I noticed something while watching “Inside Out 2” that I hadn’t quite picked up on before. We all know Pixar puts out films that are enjoyable for parents as well as their presumed adolescent target audience, and the new sequel to Pete Docter’s 2015 original maintains that standard. But like that film, “Inside Out 2” also captures something very real that even the best Pixar films can’t always manage.

The stakes are small, but they feel enormous.

We should all know the basic concept by now. The “Inside Out” films take place inside the mind of a young girl named Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman). The main characters are her dominant emotions, personified: joy, sadness, anger, etc. These characters go on dramatic adventures, but on the outside, Riley is encountering very relatable, down-to-earth experiences. In the first movie, she was moving cross-country and starting in a brand-new school. In “Inside Out 2,” she’s attending a hockey camp. The fate of the world is not at stake, and Riley is no “chosen one” prophesied to bring balance to the Force or to fight off the Dark Lord Voldemort.

And yet, in her mind, the fate of ‘her’ world is at stake.

Aside from the cleverness of the basic concept, this is one of the things I like best about the “Inside Out” films. It’s one of the reasons they hit so hard, no matter how old you are. Because sadly, the things Riley is wrestling with are the same things a lot of people continue to wrestle with their entire adult lives: change, disappointment, fear, even just dealing with other people.

Moving from Minnesota to San Francisco was a pretty big challenge in the first movie, but the new film has an even bigger challenge in store for Riley: puberty. Our hero is now thirteen years old, and all the abject horrors of the teen years—especially the middle school years—come crashing down when Riley heads off to a summer hockey camp with two of her closest teammates. On the way, she finds out her friends will be heading off to a different school in the fall, and once at the camp, Riley is presented with the temptation to team up with some of the popular kids on the high school team, which threatens to change her entire personality.

This brings us to the action inside Riley’s mind. In recent years, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and the team have gotten into the bad habit of shuffling off Riley’s undesirable memories to a storage dump at the back of her mind. But that foreboding practice gets set aside when puberty brings a new group of emotions to Riley’s “control room.” Now the veterans have to fight for control with new competitors like Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos), and worst of all, Anxiety (Maya Hawke). In no time, years of hard work get tossed aside as Riley’s personality seemingly gets rebuilt from scratch, this time with horrible sentiments like “I’m not good enough” providing the foundational blocks.

The movie plays this out with the old emotions getting banished to the back of Riley’s mind with the undesirable memories, then having to fight their way back to the control room, where Anxiety and co. have been running amok. In the “real world,” Riley is making drastic changes to her appearance and personality to find a new place in her environment, and threatening to derail all her best qualities in pursuit of a promising new future.

The new film keeps up the clever approach of the original, though it doesn’t offer a lot in terms of new twists and turns. But the basic idea is still meaningful enough that simply adding the specter of puberty and a handful of new emotions is enough to keep things engaging.

Funny enough, the animation and performances don’t especially stand out, but in a film like this, where the concept and the story are really what’s critical, it almost doesn’t matter. Altogether, “Inside Out 2” probably isn’t as good as the first film, but it’s not just a rehash, either. It’s a logical next step in a relatable journey that could keep generating new movies well into Riley’s adulthood. In fact, given the comic cutaways to the control rooms in Riley’s parents’ minds, an adult version of “Inside Out” could be a lot of fun.

“Inside Out 2” is rated PG, basically because it explores all those aforementioned emotions and themes.

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For the “Thor: Love and Thunder” soundtrack, director Taika Waititi uses Guns ‘n Roses the same way he used Led Zeppelin for “Thor: Ragnarok” in 2017. Guns ‘n Roses was a great band, far superior to most all its peers, but it was no Led Zeppelin. And “Love and Thunder,” for all its zany chaos, is no “Ragnarok.”

“Love and Thunder” picks up in the aftermath of 2019’s “Endgame,” which left the titular demigod hero teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy for some outer space adventures. When we catch up with the gang, a cheeky voiceover from rock monster Korg (still voiced by Waititi) tells us how Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has shed his post-“Infinity War” beer gut and now acts as a literal Deux ex Machina for the Guardians whenever they find themselves overmatched against some interstellar foe.

The story gets going once the crew decides it’s time to part ways, and the Guardians set off on what will presumably form the plot of their third movie. Thor, for his part, has a more personalized foe to deal with. A mysterious villain named Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) has been slaughtering Thor’s fellow demi-gods, and even kidnapped some of the Asgardian younglings. So our blonde-locked hero recruits some old friends—like Korg and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)–to face the new threat.

