Review of Sausage Party: We Eat What We Are

So far this year, we have seen a world where animals live together in harmony (more or less), what pets do when their masters are at work, and an absent-minded fish look for her family. It's been a typical year for animation, and there's still Animal American Idol, a kid with two strings and another Disney movie yet to premiere.

Yet this year may be remembered for Seth Rogen deciding to produce a movie that has one of the most bizarre premises ever: what do food think before we eat them?

Well, they have pretty strange ideas about what life is all about..and maybe their sex drives, too.
But first things first.

Sausage Party had a successful sneak preview at Comic-Con last month, and scored 34 million dollars last weekend, just behind Suicide Squad. It's an interesting try at making animation for adults. It was more strange than hilarious, but you can't help but think the edible characters are pretty much like us.

As the meat, bread and produce at the supermarket see it, the customers are gods, and they take the food to "The Great Beyond". Somehow, they don't know what the "Gods" do after that.
The story features Frank, a hot dog voiced by Rogen, who hopes the fill the bun of Brenda, voiced by Kristen Wiig. The way she's baked, she is the Jessica Rabbit of baked goods. A short weiner named Barry (Michael Cera) is worried that he'll be able to fill a bun.

Anyway, they're hoping to reach the Great Beyond when a crazy jar of honey mustard (Danny McBride) who was returned claims the Great Beyond is a lie. After a crash between two shopping carts, Frank and Brenda get separated from their friends. They do meet a bagel (Edward Norton) and and a lavash (David Krumholtz), who complain about shelf space in a familiar way, They also have to deal with a douche (Nick Kroll) who's mad that he lost his chance to reach the Great Beyond (or at least the woman who wanted to buy him).

As for the grocery items who do make the Great Beyond, they find out the hard way what the Gods really do. Barry tries to escape and winds up crossing paths with a guy that enjoys "bath salts" (James Franco).

Frank wants to know the truth about the Great Beyond, and learns it from Firewater (Bill Hader) and couple of non-perishable items (Craig Robinson and Scott Underwood). Brenda doesn't want to know because she thinks she's being punished for just touching Frank by the tips. She does get attention from Teresa (Selma Hayek), a lesbian taco shell.

So how can the food fight back against the Gods who buy them? There is a solution, but it's rather drastic. That's followed by an all-out orgy you can't unsee, and a pretty weird ending.

Seeing the secret lives of food is an unusual idea, and the movie pulls it off by making some comments about religion, and what we believe is the Great Beyond for us. The ending was weak, though. There were also too many stereotypes, especially how the Chinese and Mexican foods were portrayed. Then again, how can you come up with a happy ending for those whose destiny is being in our stomachs?

It's safe to say someone will come up with a better animated movie with lots of sex and profanities, but Sausage Party is a decent attempt at making Pixar After Dark.

Should We Call The New Ghostbusters? Maybe

When people heard Paul Feig wanted to make a reboot of Ghostbusters with an all-woman crew, a fair amount were rather skeptical it would work. Others, unfortunately, thought it was ultimate blasphemy.

Now, it's clear it's not quite like the original back in 1984, but that's not its job. It's a new version, determined to stand on its own.

Before I finally saw it this morning (mainly to get away from the "stop complaining about Melania Trump's speech, you mean media, you" ranting on TV) I read parts of reviews, and even a comment during the Adam Carolla podcast with Ray Parker Jr. (highly recommended, because Parker has done quite well as a musician after writing the theme to...well, what else?). I got the sense people thought it was OK, but it could have been more. In order words, people had high hopes just like Batman v. Superman, and expected them to be dashed.

The movie is a reboot, not connected to the original GB-verse, and an origin story. Remember, we met the original Ghostbusters just after they establish themselves. This is different. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) , a physics professor at Columbia, is hoping for tenure, but it's threatened by a book she wrote with paranormal Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) that has re-emerged, Yates has a quirky partner in Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), and all three girls eventually investigate a report of a ghost at a historic house. Erin gets slimed and admits ghosts are real. Too bad Columbia doesn't like that when they find out, and they fire her.

They soon meet Patty (Leslie Jones), an MTA clerk who also knows a lot about New York, after she encounters a ghost just after meeting a weird bellhop named Rowan (Neil Casey). He wants to unleash the undead on New York because he can, and he gets help on that from an unexpected source,

Most people think McKinnon is the most interesting of the group because she's really wacky, competing with Venkman's attitude. Unfortunately, we know the least about her. If only she was Venkman's niece. That would explain a lot. We do meet her mentor eventually, and it's a big surprise.
Wiig is the most reluctant only because her past interests ruined her career. Once the GBs get their business underway, she's more enthusiastic. McCarthy and Jones are also great as their roles.

