• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

J.D. Hansel

  • FILM & VIDEO
  • PODCASTS

Archives for November 2014

Big Hero 6 Review

November 13, 2014 by JD Hansel

MINOR (MINOR) SPOILER ALERT

Watching this movie was an odd experience for me because I felt like I was a spectator rather than part of the experience.  That is not to say that I did not enjoy it.  Big Hero 6 is a well built film, that successfully makes the characters likable, the story understandable and interesting, and the twist sorta kinda mildly surprising.  The score to this movie is really cool, and it accompanies the lovely animation (that often had me gushing at its beauty, which I hardly ever do with CG movies) very nicely.

They were even kind enough to label the hero of the movie!  I’ve been wanting movies to do that for a long time.

Essentially, this is a good movie that was done correctly.  However, it felt distant to me.  Maybe it’s just because CG films tend to have that effect on me for some reason, or maybe it’s because I went in with an observer-like mindset.  I think a large part of my problem was the fact that it was, at its core, a superhero movie.  It is about a genius who has the ability to make the gadgets and gear necessary to fight a masked criminal, who happens to be the guy who caused the death of someone important to the hero.  We have seen that movie before.  This movie may introduce new elements, but it does have a rather cliché story, and pretty cliché characters, making it seem like I have seen it before.  It also has notable Disney movie clichés, which also make me step out of the experience and become an observer.

Still, this is a fun movie that has many impressive elements, and is certainly a good time for the kids.  If you like simple stories in slightly futuristic worlds with simple characters and great animation, you’ll really enjoy this one.

29 Big Hero 6

Filed Under: Film Criticism, Tumblr Movie Reviews Tagged With: 2010s Movie Reviews, 2014, Animation, Comic Book Movies, Disney, Family, Marvel, PG, Sci-Fi, Three and a Half Stars

Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home Review

November 9, 2014 by JD Hansel

The Star Trek movies and I have an interesting relationship.  I love the original series, but I find that with the films, even Wrath of Khan, which I really like, I can never remember anything that happens in them.  I have no memory of how the first one ends.  Or begins.  Wait … did I even finish that one?  Once I even forgot that Christopher Lloyd was in Star Trek III.  Actually, I keep forgetting the whole plot to that movie.

I believe this curse on my poor brain has finally been broken by a Star Trek film I can remember: The Voyage Home.  I watched a wee bit of the third movie before hand so I would know what was going on, and then I started what I hoped would be a fun blast.  It was a fun blast eventually.  I really do not like it when a movie waits over 25 minutes before the inciting incident, but this one only went over that by a couple minutes, so I can cut it some slack.  Once the story finally gets moving, it turns into one of those crappy movies in which the characters who are normally seen in their own world are suddenly transported into our worldand have to figure it out.  (Seriously, they spend the film in 1986 San Francisco.)  This movie however, much like The Muppet Movie, Follow That Bird, and  Who Framed Roger Rabbit, did it very well.

This is the movie that the franchise needed after a bunch of serious movies – a film that felt a lot like an episode of the show, like Wrath of Khan did, but a comedy that shows off the characters at their best, and their funniest.  Unfortunately, because it continues the events of the third movie (and now I forgot even the name of the third movie) I can’t recommend this to everyone who has not seen Star Trek before.  Actually, I think I will anyway.  I will just suggest that they watch it with me so I can explain what they “missed.”

I want everyone to see this movie because no other Trek movie I’ve seen has topped it.  I nearly gave this movie 4 ½ stars, which I only give to my highest favorites (call me snobby, but I’ve reserved 5 stars for my top favorite film).  The opening is slow, and the “save the whales” message gets a wee bit annoying after a while, but it is still good.  This is the one I’ll remember.

28 Star Trek 4

Filed Under: Film Criticism, Tumblr Movie Reviews Tagged With: 1980s Movie Reviews, 1986, Four Stars, PG, Sci-Fi, Star Trek

Primary Sidebar

Search

Archives

The Social Stuff

  • Twitter
  • Letterboxd
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Letterboxd
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2025 · J. D. Hansel · WordPress · Log in