Brave 2012

I love PIXAR, those three words just say it all. Since their first big leap to the big screen with the beloved TOY STORY in 1996, I haven't doubted for a second that PIXAR produces quality, and only quality work of the highest callibre. Having highly anticipated BRAVE from the day it was announced, and being a genuine lover of all PIXAR films, I entered with extremely high expectations, I was anything but disappointed.

BRAVE centers around Princess Merida, a teenager determined to make her own path in life, defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

Yet another outstanding, excellent and absolutely beautiful release from PIXAR, BRAVE exceeds in every aspect imaginable. Each character is lovingly crafted with depth, vividness, heart and sheer fun, while it's cast is unique, skilled and overly qualified in every way. Kelly Macdonald does a superb job with Merida's voice work, capturing the sense of teen youthfulness perfectly, while giving an exceptionally heartbreaking performance near the end of the film. It's plot is highly inspired and original, if a bit Disney-fied, made interesting with an unexpected twist, that had me hooked from the film's opening.

Despite being early marketed as quite a dark film, BRAVE features hefty amounts of stellar humor and memorable gags that literally had me, and certainly my packed theater, in stitches. Much of this humor originates from the triplets, Merida's three little brothers, who often get up to mischief, and are the cutest animated humans I have ever seen in a PIXAR film. With slapstick to appeal to both the young and old, verbal humor that will keep the grown-ups on their toes, and on-screen gags that leave you breathless in laughter, BRAVE will give you as many laughs as any other comedy this year.

PIXAR doesn't fail to impress when it comes to visuals, and BRAVE is no exception. Beautifully animated are the plains of Scotland, the CG forests on the outskirts of the kingdom, the intensely vivid characters and even Merida's beautifully textured hair. So it goes without saying that BRAVE succeeds with it's almost magical visual style, contributing to an equally stunning and immersive 3D experience.

But most impressive of all, was the emotional punch that BRAVE managed to pack. We know that PIXAR has left us emotional wrecks, one time or another after viewing one of their films, TOY STORY 3 has always been one to reduce me to tears (BRAVE was no different), but BRAVE, above all, does so in such a magical way. The films really is about Merida's relationship with her mother, a relationship that is so easily relatable to me as an audience member, and really how having a strong relationship with your parent can change your fate/life. A lesson reminiscent in FINDING NEMO, told beautifully in more depth here in BRAVE.

So, easily said with an overly talented cast, spectacular visuals and beautiful animation, fully immersive 3D experience, comedy just as golden in every sense, characters with heart, and a plot+moral with soul, BRAVE is a purely magical animated treat by the wizards of PIXAR, and definitely the best of the year so far.

21 Jump Street

 
When I first came to know that (yet) another old TV show is dusted off for a big-screen adaptation, I wasn't that excited at all. After all, that show happens to be the once-popular 21 Jump Street which starred then-young Johnny Depp who became a star here before he gradually earned his distinctive reputation in the Hollywood cinema. Back then, the story about an undercover police unit composed of young-looking officers specializing in youth crime is refreshingly new. But now, it's seriously a worn-out cliché. Then there's the casting of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum -- oh, wait -- Channing Tatum does a comedy? I smell an immediate recipe for disaster here, but directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord's (2009's CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS) live-action debut here seriously caught me by surprise . For all those naysayers out there, this big-screen version of 21 JUMP STREET is surprisingly funny and very entertaining as well.

Like the TV show, the movie revolves around Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum), two young-looking cops who both transferred to the 21 Jump Street division where they will be going undercover posing as students to infiltrate the drugs-dealing business that has been going on at a local high school. Both of them go by their names of Doug and Brad, and once there, they must find way to investigate the rampant use of a dangerous hallucinogenic called H.F.S. Their first lead is a dealer and classmate Eric (Dave Franco), whom they are trying to get close with, in hope that one day he will lead them to the mysterious supplier.

Story-wise, Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill's screenplay is actually nothing new at all. But what makes it refreshingly different than most like-minded script out there is the way how the execution is played out in such a hilarious manner. While there are times the script is trying too hard to be funny, rest assured most of the scenes never fail to elicit some genuine laughs. Thanks to the hard R-rating, Bacall and Jonah Hill let the story rip with all those colorful profanities like nobody's business. Added to that, is some of the worthwhile self-parody gags throughout the movie, especially the highway car chase scene involving the theory of exploding vehicles.

Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller knows well how to keep the pace as entertaining as possible, while the cast here are no doubt the main star attraction here. Jonah Hill proves once again he's one of the genuine comic talents working today, but it was Channing Tatum who totally hits the ballpark with his surprisingly hilarious performance. Personally, I always thought Tatum's acting skill is always wooden at any given genre he's been involving so far (action, drama, romance) but he's finally proved himself as an excellent performer. In fact, both he and Jonah Hill are terrific together. And that's not all -- the rest of the supporting cast are equally playful and memorable as well, including Brie Larson as love interest Molly and Ice Cube at his profane best as Captain Dickson.

Apart from a flair of comedy, Phil Lord and Chris Miller does show some genuine talents in term of delivering well-crafted action sequence. Case in point is the aforementioned highway car chase scene and the violent shootout finale. Overall, 21 JUMP STREET is one of the best action comedy movies really need to be checked out for. And while you're at it, there's a surprise cameo appearance (priceless, indeed) throughout the movie.