In the process, he meets up with his old girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who has taken up Thor’s old hammer Mjolnir and transformed into a new hero dubbed The Mighty Thor. What Thor doesn’t know is that Jane is dying of cancer, and only using the hammer to postpone the inevitable.

In the meantime, everyone is getting in on the weapon game. Thor is still swinging his Stormbreaker axe, and to take on Gorr, he and Valkryie conspire to get a magic lightning bolt from Zeus (Russell Crowe) when their appeal for the Greek god’s help falls on mocking ears. Even Gorr is weapon-dependent. He’s only able to slaughter demigods because of a magic sword that came to him when his own deity let his daughter die of starvation.

What’s strange about all this underscores one of “Love and Thunder’s” weaknesses. One of the main points of “Ragnarok” was to show Thor that his powers weren’t rooted in his hammer, or any other weapon. The power was in himself. Yet throughout “Love and Thunder,” the fixation on Stormbreaker, Mjolnir, and the others—while it lends plenty of opportunity for laughs—seems to ignore that point.

The bigger issue is the way the humor—which reinvented (and arguably saved) the Thor franchise in “Ragnarok”—feels so jarring against the attempts for serious moments in “Love and Thunder.” Maybe it’s just because those “serious” moments try to carry more weight this time around—the mourning Gorr is substantially more imposing than “Ragnarok’s” megalomaniacal Hela (Cate Blanchett) on an emotional level—but the back and forth clashes awkwardly.

Even with those shortcomings, “Love and Thunder” still stands as an example of why Waititi and the Thor franchise loom head and shoulders above so much of what Marvel is producing in its post-“Endgame” meanderings. There are still plenty of references to other characters and situations, but witty dialogue and narration go a long ways toward keeping the audience on board, and the result is nowhere near the encyclopedic mess we just got with “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.” Waititi still seems to be having a great time taking the piss out of the superhero genre, while simultaneously offering some of its most triumphant and outrageous moments. Even if “Love and Thunder” feels more like a sequel than a revelation, fans should enjoy the ride.

“Thor: Love and Thunder” is rated PG-13 for chaotic superhero mayhem and violence, as well as some sexual content (Hemsworth’s bare backside, played for laughs).

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About an hour into “Encanto,” my five-year-old niece leaned over and started asking me if the movie was almost done. This could mean a lot of things, and it could mean absolutely nothing, but it does support a gut feeling that the latest Pixar movie is geared toward adults a little more than to kids.

There’s one thing I really like about “Encanto,” though, and it’s almost enough to carry what is otherwise a so-so entry into the Pixar canon.

The story follows a young woman named Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), who holds the distinct honor of being the one member of her family who is not special. But let me back up a bit. Mirabel’s family is steeped in history and tradition, having escaped persecution decades earlier to establish a special home–an “Encanto”–in a new land. This home is more than a metaphor for the heart of its residents; it seems to possess a special magic that is disbursed to the different family members in the form of super powers during a sacred ceremony. Pepa (Carolina Gaitan) can influence the weather with her emotions. Luisa (Jessica Darrow) possesses great strength. Isabela (Diane Guerrero) can make things grow.

Mirabel has no special power, and partway into the movie, we relive the terrible moment where she steps up to receive her gift, and is denied. This alone is what won me over to “Encanto.” After decades watching the exploits of the uniquely gifted “chosen ones” of so many super heroes and franchise protagonists, from Harry Potter to Luke Skywalker, I loved the focus on the character who wasn’t special…at least on the surface.

Of course, Mirabel is plenty special, as the film goes on to explain as she steps up to help her family when the house’s magic seems to falter. To do so, she must recruit the family’s pariah Bruno (John Leguizamo), whose prophetic gift caused a lot of grief in years’ past.

The messaging is what carries the film, and the conflicted messaging at the end is what made it stumble for me, at least a little bit. But by that point, my niece wasn’t paying as close attention (word is she enjoyed the film just fine when she went again with her sisters a couple of weeks later, for what it’s worth). It’s also worth noting that “Encanto” is a musical, though not being a musical fan, I can’t say much more than to acknowledge that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was the only song that stood out to me.

Overall, “Encanto” is a sweet story that feels appropriate in that sub-genre of animated Disney/Pixar movies like “Coco” and “Moana,” that sets out to celebrate the beauties of cultures while they shoot for that critical balance between kid-pleasing and parent-pleasing. “Encanto” isn’t the best of these movies (“Moana” is my current favorite), but it’s still comfortably in the “worth seeing” tier of family animation.

Even if it seems to be shooting for an older segment of the family.

