Tag Archives: san francisco

INSIDE OUT (2015) – My rating: 5.5/10

InsideOutAnimated movies are really not my thing.  I didn’t like Inside Out mostly because the characters talked much to much. Most of the voices were too high pitched and fast paced.  That combination really got on my last nerve.  The dialogue seemed redundant because the subject was repeated over and over again.  The concept is five characters: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phylis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) all reside in the mind of Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn Dias) and their function is to keep Riley mostly happy from her childhood up through her teens and beyond.  Their task becomes particularly more challenging when Riley’s parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) move the family from Minnesota to San Francisco where Riley must now adjust to a new life.  The personified team don’t seem to be too stable themselves.  They are always bickering about the best way to go about their task and everyone seems to rely on one person, the matriarch of the their family.  The whole scenario of keeping Riley happy didn’t seem likely because these five characters in her mind kept botching their task causing Riley to be unhappy.  This would truly be nerve racking to anyone but a child.  So my advice to an adult would be “try and stay away from noisy children movies”.  I don’t know if there was a shortage of animated films this year, but Inside Out was nominated the best in its category.  Either I’m out of touch or I’m just way too old for the likes of Inside Out.  With that said, I don’t think there’s any danger seeing it on on DVD and if you’re contemplating renting this movie, you’re probably getting it for your child or grand child.  So, I say go for it.  The children will most likely love it.

[INSIDE OUT is nominated for Best Animated Feature and Original Screenplay]

 

BLUE JASMINE (2013) – My rating: 8/10

WON FOR:BEST ACTRESS

BlueJasmine

Cate Blanchett has given a riveting performance of a woman who is on the border of insanity.  Blue Jasmine sends a few profound messages.  One being honesty, which lends itself to reality that can set you free of your demons, if you can deal with the truth.  The character Jasmine is about as unstable as a stack of multi-sized blocks stacked 3 feet high.   After living the life of the rich and semi-quasi famous in New York, Jasmine finds herself living with her lower middle class, adopted sister (played by Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco.  Things get pretty crazy as Jasmine tries to make sense of her life and get back on her feet.  Alec Baldwin also gives a worthy performance as Jasmine’s  crooked husband while Andrew Dice Clay plays her sister’s ex-husband.  Over all,  Woody Allen has directed  another fine film.   Cate Blanchett turned in a performance that is every bit worthy of an Oscar.

[BLUE JASMINE is nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay]