emotion, it is an imaginative journey into empathy, community and self-acceptance.
