Review: Brave (2012)

Cars 2 was a dud. But it is Pixar, so you have to give it a chance. So, the question is can Pixar return to their former glory of Toy Story, Up, and Wall-E? Or is the first female lead in the animation studio, only going to be selling toys to red-headed girls?

Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is the Princess, forced to choose her eventual husband from the first born of the other kingdoms as dictated by tradition. Being the strong willed, heroine type, she refuses to do so, disobeying her family and entire reign in the process. A witch, er woodcarver, offers Merida the  chance to change her mothers thinking, and Merida jumps at the chance to do so. However, in order to not ruin the movie, I won’t indulge any more details about the plot. Needless to say, things don’t go smoothly.

First things first: It was better than Cars. Whew. Now that that is out of the way, here is my ultimate review. It was good, but isn’t Pixar good. I had read that it was filled with more slapstick humor than any other Pixar film, and they were correct in saying so. The problem is, after Up, Wall-E, and the like, I hold Pixar to much higher standards. The sentimentality is still there, but isn’t as powerful. I will say it is one of the funniest animated movies in recent years, and is definitely one the whole family can enjoy.

My Rating: B

New Year Optimism

Well, it’s a new year, and instead of doing any resolutions that would have surely be broken by now, why not look for the good in the new year by counting down what movies I’m looking forward to most in the next 12 months. I’m sure there will be one’s I’ve never heard of that will be my favorites, but here are the ones I know about, that look or sound pretty sweet.

20. The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe not attending Hogwarts!

19. World War Z

I don’t know much about WWZ, but I do know it’s a zombie flick with Brad Pitt, so I’m in!

18. Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino has been trying to get this made for a while now. Hopefully the movie’s like a fine wine and ages well with time on the shelf.

17. Skyfall

Still have yet to see an entire 007 movie, this might be the first of the bunch.

16. Battleship

Still looks like a Michael Bay Transformers clone, but who’s complaining; stuff blows up!

15. ParaNorman

I kinda like Coraline, but it could have been better. Enter Norman.

14. Dark Shadows

Just your usual Burton/Depp/Bonham-Carter movie.

13. The Cabin in the Woods

Never been a fan of horror movies, but this one looks like it turns the genre on its head.

12. Brave

Pixar! Accents! Red-haired chick!

11. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

The title alone is enough to get my butt in a seat. Who doesn’t love some revisionist history?

10. Mirror Mirror

Live action, hammy comedy version of Snow White. Added bonus of visuals by director Tarsem.

9. The Hunger Games

It’s based off a book series, which gives me hope that that the new Twilight is much more manageable.

8. John Carter

Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E) tries to follow in the path of Pixar friend Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol)

7. Moonrise Kingdom

WES ANDERSON!!!!!!!!!

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I only saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy last year, but it was enough to make me think Peter Jackson can do no harm in Middle Earth.

5. Prometheus

Have you seen the trailer? I’ve never seen Alien, but I really want to now.

4. Snow White and the Huntsman

Early frontrunner for Snow White adaptation of the year. Even with Kristin Stewart.

3. The Amazing Spider Man

Yes, it’s too soon for another reboot. But Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield taking over? Admit it, you’re going to see it.

2. The Avengers

If only there was a movie that combined Hollywood’s love affair with the superhero movie….

1. The Dark Knight Rises

So far, Christopher Nolan can do no harm. So why not add some more amazing actors (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy) and call it the movie of the year now?

Trailer: Pixar’s Brave

The trailer for Pixar’s first feature since Cars 2 has come out, and my feelings are kinda stuck between “This sucks” and “Brilliant”. While the animation looks typically amazing, and there are moments of pure epic-ness, for the most part, it seems like another Dreamworks DVD, and not a Pixar classic. With Cars 2 and Brave, is Pixar’s magic running out? Then again, it’s just a trailer.

Pixar Releases Brave Poster

Pixar hopes to keep turning out hits in 2012 when not only Monsters University (The prequel to Monsters Inc) is released, but so is Brave. The teaser poster was just released, as we find more about the film. The plot, is as follows (in the words of IMDB)

Scottish princess, Merida,
defies her parents by
persuing an interest in
archery, but inadvertently
jeopardizes her father's 
kingdom in the process.

It will be the 13th feature Pixar movie, and the first with a lead female. Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson star.