Who Let the Pets Out?

A Secret Life of Pets Review

Source: blog.universalorlando.com

The Secret Life of Pets was released on July 8, 2016. It produced a revenue of $104,352,905 in the United States on its opening weekend. The movie is charming, but falls a little flat on the story. The story is not very complex and I felt it could have had more depth to it. Overall though, the movie is entertaining and worth the hour and a half.



The Pros

• Humor
• Voice Actors

The Cons

• Story
• Dislikable Main Character


Humor

The humor in this movie was what made me ultimately enjoy the entire experience. Have you ever wondered what your pets do when you’re not around? In this movie, the pets go wild and take advantage of their owners’ absence. For example, the pets were seen in the beginning of the movie doing things that they could not do if their owners were there. Chloe, for example, is shown throwing her food bowl to the side and looking inside the fridge for a different food. She sees a plate of turkey in the fridge and tries to resist eating it. The scene shows her opening and closing the fridge, before she finally gives into temptation and eats the turkey. After she is through eating the turkey she sees a cake and immediately eats it. For example, my cat does yoga poses when she thinks I am not looking. She imitates the famous yoga pose, Downward-Dog.

In the movie, Buddy is seen using a hand mixer to massage his back and stomach. Sweet Pea turns on a fan to propel herself into the air and fly towards a TV with airplanes playing on it. A Poodle living in the apartment complex would go from listening to classical music to listening to heavy metal. His owner was also never home and he would use his house as a place to throw parties. The movie does little things to tie loose ends. For example, at the end of the movie, the Poodle’s owner comes in and says, “I see you’ve been a good boy.” A pig falls from the chandelier hanging and the Poodle smiles, looking nervous. The movie’s humor is similar to this throughout the entire movie and I found myself laughing a lot. I recommend this movie if you’re a fan of cartoons and love animals being anthropomorphized.

Voice Actors

The voice actors in this movie were truly terrific. I recognized their voices from other TV shows and movies. Kevin Hart plays Snowball, the leader of The Flushed Pets, a group of former domesticated animals. His role as Snowball, a white rabbit, was both serious and funny. He usually plays the goofy comic relief character in many movies such as Ride Along and Central Intelligence. In The Secret Life of Pets his role is the same, even though he is the antagonist of the film. Jenny Slate plays Gidget, a white Pomeranian, who is in love with our protagonist, Max. She is also known for her role in Zootopia as Bellwether, a shy and reserved secretary for Mayor Lionheart. In The Secret Life of Pets she plays a character who is shy, but who opens up and becomes a strong character. Albert Brooks plays Tiberius, a red-tailed hawk, who wants to eat everything and anything, but in the end helps our heroes. He is known for his role in Finding Nemo as Marlin, the overprotective father of Nemo. In The Secret Life of Pets he does a good job of being tough and intimidating, a role opposite of Marlin. Eric Stonestreet plays Duke, a Newfoundland dog, that tries to take over our hero Max’s life. He plays Cameron Tucker in Modern Family, a gay man who makes everyone laugh. In The Secret Life of Pets he plays the role of an outsider. Max does not like him at all and tries to kick him out of his life. Duke is a dog that has been rescued from the pound and wants to fit in. Throughout the movie, Max and Duke become closer and eventually become friends. The Secret Life of Pets was a good movie, because the voice actors were phenomenal and believable.

Story

While The Secret Life of Pets had its strong points, it also had its weak points. The story for example seemed to be weak and fall flat. It went from the pets wanting to have freedom and be away from their owners to realizing they actually needed them. While this shows growth in the movie, it leaves something to be desired. The story seemed too simple and almost childish. The movie is intended for children, but most cartoons have deeper plots. For example, Inside Out, a movie produced by Pixar, had a deeper storyline than expected. The movie looked like it would just be about a child’s emotions and ultimately be a cute and simple. However, that is not what the movie portrayed. The movie portrayed a darker side. The movie goes through turmoil and strife and the meaning is deeply rooted. Everyone must grow up, and the film explores the idea that childhood eventually must fade and bring forth adulthood. Inside Out was cute, but it also explored themes that not many cartoons have explored. The Secret Life of Pets is good for a laugh, but in the end the meaning is a little weak.

