Anniversary Week: My Fave Five: Year 1 Reviews

This is it, happy anniversary Drew’s Reviews!  That’s right, one year ago today I started this blog, posting reviews for several summer blockbusters (two of which are on this list).  Now over 70 reviews later, I have come a long way in my writing and have noticed much improvement.  So for my first Fave Five list, I decided to focus on the reviews I have written over the last year that have marked an accomplishment in my writing or has left an impact on it.  I hope to start doing “My Fave Five” features semi-frequently.  Put simply, it is a list of my five favorite movies on a particular topic.  With that out of the way, let’s get started.

5) Man of Steel

I’m not exactly sure why I like my Man of Steel review so much.  It has just stuck with me.  This was one of my original six reviews I had written to kick off this blog.  As I stated at the beginning of the review, I am not a huge fan of Superman.  Maybe that is why it has become one of my favorite reviews, because despite my dislike for the character, I was still able to keep an open mind about the movie and stay objective.  I was able to prove to myself I can review a movie on its merits rather than my feelings about the character.  Up until recently, Man of Steel was the longest review I had written, so that was another reason why it stuck with me so strongly

4) I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein is the only lightning review on this list.  Just a heads up, it’s not a very good movie, but that’s beside the point.  I like this review because I believe I was able to completely portray my feelings towards the movie in under 200 words.  Sometimes when I am writing a lightning review, I feel there is more I could add, but not enough to really make it a full review.  But for this review, I didn’t have that feeling and thought everything I had to say was present.

3) How to Train Your Dragon

Oh, man, How to Train Your Dragon.  Such a great movie.  If you have not seen it yet, go out and do so immediately.  But the fact that this is such a great movie is not why it’s on this list (since that’s not what this list is about).  I’ve included it because this was the first movie I reviewed on a recommendation and was very satisfied with the way the review turned out.  Needless to say, my friend who recommended it to me was satisfied with it, too.  There were also a few stylistic things I did differently which I felt improved the readability of the review.

2) World War Z

World War Z was another one of my original six reviews (I should really come up with a cool and catchy name for those).   I had no idea what this movie was about, other than zombies and that it was adapted from a book series, when I went to go see it in theaters.  Normally I stay pretty up to date with films that are coming out, but I had zero information.  Like Man of Steel, this is another of my reviews that has stuck with me because I demonstrated to myself that I was able to write reviews no matter the circumstances.  In this case, going into a movie cold turkey without any clue about it and still churning out a pretty solid review.

1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

When I was thinking about which movies to include on this Fave Five list, I knew without a doubt my review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier would be number one.  I found this was one of the easiest reviews for me to write.  Everything I wanted to say just came to me in a way I can’t describe.  After this, that became a more common occurrence and I felt I crossed a threshold in my writing.  Not only that, I found myself having better content in my reviews, in particular reviews of new releases.  To me, there can be no other review at the top of this list besides Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

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Today has been all about favorites.  I reviewed my favorite Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi, and now I examined my favorite reviews of Drew’s Reviews’ year one.  Tomorrow the Star Wars reviews enter into the prequel trilogy and later there will be a special review (two reviews in one day? Whaa?).  It’s been a great year and I look forward to what the next one brings!

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer #2

Official Synopsis: It’s been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.

The more I see of this movie, the more excited I get.  How to Train Your Dragon 2‘s other full trailer focuses on Hiccup’s relationship with Toothless and the dragons that occupy Burk.  This one shifts the focus to his mother and her dragons.  You can never go wrong with dragons, so it will be cool to see the original varieties along side those introduced in the sequel, especially the large ice dragon.  Like I mentioned about the other trailer, as far as the humor is concerned, so far so good – “I’ll bloody my face with his fist if he tries to take my dragon.” Drago is still not seen very much, which is good because it keeps the mystery around him.  And come on, Hiccup has a fire sword!  This summer has plenty of movies I can’t wait to see and How to Train Your Dragon 2 is at the top of my list.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters June 13, 2014.  Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all reprise their roles from How to Train Your Dragon, along with Djimon Hounsou, as Drago, and Cate Blanchett, as Valka.

