Jasonic Reviews A Bug's Life

With Pixar being one of the biggest franchises my family loves to quote and the fact that this one, like Toy Story, is near and dear to my childhood, I didn't think I could leave this one alone. Sure, nobody, even Pixar themselves, really recalls this movie off the top of their heads, but it is still memorable in my mind. It may not have or ever be getting a sequel/prequel like every other Pixar film up until Cars, though I still believe it has and should get some recognition in today's world even almost twenty years after its release. So, without further adieu, here's my thoughts on why I think Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life is a brilliantly endearing animated flick that, despite having some flaws, still holds up relatively well today.

*This movie's plot is rather basic and familiar, so I won't tag SPOILERS, but will still encourage cautious reading for those who haven't seen it*

The plot of this movie, while familiar in a number of areas, doesn't truly bother me. It's a basic story about an awkward, outcast ant named Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) who tirelessly tries his utmost to bring new ideas and inventions to his colony who, year after year, gathers all the food on their island for an offering to a gang of bully grasshoppers keeping them in line. When Flik screws up big time by accidentally getting rid of the food offering, the grasshoppers's leader, Hopper (voiced by Kevin Spacey), demands they double down on their end of the bargain before the summer ends. Despite his huge mistake that has the colony endangered, Flik is granted permission by the colony's leader in training, Princess Atta (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), to go out and find a bunch of "warrior bugs" to forever rid them of Hopper and his gang. Just when the princess and the other ants believe they had gotten rid of Flik to prevent any further mishaps from him, Flik surprisingly returns home with a troupe of circus bugs whom he mistakes for warriors when they put on an act in the city. Misunderstandings awry, Flik desperately tries to cover up their acting as warrior bugs in hopes to finally prove that he can make a difference.

Although the story itself is full of tired, predictable tropes, I've never actually been bothered by it so much. As a kid, this movie was my introduction to such a stock story format so I was never sour about Flik being the dweeb protagonist who later becomes the respected hero, his "liar reveal" that gets him banished permanently, and the fact that the ants in the colony don't get much development (but I wouldn't say they're all completely forgettable either). In fact, I found back then as I do now that what made it enjoyable, despite the predictable story beats, was the character interactions and I still believe this holds true. This is more apparent in the actions and personalities of the circus bugs themselves; you have Heimlich (voiced by Joe Ranft), a caterpillar with a German accent and a huge appetite, Francis (voiced by Dennis Leary), a ladybug who often gets mistaken for a girl, and Slim (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), a stick bug who is cast in shows as nothing but stick-like objects. Their fun, silly interactions are the highlights of the story and they, alone, keep things fresh for those big moviegoers who are tired of seeing the same story time and again. Plus, as a Pixar film, it allows for subtle adult humor with enough innocent fun mixed in to keep the kids entertained.

Aesthetically, A Bug's Life is one of those animated flicks (no pun intended) that just pops! Everyone  who's aware of the history of the history between Disney, DreamWorks, and their competition to see whose movie about bugs would turn out better (Antz vs. A Bug's Life) would be pleased to find that, when compared to Antz, A Bug's Life is the brighter, more colorful movie. Sure, the ants mostly look the same, but the circus bugs come in all types, shapes, and sizes to a point where you'd immediately recognize who was who based on personality and looks. Similar to the ants, the grasshoppers mostly look alike, but Hopper and Molt (voiced by Richard Kind) look different enough from the rest to where you can at least tell who they are -- which is especially saying something for me since Molt is actually my favorite character with his humorous one liners and his reformation at the end. And the one thing that nobody ever talks about is the "city" under the trailer; to me, it's an interesting, somewhat engaging set up for a city made for bugs (buildings made of discarded trash, bigger bugs transporting smaller bugs, etc.) that could have been interesting to explore more in a sequel. Of course, this movie never warranted a sequel despite Flik and Heimlich talking about it in the Toy Story 2 outtakes and I've never been desperate for one, but I'm getting off topic. All in all, I'd say I'm satisfied with the movie's presentation and the fact that it remains a standalone.

To say that the sound design of this movie was great would be an understatement... it's brilliant! One of the most engaging parts for me and my family is, without a doubt, the voice delivery that makes the lines so appealing to all of us. Many of the voice actors from Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Princess Atta to Richard Kind as Molt is so comically engaging that, even if the lines themselves sound generic on paper, the actor's delivery of the line is what makes it so memorable and easy to quote for us (i.e.: when Molt says, "Yeah! Where's the food?"). The sound effects themselves are well done too; while the scenes with the grasshoppers may seem a bit violent for an animated kids movie, you can really feel the impact of them breaking into the ant hill at the start as well as Thumper and Hopper beating Flik around toward the end. And, of course, the music! The music of this film was a standout moment for Randy Newman (known also for his work in Toy Story) and the orchestral score throughout definitely has an impact with the scenes they go along with -- the music by itself doesn't really stick with you, but it still works as music. The ending theme, "The Time of Your Life", may not give the same feeling of long time remembrance as Toy Story's "You've Got A Friend in Me", though Newman's voice is still just as distinct as ever and it wraps up the film nicely.

So, overall, as the second Pixar film, and the one I've probably seen most after Toy Story, A Bug's Life may not be perfect, but it's still had a lasting impression on me. Despite somewhat forgettable main characters and a story full of tired tropes, it's easy to remember the comedic side characters, the aesthetic designs, the Foley artistry, and music that went into it. For what it is, I say that if you're a Pixar fan or are looking for something entertaining for your kids to watch to go ahead and give this one a watch if you, yourself, can get past some of the less than memorable, overused elements. All things considered, I give this film an A- and will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good fix in their appetite for animated films.

Thanks y'all for reading and, as always, I will see you in the next review!

Jasonic Reviews Spider-Man 3

When a trilogy as good as the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy rounds about, it's only natural that the audience would expect it all to go out with a bang. That was everyone's expectation about Spider-Man 3 prior to its much anticipated release in 2007... but then reception turned out rather mixed especially amongst the critics and fans. As a Spider-Man fan myself, I can honestly say I couldn't leave this one alone -- especially not after the Blu-ray release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Before we get into it, I'll admit that it actually wasn't my favorite of the Raimi trilogy for a number of reasons. Regardless, each Spider-Man movie, no matter how good/bad, has at least one standout element that makes it unique and this one is no exception. Knowing how much backlash this film has gotten in the past, I will do something different and examine what worked and didn't work and do my absolute best to stay positive about it!

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

So the film is set roughly a year or so after Spider-Man 2 -- the passing of time/time of year is never made apparent in this series, but that's my educated guess. This time, Peter Parker (played once more by Tobey Maguire) is a widespread icon as Spider-Man and has his life in order for a change. In the midst of his fame and recognition, he plans on taking the next step in his relationship with his now girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (played once more by Kirsten Dunst), who is struggling with her self-confidence after being rejected from her Broadway play. Meanwhile, Peter's former best friend turned enemy, Harry Osborn (played once more by James Franco), seeks vengeance against him for supposedly murdering his father, still blissfully unaware of what actually happened and who his father really was. In addition to everything else going on, an escaped convict from Rykers known as Flint Marko (played by Thomas Haden Church) tries desperately to get the money to heal his sick daughter and inadvertently becomes the "Sandman" when coming in contact with a molecular science experiment while on the run. When Peter learns of Marko's identity as his uncle's real killer, he utilizes a mysterious black alien suit that came from outer space and attached itself to his suit, causing him to break out his inner-aggression and seek vengeance on Marko. Throw in the Bugle's newest photographer, Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace), trying to expose Spider-Man as a thief and it appears as though Spidey is in for his biggest, most riveting adventure yet!

Well... not exactly. Reading all that right off the bat, you may be wondering how exactly that all ties together. Some superhero movies in the last decade or so have been known for over-cluttering their plots with needless usage of characters and subplots to a point where it doesn't exactly flow smoothly together and this is no exception. Thing is, the film starts clear as day with Harry as the villain and, just when the rivalry action breaks out between him and Peter... he gets knocked on the head, losing his memory; and just like that all enmity between the two best friends that had been built up through the previous two movies is lost, but only for a while. During that time, Sandman takes over as the main villain before Symbiote Spider-Man seemingly kills him... and then we're back to Harry... and finally Eddie Brock who finally becomes Venom and teams up with Sandman. Long story short, the story, three villains amongst a number of other things, is very jumbled, each hour seeming almost like a different movie at some points. This may cause some to point fingers at Sam Raimi for lazy writing, but personally, I don't blame Sam Raimi or even the actors for any of it. What it boils down to is studio input; during production, Sony were pressuring Sam Raimi for the inclusion of Venom as well as Gwen Stacy (played by Bryce Dallas Howard -- more on her later) due to fans demanding that such characters seeing the light of day in film. That said, with a limited time to write the script, the writers couldn't seem to find a way to naturally incorporate everything the studio wanted and hoped it would stick.

Though that approach didn't really hit the mark for me personally, that didn't stop the film at all from being entertaining. People too often give this film flak for being "too cheesy" without realizing that the two previous films were just as so; in fact, I say I'm okay with their continued use of comedy bits (i.e.: J. Jonah Jameson's "pill buzzer" scene) as it reminds the audience that this is a Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie. On top of that, the action set pieces are some of the best in the series. Bits like Spider-Man getting caught without his suit and fighting the New Goblin, the black Spider-Man vs. Sandman fight, and, ultimately the finale with Spider-Man and Harry against Sandman and Venom  allow for a huge variety of action. In those three scenes alone, you have your standard above the city sky battle, an attempt to capture the thrills of the train fight from Spider-Man 2 (which is the best fight in the series, my opinion), and a fascinating climactic battle between the film's main four players in and around a construction site. Each are shot and choreographed fantastically and help the film feel fresh at every turn.

