( Animated movie # 8) Lego Movie 2014 5 out of 10 (Everything is So-So)

The Lego Movie  2014   5 out of 10

“Everything is so-so….Everything is completely average and underwhelming”     That is pretty much how I felt about the blockbuster success that was The Lego Movie.

It was an extremely average and overrated animated movie.   

I think it was the perfect example of a movie that everyone tells you is great –that definitely didn’t live up to the hype.  I’ve seen better Lego shorts.  The mini Star Wars Lego specials were funnier and more entertaining.  

Visually -   it looked exactly like you would expect it to....Like someone was making a really good stop motion Lego movie for you tube.

The story was clever and yet I found the movie itself kind of boring.

The Ending

SPOILER WARNING:  The ending was clever and yet I didn’t emotionally buy into it, because anyone that put together such an epic Lego set wouldn’t want it messed up either.  The kid could just play with own stuff so the premise that the dad was bad because he wouldn't let his son play with his creation is faulty to me.  Once the ending is revealed that the whole story was just some kid’s imagination while playing in his dad’s epic and structured Lego creation –the plot of this so-so adventure made sense.  The problem is the whole film felt like a random story from some kid’s playtime.  This concept may be brilliant, but the adventure itself wasn’t that fun.   The good jokes were few and far between and I probably wouldn’t watch this animated adventure again.

On that noteThe kids loved it and it absolutely cleaned up at the box office….So I’m sure there will be more Lego movies to come. 

 I hope the next one is better and more entertaining.

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Maleficent 2014 8 out of 10

Maleficent 2014  8 out of 10

Brief thoughts 

The Acting

Angelina Jolie was perfect as Maleficent.   I’ve never been a big fan of her in general –but her look and acting in this movie were spot on.  She was meant to play this part and I think this role will probably be my favorite performance of the year.  She was able to play all aspects of her character well.  She was menacing one second and thoughtful or curious the next.   King Stephen however didn’t seem up to the task and was not a good match for Jolie’s performance.  They really needed someone stronger in that role.

The Visuals

The look of the movie was stunning.  Maleficent’s world was truly a magical one and the scenery was gorgeous on the screen.  From the Castle scenes to the Magical Moors –what was put on the screen was dazzling as the magical creatures came to life on screen.

The Story

The story itself was good, but not great.  I knew going in that the story was going to depart from the classic animated movie and that Maleficent wasn’t going to be purely evil.   I wonder if maybe a more classic look at the original story may not have been a better approach however.   Angelina Jolie did such a great job with character that I would like to see more of her darker side.  Don’t get me wrong the story as told in the movie was done well—I guess I just brought my own expectations and ideas of what I would like to see into the movie with me.   Going in...... it was probably my most anticipated movies to see this year after catching the 4-D preview at DCA that I just think it couldn’t live up to my lofty expectations,  still a solid 8 out of 10

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