How to Train Your Dragon Review

On a very long flight overseas during the summer of 2010, I got to watch a couple of movies that were no longer in theaters, but not yet on home video. Among these was How to Train Your Dragon (2010). It was such a delightfully fun movie that it made me forget that I was tightly crammed into a flying metal tube with a hundred other people being flung across an ocean. It is easily my favorite Dreamworks movie to date.

Long ago up North on the Island of Berk, the young Viking, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his stubborn father and village leader, Stoik the Vast (Gerard Butler), will not allow his small, clumsy, but inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged the species. But even as the two each take flight in their own way, they find that they must fight the destructive ignorance plaguing their world.

After a number of mediocre Dreamworks movies released over the previous couple of years, How to Train Your Dragon was an unexpectedly delightful change of pace. The characters were fantastic, the story was interesting, the theme was wonderful, the animation was stellar. That's quite a step up from titles like Bee Movie and Shrek the Third.

Hiccup is a fish out of water. He's not the big, burly, aggressive type that virtually everyone in village is. He's small, skinny, has a deadpan, sarcastic sense of humor, and tends to be resourceful instead of forceful. He resorts to constructing gizmos to help him achieve the same physical feats his fellow villagers do, but his intuition isn't appreciated. Stoick is a fierce, immensely strong and utterly fearless warrior. He's also very stubborn and seems to think the world should work according to the way he perceives it. He's a character with which we can identify, but not one that is easy to love initially. Needless to say, Hiccup and Stoick don't see eye-to-eye.

Then there is Toothless. Toothless may be a dragon, but he's possibly the most endearing character in the movie. The way he moves is a lot like a playful cat. He has highly expressive yellow eyes that contrast his black color beautifully and help illustrate the many facial expressions Toothless has. The sounds he makes are adorable, but ferocious when they need to be. The sounds used to voice Toothless are a combination of Supervising Sound Designer Randy Thom, elephant Seals, elephants, horses, tigers, and domestic cats. There is a very important quality to the Toothless character that is missing from so many of Hollywood's contemporary animated characters; an air of mystery. This isn't just a funny animal sidekick, he's a major character in the movie who plays a significant part in the plot's development.

The story and theme were delightful. It's a bit fast paced as it is primarily aimed at children with short attention spans. Nevertheless, it features an invigorating coming-of-age story of surprising depth paired with a sweetly poignant tale of friendship between man and animal. It delves into the ideas of empathy and taking the initiative to learn about what you don't understand so as to peacefully coexist. If we take our initial impressions of others as objective fact, it causes us to be shortsighted, intolerant, and even hostile against those we don't understand. Thematically, this is similar to both Frozen and ParaNorman, though How to Train Your Dragon has its own take on interpersonal conflict that should not be overlooked.

The animation is top notch. The texture of skin, clothing, dragon scales, water, and everything else looked amazing. I've already mentioned the charming way Toothless moved, but every character moved in a way that was cartoonish enough to be funny, but not so wacky as to be unrealistic. The camera work was phenomenal as well. How to Train Your Dragon has some of the best action sequences I've seen in a CGI animated film. Everything from the angle of the shot to the speed of the editing projects an end visual that feels like you're either riding on Toothless' back or you get an outsider perspective on just how fast he's flying. It's positively brilliant.

How to Train Your Dragon is easily the best Dreamworks animated feature to date, and possibly one of the best dragon movies ever made. It boasts dazzling animation and a script with a surprising dramatic depth which mixes comedic and touching moments. Instead of relying on dizzying gimmicks, this movie revels in sheer heart-pumping pleasure of watching action unfold and lets us genuinely enjoy some charming characters. It's take on the message about tolerance and realizing your enemy may not be as different as you think puts it in a higher quality bracket than other CGI animated films. I love this movie. I've been telling myself for years to get my own copy; this is absolutely worth having in your own home collection.

What is the best dragon movie you've ever seen? Comment below and tell me why!

300 Movie Review

I remember seeing the trailer for 300 (2006) in theaters and just about all that I retained was the fact that it had a buff 8-year-old boy in it. Seriously, small children should not be muscular. That's just creepy and weird. Of course after 300 was released some time later everyone and their dog was talking about it and parodies were popping up all over the place. Seven years later it's still a cinema cultural icon and I'm just now getting around to seeing it.

The massive army of the Persian Empire is sweeping across the globe, crushing every force that dares stand in its path. In Sparta, a Persian envoy arrives to offer King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) power over all of Greece if he will only bow down to the self proclaimed "God-King" of Persia, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). The idle threat does not bode well with the Spartan King, and he assembles a small army comprised of his empire's 300 best fighters and marches off to defend their home, their freedom, and their families. They have virtually no hope of defeating Xerxes' battalion of 170,000. Meanwhile in Sparta, the loyal Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to convince both the skeptical council and the devious Theron (Dominic West) to send aid to King Leonidas, despite the fact that many view Leonidas' unsanctioned war march as a serious transgression.

300 is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, which itself is a fictionalized version of historic Battle of Thermopylae. Since I have nether read the graphic novel nor bothered to study the Greco-Persian Wars in any kind of detail, I can't really comment on how historically accurate this movie is. Since 300 had a very comic book vibe, I'm willing to bet that a lot of it was sensationalized and made more dramatic.

The film is a shot-for-shot adaptation
of the comic book.

The comic book vibe was really an excellent point of the movie. The camera angles, the color scheme, the pacing, everything felt like a comic book. Come to find out, the director Zach Snyder, used the source material (the comic book, anyway) a great deal in designing the movie. There are some scenes that you'd swear they used images from the comic books as storyboard images during preproduction. Everything was shot in front of a blue screen. But unlike, say, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, 300 looked really good! Stylized and "comic booky," yes, but it looked good. It didn't look like a bunch of actors in front of a digital background resulting in lighting discrepancies. It manages to have a realistic look while also having a gritty illustrative quality to it.

The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed. It's really neat to see how the Spartan's battle tactics work and different techniques work. While graphic and often bloody, you can tell exactly what's going on at any given time and you're given a sense of space on what is essentially a computer generated set. I've seen movies that don't do that very well at all, even when they are using a physical set. Good job, Zach Snyder!

I've heard from a number of sources that the 300 comic book's author is an insane right-wing nut job and that his political views are prominently manifest in the book and thus are carried over into the movie. The warmongering Spartans are glorified as righteous and superior, they break the law to start a war, kill foreigners and are supposedly justified. Anyone who opposes them, including the pacifist Spartans who want peace, not war, are portrayed as traitors, etc. While I dislike right-wing nut jobs every bit as much as I dislike left-wing nut jobs, I disagree with this alleged analogy. The Spartans were being threatened and on the verge of invasion. In the interest of protecting their home, their land, their families, and their freedoms, the Spartans leave to defend themselves before the war that is already raging on comes to their country. It's well established that the war is moving in their direction whether they are involved or not. It's established that the invading Persian armies claim to treat anyone who surrenders without a fight with civility, but will enslave anyone who stands against them. The Spartan politicians are willing to be taken over by the Persians to avoid a confrontation, not because they want to find a peaceful alternative to the war. The Spartans are not seeking a war, they are defending themselves against an invasion that will be at their door any day. Leonidas, while certainly strong-willed, is doing what he believes is best for his people by sending a message to the actual warmongers that they will not give up their freedoms easily, that they will defend their families, and that they will not tolerate threats of death and slavery. I think that is a good message, and certainly not an attack on democrats or left-wing antiwar protesters.

300 is one of Zach Snyder's better films. I don't think it's quite as good as a lot of people make it out to be, but it's still a decent movie. It has made a significant cultural impact and has prompted many parodies and spoofs. The art direction, camera work, pacing and just about everything visual was very well done. The script had a few good lines but was mostly bland and featured some predictable one-dimensional characters. The cast was good but didn't have very riveting material to work with.  While the action is very good, the violence is definitely what earns it an R rating. I wouldn't mind seeing this again, but unless you are really enchanted by the special effects and action, which makes up a bulk of the movie, it's probably not worth owning. I do recommend renting it just to appreciate this cultural cinema icon.

