The Angry Birds Movie, unlike the smash hit mobile video game series that inspired it, lacks any sort of addictive quality for anyone above the age of 9. Yes, there’s plenty of things flying, falling and going “boom” for the kids, and lots of clever in-jokes and sight gags for the grown-ups, so the film is not without its merits. It’s a cute, relatively harmless distraction for a little over an hour and a half.
However, whereas the game offered endless moments of “okay, I want to do that again!”, both kids and parents most likely will be okay with just one go around of The Angry Birds Movie. After the first viewing, there’s not a whole lot there worthy of repeating the experience.
What’s it about?
As one might expect, the film expands on the game’s basic premise: green piggies stealing something of great value to the colorful, flightless birds, resulting in a high-flying, slingshot-powered counterattack. The film provides context for the birds’ titular anger, and in particular, the anger of the red bird with the block eyebrows, Red, voiced by Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses, We’re the Millers).
Unlike most of the other super nice and blissfully happy avian residents of his home, Bird Island, Red has a bit of a temper problem. After that temper gets him in trouble for the upteenth time, the island’s Bird Court, presided over by the impressive Judge Peckinpah (Keegan-Michael Key) sentences Red to anger management therapy.
Red therapy group consists of a collection of the island’s other misfits. There’s Chuck (Josh Gad, Pixels, Frozen), who moves and talks too fast for his own good; Bomb (Danny McBride, HBO’s “Eastbound and Down“, This is the End), who suffers from very literal version of Intermittent Explosive Disorder (surprise or startle him, and he go “boom!”); and Terrence (Sean Penn), who, well is quite large for a bird and only communicates in angry growls. The group is presided over by the outwardly peaceful Matilda (Maya Rudolph, Sisters), who wants to help her group overcome their issues just as she overcame hers … mostly.
It’s this group of misfits who must save Bird Island when a ship carrying the piggies, led by Leonard (Bill Hader, Trainwreck), arrive proclaiming a desire for friendship while secretly planning their dastardly heist. While the rest of the trusting happy birds welcome their new “friends”, Red, Chuck, and Bomb work to discover their true plans, leading to the ultimate battle of bird vs. pig.
Cast lifts middling material
If there’s anything to really recommend about The Angry Birds Movie, it’s the voice cast, which injects life into a bare-bones story and concept. In particular, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, and of all people Peter Dinklage (HBO’s “Game of Thrones“, X-Men: Days of Future Past), who provides the voice of Mighty Eagle, the near-mythical hero and protector of Bird Island, really sound like they’re having fun with their parts.
Sudeikis, while his role is technically the lead, also really gets stuck with the wet blanket/straight man role, and so his work here isn’t as memorable. If anything, his sidekicks Chuck and Bomb and even the relatively guttural and monosyllabic Terrence steal his scenes. Perhaps that’s by design, but if it is, it’s a waste of Sudeikis, who does off-the-wall wacky as well as anyone.
Good for the younger kids
Again, with all the uncontrolled flying, falling, and hitting things on the way down, The Angry Birds Movie has plenty of the sort of frenetic entertainment that should garner plenty of laughs from younger kids. The musical numbers are lively, too, but not to worry: there’s nothing nearly as catchy here as “Everything is Awesome” from 2014’s The Lego Movie, so you won’t find any unwelcome tunes stuck in your or your child’s head when leaving the theater. Demi Lovato’s cover of “I Will Survive” that runs with the end credits may get you singing along for a second or two, but no more.
As for grown-up entertainment value, enjoy all the pig and bird jokes, the references to ham, porkers, and guano (“Okay, maybe it wasn’t ice cream.”), sight gags like a sign at the public bath on Pig Island marked “Hog Wash”, and other such chucklers. There’s no genius at work here, which is maybe the biggest difference between the film and the game. The game, with its simple premise and almost infinite replay value, had real genius behind it.
This film, in comparison, is the equivalent of an add-on to the game that doesn’t quite live up to its cost to download.
The Angry Birds Movie
Starring the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, with Bill Hader and Peter Dinklage. Directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis. Directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis.
Running Time: 97 minutes
Rated PG for rude Humor and action.
