Isle of Dogs Review: A One of Kind Animated Feature

There are many filmmakers out there but if there is one that could be consider truly one of a kind it would have to be Wes Anderson.  The director has a distinct style in his movies and tend to deal with outlandish stories with distinct imagery; and for this reason Anderson is among my favorite filmmakers working today. So when seeing a new Wes Anderson movie hitting theaters, I cannot help but be excited; and in this case it is the film known as Isle of Dogs. The new movies sees Anderson return to a style he used in The Fantastic Mr.Fox as Isle of Dogs is a stop motion animated feature. I finally had a chance to watch the new animated movie and I must say that Anderson was in rare form with Isle of Dogs.

Isle of Dogs centers on the canine Chief (Bryan Cranston) where he and his fellow pack must help the boy Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin) find his lost dog Spots (Liev Schreiber) who has been missing since dogs were sentenced to trash island by Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura). When it came to storytelling Isle of Dogs was as simple as it was captivating. The story was no doubt an adventure and a straightforward one at that. However it was all about how this movie presented its zany story and in this case the execution was sound. The story was always engaging and used its concepts to their fullest abilities. This was notable the movie’s subplots which were  presented well by adding more to the overall story. The movie also featured individual chapters and while this element did not have major implications on the movie itself, it did however give the plot a sense of style. With a few surprises the plot of Isle of Dogs relied on its presentation and I think that direction aided the movie by making this tale a noteworthy one.

Power Rangers Review: Morphing Into An Electric Superhero Blockbuster!

Superheroes are no longer strangers to the world of film. What was once a rare occurrence has become a major part of the movie season as the likes of Marvel and DC have a multitude of releases in a year's time. Yet even with series such as Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man and the Avengers playing pivotal roles in the movie world, they are not the only superheroes around. For those who grew up in the 90's the name Power Rangers should sound quite familiar. Based on the Japanese Tokusatsu franchise ,Super Sentai, Power Rangers was the American adaptation of the series, and it did not take long to become a hit in pop culture. Since its inception Power Rangers has had several series to its name as well as expanded to mediums like comics; and the franchise even has two movies to its name. So it comes to no shock that Power Rangers has a received a new adventure on the silver screen. Directed by Dean Israelite Power Rangers is reboot for the film series as it retells the story of the original series. With interesting direction and entertaining aspects, this new film looked to be (at the very least) an enjoyable blockbuster. However can this reboot bring the power to this franchise, or is this just not Morphin Time for the Power Rangers?

Power Rangers centers on five teenagers: Jason(Dacre Montgomery), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Billy (RJ Tyler), Zack (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G). One night these strangers stumble across five mysterious coins within the rocks of a quarry; and after touching the coins, each of the teenagers gains superhuman abilities . The five return to quarry to find an ancient alien ship within the caves. There the group meets Alpha 5 (Bill Hader) and Zordon (Bryan Cranston) who tell them that they are the new Power Rangers. Coming to terms to this realization the five decide to stay  to become the Power Rangers so they can stop the evil Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) from taking the Zeo Crystal and destroying Earth.

Kung Fu Panda 3 Review: Third Installment Remains True to Series' Name

When we think of term of Kung Fu, what comes to mind is an iconic martial art that has seemly blended into the world of pop culture. It is hard to imagine this term being used to describe a panda; but sure enough this combination has gone together become a major film franchise. Since 2008 Kung Fu Panda has been a hit series for Dreamworks Studio. When I first heard about this film, I thought it would be just another silly animated feature. Oh how wrong I was as Kung Fu Panda was a fantastic film that blended the concepts of action and humor so well. The film and its sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, are not just some of best films to come from Dreamworks, but they are also two of the most enlightening animated movies that this adventurer has had the opportunity to see. Now after nearly five years since the previous film was released, the animated franchise continues in Kung Fu Panda 3. Admittedly it was hard to not be excited for this addition as I was curious to see what the filmmakers would do with next chapter in the story of Po. Yet is Kung Fu Panda 3 another hit for Dreamworks, or does installment lack the discipline to carry the series' name?

Kung Fu Panda 3 continues the story of the adventurous panda: Po (Jack Black). After accomplishing so much, Po is tasked to take the next step in his training by becoming a teacher, which does not please the zealous panda. However Po gets the shock of his life when he meets Li Shan (Bryan Cranston): Po's long lost father. To discover the mystery behind chi, Po travels with his father to a secret panda village where Li Shan hopes to teach his son what it means to be a panda. However when the spirit warrior Kai (J.K. Simmons) captures the essence of all of China's kung fu masters, Po must rise to the occasion and become who he was meant to be.