New Movie Releases DVD

3 Comments:

• Lorenzo M. in the Hollywood CA Area "Movie Wa...

  February 16th, 2013 at 10:38 am

  26 of 30 people found the following review helpful

  
  Wreck It Ralph Is Fun, Clever and Downright Inventive!, November 5, 2012

  By 

  Lorenzo M. in the Hollywood CA Area “Movie Wa… (North Hollywood, CA USA) –
  
    

  Remember the old video games in the arcades of the 80′s? They are incredibly represented here and in a very fun way. The film does have a middle section that was slow and a little off track, but with that said, `Wreck It Ralph’ does have a fantastic opening and definitely a surprising and eventfully fun ending! The animation is very sharp and extremely real. (Not phot-real, but artistically real.)

  `Wreck It Ralph’ is director Richard Moore’s (Futurama, Drawn Together) first feature film coming from a broad television animation background. Taking a script from Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids, Ghost/Aliens) and first time writer Jennifer Lee, Richard mixed a great deal of personality types and funny creative situations inside of a video game and the world they live in.

  The games you see in this film are all familiar to those who remember the stand-up, giant boxed TV sets you used to look down at and play your games with. The graphics were simple and the music very distinct with each game environment along with all the sound effects that only came from the 80`s. I had lots of memories of all the games!

  John C Reilly (Chicago, Magnolia) leads the cast as `Wreck It Ralph’ himself who has the odd job of being the villain in his game. Alone, mistreated and often misunderstood he decides to get some recognition by getting an award. With the help of the hysterical Jane Lynch (Glee, 40 Year-Old Virgin) as demanding and pushy militaristic leader of grunts, Calhoun, Ralph gets a little miss directed and off course ending up in many strange games, but none are his own.

  Now `Wreck It Ralph’ has a star in its game called Felix, voiced so sympathetically and humorously dry by Jack McBrayer (30 Rock, Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Jack’s innocence and sincerity make the movie so much more fun to watch. I loved observing his take on growing a `fancy’ for Jane Lynch’s Calhoun character and how slowly they realize they might just work together, as a couple.

  Ralph enters a game, wrongly of course, that is based a Candyland-type environment, and accidently bumps into and later, begrudgingly, befriends a small `glitch’ in the program who is named Venellope, voiced amazingly perfect by Sarah Silverman (Something About Mary, School Of Rock) . She is independent, stubborn, obnoxious, not responsible and wildly out of hand, but seems to be sweet and sincere enough for Ralph to help.

  A special note to Alan Tudyk (Firefly, I, Robot), who plays King Candy and does an amazingly unique impression of what might be consider `The Mad Hatter’ with his own twist. Alan gives such fun and flair and craziness to his candy obsessed royalty.

  Without giving too much away, the movie has a fun concept of group therapy for bad guys, an inventive concept on how game characters travel from one game to another and a clever plot concept on how games need to understand, they all need each other. I also loved the great detail and 3-D stylization they used to represent the accuracy of how all these old games really moved and operated. `Wreck It Ralph’ has a great family message in the really funny and creative world of 80′s video games. This is great light family fun!

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• Fascinating Eggroll

  February 16th, 2013 at 9:58 am

  18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

  
  Absolutely Fantastic!, November 4, 2012

  By 

  Fascinating Eggroll –

  The Short: Wreck-It Ralph is a classic. From the slick animation, the great sense of humor, nostalgia inducing references and cameos, and the surprisingly adept and emotional story, Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph is the best animated comedy since Tangled, and one of Disney’s best animated films ever crafted.

  Street Fighter, Pac-Man, Q-bert; widely known and considered classic games. But a “new challenger has entered the ring” in the form of old school, Donkey Kong inspired retro arcade game, Wreck-it Ralph. Follow the misadventures of Wreck-it Ralph, voiced by John C. Reilly, as he attempts to become a hero by jumping though various video games. I don’t want to spoil any of the plot, but it is incredibly well told and is quite surprising in the end. It has that classic Disney emotion, but with a most unique “video game-y” twist. In the end, Wreck-it Ralph teaches some great lessons, but it is also neither mundane nor juvenile, and that’s why it’s a winner.

  The cast here couldn’t fit the characters better. John C. Reilly as the big guy Wreck-it Ralph, Sarah Silverman as the spirited and surprisingly funny Vanellope von Schweetz, Jane Lynch as the stoic and hilarious Sergeant Calhoun, and Jack McBrayer as the lovable and yet again laugh- out-loud Fix-it Felix Junior. The movie is absolutely hilarious; the performances from all of the actors fit their roles perfectly and couldn’t be funnier. They couldn’t have picked a better voice cast, honestly to goodness.

