Robots

Pixar still owns the throne of the best animation-- great design, style, story, characters, etc. They definitely paved the way for the likes of Dreamworks, Fox, etc. to offer their own animated movies.

Fox hired Blue Sky Studio to make Ice Age in 2002, which turned out to be a pretty darn good movie. The prehistoric squirrel, Scrat "made" the movie.

Robots is another Blue Sky/Fox production. It certainly earns its place next to Ice Age in terms of design and characters. The story is not too original, but it is just the backdrop to the cast of characters including Robin Williams. He has such a personality that he is really the character, not the character he's playing. But he's really funny and that's okay.

I liked the metalic rendering and camera style. They definitely took advantage of having a CG camera. I also appreciated the occasional inside computer & CG jokes. You can't have too many of those!

What really got me motivated to see Robots was the Star Wars III trailer that debuted. We were also treated to a Scrat-starred teaser for what appears to be an Ice Age sequel.

But will I buy the DVD? Probably not. I've seen it once and that's plenty. I'm looking forward to the next Blue Sky production.
See on IMDB

Alien vs Predator

Okay, I'm dedicating this Blog to the Underdogs. AvP was dissed by critics for not living up to the standards set by it's predecessors. But that's a pretty high expectation. Aliens and Predators are classics and any good movie sequel would be hard-pressed to be even half as good.

I'm just glad the movie was made at all. It took several years before the right combination of director, script, cast and studio came together and got the "green light."

The director was a big fan of both movie series. And it shows. He really pays homage to the two storylines-- almost too much sometimes. But if you enjoyed most of the A & P movies, and you like cool action/sci-fi, you'll enjoy AvP.
See on IMDB

The Jacket

Very similar to Twelve Monkeys and Butterfly effect, but still worth watching. Adrian Brody plays a Gulf War vet who goes through a series of traumatic situations, ending up in a mental hospital where he's subject to a sensory deprivation treatment. Somehow it allows him to travel into the future where he can see how things are going to turn out and try to fix them in the present.
See on IMDB