Film, TV, and Entertainment Reviews from the mind of Joey Sack
Movie reviews and editorials.
The results are in, and Justice League is … enjoyable. There are definite problems with the film, and many a diehard comic book fan will find many reasons to dislike it. But I go into these kinds of movies hoping to be entertained and to care about the struggles of the main heroes. I got that from Justice League.
Continue reading “Quick Review: “Justice League:” mildly cluttered, still enjoyable”
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, folks? A lot has happened between my review of the season three finale of Star Wars Rebels and now. Most notably, I graduated from college. That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t posted on here lately, but the other is that I have been working to reassess what I want Sack, Animated to be. I still love animation, and I always will, but I don’t want to limit myself so much that I can’t write about other things I’m interested in. And if Sack, Animated remains a site dedicated entirely to reviewing animated films and TV shows, I will be doing just that.
Continue reading “An Update and New Beginning for Sack, Animated”
Well, the Oscars are this Sunday, folks, which means it’s time for me to list off my favorite movies that came out in 2016.
Just a few things before moving forward: I did not see every film that came out in 2016. To all my readers who check out this blog to read my reviews of animated films and TV shows: I did not see every animated film that came out this year, nor did I see every animated film that is nominated for Best Animated Feature. Also, this list contains films that are decidedly not animated movies; just so you know. To all my friends who happen to be hardcore Marvel fans, I saw Captain America: Civil War, X-Men Apocalypse, and Deadpool, but I did not see Doctor Strange. To all my intense film buff friends: I saw Arrival, La La Land, and several other films buzzing with Oscar anticipation, but I have yet to see Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Fences, or Hidden Figures, despite my best efforts to see them. Finally, to anyone else who I forgot to mention: I’m only human, and there are only so many films I can see in a year.
Also, this is not based entirely on how I would rate these films out of 10, but based on how I enjoyed them as an experience and how they have stuck with me since leaving the theater. Your opinions and your lists may vary, and I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
When I started compiling this list, I was concerned that I hadn’t seen enough movies in 2016 to have a complete Top 10 list. To my relief, I successfully remembered at least 15 films that I saw last year, giving me enough films to compile my Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2016:
I recently updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of Sack, Animated to include the following information, but I figured I would post this article just in case you don’t get a chance to read that section.
I have written two film reviews and several TV show reviews since I started this blog back in September. But I realized that while I understand my rating system (obviously, because it would be weird if I didn’t understand my own system), the people reading my reviews might not know the mindset I’m in when I make my ratings. Continue reading “A Brief Explanation of My Rating System”
Can we stop calling films like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland or the upcoming live-action Winnie the Pooh “remakes” or “reboots”? Because that’s not what they are. 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and its 2016 sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass were sequels that counted on the audience’s familiarity with both Lewis Carroll’s original story and Disney’s 1951 animated version. And given the release of the synopsis of the Winnie the Pooh movie coming up in the near future, it looks like this “remake” is going to follow the same path. It’s not a remake or a reboot: it’s a sequel, and I just have one thing to say about this sequel to a story I loved growing up: oh, bother.
The latest film from Disney Animation, Moana is a worthy addition to the Disney canon, combining a respect for the culture of the Pacific Islands while bringing audiences an action-packed and beautifully animated story of self-discovery. This film has a lot of heart and wit behind it, and is the second animated film I’ve seen this year to make heavy and good use of the Hero’s Journey archetype, adding another face to the Hero with A Thousand Faces.
Continue reading “Moana Review: The Continuation of Disney’s Second Renaissance”
I started this blog back in September with the mission statement of reviewing and celebrating animated movies. As you can tell from three of my previous articles, which cover TV shows like South Park and the recently-revived Young Justice, that statement has changed ever so slightly. I am now expanding my blog to cover animation in all of its forms, from films to television shows to all other kinds of animation. The reason for this is that I love seeing where people can take animation with different mediums, and I can’t limit myself to movies for that animation fix. So, be on the lookout for further articles from Sack, Animated, now on a wider range of topics. The Circle of Life continues to move us all, even my blog.
One of my fondest memories when it comes to a concert-going experience was back in 2011, when my family and I went to Star Wars: Live in Concert at the TD Garden in Boston. The music, being by John Williams and from his iconic score for the first six Star Wars films, was excellent, the audience was filled with fans both young and old, the announcer was a pre-recorded James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader), and the whole event was hosted by C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels.
Admittedly, though, I have to imagine that I was the only member of my family that felt in place at this venue; my parents didn’t grow up with Star Wars and neither did my siblings (or me, for that matter, but that’s a whole other story), so they probably felt the most out of place with all the orchestral music played against the sounds and sights of the Star Wars universe.
Well, after all these years, I now know how my family felt, because it’s more or less how I felt seeing the wonderful Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas with Danny Elfman at the Hollywood Bowl this past Friday. Don’t get me wrong. I really like The Nightmare Before Christmas; I’d probably go on record saying that I love it. But I didn’t grow up watching this movie every Halloween, and only saw the film for the first time last year. With all of that in mind, you can imagine how amazed I was this past Friday to see the Hollywood Bowl, with its capacity to hold 17,500 people, filled pretty much to the brim with people singing along while the movie played, the orchestra played along, and many of the original singers (including Danny Elfman himself) reprised their roles for the songs. Continue reading “Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas with Danny Elfman at the Hollywood Bowl”
People go to the movies for many reasons: to see a work of cinematic art, to turn their brains off for a couple of hours, or to see things unlike anything they could experience in their everyday lives or unlike anything they have ever witnessed on the silver screen.
But according to some people, the movie industry is in trouble, not only because of controversies surrounding diversity, representation, or other such considerations, but also because of a lack of originality. And when people make the argument that Hollywood is running out of ideas, many direct their attention to the slew of reboots, remakes, and long-delayed sequels as proof. Robo-Cop (2014), Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Terminator Genisys, the upcoming Bladerunner 2049, and the list goes on.
But it’s not just classic live-action properties that are being remade for a new generation: some of the best animated movies of all time, mostly from Walt Disney Studios, are in the process of receiving a modern day facelift. We’ve already seen a good chunk of them, from this year’s successful remake of 1967’s The Jungle Book, to 2014’s Maleficent, the retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the main villain, and there are more such remakes on the way from the House of Mouse. And despite a few duds, many of these movies are big financial, and even sometimes critical, successes. Continue reading “Everything the Light Touches is a Remake: Disney Animated Classics Getting Live Action Makeovers”
It’s a common enough sentiment: you talk with your friends about a movie that you loved every minute of, or a film that was mostly mediocre, and you have to point out that one scene that was “worth the price of admission.” I said this regarding the lightsaber vision scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (as well as several other scenes), the battle between Monkey and the Sister in Kubo and the Two Strings, and the moment in 2014’s Godzilla where the kaiju’s atomic breath made a triumphant appearance.
But while I still love to go to the movie theater and see films on the big screen, I spent $14.75 to go see Kubo and the Two Strings at a theatre in Hollywood. While I’m glad I did it, I can also remember a time when it cost much less to catch a flick in theaters.
So, the question becomes this: when ticket prices are as ludicrous as they are today, is going to the movies in theaters really worth the price of admission? Continue reading “Worth the price of admission: is it? A discussion regarding increased movie ticket prices”