DC Entertainment has revealed a new logo for their brand, along with the following statement:
“While comics continue to be the heart and soul of DC, the brand has evolved to now stand for powerful storytelling across so many different forms of media. DC is home to the greatest Super Heroes and Super-Villains, and the new logo has the character and strength to stand proudly alongside DC’s iconic symbols,” stated Amit Desai, DC Entertainment Senior Vice President of Marketing and Global Franchise Management.
“The launch of the new logo is the perfect tribute to DC’s legacy, exciting future and most importantly, our fans.”
Courtesy: DC Entertainment
The new logo will make its comic debut on the cover of DC Comics: Rebirth Special #1, which will be released May 25th.
“I’m very proud that REBIRTH will be the first comic book published with the new DC logo.” stated Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer. “To me, REBIRTH and the new DC logo are built on what’s come before while looking to what will come tomorrow. I can’t wait for people to see it on the cover.”
DC’s digital platforms have already begun using the logo, which was developed in partnership with Pentagram.
The biggest complain with the first issue was the inclusion of modern technology and pop culture references to this franchise. Since some time has past and this awkward concept has had time to settle for the readers, this comic doesn’t seem as forced and really seems to shine. Frankly, the fact customers act like hipsters at Strawberry’s restaurant and then give her a bad ranking on the comic’s equivalent of Yelp is actually pretty funny. The way Georgia Ball writes the characters make them feel much more real and entertaining than their cartoon counterparts.
The art still looks good especially as it helps to show all the different challenges Strawberry has to endure thanks to the Purple Pieman. As long as Amy Mebberson can keep the art at this level, this series will do alright. The scenes with the obstacle course on the TV show are particularly amusing thanks to the mixture of art and story. The only downside really is the ending feels a bit predictable but this actually a bit of knitpicking as the issue was enjoyable overall and really seemed to find a voice.
The team has found a pretty good mix of comedy and visuals which will definitely be appealing to fans of the series but also offers something for those who enjoy humor in their comics. This series will probably become a must read for younger audiences but there are jokes older fans will enjoy as well. Though it’s first issue wasn’t a must read, the second issue is able to stick the landing with the two part story. From here fans will actually find themselves being able to enjoy the storylines and will look forward to more issues to come.
Paramount Pictures announced production on ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ begins on June 6, in Detriot.
The film stars Peter Cullen, Mark Wahlberg, Isabela Moner, and Jerrod Carmichael. ‘Last Knight’ is written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan
Michael Bay’s fifth Transformers film will crush the box office on June 23, 2017. A spin-off film featuring Bumblebee has a 2018 release date and ‘Transformers 6’ hits theaters in 2019.
The first set photos of Idris Elba as the last gunslinger hit the internet, via The Daily Mail. ‘The Dark Tower’ is currently filming in Cape Town.
The movie is based on the first ‘Dark Tower’ novel by Stephen King, ‘The Gunslinger.’ There are eight books in the series. The Gunslinger (1982)
The Drawing of the Three (1987)
The Waste Lands (1991)
Wizard and Glass (1997)
Wolves of the Calla (2003)
Song of Susannah (2004)
The Dark Tower (2004)
The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
“The opening chapter in the epic ‘Dark Tower’ series. Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, in a world where time has moved on, pursues his nemesis, The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), across a desert. Roland’s ultimate goal is the Dark Tower, the nexus of all universes. This mysterious icon’s power is failing, threatening everything in existence.”
‘The Dark Tower’ is written and directed by Nikolaj Arcel and stars Idris Elba, Katheryn Winnick, Matthew McConaughey, Abbey Lee, and Jackie Earle Haley. The film is slated for release on February 17, 2017.
Shane Black has, over the years, invented and re-invented the buddy cop formula, all the way up to this weekend’s The Nice Guys. Most of the time in his films, the “buddy cops” aren’t even cops, but private eyes. Or, in the case of The Last Boy Scout, a disgraced former Secret Service agent turned private eye and a disgraced former Quarterback railroaded out of the league. This is a film unlike anything we’ll ever see again – had it come out today the PC police would have a field day – and the fact it ever made it through the production and editing process is a minor miracle.
Not to mention the fact it’s actually a great film, warts and all.
