Coco

3D Movie Review Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

I actually watched this movie twice in the theaters for the sake of this review. My first viewing was in 2D in English , and the second viewing was in 3D in Spanish. I don’t regret watching this movie twice because my second viewing was a different experience compared to the first viewing, and I enjoyed the movie enough to want to watch it again. Unfortunately the 3D visuals for this movie are a nice but minor addition to the movie. During some scenes with large crowds you can clearly distinguish between individuals within the crowd because of the depth based 3D. Pop out 3D is rarely used within this movie and is largely a non-factor. One example of pop out 3D was during one scene a specific character points their finger outward toward the camera and the finger pops out of the screen. This happens for a split second and you can easily blink during this scene and miss it . The viewing experience is not dramatically different or enhanced because of the 3D, and I literally forgot the movie was in 3D for many scenes. You can call me little crazy, but I didn’t find anything memorable about the 3D element of this movie. The 3D visuals are pleasant and done with care but ultimately I just don’t care about it. Simply put the 3D is not worthwhile and I cannot recommend it.

Final Verdict:

Weak 3D 2D Recommended

Movie

Coco is the newest animated movie from Disney / Pixar. The movie is about a young boy named Miguel who lives in Mexico and wants to be a musician but his family disapproves. Miguel accidentally travels to the land of the dead and needs to find his way back to the land of the living. Can Miguel find his way home? Will Miguel be able achieve his dreams and become a musician?

The first thing I want to mention in this review is that I am Hispanic. I am mentioning this out of pure transparency. My parents are from Mexico and I am comfortable and familiar with Mexican culture, so I can relate to this movie. I do not believe my upbringing will influence or detract my critique for this movie. That being said, I did feel that this movie does a fantastic job of showcasing the Mexican heritage without abruptly pandering to it. The movie feels authentic and respectful to the norms and customs of Mexican culture and never seems to play up to any stereotypes or gross over simplifications. I especially enjoyed the Spanish dub for this movie. If you don’t understand Spanish I don’t recommend watching the movie in Spanish, the English version of this movie is perfectly fine. That being said the English version of this movie does occasionally mix Spanish words into the dialog. Don’t worry if you don’t understand Spanish because those words are not integral to the plot. I feel like watching this movie in Spanish is the superior way to watch the movie. The best analogy to explain why I feel the Spanish version is superior is this is to discuss the difference between bottled Coca-Cola from Mexico and the typical Coca-Cola from the US. The Coca-Cola from Mexico is made with real sugar and presented in a glass bottle. In contrast the US Coca-Cola is made from high-fructose corn syrup and usually presented in plastic bottles or aluminum cans. Both Coca-Cola from Mexico and American are essentially the same recipe, but I can taste the subtle difference in the flavor and prefer the Mexican version. In a similar fashion Coco is the same movie in Spanish and English but I was able to enjoy Coco more in Spanish because of the subtle cultural differences. The various songs within the movie are great in english, but sound wonderful in Spanish. Regardless if you watch the movie in Spanish or English I think the filmmakers managed to make an excellent movie that anyone can enjoy regardless of their own life experience.

Spanish version of the Song "Remember Me"

English version of the song "Remember Me"

Coco succeeds as a movie because of its fantastic storytelling and touching character moments. The story has a warm heart that is well presented . The several emotional moments feel earned and are not forced in any way. The voice acting and dialogue are excellent and feel natural and is well written. Miguel has legitimate talent to play the guitar, but his grandmother is justified to not allow him to become a musician because of the family history. I really appreciate that both sides of this argument are valid. The movie is highly entertaining and just a joy to watch. This is partially because of the beautiful and vivid visuals. The movie has a distinct look that appears realistic yet stylized. The musical aspect of this movie is also well done with several original songs that are fun and make sense within the context of the movie. The dynamic between the major characters feels very genuine and real. Coco is an animated movie but in many ways it feels like an exaggerated live action movie, because the characters and story feel fantastical yet are grounded and relatable.

As much as I enjoyed Coco the movie is not perfect. The movie is very fast paced and hurries itself to the next plot point and feels rushed. The movie has a huge cast of characters, not all of which are given a proper introduction or sufficient screen time. Many characters are superfluous and entirely one dimensional. Why even bother to have so many characters only to give them one line or no lines at all? Many secondary characters could have been eliminated without any loss to the story. The movie introduces the idea of spirit animals but it never explains what they are in detail. Miguel never takes in the spectacle or grandiose nature that is the afterlife. I understand this is meant to be a children's movie but I felt like the elements of life and death are glossed over within the movie. I wanted Miguel to soak in what the afterlife has to offer and consider the deeper elements of what living is. Once the movie goes to the afterlife it rarely if ever goes back to the land of the living, and that aspect of the story is almost entirely forgotten. I also found several elements of the story to be predictable. I also had problems with the dog named Dante. The dog is cute but annoying and is given too much time on screen. The movie is very enjoyable, but the small issues I had with it keep it from cinematic perfection.