 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer

Official Synopsis: The thrilling second chapter of the epic How To Train Your Dragon trilogy brings back the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years later. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

I have only recently seen How to Train Your Dragon, but that doesn’t mean I am any less excited for its sequel.  The animation of the first film was amazing, and this looks as gorgeous as ever.  We saw the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless develop previously, and they have clearly grown even closer, but I don’t think it will be a big focus this time around.  I am more interested to see how the relationship between Hiccup and Astrid has developed since the end of the last film.  Even just in this trailer, it seems much of the comedic elements (both dialog and Toothless’ actions) that made Dragon so enjoyable is retained.  A good sequel raises the stakes, and this appears to do just that.  Drago seems like a worthy threat to not just the dragons, but all of Berk.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters June 13, 2014.  Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all reprise their roles from How to Train Your Dragon.  They are joined by new comers Djimon Hounsou, as Dragon, and Cate Blanchett, as Valka.

How to Train Your Dragon Review

Synopsis
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) aspires to be a dragon hunter like his dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), and his fellow vikings. But when he discovers an injured dragon, the two become unlikely friends and discovers that there is much more to dragons than he expected.

Review
When my friend told me How to Train Your Dragon was probably the best animated movie ever made, my reply was, “That’s a bold statement.” I mean, how can you beat the heart of Toy Story or the cleverness of Shrek? But he insisted. After finally watching it, I must say he isn’t far off. It’s not the best animated movie in my opinion, but it is definitely up there as one of my favorites.

First off, the film starts with a bang. The opening scene does well to both set up the conflict between the vikings and the dragons, as well as introduce all the main characters. It’s a giant set piece that would give most action movie openings a run for their money. There are explosions. Lots and lots of explosions.

The producers could not have picked a better voice cast for Dragon. Baruchel’s dry tone and sarcasm fit with his character perfectly. Butler was born to play a viking. He does fantastic as both the tough dragon slayer and the loving father. Other voices include Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, TJ Miller, and Kristen Wiig.

Mintz-Plasse’s character, Fishlegs, is large and round, the complete opposite of what you would expect from his voice. Fishlegs is the dragon guru, and rambles off stats Dungeons and Dragons style. Miller and Wiig play the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut, respectively, who attempt to out-annoy each other. Ferrera voices Astrid, a girl trying to prove she is just as tough as the boys. And Snotlout, played by Hill, spends the entire movie to to impress Astrid. My favorite, though, is Fergurson’s Gobber, the one-armed, one-legged teacher who believes that trolls “steal your socks, but only the left one.”

With an ensemble of great comedic actors, it’s only natural that the dialog would be funny, too. The best stuff happens when this group is all together and they can riff off each other. They come of with some pretty clever banter. But what is even more impressive is the movie’s use of visual gags. When one of your two main characters is a mute dragon, it can be difficult to crack jokes. But Dragon proves that you don’t need words to be funny.

Animation technology is continually progressing, and it is important for animation studios to adapt and improve along with it. With that said, this film is one of the best looking animated features I have seen. What sets it apart from previous animated movies is the attention to detail and the use of lighting. Contrasts are utilized very effectively, really giving a sense of depth.

On a quick note, the score, composed by John Powell, is amazing. It adds that extra touch to an already awesome film.

If I were to have one gripe with the film, it would be the father-son dynamic between Stoick and Hiccup has been used over and over in film. Stoick is the tough dad who has a soft spot for his son; Hiccup is the physically weak kid who tries to follow in his father’s footsteps but fails to keep up with the high expectations from being his son. This is the driving force for countless movies and their success has been varied. Dragons, however, utilized this cliché to great effect, so I can’t knock it too hard.

Anyone who enjoys animated movies should check out How to Train Your Dragon. A great cast, amazing animation, and funny dialog and visual gags makes this film one of the best animated films of the last few years.

Rating
5/5