The Last Boy Scout is, in essence, another Shane Black buddy cop flick, rife with witty dialogue and full of homophobic bro-ness that was still very much a part of the action cinema scene in the late 80s and early 90s. That’s not why it’s great (that’s why it’s dated and seemingly a time capsule film that would never happen today. And shouldn’t ever happen today), it’s great because of Black’s writing and Tony Scott’s direction. Not because of what Scott delivered on screen, but what he managed to make it through behind the scenes.
Back in 1991, Bruce Willis was slowly morphing into the egotistical, unmanageable prick he is today, and teaming him up with mega-producer Joel Silver was a match made in hell for Scott and Black. Willis and Silver hijacked the set, changing entire scenes to their liking, threatening to fire Scott, and angering everyone else on set. Willis and Damon Wayans, who plays disgraced QB Jimmy Dix, hated each other, which was effective for the majority of the picture since Dix and Joe Hallenbeck (Willis) butted heads throughout the film.
The working print of The Last Boy Scout was rumored to be unwatchable, mostly because of the strife between everyone behind the scenes. Warner Bros. brought in Stuart Baird to re-edit the print to try and give it some sort of linear narrative. He did the best he could, but the continuity issues are still noticeable. One particular sequence at Hallenbeck’s home seems to move from dark to light and dark again. And yet, with all the issues surrounding the film, Shane Black’s razor-sharp wit still manages to define the film.
The strength of the script, which Black sold for a record $1 million at the time, elevates this pulp narrative beyond something easily forgotten. Willis and Wayans, despite their hatred for one another, manage to carry the film with a surprising amount of rapport and charm. And the late arrival of Taylor Negron as the prim-and-proper villain Milo ramps things up to eleven. The action set pieces are astounding, and the story surrounding corruption in pro football still feels relevant; though we’ve still never had any player open fire in the middle of a game.
The Last Boy Scout was Tony Scott’s miracle in Los Angeles, and he (along with Silver) called it one of the worst experiences of his professional life. It’s no coincidence that Lee Donowitz (Saul Rubinek), the sleazy producer in the third act of Scott’s True Romance, bears a striking resemblance to Joel Silver.
Title: Angry Birds Director: Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly Summary: Find out why the birds are so angry. When an island populated by happy, flightless birds is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to three unlike outcasts – Red, Chuck, and Bomb – to figure out what the pigs are up to.
I am absolutely a child at heart. I collect toys, I watch cartoons and I love all things that most kids love. That being said I also realize that there is a huge difference between being a ‘kid’s movie’ and a ‘family movie’. A ‘kid’s movie’ is one that the kids in the audience will really like but the parents that are there are going to find it dull at best and annoying at worst. A ‘family movie’ is one that kids and parents can both enjoy, if not for the same reasons. I didn’t have the best feeling going into Angry Birds because it is based off of a mobile game that reached peak popularity in 2011 that didn’t have much of a story to begin with. You can make a good movie out of anything so I tried to be as positive as possible going in.
Angry Birds feels at least two years too late to the be relevant, with an occasional good joke that they repeat ad nauseum.
Angry Birds tries very hard to find a story to explain the very simple game it’s based on and it isn’t even a very interesting one. Red (Jason Sudeikis) is a bird with anger management issues on an island populated by nothing but happy birds. This all changes when the Pigs arrive and their leader Leonard (Bill Hader) that Red immediately distrusts. You can feel the movie straining to come up with an explanation as to why the birds have a giant slingshot and why they think flinging themselves in it is the best plan of attack. It feels like the movie contrives reason after reason as to why the birds are using the slingshot and then that scene is barely ten minutes long. By that point the movie was mostly over and I had spent the entire time wondering what I was doing there and what was the point of this aside from brand management.
I’m a person that loves a good (or terrible) pun. In fact I would say 90% of my sense of humor are puns so you would think that a movie that is nothing but puns would be hilarious to me. It wasn’t. In fact I don’t think I really had a single laugh out loud moment the entire time. Lines such a ‘pluck my life’ are one of the various different lines that you see in a movie like this. There are jokes but like all jokes the lack of timing ruins everything. The movie doesn’t let a good joke stay long enough for anyone to appreciate and jokes that start off good are held for way too long. There is a scene where the birds going swimming in a lake until they find out it’s basically a toilet and we get like a two minute shot of someone peeing in the water. It goes on and on and on and I wanted to tell the movie ‘we get it’. They were swimming and drinking pee. Let’s move on. There were a bunch of moments like that because no one in this movie understands what a punchline is.
If I didn’t know better I never would have guessed this movie was only ninety-seven minutes long because it felt like an eternity to me. The pacing was strange and, like I said, we were all waiting for the entire point of the movie that never seemed to come. The story was both threadbare and somewhat way too convoluted at the same time. Why did the Pigs come to Bird Island and immediately know that they want to eat the eggs? Have they done this to other islands of birds because these birds think their island is the only island? Why can’t these birds fly? The movie tries to frame itself like a 3D Universal Studios ride as it swung around in insane directions to the point that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who gets motion sickness. As for me the 3D gave me a horrible headache.
Angry Birds is movie that tries to have jokes for both kids and adults but both of them fall very short. The movie seems to know that it really only has enough material for a short, so every moment felt like filler. As someone who loves kids movies and makes a lot of bad puns I can’t recommend Angry Birds. There isn’t a single redeemable moment in this entire enterprise aside from watching Angry Birds creators Rovio milk their one franchise to death.
The news recently broke that Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o is in talks to co-star alongside Chadwick Boseman in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. The report states that her character is currently unknown, but “she will be the Panther’s love interest.”
With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at what character Nyong’o might be playing:
Shuri
Shuri is not one of T’Challa’s love interests; she’s his half-sister. But reports have been wrong before, and Shuri is a fan favorite character from modern Panther lore, so this is still a plausible possibility.
She’s most notable for taking over the Black Panther mantle when T’Challa is taken out of commission. It’s doubtful that the filmmakers would be taking this route so early in the series, but she could still be featured as the warrior princess that she is.
Monica Lynne
Monica Lynne is an American who was T’Challa’s primary love interest since the 1970’s (in terms of comic book publication dates). The two were actually engaged to be married, but Panther called it off abruptly and without explanation. Circumstances continued to pull them together, much to Monica’s chagrin, and they maintained a strained but respectful friendship for years.
She’s an important figure in Black Panther history, but there are far more interesting characters for Nyong’o to portray.
Dora Milaje
The Dora Milaje are a group of female warriors who act as the Black Panther’s personal bodyguards. One was actually featured for a brief moment in Captain America: Civil War.
That’s her on the left. Credit: Marvel Studios
They count as love interests because they are sworn to the Panther, if he so desired them. However T’Challa refuses to take advantage of this relationship (except for one time when he was literally under the influence of the devil), and always keeps it professional.
The Dora Milaje are many in number, but the most notable have been Queen Divine Justice, Okoye, and Nakia (who became the rogue Malice after T’Challa rejected her advances). The current Dora Milaje taking center stage are Aneka and Ayo.
Storm Substitute
T’Challa’s most high profile relationship was with Ororo Munroe, the X-Man known as Storm. The two married and Ororo was Queen of Wakanda for a time, until they split in a rather hostile separation.
Marvel Studios doesn’t own the rights to the X-Men, so they probably can’t use Storm directly (the details are still hazy on how they’re able to use Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, but let’s assume that they can’t use other mutants in the same way). They may however be able to use a substitute character, like an African Inhuman. It’s possible, but very unlikely.
Malaika
Malaika and T’Challa had a brief love affair that was only featured in a 1988 limited series. She holds very little recognition outside of the most hardcore Black Panther fans, which makes her another unlikely candidate. However, her low profile would give Marvel Studios a lot of creative freedom to work with while staying true to the source material, so she can’t be ruled out completely.
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Who would you like to see Lupita Nyong’o play? Sound off in the comments below!
Last Saturday’s episode of Outlander, “Best Laid Schemes” threw viewers some curveballs. Viewers can all breathe sighs of relief now that Murtagh has been let in on the origins of Claire’s unique perspective on 18th century life, and, though he’s not my favourite character, I hope that Fergus is in one piece after his off-screen interaction with Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall. I ken ye’ll be needin’ a rrrecap!