History was never my strong point. Assuming you are, is there an epic historical battle that you would like to see turned into a movie? Comment below and tell me all about it!

Chasing Mavericks Movie Review

I've mentioned in the other two surf movies I've reviewed, Ride the Wild Surf and Soul Surfer, that I like to think I was a surfer in a previous life. I don't necessarily patronize surfing movies that often; they're usually at a basic level the same as any other sports movie. However, I found myself watching Chasing Mavericks (2012) the other day. While it was also a lot like other sports movies, I rather I liked it.

Fifteen-year-old Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) discovers the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, is not only real, but exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home. Eager to take on the legendary waves, he enlists the help of local surf legend Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) to help him survive it. As Jay and Frosty embark on their quest to accomplish the impossible, they form a unique friendship that transforms both their lives, and their quest to tame Mavericks becomes about far more than surfing.

As was the case in Soul Surfer, Chasing Mavericks is based on a real person and true events. Jay Moriarity was an accomplished surfer and waterman. He gained international fame when his wipeout at Mavericks was caught on film and made the cover of Surfer magazine. He also co-authored "The Ultimate Guide to Surfing." While Jay seems to have lead a relatively short life, he was highly passionate about everything he did. That's the sort of person that a good biopic tries to glorify.

Jonny Weston is a newcomer to the big screen. He's actually not too bad. His inexperience is evident, but for a first major motion picture he performs admirably. The characterized Jay is interesting. Jay is a remarkably optimistic and hopeful young man despite his circumstances living in a poor neighborhood with an alcoholic mother who can't hold down a job and pay the bills. There are many times as the character and story unfolds that you can't help but think, "Aww... he's such a good kid." Realistic? Maybe not, but he's the kind of kid you'd love to know.

Gerard Butler is good, as usual. His American accent isn't always very convincing, but he brings an intense presence to the movie with his stern, hardened looks and his often booming voice. Frosty is a mentor, and like most mentor characters he puts his mentee through hell but keeps encouraging Jay to keep going. Their relationship is a typical mentor/mentee bond that you've seen in movies dozens of times before, but both characters are fun to watch and the actors bounce off each other pretty well.

I've mentioned in both Ride the Wild Surf and Soul Surfer that the surf photography was highly impressive. Well, I think Chasing Mavericks was even better! The Mavericks waves were not just big, they were monstrous! Frosty says they were the size of five-story buildings at one point. Seeing boats on the ocean get heaved around by these waves was scary. As the waves crashed down upon the ocean, the water foams and froths so much that it occasionally looks like Jay is snowboarding rather than surfing. Okay, maybe it's just difficult to get lousy surf photography or something, but I was once again impressed by it in Chasing Mavericks.

The story we are offered is surely one you've already seen. The young athlete taking on a new lofty challenge in his or her sport, while a grumpy mentor whips them into shape, followed by some emotional drama at home and in relationships, rivals and bullies try to throw our hero for a loop, etc. The story is very cliché, and doesn't go out of its way to do anything bold or new. Frankly I think Chasing Mavericks manages to naturally achieve the spiritual or at least philosophical quality that Soul Surfer failed to accomplish for all its desperate efforts.  The story is not so predictable that you can accurately guess specifics of the next scene; movies which do that are truly abysmal. But even though Chasing Mavericks sticks to tried and true story points, it still remains interesting enough to enjoy.

Chasing Mavericks was an enjoyable surf movie, even if it was a cliché sports movie with a standard mentor/mentee character dynamic. It's sweet, gentle, and affably modest on the whole, but the script feel lacking somehow. The dialogue isn't always convincing and that makes the story feel trite. Nevertheless, I was bonkers over the surf photography, I liked the two main characters, and surfing is cool on a matter of principle. If you don't mind the stereotypical nature of the movie, Chasing Mavericks is worth the rental price. Even though I liked it, I didn't quite think it was worth the cost to own a copy.

What is your favorite mentor/mentee duo? Comment below and tell me why!