  The animation continues the high pedigree that Disney has become famous for. Its bright and lively action is wonderful to watch, and combined with great facial animations make for a great and emotional experience. But the winner here is the way that they have adapted the old- school style of video game animation into the film itself. You’ll know what I mean when you see the movie. It makes for a truly unique, one of a kind experience! Sony’s 4K presentation is crisp and vibrant.

  The thing to understand though is that with its focus on video game cameos and references, don’t worry! You don’t have to have any knowledge of video games to understand or enjoy Wreck-it Ralph. The story and main characters are all part of the film’s story and world. Rather than using the references as a crutch, they’re used more as a springboard into new and unexplored fictional worlds.

  Granted, gamers of all ages are going to love the care and attention taken when putting in the huge amount of references, cameos, and little bits of easter eggs spritzed and scattered throughout Wreck-it Ralph, making for a truly nostalgic inducing experience.

  And those classic Disney trademarks, from great characters to a well told story, are all here and are much more than side attractions. The twist is great, the concepts are fresh, and the level of imagination at work revives my faith in the animated genre. There’s still plenty left in this old dog after all.

  And so I have to end this review by asking, “Are you tired of the same old washed up animated feature film? Feel like you’re just too old for childish animated movies?” Wreck-it Ralph is the perfect cure. And it’s meant for that group of movie goers looking for something more than just another animated money pit. It’s laugh out loud funny, exciting and fresh, incredibly inventive and gleefully unique at every turn.

  It’s a classic no doubt, and Wreck-it Ralph will be one of those movies on my “favorites” shelf for decades to come. The true triumph? Wreck-it Ralph feels like that classic game that has been a part of my childhood ever since I can remember; the type of classic where you throw hundreds of quarters away and you honestly just don’t care, because it is just that good.

  5/5 – Perfection; Stop reading and watch right now

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• Chris Kennison

  February 16th, 2013 at 9:20 am

  69 of 82 people found the following review helpful

  
  TOUCHING GENUINE UNIQUE, November 7, 2012

  By 

  Chris Kennison (Jefferson City, Mo United States) –
  
    
  
    

  There are many great joys in life and Disney, the creators of “Wreck it Ralph”, have always been experts at tapping into those emotions. It has been key to their success. Just like the characters in “Toy Story”, we all long to be needed and not necessarily loved, but liked. We want to be included. We want to know that there’s somebody out there who thinks of us from time to time and quite simply, that is all that Ralph wants.

  Locked away inside his game between the hours of open and close of the arcade, Ralph is alone. He’s a bad guy. The hero of his game, Fix-it Felix is the star. Felix is the one with the friends and who receives all the accolades. When the arcade closes up for the night, the characters can travel from game to game, they can socialize with each other, but Ralph is alone, with no friends to speak of. Ralph, voiced by John C. Reilly, wants people to like him. He wants people to be proud of him, but being locked away inside his game only allows him to destroy and then get thrown off a building. This triggers a nostalgic and incredibly creative adventure.

  “Wreck it Ralph” never really struck me as outwardly hilarious, but the movie is endlessly entertaining and loaded with imagery and blast from the past references. Also like “Toy Story”, another world occurs when people aren’t looking and when that world takes off, the video game references from the past will go right over your child’s head. The adults though, will recognize characters from Super Mario Bros, Sonic, Q*bert, Street Fighter, Joust, Frogger, Pac-Man, Burger Time, the bartender from the game Tapper and even paddle one and two from the ultra nostalgic game, Pong.

  Ralph means well, but like most animated movies, that doesn’t always lead you in the correct direction. So, when he meets a sweet little 9-year old racer named Vanellope Von Schweetz, voiced by Sarah Silverman, he finds that he’s not alone in his plight to be included. Vanellope is a glitch, a flawed character program, hidden away in the system, not allowed to play. The two of them may have formed one of the most memorable character bonds in recent history.

  While the movie may not be hilariously funny, “Wreck it Ralph” is sheer joy and fun and it taps into an emotion that many adults have forgotten and many kids know all too well. It reminds you what it is like that first time you realized that you had a friend. Your child will also see a nice example of friendship and loyalty. This, in my opinion, makes “Wreck it Ralph” not just a movie for kids, but for adults as well. With all the references of nostalgic games and its flawless reminder of how euphoric friendship is, “Ralph” is for everybody.

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