Best Laid Schemes – My Recap
Jamie sits alone in his bedroom. Murtagh enters and tells Jamie of Black Jack Randall’s release from the Bastille, reminding him that he needs to train on the broadsword in preparation for his duel with Randall. Jamie tells Murtagh that he’s officially withdrawn his challenge. Murtagh demands an explanation and storms out of the room when Jamie tells him to trust that he has a reasonable explanation. A servant enters as Murtagh leaves and tells Jamie that Claire is at L’Hôpital des Anges.
Claire helps Monsieur Forez prepare a body for burial while he graphically describes the process of drawing and quartering to her. He tells her that he will be performing a number of executions using just this method shortly on a number of “practitioners of the dark arts” and their accomplices. Claire becomes obviously distressed and M. Forez suggests she may find better company in Master Raymond. Claire takes M. Forez’s mention of Master Raymond’s name as a warning. She rushes to Raymond’s shop and tells him he must leave the city immediately. Raymond resists at first but eventually agrees to leave while the King tries to weed out these alleged blasphemers. Raymond thanks Claire for her help and sends Claire on her way saying that they’ll meet again in this life or another.
A somewhat abrupt cut later, we see Jamie rubbing Claire’s feet. They are in their bedroom. Bringing up a very tense conversation from the last episode, Jamie tells Claire that he believes he’s saved her life as many times as she’s saved his, which makes them even. Jamie says he didn’t spare Black Jack’s life because he owed Claire a life. He tells Claire that Frank‘s future existence is his insurance against his own death. If they’re unable to prevent the Battle of Culloden and Jamie dies, he wants Claire to travel back to her own time and return to Frank. She somberly agrees to Jamie’s terms.
The next day Claire mixes up concoctions that will make it look as if the person who has taken it is infected with smallpox. As Claire and Jamie explain to Murtagh, if they can make it look like the shipment of wine that Charles Stuart wants to sell is infected with the virus then they’ll be able to hobble Stuart’s rebellion. Since Stuart will have no way to sell the wine he’ll lose his initial investment and won’t make any money to fund his campaign. Murtagh suggests murdering Stuart instead but Claire reminds him that if they do, they’ll just turn him into a martyr. They test the concoctions out on Jamie and it works with near-immediate results. Murtagh isn’t impressed by the indirect tactics and storms out. Jamie and Claire decide that they have to tell him the truth about “everything.” An explanation montage ensues and after Jamie’s confusing tale has been told Murtagh punches Jamie in the face and tells him he should’ve told him all this in the first place.
The next day, recovered from his simulated bout with smallpox, Claire sends Jamie and Fergus on their ways with the toxic concoctions. Back inside the house, Murtagh questions Claire about the extent of her knowledge of the future. She says she doesn’t know specific events concerning any of them, but that she does know that the Jacobite Rising fails miserably. Murtagh, especially for a man who’s been systematically lied to by his two best friends for the past few months, shows a great deal of empathy for Claire, clasping her hand and saying he wouldn’t want to bear her burden.
After a long ride, Jamie and Fergus arrive at St. Germain‘s warehouse in Le Havre. Fergus, at Jamie’s instruction, stealthily leaves two bottles of wine spiked with Claire’s nauseating mixture and then paints nettle juice into the men’s coats.
Much later, Jamie meets with St. Germain and Stuart at the Maison Elise. Stuart explains that a few of the men employed at St. Germain’s warehouse have been stricken with what Stuart strategically calls, “an unknown illness.” These men have been hidden but will soon be missed. Jamie asks if the harbourmaster has been paid off but St. Germain replies that the harbourmaster is a man of scruples and won’t be bribed. Stuart asks Jamie to transport the wine from St. Germain’s warehouse to his own by carriage, and store it there until he can arrange for a buyer. Jamie agrees and Stuart calls him a loyal patriot. St. Germain demands to accompany Jamie and the wine on the journey from his warehouse to Jamie’s to ensure nothing happens to it. Jamie agrees and says he’ll enjoy the company.
Jamie and Murtagh cook up a plan to stage a false attack on the wine shipment. Murtagh, dressed as a French courtier to cast suspicion on Les Disciples, will set upon the wine shipment with a group of similarly dressed highwaymen. Claire protests the plan and calls it unnecessarily risky, and Jamie does what he can to reassure her while admitting that the plan is risky but necessary. Later, the Frasers lie in bed feeling their unborn baby kicking up a storm inside Claire. Jamie tells the “wee’n” he can’t wait to meet him and then the happy couple does what they do best.
