Movies: Monsters University

Score:  **** out of ***** (B+)

Long Story Short:  Monsters University is Pixar's highly anticipated once-a-year release for 2013, the studio's first prequel film.  While far different in detail, University is quite like last year's Brave in that it retains the fundamental excellence that we expect from Pixar... but the story and characters don't have the originality or the pop that defined the studio's best efforts.  Still, it's great entertainment, especially for younger kids.


Unfortunately, I've gotten so backed up on my movie watching now that this review comes a full month after its release in theaters.  I should be able to reset, though, as I don't intend to see any other movies out right now (well, I'd like to see The Way, Way Back, but unfortunately it's a limited release).  A fair number out right now might be worthy of Netflix, but to stave off potential burn out, I'll be skipping them for now (White House Down, Pacific Rim, etc.).  Back to this movie:  as I've said before, Pixar is the best film studio going right now, and so it's pretty much a guarantee I'll go see whatever they make.  I wanted to see the original Monsters, Inc. before seeing this, but apparently so did a lot of other people on Netflix so I couldn't.  Oh well.  Monsters University was directed by Dan Scanlon and features the voice work of Billy Crystal and John Goodman.

A class of little tike monsters (literally) takes a field trip to a factory of sorts, where the workers "make" fear in human children by walking through magical doors into the kids' bedrooms at night.  One little monster, named Mike, is particularly fascinated with this, and sneaks a peak at one of the professionals at work.  From that day on, Mike is determined to become a "scarer", and he heads off to Monsters University to train to become one.  In the prestigious "School of Scare", Mike (Crystal) meets Sully (Goodman), a hulking fellow who's the son of a famous scarer.  The two are instant antagonists.

Unfortunately, their rivalry puts them both into a lot of trouble and, faced with little other choice, forces them to work together in a University "scare competition".  The two must maximize each other's strengths - and cover for each other's weaknesses - and get along well enough so that they can both pursue what is, for different reasons, their one true calling.

Pixar films always have colorful characters, and Monsters University takes that more literally than most.  Reprising his role from Monsters, Inc., Billy Crystal voices Mike Wazowski.  Not having seen the original, I can't make comparisons, but Crystal's voice is well-suited in University for Mike's bookish yet fiercely determined personality.  He's a likable, though not particularly original, character.  Goodman is a similarly good fit as Sully, a massive guy whose personality is actually more sarcastic, even bored, than overbearing in anyway (as his physical stature might imply).  Clearly second fiddle, Sully is also likable but not particularly noteworthy.  Other notable voices/characters include Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) - a tough and frightening yet not "bad" character who makes an impression in her handful of scenes; Chet, a frat guy (SNL's Bobby Moynihan) - mostly because I love his lispy NY accent, but he has some of the funniest lines, too; and a nice ensemble of lesser known actors voicing the dorky helpers of Mike and Sully in the scare competition.

It's been years since these animated films - invented by Pixar with 1995's Toy Story - seemed novel, and so the pressure to come up with great animation and great storytelling gets harder and harder.  And Pixar keeps succeeding.  Monsters University is a beautiful film, one of the studio's most colorful.  As usual, the level of detail is impeccable, particularly with all the clever parallels between "normal" college campuses and the monsters'.  But it's not all eye candy.  University has a sturdy backbone of story and characters - even if, like last year's Brave, those elements are not quite as original as we've come to expect from Pixar.  The focus is always where it should be with Pixar:  here, that's in the two main characters and their relationship, with the background of a training as scarers at a monster college an important element but not a distracting one.  The humor doesn't succeed as well as in most Pixar films, as most of the laughs are aimed at younger children (usually, Pixar makes everyone laugh at most jokes).  For older viewers, most of the humor is "oh, that's cute" or found in the college-life comparisons.  A final note:  I liked the soundtrack a lot, particularly with its emphasis on marching band-style pieces.  I highly recommend checking out the signature song, "Gospel" by MarchFourth Marching Band (OK, I'm a sucker for awesome brass music - but still).

***

Alright, so most of what I've said about Monsters University has been pretty positive; why only a B+?  Well, I generally review movies a week after I see them, in order to "digest" them.  Usually, my mind wanders back to the movie on its own throughout that week, as I think about the notable parts - good or bad.  I really didn't do that with University.  Just like last year's Brave, this is a technically proficient film, solid to excellent in so many areas that other studios get lazy about or ignore.  But, to me, is just wasn't that memorable.  While I particularly enjoyed the "college" setting, the characters and story - while good - weren't very original or exceptional.  And original and exceptional are the characteristics that set apart Pixar's greats and masterpieces.  Monsters University is even a tad long for my tastes.  That is all to explain why it didn't quite get an "A", but it's still very solid entertainment.  Particularly if you have kids - but even if you don't - University is a good time.  You can certainly wait for this on Netflix, but if you want to see a movie in the theater and don't want to take a risk that it will suck or you won't like it, this is as safe a bet as you can make.

