Bonnie Hunt – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: So, you are telling me that we are not the true red ones.

Vampire Bat: We always wear black. You know that already.

Vampire Owl: We do have the red borders on clothing.

Vampire Bat: It is just a symbolism of blood.

Vampire Owl: So, we are not that much into bloody colours.

Vampire Bat: Any blood on clothing can lead to suspicion.

Vampire Owl: Well, everyone knows that we are vampires.

Vampire Bat: It is not about knowing; it is about providing proof.

Vampire Owl: There would be enough proof available from the CCTVs.

Vampire Bat: Well, those could be staged as it would be over in a flash.

[Gets an oreo shake and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) has almost always existed as a secret military organization meant to keep the balance between humanity and mythological creatures, thus keeping both worlds safe and without making itself known to mankind. As part of the organization, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), Head of North Pole security for Saint Nicholas a.k.a. Santa Claus (J K Simmons) for quite a long time. After serving for long as the strongest member of the team and an expert in his field, Callum decides to quite after this final Christmas journey though. But things do not go that easy as Santa is kidnapped by an unknown group of soldiers who are able to bypass the security measures of his building with ease. Callum lets the director of MORA, Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) know about the same, and the group is put on full alert, understanding the alarming situation where there would be no Christmas at least for one year.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The question remains why one would want to abduct Santa Claus, and the names of the usual suspects come into the picture before any other investigation. It is discovered that the top-secret location of Santa’s abode was leaked by Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), a hacker and bounty hunter, divorced and non-believer, who would do anything for money. After a tracker is placing on him, Jack is forced to team up with a reluctant Callum due to unforeseen circumstances. He points them to the broker and middleman Ted (Nick Kroll) who provides them the name of the winter witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), who wishes to punish everyone who has been evil in one way or the other, which would mean almost all of humanity. They ask for help from Santa’s estranged brother and Gryla’s former lover Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), but he is not interested. With the winter witch only getting more powerful and Santa getting weaker, what all paths can lead to saving the man in trouble?

The defence of Red One :: Red One keeps on with the Santa Claus side of Christmas which is never short of opportunities. There are some fine action sequences with some visual splendour that goes on and on throughout its run. The main characters keep making things interesting as the movie progresses, and we find their teaming up to be an interesting one without second thoughts. There is some humour that is added here and there, and with the two main characters around, that was always going to happen at regular intervals. The addition of Chris Evans becomes the fine twist in itself, as we usually find Chris Pratt, Ryan Reynolds, Seann William Scott or someone doing similar works, especially after Captain America model came up – this remains a welcome change when we look at it. The idea of Santa Claus being kidnapped and the celebration of Christmas itself being canceled is one idea that keeps us going for it. With more hype in this part of the world, it could have surely achieved more and made a lasting impact due to its quality of making itself.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have used some magic of Christmas to add to its strength, instead of going in a predictable saving the word from evil witch mode. It instead chooses to go for the safe path with the least intervention of religion and mythology, seemingly to satisfy that group which has the least interest in these types of movies. One keeps wondering why the film hesitates to take any part of the religious and spiritual side when the same could brought on with the right morals and never compromising on the overall quality. You have a Santa Claus and you have the Rock defending him, with the Captain America turned new character with special skills, and the limitations still seem to apply. There seems to be the feeling that all of these would be enough to make this a blockbuster with Christmas around the corner. Maybe there was the idea of thinking too much about one’s own existence in a world of too many movies.

The performers of the soul :: Dwayne Johnson a.k.a. the Rock once again has one side in control in that kind of a role which he has never been tired of doing. He plays the strong defender and bodyguard of Santa Claus to perfection as one would expect him to do. His status as an entertainer is further asserted here. Chris Evans becomes the reluctant hero who is not that interested in saving people or the world, very much unlike the Captain America roles he had been playing until Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He switches his style really well around here. On other days, you would think about many other actors playing this kind of role, but this time, we have fine change that surprises. Lucy Liu has less to do, but the performance here is done with some fine conviction. Kiernan Shipka evil villain also remains an effective one – we are never really short of some more witches on the scene, and with the presence of the darker side of magic, they always make things more effectively terrifying. J K Simmons makes a fine Santa Claus in between.

How it finishes :: You expect more for the Christmas season, especially with such a grand cast involved in the proceedings. But the movie never really raises its level, despite having some fine moments around. Its quality as entertainer and as something interesting for children would never be questioned though, and we see the fun around. The movie keeps reminding us about the Christmas spirit throughout the December. There was always chance for more, but we are glad to watch some fine Christmas entertainment. You will have the choice to watch something else, and if you are watching this one for a Christmas, there is more chance that you will opt for this one instead of any other. The Rock during Christmas season is more and more happiness, whether it is in the WWE ring or in a movie. You have those electrifying moments, whether with Santa Claus, or with the Undertaker, Triple H or Stone Cold Steve Austin. This one is presently available on Amazon Prime Video, and among the choices, this one shines with the Christmas fun out of nowhere.

Release date: 15th November 2024
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J K Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Reinaldo Faberlle, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Marc Evan Jackson. Jenna Kanell, Gursharn Arya, Jon Rudnitsky

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: And, here is our Academy Award Winner of the year, Zootopia.

