Zootopia (2016)

Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush

Screenplay written by Jared Bush, Phil Johnston

Story by Jennifer Lee, Phil Johnston, Josie Trinidad, Jim Reardon, Jared Bush, Rich Moore and Byron Howard

Starring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba and Jenny Slate

Easily the best animated film of 2016-- this film is great for kids and adults all around. Zootopia tells the stories of animals in a very humanized seeming world, with many social issues that we are dealing with as a society today. It also has many genuine laughs, clever animal stereotypes and so much more. 

Zootopia is a mammal metroplis that is home to the largest of elephants, the smallest of mice, the slyest of fox and the slowest of sloths. Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) is a bunny who is new to the Zootopia police department-- the first bunny they have ever had on the force actually. Hopps soon learns how hard it is to be on the police force, and that she is constantly being underestimated because she is a small "cute" bunny (cute seems to be a hateful slur to bunnies in this universe). Set on a track to prove herself, Judy jumps at the opportunity to solve a mysterious case. She teams up with a wily fox, Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) to solve the big case that even the chief of police (Idris Elba) cant crack. 

The film dawns on some pretty heavy topics such as racial and social prejudices. It sheds light on certain biological predispositions to crime from certain species. It states that everyone should have the chance to change what people think of them. The main characters face so much prejudice themselves, as Judy is always being overlooked in what she's capable of because of her stature and generally cute nature. Nick falls under that umbrella of a species who is predisposed to crime because he is a sly and sketchy fox. This movie sets out to prove that you cant change who you are but you can change people's perceptions of you. While the adults watching this movie may have a lot of underlying messages to uncover, there are a lot of laughs for the kids too. What is great about the humor in this movie is that it works on so many levels. For example, the scene with the sloths. Children will buckle in laughter over the notorious slow moving animals, but what the adults will enjoy about that scene is all the sloths in Zootopia seem to be working at the notoriously slow DMV. 

Aside from the humor and overall message from this movie, it also just has very great animation. The layout of the fictional and animated metropolis of Zootopia is very cool looking-- as well as the animation of the characters. Plus, we get Shakira as a gazelle singing a new song. So much to love about this movie! 

8/10

Instant Family (2018)

Directed by Sean Anders 

Written by Sean Anders and John Morris 

Starring Mark Wahlberg. Rose Byrne, Isabela Moner and Octavia Spencer 

This movie has a very heartwarming story that is honestly pretty original. You see so many comedies about parents who are struggling to raise a kid or multiple kids. They're "in over their heads," the kids are terror raisers, but in the end they become this big happy family with no issues. While this movie may follow a similar path to the cliched 'raising kids comedy', it has much more of an original story.

Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife Ellie (Rose Byrne) are seeking something to fill a void in their marriage. They visit a foster care center, and begin to take the steps to fostering a child and maybe eventually even adopting one. The couple finds themselves at an adoption fair where they have a chance to meet prospective children to enter their lives. The two notice a group of teenagers and are hesitant at first about taking in such an older child, until they meet Lizzie (Isabela Moner). They express interest of adopting Lizzie, a 15 year old girl who's mother is currently in prison after setting their house on fire with her lit crack pipe. There's one catch, Lizzie comes with two much younger siblings; Juan and Lita. Pete and Ellie decide to take on the challenge of being foster parents to all three children, and prove to themselves and everyone else that they can do it.

The movie is refreshingly honest about the hard truth about children in the foster care system. Children in the system may have been abused or struggling to cope with losing a parent or having a parent incarcerated. The movie does make light of these tough situations and brings some appropriate comic relief to them as well.

While the movie has two big stars in the lead roles (Byrne and Wahlberg), the shining performance comes from Isabela Moner. Lizzie has a very volatile personality. She is a teenager going through normal teenager problems plus being in foster care and having an addict mother in prison. Moner develops all these struggles into her character very well. Her character actually has a lot of depth-- while one second she may be slamming her door in Ellie's face the next second she is extremely vulnerable and sobbing. Tig Notaro and Octavia Spencer had a lot of funny moments as the two social workers. There was also one scene in the end with Joan Cusack, who makes any thing she appears in at least remotely better.

7/10

Hidden Figures (2016)

Directed by Theodore Melfi

Written by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schoeder (screenplay)

Margot Lee Shetterly (novel)

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Kevin Costner

    From St. Vincent director, Theodore Melfi comes an inspiring tale of the untold true stories of three African-American female mathematicians who all played a key role in calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into space. A heroic tale of three woman overcoming race and gender in the workplace during the 1960's Civil Right Movement. A tale that I honestly knew nothing about before seeing this movie. 

     Set in the mid 20th century, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) are three "human computers" working at NASA but are widely under appreciated as they are stuck working in an employee-temp circle with many other black women. As the race to get a man in space starts to heat up with America wanting to beat Russia, Katherine, Dorothy and Mary start to work their way up, especially Katherine, being that she's the only human computer who knows analytical geometry, finds herself working directly on the John Glenn launch into space with some of NASA's top scientists including leader of the operation Al Harrison (Kevin Costner). 

     Despite the misogyny and racial segregation of the time, these three women prevail from "colored" bathrooms and coffee pots (yes, I said coffee pots) to being some of the key minds that were responsible for John Glenn's successful manned mission into space, and his anticipated return home. Melfi beautifully tells not just a story of three extremely intelligent women working for NASA, he reminds us all of the discrimination that men and women of color went through at this time (and he does so very mildly as this film is rated PG). We are reminded that there were segregated drinking fountains, sections of the library and even schools despite the 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education which declared segregated schools to be unconstitutional. Virginia being an exception to this court ruling still had all white schools, which we see in the movie as Mary attempts to take night classes to become an engineer. 

     While this film does have a powerful message of these basically hidden NASA African-American women breaking racial and gender boundaries, it also has some refreshing humor with three working women's friendship. We get so see some quite comical car ride scenes and scenes from their personal lives which make them a little more relatable. 

     Hidden Figures brought some very enjoyable acting performances that I felt were right on this invisible cusp almost Oscar nomination worthy but not quite there. Henson's main character was a lot different from her Empire character, Cookie. She plays such a soft spoken, sensitive character prone to pushing up her glasses on her face who did have one scene where she stands up for herself in a very inspirational Cookie-esque manner. Octavia Spencer brought her usual sense of bold humor mixed with some powerful authoritative scenes. Who knew Janelle Monae could act? Being one of her first acting performances I thought she did pretty great. Oscar worthy? No... but great none the less. We also see some supporting performances in this film that are worth mentioning like Kirsten Dunst who plays the condescending white supervisor who is holding Dorothy Vaughn back. Jim Parsons also has a supporting role as Katherine's arch-nemisis Jim Stafford, who is always giving her ridiculous tasks and feeling envious of her progress. You can't like every character in the movie. 

     After seeing this movie and becoming much more informed on the impact these three women had on Glenn's launch into space, I can say I am very joyous that author Margot Lee Shetterly celebrated their story in her book. Melfi and Schroeder inventively craft their story into a brilliant film about friendship, conquering injustice, and being very very good at math. 

I give Hidden Figures a...

7/10

The Help (2011)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Tate Taylor (screenplay) and Kathryn Stockett (novel) 

Starring Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard

     "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." These candid compliments have the power to repair any mended ego and build your self confidence and will be forever stuck in your mind like a commercial jingle after you see this film. This drama set in the 1960's is based on the critically acclaimed novel written by Kathryn Stockett and brought to the big screen by Stockett's childhood friend from Mississippi, Tate Taylor. Jackson native, Taylor makes his big directing debut with a film that tackles issues of prejudice and racism in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. Stockett and Taylor conquer a story that has been told before in film, and make it an unforgettable emotional story that is driven by an impeccable cast that brings awareness to what was going on in this time period, with an appropriate level of humor to leaven the drama.
     Recent college graduate, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) gets her first job of writing a cleaning column for the Jackson Journal. Skeeter approaches local housewife friend of hers, Elizabeth (Anna O'Reilly) in hopes of interviewing her maid, Abileen (Viola Davis). Skeeter starts to become more aware of the injustice these maids are facing at a local card game with her socialite housewife friends lead by the iron grip of Hillie Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). Hillie refuses to use Elizabeth's bathroom because she allows her colored help to use it. Dismayed by this, Skeeter decides write a book from the maid's point of view, with the assistance from the reluctant Abileen. Employed by Hillie Holbrook, the sassy Minnie (Octavia Spencer) very reluctantly joins Skeeter and Abileen after she loses her job for using Hillie's bathroom during a violent thunderstorm. Eventually, dozens of other maids join the battle and Skeeter gets her book anonymously published.
     The Help brilliantly tells the story of racial prejudice and bigotry through the point of view of the black maids. Normally we hear these stories from this time told by the privileged white men and women who employ these maids, and when that happens their actual stories get lost in translation. Tate Taylor brings us the remarkably talented Davis and Spencer to play these noble black maids who are experiencing issues of injustice and poverty.
     This film portrays all black people as humble and kind and all white people as ignorant and racist, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) who is viewed as this outcast "trailer trash" to the other bigoted socialites. Celia eventually employs the recently fired Minnie, and breaks all the racial boundaries created by society during this time. Chastain plays a role that was so fun to watch. I found myself feeling sad for her as she was an outcast that just wanted the attention of her community members, white or black. Celia Foote saw no racial difference between her and Minnie and mostly hired her to help her impress her husband as she was very new to the housewife scene.
     Aside from Chastain's oscar nominated supporting role in the film, we get a heartfelt performance from Emma Stone as the protagonist. Stone's performance is mainly fed by Davis and Spencer, as she mostly serves as the pen that records all of their experiences. Viola Davis was Oscar nominated for her leading role in the film, as Octavia Spencer gained her first Oscar win for her supporting role. I mean, how could she not win an Oscar after her delicious pie that she makes for Hillie Holbrook.  Bryce Dallas Howard's role as the venomous queen B was fun to watch as well. Allison Janney has a minor role in the film as Skeeter's mom, which was comical at some points as she played a fierce, sometimes over the top local socialite who is sick with cancer.
     The Help is dominated by strong female performances which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. It was't some fuzzy female empowerment movie about friendship. It was a powerful film covering important issues from the past, told by empowering female characters.

I give The Help an...

8/10