The main problem I have with the film's transitions between each action scene, however, is how unnecessary some scenes and plot points feel in the grand scheme of things. For example, Harry's amnesia, though it's a cool reference to the comics, doesn't seem to go anywhere; well, come to think of it, it foreshadows Harry's sacrifice for his friends at the end, so I'd say it's not all terrible. The main gripes I have are actually the aforementioned inclusion of Sandman and Gwen Stacy. Though Sam Raimi made it clear that he wanted Sandman to be the main villain above all else (even the former inclusion of Vulture he talked about ages ago), he wasn't exactly written in the best. Just as we're getting to see the initial developments between the three friends, we suddenly cut to Marko on the run; it's not the worst intro ever, but a little exposition prior to his intro would've helped. And then, of course, that dreaded retcon that everyone complains about, I would have to agree with; the previous two films had established that the carjacker was the one responsible for Uncle Ben's death so to rewrite the whole thing to say that "Sandman did it" feels a bit jarring and unnecessary, but it does make for an interesting resolution for Peter with his choice to listen and forgive him in the end. Ultimately, though, Gwen Stacy didn't need to be there and seemed to only further disrupt the possibility of Peter and MJ getting married like the film was implied to be about. I won't go on a tangent about why this doesn't work, but I will say that, upon my initial look at the film's trailer, I would not have guessed that Gwen Stacy was ever supposed to be apart of it in the first place.

And don't get me started on how the black suit storyline played out; I mean, it was a good device for making a darker movie, but then it's never really explained why it got there other than being from a meteorite that just happened to land next to Peter's bike in the beginning. Moreover, it takes a while, like an hour or so, before it finally attaches itself to Spidey's suit (further proof that Sam Raimi didn't want Venom in the first place). Strangely enough, I actually think the Saturday Night strut scene is funny in its own right, but then... the DANCE SCENE! Naturally, my cringe was off the wall at that point, but enough of this negativity -- we don't want to act like we're wearing the suit after all. As a positive critic, I won't trash everything about it so, instead I'll say that if I were in charge of writing the film, I would have effortlessly written it into the story to play out like so:

1. Spidey acquires the suit and learns its abilities in the first half hour
2. With everything going wrong in his life, Spidey uses the suit to feel good again
3. The suit causes him to unintentionally hurt his friends without his awareness
4. He tries to get back at his best frenemy and nearly kills him
5. Ultimately, he crosses the line when he seemingly kills his newest foe and tears it off

I may have even saved the introduction of Venom for the previously announced Spider-Man 4, but I'm through talking about "what ifs". If anything, I'll say it wasn't my favorite depiction of the black suit arc, but it wasn't the absolute worst either.

For that matter, this wasn't the worst Spider-Man movie either. Sure, it had its ups and downs and the bad seems to outweigh the good at some points, though I wouldn't call the worst Spider-Man or comic book movie in general. It had some good action, some fun laughs, good acting, and, overall, the spirit of the Raimi films was still there. In fact, I'd say the actors weren't downright terrible despite what some may say; I personally found Tobey's happy-go-lucky attitude in the beginning to be his way of implementing himself into the character he had played now for three films -- like he's telling the audience, "I own this character now!" Kirsten I can't say had much improvement (maybe some character development, but that's about it), but James Franco, like he said in the movie, is "So good!" Like he really owned Harry Osborn to where I could almost say he was Harry Osborn. Topher Grace wasn't as bad as people say either; his personality fit well with the rest of the comical vibe the series aimed to give. And, I can't believe I skipped over Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons' marvelous (no pun intended) acting as Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson respectively in the previous two reviews. Jameson especially was a highlight in this series and has me eagerly awaiting to see if J.K. would be up for reprising the role in the next live action Spider-Man movie (seeing as he's already done so several times in the animated shows). Lest we not forget that, despite feeling shoehorned, Thomas Haden Church is an all around good actor; he looks like the Sandman, gives him his own personality, and very well conveys a tortured sympathetic villain that was interestingly reminiscent of Doc Ock. I would've loved if everyone gave it there all to end this trilogy with a bang, but, for what it was, I can say I generally enjoyed the series as a whole regardless.

Without further adieu, here are my final thoughts regarding the last film in the otherwise good Spider-Man Trilogy. Despite its heavily apparent flaws of a jumbled story, contrived transitions and plot points, and an odd attempt at a darker movie through use of the black suit, the comedy was great, the action superb, and the acting done well enough for the viewer to enjoy. I can't say it was the best film I've ever reviewed (it might even be the worst so far), but still, for what it is, I can't say it's dumpster fire, but good in some aspects. In other words, I give it a C+ rating and label it passable for anyone looking to see what the film as to offer (whether it be their favorite character, pleasing action, or decent bits of acting).

Thanks y'all for reading and, as always, I will see you in the next review!