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Walking out of the “Eternals” press screening, the snarky jokes seem ready made. You could say something connecting the movie’s name to its two-and-a-half-hour running time, or just say it’s “Avengers, but boring.” Some of the criticism is unfair, because “Eternals” isn’t solely responsible for the glut of superhero burnout fodder it arrives in. But make no mistake, “Eternals” has problems.

The concept has potential, even if it isn’t exactly riveting stuff. The Eternals are a special group of heroes designated by the godlike Celestials to protect humanity from a predatory race called Deviants. They’ve been around for thousands of years, and now live among humans in plain sight, their duties mostly fulfilled centuries ago.

You can sense how this might raise some questions, since as with all Marvel properties, the Eternals are supposed to inhabit the same universe as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and every other comic franchise under the late Stan Lee’s tent. That’s why early on the characters have a fourth-wall straining discussion to explain why they never got involved when Thanos decided to wipe out half the universe.

This is a problem. It was awkward enough when “Endgame” had to shoehorn in a weak explanation for why Captain Marvel wasn’t around for “Infinity War.” As much as I love the idea of the shared universe, adding exposition to explain all these plot holes to the audience just makes the issue worse.

Anyway, the plot for “Eternals” gets going when one of their ranks mysteriously turns up dead, suggesting that the Deviants are back on the warpath. Of course, there’s a lot more to the situation than that, and when the Eternals discover some long-hidden secrets concerning the true purposes of their mission, things get dicey, even between the heroes themselves.

As another “team of heroes” ensemble movie, “Eternals” has to introduce us to each primary character, and without the advantage of a previous origin movie for every hero, this leads to some issues. For one thing, there are ten–TEN!–different Eternals, way too many to care about, or in this movie, even differentiate with any effectiveness. It may be unfair to hold “Eternals” to “Avengers” standards, but the result feels like getting blasted in the face with a firehose filled with a soft drink you don’t particularly like.

The biggest problem with “Eternals,” is that it’s just dull. It really does feel like a muted, watered-down version of “Avengers,” without the benefit of years of cinematic familiarity. The direction doesn’t help; Chloe Zhao’s moody, bleak, and ponderous visuals and tone were a perfect fit for the melancholy “Nomadland,” but this movie isn’t about the downside of #vanlife. It’s supposed to capture and inspire the imagination.

Again, some of the criticism here has to be directed at the greater state of the Marvel Universe, and at superhero movies in general. But even if “Eternals” shouldn’t be held accountable for post-“Endame” malaise, it certainly isn’t doing anything to get non-diehard audiences excited for more.

Comic book movies don’t have to be funny, and they don’t all have to be built on ten years’ worth of studio strategy. But they should be fun. “Eternals” is not fun.

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This morning it was confirmed that Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund will return for Disney’s “TRON 3;” the pair will be reprising their roles as Quorra and Sam Flynn.

Also back on the grid is “TRON: Legacy” director, Joseph Kosinski. Filming should begin this fall, and “TRON 3” is scheduled for a 2016 release.

Can I just say that this fangirl is excited to hear this news? How much of a TRON fan am I? One of my children is named after a character… naming your kids after fictional characters is a mark of true dedication. Is it not?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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The latest property to be added to the ever-growing list of Disney live-action adaptations is “Winne the Pooh.” The story is said to center around an adult Christopher Robin as he revisits the Hundred Acre Wood.

“Listen Up Philip” writer/director Alex Ross Perry will be penning the adaptation.

Disney has previously produced four feature-length animated films from the Pooh property: “The Tigger Movie,” “Piglet’s Big Movie,” “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last year and a half, you’ve probably heard of a little movie titled, ‘Frozen.’ It grossed nearly $1.3 billion at the box office and its most popular song, ‘Let It Go,’ won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards. And how can we forget the hundreds of parodies and YouTube lip synch videos of ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Love is an Open Door’ that popped up?

And the world hasn’t been able to let it go. Not at all.

‘Frozen Fever,’ an animated short, will play before Disney’s live-action ‘Cinderella,’ which opens this weekend. Talks of a Broadway show have been heard. But that’s not enough. Disney announced at their shareholder meeting this morning that plans for ‘Frozen 2’ are in the works. Directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are developing the project for Disney Animation.

I’m preparing myself for the inevitable onslaught of even more Anna and Elsa imitations from my daughters. ‘Frozen’ took over the world, with the sequel they’re shooting for the universe.

The line in the snow has been drawn, are you anxiously awaiting this sequel or ready to run and seek solitude in your ice castle?

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