Richard Ayoade’s The Double is a film that is interesting because, like so many art films, it simultaneously invites and defies interpretation. I could argue that it is an unusual study of masculine self realization; or perhaps, I might say that it is a disturbing depiction of primal male impulses. Is it about individuality being suppressed by the demands of corporate society? Or perhaps a thoughtful rumination on the unique identity? Is it a study on the way a perceptive individual struggles with anima and persona? The Double is, perhaps, all of these things; it is possible that it is none…

It seems to me that it would be difficult to make a sequel to Rio. I’m not sure I would have tried.

Rio is pretty universally loved. It has a 72% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and that’s not too shabby, really. But I thought it a well deserved approval. Rio has heart and story, and it’s quirky and funny. Jesse Eisenberg’s Blu is one of the more lovable animated characters I’ve had the privilege of seeing in recent times. And in fact that voice cast of the entire film absolutely perfect in every conceivable way. You just can’t get any better.

As well, even for an animated musical…

Since I am in a very small minority of a minority on the opinion I’m about to sling out there, I’m trying to figure out how to put this delicately. Oh, that’s right, I don’t care about putting it delicately. I did not like The Amazing Spider-Man. It was an incoherent mess of plot ideas and villains strung together in a fashion that made me question the theory of monkeys being able to write the collective works of Shakespeare given enough time. It was an extremely forgettable film that came entirely too soon after a fairly successful franchise that only faltered slightly with it’s third and…

Noah is a film that is sure to make people mad. A film and the enjoyment of it is already such a subjective thing. There are people in this world who, believe it or not, have seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier and hated it. And it’s perfectly legitimate for them to do so even if I completely disagree. There are many who have seen Noah, and who loved it for various different reasons. And I would even go so far as to say that liking or loving this film is a legitimate opinion. I do not share that opinion. You might recall that before now, I considered Cloud Atlas to be the worst film I…

Hey look, it’s another Marvel film that’s really, really good. Can I get a nickel for every time I say that? Because if I can, I’ll be a rich man. Someday, Marvel will have some sort of downfall that will be a sight to behold indeed, but that day is not here — nor, I suspect, will it be for a while to come. One of the things Captain America: The Winter Soldier shows us is that Marvel has some very savvy filmmakers in their camp. And I mean savvy on many levels. For starters, this film knows what it is, it knows its place, it knows how to inject humor at just the right spots, and what needs to…

As you may have heard on Episode 81 of The MovieByte Podcast, I had to work hard to convince TJ to see this film rather than the much manlier 300: Rise of an Empire, which I have absolutely no interest in ever seeing. That being said, I was hopeful that this movie would be worth the money to see it in the theater, both for TJ’s and my sakes. While it may not have been as good as I had hoped, I do think that it ended up being a pretty decent family film that I would certainly say is worth the money. Note: a few spoilers ahead, but no major ones.

An Extraordinary Dog

Mr. Peabody & Sherman…