Movie Review: MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
Director: Dan Scanlon
Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, John Krasinski, Aubrey Plaza, John Ratzenberger

Pixar seems to be cranking out the sequels to their hits these days. I am relieved to say that Monsters University is no Cars 2. Truth be told, I have never seen Cars 2, but I heard disappointing things. Monsters University is their venture into prequel territory. A young Mike Wazowski is touring Monsters Inc. on a school trip and is beyond excited to one day become a scarer. One of the workers (Krasinski) leaves a lasting impression on him and tosses him his Monsters University baseball hat. Years pass and the book smart Mike (Crystal) has never lost sight of attending Monsters University. His first day arrives and he is ready to go. He meets his new roommate Randall (Buscemi) and he thinks they will be best friends.

Mike comes to his first class, gets a spot in the front row, and has all of his books in hand. Showing up late is Jimmy Sullivan (Goodman), the big blue fuzzy monster. He is a legacy to this school as his family all went to Monsters University and they have a reputation of being some of the best scarers to have come out of the school. The class also provides their first encounter with Dean Hardscrabble (Mirren) who is the head of the Scare program. She is not a force to be reckoned with and she warns them all that whoever does not pass the final exam will be kicked out of the program. She puts up with no funny business and eventually kicks Mike and Sully out of the program for their behavior. Mike is crushed as this was his dream in life, and Sully gets kicked out of his fraternity. Bound and determined to get back into the program, they form a fraternity of other scrappy scarers and compete in The Scare Games. Hardscrabble has no faith in them winning and places bets on their placement in the games. If their frat wins, they will be re-entered into the program. If they lose, Mike is forced to leave Monsters University for good.

One of the many reasons why Pixar films are so appealing is that they cater to audiences of various ages. There is something that adults and children can get out of them. Upon initial thought the idea of college classes and fraternities seems like quite a mature topic for a movie catered towards a younger audience. I suppose that is their approach to appealing to the older audience base. Pixar succeeded with this moviegoer as I know exactly how Mike feels. He thinks that he can become a good scarer by reading all the books and studying all of the various kinds of fears and phobias children have. Unfortunately, Mike is never taken seriously as a scarer due to his small stature and likable presence. Sully, on the other hand, relies on his God-given abilities and talents to get him by in the program. Why should he bother to study? He would rather party it up with his frat brothers. I was Mike in college. I was bound and determined to keep my head in the books and study like crazy. I would get so mad when I saw friends breeze right through their coursework or seem at the top of their game when they were always drinking the night away or skipping class. Don’t worry, I grew out of that phase as the years passed.

There have been Pixar movies in the past (Up and Toy Story 3) that have just connected with my inner soul and touched an emotional side of me that most movies cannot do. I was sobbing like crazy with those films. Unfortunately, I feel like Pixar has set the bar so high for themselves that it can be hard for them to continually reach that level. While Monsters University is a great movie, the story and themes are pretty safe territory. There are no human characters in the movie either which could cause a bit of a disconnect for some audience members. I admit I am holding Pixar at a pretty high standard that may seem unrealistic.

It has been twelve years since Monsters Inc., and it is delightful to have Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi back as Mike, Sully, and Randall. They each have such distinct voices, but they all use them so well as these three roles. Helen Mirren is new to the cast, and she is quite perfect in her delivery as the slithery, sharp-as-nails Dean Hardscrabble. John Ratzenberger is a staple to any Pixar film as he has provided a voice in every one of their films. If you are a “Cheers” fan, you will get a kick out of him this time around as his character, the Yeti, works in the mailroom at Monsters Inc. and is a nod to his “Cheers” character Cliff Clavin. The film is cute, funny, and charming and like any Pixar film teaches some good moral lessons along the way. It will appeal to any kid that goes and sees it. They will undoubtedly think about what monsters may be lurking in their bedroom and imagine the cute life they lead. I just wish the creative team would not have played it so safe with the idea and concept behind this prequel.

RATING: **** (4 out of 5 stars)

Movie Review: PROMISED LAND

PROMISED LAND
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook

I will be honest. I had never heard of the term "fracking" until Promised Land came around. I am assuming that many people do not know what that term is. Fracking is the slang term for hydraulic fracturing which is the core debate in the latest Gus Van Sant/Matt Damon reunion. Steve Butler (Damon) and Sue Thomason (McDormand) work for Global, a natural gas company that is interested in buying farm land in order to drill for gas. Steve and Sue visit a small rural town in hopes to buy land from residents and offer them thousands of dollars in return depending on the acreage of each property. These are not rich people nor are the farms surviving, so this money could help them out in the tough economy. So they say. They go clothes shopping and drink at the local tavern in order to fit in and appear relatable to the local residents.

Their goal was to get enough signatures and be gone within a couple of days. That idea quickly changes the moment opposition starts to happen. During an initial town hall meeting at the run down high school gymnasium, retired high school teacher Frank Yates (Holbrook) questions the plan for drilling by bringing up concerns and facts from previous drilling attempts in other locations. It is easy to pass him off as the old man curmudgeon, but he is one of the smartest and well educated men in town. Another opposing viewpoint comes from Dustin Noble (Krasinski). He arrives in town at the same time as Steve and Sue and claims he is from an environmental agency. He comes ready to fight with the story of how his family farm was ruined by drilling. He comes with props, banners, and signs displaying the pictures of the dead cows. The town's residents become divided on where to stand. Is it immoral and unethical due to the potential results of the drilling or does the paycheck out weigh that?

Damon and Krasinski wrote the screenplay together as well as starring as the two opposing viewpoints. Damon was supposed to direct it, but dropped out and got his former Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant to take over. Do not go into this movie thinking it is going to be this big preachy movie with a binder full of facts and scientific jargon thrown at you. There is no big courtroom scene nor is it based on the story of a specific town. The story is focused more on the character study of the two leads as well as the residents. While I appreciate that the movie is more about the moral struggles of the characters over a legal battle, I still wanted a bit more specificity and discussion about what exactly fracking is and the impacts on the environment. The discussions are pretty elementary and tend to get glossed over. Speaking of elementary, one of the longest discussions happens to be Krasinski explaining it to a bunch of grade school children. I have been looking forward to Matt Damon getting back to writing and Krasinski is a good writing partner for him now than Ben Affleck is off directing.

The script is full of the funny and witty banter that both of the leads are good at playing at. McDormand is always sharp and on point in every performance. You know her character is simply doing her job. Whether or not Sue fully agrees with it, it is her job and she will do what she has to do. Damon’s character knows it is just his job but always seems to be on the verge of flipping sides. Hal Holbrook has had quite a run of playing small, but important, characters recently in Into the Wild, Water for Elephants, and Lincoln. He has another minor role here that I wish would have been fleshed out more. He is so fantastic that I always want to see more of him in every movie. The costume design and cinematography successfully demonstrate the kind of town these residents live in. If you have been to ever been to a small rural town, you know these types of people. This is nowhere near that caliber of work Van Sant or Damon has done before, but it certainly is nowhere near their worst. It did not have the emotional punch that I expected it to give me. Despite that, the relatable characters and struggles keep the story interesting.

RATING: *** 1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)