My Own Little World

It takes a lot to make me cry. It’s not that I don’t have emotions; I just don’t show them through crying. I’ve seriously cried in public only a handful of times in my memory, and I have never cried while watching a movie. Well. Frick you Pixar. You finally did it. You made me cry while I was watching Coco . In all seriousness, Pixar has done a very good job with making me feel emotion at the movies, but  Coco went to a whole other level. It does have some of the best computer animation I have ever seen (more on that later), but it’s the emotional component that makes Coco the great film it is.  A big part of this is due to the story’s depiction of Mexican culture. Coco gives the celebration of the Day of the Dead and the culture’s value of family so much justice that it made me think often about what my own family, both living and deceased, would think of the decisions I have made in my life. By the movie’s climax – one of the many examples of the power of...

I've taken a little more time in prepping my year-end wrap-up this year, mostly because I was making sure I had seen everything I wanted to in theaters before publishing. Like last year, I've written mini-reviews on all the films that I either saw too far into their theatrical run to do a full review on or after their home video release. Without further ado, I present to you Part 2 of the Rest of 2015... San Andreas  - Watch it, but only if it's free.  I got more out of San Andreas than expected. Yes, it was a little silly at times, very CGI driven, and a pretty pointless movie. But that's the point: it's a "turn your brain off" film, and a pretty well-made one at that. Dwayne Johnson shows off his action star chops well, while Paul Giamatti does pretty decently too as a seismologist. The massive destruction we see is also well done with some unexpected restraint. No, San Andreas  isn't great, but it's not bad for killing time.  Grade: 45 ...