Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 2014
★★★★  Watched 02 Dec, 2014

Big Hero 6 was a really fun ride of a movie. It overcomes the challenge of being the umpteenth superhero origin story of the last decade by filling in the margins with a unique setting and visuals, funny characters, and a great script.

The script is quite lean and mean. Sometimes it feels like things are happening too fast. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just impressive how few scenes feel superfluous in any way. One minor gripe is that it felt like the first act zoomed by a little too fast. There could have been some more earlier scenes between Hiro and his older brother.

San Fransokyo is a gorgeous delight. It looks like a city built on pure, unbridled imagination. The movie's unabashed love and joy for science not only shines through in the characters, but in the construction and futuristic look of the city. The gorgeous flying scenes are a really great exclamation mark onthe end of the "practicing our powers" montage.

It's obvious that Hiro and Baymax get the most development here, they're more or less the co-main characters. But the rest of the superhero team makes the most of their limited screen time. TJ Miller especially shines here as the PG stoner (read: shaggy) Fred. The others get their own good moments - Wasabi and Go Go during the frantic, hilly car chase being a standout sequence for both action and development of their characters and friendship.

Finally, I have to admit the most satisfying part of this, among everything else I listed above, was the emphasis on non-violence / non-killing. Granted, animated movies rarely get a high body count, but it was satisfying to see it so - spelled out here. Big Hero 6 is just a really sweet kids' film with a slick and action-packed coating.

"Everything Must Go" and "Bridesmaids"

This weekend, I was able to take in two movies. The wide release, raucous, R-rated comedy "Bridesmaids" and the introspective, indie character study "Everything Must Go". I definitely didn't think they'd have much in common going in, but I was surprised. Each movie features a long, hard look at the main character as they endure hardship after hardship. They both take similar paths to rock bottom, and then must deal with rebounding. They also both feature stellar lead performances from Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, two of the best-known SNL alum from the past ten years or so.