Movies: World War Z

Score:  **** out of ***** (B+)

Long Story Short:  World War Z seems like a typical zombie/disaster blockbuster, and in many ways it is - but it's a damn good one at that.  Director Marc Forster paces the movie, builds the stakes, and varies the action with great care and skill.  Brad Pitt is a very solid lead, and within such a tense film provides a stalwart foundation to cling to.  If you want a fun action movie out now, go see this (and skip Man of Steel!).


Unfortunately, I'm getting a little behind in the summer movie season.  World War Z was released two weeks ago, and I still plan to see Monsters University, released at the same time.  But hopefully, these reviews will still be helpful or at least entertaining.  As for this one, after seeing a brief trailer, I was quite intrigued.  Brad Pitt as an action hero and the zombie genre are not exactly new by themselves, but there was something about it that caught my eye.  I haven't read the graphic novel it's based on, which was fine because I didn't want to spoil anything for myself.  When the film was released to solid reviews, it was an easy choice for me.  World War Z was directed by Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction, Quantum of Solace) and stars Brad Pitt.

The film opens in the Philadelphia home of the Lanes, a seemingly ordinary morning in the present.  However, things start to happen quickly:  first, the family is stuck downtown in unusually slow-moving traffic.  Then an explosion goes off several blocks behind them, followed by a garbage truck ramming its way through traffic.  As Gerry (Pitt), a former U.N. official, guides the car through chaos, people stream alongside - but some of them start to attack the car.  Watching in a mirror, Gerry observes one man get bitten by an attacker and, seconds later, transform into a rabid attacker himself.

The family manages to escape downtown Philly, and Gerry's old boss contacts him.  The Lanes manage to hold out until a helicopter can bring them to a base of operations; from there, Gerry is pressed back into service in trying to find out what the heck is going on.  It's a race against the zombie clock as Gerry goes around the world in search of answers - while trying to avoid the increasing hordes of undead.

The cast of World War Z is basically Brad Pitt plus a number of supporting players.  Pitt fits into the role well, particularly the parts where he exudes the cool-under-pressure confidence and competence honed during his years in the U.N.  He provides a strong figure for the audience to latch onto as the world goes to hell around him.  The parts where he plays family man are more of a mixed bag, with some of it very good and some feeling forced.  There are a good number of supporting players, but I'll just mention two I liked.  Daniella Kertesz plays an inexperienced yet tough soldier; this is not an over-the-top gung-ho role as so many other similar roles devolve into.  And I especially liked James Badge Dale as another soldier.  He starred in the HBO series The Pacific, and I've also seen him in a few other minor roles (Flight, Iron Man 3).  James acts with great but controlled energy, and he's able to steal attention away from even the big stars when on screen.  I look forward to seeing more of him.

World War Z is, as I expected, a pretty typical blockbuster disaster film in structure, but it is a very fine take on the genre.  An interesting, spectacular yet creepy little pre-credits intro gets you prepped for something big - global scale, to be specific.  World War Z wastes little time getting to the action, and it had me on the edge of my seat for a good, sustained thirty minutes or more to start - a very impressive achievement.  Then you get a little break, and it's back to gripping your chair.  The tension succeeds for several reasons.  First, the action may start quickly, but it also starts small (focusing mainly on the threat to the Lane family) and builds from there.  Also, the outbreak is so out of control that when something good does happen (i.e.: Pitt does something heroic) it comes more as a relief rather than as roll your eyes moments.  There are a few zombie-cliche moments, but they are brief and don't detract from the overall tension.  Finally, the special effects are good, and used relatively sparingly, but the scariest parts of the film are what you can't see.

***

I went into World War Z with very little in the way of expectations, and I came out pleased with the result.  The film has great focus, and it knows what it is - a zombie blockbuster - so while that put a ceiling on how good it could be, it also gave it a floor.  Fortunately, it's pretty darn close to the ceiling.  The strongest part is what I was talking about in the previous paragraph, the atmosphere of tension.  This is why I've been particularly vague in describing the film, as I don't want to spoil many specifics.  Besides what I wrote above, contributing greatly to its success is a sensible running time (just under two hours) and very good pacing.  If it had been just constant chasing and danger, you'd get worn out, but there's enough of a family element (admittedly, one of the film's weakest elements) and big picture explanation (fascinating, but not with an unrealistic level of detail).  Certainly there are some nits that could be picked - mostly having to do with Pitt's extraordinary number of skills and his being in the right (or wrong) place at the right time.  But that got swept away for me by the sheer level of excitement throughout.  I could certainly see myself revisiting this a few years from now, and I especially recommend it as a theater viewing if you haven't seen it yet (and, of course, enjoy action and/or zombie films).