Overall Coco is an excellent movie. I cried, I laughed, and I was immensely entertained with this movie. Coco is not a perfect movie but it is easily one of the best movies of 2017. I won’t forget this movie, and I can easily recommend it to everyone.

Final Verdict : 9/10

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Coco Official website

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

Overall the 3D looks sharp and lively in this movie. The 3D visuals are enjoyable, but weren't a significant factor in the cinematography. Some objects will occasionally fly out of the screen, and this is especially true for the character of Rocket the Raccoon and his snout. Rocket has a screen where he shoots a hole in a wall and the 3D depth adds to the enjoyment of that scene. The 3D did impact one emotional screen toward the end of the movie. I cannot speak about this scene in detail because it has massive story spoilers but needless to say that the 3D made this scene more impactful. At times I felt like the 3D was subdued and could have been better implemented. Overall the 3D is well done and nice, but it was far from amazing.

Final Score: Good 3D

Movie

Making a sequel to a popular movie is not an easy process. You can read my review for the original movie by clicking here. Sequels have to answer several questions to be successful. How can you recapture what people enjoyed in the original movie without retreading the original? How do you continue the story and expand upon on what was previously built? The original Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise mega hit when it released in theaters in August 20014 so can this movie really live up the now higher expectations?

First thing first this movie is dependent on the viewer watching the predecessor to understand the story elements of this movie. Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2 takes place shortly after the events of the first movie. The guardians (Groot, Rocket, Star Lord, Drax, Gamora) are all called to help take care of a monster. Eventually the group discovers a long lost relative of a main character. The movie splits up the crew and they have their own independent side stories that eventually come back together toward the end. The movie has a very unconventional main villain and introduces many new characters. Characters are a major aspect of this movie and we have lots of excellent character development and backstory. We receive more information on the established cast but the supporting and secondary cast is all but ignored. In many ways I feel like this movie feels like an extended episode of the Television shows “Star Trek” or “The Twilight Zone” because of the bizarre story and the focus on an unconventional villain in an episodic nature. I believe the bizarre story might be a turn off for some viewers. Some characters like the main villain and the new character of Mantis are excellent additions to the cast, but others are not properly introduced and only given the bare minimum amount of information to the viewer. The movie introduces a gold colored alien species, and a secondary villain but it's hard to care about them because the movie gives the audience so little information about them. I do have some problems with the plot regarding how many times things conveniently happen to advance the story. Overall I did enjoy the plot and the characters of this movie but I definitely had several issues with this movie.

One aspect of this movie that I must discuss is the tone and the comedy. The movie has many tonal shifts that feel very awkward. Something dark or disturbing might happen and almost immediately afterword a silly joke will happen to try to lighten the mood. Overall the comedy did work, but when it misses it falls totally flat, and this is especially because of the quick change of tone. Some jokes are too drawn out and make the movie feel longer as a result. One scene specifically the character of Groot cannot understand the directions given to him from another character. This scene went on far too long and it became tiresome and tedious to watch this scene play out. Another failed joke was with a minor character and his peculiar name. I never thought this joke was funny to begin with and it became groan inducing as they continued to hammer this joke into the ground. This joke seems strange considering that many of the other characters also have odd names so why is this one so outrageous? Some of the more physical jokes are enjoyable but they can become overly silly and cartoony. Some of the comedy provides intelligent social commentary and it feels very adult and is very interesting. The character of Drax is very interesting and his species and culture make a thought-provoking contrast with popular human norms. Sadly many of the funniest moments of the movie were spoiled for me within the first teaser trailer. The comedic element of this movie is wildly inconsistent and is either completely hilarious or fails miserably.

In closing I did enjoy my time with this movie, but I also many issues. I really loved the excellent character development and the action scenes are fun and enjoyable to watch. The comedic aspect is very hit or miss. The plot is unique but also leaves many unresolved issues and has too many convenient plot inconsistencies. The music and score within this movie is entirely forgettable. This movie is far from perfect but I was still able to enjoy this fun popcorn summer movie.