Dislikable Main Character

The main character in The Secret Life of Pets was unlikable. For example, the story’s main protagonist, Max, a terrier seemed to be in his own world. He lived his life dependent on his owner, Katie. Max seemed a little stuck up in the beginning of the movie. He was hard to like, because he seemed to not care for anyone but himself and Katie. Even when his friends came over to visit him, he still seemed indifferent. By the end of the film, he was more likable, but I still preferred Snowball over him. His character did not seem to be fleshed out as much as some of the other characters. Snowball for instance had a backstory. He became the leader of The Flushed Pets, because his owner had gotten tired of him. His owner was a magician and used him in his tricks. When rabbit tricks became tired and overused though, his owner tossed him to the side. I could understand how Snowball acted the way he did in the movie. Even Duke, a bossy and pushy dog was more likable than Max. Duke had a backstory as well. He had an older owner, who loved him. They did everything together, but mostly they took naps. The backstory was cute and the movie went as far as tying the past to the present. Max ended up taking Duke to his former owner’s house, only to find that his owner was dead. I enjoyed the other characters, they seemed to be more developed than Max. Max could have had a backstory, and maybe he would have been more likable.

Conclusion

I am giving this movie a 3 out of 5 rating for the humor and the voice actors. The humor in this movie was silly, but meshed well with the story and characters. The story and dislikable main character knocked the rating down from a 5 to a 3, because these were things that should have been more developed. The movie was good overall, and I would want to see it again

Arlo and Spot Leave an Imprint in Our Hearts

The Good Dinosaur Review

Credit: Pixar

What if the asteroid never hit Earth, what if dinosaurs reined supreme, and life as we knew it was completely different? In this charming but at some times strange film that is exactly what happens. The Good Dinosaur, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures explores the themes of family, loss, and love.

The film is slow to start, depicting two Apatosaurus protagonists as farmers. They are waiting for their eggs to hatch and the scenes of the babies hatching are humorous. The baby Apatosaurus named Buck grabs a stick and hits the egg of Arlo, trying to break it open. The father, Henry, scolds Buck and then they watch as the egg hatches. Out comes a diminutive Apatosaurus, smaller than even Libby, the female baby.

After the initial scene, the movie shows the baby Apatosauruses now grown tending a field. They are helping their parents water the crops, gather them and put them in the silo for storage. While Buck and Libby do not appear to have any trouble with their chores, Arlo, has trouble with his task. He is instructed every day to feed their chickens. However, Arlo is deathly afraid of the livestock and runs away screaming any time they get near him. He is often made fun of for his cowardice and his father notices this. He takes him away, telling him he can make his mark by doing a certain task. In the movie, making his mark means that Arlo can put his footprint on the silo, thus proving that he is worthy of taking care of the farm and himself. By this point in the movie, both Buck and Libby have already made their marks along with the parents. Arlo feels inadequate and jumps at the chance to be able to make his mark.

The task that is given to Arlo is to catch the critter that has been stealing their food. His father shows him how to make a trap, how to use it, and how to kill the critter with a large stick. His father then leaves him. Arlo paces back and forth often talking to himself cockily as he waits. Suddenly the trap begins to wiggle back and forth, having caught the critter. Arlo cautiously walks up to the trap, frightened by what could have been possibly caught. Inside is a small caveboy. He growls and attempts to get out of the trap, hitting it with his body full force. Arlo attempts to kill it but becomes frightened when it hisses at him. He frees the critter and it runs off into the distance. Arlo’s father sees the critter running off and scowls, telling Arlo that he had one job to do. He is disappointed but makes him go after the creature.

The two of them travel through torrential rain that only becomes worse the longer they traverse through it. Arlo has a hard time keeping up and tells his father to slow down. His father tells him to move faster and keeps plowing forward. Arlo stumbles then, falling down and hurting his knee. His father goes over to him and tells him that it’s OK they can go back. They are about to head back when a large wave of water comes flowing toward them. His father saves him but with a price. His life.

There are two problems with the beginning of this movie. The first one is that it is extremely slow to start. I myself felt a little bored and wondered where the movie was going. The second one being that I thought it was a little strange how the dinosaurs acted like humans and had their own culture. It seemed a bit far-fetched to believe that dinosaurs would be superior to humans. I thought the movie really kicked off when the pterodactyls appeared after the storm. Before that point I thought the movie had no direction or storyline to speak of. It felt like the interactions with the caveboy, Spot, and Arlo could have been shortened. Prior to the pterodactyls appearance, there were no villains to speak of and the movie did not seem to have a purpose. Once the pterodactyls appeared though, the story appeared to kick off. They added a danger that gave direction to the movie. They were both funny and charming despite being villains. The humor in the movie really shined through and I found myself laughing along with the audience.

I am giving this film a 3 out of 5 because of the slow start and because of the incontinences within the movie. Dinosaurs did not live with humans and the caveman was not as dumb as they portrayed him. The incontinences could give children the wrong idea about how the world works and how dinosaurs existed. While it was a cute and engaging movie, it had its problems like everything else. I do recommend seeing it though. I warn you though, be prepared to have to muddle through the beginning.

See Minions for a Laugh

Source: http://www.moviesonline.ca


“Minions” a movie created by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures is full of laughs, diabolical moments and softhearted protagonists.  From the beginning to the end, I couldn’t stop smiling and cheering for the minions to find their master. There was not a dull moment in the movie, which is impressive, considering movies have lulls from time to time.

The story is a prequel to “Despicable Me” and focuses on Dr. Gru’s henchmen. The three protagonists are: Kevin, Stuart and Bob. They are creatures known as Minions and have lived since the beginning of time. The beginning scene is quite comical. The Minions, which are large in number, are searching for a master to serve.  A narrator dominates the first part of the movie, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. The narrator begins by saying that finding a master isn’t the hard part, the hard part is keeping one. The Minions can be seen following their master, a T-Rex, smiling and laughing as they prance around with their master. However, tragedy soon strikes. The T-Rex is put into a perilous situation where it is teetering on a boulder. The boulder is quickly rolling the T-Rex down a hill, where a volcano is nestled. The T-Rex manages to stop the boulder at the last second, but a Minion has somehow gotten underneath it. The minion bumps its head on the boulder and the T-Rex cries out as it is thrown into the volcano. The Minions cry, lamenting the loss of their master. Along with this master, there is a very comical scene dealing with a vampire. He is their new master and to celebrate his birthday the Minions bring a cake and open the blinds. However, the sunlight burns the vampire alive and there ends the Minions other master.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk

This movie will make you burst out laughing from its wit and comical scenes. There is one scene in particular that is my favorite. It is when the Minions, Kevin, Stuart and Bob are trying to get to Orlando. They heard that Villian-Con, a convention for the dastardly, is taking place there and that’s where they think they will find their new master. The Minions are hitchhiking, but no one seems to be pulling over, when suddenly a car stops. The door opens and two “friendly” people say, “Look these fellows are looking to go to Orlando as well!” The Minions are then put inside the car and are whisked off to Orlando. The car consists of two children and their parents. The family eventually stops the car and the dad says, “Does anyone want to stretch their legs?” The family then all put on ski masks and take out guns. They leave the car and return with a sack full of money. As the family flees the scene, police cars are chasing after them. The family eventually gets away and makes it to Villain-Con.

The movie is filled with a myriad of scenes that will make you laugh hysterically. The movie also has a “Despicable Me” feel to it. This movie takes “Despicable Me” and improves it.  The humor is the same, only a little more over the top and the characters stay true to themselves. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 because it really pulls you into the story. Near the middle you’re cheering the Minions on and hoping they succeed in the end. Adults and children will both love “Minions”. This movie is well worth seeing and I recommend it to everyone who loves a good comedy and cartoons.

Source: http://www.moviepilot.de

Hood's Obsession Book Review

Credit: www.amazon.com

Hood’s Obsession is the ninth book in Marie Hall’s Kingdom series. The book is available in eBook format and in paperback. The story is about Lilith Wolf, the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. It is also the third book in the dark princess saga.

This book has memorable characters, a great storyline and man-eating dwarves. What more could you ask for?

Lilith made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin many years ago, when she was young and naïve. Now his butler Giles Damien has come to collect her debt. Rumpelstiltskin sends Lilith and Giles to fetch the Chalice of Hope. Rumpelstiltskin’s son is dying and the Chalice of Hope is his only chance of surviving.

However, little does Giles know that Lilith is an alpha werewolf in heat. This means that while on their journey they will face males trying to break her and make her their mate. For you see an alpha female is a rare occurrence. When one is born, she is shamed and isolated from the rest of the pack. The alpha males don’t want a female as strong as they are or even stronger. They seek power, but not in the form of an alpha female.

Throughout the journey Lilith faces many obstacles but the one that is the toughest is her falling in love with Giles. Giles is a demone, however, and they don’t typically mate outside of their species. Lilith cannot stop her feelings from growing, however, and this is her undoing.

Giles was a charming and sweet character and often confused by Lilith’s interactions with him. For example, Lilith licked his finger once and in wolf language that means she liked him. Giles seemed emotionless and unreadable at first, but like us all, he had emotions and desires. Throughout their journey, he began to fall in love with Lilith and he was baffled by these feelings. He knew that if he mated with Lilith, he would become her mate. He didn’t want to though because if a demone mated with anyone other than their own kind, they could not produce offspring. That quelled the passionate fire he had for Lilith. However, after speaking with Lilith’s fairy godmother, Danika, he realized he might be Lilith’s only salvation.

The deal Lilith made with Rumpelstiltskin when she was thirteen was that she wouldn’t mate with anyone outside of her species. If she did so, she would die. The reason she made this deal was because she was ridiculed mercilessly for her mother and father’s love. Her mother was not a wolf shifter and it was frowned upon to mate with anyone outside of their species. Lilith knew that because of her mother and father no one would accept them in any other village. They were stuck in their village and Lilith couldn’t stand seeing them suffer. She made the trek to Rumpelstiltskin’s fortress to protect her family. However, because of the deal Lilith thought she could never mate with anyone other than her own kind. There is always a loophole though. When Rumpelstiltskin asked her what type of creature she wanted to stay away from, she mentioned them all except for demone. Giles was the only one who could be Lilith’s salvation. Rumpelstiltskin would never permit her to enter his castle and look for a suitable mate. The only reason Giles was chosen was because of Danika. She knew that Lilith and him were destined for one another.

In the end Lilith and Giles become mates. The journey and hardships they faced all lead up to this point. I loved this book and I give it a 5 out of 5 because of the lovable characters and because of its descriptions. This book really does have beautiful depictions and you can actually see what the author is describing, whether it be a valley or a murderous dragon. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and romance. Once you start this book, its almost impossible to put down. The story sucks you in and when it’s done, you are left in awe. This is definitely a book worth reading.

Inside Out Will Bring You To Tears

Credit: Pixar

“Inside Out” is a movie that will not only make you marvel at its depth, but also bring tears to your eyes. The movie’s protagonist is an eleven-year-old girl named Riley. The movie doesn’t focus on her as much as it does the personality traits inside of her head.  These characters have a lot of unique characteristics to them. Joy, a happy go lucky personality, is in charge of Riley most of the time. There are other personality traits, however, such as: Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness. These personality traits don’t play as big of a role in Riley’s life as Joy does, but they are all vital to her as a person.

Riley’s life is turned upside down when she moves from her beloved Minnesota to San Francisco. Joy tries to make her see the positive side of this bleak situation. She manages to make her feel happier, but then the unthinkable happens. Joy is separated from Riley along with Sadness. With these two personality traits gone, Anger, Disgust, and Fear are left in charge of Riley. They try to keep a semblance of normalcy with Riley, but they fail miserably. Without Joy, Riley can never be happy again. Sadness doesn’t seem to be missed as much, but she plays a vital role later on in the movie.
This movie, like many other animated cartoons, has a deeper plot than originally advertised. I believe it is more of a grown-up film, than a children’s film. There are too many adult themes that a child would not understand. I’m not sure a child would enjoy the movie as much as an older child or adult. I personally loved the movie, because it was beautifully animated, emotional and focused on abstract themes.

Imagine moving to a place you’ve never been to and you’re expected to pretend everything is the same as your old home. It can’t be feasibly done, because everyone will rebel against the new place in some way.

The movie focuses on core memories, memories that cannot be forgotten and islands. These islands are like the fundamental parts that make us who we are. For example, Riley’s islands consist of: Family, Friendship, Honesty, Hockey and many more. This can be related to, because we all have metaphorically speaking, islands that make us who we are.

There are some comical events in the movie such as when a memory of a gum commercial is played in Riley’s head over and over again. Anger gets mad and says, “Not this again!” It’s funny because we can all relate to something that keeps popping up in our minds time and time again, be it a commercial or an event. Another comical part of the movie is when it changes from Riley’s mind to her mom and dad’s. The mom’s personality traits are all wearing glasses like the mom is wearing. They look like Riley’s personality traits only older. The scene depicts the mom trying to get the dad’s attention, when she notices Riley is acting strange. The movie goes into the dad’s head then and the personality traits are all wearing mustaches like the dad’s. The funny part is the dad is imagining a sports game and is not even paying any attention to the situation at hand. The dad looks at the mom confused and she is seething inside. Her personality traits say in an annoyed voice, “We should have gone with the other guy.” It then pans to a handsome man with flowing dark brown hair.
The movie makes it a point to emphasize that Joy is not the only important personality trait in Riley’s head. Sadness plays a big role in Riley’s life, because without Sadness, Joy would never have been able to be a part of Riley’s life again.

“Inside Out” will mostly make you feel sad, but there will be a myriad of emotions that will go through your head as you watch this film. I give it a 5 out of 5 because its plot and comical moments will truly resonate with memories old and new.