Rowan, the Big Bad, is a disappointment. While he wants to rule the world with evil ghosts, there's no effort on why he wants to do that. He's actually more interesting when he takes different forms.
As for Chris Hemsworth, who plays Kevin the dopey receptionist, he's also more interesting when he takes a different form.
Some of the original cast also make appearances, and if you look close, you'll find them. One character makes a big return, much to the gals' chagrin. However, they seem more of a gimmick than part of the plot. The exception is Bill Murray as a ghost debunker who finds out if they really exist...the hard way.

It would have been better if there was some connection with the original, like at least Dr. Gilbert being a former student of Dr. Spengler (Harold Ramis). If Columbia's hoping to make this a franchise, though, at least it's a better start than how DC relied on Batman v. Superman to launch the Justice League. The new Ghostbusters can make their mark, now that they're together. For those who prefer guys doing that, though, they'll have to wait. Besides, who you gonna call? Chris Pratt was proposed but he'll be busy. Jim Parsons or Simon Hedberg or Michael Pena? Maybe.

Review of How To Train Your Dragon 2: Hiccup's Fiery Saga Continues

It's been five years since the weak son of a Viking chief changed his island by teaching people how to overcome their fear of dragons.
Now, he is looking for new challenges while trying to avoid another one. He also makes a major discovery and faces a dangerous enemy that will both change his life.

When How To Train Your Dragon came out in the winter of 2010, some wondered if an animated feature about a boy and his dragon would work. It did, in a big way, and now Dreamworks has made a very good sequel that may turn out to be a big hit this summer. It's already has a few sneak previews in the past week in Sacramento, and audiences have loved this movie and are likely to return when it officially opens next Friday.

When the story returns to the island of Berk, the locals aren't afraid of dragons burning their homes or stealing their sheep. They are enjoying a new sport called dragon-riding which may be more exciting that Quidditch. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), meanwhile, is busy flying with Toothless, and discovering what places are beyond his little island. He even has his own wing suit, which may have been a bit much for the movie.
Showing how his engineering skills improved his ability to ride Toothless, and changed Berk overall, would have been enough. What he's not eager to do is prepare to become the new leader after his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) retires.



The other characters haven't changed much. They're older, but still finding their way. Snoutlot (Jonah Hill) is still the brash hero in his own mind, Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) still has his "Magic The Gathering"-style of thinking, Ruffnut and Tuffnut (Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller) still fight. Astrid (America Ferrera) is still competitive, but also caring, and is destined to be Hiccup's wife and advisor. On the other hand, things have changed, symbolized by the fact that Stoick has his own dragon. That would have been unthinkable five years before. Then again, people who saw the spinoff show on the Cartoon Network are already aware of how these kids have grown. Here's a featurette to show just that...



Anyway, Hiccup and Astrid discover some dragon trappers led by Erit (Kit Harington, aka Jon Snow from Game of Thrones). They work for Drago (Djimon Hounsou), who wants to create his own dragon army and become more dangerous than that Red Death dragon that enslaved the other dragons on the first movie.

Hiccup thinks he can change Drago's mind, but Stoick says that can't be done. Years before, Drago tried to take over the island with his dragons. Hiccup also meets a mysterious Dragon Rider who flies better than he does. She is Valka (Cate Blanchett), who had been caring for dragons for years. She also has a very special connection to Hiccup, and this link will reveal exactly what it is.
Soon, there's a major showdown between Drago and Hiccup, with a result that changes everything. Consider it an "Empire Strikes Back" moment. Some may be puzzled about what happens afterwards, but just realize why it happened.

Dean DeBlois is back as director and writer for the sequel. He's hoping for a trilogy for Hiccup and Toothless, and the story certainly reflects that. In the first movie, Hiccup tried to show that people and dragons could live together through trust. The sequel breaks that trust, and upsets the balance, in an unexpected way. It's restored through another major change, especially in Toothless.

Of course, Gobbler (Craig Ferguson) is also back as comic relief. He also explains why he never got married, kind of. Some people may pick up on why. In the Sacramento showing, people laughed at the first part of his joke, but didn't quite hear the rest of it. Someone will, and that will lead to the usual reactions.
The animation style has also jumped in a big way compared to the first movie. The texture of the dragons' skins is more detailed, while their flying is smoother. Valka's refuge is also incredible, and not just because of the dragons.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a fine follow-up to the first movie, and sets up a lot of possibilities for the final part of the trilogy. It is certain to show Hiccup as the leader of Berk, eager to see what else exists in the world, and whether the dragons can still be part of it.

Finally, here's the first five minutes of the movie: