Brief Film Reviews - July 2013 (3)

A couple of 2013 films that are still in theaters:



Turbo

The titled snail dreams of racing in the Indy 500, only to oddly be given the chance when he ingests nitrous oxide from a street-racing car. Yeah, it makes no sense and sadly the film doesn't get any better. Dreamworks Animation had the opportunity to continue its first place run against the dwindling in quality Pixar, only to be tripped up by this misfire and be in great need of repairs. It doesn't help that it's pretty much a clone of RATATOUILLE, complete with a foolish human who helps him and his eccentric compatriots, though they work at a decrepit mall strip instead of a famous restaurant. But the biggest head-slap is the main character; I guess he had a chaser of Windex after all of that nitrous oxide because he has a see-through personality. There is no reason to like the mollusk, no further characterization for him beyond "gotta go fast!" None of the other characters do anything special either, even though they have extremely talented stars voicing them. The only teeth-grating performance goes to whoever voiced that heinous little kid that exclaims, "Whoa! That snail is fast!", which is then repeated endlessly, non-stop, until it becomes the hook for an ear-pulling techno song. Other than its adequate animation, TURBO deserves to be disqualified from any further praise.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5



The Heat

In order to be a highly touted candidate for a job opening in her FBI offices, Sandra Bullock's straight-laced character must prove to her departing boss that she has what it takes to be both an investigator and a team player. Too bad her assigned case greatly tests her comfort zone, as she partners up with a foul Boston police officer (Melissa McCarthy) to take a drug ring. Honestly, you know that you're not going into this for the story because it is certainly plain vanilla. All of the buddy cop beats and cliches pop up and you'll be eye-rolling for a good minute when they are later taken off the case. Thankfully, director Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS), screenwriter Katie Dippold, and the talented Bullock and McCarthy make THE HEAT work with inexhaustible laughs. There are some many show-stopping moments where you'll be grasping for air, just so you can laugh some more. A few of these highlights put the R rating to great use, testing your limit at chuckling at others' bodily misfortunes. There's also a rich supporting cast, from the charming Marlon Wayans, to Dan Bakkedahl as an albino DEA agent, to McCarthy's scene-chewing bawdy Bostonian family, featuring the likes of Jane Curtin and pop singer Joey McIntyre. The flat plot does hinder it significantly but this is sure to become more appreciated as time goes by.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5