Pronto’s Italian Restaurant Review

4 out of 5 Stars

On 47 U.S. Hwy 380, Bridgeport, TX, a rare gem can be found. This gem goes by the name, Pronto’s Italian Restaurant. Driving into the restaurant, a sign can be seen displaying the name of the establishment and underneath it reads “Homemade Pasta & Pizza.” The front of the restaurant is a mahogany red and a green, white and red awning can be seen on the right side. A stone fountain is near the front entrance and several bright green bushes can be seen, adding to the aesthetics of the place. On the right window, a blue and red open sign flashes, inviting all who wish to enter.

Upon entering the restaurant, friendly waiters and waitresses greet you, their smiles warming your heart. Once greeted, they escort you to a table or booth and hand you a menu once you have been seated.  They have soft drinks, coffee, hot tea and ice tea available as beverages. Their menu is extensive and has a variety of dishes to order.  Italian music can be heard playing in the background, as the clatter of forks and spoons scrape against plates. Patrons can be seen in the background, enjoying their meals and laughing and talking about their days.

The dish I ordered was Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. The pasta itself was amazing. The texture was smooth, yet firm, which made for a good taste. The chicken tasted soft and rich, and you could taste the fettuccine Alfredo sauce in every bite. The sauce itself was rich in taste and was a pleasant surprise. It tasted creamy and it wasn’t too salty. I myself have had dishes that were too salty. The Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo was not one of those dishes.

However, while the Fettuccine Alfredo was good, the sweet tea did not taste right. It had an off taste, almost as if it were brewed differently than normal tea. I attempted to add sugar to it, hoping it would remedy the problem, but the off taste was still there. I ended up returning it and asking for a Coke. The Coke tasted right and I happily gulped it down.

Another dish, the Supreme Pizza, which has mushrooms, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, pepperoni plus mozzarella cheese, beef, mild sausage, ham, Italian sausage and bacon bits was too salty. The taste overall was good, but it was salted too heavily. The dish was too salty to eat all at once and I ended up taking it home.

Overall I give this restaurant a four out of five, because of the poor taste of the tea and the overly salted Supreme Pizza. It is a nice place to eat at and I highly recommend it. However, go eat here and decide for yourself whether or not the food is good or not. If you are a fan of Italian food, this restaurant is a must to eat at.

Pronto's Italian Restaurant

All photos were taken by me.

Papa Roach: Face Everything And Rise

           

Credit: Rolling Stone

“I will face everything and rise, never gonna quit until I die.”

            
These lyrics sent goosebumps down my arms and the rest of the song had me captivated.  If you thought Papa Roach was done creating meaningful and awe-inspiring music, think again.  Their first track of their album, F.E.A.R., looks very promising.  The amount of depth put into this song astounds even me.  I could tell from the very beginning that the band was alluding to conquering hardships that we all face.  Now these hardships are all different for everyone, and I thought that made this song even cooler.  For example, a quiet girl could be shy for a reason.  She may have been abused or taught that silence was better.  Someone else could take this song as conquering inner struggles.  Perhaps a person is mentally ill and struggles with depression all their life.  Depression is a serious matter.  However you look at this song, you have to admit it is stunning to listen to.  It invades your brain and worms into your insecurities, brining them to the front for you to see. 

            
The music video is even more striking.  It brings forth a visual to the song, and one that is very effective in my opinion.  It starts out with a man in a gasmask, staring at a screen of TVs.  He is tied in a chair and a hard looking woman appears, grabbing his gasmask, taunting him.  The scene switches to the band then and all of them are bouncing up and down to the beat of the music.  They begin to sing and their gestures take your breath away.  They appear so passionate about what they are doing and it spellbinds you.  The room with the man in the gasmask appears again, and this time the TVs are on, depicting catastrophes.  Fires, bombs, and men in black suits assault your eyes.  There is a ball of energy next to the man in the gasmask.  The scene shows the chair that the man occupied empty.  Then he knocks out a guard and takes a black car.  He drives on a road with two bikers.  They are chasing him and in a panic he brings the car to a screech, runs out and scrambles into the wild.  He runs until he sees men in black hoods, and gasmasks holding flaming arrows.  They release them and as the arrows fall, the man takes the ball of energy into the palm of his hand, raising it in the air and dispelling the enemies.  This indicates to me, that he has faced his fears. 

       
 I believe Papa Roach has produced good music since day one and this song proves that they can still make amazing music.  I’ll let you be the judge of what you think of the song though. 

Credit: Kerrang!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9z4DWB7Iy8

Preorder the CD here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/f.e.a.r./id934533198