Cut to what appears to be the next night and Claire is over at her friend Louise de La Tour‘s having some wine while de La Tour gossips about her cook’s fling with her maid. Claire drinks while the others talk but eventually can’t restrain herself. She comments on the horrible poverty all around them and suggests that they do something. De La Tour suggests to wide approval that the King ensure that these undesirables be ghettoized. An irate Claire asks for de la Tour’s forgiveness and leaves the party.
At the same time, Jamie, St. Germain, and the wine shipment are on their way from St. Germain’s warehouse to Jamie’s. The carriages are set upon by Murtagh’s masked gang. They encounter some resistance from St. Germain and Murtagh is forced to shoot one of the drivers but they’re are able to pull the false robbery off. While a highwayman holds St. Germain, Murtagh pistol-whips Jamie to make the robbery seem more realistic.
Claire, accompanied by a somewhat distracted Fergus, performs her duties at L’Hôpital des Anges but is ordered by Mother Hildegarde to rest when she sees that Claire is exhausted. Upon Mother Hildegarde’s closer inspection, she finds that Claire is bleeding. Mother Hildegarde ensures Claire that this is normal at this stage of the pregnancy but demands that she stay the night at the hospital. Claire sends Fergus home to alert Jamie.
I lost my wine, I lost my money, and my wig is itchy!
Back at the Maison Elise, St. Germain can’t believe that their shipment being stolen was a coincidence. He insinuates that Jamie was involved in the robbery and Jamie says that false accusations often have dire consequences, calling him Monsieur St. Germain rather than Comte. The two jump to their feet and engage in some posturing but Stuart provides St. Germain some perspective by reminding him that St. Germain himself said that Jamie may have saved his life during the robbery. He tells them that their fighting won’t change anything and describes the magnitude of his failure to reclaim the British throne for his father. Not looking much like a prince at all, he swears he will kill himself before being forced to live in Poland and weeps into his wine.
The next morning Jamie helps himself to a bit of wine and breakfast and Fergus reports that Claire spent the night at L’Hôpital des Anges. Jamie tells Fergus that Murtagh has gone to sell the wine in Portugal and won’t be around for a while. Suzette walks in on breakfast with news that Stuart has refused to pay his substantial bill at Maison Elise and is under threat of arrest. Jamie goes to help Stuart out and Fergus offers to come along.
At Maison Elise, Jamie instructs Fergus to wait for him at the door while he sees to Stuart’s financial difficulty. Instead, Fergus wanders through the brothel and eventually finds an unlocked door. He walks in and we see a familiar redcoat hanging on the coat rack–bad, bad, bad! Fergus explores the room and pockets some perfume. We see a shadow cross behind him and Fergus reacts like a deer in headlights when he turns around to see who just closed the door.
After spending a night at L’Hôpital des Anges, Claire returns home. Suzette tells Claire that Jamie has gone to the woods after getting into a fight with a British officer at Maison Elise. She finds a note on a table that says “I am sorry. I must.” Claire orders a carriage to take her to the woods to find Jamie. Claire’s fishtailing carriage tears down the French boulevards while Claire mutters to herself about Jamie’s promise: she makes it to the woods just in time to catch the end of the duel between Jamie and Black Jack. The two enemies seem pretty evenly matched until Jamie is able to drive his blade below Black Jack’s belt. The emasculating blow dealt, the gendarmerie rush in and, because dueling is illegal in France, arrest the combatants. Claire, apparently going into labour, calls out to Jamie. She instructs her servant to take her to Mother Hildegarde and passes out while Jamie is arrested. Blood flows from both Black Jack’s and Claire’s loins.
Best Laid Schemes – My Critique
There was quite a bit of tension in “Best Laid Schemes,” including Fergus’s planting of Claire’s various potions in St. Germain’s warehouse, Fergus’s being locked in a room with Black Jack, Claire’s apparently going into labour, the staged carriage robbery, Claire’s mad carriage ride to the woods, and Jamie and Black Jack’s duel. As a member of Team Frank and a fan of rational causality, I’m a bit concerned. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see how Frank’s future existence is possible. Featured in Season 2’s first episode (a framing device that sets the events of this season up as a flashback Claire is experiencing in the 20th century), viewers, if not Claire and her 18th-century pals, know Frank will live.
