Sausage Party (2016)

Directed by Greg Tiernen and Conrad Vernon

Written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill 

Starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera

      When I think of how the story of this movie was created- I picture a group of men lead by Seth Rogen sitting in a room high as a kite, brainstorming movie ideas. In this case, I think that is exactly what happen- because only the minds of extremely high men could craft such a weird movie. I mean, its literally talking food. The weirdest part of this whole movie was that I actually kind of liked it. It wasn't horrible. It was fun to imagine that if food could talk, this is how they would act. The humor was often lost behind the vulgarity of the script- but overall it was a tastefully (no pun intended) funny movie. 

     Sausage Party begins with a grocery store full of hopeful food, singing about the "great beyond" and the excitement that lies behind those sliding doors. All the food wishes to get chosen, especially the hotdog, Frank (voiced by Seth Rogen) along with the other hot dogs in his package, Barry and Carl (Michael Cera and Jonah Hill). Frank strongly wishes to get picked off of his Fourth of July display so he can live out his life's destiny- insert himself into the beautiful hot dog bun, Brenda (Kristen Wiig). When they all finally get chosen, Frank and Brenda escape their packaging and fall out of the cart, losing their chance to venture outside to the great unknown. Following the wise influence of the spiritual fire water (voiced by Bill Hader), Frank and Brenda are off on a search to figure out what really goes on outside the grocery store- while also being hunted by the vengeful douche (Nick Kroll). They are joined on their journey by some pretty unforgettable characters like the sexy, Teresa Taco (Salma Hayek) and Sammy the bagel (Edward Norton).
     This animated film definitely had its moments. Seeing the horrific reactions of the food that ended up in some woman's kitchen, ready to be cooked- was pretty hilarious. This film tries to get most of its laughter from its excessive amount of sex jokes mixed with an over the top use of profanity. While these things sometimes gained a chuckle from me, they were mostly just too much. The end scene of the movie is where this movie gets it's R rating, for sure.
     Overall, this is a pretty stupid movie that is strangely funny simply because of the idea of our food having these inane beliefs of this great beyond. The actors that bring the voices to these characters contribute to the humor greatly. Bill Hader provides multiple voices in the film and is great per usual, Michael Cera voices a lovable deformed hot dog that you just wanna hug- and his quiet voice is perfect for this character. A well rounded funny cast to bring life and voices to our everyday food and supplies.

I give Sausage Party a...

5/10

Split (2016)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Written by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Haley Lu Richardson

     Director and writer, M. Night Shyamalan of past box-office successes like, Sixth Sense and Signs- brings us yet another psychological thriller with his name attached to it. This time around unfortunately, he does not triumph like in the past. Split was longer than it had to be, lacked his normal intensity and suspense, and left the possibility of a sequel with its choppy ending. The one good thing that came from this film for me was the interesting acting performance from McAvoy. 

     The movie begins with a birthday party involving two popular girls; Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), and the outcast, Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). Following the party the three girls are abducted by a deranged man (James McAvoy). We soon learn that this man suffers from a severe case of multiple personality disorder. He has 23 district personalities- three of which we see make a strong presence. We meet the "leader" Dennis, the motherly Patricia, and the childish Hedwig. The three personalities all speak of how the girls were brought there to feed the "Beast"- who is a possible 24th personality. The psychiatrist for the girls captor, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), thinks this alter may not be real, but we soon find out otherwise. 

     The remainder of the film proceeds as any other cliche thriller flick. The girls attempt to escape in many ways you would expect- physical assault against their captor, trying to outsmart him, or even using a hanger to un-lock a door. Most of the film was focused on the girls trying to escape, while the captor attended therapy sessions with his psychiatrist- which kind of took away from the suspense of the film. I understand the intent was to further allow us to understand the disorder that he is suffering from- however, the scenes with the psychiatrist took away from the film's tension. There were also some flashback scenes to Casey's childhood, which I remain unsure of their intent. 

     McAvoy's displays over a dozen personalities in this film, and obviously steals the spotlight with them. The other characters in the movie were pretty forgettable making it easier for McAvoy to shine. Anya Taylor-Joy does stand out from the other two girls considering they are perfect examples of horror movie cliches. She plays a pretty sullen character considering the circumstance she is involved in. 

     The ending sets this lacking thriller movie up for a sequel, which may be what we need considering the ending was left very opened. Overall, Split is missing the suspense I was seeking when I watched it. It had an interesting idea for a plot, with a man suffering from multiple personality disorder kidnapping three girls. However, the narrative was weak and left me disappointed. 

I give Split a...

5/10