Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

I was looking for something to watch and I figured I would check something out from Disney Plus and I have always been a fan of the Ice Age movies. I know i have seen most of them and I wasn't sure where I left off, but I knew I hadn't seen 2016's Ice Age: Collision Course which is the fifth film in the series and was directed by Michael Thurmeier  and Galen Tan Chu (Ice Age: Continentel Drift). Everyone's favorite gang of prehistoric creatures is back, but their about to have a whole lot of problems all thanks to Scrat who while chasing his Acorn manages to find a spaceship that just happens to set off so many events including an asteroid that is heading to destroy Earth and the gang has to scramble to save it from happening. The film stars Ray Romano (The Irishman) as Manny, Queen Latifah (Chicago) as Ellie, John Leguizamo (Spun) as Sid, Denis Leary (The Amazing Spider-Man) as Diego, Keke Palmer (Hustlers) as Peaches, Adam Devine (Jexi) as Julian, Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) as Shira, Wanda Sykes (Bad Moms) as Granny, Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead) as Buck, Seann William Scott (American Pie) as Crash, Josh Peck (Spun) as Eddie, Nick Offerman (The Little Hours) as Gavin, Jessie J as Brooke, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) as Shangri Llama,  and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Gertie.

I liked some of the cameos in the film like the one done by Neil deGrasse Tyson, but even that couldn't really save the film for me. I definitely loved how they explained how the universe came to be all thanks to Scrat, but I thought the film overall was OK. It had a solid premise and they checked all the boxes of turning points, the hook, subplots, and all that stuff when it comes to the writing, but the film just wasn't as funny as any of the other ones that I had seen. One thing that is for sure is that if it was a Disney movie from the start, it probably would have better, but this is why 20TH Century Fox is no longer a thing. There was definitely a lot of potential for this film because I loved a lot of the subplots and I even loved the voice acting and the animation, but a lot of the stuff just wasn't as funny as previous films. They had a who's who of actors in this film and they all did very well, but there is a reason there is not a number six on the way besides the fact that Disney is probably not interested anyways. I always thought that Ray Romano was always a perfect choice to play a Mastodon thanks to his voice and actually most of them fit their characters pretty well. I know the flying dinosaurs were somewhat a part of the film, but I thought their presence could have been a little more than it was. Too much time spent on Scrat and his space adventures which some were funny and some were meh. I am going to give this one an B- for a final grade.

Chicago (2002)

There are reasons that I have missed out on watching certain films over the years and that is because I am not crazy about musicals. Usually, I will avoid them at all costs unless there is a reason for me to watch, but for today I needed to know what was the big deal behind the 2002 film adaptation of the Broadway hit Chicago which was directed Rob Marshall (Into The Woods). The film stars Renée Zellweger (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation) as Roxie Hart, a girl that has been dreaming about hitting the stage ever since she made it to Chicago. The only problem for Roxie is the guy who she is hooking up had promised her a shot at the stage, but when she finds out he lied she ends up killing the guy. Now, Roxie has to rely on a hot shot lawyer and a few tricks up her sleeve to hope that she can get off before she's hanged for her crime. The film also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Mask Of Zorro) as Velma Kelly, Richard Gere (Primal Fear) as Billy Flynn, Queen Latifah (Taxi) as Matron Mama Morton, Dominic West (Rock Star) as Fred Casely, Taye Diggs (Set It Up) as bandleader, John C. Reilly (The Little Hours) as Amos Hart, Colm Feore (The Chronicles Of Riddick) as Harrison, and Chita Rivera (Sgt. Peppers Lonely Club Hearts Band) as Nickie.

One of the things that I loved most about this film is the way they handled the Broadway like musical numbers in between the more serious parts of the film. Every time Roxie would dream or daydream during the film is when they would go into the musical numbers and I loved that because they felt like daydreams because as soon as you snap out of it, it's back to the lonely existence we all live sometimes. It also shows how obsessed she is with wanting to be a singer on stage that it almost seems as if she is writing out her own story as she daydreams and sings along. I honestly think knowing that made the film more tolerable, but if I am being perfectly honest with you, it was actually a pretty enjoyable film about how if you can't get famous then be infamous like the tag line suggests. The film shows you how desperate some people will be just to be infamous because they feel they need love and attention constantly by others that they will go to certain lengths. I thought the acting overall in the film was quite well, but the star of this one is none other than Richard Gere who just steals the show every time he steps out on screen as the hot shot lawyer and in one of my favorite scenes as the puppet master. If you like musicals or you're kind of on the fence about it, then this is definitely one to watch because it's actually a pretty good story, the talent is obviously in this film, and it's enjoyable to watch as well. That is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it won six Oscars for a reason (Best Picture, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best supporting actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones).