The Boxtrolls Review

Justin and I saw The Boxtrolls on September 27, 2014!! I would honestly say this is easily one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. I feel this was definitely directed more at adults than children. There are a lot of interesting themes going on taking place in the world of Cheesebridge. The motto of the town is a Gouda Place To Live. There is a definite class distinction in the town between white hats and red hats. It's clear to me that there are definite nods to the Russian Revolution in this movie. To me, both the white hats and the red hats come across as villains.

While there is jealousy between them, they unite in their hatred of the underground trash collectors: The Boxtrolls. The politicians of the white hats & the exterminators of the red hats (especially Archibald Snatcher) utilize fear to get the town behind them. Snatcher spins a web to influence people that Boxtrolls steal babies & create chaos in Cheesebridge. He's also trying to use this plot to rise in the rankings of the town, and gain the ever elusive top white hat at the head of the tasting table.

The Boxtrolls are all unique. Their names come from the box they don whether it's fish, shoes, etc. We also see that the Boxtrolls have been raising a boy that they have named Eggs. We find out how he comes to live with them. Eggs is an excellent character who gives us a good message that it's not cheese, white hats, or red hats that make us who we are. We make ourselves. He encounters the outside world. The visuals are incredible to see. Since the creators of Coraline & Paranorman were involved in the animation, I was instantly impressed. A friendship blooms between Eggs & a girl named Winnie. She helps him to adapt to the outside world. At the same time, he also realizes that he needs to protect the Boxtrolls. They have been there for him. He's going to be there for him with the help of Winnie.

I really liked the Archibald Snatcher character simply because he was such an intelligent villain. The look of the character mixed with Ben Kingsley's voice worked so well. His ambitious desire to rise to the top at any means reminded me of Jafar & Scar in some ways. To me, he's the most recognizable character in the movie. His actions and words really shape so much of the dark nature of this movie. Eggs & Winnie work together to open the town's eyes to what is going on. Watching the action unfold is spectacular. The use of color in the hats, the cheeses, the trolls, the inventions, and the town in general were incredible.

The characters, the darker plot, the twists within that plot, the ideologies between red hat & white hat, the vocal talents, how influential the youth of society can be, and the unique look between man & monster make this a 5/5. It's a truly spectacular animated movie. It's very well made. I also want to point out how awesome it was to hear an original rendition of Little Boxes (a song made popular in one of my all time favorite television shows: Weeds) in the credits. Go out of your way to see this movie. I am simply amazed by how good this was.

Let's Be Cops Review

Justin and I saw Let's Be Cops on September 3, 2014!! Now going into this movie, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but I was pleasantly surprised. We're introduced to our protagonists: Ryan & Justin. They're struggling to find their place in life. Ryan is still coping with not making it to the NFL after a successful college career. Justin is a video game designer looking for his big break. While they're down on their luck, they're invited to a masquerade party (not the same thing as a costume party). They dress up as police officers & the story grows from there.

I thought there was a great buddy aspect to this movie, much like 21 Jump Street. They still are very different plots. While it may be dealing with the subject of law enforcement, the missions and circumstances are completely different. I thought that Jake Johnson & Damon Wayans, Jr. both did an excellent job, not only as comedic actors, but also a dramatic flair as well. The story was split evenly with comedy & an intense story.

I was really into the story as the characters delve deeper into the world of law enforcement. Dealing with a serious crew of villains led by Mossic (reminded me of a modern day version of Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York), they embark on a mission to bring them down. For Ryan, it's about finding a sense of purpose in the world. For Justin, it's to protect Josie (the girl he likes played by the beautiful Nina Dobrev), but also because he is sick of being stepped on by his boss & everybody else around him.

There are some great appearances by Rob Riggle & Andy Garcia as well. Watching Ryan & Justin interact with each other as well as police officers, citizens, & mob enforcers is all an exciting ride. I definitely like the way things turned out for both Ryan & Justin. The conclusion of each story made sense. I particularly enjoyed Justin's video game presentation, the hilarious comedic moments with Keegan-Michael Key's Pupa character, the intensity of Mossic, the interesting twists, watching both characters become more involved with the aspect of being cops, and generally a good story all around. I give it a 4/5. I like when movies surprise you. The same thing happened with Guardians of the Galaxy. I also didn't think I'd like that, but now I'd say it was my favorite movie of the year, as well as one of the best comic book movies of all time. I'd rank Let's Be Cops as one of the better movies of 2014. It really has everything movie fans want to see.