I’m glad that “Best Laid Schemes” pushed Black Jack back into the villain spotlight. St. Germain, though a thoroughly ill-mannered snoot, doesn’t provide the same brooding evil that Black Jack Randall does. I hope, though, that it doesn’t turn out that Black Jack has raped Fergus. That would be a bit much even for the monster we know Black Jack to be.
“Best Laid Schemes” seems to confirm what’s obvious to anyone who watched Season 2’s first episode: the child Claire asks Frank to help raise obviously isn’t the same one she’s pregnant with in “Best Laid Schemes.” If Claire is meant to be going into labour at the end of “Best Laid Schemes,” how could she still be pregnant when she sees Frank in the future? Or, if she isn’t going into labour, Claire is about as big as pregnant women get in “Best Laid Schemes” but doesn’t show any belly at all in Season 2’s premiere.
“Best Laid Schemes” was a bit disorienting at times. The frequency of cuts and indistinct periods of time between scenes gave the episode a disconnected feeling. But, there was some great acting in “Best Laid Schemes,” especially from Andrew Gower as Charles Stuart. His downfall complete, the Pretender became more than the fop he’s been since we met him. With the weight of an unfulfilled holy destiny resting on his shoulders, he seemed more like a frightened boy than an arrogant prig.
No wonder people always accuse Hollywood of running out of ideas.
Sony Pictures and Rovio Entertainment are set to release the animated feature, The Angry Birds Movie, this Friday. Angry Birds is an app that is wildly popular. While there is no denying the addictive nature of the game, one has to question how a full-length feature film is born from a game with little to no backstory? With a game like Assassins Creed, there is at least a background story in that game which provides plenty of source material for the screenwriters. In Angry Birds, a bunch of greedy pigs are trying to steal the eggs of these birds. How does that translate into a 97 minutes animated feature film? Perhaps proper storytelling?
Unfortunately, the only thing proper about this story telling is it has a beginning, middle, and an end. Joe Vitti, a writer on The Simpsons, constructed an origin story that concentrates more on being witty and less on being entertaining. Vitti has countless scenes filled with pop culture references and inside jokes but nothing that even approaches being funny. On The Simpsons, the backstory has long been established so he can write those edgy pop culture references in certain scenes. It is as if Rovio Entertainment hired Joe Vitti and said: “Okay here’s our app, now make it into a movie.” So instead of slaving away and constructing some acceptable narrative, he just crowbarred the exact premise of the app into the film. Why even make this movie?
A positive note could take from this film is the top-flight voice talent assembled. Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny Mcbride, Bill Hader, Tony Hale, Kate McKinnon, Hannibal Burress, and Maya Rudolph all have voice characters in The Angry Birds Movie. What’s confounding to is that they are not even allowed to spread their comedic wings. Vitti has created characters that are entirely one dimensional and don’t afford these gifted actors an opportunity to use their talents. Imagine if Robin Williams was told to stick to the script in Aladdin and not allowed to use his talents? Part of what provides these animated characters their depth is the actors performances, without this performance, then these characters are nothing but flat.
The animators attempt to provide that missing depth in the overall look of these birds. Each of the birds are different size spherical shapes, they have expressive eyes, and possess different feather textures which provide more characterization than any performance in this film. They attempt to get ramp up the creativity by experimenting with 2-D and time lapse stylings, but the attempt ends up being more of a distraction than anything that would add to the film.
Then, of course, there is an endless number of pop culture references shoved into this story. While Red (Jason Sudeikis) is running around in the Pig Castle looking for the missing eggs, he opens a door to a corridor, and two twin pigs respond with “redrum.” While trying to escape the castle they see a book belonging to King Mudbeard (Bill Hader) entitled ’50 Shades Of Ham.’ Are these references meant for kids? What’s the point of even including them in this animated feature?
Sometimes when a film tries to be too funny, it completely misses the mark.