Vampire Bat: It also won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Movie Award and Annie Award for the Best Animated Feature Film.

Vampire Owl: I see that it had also received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.

Vampire Bat: But I still thought that Moana would get the award.

Vampire Owl: So did I, with The Rock also there for our entertainment.

Vampire Bat: The movies that we like the most rarely gets the award, does it?

Vampire Owl: Yes, I remember such occasions a lot.

Vampire Bat: Maybe we should get the chance to recommend a few ourselves.

Vampire Owl: We need the Vampire Academy Awards as soon as possible.

Vampire Bat: Still, I don’t think that there is that much of a difference between the Oscar nominated and won movies.

[Gets three cups of masala tea with sweet porotta].

What is the movie about? :: We are introduced to a world in which different kinds of animals thrive, as they live together without considering the differences that their species bring. The lifestyle is more like humans, and they are separated by their species and cuisines like we are by all those things beginning with race, there is a clear reflection of human life. The centre of all these is the place where everyone wishes to live in, the mega city of Zootopia where there is the chance for everyone to be what they want to be, and have a good life. So it is quite natural for a lot of animals to choose to go to this city and try their luck, as it is with many human cities. It is due to the same reason that a rabbit from a village called Bunnyburrow, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) wishes to become a police officer in the city. But it is not that easy, because it is not a usual job for the rabbits.

So, what happens next? :: But Judy does manage to become a police officer, even though her father Stu Hopps (Don Lake) and her mother Bonnie Hopps (Bonnie Hunt) doesn’t believe that she can perform well enough. They believe that she will come back to her some day, and save herself from the dangerous criminal world. With every other person in the police department being a strong mammal, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) doubts the abilities of her as a rabbit, and puts her in parking duty – her parents like it, but she doesn’t, as she performed so well during her training, and wanted to prove herself. But with other animals being bigger in size and strength, like buffaloes, leopards, tigers, lions along with others, it was always going to be a tough task for her to prove something physically. But she decides that she will prove everyone wrong.

What is to follow now? :: As she leaves the parking duty to arrest a thief Duke Weaselton (Alan Tudyk), Bogo is furious about her. As she even volunteers to solve a case related to Mrs. Otterton (Octavia Spencer) whose husband has gone missing, he decides that he will give the case to her, but she will have to quit if she fails to solve it. Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate) who is the assistant mayor of Zootopia, supports her, but she gets only forty eight hours to solve the case of this particular person and many other missing mammals. She makes a small-time con artist fox Nicholas P. Wilde (Jason Bateman) also join her, because he was the last one to see the missing person, and he also has many contacts in the city. Even though reluctant at first, he decides to join her in the end, and they go on a search deep into this problem – can they solve this or will Judy have to go back to her carrot farm in the village?

Zootopia as a tale with a fine core :: The movie has to be admired for how it uses its idea of different species to symbolise different people. There is difference in everyone whom we meet, and the idea of being different in many ways, is shown here too. It is up-to each one of us to go chasing that dream as a different person, and it is what everyone needs to do, no matter what problems come in between. At least the attempt has to be made here. The message against bullying is there, and we can also see that judging others is the worst thing that can be done against a person with an opinion on his own life. If someone wants to pursue something with all their hearts, the society just comes in between – what we want to do, we rarely gets to achieve; lets hope that Zootopia brings the inspiration for people who wish to be different with their lives.

What it says about the world :: Still, the other major idea in this movie is rather something which is so difficult to come true that it will work for almost nobody – you really can’t be anything that you want, and it is a fact; no matter how much one tries, he or she will be only become what the society wants them to be. There are so many people who are caught in this web from which there is no escape. We wonder why is the world so much interested in judging us, and eventually we fall into that trap. We are judged at home and we are further judged at the office if we have a job – we are judged by our relatives if we don’t have a job or are not married. The judgment is passed in such a way that we are good only for one thing, and people will rate us by what we earn – they will decide what we are capable of – it is a shameful thing, isn’t it?

How it finishes :: Zootopia is a movie that has so many messages in store, which makes this a movie for the adults as well as for the children. One has to wonder if this movie was preferred over the rest of the movies nominated for the Academy Awards due to the message against “racism” rather than the rest of the things including those nicely detailed characters and the extra messages that come into the picture – so, it got to follow Inside Out, Big Hero 6 and Frozen in that winning path. Everyone can hope to leave the theatres with questions as well as the messages that linger in the mind, and at the same time, with that feel-good effect. Well, the animated movies are the best whenever it comes to bringing some fine messages for the children and the adults alike. Zootopia follows the same path without giving its viewers a chance to complain, and there is a lot of fun in store without doubt.

Release date: 4th March 2016
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush (co-director)
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, Shakira, Raymond S. Persi, Maurice LaMarche, Phil Johnston, John DiMaggio, Gita Reddy, Katie Lowes, Jesse Corti, Tom Lister Jr., Josh Dallas, Leah Latham, Rich Moore, Peter Mansbridge, Byron Howard, Jared Bush, Mark Smith, John Lavelle, Kristen Bell, Josie Trinidad