Brave

Connor's Movie Review

Movie Title:    Brave

Released:   June 2012

Movie Rating:  PG

Star Rating: ««««

Movie Summary:

“Brave”, the latest film from Pixar Animation Studios, is set in a distant kingdom in Scotland, ruled by King Fergus and Queen Elinor.  Their oldest daughter Merida, the princess of the kingdom, doesn’t enjoy living the life of royalty.  She would rather live a life of adventure in the Scottish wilderness and practice archery.  However, Merida’s mom, Elinor, wants her to live like a proper princess should.  Merida refuses to listen.  When three Scottish warrior clans travel to the kingdom to compete for Merida’s hand in marriage, Merida is furious.  The princess refuses to accept any of the proposals and runs away into the wilderness.  There she encounters mystical beings called will-o’-the-wisps, which lead her to the home of an elderly witch.  She asks the witch to make a spell that can “change her fate” by changing her mother.  The spell unfortunately takes a turn for the worse, and Merida soon realizes the consequences of her selfish actions.  She must work to make things right by breaking the curse before it remains permanent. 

In my opinion, “Brave” did not meet the same standards set by past Pixar films.  The movie contained some rude humor and some scary scenes.  I liked the amazing animation and interesting storyline.  The movie had a lot of heart, and there were some very touching moments.    

              

Be “Brave”, lad, and venture to the theater to see this great movie! 
  

Enjoy the Movie!  Save Some Popcorn For Me!

The Movie Critic, Connor

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Connor's Movie Review

Movie Title:    Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

Released:   June 2012

Movie Rating:  PG

Star Rating: ««« 1/2     

Movie Summary:

Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria return for another globetrotting adventure in “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted”.  Living in Africa, Alex and the gang begin to miss living in their original home, the Central Park Zoo in N.Y.C.   Meanwhile, the devious penguins, led by Skipper, leave in their newly built plane to party in Monte Carlo.  They have also broken their promise to go back to Africa to take the zoo animals back to New York.  Alex devises a scheme to get to Monte Carlo to convince the penguins to take them back to the Central Park Zoo.  When attempting to do so, they end up causing more havoc than they meant to create by attracting attention from evil French animal control officer Captain Chantel DuBois.  Chased across France, Alex and friends discover another solution to get back to the Zoo: joining a traveling circus, whose next stop is New York!  The zoo crew wins the approval of a failing circus group and decides to help them expand their worldwide audience by revamping their circus performances.  Hot on their trail is Captain DuBois, who stops at nothing to make sure that the zoo animals are captured.

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” isn’t quite as funny as the first two films, but it is still a lively and fun family film.  “Europe’s Most Wanted” is also improved by some funny performances by the main characters, especially Ben Stiller as Alex.   The colorful circus sequences of the movie are very impressive, colorful and energetic.  “Madagascar 3” makes for a good time, but it isn’t quite “The Greatest Show on Earth”.

 You are "Most Wanted" at the theater to see this movie!

Enjoy the Movie!  Save Some Popcorn For Me!

The Movie Critic, Connor