Frozen

Just when I was starting to worry about Disney's success and the overall quality of this year's animated features, along comes Frozen, a complete knock out from beginning to end.

Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) are as close as two sisters can be. That is until Elsa's power to freeze everything accidentally hurts her sister. She locks herself away from her sister for years, only to be seen by her sister during Elsa's ceremony of becoming queen. After panicking and causing more destruction, Elsa takes off to the mountains, locking out everyone and inadvertently causes her town to become a permanent Winter wonderland. Anna is determined to reunite with her sister and get her to break the icy conditions with the help of Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer, and a jolly snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) whose biggest dream in life is to experience the Summertime.

The music in Frozen is so catchy and wonderful it's one of the few movies with a soundtrack I would listen to from beginning to end. Every character gets a chance to belt it out, some noteworthy voices include Kristen Bell's and Josh Gad's. But the real knockout performer is Idina Menzel as Elsa who really knocks it out of the park with "Let it Go", the movie's peak of songs. It really represents everything Frozen is about and it's the music the academy should be taking notes on.

I really enjoyed all of the characters and their dynamics as well. You've seen versions of these characters before but these feels especially unique and heartwearming. The dynamic between the two sisters and the love they share for each other is shown in similar but contrasting ways; one wants to push the other away for her safety, the other wants to reunite for her safety. There's some good messages about true love in here as well depicted with Anna's shortlived engagement with another prince (whose intentions turn to be less then noble). And though Olaf's character seems to be just comic relief based on the previews, his later scenes will melt your heart as well.

Frozen is a beauty from the inside out. The animation is so stunning and involving you feel like you're in the snow with the characters. The movie has great humor with Anna's quirkiness and awkward tendencies to say everything wrong. And Olaf's pluck and joy is pitch perfect comedic relief as well. Frozen even manages to warm the heart with the bond of sisterhood. This isn't a movie with a ton of villians to overcome; it's acceptance with the differences of those that you love. Frozen is magic.

Grade: 4/4

We're the Millers

I wanted to enjoy We're the Millers a lot more then I actually did. There's great effort put here and you can tell the actors had a blast making it as the four playing the family gave it their A game, but sadly We're the Millers falls short due to inconsistent humor and a choppy tone.

David (Jason Sudeikis) is an amateur drug dealer going nowhere. He soon gets a chance from his boss to make bank. All he has to do is sneak across the country and transport back across a ton of weed. In order to avoid suspicion, he forms a "family" to join him, including the sassy stripper; Rose (Jennifer Aniston), sarcastic and homeless; Casey (Emma Roberts), and the shy virgin; Kenny (Will Poulter).

The four give it a valiant effort, but sadly the material they're given to work with isn't up to game. I found the humor to be quite luke-warm overall. Certain scenes are quite hillarious (the charades scene and weed baby battle) but a lot of others just don't measure up, especially when We're the Millers shoots for the shock/gross value (the wife-swapping & crooked cop scenes). They just don't work and it's a shame considering that We're the Millers can be quite hillarious when the humor hits the right note.

The tone is another big problem with We're the Millers. For about 85% percent of the movie, the characters overall couldn't care less about each other and can't seem to stand each other. But as most comedies with sitcom-ish tones go (seriously, all this one needed was a laugh track), it wraps up everything in a nice little package two seconds later but I never bought it. There wasn't a smooth enough transition or middle period as things start getting a bit warmer in attitude. This is one of the many comedies where the strength lies in the harder edged material.

We're the Millers wasn't a terrible movie. The performances are fun to watch and there are quite a few funny moments but sadly there isn't enough of them as We're the Millers doesn't feel like a feature length movie such as an overextended sitcom that tries to do to much at once. This can be admirable in some cases but in this case, We're the Millers just feels like a bumpy ride.

Grade: 2/4

Philomena

Judi Dench is so wonderful as Philomena that not receiving an Oscar nomination for her work would be as big of a screw job as the one her character receives. Dench plays Philomena, a good-natured, Catholic woman with so many questions about the son that was taken away from her by the Catholic church. She's spent 50 years wanting to reunite with her son, and when she meets a journalist named Martin (Steve Coogan) she just might get her chance to get her answers to who her son really is.

One of my favorite things about Philomena is the dynamic between Judi Dench and Steve Coogan's characters. Their dynamic is so perfect, natural, and charming you would swear the two characters (or even the two actors) have known each other forever, I certainly could have watched them forever. It's such a yin yang dynamic with Philomena's purity versus Martin's sarcasm and sting yet the two blend in a way you wouldn't see coming. They couldn't be more different yet their journey to the answers couldn't be more enjoyable. Dench is as stellar as being sweet as Coogan is as being sour.

Philomena's journey is so heartbreaking and involving you'll follow the two characters' path like a roller coaster. What they find out will punch the viewer in the gut yet also will hit your funny bone along the way. Philomena involves all senses in the journey due to the warmth, humor, and sheer fascination I had in her story. Philomena is a knock-out.

Grade: 4/4